Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks 52 Characters from 52 Sessions of the DCRPG Campaign: Part IV

(+) Yeah! (+)

Transcending history and the world, a tale of wills against conformity, eternally retold Now, ten souls are fiercely entangled in this intertwining of destinies.

Tomorrow, we'll pick up with an undrafted #41!

I miss Cullen.

Oh! A tracking button!

Tag

TOMORROW?

wha

Scar said tomorrow is 41.

But he hasn't rained 42 yet

Tag

HanOfTheNekos posted...

Scar said tomorrow is 41.

But he hasn't rained 42 yet

There is hope

A tag, from tomorrow!

#42 - Oracle
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/2/AAOJ0pAADY9-.png
Barbara.

Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham Citys own James Gordon, gained the mantle of Batgirl, lost it, lost the use of her legs, and regained her confidence as the wheelchair-bound tactician and hacker, Oracle. A key force for change in Gothams No Mans Land, Barbara Gordon went on to serve as a specialist with the JLA and captain her own black ops team, the Birds of Prey. For the last few years, Barbara has courted the universe-traveling twin of Trish McKenzie (her best friend), Fields. But after his disappearance, she threw herself into her work. Oracle lost the ability to do any of her work on A-Day, when all networks were destroyed, but Oracle had enough foresight to listen to Ted Kord and reopen the late Stephanie Browns Spoilercave just before her private jet was attacked by Furies. Oracle has since moved her operation to Arkham Asylum at the urging of Checkmate, supporting Harvey Dents no longer one-man war against the OMACs.

I think there are great things in store for Oracle over the course of this campaign, as always there are. Firstly, digging herself out of a whole of utter despair is really just the beginning. Oracle needed purpose. She needed Batman. A Batman, at the very least. And despite her misgivings, of which there are many, Oracle seems to be returning to her mostly unflappable attitude of fixing everything around her, as often and repeatedly as necessary. But once you have the ultimate workaholic at work once again, what's the next step? How do you handle the underlying fear that permeates every corner of her mind whenever she thinks about her father?

How do you, furthermore, explain that her arch-nemesis, the repugnant Calculator, is one of the key reasons that she's may have survived this mess to begin with? Oracle is never a weak or sheepish woman, but there remain instances when the negativity overwhelms her, when being a broken human being peeks out from underneath her veteran exterior. This is a woman who's 25, after all. She's seen a lot since she started in this game - but that doesn't mean she's seen everything, or faced down every demon lurking in the shadows of the mantle of the Bat. A mantle which, among others, she could never take up again - because she's Oracle. And that's the role she must play.

#41 sees a Vis draftee drop.

scarletspeed7 posted...

#41 sees a Vis draftee drop.

And for me to move into last place.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/4/7/AAblU3AAEc_z.png

Gonna guess Aquazon. Mad myself for not picking Oracle or Courtney. Neither one was even on my short list for some reason.

Roz'etta and Oracle are so awkward together now, but they're trying, dammit.

Poor Oracle.

It's a good thing I'm not playing Fields this campaign because he never leaves Gotham.

I think O going undrafted is purely the biggest crime.

I think the only reason Oracle went undrafted is because we haven't gone to Gotham enough. Whenever we go we spend at least half an hour talking to her.

It's about time Vis loses another pick. I agree Aquazon sounds right

From an outside perspective Oracle not being drafted by anyone is really surprising. I'm guessing her being so prominent during the first campaign may have been what led her to being overlooked?

Cody11533 posted...

From an outside perspective Oracle not being drafted by anyone is really surprising. I'm guessing her being so prominent during the first campaign may have been what led her to being overlooked?

I had Oracle in my top 100, I just thought the rest of my picks would be above her.

#41 - Shiny Happy Aquazon
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/8/0/AAOJ0pAADbFk.jpg
"We find love... build it on the rocks, build it in the sand. You and I are here, what from love demand? Being every friend, peace and happiness abound. Everyone is lost, everyone is found."

The resident Japanese pop idol superhero of Z'onn Z'orr, Shiny Happy Aquazon has quickly become a powerful force for change, cloaked in the guise of superheroics but entirely self-serving as she works hard to change the narrative of Castling to suit her own agenda. The most skilled brand ambassador in the whole of the Tokyo megalopolis is Kim Kimura, daughter of Junior Waveman Kimura and a master of the trending topic. Kim is known for her bold and blatant disrespect for the older generations and her anti-traditional sensibilities, going so far as to even call Rising Sun a wank pheasant at one point. However, after she was dethroned by Burrito on Twitter, Kim began to go through a crisis of confidence, and she reunited with her estranged father - only briefly - before he commanded her to flee to safety when the dome around Japan came down. Tearfully, she bid him farewell as Rising Sun and his Equated cronies marched on the summit of Mount Fuji. This is how Kim Kimura returned to Z'onn Z'orr with the party, and ever since then, her entire focus has been on raising a ruckus in order to suit her own agenda.

