View Topic

Elbbsas:
You've pretty much hit comic book writing on the head. Weirdly and even overly specific jobs, strange obsessions with particular themes, dead parents, and oddly appropriate names? That's literally everyone's origin story.
I see you're going for the sort of Catwoman vibe - I'd say Deadpool, but he kills people, whereas Catwoman doesn't, and from the description Optical doesn't seem to kill people. And as we all know, the magical dividing line between being a Good Guy and a Bad Guy is willingness to kill. Good Guys don't, Bad Guys do, and then there are morally grey antiheroes who kill for at least semi-decent reasons (or, in Red Hood's case, fucking terrible ones justified solely by the fact that Jason Todd was Robin once).
On to the powers - these panes are 'mirror-like', you say, suggesting they actively reflect light, and so would not really be concealable - people would know they were walking into one and would be able to avoid them. As for sufficient force, I might set a specific kind of material as your example - perhaps safety glass (partially chosen to fit your theming but also for if you want there to be a more 'low-powered' vibe), or alternatively say something like diamond (for dealing with the vast majority of threats barring a sort of Superman or Darkseid-level cosmic invader). I am, personally, not all too concerned about over- or under-powered - after all, that's kind of a part of modern superheroism, such as with Jubilee, who's really just a shittier Dazzler (who herself, depending on interpretation, might be a shittier Vulcan, who as an Omega-level is a fucking physical god). Both are X-Men (or like...X-affiliates, I guess, who knows with the 46 quadrillion teams they have now, fuckin X-Force, X-Factor, X-fuckery is more like it), and both sort of...deal, largely by knowing their limits and dealing with threats relevant to them. Or, in grand old comic book fashion, just getting more powerful eventually (seeing as I remember a storyline where Dazzler could somehow manipulate the whole electromagnetic spectrum, which presumably involved a lot of laughing at and flipping off Magneto).
As for numbers and sizing, which will sort of bleed into shaping I guess, perhaps a better way to look at it might be in terms of surface area she can keep up at once. Rather than setting a hard limit '3 10x10 panes tops', an option that provides more flexibility would be stating '300 m² of panes', distributed however you want. And much like Ashton, I kind of like the rubber rectangles thing, particularly since then you have the option of going all funhouse mirrors with things, playing with perceptions and all that, which I think feeds very well into the whole mirrors and light sort of vibe, although I suppose that seems more like a magician kind of deal than an acrobat. In terms of the whole barrier bubbles thing too - perhaps instead of impermeable, mirror-like membranes, you have some degree of control over the reflectivity of the surface? You could polarize it, make it fully translucent, or just leave it as a mirrored surface if you wanted. Those don't seem like they would provide some kind of unreasonable advantage to me.
Also, man I wanna make a shitty pun like 'bring the pane' or something right now. So I did!

@Aceus:
Still waiting on that character, incidentally.

extremely appropriate last name

Name: Emme Plane; Optical

Age and Gender: Female, 22

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Appearance: Black hair, cut to shoulder length and often tied up. Brown eyes that are often narrowed in thought, surprisingly narrow and “sharp” nose. Wouldn’t be caught dead in a skirt or a dress, thus sticks to trousers and t-shirts, generally without patterns. Her trapeze outfit is coloured white and blue.

Personality: She tends to be very reflective in her reasoning, often jumping from one side’s perspective to another’s as she gains more information on a topic. She is motivated by either her curiosity or the desire for money, and the jobs she takes reflects this. She does like a good mystery.

On the job, Optical is a little fixated on her “mirror theme.” She also enjoys parkour, as being a trapeze artist nudged her towards running about and throwing herself off of things, plus her powers let her cheat and make extra platforms to jump off/land on.

Biography: Emme grew up with her aunt and extended family in her aunt’s circus. Her role was and is the trapeze artist, though the fact she could generate energy panes with her mind did mean things were a little safer than the crowd knew. Being born superhuman has its perks. Thus far, she hasn’t had anything awful happen to anyone she knows (other than her parents, but they passed away when she was very small, so they don’t really count), so she counts herself lucky.

Emme uses her status as being superhuman to be hired in various odd jobs. Protecting a (possibly stolen) van filled with (possibly stolen) goods, assisting a stake-out, fetching a ball from on top of a roof, she is fine with any request so long as it intrigues her or pays well. If someone were to hire her to guard a vault and it turns out the vault is filled with illegally gotten goods… a mirror doesn't judge, and she didn't steal it, so who cares? It pays. That said, she has a strict policy in keeping confidentiality. Furthermore, she has a tendency to end up on the “good guys’s” side. When she is hired more for “evil” activities, it is mostly to escort a truck or keep people out of a meeting -- barriers aren’t super conductive to evil schemes.

Powers: Optical’s powers are mainly centred around Energy Wall Generation. Basically, she can generate panes of energy that can be used as shields, platforms, and projectiles. These panes are mirror-like, and do not generate light of their own. Each pane is about three centimetres (an inch) thick and have rounded sides, so they are incapable of being Absurdly Sharp Blades. Each energy pane can only move at speed when they move sideways, as air resistance greatly slows them down. So, projectiles only end up striking along the three centimetre edge like a discus. The thrown projectiles are generally about the size of a dinner plate. The panes additionally can be shattered with sufficient force. They cannot intersect or pass through one another, and are able to support her weight.


