I can run from the law, I can run from myself.
I can run from my life, I can run into debt.
I can run from it all, I can run til I’m gone.
I can run for the office and run for my cause.
I can run using every last ounce of energy.
I cannot, I cannot, I cannot run from my family.
They’re hiding inside of me.
- Runs in the Family lyrics, Amanda Palmer
Lets get this out of the way, there is probably no better known symbioses than Venom, and all his spin-offs from Anti-Venom to Carnage. However, lets not forget characters like Blue Beetle, Firestorm and Ghost Rider. Depending on who’s writing, even the Hulk can fall into this category with Banner and Hulk living in the back of each other’s heads.
For the purposes, the Symbiotic represents a shared form and duel or competing motivations. The entity sharing the host body does not need to reach full consciousness, but may drive the character to do things they may otherwise oppose. This can lead to some great internal struggles, and help drive the narrative.
At some point the Red Hulk was possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance and infected with the Venom symbiote. So, that happened.
Power Framework
For our basic Framework we are going to look at heroes that have a fairly mundane form, until the Symbiont kicks in. There are any number of heroes that go through this kind of power activation, from Captain Marvel (Shazam) to the host of Magical Transforming Girls (trust me it’s more than just Sailor Moon). Metahumans Rising handles this fairly simply, the hero is built normally, but will need to pick up the Alter Self: The Mundane Boon for their power.
The Alter Self Boon allows the player to create a second character, sort of. The Mundane is built as a Background Character, meaning they possess a truncated number of characteristics, focusing only on a few core elements that may come into play. Just enough to emphasize who they are in their day to day lives, even give them some star power in their areas of specialty, but for the most part, keeping them on par with most people.
Shared Body
- Parent Attribute: Varies by Type
- Primary Role: Support: Constitution
- Alter Self: The Mundane (Adept Persona)
Drives
- Select 2 Drives to represent the influence of the Symbiont .
There’s not a lot inside our basic Framework as the shape the infection or possession takes can vary wildly. We do however establish a few core ideas. The mundane side is not just competent, but rather exceptional and the Symbiot has their own motivations that may run counter to the host’s personality. This can provide tension and a lot of great opportunities for story to develop.
With our expanded Frameworks we’re some additional details since the Symbiot is effectively a blank slate to build from. Each will have an added recommendations for Attribute and Talent Arrays.
For our Symbiot lets explore the Dark Passenger, a homage to Mr. Hyde representing the hero’s passions unbridled, the Merged, the hero is bonded with another entity, possibly a virus or alien being, the Possessed, a demon or spirit lives within the hero causing them to become something more when drawn out.
The Dark Passenger
Attributes: Balanced
- Focus: Intelligence, Dexterity
Talents: Diverse
- Key Talents: Acrobatics, Stealth, Tracking
Power: Dark Passenger
- Additional Instance of Adept Persona
- Added Support: Stealth
- Added Support: Select a Talent related to the Passenger’s Drive
Fighting Style: Stalker
- Parent Attribute: Intelligence
- Primary Role: Offense
- Secondary Role: Initiative
- Specialty: Surprise Attacks
The Dark Passenger is still mostly human, they may not have a traditional power, but their passions fuel them, drive them to do things that are merely fantasy to the host. For these we’ve selected the Balanced Attribute Array, focusing on the curing and skill of the Dark Passenger. Following this same train of thought we’ve selected the Diverse Talent Array. This allows the Dark Passenger to possess the same Talents as their Host, to either a greater or lesser extent, while still following their own interests. Even with the added complication of an exceptionally competent host.
The Dark Passenger relies on surprise, lurking in the shadows. Once exposed they find themselves rather vulnerable. But, should they get the drop on their foes, woe to them.
The Merged
Attributes: Heroic
- Focus: Constitution, Strength
Talents: Expert
- Key Talents: Brawn, Perseverance, Outlast
Power: The Merged
- Healing: Self (Boost Healing, Healing Surge, Regeneration, Reattach Limb)
- Secondary Role: Offense (Full Role)
Whatever entity has joined with the hero wants to ensure the host stays alive. Their Attributes skews higher than average as the entity inside them takes over. However, their Talents are limited, as the host may not be in full control, with only fragments of their Talents still available to them.
The Merged is a powerhouse, able to take a beating that would leave others mutilated. The Merged is able to stitch themselves back together from the worst of injuries. This allows them to push themselves beyond the host’s body’s normal limits. The Merged ability to heal allows them to wade into danger, unafraid of the consequences.
The Possessed
Attributes: Focused
- Focus: Wisdom, Mental
Talents: Competent
- Focus: Occult, Religion
Power: Possessed
- Healing (Regeneration)
- Secondary Role: Defense
- Passive Defense
- Secondary Role: Offense
- Defended By: Psyche
- Devastating
The Possessed is an entity with a purpose. They have chosen a host to accomplish a goal. This may be a direct order or something more nebulous. With Attributes, we’ve selected Focused, to represent the entity pushing the host body beyond their limits. With a Competent Talent Array, they will have a number of effective abilities, likely with no overlap with the host.
The Possessed needs to keep the host alive. For that reason, we selected a limited regeneration, and push their base defense as a kind of divine (or infernal) aura of protection. Additionally, the Possessed are able to mount a potent offense that rips foes to their soul
Common Weaknesses
As an outside entity bonded to another, the Symbiot often finds themselves Vulnerable to some form of attach, such as fire.
The Symbiot is a great character for players who want to challenge themselves as role players. With conflicting goals and needs the fun of the Symbiot really shines though in plying these forces against each other.
