#Intangibility Immune

[ryoalouette]

DP X DC Death Game Show AU

A tot just occurred to me like. You know those deadly game movies? Something like... Escape room? Or maybe those movies of which some ppl got kidnapped, get strapped with a poison bracelet, got to solve a riddle within time limit/vote to kill someone/etc or die via poison?

Yeah. Those.

Danny (from Gotham U) got kidnapped with several other citizens by Joker (or Riddler or someone else, you pick) and are forced to play A Game. Whoever loses dies via Joker Gas (or something like that).

Danny ofc, is still a hero at heart. He'd purposely do things wrong/play hero in the last minute so that the villain targets him first. And second. And third.

It's live streamed.

Villain is noticeably frustrated with why the venom is not sticking to Danny.

[jackdaw-and-hattrick]

Phantom Driver/Punch it Old Man!

Danny and Danni on The Ghost Bike. Featuring Bottle the Bunny Backpack.

[kizzer55555]

DPxDC: Jarro Adopts an Alien

Ok, so Danny has a space obsession and a protection obsession (I headcanon that as a halfa, Danny has two obsessions like all Halfas do which makes them unique to other ghosts.) and so while he can get his fill protecting people in Amity, he struggles with his space obsession. Sure, he can look up everything he can about space and the stars on the internet. He can stay up until 2 am looking at the stars (who needs sleep? He’s a ghost, he can go days, or even weeks without sleep if he wants, same with a lack of air or food.) but it’s just not enough. He craves to learn more, see more. Just as Dani gets that itch to travel, Danny wonders. What would it be like to see the stars up close? Are they really as hot as a dragons fire breath? Hotter!? Or maybe they are so hot they are cold. What does it look like to see plasma dancing across the surface, or touch the gasses of Jupiter? Does Pluto have ice caves like the far frozen? How many planets are actually out there? What about Mars. There’s a whole species living there with a language and culture Danny can’t even fathom! Oh what he wouldn’t give to talk with martian manhunter or Superman. 

And what’s stopping him from exploring this? He can fly. He doesn’t need air. He can go intangible if it gets too hot and he’s practically immune to the cold. He wants to touch a space rock! See if they are smooth because there is no wind or earth to rub against them and erode the surface. He wants to see what planets they come from. What minerals they might have. He wants to know if there are currents in space. All of these things are right there just above the atmosphere. Surely it couldn’t hurt to take a quick peek. So he does. During a particularly bad day Danny flies as fast as he can until the earth’s gravity looses its effects. Until his hair is floating as of it’s in water even more than normal. Until he can feel when breathing no longer became a choice (still not necessary though). And it…was beautiful. To be surrounded by space. To see the earth like this. Pictures just didn’t do it Justice. He flew across the solar system and as he passed planets, he longed to fly through them. To search every crevice and learn their secrets. But he had a bigger prize in mind at the moment. The crown jewel of their universe. The closest star he could find. The sun. 

Danny was mesmerized. The plasma really did dance across the surface. Like a never ending performance of science and beauty. There were sparks that few in arcs. Danny flew down and played in them, making a game to see how many he could fly under. His ghost core purred in delight. His obsession had never been more satisfied. He spent hours out there. Just exploring what his solar system had to offer. So when he returned? He couldn’t just forget. Pictures and online science theories had nothing on the real thing. He wanted to explore some more. So he did. Every night he would go out and explore the cosmos. Flying from planet to planet. (Either the Martians were still around and Danny made friends with them, even learning their language, or he just looks at their ruins to learn as much as he can). And with both obsessions now being filled, Danny is more settled. More confident. And he can focus better. Everyone notices the change, even his teachers. They just think that he’s paying more attention to his education now. He’s even better during his ghost fights. 

But Danny can fly awfully fast. And he soaks up information even faster. Soon his trips take longer and longer as he flies further out. Sometimes he can barely make it back in time for school. And he can't go every night. Sometimes the ghosts won’t wait for daytime so he has to make sure the town will be safe in his absence. Although he’s been able to take more trips ever since Valerie joined the vigilante ranks. But still, he’s getting farther and farther from earth each night. Until one day he’s visited every planet, every star, every comet or debris in their solar system. Which would be fine. He could deal with that if that was all there was. But it wasn’t. Danny saw the stars just out of reach. He saw places the Milky Way was leaning towards. He saw just the barest hints of new solar systems with new planets and stars. And he knew of legends from lanterns that they had posted online. Heard tales from some scientists that have made better telescopes. And his core itches. It aches to know more. See more. Yet he can't go further. And this puts him in a sort of depression. Suddenly he’s back to his old self. Lagging behind. Distracted. Zoning out. Crashing into a few more buildings during ghost attacks. Yet he tries so hard to be satisfied with what he has. He can still fulfill his obsession…it’s just more like chewing on a granola bar rather than eating a decent meal. He’s almost becoming lethargic. 

So one day he goes to Frostbite to see if there’s anything he can do to lessen the effects. But the yeti just takes one look at him and gives him the infimap. And suddenly Danny is in a whole new universe in seconds. The planets are purple. The stars are blue. He’s pretty sure there are furry blob-like creatures living on one of those planets. And suddenly he gets that itch, but holding the infimap, he knows he had time, so he lets himself go. 

And for a while it’s good. great even. Since he can’t keep asking the yetis for the infimap, he goes over to Wulf to see if he’s up for an adventure. Most of the time he is and they go exploring the galaxies together. And then Wulf had the genius idea of teaching Danny how to make portals. It took a long time but soon, he could concentrate the surrounding ectoplasm enough to weaken it and pull. It took a while since Danny didn’t have ecto claws and would have to use his pure will. But this would allow him to follow his obsession anytime, anywhere. So it was only a matter of time. And once he figured it out? It was like something was unlocked. Danny had never before understood how Ellie could travel so much. But now he did. That feeling when you discover something new. When you add to your reservoir of knowledge. When the patterns in the universe just click. There is nothing Danny could compare it to. And to explore that whenever he wanted? It was so freeing. While Wulf sometimes still joined Danny’s adventures, Danny did most of his explorations by himself. 

He meets various planets and aliens. So many different cultures. He learns thousands of languages. Tries all kinds of foods (and it’s a good thing his ghost self has an iron stomach and he’s basically poison resistant.) even found a whole comet where blood blossoms grew. (Which he most definitely avoided). And wasn’t that fascinating? To find out they were from space. 

And then during his travels one day he met a space alien starfish. 

It was actually a funny story. A meteor shower was about to attack a planet of talking blue monkey creatures with 4 arms. Danny immediately started diverting them and was soon joined by some lantern corps (which his inner fanboy wanted to talk to so bad.). And a tiny starfish in a…Robin uniform? Oh and the starfish could apparently do martial arts which was interesting to watch him karate chop a meteor. He could also talk directly into Danny’s head which the halfa found more interesting. So they got to talking and apparently his name was Jarro. He seemed to be helping the lantern corps as a ‘proxy from earth’ to make better use of his skills. 

Danny would run into Jarro a few more times. Sometimes he was with Lanterns and sometimes he would just be exploring the galaxies. They started forming a pretty strong friendship and Danny would start seeking out the starfish alien to travel with him. He knew all kinds of space facts. Apparently he had an eidetic memory. When they explored, sometimes Jarro would just stick to part of Danny. Wrapped around his arm, his waist, sometimes just sticking to his back like a strange backpack. But they always had fun.

So Danny was happy. He could fulfill both obsessions and got a space pal. Everything was great!

Until the GIW caught him. 

It would probably be the worst day of his life.  There was an explosion in the lab. Something set up by them after they realized Danny frequented that place often. So they set a trap and blew it up. Thankfully, Jazz was at college during this but both his parents were home. When the explosion went off, Danny had tried putting a Barrier around them all. It took everything he had to maintain it. That’s how they found out he was phantom. Danny had a few moments where his parents said they accepted him but he couldn’t hold the barrier for long. His parents said that they loved him and then everything went green. He woke up in a lab, tired and injured. His only saving grace being that he remained in phantom form. And he was determined to remain so. 

Danny’s time at the GIW was a haze but eventually, he managed to escape. Bleeding, and tired, and still recovering from the burns in the explosion, Danny made a portal straight to Amity. Only when he got there, it was a ghost town. Streets were empty, buildings were boarded up. Even the Nasty Burger was deserted. As for his house, there was nothing but a crater left and some scattered debris. Danny looked everywhere but there was no one. No Jazz. No Sam. No Tucker. No one. and he was tired. And everything hurt, and he needed a friend. Someone he could trust. So in a daze he made a portal and tried to just project safe. Safe safe safe. Somewhere he knew he would be protected. And so Jarro got a surprise when his space buddy suddenly popped out of a green portal, bleeding green and clearly passed out. He didn't know what to do. He didn’t know how to help him. But Jarro knew someone who would. 