-  As of now, I am uncertain what (or if there should be) a hard/general limit on the number and size of panes she can generate at once. I am not sure where the line between under and overpowered would be, and I'm bad.
-  I also am not sure what “sufficient force” would be, or what the weight limit should be.
-  I had three possible concepts on a “shape” rule for these panes. First possibility, they can only generate as flat rectangles. This prevents her using her powers to make simple structures. Second possibility, they are treated like paper. They can bend, giving the option of curved barriers and tubes. Third possibility, they are treated like rubber rectangles, allowing the shape to be distorted, and giving her the option of making spring boards and “barrier bubbles” to surround her (though, given that light/air can't pass through, that seems a bad idea). I'm not sure which to go with, though I'm leaning towards the second to first.
-  Basically, I would like some help quantifying these things and anything I've missed.

Also, do I need to go sign up at the Guild Halls, or do I just jump in? I haven't done anything like this before.

Spoiler for Space

I love your character! We can work out the kinks. Remember, alignments aren't a crutch, they're a walking stick. You don't need one to move, but it's yours and keeping it nearby can help with the tough things.

As for your powers, what do you mean by saying that the shields can be shattered by "sufficient force"? Are they bulletproof? Would a grenade break them?

I would say three should be your plane limit. Three is a nice number. As for size, let's say no larger than 10 meters each. You can make decent sized shields and barriers with those limits.

My favorite option would be the "rubber rectangles" one, but since all of them seem to be legal by RP rule, that's something you're going to have to decide on your own.

Once we get agreement on these questions, you're approved.

1) Thanks. Making her up was fun. Punny names are the best names XD

2) That's the major thing I'm not sure about. I'm not familiar with guns and the like, so I really don't know what would be realistic. Would treating them like bulletproof glass be a helpful baseline, or is that too impenetrable? (I do like the "cracking glass" imagery that comes with that option).

3a) Would that be ten metres squared each? (Just double checking) That sounds good to me, though it may be better to have it as one full total she can focus on instead?

3b) Hm.... At first I thought the number would be a little too low, since she is likely to be using one as a midair platform/the throwing thing. Thinking about it though, it would make for a interesting limitation.

4) I think I'll go for the rubber option. Springboards would be fun to write with and fairly useful.

Though, I'll wait for Doc to chime in as well before I update Emme's sheet.


Oh hey, that's really appropriate timing.

Spoiler for Space

Elbbsas:
You've pretty much hit comic book writing on the head. Weirdly and even overly specific jobs, strange obsessions with particular themes, dead parents, and oddly appropriate names? That's literally everyone's origin story.
I see you're going for the sort of Catwoman vibe - I'd say Deadpool, but he kills people, whereas Catwoman doesn't, and from the description Optical doesn't seem to kill people. And as we all know, the magical dividing line between being a Good Guy and a Bad Guy is willingness to kill. Good Guys don't, Bad Guys do, and then there are morally grey antiheroes who kill for at least semi-decent reasons (or, in Red Hood's case, fucking terrible ones justified solely by the fact that Jason Todd was Robin once).
On to the powers - these panes are 'mirror-like', you say, suggesting they actively reflect light, and so would not really be concealable - people would know they were walking into one and would be able to avoid them. As for sufficient force, I might set a specific kind of material as your example - perhaps safety glass (partially chosen to fit your theming but also for if you want there to be a more 'low-powered' vibe), or alternatively say something like diamond (for dealing with the vast majority of threats barring a sort of Superman or Darkseid-level cosmic invader). I am, personally, not all too concerned about over- or under-powered - after all, that's kind of a part of modern superheroism, such as with Jubilee, who's really just a shittier Dazzler (who herself, depending on interpretation, might be a shittier Vulcan, who as an Omega-level is a fucking physical god). Both are X-Men (or like...X-affiliates, I guess, who knows with the 46 quadrillion teams they have now, fuckin X-Force, X-Factor, X-fuckery is more like it), and both sort of...deal, largely by knowing their limits and dealing with threats relevant to them. Or, in grand old comic book fashion, just getting more powerful eventually (seeing as I remember a storyline where Dazzler could somehow manipulate the whole electromagnetic spectrum, which presumably involved a lot of laughing at and flipping off Magneto).
As for numbers and sizing, which will sort of bleed into shaping I guess, perhaps a better way to look at it might be in terms of surface area she can keep up at once. Rather than setting a hard limit '3 10x10 panes tops', an option that provides more flexibility would be stating '300 m² of panes', distributed however you want. And much like Ashton, I kind of like the rubber rectangles thing, particularly since then you have the option of going all funhouse mirrors with things, playing with perceptions and all that, which I think feeds very well into the whole mirrors and light sort of vibe, although I suppose that seems more like a magician kind of deal than an acrobat. In terms of the whole barrier bubbles thing too - perhaps instead of impermeable, mirror-like membranes, you have some degree of control over the reflectivity of the surface? You could polarize it, make it fully translucent, or just leave it as a mirrored surface if you wanted. Those don't seem like they would provide some kind of unreasonable advantage to me.
Also, man I wanna make a shitty pun like 'bring the pane' or something right now. So I did!

What's the quote... oh yeah! Steal All The Writing Tropes!! Ok, the quotation is a little bit off, but the sentiment is the same. At least her parents did not die with Significance. They just are dead.

Yes, Optical doesn't kill people. I imagine she wouldn't be all too bothered if she did kill someone, especially if they were in the middle of trying to kill her, but she wouldn't go out of her way to do so and wouldn't kill a surrendering opponent. Optical accepts a contract out of interest and/or pay, and then completes it. Yay for neutrality.

