{"id":500,"date":"2016-02-26T20:30:39","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T20:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/cinemechanix-design-journal-9-a-sample-character\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T18:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T23:55:20","slug":"cinemechanix-design-journal-9-a-sample-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deathcookie.com\/home\/cinemechanix-design-journal-9-a-sample-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Cinemechanix Design Journal: A Sample Character"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve spent most of this week working on the first sample game, which is about terrible Image-style 90s super-heroes. It’s turned out a long longer than I expected, but that’s in part because I went a little overboard with the character backgrounds (at least half of the document is character information). I’m hoping to finish up the last few bits and post it to the playtest group<\/a> later today. In the meantime, I thought I’d show you what a character for the game might look like. I chose to go with Captain Deity, since his abilities include some good examples of adding custom rules.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Captain Deity<\/h3>\n

High school football star Mike Deity left Nebraska and joined the army right after graduation. After returning from Operation Desert Storm, he was selected as a Special Forces candidate, but before he could complete his training he was recruited into a top secret program called Project Helios. Although he didn\u2019t realize it at the time, his role in the project was that of test subject in an experimental program that sought to create the first \u201csolar powered soldier.\u201d The project was a partial success, giving Deity the ability to store solar energy and channel the sun\u2019s energy, but the human body proved to be a less than stable storage receptacle for so much energy. When Sergeant Deity \u201cwent supernova\u201d and exploded with the energy of five atomic bombs, Project Helios was discontinued.<\/p>\n

Although Mike\u2019s component atoms were strewn throughout time and space by the explosion, his consciousness ended up on a non-corporeal plane of pure light. Assuming that this was the tunnel of light to Heaven, Deity waited for St. Peter to lead him home, but St. Peter never came. The tedium and isolation of what seemed to be an eternity of waiting caused Mike to lose all hope and come to terms with the realization that existence was a meaningless exercise that led nowhere. When he awoke back on earth some time later, two years had passed. Mike has never satisfactorily determined how or why Dr. M managed to reassemble his body and pull his consciousness back into it, but his return to the world of the living has given him a tiny glimmer of hope that life has meaning.<\/p>\n

Role:<\/strong> Brooding Team Leader
\nBackstory:<\/strong> All-American Soldier
\nFatal Flaw:<\/strong> Nihilism: Since his return to the world, Captain Deity has had trouble convincing himself that anything matters. As long as he keeps busy he can avoid thinking too much about the meaninglessness of existence. When he\u2019s faced with a situation that seems overwhelming or unwinnable, however, his natural inclination is to just give up. He gets maudlin when he spends too much time alone with his thoughts.
\nPower Theme:<\/strong> Solar Battery (can use solar energy to increase strength, resist injury, fly, create light, and shoot solar blasts)
\nOrigin Story:<\/strong> Failed Military Experiment
\nCostume:<\/strong> Black spandex suit with yellow trim and sunburst chest design
\nHooks:<\/strong> Legally Dead, Moody, Unstable Powers
\nTag Line:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m gonna light you up!\u201d
\nWWPHITM?<\/strong> Alexander Skarsgard
\nTrademarks:<\/strong> Solar Blast (2 Dice), Kick In Some Teeth (2 Dice), Feats of Strength (1 Die), Commanding Presence (1 Die)
\nDrawbacks:<\/strong> None
\nHero Factor:<\/strong> 6
\nAcclaim:<\/strong> 6
\nStamina:<\/strong> 30
\nSolar Points:<\/strong> 60
\nSpecial Effects:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solar Battery: Captain Deity\u2019s body stores solar energy. He can use this energy to increase his physical power and speed, resist damage, heal himself, and even fly. He can also release deadly blasts of solar energy from any part of his body. Captain Deity\u2019s solar energy reserves are measured in Solar Points. His maximum Solar Point capacity is equal to his Hero Factor times 10. His specific abilities, along with Solar Point costs, are:<\/p>\n