So with a speed never before seen from a tiny starfish, he flew to earth. Bringing his friend straight to his father. Because surely batman could help!

And with his appearance, the green blood, the knowledge of space facts. The lack of wanting to talk about where he came from (and the nightmares crying out for his parents). This is how the bats became convinced that Jarro brought them an injured alien. 

[spacedace]

It’s been a busy day for Elle by the time she rounds the corner and sees the unattended Batmobile parked in the alley she usually cuts through to go home. But not so busy that she’s willing to ignore the prime opportunity that she’s just stumbled upon.

Bats in the Bowery is always something that gets people’s heckles up - this is Hood’s turf and the people that live there are just as territorial over that as their violent vigilante. Batman himself being in the Bowery might as well be a declaration of war. Sure, when the heavy hitters are out causing shit things are a bit more flexible, but even then the Bats are there with Red Hood. Obviously and clearly tolerated for the time being.

Elle would put good money on Hood not being in the loop that the big Bat himself is currently parked three blocks away from Crime Alley. Which means that the Batmobile, tucked away in the shadows and entirely unattended, is free game.

Fuck it, she decides. 

Jay had asked her and Danny about what kind of rings Jazz likes. He’s on all their emergency contact lists, and he’s offered to officially adopt her and Danny to lighten Jazz’s load a little. He’s put in the time to figure out how to incorporate ectoplasm into his amazing home cooked meals in such a way that it doesn’t cause the food to come back to life just so they can have something tasty and nutritious. 

He’s family.

Which means it’s only right that she honors his place as family, by following in his footsteps.

Even without any of the proper equipment for the job, it’s a lot easier for her to remove the tires than it had been for her soon-to-be brother-in-law all those years ago. All it takes is five minutes, some intangibility and some increased strength and she has a pile of tires wider than her body stacked up behind her. She doesn’t even get any grease on her in the process. It takes more effort to find a pencil in her blackhole of a backpack to write the note she leaves behind tucked under one of the windshield wipers.

Getting the tires home is another story but she eventually manages to scrounge up enough blob ghosts to help her haul them back with her unseen. The little dudes like a little mischief - and like Hood even more - and they need the exercise. She’s not sure exactly what she’s going to do with the tires when she gets home though. One is definitely going to Jay as a present, maybe she could get Skulker to help her mount it on a plaque like one of his hunting trophies? Other than that though, they’re largely just going to take up space in the apartment.

Bill would probably know a guy. Hell, Bill may even want in on the trophy idea as a gift for Hood, he’d been saying that the anniversary of the crime lord taking out Black Mask was coming up. Maybe she could get the goon to help her get the last two tires to a couple of the more fun rogues as gifts? Harley for sure would get a laugh out of it. Ivy would probably be upset over the ecological impact of the creation of the tire, but maybe she could sell the last one to Penguin?

-

Tim blinks at the stack of - very familiar - tires taking up the corner of the Nightingales’ living room. Elle has them arranged in an approximation of a throne with a couple of pillows set down so she can sit more comfortably as she lounges. She barely even glances up at them as Danny leads them inside, slurping at a bright green smoothie as she taps away on her phone.

Danny looks as thrown by the tableau as Tim is. It’s nice to see that Danny isn’t as totally immune to Elle’s shenanigans as he pretends. Though, it’s also mildly terrifying to consider his boyfriend’s little sister is capable of chaos that not even Danny “Danger Twink” Nightingale can come up with.

“Uh…what you got there, Elle?”

Elle, pointedly, takes a long, loud slurp from her smooth as she looks up to meet her brother’s gaze. “New family tradition.” She says, unblinking.

Danny stands there for a long moment before giving a final shrug. “Yeah, sure. Jay will get a kick out of it.”

Tim pulls his phone out and snaps some pictures. Danny is right, of course, Jason is going to love it. But so will everyone else in the group chat.

[threewaysdivided]

compared to the other hero's in YJ how do you think Phantom stands up power wise. like Future Danny ripped the world apart and i know in some fanfiction that it is used as an indicator that he is high up there, but i'm interested in your thoughts.

This is an interesting question nonnie!

I generally agree with the idea that Phantom is in the upper-tier of crossover superhero powers, but I do have more specific thoughts so let’s break it down:

Danny’s power level

Just looking at the variety and strength of ghost-powers that Phantom displays in his show, I would put him in the higher rankings of most heroes when it comes to raw ability.  I alluded to this in my main DP x YJ Deathly Weapons fanfic, but to me Phantom shows signs of a pretty common power-scaling differential that happens when a solo-protagonist hero gets transplanted into an ensemble setting.  Within his own setting, Phantom had to be (or become) powerful enough to solve most problems/ fights all by himself – and some of those ghosts he ended up facing towards the end of his canon were impressively strong.  By comparison ensemble heroes are generally less-powerful because working as a collective means they don’t have the same need for aggressive self-sufficiency and also so that no one character upstages or outmodes the rest of the group from a writing perspective.

There’s also the nature of ghost powers.  Phantom needed to develop the raw strength to fill the role of solo combat heavy-hitter, but his base powers are versatile to the point of unsettling.  He has to physically fight against other ghosts because they have (and to some extent are immune to) the same abilities as him, but in a fight against other species he could potentially avoid, manipulate or exhaust an opponent with strategic use of invisibility/ intangibility/ overshadowing.

The back of Dinah’s neck prickled.  With flight to mask footsteps and intangibility rendering them undetectable by touch…  Nonthreatening as Phantom generally appeared, she was starting to understand why his kind had developed such an unsettling reputation.  The idea that a ghost could be present at any time - eavesdropping, spying, interfering - without any of them being the wiser was… disquieting to say the least. - Deathly Weapons, Chapter 17: Assessment

On top of that, he seems to be in a similar boat to Superman when it comes to physical weaknesses – he doesn’t have that many, and they’re often quite specific or hard-to-find.   The most easily-exploitable one is that Danny can run out of power, be slowly starved of ectoplasm or be knocked unconscious; all of which would forcibly revert him back to his weaker human state.  After that, he’s vulnerable to certain magics and ghostly-artefacts, which are more likely to be accessible to various DC/ Marvel heroes (although they might not know exactly which spells/items will be most effective or why).  Beyond those two, most of his weaknesses need to be specifically known about and actively sought out – anti-ecto-technology is obtainable but not mainstream, blood blossoms naturally repel/hurt ghosts but they seem to be rare in nature (or even extinct in the modern day) and then assuming you acknowledge Phantom Planet there’s ectoranium which is basically ghost-Kryptonite in rarity (and possibly even the same mineral in DP x DC settings depending on the crossover).  Much like with Superman, the most reliable ways to take down Phantom require actively knowing what he is and having prepared accordingly.

Based on those metrics, I want to place Phantom in the same power-band as Superman or the Martian Manhunter.  I’d consider their powers to be equivalent incomparibles – it’s hard to stack their abilities side-by-side and say one is objectively better than the others.  A no-holds-barred, knock-down drag-out fight between those three could get very nasty but it would be hard to confidently call a winner without knowing more about the external factors around them.

That said, I think the thing holding Danny back from being fully at that level is his experience: or rather his lack thereof.   Danny hasn’t had much formal training (except maybe some basic self-defence instruction from Maddie/Jack) and he doesn’t have a proper mentor either.  His personal experience mostly fits the narrow niche of direct open combat with other ghosts, mostly throughout Amity Park and surrounds (although occasionally in the Ghost Zone or further from town). 

Phantom has enough raw power and innate talent as a strategic lateral-thinker to get by, but I think that hyperspecialisation and lack of guidance would leave him with a lot of blind-spots.  His hand-to-hand is self-taught and probably missing a lot of best-practice basic techniques.  He’s also never had an experienced third party to observe him in the field and offer suggestions on alternative approaches to using his powers/ keep him from developing bad habits.  This is something Danny actually comments on in canon; he can take a long time to identify solutions (even obvious ones) that deviate too far from his default throw hands approach to fighting.  His powers could be more effectively deployed as a precision-instrument but a lack of coaching means he tends to falls back on using them as a blunt hammer because that was the pattern that came naturally when he was first starting out, and no-one was around to keep that habit from ingraining.