Yes, I did want them to reflect light. Optical would not be super stealthy. Unless they were in a mirror maze, then she could block off a corridor. They are mirrors more for the sake of my amusement than to try be stealthy. Plus, I figured making them be glow-y and partially translucent would be a bit too similar to Gwen from the link I put in.

Safety glass? (*Googles) Ah, so the same idea as bulletproof glass. May I stick with bulletproof?

Personally, I like having limitations to work with, since that means I'll have to be creative (or, Optical will die and I get to make a new character!)

Perhaps she can focus on 50m2 panes in total? 300 seems a little much, especially without a number limit. That gives shielding, projectiles, and platforms (especially if she's making steps for others), and seems enough to me.

Hm. I probably wouldn't write her making the panes more transparent very often, but it would be good to have the option (for seeing where her attackers are, if nothing else). I think I'll make it so she can only do that with a single pane at once -- that should dissaude it from being used often.

Oh niiiice, another pun type I can add to the list. There is no such thing as a "shitty" pun -- all puns are equally good equally bad equal.

Okay, trying one more time... Not expecting anything close to a "I love your character!" but I think I'll try once for something better than "Ughhh."


Name: Maya Saraswati. Secret Identity: "Mesmer".
Age and Gender: 17, female.
Appearance: Plain/Doesn't stand out much, dark-skin, glasses, long dark hair.
Prefers simple casual wear, often colored black, as time spent on appearance is time spent not learning.
Personality:
Likes - History, science, hexagons, creative ideas, space, efficiency, books, debate.
Dislikes - Ignorance, formal clothing, doing nothing (though time spent planning is perfectly fine), giving up.
Hostile on sight - Rapists.

Alignment: Neutral Good.
Biography: A high school student known for her intelligence, and for always winning the science fair with her creative ideas, once resulting in a professional patent.
But her tendency to be isolated made her an easy target. The trauma she felt the day she was raped resulted in her doubting the reality she had been studying for years. She wanted to believe so strongly that what happened could not have really happened, that she gained some magic ability over illusion.
Though perhaps someday she'll need to confront her own past without illusions, for now she uses her power to project positive images to others who have been traumatized, to show them a more hopeful reality, the same as she does for herself.

Powers:

Illusory Projections - Can make illusions appear that are visible to everyone. At one time, can either project several simple or small objects, or one large object, or with complete concentration, a detailed scene.
* Illusory Projections are not directly mind-affecting, and thus can be disbelieved and seen through if touched, or if it can be determined to not be there through logical deduction. Not being material, the Illusory Projections cannot be used as tools, weapons, platforms, etc., but can be used to share information, or temporarily make someone believe an object is there that isn't.
+ Particularly effective with the insane, or the desperate/emotionally compromised.
- Not effective with the blind, or the particularly wise/observant.

Dimension Walk - Can alter what is real to her to the point that, when she concentrates on a specific object such as a single wall or weapon/projectile, she can pass through it as if it were not there, or it will pass through her as if she is not there. Can't use this to make an object or person move through another object or person, one of the two must be her.

Realist - Is resistant to enchantments, illusions, and other mind affects, except for when she allows them to work.

*Doesn't have any special offensive abilities. If hostiles are present, will use powers defensively while attempting to convince them to stop attacking and see the reality that they will lose. If allies are present, will stay in back or hide until the time is right.

I didn't mean "Ughhh" as in I didn't like your earlier character. On the contrary, I loved it. I was just upset with the rules.

I'll get to your app shortly

zoop

Okay, trying one more time... Not expecting anything close to a "I love your character!" but I think I'll try once for something better than "Ughhh."


Name: Maya Saraswati. Secret Identity: "Mesmer".
Age and Gender: 17, female.
Appearance: Plain/Doesn't stand out much, dark-skin, glasses, long dark hair.
Prefers simple casual wear, often colored black, as time spent on appearance is time spent not learning.
Personality:
Likes - History, science, hexagons, creative ideas, space, efficiency, books, debate.
Dislikes - Ignorance, formal clothing, doing nothing (though time spent planning is perfectly fine), giving up.
Hostile on sight - Rapists.

Alignment: Neutral Good.
Biography: A high school student known for her intelligence, and for always winning the science fair with her creative ideas, once resulting in a professional patent.
But her tendency to be isolated made her an easy target. The trauma she felt the day she was raped resulted in her doubting the reality she had been studying for years. She wanted to believe so strongly that what happened could not have really happened, that she gained some magic ability over illusion.
Though perhaps someday she'll need to confront her own past without illusions, for now she uses her power to project positive images to others who have been traumatized, to show them a more hopeful reality, the same as she does for herself.

Powers:

Illusory Projections - Can make illusions appear that are visible to everyone. At one time, can either project several simple or small objects, or one large object, or with complete concentration, a detailed scene.
* Illusory Projections are not directly mind-affecting, and thus can be disbelieved and seen through if touched, or if it can be determined to not be there through logical deduction. Not being material, the Illusory Projections cannot be used as tools, weapons, platforms, etc., but can be used to share information, or temporarily make someone believe an object is there that isn't.
+ Particularly effective with the insane, or the desperate/emotionally compromised.
- Not effective with the blind, or the particularly wise/observant.

