Fixing Palladium

 Okay. Previously I stumbled and fell during my last Versus Battle. Hitting the Palladium/Megaverse system's major flaw in combat. Combat. With 19 characters in play, ten of them animals, it became impossible for me to keep track of who was doing what to whom, at the beginning of the fourth action of round 1. 

The actual problem I was having is that with actions and initiative. Normally after initiative is rolled for the round everyone goes through their first actions in initiative order. Then everyone goes through their second action and so on and so forth. Until everyone has had all of their actions for the round. Then you move onto the next round.

In Heroes Unlimited player characters start with 2 actions per round, but can quickly gain more through skills or powers. Most appear to have 4, at first level. The highest I've seen around first level is The Gargoyle, with 9 actions; a character I was planning on having turn up in later rounds of the versus battle in question.

Keep in mind that the combat round is 15 seconds long.

I remember from my teens having a great deal of fun playing this game. But then we were a small group of players and having more than a handful of foes was rare. When half the characters are being controlled by other people a lot of the weight of running combat is shared; Versus battles drop all that weight on my shoulders.

Someone must have had a similar problem to me. So I did some research, and yes. Lots of people. Looking at their solutions was not helpful. Most people just rewrite the system into another system and change things that I wanted to keep.

My self brief was thus:

1. Keep everything that makes the system the system. So no adding or removing bits.
2. Make it work.

I spoke to friends and people online, I wracked my brain for a solution for two weeks. Nothing. 

I tried looking at Actions as if they were Action Points, but that changed nothing. I tried looking at when an action would take place in a 15 second round. But that also didn't change anything and, if anything, added more complexity.

They, April 3rd I dozed off in front of the TV and dreamed of going through a box of books and folders that my poor parents are still storing for me. It was a battered blue folder which I once painted a streaking aura around a humanoid figure that caught my attention. The paint had almost immediately peeled off but in my dream it was whole. Inside was a system I had designed in my late teens; a super powered wrestling system. If you've ever seen a wrestling match, and I haven't been a fan since I was a kid (I loved Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks; I lost interest when they retired, which dates me) it has a pattern in which whoever "has initiative" inflicts their opponent with a chain of blows, bounces, throws and pins until something goes wrong. Then the tide turns and the initiative reverses. In this system I had created I had attempted to model this. It was simple. Whoever wins initiative does their stuff until they screw up and fail a roll. Then the other guy gets to do their thing until they screw up and then the round ends and initiative rerolls. I'd never figured out how to get it to work with more than two fighters but that's because I was asking the wrong question.

When I woke up I realised I had my solution. To both problems.

The solution to the Palladium problem is to change how Actions work in the round. Instead of everyone taking their first action in initiative order, and then everyone taking their second action, and so on and so forth. Now whoever wins initiative gets to use as many actions as they wish until...

• They fail a roll.
• Or they run out of Actions
• Or they decide to stop for whatever reason.

At which point the next person in initiative gets to use their actions. And so on down the line.

When everyone has gone once, rinse and repeat until everyone is out of actions or nobody wants to act any more. Then the next round begins.

If someone has to dodge they lose a future action but the result of their dodge roll keeps until they either get to act or they are attacked again and choose to reroll. Which will cost another action.

And that's it. Simply reframing the combat sequence eases the burden. Or does it. Let's go to round 2 of that combat that confounded me and see what happens:

Heroes Unlimited: Phenomenal Paragons: Ms. Fury Versus Belladonna

Dahlia Drake looked at her watch and tutted. She'd rather be sniffing out rumours of new masks active in the city than queuing at her local branch of Bastards Bank over what was everyone's lunch break. She had terrible timing. She was almost at the front of the queue when the door opened and in walked three women and a man. Dahlia wouldn't have even noticed them had the atmosphere in the bank not changed. From the awkward silence and shuffling to a suddenly enegerised wave of muttering. The man behind her in the queue said "A-dang!" quite loudly causing her to turn and look.

Hannah Rutherford (YouTuber) as Dahlia Drake

It had to be some sort of celebrity and her entourage. They all had looks Dahlia would be tempted to envy, even the big muscular woman at the back who looked like she was a body-guard or something. The man had the look of a manager or PR guy. But it was the woman who led them that drew the eye. She was truly beautiful, in a way that no one should be. She was a mass of contradictions; strong yet fragile, tall yet somehow small, confident yet unsure. The big woman and a companion stood back by the doors while the man and the last woman, Dahlia could only think of her as "The Starlet", approached and bypassed the queue; heading straight for the row of counters and the bank tellers behind their glass screens. Nobody objected as they walked right up to the teller furthest from where Dahlia stood.

