I blame @wotrick , he just had to show me those threads and get me thinking and once the ideas start flowing I have to try and work them out. It’s all his fault and I hope he’s happy with himself. LOL ;)
Upon reading the other suggestions, I wanted to steer clear of overreliance on what Jamie learned from his Shaolin dupe and bringing back the various specialized dupes he’s already reabsorbed (since his power really doesn’t work that way). I also avoided summoning any of his teammates because the idea is to play as Multiple Man, not X-Factor. Instead, I tried to focus on the different skill sets he has access to and how they could work together, as well as creative use of short-term and long-term dupes, and I have to say that I’m fairly happy with the result. He ended up being sort of a Mirror Universe summoner, he has the appearance but you’d need to play him in the exact opposite fashion in order to get anywhere. The vast majority of his kit is stuff that to my knowledge he’s never done in the comics but it’s all stuff he could do, so personally I’m willing to settle for that. I also had to tweak the way his power functioned a tiny bit here and there (mostly things like how many dupes he could create at a time and the like) for various reasons, but nothing too egregious.
I tried my hand at assigning numbers, but balancing his kit around the pros and cons of a metric crapton of dupes is ridiculously tricky so I probably screwed it up. Basically, I came up with the powers I wanted and then looked for other characters with similar powers, either lifting the numbers whole cloth or patchworking them together from several sources. This was most noticeable when someone else had a very similar power but unlocked it at a substantially different level, so I had to find a slightly less similar power somewhere of about the right level to lift the damage and cost numbers from. Like I said, I most likely made a mess of it but I’m sure someone who understands the system far better than I can help fix it. My overall design philosophy was to make him ‘weak but capable’, with the skills to do the job but without the innate brawn to handle the really tough stuff on his own, which is where the dupes come in.
I decided to forego the usual character introduction (we all know who Madrox is and it’s 3am already as I type this), and only included a few images since, as stated, he’s never done most of this stuff anyway. Even so, I hope the Madrox fans out there like my take on him and wotrick, I still hate you. LOL
Stats
Durability: 4
Strength: 2
Fighting: 3
Speed: 2
Energy: 1
Intelligence: 3
Level 25 Synergy: +1 Spirit when you are hit
Level 50 Synergy: 1% less damage from melee attacks
Gear and Uniques:
Yeah, this one’s tough. I mean, other than the special suit he used to have to wear he doesn’t actually have a costume or any equipment to speak of, he runs around in street clothes and uses weapons of opportunity when he feels he needs them. It would also depend a lot on which version of him became his default appearance ingame, the original X-Factor one or the newer X-Factor Investigations one.
If it was the original, I’d suggest:
Slot 1: Gloves, Slot 2: Jumpsuit, Slot 3: Trench Coat, Slot 4: Boots and Slot 5: Cowl.
If it was the newer one, I guess I’d suggest:
Slot 1: Gun, Slot 2: Shirt, Slot 3: Trench Coat, Slot 4: Belt and Slot 5: Shoes.
Uniques are just as hard. The best I could come up with was:
Slot 1: Madri Battle Staff or the Doomlock, Slot 2: Kinetic Dampening Suit, Slot 3: X-Factor Trench Coat, Slot 4: Portable Mini-Cerebro and Slot 5: Cortex’s Glasses.
As for what they’d do, I got nothing. I know there’s some sort of established pattern regarding which uniques offer what effects and benefits, but I’ve never been able to figure out what it is. I’ll have to leave that one to better minds than mine.
Trees:
Sum of His Parts: Jamie has been many things in his life, and the lives of his dupes: lab assistant, SHIELD agent, lawyer, PI, Olympic-level gymnast, Shaolin monk, terrorist, the list goes on. All of those skills make him a true Renaissance man, with a multitude of offensive and defensive options available to him. This tree focuses on Madrox Prime, utilizing skills he’s learned throughout his career and from his dupes and includes benefits he derives from those dupes, but doesn’t involve any active duplication in and of itself.
I Am Many, I Am One: Kinetic duplication means never being alone, especially in a fight, and Jamie has mastered the art of using it in a variety of tactical situations. This tree focuses on rapid creation and reabsorption of dupes to add power and versatility to his melee attacks.
Me’s A Crowd: Sometimes, a quick helping hand just isn’t enough and you need allies who’ll be in it for the long haul. This tree focuses on creating longer-term dupes for specific purposes, who then stick around for a while to assist in combat. Note that dupes are not summons and therefor derive no benefit from summoned ally effects.