posted
Hey there, it's me, still working on the game. Brief question about Invulnerability............. How powerful was Blok's invulnerability as compared to Sperboy's? Was Ultra Boy always considered to be the same as Sups or a wee bit less?
-------------------- I have lived for the Legion and one day I shall die for the Legion.
From: Bgztl | Registered: Feb 2008
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posted
For Ultra Boy, I think when it was full on, his invulnerability was the same as Superboy's & Mon-el's. Although it probably was slightly better as he was not vulnerable to kryptonite or lead. However, he did have the problem of switching to invulnerability from one of his other powers. I would say that the change of powers occurred very fast, maybe less than a second, but it was not instantaneous.
As for Blok, I always got the impression that his invulnerability was less than Superboy's. I believe in some stories, the artist shows little chips coming off of Blok. To me Blok has the hardness and durability of the hardest rock, but is not invulnerable. Superboy, Mon-el, & Ultra Boy woould survive being at ground zero of a nuclear explosion, but Blok would be blown up. IMHO
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
That's one thing that I think the artists kind of messed with, was the idea of Blok (or the Thing) constantly having little cracks or chunks flying off, while fleshy complexioned invulnerable characters like the Hulk or Superman would just shrug off the blows.
IMO, the stony-skinned people were *supposed* to be just as invulnerable as the fleshies, but the artists just seemed to love showing cracks in their exterior and little pieces flying off of them as a sort of visual shorthand to represent brutal attacks. All it ended up doing was making Blok and the Thing appear to be less invulnerable than Batman or Spider-Man, who would take hits *without* parts of their bodies flying off in all directions...
Ultra Boy, I'd definitely make every bit as invulnerable as the Krypto-Daxamites, just not at the same time as anything else. He's basically 'all the powers of Superboy, but only one at a time,' not 'weaker versions of the powers of Superboy, one at a time.'
[Realistically, it's likely that Jo *should* be able to access at least minor levels of his other abilities. His super-strength, for instance, would be useless if he wasn't at least somewhat invulnerable, as he'd tear himself to shreds trying to juggle stuff that outmassed him, and possibly even tear himself apart. Similarly, he's been shown switching to invulnerability fast enough to avoid being creamed by an energy blast, which suggests that even when he isn't specifically using ultra-speed, he's got some pretty darn good reactions... Although, logically, if that's his one thing, having to learn to switch *FAST* would probably be a darned good idea, and it would make sense that he would be real good at switching powers on the fly! Unlike Mon-El and Superboy, who kinda have it easy, by comparison, Jo has to really think during combat (and fast!), which is somewhat ironic, since he's generally portrayed as a dim bulb by comparison...]
There's a lot of squiffy undefined levels between Superboy / Mon-El / Ultra Boy invulnerability and normal tissue paper vulnerability like Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl.
Timber Wolf, for instance, appears to be at least *somewhat* tougher than normal. A full on face punch from a normal human might knock Garth unconscious, but it will only piss Brin off.
Dawnstar's immunity to acceleration, friction, the vacuum / radiation / cold of space, etc. might also extend to making her tougher than expected, although it's possible that it works similar to the abilities of Sam Guthrie / Cannonball from the New Mutants, and protects her specifically when she's accelerating / moving fast (where impact with a mote of space dust, or even air friction would cause her to detonate like a nuclear bomb, if she tried to go anywhere near the trans-light speed she's been indicated to possess), and not when she's just standing around.
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Also, it's stated every now and then that Ultra Boy's invulnerability works just a little bit differently from how Superboy's and Mon-El's does. Sometimes it keeps him safe by pulling some kind of mysterious trick or other.
Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
Ultra Boy is described as being vulnerable to "radiation", which, if it were consistently followed through, should actually make him vulnerable to most of the "ray guns" used by bad guys in the Legion. In practice, the weakness is largely ignored.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: Ultra Boy is described as being vulnerable to "radiation", which, if it were consistently followed through, should actually make him vulnerable to most of the "ray guns" used by bad guys in the Legion. In practice, the weakness is largely ignored.
I read Jo's statement about being vulnerable to radiation, which works fine for me. The question I have though is do we know for certain all of the ray weapons used in the comic are radiation based? If they are I will present them as such for the game, I'm just not positive they all are radiation based, do we have any avenues we can explore to discern this for certain?
-------------------- I have lived for the Legion and one day I shall die for the Legion.
From: Bgztl | Registered: Feb 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Matthew E: Also, it's stated every now and then that Ultra Boy's invulnerability works just a little bit differently from how Superboy's and Mon-El's does. Sometimes it keeps him safe by pulling some kind of mysterious trick or other.