         

Elle Fanning (Actor) as Belladonna

"Hello," the starlet said, her accent strange and beyond Dahlia's ability to place. "I am Belladonna. I have come to make a..." she paused for a moment as she searched for the word and then snapped her fingers at her male companion. He bobbed his head.

"Withdrawal," he said.
"Yes. A withdrawal."
"And how much would you like to withdraw?" the bank teller asked.
"Everything!" Belladonna said with a radiant smile.
"Everything?" the bank teller seemed unsure as to what they were hearing.

"I am withdrawal all of your money," Belladonna said, "Give Me All Your Wealth." The words carried an inhuman compulsion and for a brief moment Dahlia fought the urge to hand over the contents of her purse. Will only just beating the beautiful woman's domination. Many around her were not so successful. Soon a pile of purses, wallets watches, jewelry and other valuables piled at Belladonna's feet. The bankers stuffed money into sacks provided by Belladonna's henchmen. All three of them had reached into duffle bags they had slug over their shoulders and were pointing them at people as if they contained shotguns or something.

"This is a robbery!" the man said to the customers. "Everyone down on the floor!"
"Better yet," Belladonna smiled, "Kneel, in Worship of Me!"
The bank customers knelt as one. But not Dahlia. Because where Dahlia had stood a black clad figure crouched, coiled like a jungle cat. Ms. Fury.
"Mask!" the male henchman yelled.

Dahlia made two saving throws versus Psionics; the first rolled a 15, only just passing, while the second was a 20. Unfortunately her roll versus Belladonna's Awe was only a 9+2, or 11. She automatically loses initiative versus the villains, loses an action and doesn't get any parry or dodge versus their first action this round.

Belladonna has 4 henchman with her, one is the getaway driver and is waiting outside. One is "Keys", a safecracker/locksmith who has just locked the doors of the bank. The second is "Topaz", the big muscular woman. The guy is "Lucky", a con artist who has attached himself to Belladonna. The getaway driver is "Essa". I used the Quick Villains rules from the GM Guide to generate them. They are all armed with baseball bats and knives. Topaz is also packing a revolver. They don't have any powers. These aren't the mindlessly loyal fanatics from Belladonna's power. But if this job succeeds their loyalty will certainly increase. Belladonna is unarmed and unarmoured; she left her bow and a whip in the getaway car.

There are thirty other people, customers and staff, in the bank.

Ms Fury doesn't roll for initiative. Belladonna rolls 24 (20+4), Keys rolls 8 (8+0), Topaz 20 (18+2), and Lucky rolls 12 (12+0). Essa is only going to come into play if the fight leaves the bank.

Words of magic spill from Belladonna's lips and she is covered in shimmering spectral plate mail. Ms Fury crouches confused by what she's seeing, not truly believing her eyes. Briefly finding it impossible to attack the beauty before her. A shot rings out from Topaz by the doorway, creasing Fury's shoulder. But she just stands there as if in a daze. Lucky and Keys draw baseball bats from their bags.

Because she failed her Awe/Horror save Ms. Fury literally loses her first action and must stand there as Belladonna casts Armour of Ithan on herself (AR18 and 170 SDC) and Topaz shoots her (2+4 for aimed shot =6; a hit, just, for 8 damage).

Belladonna casts another spell; a bolt of energy springs from her hands and splashes against Fury, seemingly shaking her from her confusion. But not before another shot rings out, again grazing her.. Lucky raises his bat between Fury and Belladonna as Keys charges across the bank. Fury leaps for Belladonna, across the kneeling customers, slipping past Lucky's bat to land on the piled wallets and purses, to scatter them.

For her second action Belladonna casts Energy Bolt, Magic Missile with the serial numbers filed off, at Ms. Fury. Energy bolt can only be defended against by a dodge roll of 18+, but since Fury can't dodge this round she just has to take it. This is bad news for Fury as Belladonna gets three more actions a round than her. That's 3 sure hits of between 4 and 24 points of damage 12 to 72 damage a round. Fury has to take her down and quick. Not that she knows that yet. She takes 18 damage from the bolt.

Topaz shoots again (6+4=10, a hit for 9 damage. Lucky basically holds action until Fury closes while Keys closes the distance between herself and the mask. Fury does the same, leaping across the gap between her and Belladonna. Lucky swings to hit (15+0=15, a hit), but his bat is deflected by Ms. Fury (15+8=23, a parry).