In this campaign, there may be many, but they are so often looming at the edges of the players' reality, threats existential and dire, but also distant in their way. Darkseid, Mother Miracle, Thanagar. Instead, we contend with the worst of humanity, the dregs, the opportunists, mass murderers.

Shiny Happy Aquazon is kind of, sort, maybe just a little bit, the greatest threat to the stability of Z'onn Z'orr. Waller should fear her. Etta should stay far away. If not for Canary, there's a very real chance that Shiny Happy Aquazon would already rule the last weary segment of free humanity. Antarctica would be Aquzontica in the snap of her fingers. After all, every thing Aquazon does is perfectly calculated. Her pulse is the pulse of the people. Her words are the narcotics which drug and stupify an easily swayed populace. The world is ready to bend at Aquazon's feet, if not for one tiny pesky little feeling. Remorse. Regret at the treatment of her father. Isolated and alone now, without a real friend in the world, there is a very real kryptonite that Aquazon is exposed to, and its not laying the medbay. It's that great fallibility in the heart, a daughter still yearning for her father and his approval. Will that tiny hint of humanity be enough to stave off Aquazon's consumption of the willfully provided hearts of Z'onn Z'orr's populace? Only time will tell.

Minerva, strangely enough, may be the person best positioned to prevent Aquazon from becoming the master of Z'onn Z'orr. After all, their closeness has revealed a softer side to Aquazon's personality. Kim has a real weakness for seeing happy fathers and daughters. In fact, she spends a great deal of time watching Vari Dzerchenko take care of TNTeena in the Scrapper Lanes. There's a true kryptonite to be exploited there - a pang that Minerva herself has revealed is not entirely unknown to her, given the struggles she's had with her own parentage. Perhaps it's there that an access point can be reached with Aquazon.

If not, God help us all. We'll be living in the empire of Kim Kimura.

#40 was another character one no one saw coming - our fourth-highest non-drafted!

Shiny Happy Aquazon is great - a real manipulator that goes in line with an early read of my own character.

Saoirse is kind of past that phase but I'm curious to see what will happen if her upcoming concert does get overshadowed by Kim. That will be no bueno

Aquazon tries so hard to be hard. It'd be cute if she didn't have the ability to back it up if she pulled the trigger.

did Canary finally surpass Aquazon?

Aquazon is a character I feel like I slept on a bit, I don't recall her standing out to me compared to Canary when making my list.

Canary definitely gets more focus than Aquazon. Really in a lot of ways they're complete opposites, Canary wants to be around as many people (and pocketbooks) as possible, while Aquazon spends most of her time far, far away.

The difference is that Canary lives with Spirit and is a main supporting character to him. Aquazon hasn't quite filled the same role elsewhere.

#40 - I, Spyder
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/7/6/AAOJ0pAADYvg.jpg
Oh, what a tangled web we weave.

Born into a heritage and legacy of hatred, a single-minded familial blood animosity that stretched over one hundred years, Thomas was the black sheep of his family, blind and considered useless. But when he began to have visions, a short while before A-Day, Thomas turned his back on his family and began to fight for something he could see, something he could believe in. After being rescued from a local jail in Bristol Township, I, Spyder aims to weave together a tapestry of a better future, starting by gathering those heroes that fate decrees must stand against a great, dark threat.

However, on their first mission, guided by a vision to Slaughter Swamp, it was revealed that I, Spyder's prophecies are in part influenced by Gloriana Tenebrae, the foul, terrible queen of the fae - and soon-to-be wife of Darkseid. In a bid to gather the Seven Soldiers and cut off their hands, making them part of the bridal dress of Gloriana, Zor the Time Tailor had used these unsure visions as bait, luring and nearly killing Spyder and Boy Blue in the process. Now, I, Spyder seems unsure of his path forward, but resolute that he must subvert these false prophecies - his only goal to bring down the woman who nearly led to the death of his innocent friend, Boy Blue.

For the rest of the world, Final Crisis is an ending, but for I, Spyder, this is the beginning, the origin, like the edges of a web, coming into focus, a weaving of destiny in threads still wet with the unsure dew of tomorrow. Spyder stares at this growing web - the only thing he can see - and allows its shimmering sheen to guide him through the darkness of today. It's a heavy burden, and while he hides his trepidation at the overwhelming nature of things, I, Spyder has been tasked with a great and difficult task - one that may change the tide of the war, all on its own.