The place where you can see this lack of experience hurting him the most is in his lack of soft-skills.  Phantom didn’t have anyone to advise him on de-escalation, damage control, comforting civilians, interacting with authorities etc.  Add in the naturally-frightening nature of many ghosts and it was easy for him to fall into a public perception of being “the town menace”.  Danny is pretty decent at rallying both humans and ghosts (even erstwhile enemies) to his side in crisis situations but no-one has taught him how manage public relations outside of that.  He says it himself: he needs a PR agent.

On the other hand, Phantom’s heroics have inadvertently earned him a decent amount of potential political pull in the Ghost Zone.  He has enough positive rapport that some regular rogues will take his side or even actively seek him out for help in the right circumstances, and other more antagonistic ones have at least developed a degree of grudging respect.  There are several powerful ghosts that either have direct debts of gratitude to him/his team (Princess Dorothea, Pandora) or who hold him in high esteem for re-sealing Pariah Dark (The Far Frozen).  It’s possible that defeating Pariah might even have granted him a potential candidature/claim to an official position, and judging by the way the Observants and Clockwork pay attention to him, it seems that Phantom’s slow accumulation of power/influence isn’t going completely unnoticed.  However, again, Danny doesn’t have the awareness, experience or training needed to leverage that effectively – heck, he’s not even doing it on purpose.

With all that taken into account, I think Phantom would rank very highly in terms of overall potential, but at his current level he’d be in the lower ranks of the A-tier.  He could become a much more powerful figure with the right guidance but in his canonical state he’s underutilising or outright overlooking a lot of his most effective tools.

TUE Future/ “Dark Phantom”

The “Dark Phantom” presented in the TUE Bad-Future is interesting to me because while he’s a very powerful figure within that story, I don't think he’s a very good reflection of canon-Danny’s potential to do harm.

Gonna complain about The Ultimate Enemy for a bit: I’ve tag-muttered about this before but I’m one of the Phandom members who finds The Ultimate Enemy to be a frustratingly weak episode.  It has a potentially fascinating core premise (the “evil future/alternate self”) but the execution is so convoluted and driven by improbable contrivances that the whole ends up being far less than the sum of its parts.   

One of the biggest problems is that, rather than being a straight future/alternate version of Danny, “Dark Phantom” is actually a hybrid of Phantom and Plasmius’ worse sides.  He’s a distinct, separate entity which means he can’t work as an effective dark mirror to either of them.  (Compare and contrast the Justice League episode A Better World in which the Justice Lords acted as a dark mirror of what the actual Justice League members could become if they chose to abandon their morals and compassion in favour of seizing control and instating a totalitarian system of draconian crime prevention.)

The episode also tried to graft on a really mismatched moral of “don’t be a cheat”.  Rather than being a lesson on choices/ values/ power/ responsibility, Dark Phantom almost ends up being an offhand biproduct of Danny getting caught cheating on a freshman/sophomore-year career-aptitude test.  Instead of learning a lesson about himself/ his ideals/ his personal faults, Danny comes away from the episode with a cool new superpower after deciding not to cheat on the test after all.  Not exactly satisfying.

That mismatch and the convoluted levels of moon-logic required to make it fit severely undermine the idea that this version of Dark Phantom is “inevitable”.  There are too many steps that are too highly-specific and too easily-avoidable for the threat to feel real: Danny has to care enough about an early-highschool CAT to want to cheat, he has to somehow get the answers which he wasn’t intending to do in the canon timelineand only does as a result of Clockwork’s meddling, making it a self-fulfilling situation, he has to get caught using them, Mister Lancer has to hold the resulting parent-teacher meeting at Nasty Burger rather than a school office for some reason, the Nasty Burger Sauce has to 1. be dangerously explosive and 2. coincidentally explode while not only Danny’s parents but his friends and sister are inside, Danny has to be placed in Vlad’s custody rather than with his Aunt Alicia or closer family-friends, Danny has to ask Vlad to remove his Phantom-half and finally, Vlad himself has to agree to do it.  Take away any of those steps and this version of Dark Phantom doesn’t happen.  That’s not inevitable, it’s contrived.

But anyway, let’s look at Dark Phantom as his own entity:

One of the things that makes Dark Phantom much more potentially dangerous is that he combines Phantom’s raw power with Plasmius’ experience.  Like I was saying before, one of Danny’s biggest handicaps is that he lacks training/guidance and tends to underutilise his most effective abilities.  Vlad meanwhile has had years of relative freedom to practice and finesse a lower raw-power level; he’s much more skilled at advanced techniques like duplication and overshadowing (which he canonically used to force through his fortune-making business deals), as well as ecto-constructs.  Plasmius is also a lot more tactical and manipulative in how he applies their common powers.  Plus, the TUE version of Dark Phantom is a full-ghost, which means he doesn’t have a vulnerable mortal state that can be exploited as a weakness.

This is why I think it would be possible for TUE!Dark Phantom to successfully decimate other heroes in shared-universe crossover situations where ghosts aren’t common knowledge.  He’d be an unexpected, unknown enemy that the heroes have no effective way to fight (outside of a few magic users).  Combine that with many of the most powerful heroes being visible as public figures, and Dark Phantom having inherited Plasmius’ strategic/manipulative traits and it could be very easy for Dark Phantom to basically launch a premeditated paranormal blitzkrieg attack, using Plasmius’ skill with duplicates and overshadowing to subjugate any hero he couldn’t overwhelm with Phantom’s raw power level.  It would also make sense that Amity Park would become one of the remaining bastions in any TUE-style future, since having advanced knowledge of ghostly abilities and access to anti-ecto technology would tilt the balance more evenly and allow them to at least keep the danger out.

Mentally, it’s also worth noting that Dark Phantom is a lot more dangerous than either Phantom or Plasmius.  He’s basically the most toxic traits from both of them, removed from their more moderating/ compassionate instincts.  Based on the canonical explanation given, TUE!Danny had Phantom forcibly removed in attempt to remove the pain/ rage/ grief he was feeling over the death of his family.  This isn’t a model-hero-persona conceptualisation of Phantom a la Splitting Images; the TUE-version of his ghost half is a big ball of churning negative emotion.  And what are some of Danny’s toxic traits when it comes to negative emotions: he lashes out, falls into self-blame and self-destructs.  Then we add in Vlad’s toxic traits: he’s egocentric to the point of narcissism, he projects negative feelings/ blame onto others rather than accept responsibility for his own actions and he has a controlling/ sadistic streak.   

TUE’s Dark Phantom is the worst possible combination of an emotionally devastated teenager and an emotionally immature adult.  He’s a ball of pain and rage that blames the world for that pain, lashes out at it, feels worse for doing so and then blames the world for making him feel worse because he doesn’t have the emotional capacity to accept that he’s the one causing it.  Grief is love persevering but the feelings of love, connection and guilt that contextualise his pain were left in the human shells that remained of Danny and Vlad.  It’s possible that the Dark Phantom presented in TUE might not have the capacity to feel positive emotions or compassion.  He was never meant to exist as his own entity – he was an attempt to destroy Daniel Fenton’s negative emotions which went horribly wrong.  In some ways it seems like his reign of terror could be an angrier version of Dracula’s scheme from Netflix’s Castlevania or Haliax’s goal from the Kingkiller Chronicles – a drawn-out suicide note from an undead being who’s been dead inside for much longer, destroying whatever peace/happiness he encounters in revenge for being denied it himself, until such time as he either attains catharsis or finally ends the pain by destroying reality and himself along with it.  That’s the final thing that makes TUE’s Dark Phantom more dangerous than either Phantom or Plasmius – he has nothing to lose and no “better nature” or personal dreams that other heroes could try to appeal to.

So yeah, the TUE version of Dark Phantom could absolutely rip the world and other heroes apart, but I don’t think he’s a particularly good reflection of Danny’s capabilities in terms of either powers or personality.  There’s too much Vlad in the mix, and even then he represents such a narrow and extreme edge-case for each of their personalities that it’s barely representative at all.  At best he’s a warning for what these kinds of powers could be capable of in the wrong hands.

Meta-question: What is “power” in narrative?

Alright, now that I’ve (hopefully) answered the question, let’s finish with a self-indulgent thought exercise for extra credit.

There’s an anecdote which I’ve heard attributed to the Stan Lee, in which a fan apparently asked him “who would win in a fight between Superman and the Hulk?”  To which Stan apparently replied, “whoever the writer wants.”