Belladonna attempts to evade Fury's coming attack. Topaz draws her bat out of the bag rather than shoot into melee. Lucky continues to defend his mistress while Keys joins him in swinging a bat at Ms. Fury. Keys misses while Lucky finds his bat deflected by Fury's claws. Those same claws slash at Belladonna, slipping through the gaps in her armour, tearing at clothing, scratching the skin beneath.

Belladonna declares her dodge on Fury; (11+6=17). Lucky and Keys swing to attack; (7+0=7, a hit) and (3+0, a miss) respectively. Fury parry's Lucky (3+8, a success by 1) and then slashes at Belladonna (19+6=25, a hit and above the AR of her armour) for 21 points of damage. Having found the 'Knockback' rules at long last, there's a 20% chance for Belladonna to be knocked off her feet. I roll 31 and she remains standing. Both Ms. Fury and Belladonna, between their strength, and in Belladonna's case, experience knock over 1 in 5 of anyone they hit. In Fury's case, however, due to her raw ability to take an impact (SDC) it takes twice as much force to push her over.

Again Belladonna attempts to evade, at the same time Topaz rushes across the bank, bat raised. Lucky and Keys swing again but Fury deflects them both, knocking Lucky's bat into Keys's, while still managing to slash at their boss. Belladonna fires off three bolts of energy in quick succession which strikes our hapless heroine. Topaz swings and misses.

Belladonna dodges again (14+6=20). Lucky and Keys both attack Ms Fury (8+0=8), (10+1=11) but she parries both (18+8 and 18+8; 26 for both). This raises a question for me as to how many attacks a character can parry in a single action. Searching the forums I learn that in Rifts a character can parry up to 3 attacks per action, but 4 or more can only be dodged.  Seems reasonable. The next question is, should I roll to parry separately for each parry or just once per action? 

Fury then attacks Belladonna again (19+6=25), slipping through gaps in the armour again to do 11 points of damage.

This leaves everyone but Belladonna and Topaz out of actions. Topaz gets her last shot in (2+0=2, a miss) and Belladonna gets to fire off three energy bolts to round the round off. Belladonna ends the round down 32 SDC while Ms. Fury is down 35 SDC. To put this into perspective Ms. Fury has lost just under 15% of her SDC while Belladonna is down by just over 25%. Fury is quite the rough'em-tough'em kinda gal. 

Round two begins with initiative. Ms. Fury rolls 14 (9+5), Belladonna rolls 22 (18+4), Keys 13 (13+0), Topaz 5 (3+2) and Lucky 9 (9+0). Sequence is Belladonna, Ms. Fury, Keys, Lucky and then Topaz.

Belladonna decides to withdraw to heal herself and evades Ms. Fury as she does so. The cat clothed vigilante attempts an acrobatic kick but misses. She lands on her feet and parries the cudgel blows of the others with her claws.

Belladonna rolls 17 (11+6) to dodge and Fury only manages a 14 (9+5) with her kick. Keys (5+0=5), Lucky (18+0=18) and Topaz (6+1=7) all attack. Ms. Fury's parry with her claws is +8, which means she automatically parries any attack roll of 9 or less. I won't even bother rolling to parry them. Rolling to parry Lucky's blow gives me (19+8=27), a success.

Belladonna casts a spell on herself and some of the scratches she suffered at Ms. Fury's claws begin to close up, but not completely,  Fury attempts an acrobatic kick against Topaz, who is currently the  most immediate threat to her. But the muscled woman twists out of the way, evading the strike. Keys bat almost catches the heroine but is defected by her claws while Lucky swings wide.

Belladonna casts Heal Self at a cost of 20 PPE and heals 17 SDC. Ms. Fury rolls (7+5=12) to kick Topaz but the criminal rolls (11+2=13) to dodge, using up this action. Keys attacks (13+0=13) but is deflected (12+8=20). Lucky just flat out misses (4+0=4, which is below the minimum of 5 to hit).

Belladonna keeps healing herself while Ms. Fury goes back from kick to claws, slashing at Topaz in an attempt to reduce the number of opponents she has to fight. Topaz tries to parry with her bat but the vigilante reaches around it to cut her left shoulder with enough force to throw her to the floor. Keys swings at Ms. Fury who deftly parries her. "Okay, you're next." she purrs. Again Lucky's swing goes wide.