Changing the threads of fate itself. Will the blind lead the blind in this mission of prophecy unraveled?

#39 is a bottom half pick, garnering top-half points!

Could see this being Darkseid or Spectre

I've really loved all my talks with I, Spyder, the first being Roz'etta getting her friend The Shade to let this Ladlow-Dalt, the only member of the the family that didn't have a vendetta against him, live, and the second to build his confidence back up enough to continue following his visions, his next one pointing him to a city floating above Brazil.

Again, really hoping it's Ari, but I could also see it being L-Ron.

It's time for L-Ron.

I, Spyder has been going through a crisis of faith since his visions were revealed to be a trap. Still, I like the idea that prophecy he's been given can be turned to our advantage - since it's prophecy and all. These magic adjacent folk on the periphery are always interesting to explore.

This pick...my gut is pointing me towards The Spectre.

Scarlet won't forget the The.

And I do like having Roz'etta vaguely involved in a lot of the magic stuff. She's not magical at all, so there's a limit to how far she can do before being completely out of her depth, and it's a fun limit to work with.

Cody11533 posted...

From an outside perspective Oracle not being drafted by anyone is really surprising. I'm guessing her being so prominent during the first campaign may have been what led her to being overlooked?

Personally I just assumed she would never make it back to me so I left her off my lists

#39 - Ragdoll
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/6/6/AAOJ0pAADaOq.jpg
Clown.

Peter Merkel, Jr. is the son and successor of the original Ragdoll, Peter Merkel, Sr.. Given that his father was a sociopath and a cult leader, his was probably not the most conventional of upbringings. He indicates that his father was abusive due to disappointment at his not being born double-jointed. He has a sister, an extremely brutal (and insane) crime lord who goes by the name Junior. At some point he began thinking about having his bones altered to mimic double-jointedness. When Peter reached adulthood, he began having his joints replaced one by one with fully-rotating, self-lubricating prosthetics. After twelve years and hundreds of surgeries, he achieved a level of flexibility that his father could only dream about. Needless to say, the original Ragdoll didn't like the competition. Through unknown circumstances, Rag Doll joined the Secret Six, and helped them throughout a variety of adventures. His role in the Six is that of the demented smart-ass and is constantly trying to prove he is the weirdest and funniest of the bunch.

Don't let the comedy fool you - the tears of this clown are well-hidden, perhaps, but they certainly exist. Perhaps that's what draws me most to the eloquent, carefully self-sabotaging Ragdoll so much. Born into a world that presented pain as his only opportunity, Ragdoll both rebels from his father's sadistic behavior and embraces it at the same time. In fact, maybe very little separates the younger Ragdoll from the elder; both are unrepentant killers, after all. Yet the spoonful of sugar - in this case, a heaping helping of dark humor - makes the medicine that much more palatable. Knowing that Ragdoll's home life as a child and teenager was built on loneliness, abuse, and isolation allows the players to hopefully find sympathy. And even his wiles practiced upon the party are something simple and distracting from the darkness outside of Z'onn Z'orr. That said, Ragdoll is man of unique but unalterable convictions - something that is best represented in choosing to break from his father and sister by eschewing the Society's mandates. Much like Scandal, Ragdoll refuses to follow tradition, and he forges his own path in a world where such free-thinking has become quite literally outlawed.

Though they've been sidelined far too long, I have hopes that PCs will soon begin to send out the Secret Six as a unit to wreak havoc against the Society, and hopefully - HOPEFULLY - that will allow Ragdoll to hunt down his father, whilst also playing stepfather to the adorable Isabelle Rose Mahkent.

#38 Drops a top-third draft pick!

Haha funny clown.

Ragdoll is hilarious and a mainstay for most of the campaign. I'm supposed to recruit him to look after some refugees soon and... Hopefully that turns out??

Ragdoll does need more screentime, but even more than that, we need more screentime of the best duo in Z'onn Z'orr, Ragdoll and K'Ray!

The Shade has a long history of hating I, Spyder's bloodline and he isn't happy to have him around. One of Lush's powers lets her tap into flowers and The Shade has some famous Shadow Roses that she's come across. When she taps in she just becomes Shade-like though and I figured that should include wanting to kill Ludlows.

Oh, and for this guess...my gut says this is Bobo's time?

Top third makes me think Snapper or Eve

Really we just need to get Ragdoll away from tables with very thin glass covers, as much as he enjoys those.

#38 - Crazy Shy Lolita Canary
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/0/AAOJ0pAADbBg.jpg
Oh this ranking makes me feel so shy...