Now when Ultra Boys in space (I'm using Adventure Comics through the 70's here) I believe I see him without a helmet most or all of the time right? He switches his Ultra power back and forth in combat, usually from invulnerability to super strength.
Now in my game I'm having him making a die roll to see how fast he can switch back and forth and thus survive in space doing this. Here's the Weakness I wrote for him, can I get some feed back on whether this would seem accurate or plausable from the comic point of vierw.
Only Use 1 Power At A Time: The Legionnaire, villain or other NPC has an array of powers but is limited to using them one at a time. This requires the individual to "switch" back and forth as specific powers are needed. A category is applied with this weakness, the higher the category, the more control the character possess, the lower the category, the more difficult it becomes to "switch" powers as needed.
When a character switches powers, they must make a d20 roll and add their category number to the result. If the total equals or exceeds a challenge score of 20, the character succeeds in changing powers without affecting any of their actions (treat the switch as a free action). A failed die roll indicates the character was unable to switch powers fast enough and cannot do so until their next action is available in the initiative sequence and the switch utilizes an action itself. A character who is surprised is not unable to switch powers in a manner that would aid them from an attack or otherwise give them an unfair advantage being the unsuspecting individual they are.
I'm thinking that Ultra Boy's category in this weakness is pretty high based on the comics, I'm thinking Ultra/14 perhaps. What do you think? This means he fails on a d20 roll of 5 or less.
-------------------- I have lived for the Legion and one day I shall die for the Legion.
From: Bgztl | Registered: Feb 2008
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
quote:Originally posted by Phantom Girl:
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: Ultra Boy is described as being vulnerable to "radiation", which, if it were consistently followed through, should actually make him vulnerable to most of the "ray guns" used by bad guys in the Legion. In practice, the weakness is largely ignored.
I read Jo's statement about being vulnerable to radiation, which works fine for me. The question I have though is do we know for certain all of the ray weapons used in the comic are radiation based? If they are I will present them as such for the game, I'm just not positive they all are radiation based, do we have any avenues we can explore to discern this for certain?
I don't know if there's anything definitive. "Radiation" can actually mean a lot of different things. In the broadest sense, any form of energy is radiation. Presumably, they mean "radiation" in a narrower sense (probably "ionizing radiation"), which probably wouldn't include ordinary blasters of the sort normally found in sci-fi such as the Legion, however they are supposed to work. That seems consistent with the way he's usually protrayed.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Phantom Girl: Now in my game I'm having him making a die roll to see how fast he can switch back and forth and thus survive in space doing this. Here's the Weakness I wrote for him, can I get some feed back on whether this would seem accurate or plausable from the comic point of vierw.
Only Use 1 Power At A Time: The Legionnaire, villain or other NPC has an array of powers but is limited to using them one at a time. This requires the individual to "switch" back and forth as specific powers are needed. A category is applied with this weakness, the higher the category, the more control the character possess, the lower the category, the more difficult it becomes to "switch" powers as needed.
When a character switches powers, they must make a d20 roll and add their category number to the result. If the total equals or exceeds a challenge score of 20, the character succeeds in changing powers without affecting any of their actions (treat the switch as a free action). A failed die roll indicates the character was unable to switch powers fast enough and cannot do so until their next action is available in the initiative sequence and the switch utilizes an action itself. A character who is surprised is not unable to switch powers in a manner that would aid them from an attack or otherwise give them an unfair advantage being the unsuspecting individual they are.
I'm thinking that Ultra Boy's category in this weakness is pretty high based on the comics, I'm thinking Ultra/14 perhaps. What do you think? This means he fails on a d20 roll of 5 or less.
This make sense to me play-wise.
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
You may want to consider Bouncing Boy have a bit of invulnerability, at least while he is inflated. He's able to bounce off of hard objects without hurting himself, so there could be something there. Of course it wouldn't by Kryptonian levels, but it's obvious that he can take significantly more damage, than say, Saturn Girl.
posted
There certainly are Legionnaires who are tough, but I think the only ones who actually have "invulnerability" are Mon, Ultra-Boy, the Kryptonians and Blok.
Of those, I imagine the Kryptonians and Mon rank the same, then U-Boy slightly behind, then Blok a little more behind that.
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I would say that Matter-Eater Lad (and all Bismolians) must have an invulnerable inside of their throat. Either that or they have instant healing on that part of their body. All that sharp metal going down their throats.
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
In the cartoon version, at least, a bomb can explode inside a Bismollian with no negative effects. "Invulnerable innards", as suggested by MLLASH, makes a lot of sense as a corollary of their powers.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I thought Bismolians were just supposed to have super powerful saliva and stomach acid. I'm sure it's been described several ways though...
From: New York, NY | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
That was the reboot version.
Preboot Bismollians converted matter to energy through some sort of internal nuclear reaction.
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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