Belladonna regains another 13 SDC, leaving her only 2 points down. Fury hits Topaz with (17+6=23) versus a parry of (15+2=17). She does 17 SDC damage, which is basically minimum damage. 16 to 29 points of damage in enough to give a 20% chance of knocking Topaz over. I roll 01. She falls. She loses her attack and must spend her next action standing. Key rolls (17+0=17) but is parried with (13+8=21). Lucky rolls (3+0=3).

Belladonna fires another energy bolt at Ms. Fury who bent out of the way. It splashed against a far wall, leaving a scorch mark. Keys and Lucky again find their blows deflected by Ms. Fury's claws. Topaz recovers her bat and stands. She swings at Fury, who parries once more. Another energy bolt follows. Belladonna grabs a fancy red silk rope from  the queue line and whips it at Ms. Fury, who slashes it with her claws, cutting it below a useful length.

Ms. Fury rolls a dodge of (14+6=20), which beats the 18 needed to evade the energy bolt. Keys rolls a (5+0=5) and Lucky (7+0=7), both below the 9 minimum of Fury's clawed parry. Again only Topaz and Belladonna have actions left. I remember that Roll with Impact is a thing and so I roll for it; (19+3=22). This also beats 18 so I half the 17 damage down to 8. Topaz rolls (15+1=16) for her attack but Fury's parry roll is (19+8=27). Belladonna has used more than half of her PPE and so tries to get inventive and uses a rope as an improvised whip (I decide on -2 strike due to length and unwieldiness, but +1 damage from the weight and brass hook at the end). Her attack roll is (9+6-2=13), whereas Ms. Fury's parry is (9+8=17). I decide that the rope is cut because the claws minimum damage is greater than the rope's SDC. I haven't found rules for damaging weapons 

Round 3 begins with initiative again. Fury rolls 23 (18+5), Belladonna rolls 20 (16+4), Keys rolls 18 (18+0), Topaz rolls 14 (12+2) and Lucky 8 (8+0). And that's the sequence for the round.

Ms. Fury continues her assault of Topaz, who parry's the claw strike with her bat. Belladonna drops the end of the rope. She points to the most attractive customer and begins to cast a spell. Keys tries to batter Ms. Fury again but misses. Topaz throws her bat at Ms. Fury who knocks it aside. But in the process she leaves herself open to Lucky who clocks her with a solid hit.

Ms. Fury rolls (4+6=10) but Topaz parries with (13+1=14). Belladonna picks out the most attractive customer in the bank a woman with P.B. 22 and begins to cast Love Charm on her. Keys's attack is (3+0=3). Topaz throws her bat at Fury (18+1=19) but it is deflected (19+8=27). However Lucky's attack (17+0=17) is not as Ms. Fury only rolls (4+8=12) to parry. She takes 8 SDC damage.

Ms. Fury claws at Topaz who attempts to deflect the blow with a forearm against the vigilante's wrist but fails, getting raked across the arm for her troubles. Belladonna finishes her spell and the woman she cast it upon blushes and squirms. Keys and Lucky both swing wildly as Topaz twists her wrist and turns the block into a grab...

Ms. Fury hits with a (19+6=25) while Topaz's parry is only (3+1). Topaz isn't knocked over. Neither Keys nor Lucky roll over Fury's minimum parry. I'm not entirely sure how wrestling works. However it says that someone with the skill can pin an opponent on a roll of 18 or higher. I roll a natural 20.

Neelam Gill (Model) as Aditi

Ms. Fury attempts to break free of Topaz's grip as her opponent seeks to restrict her movement further by grabbing her other wrist. 

 "Fill the bags with the offerings," Belladonna says to her newly enslaved hostage, "And bring as many as you can once you're done." The woman, who we shall call Aditi, nods.

 "Anything for you, my love," she sighs and gets to work.

Keys has abandoned the attack to instead approach the door to the deposit box vault, pulling some keys from her jacket pocket. Lucky takes the opportunity presented by his foe's restricted movement to hit her with the bat. She barely reacts as she uses her feline flexibility to pull free from Topaz.

Okay so it says that each party who are wrestling one another roll 1d20 and add P.P.. That's (8+24=32) for Ms. Fury and (17+11=28) for Topaz. I think Topaz only has somewhere in the region of 35% chance to successfully grapple Ms. Fury. Also I think I've done wrestling wrong. Luck hits with a (13) and does 5 SDC damage.

Ms. Fury responds with an acrobatic kick, which hits Topaz causing her to stagger but not fall. Belladonna absentmindedly waits while Key unlocks the vault door, shooting off an energy bolt at Ms. Fury almost to amuse herself. Lucky's bat fails to connect again.