Crazy Shy Lolita Canary or Shy Crazy Lolita Canary (depending on the day) was a member of Super Young Team and the owner of the Canary Superstore. Always desiring a larger amount of social media influence, Canary betrayed her teammate Shiny Happy Aquazon and announced that she was dating Singing Dairy Girl during Shiny Happy Aquazons engagement livestream, propelling herself to the number one trend on Twitter for a brief moment before Thom Kallor pulled Burrito out of his ass.

Now, Canary is obsessed with her superstore in Z'onn Z'orr, a location that, once a week, can unveil a new product for the party to purchase if they so desire. Fluttering about within the confines of her new, growing department store, Canary is money-hungry and obsessed with sealing any deal thrown her way.

The Canary, the soulless bloodthirsty commercial vampire that sucks every bleeding dollar dry from her customers until they have to take out loans in order to serve as her functional capitalistic pay pigs, is pretty cool. I mean, she's almost unscrupulous, and a lot of charm comes from being a tiny diminutive China doll who relies upon the carefully crafted, focus-tested persona to smooth over any morally repugnant wrongdoings. I love it. The Canary can't be blamed really for being the Canary. She was designed to be what she is - but that's not stopping her from relishing the success her perfectly designed brain provides.

Now, can the Canary stop Darkseid? Fuck no. Not a chance in Hell. Frankly, I'm not even sure she necessarily provides a positive impact on Castling. But boy, it's going to be entertaining as hell to find out the upshot of all these machinations, the wheelings and dealings, the cute puppy dog eyes and the springy pigtails. Spirit may be enabling a sociopath, but as far as sociopaths go, you have your Jokers, and you have your Shy Crazy Crazy Shy Lolita Lolita Canarys. I'd rather live in the world where the latter reigns supreme. But... will she actually reign supreme? Shiny Happy Aquazon stands in her way. Can the good witch overcome the evil one? Or is this an Aliens vs . Predator situation... no matter who wins, we lose. Our at least our pocketbooks do.

But if losing means we'll get to witness a six-inch winged girl battle against sentient horses made of carrots and Patroklos' nibbling curiosity, then I guess defeat ain't half-bad.

#37 is our third-highest ranked undrafted! But maybe should be fifth, after some due consideration.

Crazy Shy Lolita Canary is, to me, the Spirit character. Spirit has been enough of a doctor that his variety of contacts within the industry has grown to the point where there isn't one Doctor Spirit character anymore.

But for him socializing outside of medicine? It's Canary who drew out the social side of Spirit, that has extended to someone else who will be appearing later on this list.

this ranking is so crazy

Thinking maybe Nightwing?

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

Crazy Shy Lolita Canary is, to me, the Spirit character. Spirit has been enough of a doctor that his variety of contacts within the industry has grown to the point where there isn't one Doctor Spirit character anymore.

But for him socializing outside of medicine? It's Canary who drew out the social side of Spirit, that has extended to someone else who will be appearing later on this list.

Yeah, that someone else is the Spirit
character. Canary is great though, never would've guessed Spirit would have a roommate like her.

okay well we're both wrong, because THE spirit character is Patrokolos, and that's definitely not who either of us are referring to

Sue Jordan *nods*

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

okay well we're both wrong, because THE spirit character is Patrokolos, and that's definitely not who either of us are referring to

That would be true for NML, but not anymore

Oh, on the mention of a Sue

I kind of wish this list started a bit later as we actually met Sue Dibny on the Storyline. Her time was short, but impactful, and we have a thread to continue, but I think it would have been enough to bump her higher

Canary narrowly beating out Aquazon after I was just talking about her, so crazy.

ScareChan posted...

I kind of wish this list started a bit later as we actually met Sue Dibny on the Storyline. Her time was short, but impactful, and we have a thread to continue, but I think it would have been enough to bump her higher

That is interesting.

Yeah, before I was even invested in the Sue story we had a stint in Opal and Lush being the thief she is ended up stealing Sue's pearl necklace. We used those to meet her and ended up meeting her the day before she dies and we picked up something else from her that should show us another part of her timeline. We picked up a key to their farm and we found a way to leave a message so that Ralph will be familiar with our party when we meet.

I think Zoe is a better character to explore Spirit with. Canary is amazing though.

She's... it's hard to take her seriously. But Saoirse gets use out of her store - primarily, exploring her self-esteem as she models (with Pixie along for the ride). So she's a really fun character to spend time with and see at all times.

scarletspeed7 posted...

The Canary can't be blamed really for being the Canary. She was designed to be what she is - but that's not stopping her from relishing the success her perfectly designed brain provides.

This brings up a question I have. What is Canary? It sounds like she isn't a metahuman or an alien or fae. Is she a bio engineered lifeform? A machine?