While it can be fun to make tier-lists and try to rank how strong different heroes/villains/creatures are based on the rules of their respective universes, I think it can also be helpful to consider that– like all things in storytelling – power is a narrative device.  It’s a tool that the character(s) and storyteller(s) can use to create and solve problems.

A character can be extremely physically strong/ skilled/ knowledgeable/ influential in a specific area but how much narrative power they have depends on how well their abilities allow them to influence or resolve story problems.   And, as the omnipotent god(s) of the narrative, the storyteller(s) can choose whether to confront them with challenges that play to their existing strengths, or that force them to find other solutions.  What’s the best way to kill a vampire?

This is actually part of what makes Lex Luthor such an effective Superman villain.  Objectively most versions of Lex are just A Guy™ – on a physical level he doesn’t have anything close to Kal El’s Kryptonian strength or superpowers.  But he feels like a serious threat because he often comes after Superman in ways that Clark can’t easily steamroll with that brute strength.  Lex uses manipulation, money, influence, connections, politics, public opinion; Superman can’t physically fight him without playing into Luthor’s plans, and trying to face him in those other fields requires tools that Clark wasn’t handed as part of his Kryptonian heritage.  An invading alien army is objectively a bigger physical threat to Earth, but a competent Lex Luthor scheme feels more dangerous because – while we feel confident that Superman can beat down a legion of monsters – when it comes to the question of whether he can outwit Luthor, the outcome is a lot less certain.

Situational disempowerment is another of the ways a narrative can reign in an otherwise “overpowered” character: placing them in circumstances where they either aren’t given many opportunities to showcase their best strengths, or are kept from using them because the drawbacks/ risks/ consequences of using their abilities makes their power(s) a liability.  I’ve mentioned it before, but this is actually one of the tricks I’m personally using to keep Phantom’s massive powerset balanced against the other proteges in Deathly Weapons.  It’s also something I’ve been struggling with when it comes to Conner’s place in that story since the stealth-mission plot structure doesn’t allow as much room to highlight his core powers and personal strengths.   

Stories can create additional stakes for powerful characters by giving them emotional arcs which their powers can’t resolve.   For a published example, consider the series One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100.  Despite how high-ranked Saitama and Mob are within the power-scaling of their respective stories, those powers don’t kill the emotional stakes because the things they actually want/ need can only be gained through self-improvement or making connections in ways separate from their powers (and in some regards their power level actively gets in the way of that).  This is also something I’m doing with Danny’s main grief arc in DW.   

Final Conclusion time

In terms of physical strength and range of abilities, I think Phantom would be pretty near the top of the power-scale in most superhero crossovers.  While the Dark Phantom presented in TUE might not be a particularly good reflection of Danny’s specific potential, a crossover version of the TUE timeline offers a pretty good litmus-test for how dangerous a strong ghost could be in a given universe: the combination of power level, ability range and highly-specific/ inaccessible weak-points poses a strong strategic threat.

On the other hand, physical strength isn’t the only strength.  Phantom has a decent level of potential political sway as well, but he also lacks a lot of the soft skills and experience needed to make use of his toolset to its full ability.

Stepping back further, the answer to how powerful Danny is in a narrative sense is really just “however much the writer wants”.  Phantom’s narrative power depends on the kind of story he’s in and the challenges placed around him – there are as many ways to situationally nerf our ghost-boy as make him OP, all without needing to alter his on-paper powers.

[aroaceleovaldez]

non-exhaustive list of canon powers Nico di Angelo either has shown or is heavily implied to have:

Shadow-travel

Manipulation of shadows/darkness (also possibly use of shadows as a pocket-dimension a la Magicians using the Duat in The Kane Chronicles)

Becoming intangible/shadows

Complete control over skeletons/bones (dead or alive, including summoning, reanimation, and/or changing shape of them) and being able to sense their presence

Summoning, reanimating, commanding, and dispelling the dead/undead (Skeletons, zombies, ghosts, etc & varieties) and being able to sense their presence

Ability to understand/communicate with the dead/undead and potentially other beings of the Underworld

Inherent complete comprehension of Latin

Ability to perceive the usually unperceivable/possibly look upon a deity’s true form without repercussion (at least moreso than the average demigod, though possibly is restricted to chthonic beings) (ex: Tartarus, potentially also interacting with his parents, etc)

Interacting tangibly with ghosts (implied to be a Ghost King thing rather than a Hades/Pluto thing)

Partial or complete immunity to different effects of the Underworld/things within (can consume food/drink of or in the Underworld without repercussions, effects from the Lethe wear off over time instead of being permanent like usual for mortals, etc)

Astral projection/”Walking in dreams”

Dream manipulation and projection (Sending dreams to others, etc.) (presumably includes sharing/projecting dreams with others) alongside inflicting sleep upon others even from a distance.

Illusions

Manipulation of emotions/aura that inflicts specific emotions on others (ex.: radiating fear/death onto enemies)

Projection of emotions and memories onto others (can be so forceful it causes physical damage like a shockwave)

Geokinesis (all forms but also specifically generating black marble) (presumably also specialized control over precious gemstones & non-paper currency)

Temperature manipulation (seemingly only lowering temperature)/creating frost)

Control/manipulation of souls, including living beings (ex: ripping out Bryce Lawrence’s soul)

Perceiving/reading/judging of souls (most likely also a Ghost King thing over Hades/Pluto thing, but possibly both)

Converting living into dead/undead, aka instakill (ex: disintegrating monsters to bone with one touch)

Lowering or manipulation of own vitals (breathing, heart rate, etc)

Death Trance/pseudo-hibernation (possibly also general control over states of consciousness at least for self, in combo with control over vitals & dreams)

Sensing death (impending or when it occurs, sometimes receiving dreams/visions of it occurring)

Able to sense other children of Hades/Pluto (potentially also other chthonic beings in general/able to identify based on sense alone) and also just living beings in general, such as mortals (possibly via souls).

Improved navigation underground/in the Underworld and ability to traverse restricted or normally unnavigable parts of the Underworld

Enhanced strength/abilities when in the Underworld

Inherently unnaturally quiet (possibly able to silence sound on a designated target)

Hiding/shielding self from being perceived (seemingly related to shadows/silence)

[nelkcats]

Immune

When a horde of Zombies was unleashed on the DC universe, Danny stared at the screen speechless. Clockwork had told him to keep an eye on the universe in case a catastrophe happened, but only 5 minutes had passed since then.

He called his mentor and the Master of Time told him to fix the problem, to which Danny began to complain before being pushed straight into a dimensional portal. He landed in the middle of a fucking horde, just his luck.

How was he going to prevent a fucking apocalypse? It had already started!

As he used his intangibility to get past the Zombies, he noticed the confused look most of them were sending him, but oh well. Danny was tempted to tell them that you can't kill what was dead, but he decided to keep quiet. Not that the Zombies understood anyway.

He set out to explore the world looking for some clues, avoiding the Zombies (For some reason, they avoided him too) and drawing the attention of the resistance, who quickly branded him as immune (he wasn't, he had just become intangible, again).

Ironically, he ended up siding with the only Zombie? Of a different race. Red Hood was much nicer than those who wanted a sample of his blood for a cure (again, Danny knew it wasn't going to work). But neither of them had any idea how to end the apocalypse.

Jason had no idea why the Zombies were avoiding that specific boy, like he was a hopeless case. Or why there were so many people chasing him, but at least he was nice, and seemed genuinely intent on 'stopping the apocalypse', so he joined him out of curiosity.

He was like a free Zombie repellant anyway, and Jason had no idea where his family was since the catastrophe started.

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 37

This is just a silly one

The box ghost is attacking the league. Dc is in a different dimension for this so they don’t have the proper weaponry. The ghosts are immune to standard magic and just turn intangible for any attack.

So over powered.

Danny is riding cujo like a horse. Cujo is in big guard dog mode. In comes Danny riding his dog just pointing a thermos at boxy and sucking him in.

Danny also has a cowboy hat on. And just tips it at them saying your welcome as cujo takes off.

Too bad either krypto, Titus, or Ace are there. Idk if there are other hero’s dogs. Those are just the ones i know.

When one of the dogs bark at Cujo. Cujo just goes back into puppy mode cause he wants to play now. He’s bored of being a horse.

This leaves Danny sitting on the ground in front of the league.

[violetlight]

Super Powers (And weaknesses) G/t Ideas PT.1

Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt. 5

Tiny:

Camouflage but only if they stand still.

Telepathy but they never know who they're connecting with (possibly closest person or has a length limit)

Precognition: (The ability to sense when danger is coming) but one person is immune/invisible or there is a way to avoid it.