Belladonna takes a deposit box key from Key and enters the vault. Finding the box she wants immediately. She opens it and grins at its contents.

Ms. Fury's kick connects with an (11+5=16) against Topaz's dodge of (8+2=10). She does 18 damage but fails to floor Topaz by a couple of percent. The energy bolt she takes only does 6 damage, pushing her over 100 SDC taken. Topaz's grapple attempt took 2 actions meaning that she doesn't get to do anything further this round.

Initiative for round four goes thus; Ms. Fury 12 (7+5), Belladonna 13 (9+4), Topaz 7 (5+2), Keys 20 (20+0), and Lucky 14 (14+0). Sequence is Keys, Lucky, Belladonna, Ms. Fury, and Topaz.

Keys begins gathering the filled bags of money from the bank tellers as Lucky takes another swing at Ms. Fury and his bat is turned away at the last moment by her claws. Belladonna exits the vault, her eyes glowing with an unearthly light. As is the mummified human left hand she's holding in hers. Ms. Fury slashes at Topaz, who evades.

Belladonna shakes the glowing hand at Ms. Fury and dust flies from it to settle on the vigilante who shakes her head and stumbles. Topaz punches her and Ms. Fury falls, her eyes heavy. As they close she sees a glowing doorway open in  the outside wall of the bank, revealing a back alley and an idling white van. She hears Belladonna command "Sleep" and she falls into a dreamless slumber.

Lucky's attack is (16+0) but Ms. furry parries with (12+8=20). Ms. Fury's attack is (6+6=12) versus Topaz's dodge of (14+2=16). Then Belladonna uses the Sleep Dust power from the Hand of Glory. Ms. Fury has to save versus magic versus 14. She rolls (5+2=7), only half of what she needed and falls asleep while the criminals escape.

 "Miss? Miss?" Dahlia Drake opens her eyes to see Guardian Angel standing over her, smiling. She starts into full wakefulness. "It's alright miss. You're safe. They've gone." Dahlia realises that she's not in costume and relaxes a little. "Can you remember what happened?"

 "There were four of them," Dahlia begins, "Three women and a man. Their leader called herself Belladonna..."

So this fight was a bit more rough around the edges than before. Testing poorly explained/understood sub-systems. In hindsight Wrestling seems to involve a normal barehanded strike followed by a grappling roll with an 18+ meaning an automatic pin. The grappling roll happens every action it's contested. 

The Hand of Glory will get a short write up later. Belladonna and her gang will also return. I have plans. Speaking of which Aditi wasn't planned. But with the crook's plans disrupted they were going to need an extra pair of hands. Belladonna would only charm the first attractive person she saw. Unfortunately there's a chance that when the Love Charm spell wears off (in 35 minutes in this case) it's effects either warp the victim's mind or become permanent. For Aditi it's become permanent. Since running this fight I've gone back and created Aditi as an NPC. Since the GM guide only has rules for creating criminals and not bystanders I made her using the rules for PC, just didn't apply a powerset class. I also used an expanded education chart which I found on the forums and recompiled for my own use. It's interesting. Aditi is a Bollywood and Hong Kong actress; she's a martial artist who has borderline superhuman abilities, without powers. I think I might start a line of posting criminals and bystanders.

So, uh, join me next week for... 59... 

The Super Soldier!

Get your flags ready.

Heroes Unlimited: Phenomenal Paragons: Ms. Fury (Magic: Bestowed)

Dahlia Drake grew up on a diet of her great grandmother Marla's tall tales of her adventures as the wartime adventuress Miss Fury. After her passing Dahlia found herself in possession of, or perhaps possessed by, Marla's panther skin catsuit. Now she patrols Guardian City, against the neo-Nazi threat, as Ms. Fury.

This is the fourth character in my Phenomenal Paragons series. The introduction to which is here. It is inspired by Jacob Pisson's World's Strongest series, here.

Miss Fury was the first female super hero, beating Wonder Woman to print by six months. She was the also the first created and written by a woman. June Tarpe Mills, came up with Miss Fury as a reaction to the usually tepid woman found in the early golden age comics. Mills was a fashion illustrator who turned to comics creating a character who was a mix of action and high fashion.

I first learned of Miss Fury when Google recommended a news article about her, all the way from Australia. You can read it here.

