Though similar to the Archetype Archives, Freedom City Archetypes & Legacies is an electronic book that expands the material first seen in Green Ronin’s Freedom City, Second Edition and follows the ideas presented in the Archetype Archives. Like its predecessors, these archetypes are presented in a graphically sound format and include color illustrations representing each model, as well as hints on how to fit them into any Freedom City campaign.
First up is the successor to the Beacon, The Champion of Light. Though reminiscent of the Energy Controller, this archetype uses the idea of healing light, as well as having a calming effect. Of course, it also has the standard light-based powers such as a Blast and Dazzle. For anyone using Freedom City, this character would be very easy to fit squeeze in as a player character or even as a NPC.
Next up is the DNAscendant. For those that want a different way to make a Super Solider, the DNAscendant is your ticket. The strength in this build is its diversity, having not only superior attack abilities, but a good toughness and movement abilities as well. In all honesty, it reminds me of the way an Ultimate Captain America build might look.
The next legacy is Freedom Eagle II, heir to the Freedom Eagle costume. I really liked this one, it had some interesting mechanics behind it and I saw an almost “Nightwing-meets-Hawkman-like” flair to the character. He’s got some neat gadgets and some very useful feats. As far as story elements go, Freedom Eagle II has a few options open to his origins, all of which work perfectly with Freedom City.
The Lor Captain is next up. With this archetype, I see some neat resemblances to Marvel’s Captain Mar-Vell in the character and could imagine that she could even go along the same route. She doesn’t start out with cosmic power or anything; instead, she has some interesting devices (including a starship) and a good selection of feats and skills.
Personally, I’ve always been a big fan of Marvel’s Skrulls. I don’t know what it is exactly, but they’ve always been interesting in my eyes. So, it’s no big surprise to me that I really liked Freedom City’s Grue. Included in Archetypes and Legacies is a Rogue Grue build which is really nicely done. Here’s a character that could easily take on the role as a psionicist or even as a brick in any group. With some minor amount of work, the build could pretty much go in any direction and have some interesting complications. Well done on this one.
The next legacy character comes in as the Scarab Reborn. This archetype seems almost like a Dr. Fate/Professor Xavier combination that works quite well. Between having formidable mental abilities and a decent array of skills and feats, the Scarab would be an interesting addition to any group. I also have to mention that I was quite impressed with the idea of past lives remembered, great idea with that.
Shambala Master is the next archetype and it’s a doozy. In many ways, the Shambala Master is a combat Monster, with several attack feats and excellent bonuses to attack and defense. On top of that, there are options that recommend additional powers and feats so that a player may customize it further. I think the only thing he’s missing is something akin to some Chi abilities (like a tiring Strike or something).
Anyone remember Rom, the Spaceknight? It’s obvious that the folks over at Green Ronin did. For those not in the know, the Freedom City universe utilizes a cosmic force of characters called Star Knights. And now there’s an archetype for them as well. The build is a good one, improving on the armor seen in Freedom City, Second Edition and contains all the abilities that a common Star Knight would have. I highly recommend this one.
Next up is the Ultiman Exile. Like with the Grue, I’ve always been a fan of hidden races. Whether they were Marvel’s Inhumans and Eternals or DC’s New Gods, they always seemed to be an untapped resource. So I was glad to see an Ultiman archetype in the mix. The character is a great build and exudes the amount of power that something named “Ultiman” should.
The final archetype is the Utopian Envoy. The build for this character is an interesting one. Not only are they superior stat-wise, but they also have a great collection of skills and feats. Power-wise, they only carry a device, which, in the build, is a weapon, though, as it says in the text, could be almost anything.
Overall, the PDF is a steal at the price and expands on the ideas first seen in Freedom City, Second Edition. I highly recommend them to anyone playing Mutants and Masterminds (or any supers campaign for that matter), especially if they’re using Freedom City.
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