Human:

Telekinesis: but they have to focus really hard and they have ADHD

Heat-sensing vision: but they can't tell how far away something is.

Intangibility: (The ability to walk through wall or you chose what can touch you or not.) but everyone can see you.

This should go without say but Size-shifting :):but they have to be able to visualize how tall/short they will get I. e. If you want to shrink to 3 inches you have to know how big 3 inches is.

Giant:

Teleportation: but they can only teleport other people and not themselves.

Siren Song: (They start singing,humming, saying a specific command and it allows them to control/ influence people to a certain degree.) but whenever they use it they loose control of themselves(?) and become violent/predatory/possessive or whatever.

Control over an element: I. E. Plants that allow you to trap people/ lift up things, but it also reacts to your emotions.

[desidov]

The Structure of a Successful Game Changer pt. 1 - Make Some Noise

An analysis of the stages comprising an entertaining and innovative Game Changer episode, explained by breaking down the episode Make Some Noise.

Stage 1: Our contestants have no idea

With prompt "cow," Josh responds "cow." Sam replies, "I'm sorry, that is not the answer I was looking for."

Often only a turn or two, this first stage is comprised of the players identifying the core mechanic of the episode—getting a basic understanding of what each question will ask of them and how they might earn points or advance further. Other examples: the first forays into navigating the Jeopardy board, or Sam’s opening instructions for “Sam Says” demonstrating an instruction not preceded by “Sam says” should not be followed.

Stage 2: You all understand

With prompt "duck," Zac responds "quack quack" and receives a point. Josh comments "Okay I see, I see what this is about, okay."

Here the players realize the structure of each question, and witness some behaviors receiving points while others do not (excluding non-point-earning episodes.) Sometimes, this is all the players need to understand the fundamental premise (mimic the sound produced by the prompt) while sometimes unraveling the mystery of the premise is the overall conceit of the episode (tell us about yourself, yes or no.)

Stage 3: Escalation of Rules

After Zac's response to "frog," Sam says "I'm gonna toss it up to the other two contestants [to steal the point.] Brennan, give me your best frog."

An expansion to the initial rules is revealed, allowing players to further advance/gain points beyond the initial bounds of the premise. Here, the escalation is that players may steal prompts from each other—others include incorporated phrase bonus points from The Official Cast Recording and the hidden immunity loop-de-loops from Survivor.

Stage π: Departure

Sam says "We are now headed into our first mini game." Each player attempts to recreate a melody on an otamatone.

This optional stage, typically presented as a “mini game,” is thematically connected to the premise but operates on its own rules. Make Some Noise iterations typically include a mini game where contestants are provided a prop and must mimic a given sound with that prop—no spoken entries qualify. Similarly, A Sponsored Episode and its continuations feature a mini game of providing commercial voice-overs for stock footage (where non-commercial interpretations are not rewarded,) and a mini game of identifying brand taglines/logos.

Stage 4: Escalation of Concept

Sam introduces the next prompt, "Your word is jack hammer." Josh makes a jack hammer sound, bouncing with a hand above his head and explaining "that's him keeping the hat on."

While Stage 3 adds on to the rules of the episode, Stage 4 applies the same rules to something new—here transitioning from animal calls to all manner of sound effects. Escalation of concept can be clearly demarcated, as this example is, or more gradual, like the escalations from common animal calls to obscure animal calls or from physical prompts to intangible prompts like “anguish.” What matters is that escalations continue to push the format to new heights and prevent the conceit from stagnating.

Stage 5: Expansion of Concept

The prompt is a stock photo of a smiling young adult white man. Brennan roleplays the man arrogantly describing his improv group, ending with "This date's going well."

Though similar to Stage 4, I characterize this stage as a dramatic alteration to the format of prompts—here from text prompts to image prompts. This can be for several turns, as it is for MSN, or just one, such as “go” from Sam Says or the cockroach union from “Do I hear $1?” This builds a finale that presses the bounds of the format to their limits, capping off the episode.

[sophia-sol]

recently I was telling someone about crop milk and it is such a delightfully cursed bird fact that I have to share it here too!

did you know that mammals aren't the only living things to produce milk? a select few bird species have independently evolved it too! pigeons, flamingos, and emperor penguins all secrete milk from their crop to feed their young! lactation is even stimulated by prolactin, the same hormone that causes lactation in mammals!

crop milk has fat and proteins, like mammal milk, but no carbohydrates. it's also got the various immune boosting stuff and other similar intangibles

In pigeons, crop milk is….not quite a liquid. it's a pale yellow semi-solid that has been compared to cottage cheese.

flamingos have liquid crop milk! but it's bright red that looks like blood!!

(the colour fades over time though, it only looks like blood for the first week or so after hatching)

all I've been able to determine about penguin crop milk is that it is "thick"

[ominousvibez]

based on that weird dream i had except i made him a more purple/violet color like my ninjago oc anya

BASICALLY the dream is that danny was gonna Fully Die but clockwork intervened and gave him a chance at a new life in a different world, completely over from scratch. he ended up keeping his memories of his past life but because the worlds are so different the only things that were handy were like. science and math he could remember since physics mostly worked the same. he was born to two parents, john and maria mortis (they weren’t named in the dream but i decided to keep their names close to jack and maddie hehe >:3)

he ends up keeping some of his powers still-- invisibility and intangibility, which he has to re-learn from scratch, and also he can see and interact with certain shades and echoes left behind from living people (which are different from ninjago’s version of ghosts, these shades can’t interact with the world and are completely passive, but they are immune to water).

eventually he ends up in S0/S1 of ninjago training with the four core ninja and his weapon was technically a spear or staff thing but i decided that a set of kama were a cooler weapon-- they’re mostly japanese farming sickles but they are used in some katas in different martial arts in southern asia so i thought they were cool. didn’t wanna draw them tho

there’s more information i could write but there’s so much here already that maybe i should Chill out

[hugsandchaos]

Headcanons for how Danny acts after the reveal!

•Uses his ghost abilities both in fights and casually now

•Think making drinks or areas colder to cool the others down, turning them intangible when it rains, using his tolerance to the cold to his advantage and becomes the one to go get something during a blizzard, and flying instead of walking sometimes (he’d be up for giving piggyback rides if the others are tired)

•Definitely messes with them by using ghost speak, the looks on their faces are just too good

•They try to figure it out, even though it literally can’t be understood by anything lacking a core, but Danny’s not that mean (most of the time) and tries to make sounds like chirps and hisses when he’s stuck using ghost speak, sounds that they can associate with emotions and figure things out from there

•Nicknames like “ghost boy”, “ghost kid”, and “spooks” aren’t new to him, so he doesn’t mind them as long as they’re not used in a condescending or rude way

•Introduces them to Orbit (which leads to him explaining how some ghosts feed on negative emotions, some eat positive, and others both, but all can “taste” emotions)

•Orbit now stays outside more, but Danny is still his favorite

•He definitely possesses monsters for the fun of it, both in fights and to cause mayhem among a group of bokoblins

•Poor Wild, no one believed him when he said Danny possessed three bokoblins and made them fight their group so they could watch the chaos unfold

•Danny is not immune to pulling pranks when he’s been pranked

•Sometimes his ghost abilities and such can make some of the others feel uneasy, and he feels bad for it

•Dark jokes, dark jokes everywhere!

•”What a time to be half alive and sarcastic!”

•”Don’t you mean just “alive”?”

•”Did I stutter?”

•Okay, maybe not everywhere because not everyone likes dark jokes and a good comedian or jokester always needs to keep that in mind

•Poes especially are getting dropkicked left and right

•After explaining how dangerous ectoplasm can be to the living, a new rule is developed; “Only Danny is allowed to handle ectoplasm, and by extension, ectoplasmic entities unless he declares it safe”

•If Danielle is there, he starts teaching and training her more openly, and the two sometimes race (Danny always wins, his top speed is twice Danielle’s)

•Going invisible out of reflex when he’s startled becomes something of a normal thing

[drinkmoarwater]

Dannymay Day 13: DND

I may have let my autism take the wheel and made a functional race and class based on Danny Phantom. Fair warning now, it's overpowered for regular dnd and has not been play tested (yet).

Race: Portal-Touched

Balanced Halfa

Unstable Halfa

Class: The Obsessed

Ice Core

Fire Core

Manufactured Core

This is a long post.

TLDR; I made a Constitution based half caster with subclasses themed to Danny, Vlad, and Danielle. I'll be uploading this to the DND wiki as homebrew at some point, but for now, here's the content. Obviously I don't own either Danny Phantom or DND.