Miss Fury is now a public domain character. The last big comic company to hold her rights was Timely, ironically making her a Marvel character. Thankfully those rights have now lapsed. More recently Dynamite Comics published two, possibly three, distinctly different takes on the character. One is a viscous and violent cat burglar who fights Nazis across time and space and singularly misses every beat and is tone deaf to the source material. That Miss Fury is written and drawn for the male gaze. The other is closer to the original, although it is suggested that her powers come from a feline spirit that possesses her. That story can be found in the trade paperback Miss Fury: The Minor Key and I highly recommend it. The third was in the Masks comics, a collective re-imagining of the classic pulp heroes. I've yet to read any of them. Those characters belong to Dynamite and are distinctly different from the original.

This means that my take on the character can't take anything from either. So no time travel and no possession-by-panther. However the mystical angle is from the original so I take that as my root. Instead of transplanting the original character to the modern era I decide on making my Miss Fury a Legacy character.

The rulebook has a section on Legacies. Uncharacteristically for a Palladium game there are no mechanical effects; it's all roleplaying. It asks the right questions and suggests some answers. In this case it confirms my original intent; that the power and name of Miss Fury has been passed down the Drake line from mother to daughter since the end of the war.

Only Marla didn't have a daughter but a son. An adopted son at that (The offspring of an ex-beau, and her nemesis). Having the current Miss Fury be Marla's granddaughter, be my generation and thus my age, didn't feel right. So I went with great granddaughter instead.

The original Miss Fury was more like a Physical Training character than a mystically bestowed one, with Marla Drake depending more upon her 'natural' abilities and skills than the suggested magic of her catsuit. Indeed in her entire career she only wears the thing five times; apparently fearing the curse supposedly attached to it. But reading between the lines it appears to me that the suit could be considered to be the source of her abilities.

This gives me two options for her character class: Enchanted Object or Mystical Bestowal. Enchanted object felt right but I wanted to go with mystical bestowal instead. Perhaps it is only an enchanted catsuit, except to the heir of a true wielder. Perhaps there is no magic there at all and its every power comes from some outside source; Perhaps she is chosen by some spirit of vengeance to be their agent upon the world. All things that could be explored in a game.

The Usual

The book just launches into telling us what bonuses we get as a mystically bestowed character but we know the drill by now. 11 for every attribute.

Then there is the transformation. Every bestowed character gets their transformation sequence. Say a magic word, or something, and the hero is transformed into their heroic persona. Very magical girl. It doesn't say how long this takes beyond being "instant". So less than a single action. For this character I'd choose to handwave it. "You go to change and realise that you already have..."
What's more important for us right now is the effects of the transformation. +2d6 M.A. and P.S. as well as +1d6 P.P. These have a minimum of 18, 20 and 18 respectively. Spd is multipled by 5 and has a minimum of 24. Finally there's +3d6x10 SDC. This gives us +7 M.A., +7 P.S., +3 P.P., +100 SDC and a +4 to saves versus Anti-Magic (given our abilities are magical in nature then they can only be nullified by magic).

There's a bit more about the transformation and the duration of dispelling effects upon the character before move onto some, thankfully optional, rules for giving the character "Physical Limitations". This comes close to the territory of the Empowered class from the second Powers Unlimited volume, which I'll deal with in another post.

Type of Bestowed Ability

We have a chart of possible combinations of powers, combat abilities and magic spells. Having some idea of what I want I select the option of 1 major power and 2 minor powers combined with Expert hand-to-hand.

For my major power I go with Animal Abilities: Big Cat.
This increases muscle mass by 30 lbs, grants natural climbing and prowling skills, doubles normal eyesight and grants 100' nightvision. +30 SDC, +3 P.S. and +5 P.P..  She can jump 20' straight up, 40' across and fall or drop up to 80' without being harmed (and she lands on her feet). She has a roar that can be heard up to a mile and a half away and can control 4 of any type of cat and one time, plus an additional cat per level. So she starts with the ability to control 5 cats. Nice.
Up to the roar everything fits with the original character, sort of.
Both roaring and cat herding make sense within the rough powerset and theme of the character and it's believable that since Marla spent so little time wearing the suit she might not have been aware of its full capabilities.
For my first minor power I select Physical Perfection:
This power is something of a figurative double edged sword. The character appears to be at the peak of human perfection, which means that they look 1d4 levels higher than they are and thus draw all the aggro. Thankfully the character is actually slightly more capable gaining, in our case, +2 M.A., +2 P.S., +1 P.P., +1 P.E., +7 P.B. (with a minimum of 19), +4 Spd., +17 SDC, +7 HP, and +5% to save versus Coma.
The second minor power is Claws:
This an effective hand-to-hand attack and a canonical one for the character. Although I suspect that they're supposed to be more wolverine than kitteh but there's no "small claws" power.
Claws do 3d6 damage plus any bonuses from strength. They get +1 strike and disarm, +2 parry and pull punch.