Dimension Walk - Can alter what is real to her to the point that, when she concentrates on a specific object such as a single wall or weapon/projectile, she can pass through it as if it were not there, or it will pass through her as if she is not there. Can't use this to make an object or person move through another object or person, one of the two must be her.

Realist - Is resistant to enchantments, illusions, and other mind affects, except for when she allows them to work.

*Doesn't have any special offensive abilities. If hostiles are present, will use powers defensively while attempting to convince them to stop attacking and see the reality that they will lose. If allies are present, will stay in back or hide until the time is right.

I have no issues with the powers now. I would almost even say it's underpowered, but a creative use of Dimensions Walk and the illusions could make you quite powerful.

Approved!

I have updated my character sheet. (If there are any problems, I'll try fix them before Emme's powers are actually used). Since Aethelia has posted in the IC page, I'll put mine up too!

(Also: Yay, more female characters!)

As soon as our two heroines respond to the call being confirmed, everyone will be gathered together and the real fun can start.

*is going to sign up soon*

*is going to sign up soon*

If you want to join this story thread, we can just have you show up at the beginning/end of the presentation like "hey guys what'd I miss?"

Same goes for anyone else who wants to jump into this thread. The more the merrier.

I'll probably also join up soon

Preface to this character:
Sort of in contrast to the low-powered sort of street heroes (I use 'hero' very generally and with a regrettable lack of precision, considering the...moral flexibility, shall we say, that some of these other individuals have) that seem to be the Done Thing thus far in this RP, I'm trying to pull out a sort of Green-Lantern-caliber hero here. That name was a deliberate choice - chosen as someone at least vaguely recognizable while also being fairly high up on the power scale, while not necessarily having quite the same cachet as Batman. Still, Batman also evidently only needs to be rich in order to be able to deal with cosmic-level threats, which shows that popularity is the most important superpower (after all, nobody calls Nova in when Galactus comes calling, they go for fucking Wolverine, whose sole power is 'being the worst Canadian ever', and also I guess regeneration, bone claws, and having his skeleton covered in adamantium, because 'bub snikt' is apparently all you need to say to be popular).
And then I figured I should do this quick before the next group of people sign up and think 'oh shoot I can't make Doctor Strange or Iron Man because cries of 'OP PLS NERF' will rain down from the heavens'. No, fear not, citizens. You're safe because Aztech is going to pave the way for your literally being Athena (who, I guess, will be from an alien civilization that is exactly like Greek mythology, but thankfully is nothing like as sexist. Or maybe is only as sexist as the Spartans), complete with her shield of +12 utter fucking invulnerability (wait does that mean Athena is female Thor with Captain America's shield?).
Anyway - my application is as follows.

ALIAS: AZTECH

You're interested in Aztech? Well you've come to the right guy, I've been assigned to observe him for months. I've got the official dossier on him, with a few of my own additions, if you wanna take a look.
- Agent DJ-4

Name: Isaac Perry - Aztech

Age and Gender: Subject is male, and confirmed active in the '50s as a founding member of LAW (scattered reports suggest activity as early as 1943, but this has not been confirmed), but all biological signs of age indicate a man in his 40s. Suit may be partially responsible, although without further study the mechanism is unknown.¹

Appearance: Isaac Perry is 6'1", weighs between 150-170lbs (depending on time of year - workout regimen slows dramatically in winter months), and generally dresses in conservative, 'academic' attire ('I didn't realize people actually still wore jackets with the leather elbow patches. He's literally a walking stereotype, down to the horn-rimmed glasses.' - Agent DJ-4)
The AZTECH suit appears to be concealed somewhere on, within, or at the very least close to his person at all times, as he has been able to respond almost immediately to threats in his vicinity without pause to access some central location where he would store the suit.
The suit itself appears to weigh ~250lbs, and is composed of a hyperdense alloy of alien origins that has thus far proven impervious to all conventional military weapons. Limited success has been found with weapons of 'superscience' or otherwise alien origin, but as they cannot be conventionally replicated, these methods have been deemed unreliable for the purpose of securing subject. Suit covers the entire body, and does not appear to inhibit the range of motion to any degree. Suit is brass-colored, and emits light of various wavelengths from various points ('Tron lines!' - Agent DJ-4), corresponding to the different observed 'profiles' the suit appears to be engaged in. Etched into the surface of the armor is minute artworks in the Aztec style, which appear to be original elements of the suit's construction, as they remain constant despite the suit's observed self-repair functionality. The faceplate, which fully conceals Perry's face, and which sits beneath a stylized 'helmet' framing the upper part of the skull takes the form of a stylized face with mirrored eyes, but does not appear to impede vision.

Personality: Isaac Perry is the archetypal 'Humanitarian' hero. He acts to minimize casualties of all types, whether civilian or even those he is in conflict with, although the extent to which this is genuine selflessness or a mere cognizance that he is effectively invulnerable in most ordinary circumstances is a matter of debate. Evidence suggests the former, considering the ███████████, █████ ████, and █████████: █████████████ incidents, all of which involved apparent severe damage to suit functionality and life-threatening injury to Perry.
He appears to have a greater regard to the rule of law than other LAW members, who have on several occasions been observed flouting 'established' rules of metahuman assistance to law enforcement, only to be stopped by 'Aztech'. ('He's so fanatically by the book I'm pretty sure he wrote it. And the Cliff Notes for it' - Agent DJ-4)
Early in his career, he was observed to be significantly more erratic in his behavioral patterns, which corresponded with a bright yellow emission wavelength. This erratic behavior has not been observed since ██/██/████, which matches the last known use of the yellow 'Sun God' suit profile.