Race: Portal-Touched

You were once human, until contact with a ghost portal changed you down to your core. You are now a unique cross between human and ghost, and able to switch between your human and ghost forms with a flash.

Subrace: Balanced Halfa

You had some self reflection and discovered your purpose, something that keeps you tethered to both the physical and infinite realms. 

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 2 and your Constitution increases by 1.

Age. Halfas’ human forms age slowly, while their ghost form does not need to age at all. Most halfas have ghost forms that match the age they perceive themselves as. Halfas can live to be 200 years old, but reach maturity by age 20. 

Alignment. Balanced Halfas are good or neutral aligned. 

Size. Medium, though halfas can be compressed into any small space that could capture a ghost, such as a thermos or vacuum. 

Speed. 30 feet walking speed, 40 feet flying speed. 

Languages. Common and Ghostspeak. 

Rearranged Molecules. You are capable of transforming into both a human and a ghost, classifying you as both humanoid and undead. You can transform into your opposite form as a bonus action, or at will. When human, you have advantage on saving throws targeting undead, but can still be affected. You also can use your ghostly traits at half effectiveness (flying speed of 20 feet, half damage on attacks that use your ghost abilities, etc) not including invisibility and intangibility. When ghostly, you can be affected by anything that affects undead, but you have advantage on saving throws for Turn Undead.

Phantom Form. Your ghost form is natural to you, but requires focus. You do not require air while in ghost form. You are immune to disease, being paralyzed, and being petrified in ghost form, but resistant to each in human form. You can take the following actions: 

Flight: In your ghost form, you can fly at will with a flying speed of 40 feet. In human form, your flight speed is halved. 

Intangibility: You can walk through solid objects and creatures as if they were not there as a bonus action. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can access this ability while in human or phantom form. 

Invisibility: You can cast Invisibility on yourself as an action without using a spell slot. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can access this ability while in human or phantom form. 

Ectoblast. You can shoot ectoplasm from your hands as an action, so long as you have one empty hand. Think of this as a cantrip with a range of 30 feet. Your ectoplasmic blast adds your proficiency bonus and your Dexterity modifier to hit, and 1d8 + your Dexterity modifier lightning, force, fire, or cold damage. Once you select a damage type for your ectoblast, you cannot change it. This damage increases to 2d8 at 6th level, 3d8 at 11th level, and 4d8 at 16th level. Damage output is halved in human form. 

Blood Blossom Allergy. You, like any ghost, cannot be within 15 feet of a blood blossom or anything made with blood blossoms. If you are near it, you will take 1d4 poison damage at the start of every turn. If you touch a blood blossom, or anything made with one, you will take 1d12 poison damage at the start of every turn until you remove the item or flower. Damage taken from blood blossoms is critical in ghost form, meaning double the damage or roll two dice. 

Spiritual Purpose. Your obsession has developed into something new, you are a half-ghost with a purpose. Your purpose is what you have dedicated your existence to, a goal that extends beyond yourself, such as defending your family, finding lost knowledge, or allegiance to a leader or cause. You will do almost anything to accomplish this goal, even if it means sacrificing yourself. When fulfilling your purpose, you have advantage on related attack rolls and saving throws, though “related rolls” are at DM discretion. Without a purpose, or with a purpose that conflicts with your alignment, you become unstable and use the Unstable Halfa subclass unless you regain a purpose. 

Subrace: Unstable Halfa

The unease within yourself manifests outward in your body. That is, if you happen to have a body at the time. 

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 2 and your Constitution increases by 1. 

Age. Halfas’ human forms age slowly, while their ghost form does not need to age at all. Most halfas have ghost forms that match the age they perceive themselves as. Halfas can live to be 200 years old, but reach maturity by age 20. 

Alignment. Any alignment, with a tendency toward lawfulness. 

Size. Medium, though halfas can be compressed into any small space that could capture a ghost, such as a thermos or vacuum. 

Speed. 30 feet walking speed, 40 feet flying speed.

Languages. Common, Ghostspeak, and any 1 language. 

Rearranged Molecules. You are capable of transforming into both a human and a ghost, classifying you as both humanoid and undead. You can transform into your opposite form as a bonus action. When human, you have advantage on saving throws targeting undead, but can still be affected. You also can use your ghostly traits at half effectiveness (flying speed of 20 feet, half damage on attacks that use your ghost abilities, etc) not including invisibility and intangibility. When ghostly, you can be affected by anything that affects undead, but you have advantage on saving throws for Turn Undead.

Phantom Form. Your ghost form is natural to you, but requires focus. You do not require air while in ghost form. You are immune to disease, being paralyzed, and being petrified in ghost form, but resistant to each in human form. You can take the following actions: 

Flight: In your ghost form, you can fly at will with a flying speed of 40 feet. In human form, your flight speed is halved. 

Intangibility: You can walk through solid objects and creatures as if they were not there as a bonus action. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can access this ability while in human or phantom form. 

Invisibility: You can cast Invisibility on yourself as an action without using a spell slot. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. You can access this ability while in human or phantom form. 

Ectoblast. You can shoot ectoplasm from your hands as an action, so long as you have one empty hand. Think of this as a cantrip with a range of 30 feet. Your ectoplasmic blast adds your proficiency bonus and your Dexterity modifier to hit, and 1d8 + your Dexterity modifier lightning, force, fire, or cold damage. Once you select a damage type for your ectoblast, you cannot change it. This damage increases to 2d8 at 6th level, 3d8 at 11th level, and 4d8 at 16th level. Damage output is halved in human form. 

Blood Blossom Allergy. You, like any ghost, cannot be within 15 feet of a blood blossom or anything made with blood blossoms. If you are near it, you will take 1d4 poison damage at the start of every turn. If you touch a blood blossom, or anything made with one, you will take 1d12 poison damage at the start of every turn until you remove the item or flower. Damage taken from blood blossoms is critical in ghost form, meaning double the damage or roll two dice. 

Unstable Form. The beginning of your life as a halfa, whether through a portal accident or cloning, is challenging on your body. You have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws unless provided a ‘fix.’ This fix can be a cure, a familiar, or magical item to cancel out the disadvantage. If your fix is more than 30 feet from you, you will continue to have disadvantage until this is corrected. Optional: After casting a spell, make a DC10 Constitution saving throw. If you fail, you start to melt into ectoplasm. Your movement is reduced to zero and you must make another Constitution saving throw at the end of your next turn to solidify your body. While melting or melted, you are immune to being grappled and resistant to being restrained. Discovering Purpose. You can develop a Spiritual Purpose with your DM’s guidance. Your purpose must be tangentially related to your obsession, at minimum. Gaining a purpose does not remove your obsession, only calms it. If you have a purpose, you can gain advantage on either Wisdom (Insight) checks or Charisma (Persuasion) checks.

Class - The Obsessed

You must have the Halfa or Ghost Race and a Constitution of 13 required to multiclass in or out of this class. 

[ID: A table listing the features, cantrips, and spells allowed for the fanmade Obsessed class. The cantrips and spells are the same for the Paladin class with one extra cantrip starting at 16th level, and the features are listed in text below.]

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per obsessed level Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per obsessed level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor Weapons: Simple weapons

Tools: None Saving Throws: Dexterity, Constitution Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Athletics, Intimidation, Persuasion, and Sleight of Hand

Immunities: petrified, paralyzed, diseased

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

a simple weapon

any light armor

an explorer's pack

a ghost capture device, either (a) a thermos or (b) a vacuum

Ghostly Obsession

You have an obsession, like any ghost. Your obsession is your reason for existing–you will do just about anything to fulfill your obsession, be it violence, endurance, or self-sacrifice. An obsession can be anything, such as a person, a concept, or even a mundane object like boxes. Add your proficiency bonus to any Intelligence (History) and Intelligence (Arcana) checks related to your obsession. When fulfilling your obsession, you have advantage on related attack rolls and saving throws. If you do not have a clear obsession, you will wander or lash out at others until you find one. Without an obsession, you will have disadvantage on either Wisdom (Insight) checks or Charisma (Persuasion) checks. 

Core Type

At 1st level, select a core type. You can have an ice core, a fire core, or a manufactured core. 

Spellcasting

You have an innate ability to cast spells, channeling magic through your ghost half. Most of your magic seems to extend from or be a part of your body. 

Cantrips (0-Level Spells)

At 2nd level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the obsessed spell list (to be determined). At higher levels, you learn additional obsessed cantrips of your choice, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the obsessed table.