We're given how much PPE (magic points) we get. In our case 30 points.

Special Bonuses and Abilities:

Again we're reminded about the transformation; "Creates a costume or "battle dress" out of thin air." We get a +1 save versus magic, a +1 save versus possession (with increases at later levels), +2 save versus horror (ditto), +2 initiative and +2 pull punch.

Other Stuff for the Mystically Bestowed:

Now for everything else.
Alignment is Scrupulous.
I decide that her education is at the level of a Bachelor's degree. Which is 4 scholastic programs with +20%, and 10 secondary skills. A degree in journalism seems suitable; a Lois Lane type of investigative journalism who hides her identity under a byline. I double down on the Journalism program, selecting the following skills:
Computer Ops,
Research,
Surveillance Systems,
Writing,
Photography,
Pick Locks,
Streetwise, and
Interrogation. I double again on the last skill to get a +10% to it.
Next I pick the Physical program as I see her as an active girl, always off on adventures somewhere, like her great grandmother, looking for the next big story. I select:
Acrobatics, Kick attack at 2d4 damage, +15% climb, +5% prowl, +2 roll with impact, +1 P.S., +1 P.P., +1 P.E., +3 SDC.
Gymnastics, +5% climb, +5% prowl, +2 roll with impact, +2 P.S., +1 P.P., +2 P.E., +7 SDC.
Martial Arts Hand-to-hand, I initially pictured the character having Basic hand-to-hand in her normal identity and the transformation granted Expert hand-to-hand in her super identity. However the rules are clear, that's not allowed. So I take my Basic hand-to-hand pick, add it to the two-pick equivalent Expert hand-to-hand to get the three-pick choice of Martial Arts hand-to-hand. This is available in either identity, bringing the character concept back towards the original, who was a scrapper whatever she wore. I feel less bad about it as I spent one of my scholastic picks when I could have used a secondary skill instead.
Running, +1 P.E., +10 Spd., +3 SDC.
For her final program I choose Piloting. She's adventurous so she knows several forms of transport. I choose:
Airplane,
Sailing,
Horsemanship,
Motorcycle.
For her secondary skills I select:
Athletics, +1 parry and dodge, +1 roll with impact, +1 P.S., +3 Spd., +5 SDC.
Art,
Body Building, +2 P.S., +10 SDC.
Radio:Basic, as she'll need to know how to use radio as a pilot and sailor.
Cooking,
Land Navigation,
Seduction,
Swimming,
W.P. Whip, +1 to strike, +0 entangle.
Wilderness Survival.
Hand-to-hand and attacks per melee are already sorted. As for armour and weapons, she has a bullwhip and Great-granny's Webley is oiled and in a box ready for use.
When it comes to SDC, in her normal form she has a base of 10 and gets +10 from being mystically empowered. in her super form she has a base of 60.
finances wise she had the £7,000 in savings nearly all these characters start with. She lives in the house she inherited and drives a 2017 VW Golf in charcoal grey. There's a beautifully maintained Vincent Black Shadow in the garage if she ever feels in the mood.

Name: Dahlia Alena Drake

Super Identity: Ms. Fury.
Level: 1, Mystically Bestowed Abilities

Height: 5'7", Weight: 140/170 lbs (nearly all of it muscle)

Alignment: Scrupulous.
Disposition: Tough loner. Tends to dive into trouble head first and fears taking others into danger with her.

Team: The Furies.

IQ 11, ME 11, MA 11/20, PS 17/29, PP 13/24, PE 15/16, PB 11/19, Spd 24/140

Hit Points 18/26, S.D.C. 38/235, P.P.E. 30

Superpowers:
Transformation: When wearing her costume her attributes become those after the slash and she gains +4 to all saves versus anti-magic effects. Changing into her costume is an instantaneous effect.
Animal Abilities, Big Cat:

• Natural Climb
• Natural Prowl
• Twice normal human vision and hearing 
• Nightvision out to 100'. 
• Leap 20' straight up, 40' across, and drop/fall 80' without harm. 
• Can utter a roar that can be heard a mile and a half away.
• Can control 5 cats of any kind. 

Claws.
Physical Perfection.