Biography:²
From what we have been able to gather, Perry was at a dig site beneath Tenochtitlan sometime prior to 1953 (the earliest incontrovertible evidence we have of his activity is July 4 1953, the date of the Legion of American Wardens (LAW)'s founding), where he discovered an ancient ritual chamber. This ritual chamber held the Aztech armor (itself containing a mummified specimen of the ██████████ species of alien, which was subsequently acquired and designated Subject ████), as well as iconography corresponding to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.
It is unknown how Perry accomplished this, but the armor bonded with him within that ritual chamber in some fashion. He has since acted as a vigilante figure in his home city of Los Angeles, when he is not carrying out his work as a curator at the Getty Museum, or working on regional or even international problems as a member of LAW.³

Powers: The Aztech suit appears to hold multiple profiles, which appear to distribute power in a manner optimized for various activities. Six profiles have been confirmed over the years, although one has not been seen in some time. It appears that profiles can be switched immediately, but it has been noted that within the two minutes after a switch, the suits' systems are not operating at maximum capacity, and long term operation at such, particularly at night or underground, causes a gradual decrease in suit capability, doubtless as suit energy storage becomes increasingly exhausted. Perry has not been observed operating at maximum capacity for longer than 6 hours at any point, and has never operated longer than twelve hours in a row, although on several occasions it seems that direct current has some capacity to recharge the suit's systems, although in the quantities used by certain metahuman 'villains', this can also overload its systems. It does appear from observation that half an hour of minimal activity in the LA sun will provide approximately one hour of power - but its efficacy in more temperate climes has not been observed, as Perry only rarely ventures north.
The suit itself appears to be environmentally sealed, as noxious or even poisonous gases have no effect on Perry, and certainly Perry has made his share of expeditions into space while in the suit.
The observed suit power profiles are as follows:
Gold (corresponding to #C39953) is the color most often observed in use, and has been classified as the 'Utility' profile. The suit has flight capability in this mode, capable of speeds up to 200km/h, and has been observed lifting weights of up to 100 metric tons.⁴
Green (corresponding to #00A86B) is the next most observed color in use, and is classified as the 'Travel' profile. The suit's flight capability can exceed escape velocity while in this mode, although it has never been observed doing anything else above speeds of 2000km/h. It is assumed that all suit power not dedicated to life support is directed towards thrust and stabilization at and above that point.
Red (corresponding to #8A0707) has been classified as the 'Combat' profile. The suit loses all flight capacity, but emits an energy field which redirects energy weapons and stops kinetic projectiles. The arm-mounted flight stabilizers emit either a continual burn ('It's a 3-foot long lightsaber!' - Agent DJ-4) for melee combat, or what have been termed 'kinetic pulses', which can deliver anywhere from 200J to 60kJ of force up to 500m away. For longer-distance encounters, a shoulder-mounted directed energy 'cannon' fires ionizing pulses at hard targets, while a wrist mounted launcher can fling globs of para-aramid fibers at human-sized targets to immobilize and incapacitate them non-lethally (limited success in reverse-engineering these fibers has resulted in Project #█████████, Designate: ██████).
Purple (corresponding to #9966CC) has been classified as the 'Extreme Environment' profile, and has been observed in raging fires, in the depths of winter, or in otherwise hazardous environments such as around a chemical spill or radiological disaster. The suit exhibits a variety of defense mechanisms in these scenarios in order to overcome its effects, most notably making use of the energy field observed in the Combat profile while still retaining some degree of low-speed (50km/h or less) flight and maneuverability.
Orange (corresponding to #FF7E00) is only rarely seen, and only after significant, long-term activity. It is speculated that this is the suit going to 'Low-Power' mode, although why its designers would wish to advertise this fact is unknown. 98% of Perry's defeats have occurred when his suit switched to low power, generally around the 10th hour of consecutive operation, and should we wish to secure the suit for our own purposes, the ideal time would be when the Low Power profile is observed.
Blue (corresponding to #0077BE) has been classified as the 'Deep Sea' profile, and is hardly ever seen. This was presumably much more common in the '70s-'80s, considering reports of his exploits but Perry has not undertaken undersea operations in great number since then. We have no sightings of our own to confirm the capabilities of this profile.⁵
Yellow (corresponding to #F9D71C) has not been observed since ██/██/████, but was incontrovertibly the most flexible and effective suit profile, and was been termed 'Sun God' by less detached researchers ('That is the most shade I've ever seen in one of these dossiers. I didn't think those back office guys had emotions.' - Agent DJ-4). Merging the flexibility of the Utility, speed of the Travel, weapons of the Combat, and energy shield of the Extreme Environment profiles, it is unknown why the 'Sun God' goes unused, as this appears to be the pinnacle of the suit's capabilities, and by all accounts, was able to operate for longer than the other profiles without going into Low Power.⁶