When you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the obsessed cantrips you know with another cantrip from the obsessed spell list.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The obsessed table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your obsessed spells. To cast one of your obsessed spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

You prepare the list of artificer spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the obsessed spell list. When you do so, choose a number of obsessed spells equal to your Constitution modifier + half your obsessed level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

For example, if you are a 5th-level obsessed, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Constitution of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Magic Missile, you can cast it using a lst-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells.

You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of obsessed spells requires time spent practicing your abilities: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Constitution is your spellcasting ability for your obsessed spells; your unique physiology grants you the ability to manipulate your own ectoplasm into magic. You use your Constitution whenever an obsessed spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an obsessed spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast an obsessed spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.

Undead Endurance

At 2nd level, you have False Life always prepared, and it does not count toward your prepared spells. 

Fighting Style

Starting at 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Intrinsic Warrior. You learn two cantrips of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. They count as obsessed spells for you, and Constitution is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the sorcerer spell list. 

Defense. While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Fighting Dirty. You’re scrappy and aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes. You can attack your opponents weak spots, such as strikes below the belt or to specific nerves, a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. When you use this ability, you add 1d8 of bludgeoning damage in addition to whatever damage you dealt, which is magical when in your ghost form. 

Frequent Flyer. You spend more time in the air than on the ground. When flying, attackers have disadvantageous on opportunity attacks against you when you move out of their melee range. When in human form, your flying speed is equal to your walking speed, instead of half of your flying speed. 

Great Weapon Fighting. When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Obsessive Protector. When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. If you are holding a shield, or have casted the Shield spell, then you can reduce the damage dealt to the target by half or 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). 

Tunnel Fighter (UA). As a bonus action, you can enter a defensive stance that lasts until the start of your next turn. While in your defensive stance, you can make opportunity attacks without using your reaction, and you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that moves more than 5 feet while within your reach.

Unlikely Hero. You learned how to fight as you were fighting someone. You have proficiency in improvised weapons and your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier. When in ghost form, your unarmed strikes deal magical bludgeoning damage. 

Ghost Sense

At 3rd level, you can sense other undead within a sixty feet radius of you without using a spell slot. This feature is triggered automatically. In other words, your DM must inform you if there are other undead within sixty feet of you without you prompting them to do so. If you choose, you can expand the range of this feature to a 120 feet radius a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. 

Martial Versatility (Optional)

Whenever you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to the obsessed. This replacement represents a shift of focus in your martial practice.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Fast Flyer

Your flying speed increases to 50 feet at 6th level and 60 feet at 11th level. 

Overshadowing

At 7th level, you can overshadow, or possess, living creatures. You can use your action to touch a living creature and use your intangibility to take over their body and pilot it as your own. You cannot overshadow other undead or a corpse. If you overshadow a willing creature, then you can overshadow them as long as they are willing. 

If you overshadow an unwilling creature, the creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw to resist being overshadowed using your spell save DC. The creature can reroll this Wisdom saving throw dependent on your level. At 7th level, they can reroll every round, every two rounds at 10th level, every minute at 13th level, every hour at 16th, and every dawn at 19th. The creature can also reroll the Wisdom saving throw if you are attempting to cause the creature to harm itself. If the creature passes the Wisdom saving throw, then you are thrown out of their body and are knocked prone. The same happens if the creature you are overshadowing is reduced to zero hit points, if two ghosts try to overshadow one creature, or if you try to overshadow a corpse or undead. 

While overshadowing a creature, you use the creature’s ability scores. You cannot cast spells, but can use ghostly abilities, such as flight, invisibility, and intangibility. If you are attacked by non magical damage, the creature’s hit points are reduced, but not your own. If you are attacked with magical damage or if an attacker hits you with something that targets undead while you are overshadowing, you are affected by the attack and take the same amount of damage as the creature you are overshadowing. 

After releasing a creature from overshadowing, the creature has foggy memories or has completely forgotten what happened. You will take a point of exhaustion for every day you continue to overshadow the creature. The creature will also take a point of exhaustion for every day you do not allow them to sleep or trance, if that is something they require. 

Duplication

You can split yourself into multiple duplicates of yourself. You can make one duplicate at 9th level, 2 duplicates at 12th level, 3 duplicates at 15th level, and 4 duplicates at 18th level. Hit points and hit point maximums are halved, divided by three, or quartered for yourself and your duplicate(s), depending on how many you make. Subtract 1 from every ability score for yourself and your duplicate for every duplicate you make. For example, if you create three duplicates, all of your and your duplicates’ ability scores would decrease by three, bringing your Constitution down from 18 to 15 and your Intelligence down from 10 to 7, and so on. This would apply to all skill checks, spell saves, spell attack modifiers, attack rolls, tool use, etc. Otherwise, you can choose to use your unaltered character sheet, but subtract from every roll dependent on or affected by ability scores equal to the number of duplicates made. 

You and your duplicates each have an action, bonus action, reaction, and movement. You can act together, but are not required to. Your spell slots are split amongst all duplicates, including ghostly abilities. You must roll for each duplicate separately. Any equipment or physical objects you have stay with the original and you cannot duplicate anything except for yourself. 

When a duplicate has 0 hit points, it disappears and you absorb its ectoplasm, bringing the original’s abilities up by 1 each or reducing the number you subtract from the original’s rolls by 1. The remaining duplicates would remain unaffected. When you absorb a fallen duplicate, you absorb their hit point maximum and you regain hit points equal to your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier. For example, if you made four duplicates and one had 0 hit points, the hit point maximum of the original would increase by the hit point maximum of the fallen duplicate (say 50 hit points, bringing the original up to a hit point maximum of 100) and the original would increase their current hit points by your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier (6 + Constitution). 

The Restful Dead

When healing during a short or long rest, you can add twice your Constitution modifier to your hit point dice at 10th level. 

Ecto-Shield

At 14th level, when you cast Shield, you can either extend your shield to cover you and another creature within 5 feet of you, or increase your AC by 7 instead of 5. You can use this ability any time you cast Shield, but only once per long rest.

Ghostly Wail

At 18th level, you unlock a terrifying power. Once per long rest, you can scream with untold strength. You automatically deal critical damage to structures and objects. Your wail is a 120 feet cone of 12d12 thunder damage and costs an action. Any creatures within this cone are deafened and must make a Constitution saving throw to take half damage. Afterward, you revert to human form (if applicable), you are knocked prone until your next turn, suffer 2 points of exhaustion, and cannot take reactions until after your next turn. At 20th level, you suffer 1 point of exhaustion but nothing else. 

Phantasmal Touch

At level 20, you find a way to share your ghostly abilities onto other living creatures safely. You are able to extend your ghost abilities of intangibility and invisibility onto one other creature Large or smaller via touch. This ability can be used as often as you use your intangibility and invisibility, totalling up to twice your proficiency bonus per long rest. 

You can use this ability on the same action or bonus action you spend to use a ghostly ability. To affect two creatures at once, you can use a second action for invisibility, or a separate action for intangibility. To affect a creature that is Huge, make a spell attack DC15. For a Gargantuan creature, make a spell attack DC18. Note that all creatures you affect with this ability now are considered both undead and humanoid (or whatever creature they may be). 

Core Types (subclasses)

Ice Core

Chilly Exterior

Starting at 1st level, your core takes on a natural ability to manipulate and endure extremely low temperatures. You are resistant to cold damage and can manipulate ice in the following ways:

Minor ice sculpting. You can create small ice sculptures or objects at will, no longer than two feet and no heavier than 40 pounds. 

Temperature control. You can manipulate the temperature around you, but only to make it colder. You can make up to 10 feet around you cold enough to freeze water, or 30 feet around you cold enough to keep food from spoiling. 

Ice maker. When you touch water, you can instantly freeze it, up to 10 gallons per second. 

Bitter cold. You can make a creature cold enough to have frostbite up to 20 feet away as an action. You deal 1d6 + 4 cold damage. 

Frozen Knowledge

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared. Each spell corresponds to your obsessed level in the table below. 

[ID: A table showing the spells in the Frozen Knowledge feature, which include Frost Fingers at 3rd level, Rime's Binding Ice at 5th level, Sleet Storm at 9th level, Fire Shield at 13th level, and Cone of Cold at 17th level.]

Cold-Hearted Catcher

Starting at 6th level, you are proficient in using FentonWorks Thermoses, meaning you can add your proficiency bonus to tool use skill checks. 