Skills:
Natural Skills.
Charm/Impress 45%, Climb 85% (Rappelling 75%), Prowl 73%, Trust/Intimidate 60%
Scholastic Skills.
Acrobatics (Balance 62%, Tightrope 63%, Rope Climb 72%, Back Flip 55%), Basic Maths, Computer Ops, Gymnastics (Balance 53%, Bars & Rings, Rope 63%, Climb 62%, Back Flip 72%), Horsemanship, Interrogation, Martial Arts HtH, Photography, Pick-locks, Pilot Airplane, Pilot Automobile, Pilot Motorcycle, Pilot Sailing, Read/Write English, Research, Running, Speak English, Streetwise, Surveillance Systems, Writing (Journalism).
Secondary Skills.
Athletics, Art, Basic Radio, Body Building, Cooking, Land Navigation, Seduction, Swimming, W.P. Whip, Wilderness Survival.

Saves: 

Coma/Death: +9%

Harmful Drugs/Toxins (15+): +1

Horror Factor: +2

Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +2

Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +2

Psionics (15+): +0

Possession: +2

Combat:

Initiative: +5

Attacks per Round:  2+2

Strike: +5, +6 (Claws), +6 (whip)

Damage: +2/+14

1d4+2 Unpowered Punch
 1d4+14 Powered Punch
 2d4+2 Unpowered Kick/whip
 2d4+14 Powered Kick/whip
 3d6+14 Claws

Parry: +6, +8 (Claws)

Dodge: +6

Roll with Impact: +3

Pull Punch: +10, +12 (Claws).

Disarm: +1 (Claws)
Entangle: +0 (whip)

Benchmarks:

Carry Capacity: 340/580 lbs; Lifting: 680/1,160 lbs

Stamina: Carry Max 60/64 minutes, 30/32 minutes while running or fighting. Lifting for 15/16 rounds (225/240 seconds; 3.75/4 minutes)

Ground Speed: 16.8/98 mph for 15/16 minutes

Swimming Speed: 51/87 yrds (153/261ft.) per round for 15/16 minutes.

Leaping Distance: 4/24ft. high; 8.5/48.5ft. broad. 8/88ft drop.

Background:
Dahlia Drake never really believed her great grandmother Marla's tall tales of her war time exploits. But inspired by them Dahlia made her own pale adventures in the form of extreme sports and a nose for a good story. As a child it was climbing trees and finding lost cats but as an adult it became parkour, flying, base jumping, covering activism and uncovering corruption. Dahlia recorded everything anonymously on her blog, which she had named in honour of Marla's alter ego, giving it a modern twist at Marla's suggestion; "Ms. Fury".

When the old woman passed a few years north of a century Dahlia unexpectedly found herself the inheritor of the old holiday home on Ennor. Led through the Spanish Ward manse by a cryptic letter she uncovered a hidden room. Within were Marla Drake's secret journals, souvenirs of her escapades, and a slinky black leather catsuit. With an attached cat-like hood and a selection of lined capes.

In spite of its age the catsuit was as good as new, supple and strong. To say it spoke to Dahlia would be nonsense. No actual words passed between woman and garment. But yet she could not resist its siren call all the same. It was foolish of course. In her youth Marla had been lithe and sensual whereas Dahlia was broad and muscular. Homey, rather than beautiful. Yet still as she slipped naked into the suit she found it fit her perfectly. She felt strong, flexible, powerful and, regarding herself in a full length mirror, sexy.

Unexpectedly keen senses were alerted to a noise outside; a cry for help. Curiosity piqued, Dahlia pounced through a window and across the rooftops of the Spanish Ward. A clowder of cats led her to a ledge beneath which three men wrestled with an unwilling woman in a dirt strewn alleyway. As they tore at  the woman's dress Dahlia felt rage burn in her breast. Where once she would have hesitated in fear now she did not falter. In the spirit of the sorority of womankind she launched herself down three floors into the rubbish filled alley below. The first man fell beneath her, taking the full impact of her descent. She crouched above him and let loose a feline howl. The other two men suddenly forgot their victim as the found themselves beset upon by the black cowled she-cat. One. Two. They fell to Dahlia's fists as she fought with a ferocity and skill she had never felt before. The woman that they had assaulted fled the alley without thanking her rescuer, but it did not matter.

Back on the rooftop Dahlia exulted. She realised that the stories were all true. Marla had truly fought against fascism as Miss Fury. Now, in the twenty first century, with the evil of fascism on the rise again, misogyny still strong, and dozens if not a thousand other evils, Dahlia decided that it was long past time for the return of the night-garbed dynamo. Ms. Fury.


Join me next week as I create an...  85... Hardware Hero... 77...

Analytical Genius!