1. I'm sort of going for that agelessly-but-ambiguously-young-to-middle-aged vibe that is sort of the way we look at the oldest superheroes like Batman or Superman, who canonically did things around the time of WWII...but are also inexplicably in their 30s-40s now in the modern day. There's been a lot of flex in timelines over the years, and I find that weirdly endearing. So I'm trying to do that with a semi-plausible explanation. Ho ho!
2. The initial, incredibly Golden-Age themed blurb I came up with for Aztech, which hits the important notes:
Mild-mannered archeologist Isaac Perry discovers an ancient suit of armor below Tenochtitlan, only to realize it is of alien origin! Now, with their technologies infused with the power of Quetzalcoatl, he becomes AZTECH, sworn to bring the light of the Morning Star upon all who would do evil!
3. I vaguely regret using the 'Dossier' framing device because I can't really go into detail about his origin because of it. But on the other hand I guess that could also be handy because of things that I will ask Ashton about before revealing maybe.
4. The classic 'flying brick' power set, which I'd essentially like him to be. But there's others for other scenarios, in a way I find simultaneously both more and less plausible than Tony Stark just having multiple Iron Man suits to do different functions. It's more plausible because where does he find the money or time for this, but also less because building all that redundancy into one suit seems like you'd do better with multiples like he has. Still, I'm going to plug my ears and sing 'la la la Alien space magic I can't hear you la la la'.
5. Just because this ambiguous and nebulous organization doesn't know doesn't mean you all don't, mostly so I can cover my bases in the event of an underwater level. It is essentially capable of operating underwater without fear of pressure failure, creating a 'supercavitating field' for rapid underwater travel, and some limited use of the Combat profile's kinetic pulses (up to a more limited 10kJ, which is still a lot). I'll be frank, I mostly put this in as a joke because of the wacky hijinks heroes got up to in the Silver Age, but you never know.
6. Well I mean, I know why. Or at least I think I do, because it might not be acceptable. I'll message Ashton why when I wake up because it's 3am. Because it might be plot fodder for the future. If you read this and thought of point 3, shhh don't tell the others.

AHAHAHA I APPROVE MYSELF I'M AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPTED
But seriously I'll wait on Ashton, and of course anyone else who might want to nitpick. Fair's fair.
If I missed anything crucial let me know, if anything is egregiously overpowered let me know, or really if there's anything that's just even a little off do point it out and I'll either loudly declare that I'm perfect and that's not really a mistake or fix it.

So it's well known that Orange is the least powerful suit mode?
Sounds like it would be really useful to have a nearby ally with illusion powers, who could make it look like a different color when a knowledgeable archenemy is nearby, either to mask the orange color, or falsely make it turn orange when it really isn't to trick them into stereotypically villainous gloating and overconfidence.

Agent DJ-4 seems like a delightful fellow. Kudos to you for using an in-character framing device. (Also, that pun is glorious).

Shouldn't Yellow and Gold mode be swapped around (in colouration)? Gold is valuable, it's a metallic colour and thus the odd one out in the list.... Then again, sun theme. White would also be neat, considering how it is the "all you powers combined" mode. Also-- nope, stopping there.

Speaking of Yellow mode, oh boy I am going to have Hypotheses, and my character by extension. You, sir, are good at hint dropping to capture interest. In the interests of avoiding accidentally guessing correctly and then gaining OOC Knowledge, I'm going to refrain from mentioning any.

Aethelia:
I don't necessarily know about well-known. I think it might be at least guessed at by his long-term enemies, and certainly known about by the various sneaky organizations Ashton has running around the place. But were Aztech to meet with an ally of that nature, he'd probably be pretty stoked.

Elbbsas:
In fairness, he exists only because I wanted to be able to snark at myself while nonetheless retaining the framing device. Otherwise I couldn't go into my typical digression-for-the-sole-purpose-of-a-shitty-joke thing that I do.
They possibly should, but the 'gold' was really intended mostly as a mild, neutrally-colored glow that only appeared gold because the armor itself was so close in coloration. Them saying 'colorless' would probably be more accurate in terms of the actual wavelength the suit is emitting, but I wanted to convey the color most people would perceive. And true, white would have probably been a better choice, but you're correct, sun theme.
I won't speak on the rest, particularly since I haven't actually sent Ashton that PM yet.

mayeah

Preface to this character:
Sort of in contrast to the low-powered sort of street heroes (I use 'hero' very generally and with a regrettable lack of precision, considering the...moral flexibility, shall we say, that some of these other individuals have) that seem to be the Done Thing thus far in this RP, I'm trying to pull out a sort of Green-Lantern-caliber hero here. That name was a deliberate choice - chosen as someone at least vaguely recognizable while also being fairly high up on the power scale, while not necessarily having quite the same cachet as Batman. Still, Batman also evidently only needs to be rich in order to be able to deal with cosmic-level threats, which shows that popularity is the most important superpower (after all, nobody calls Nova in when Galactus comes calling, they go for fucking Wolverine, whose sole power is 'being the worst Canadian ever', and also I guess regeneration, bone claws, and having his skeleton covered in adamantium, because 'bub snikt' is apparently all you need to say to be popular).
And then I figured I should do this quick before the next group of people sign up and think 'oh shoot I can't make Doctor Strange or Iron Man because cries of 'OP PLS NERF' will rain down from the heavens'. No, fear not, citizens. You're safe because Aztech is going to pave the way for your literally being Athena (who, I guess, will be from an alien civilization that is exactly like Greek mythology, but thankfully is nothing like as sexist. Or maybe is only as sexist as the Spartans), complete with her shield of +12 utter fucking invulnerability (wait does that mean Athena is female Thor with Captain America's shield?).
Anyway - my application is as follows.