Ectoplasmic Pulse (Ice)

At 11th level, you can use your action to send out a pulse of ecto-energy. Every creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or be restrained by magical ice. On a failed save, they take 2d10 ice damage or half damage on a successful save. You can use this feature once per short rest. 

Cold Snap

At 15th level, you can use your reaction to create an ice structure to help an ally. If an ally is within 15 feet from you and you can see them, you can impose disadvantage on attack rolls made against one ally until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature once per short rest. 

Shattered Hail

At 19th level, your duplicates can use your Ectoplasmic Pulse, once per duplicate, once per short rest. You must roll separately for each duplicate.

Fire Core

Wildfire 

At first level, your core develops the natural ability to manipulate and endure high temperatures. You are resistant to fire damage and can manipulate fire in the following ways: 

Fire starter: You produce small fires from your hands that can be used to light candles, spark bonfires, or controlled brush fires. Your fire can be no larger than your hand.

Turn up the heat. You can manipulate the temperature around you, but only to make it hotter. You can make the air or objects around you hot enough to boil water up to 10 feet, or hot enough to cook meat up to 30 feet away. 

Tea maker. You can instantly boil water you come into contact with up to 10 gallons per second. 

Tiny forge. You can heat metal to the point of being pliable enough to shape into something else. This requires you touch the metal for a full minute and the area you affect is only as big as your hands. 

Intuitive Inferno

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared. Each spell corresponds to your obsessed level in the table below. 

[ID: A table showing the spells in the Intuitive Inferno feature, which includes Burning Hands at 3rd level, Heat Metal at 5th level, Fireball at 9th level, Fire Shield at 13th level, and Flame Strike at 17th level.]

Hot-Shot Trapper

Starting at 6th level, you have advantage on Intelligence skill checks to capture ghosts using Dalv Co. technology. 

Ectoplasmic Pulse (Fire)

At 11th level, you can use your action to send out a pulse of ecto-energy. Every creature must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or become blinded. On a failed save, they take 2d10 fire damage or half damage on a successful save. You can use this feature once per short rest. 

Hot Flash

At 15th level, you can warm up your allies within 30 feet of you. If you see your allies taking cold damage, you can use your reaction to create enough heat to reduce the cold damage by half. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature once per short rest. 

Heat Wave

At 19th level, your duplicates can use your Hot Flash ability once per duplicate, once per short rest.

Manufactured Core

A New Unlife

At 1st level, your core only just developed into something real and unliving. You entered this world as someone else’s creation and you’re going to make it everyone else’s problem. You are resistant to force damage and can manipulate your core to do the following: 

Test tube baby. You can manipulate your body into the consistency of ectoplasm, a thick slime like substance. You can fit into any container with at least 4 gallons capacity. 

States of Matter. Solidity is a suggestion to you, something you wear when convenient. You can squeeze through any space larger than straw so long as you can get to the other side. You can use this feature as an action and a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier per long rest. 

Standardized Magic

Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared. Each spell corresponds to your obsessed level in the table below. 

[ID: A table showing the spells in the Standardized Magic Feature, which includes Zephyr Strike at 3rd level, Gentle Repose at 5th level, Pulse Wave at 9th level, Gravity Sinkhole at 13th level, and Steel Wind Strike at 17th level.]

Synthetic Snare

At 6th level, you are proficient in creating traps to capture ghosts. Add your proficiency bonus to Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) or Charisma (Deception) checks related to trapping ghosts. 

Ectoplasmic Pulse (Force)

At 11th level, you can use your action to send out a pulse of ecto-energy. Every creature within 10 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone, and 5 feet away from you if they are size Large or smaller. On a failed save, they take 2d10 force damage or half damage on a successful save. If they fail and are pushed out of your melee range, you may use your reaction to take an opportunity attack against one opponent. You can use this feature once per short rest. 

Undead Tracker

Starting at 15th level, your Ghost Sense extends to a 120 feet radius centered on you. You can expend this range to a 300 feet radius a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Copy and Paste

At 19th level, you can mimic one ability from the Fire or Ice Core types of your choosing, with the exception of their always prepared spells (Frozen Knowledge and Intuitive Inferno). 

The Obsessed spell list will be on its way when I have time and hopefully one day I will have enough motivation to make builds for the ghosts and for Sam and Tucker. Someone please roll a luck check for me.

[kokoa-la]

Do yall know how many powers Danny acc has in the show

Cus I looked at the page from the Fandom, and I counted like 52 (including some I didn't believe in or had other explanations)

Let me list them here

1. Intangibility

2. Invisibility

3. Flight

4. Cryokinesis (ice)

5. Ghostly wail

6. Overshadowing

7. Ghost rays

8. Ghost sense

9. Healing

10. Reconstruction

11 - 18. Super strength, speed, durability, agility, balance, endurance, stamina, reflexes

19. Fuse two halves together - fuse with other ghosts

20. Gravity Manipulation (only on himself)

21. Back slide

22. Space travel

23. Repulsion Field

24. Energy strike

25. Ghost shield

26. Energy constructs

27. Power absorption

28. Energy absorption

29. Electrokinesis (electricity)

30. Power augmentation

31. Ghost stinger

32. Thermokinesis (temperature) [I was 50/50 on it- don't rly count it but I'll put it here]

33. Photokinesis (light)

34. Telekinesis

35. Restoration (only inanimate)

36. Technopathy - potential (dan used it)

37. Exorcism

38. Dream Invasion

39. Fusion

40. Pyrokinesis (fire) [he makes ectoplasmic fire at one point don't question it - I didn't]

41. Duplication

42. Spectral Body Manipulation (can make himself swiss cheese)

43. Plasticity

44. Size alteration

45. The void (not a Canon power- Butch Hartman headcanoned it for dp - thank u @madametamma )

46. Paranormal immunity

47. Vacuum resistant

48. Aural shock

Now some are very similar and for a lot of the kinesis (kinesi?) Only had like one small instance so they're a possible power (like making stuff melt or using ectofire- and that's not even counting the one time he had weather powers albeit temporarily)

Oh, and yes, I did count each super human ability as its own (strength, speed, endurance, etc.). My logic was if a superhero had a singular one of those and it was counted as a power (super strength, most common example), then it should be counted as separate ones for danny, too.

Anyways, the fanfic writers should go insane with this list.

It's insane.

Here's the link for it

[gummybearstastelikesadness]

Alrighty pals, bear with me on this one, it’s 2am and I’m running on 3? monster energy drinks.

Danny’s stuck as Phantom for an indiscernible amount of time and needs to hide as a human. His human disguise includes dyeing his hair any colour other than impossibly white, dark coloured contacts for the glowing eyes, and what amounts to daylight rave makeup to hide the glowing and otherly features. He also ditches the hazmat suit completely if possible for normal clothing, otherwise turtlenecks and layers for the Ghost Boy.

The most difficult thing to hide though is that he doesn’t bleed red he bleeds neon green. This is where things get funky, Danny as a ghost is immune to human poisons. So to hide the blatantly obvious not human colour he dyes his ectoplasm.

To achieve anywhere near a convincing red a 130lbs/59kg individual would need to add at minimum 32.5lbs/15kg of a red dye to their body to even change the colour. Meaning Danny’s “blood” would be around 20%-25% dye. (I used a fabric dyeing guide for colour changing clothes, to get an actual number. Along with both solid and liquid calculations.)

Make this a crossover (example DC Batman) have Danny be on the run stuck in “No Metas Allowed” Gotham. His disguise works, except he catches the Batfam’s eye and they start trying to interact and “help” him. Danny emotionally hurt and scared refuses to tell any of them anything and when he has too he lies, fake name, fake address, fake age, etc.

They get attached to the kid that reminds them of all the Robins in one and the whole family wants him to take him in, one major problem they have no idea who he is legally. No prints, facial ID, or matching appearance in any system and none of them had gotten a DNA sample yet to check that.

Danny eventually gets hurt and ends up bleeding, one of the bats patch him up and get a sample of his blood to check. They get to the cave and try to test it and it’s not blood. It’s mostly an unknown acid and fabric dye?

The bats panic because their newest civilian adoption target is made up of what appears to be the contents of a crafters cleaning closet and still functioning.

Danny eventually trusts them and tells them about the half ghost stuff. They help him transform back in to Fenton (via magic, science, therapy, IDK) but before actually transforming back he goes intangible and a 32.5lbs/15kg goo pile of red dye hits the floor.

(Update it is now 6 am I’ve had a coffee and 2 cups of black tea and am now thinking about how much easier it would be for Danny to use thinned red paint, it’s lot cheaper and easier to get 520oz of it.)