ALIAS: AZTECH

You're interested in Aztech? Well you've come to the right guy, I've been assigned to observe him for months. I've got the official dossier on him, with a few of my own additions, if you wanna take a look.
- Agent DJ-4

Name: Isaac Perry - Aztech

Age and Gender: Subject is male, and confirmed active in the '50s as a founding member of LAW (scattered reports suggest activity as early as 1943, but this has not been confirmed), but all biological signs of age indicate a man in his 40s. Suit may be partially responsible, although without further study the mechanism is unknown.¹

Appearance: Isaac Perry is 6'1", weighs between 150-170lbs (depending on time of year - workout regimen slows dramatically in winter months), and generally dresses in conservative, 'academic' attire ('I didn't realize people actually still wore jackets with the leather elbow patches. He's literally a walking stereotype, down to the horn-rimmed glasses.' - Agent DJ-4)
The AZTECH suit appears to be concealed somewhere on, within, or at the very least close to his person at all times, as he has been able to respond almost immediately to threats in his vicinity without pause to access some central location where he would store the suit.
The suit itself appears to weigh ~250lbs, and is composed of a hyperdense alloy of alien origins that has thus far proven impervious to all conventional military weapons. Limited success has been found with weapons of 'superscience' or otherwise alien origin, but as they cannot be conventionally replicated, these methods have been deemed unreliable for the purpose of securing subject. Suit covers the entire body, and does not appear to inhibit the range of motion to any degree. Suit is brass-colored, and emits light of various wavelengths from various points ('Tron lines!' - Agent DJ-4), corresponding to the different observed 'profiles' the suit appears to be engaged in. Etched into the surface of the armor is minute artworks in the Aztec style, which appear to be original elements of the suit's construction, as they remain constant despite the suit's observed self-repair functionality. The faceplate, which fully conceals Perry's face, and which sits beneath a stylized 'helmet' framing the upper part of the skull takes the form of a stylized face with mirrored eyes, but does not appear to impede vision.

Personality: Isaac Perry is the archetypal 'Humanitarian' hero. He acts to minimize casualties of all types, whether civilian or even those he is in conflict with, although the extent to which this is genuine selflessness or a mere cognizance that he is effectively invulnerable in most ordinary circumstances is a matter of debate. Evidence suggests the former, considering the ███████████, █████ ████, and █████████: █████████████ incidents, all of which involved apparent severe damage to suit functionality and life-threatening injury to Perry.
He appears to have a greater regard to the rule of law than other LAW members, who have on several occasions been observed flouting 'established' rules of metahuman assistance to law enforcement, only to be stopped by 'Aztech'. ('He's so fanatically by the book I'm pretty sure he wrote it. And the Cliff Notes for it' - Agent DJ-4)
Early in his career, he was observed to be significantly more erratic in his behavioral patterns, which corresponded with a bright yellow emission wavelength. This erratic behavior has not been observed since ██/██/████, which matches the last known use of the yellow 'Sun God' suit profile.

Biography:²
From what we have been able to gather, Perry was at a dig site beneath Tenochtitlan sometime prior to 1953 (the earliest incontrovertible evidence we have of his activity is July 4 1953, the date of the Legion of American Wardens (LAW)'s founding), where he discovered an ancient ritual chamber. This ritual chamber held the Aztech armor (itself containing a mummified specimen of the ██████████ species of alien, which was subsequently acquired and designated Subject ████), as well as iconography corresponding to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.
It is unknown how Perry accomplished this, but the armor bonded with him within that ritual chamber in some fashion. He has since acted as a vigilante figure in his home city of Los Angeles, when he is not carrying out his work as a curator at the Getty Museum, or working on regional or even international problems as a member of LAW.³

Powers: The Aztech suit appears to hold multiple profiles, which appear to distribute power in a manner optimized for various activities. Six profiles have been confirmed over the years, although one has not been seen in some time. It appears that profiles can be switched immediately, but it has been noted that within the two minutes after a switch, the suits' systems are not operating at maximum capacity, and long term operation at such, particularly at night or underground, causes a gradual decrease in suit capability, doubtless as suit energy storage becomes increasingly exhausted. Perry has not been observed operating at maximum capacity for longer than 6 hours at any point, and has never operated longer than twelve hours in a row, although on several occasions it seems that direct current has some capacity to recharge the suit's systems, although in the quantities used by certain metahuman 'villains', this can also overload its systems. It does appear from observation that half an hour of minimal activity in the LA sun will provide approximately one hour of power - but its efficacy in more temperate climes has not been observed, as Perry only rarely ventures north.
The suit itself appears to be environmentally sealed, as noxious or even poisonous gases have no effect on Perry, and certainly Perry has made his share of expeditions into space while in the suit.
The observed suit power profiles are as follows:
Gold (corresponding to #C39953) is the color most often observed in use, and has been classified as the 'Utility' profile. The suit has flight capability in this mode, capable of speeds up to 200km/h, and has been observed lifting weights of up to 100 metric tons.⁴
Green (corresponding to #00A86B) is the next most observed color in use, and is classified as the 'Travel' profile. The suit's flight capability can exceed escape velocity while in this mode, although it has never been observed doing anything else above speeds of 2000km/h. It is assumed that all suit power not dedicated to life support is directed towards thrust and stabilization at and above that point.
Red (corresponding to #8A0707) has been classified as the 'Combat' profile. The suit loses all flight capacity, but emits an energy field which redirects energy weapons and stops kinetic projectiles. The arm-mounted flight stabilizers emit either a continual burn ('It's a 3-foot long lightsaber!' - Agent DJ-4) for melee combat, or what have been termed 'kinetic pulses', which can deliver anywhere from 200J to 60kJ of force up to 500m away. For longer-distance encounters, a shoulder-mounted directed energy 'cannon' fires ionizing pulses at hard targets, while a wrist mounted launcher can fling globs of para-aramid fibers at human-sized targets to immobilize and incapacitate them non-lethally (limited success in reverse-engineering these fibers has resulted in Project #█████████, Designate: ██████).
Purple (corresponding to #9966CC) has been classified as the 'Extreme Environment' profile, and has been observed in raging fires, in the depths of winter, or in otherwise hazardous environments such as around a chemical spill or radiological disaster. The suit exhibits a variety of defense mechanisms in these scenarios in order to overcome its effects, most notably making use of the energy field observed in the Combat profile while still retaining some degree of low-speed (50km/h or less) flight and maneuverability.
Orange (corresponding to #FF7E00) is only rarely seen, and only after significant, long-term activity. It is speculated that this is the suit going to 'Low-Power' mode, although why its designers would wish to advertise this fact is unknown. 98% of Perry's defeats have occurred when his suit switched to low power, generally around the 10th hour of consecutive operation, and should we wish to secure the suit for our own purposes, the ideal time would be when the Low Power profile is observed.
Blue (corresponding to #0077BE) has been classified as the 'Deep Sea' profile, and is hardly ever seen. This was presumably much more common in the '70s-'80s, considering reports of his exploits but Perry has not undertaken undersea operations in great number since then. We have no sightings of our own to confirm the capabilities of this profile.⁵
Yellow (corresponding to #F9D71C) has not been observed since ██/██/████, but was incontrovertibly the most flexible and effective suit profile, and was been termed 'Sun God' by less detached researchers ('That is the most shade I've ever seen in one of these dossiers. I didn't think those back office guys had emotions.' - Agent DJ-4). Merging the flexibility of the Utility, speed of the Travel, weapons of the Combat, and energy shield of the Extreme Environment profiles, it is unknown why the 'Sun God' goes unused, as this appears to be the pinnacle of the suit's capabilities, and by all accounts, was able to operate for longer than the other profiles without going into Low Power.⁶

1. I'm sort of going for that agelessly-but-ambiguously-young-to-middle-aged vibe that is sort of the way we look at the oldest superheroes like Batman or Superman, who canonically did things around the time of WWII...but are also inexplicably in their 30s-40s now in the modern day. There's been a lot of flex in timelines over the years, and I find that weirdly endearing. So I'm trying to do that with a semi-plausible explanation. Ho ho!
2. The initial, incredibly Golden-Age themed blurb I came up with for Aztech, which hits the important notes:
Mild-mannered archeologist Isaac Perry discovers an ancient suit of armor below Tenochtitlan, only to realize it is of alien origin! Now, with their technologies infused with the power of Quetzalcoatl, he becomes AZTECH, sworn to bring the light of the Morning Star upon all who would do evil!
3. I vaguely regret using the 'Dossier' framing device because I can't really go into detail about his origin because of it. But on the other hand I guess that could also be handy because of things that I will ask Ashton about before revealing maybe.
4. The classic 'flying brick' power set, which I'd essentially like him to be. But there's others for other scenarios, in a way I find simultaneously both more and less plausible than Tony Stark just having multiple Iron Man suits to do different functions. It's more plausible because where does he find the money or time for this, but also less because building all that redundancy into one suit seems like you'd do better with multiples like he has. Still, I'm going to plug my ears and sing 'la la la Alien space magic I can't hear you la la la'.
5. Just because this ambiguous and nebulous organization doesn't know doesn't mean you all don't, mostly so I can cover my bases in the event of an underwater level. It is essentially capable of operating underwater without fear of pressure failure, creating a 'supercavitating field' for rapid underwater travel, and some limited use of the Combat profile's kinetic pulses (up to a more limited 10kJ, which is still a lot). I'll be frank, I mostly put this in as a joke because of the wacky hijinks heroes got up to in the Silver Age, but you never know.
6. Well I mean, I know why. Or at least I think I do, because it might not be acceptable. I'll message Ashton why when I wake up because it's 3am. Because it might be plot fodder for the future. If you read this and thought of point 3, shhh don't tell the others.

AHAHAHA I APPROVE MYSELF I'M AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPTED
But seriously I'll wait on Ashton, and of course anyone else who might want to nitpick. Fair's fair.
If I missed anything crucial let me know, if anything is egregiously overpowered let me know, or really if there's anything that's just even a little off do point it out and I'll either loudly declare that I'm perfect and that's not really a mistake or fix it.

I suppose my biggest issue is the Green/Travel mode. In combination with the already highly varied and highly useful number of powers Aztech has meshed into his suit, letting him go over Mach 1.5 and casually slipping "can reach escape velocity" in there leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I would like a better focus on what Green can do and maybe a re-examination of it.

As for Red mode, I would like to know if there is a limit to how much he can withstand. Is there an upper limit to what the suit can withstand before breaking, or is the energy he can get from whatever (solar?) battery is powering the suit the only limiting factor?

Approved, of course, as nothing here comes close to breaking the general RP rules I keep around as guidelines, but I'm inclined to try and rope you closer in line with the "low power" standards we've essentially set. Nobody seems to have any objections, though, so we should be set.