01/03/2026
Happy Saturday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!
Today, in the first post of 2026, we’re diving into a Superhero Saturday edition, rolling up a brand-new superhero using the Sentinels Comics RPG. No pre-planning, no safety rails—just dice on the table, choices made in the moment, and seeing what kind of hero emerges when we let the system do its thing.
Rolling the Background
I started this character the only correct way: by letting the dice make the decisions for me. A quick 2d10 roll landed on a 10, which put three backgrounds on the table—Struggling, Academic, and Military. After a little thought (and honestly not much debate), I went with Academic. It felt like the right fit for a Sentential Comics character who lives in their head and probably hasn’t looked up from a screen in years.
The Academic background gives me a D12 and two D8s to spread across Leadership, Self-Discipline, and one Information Quality. I dropped the D12 into Technology, because that was never going anywhere else. The two D8s went into Leadership and Self Discipline, which feels ambitious and potentially funny in practice.
From there, I got to choose an Expertise Principle, and I went with the Principle of the Gearhead. Mechanically, it lets me overcome a technological challenge using the max die, and both I and my allies gain a Hero Point. Thematically, it’s perfect. This character might struggle with people, emotions, and reality—but put a broken device or impossible system in front of him, and suddenly he’s unstoppable.
Power Source
A quick roll put three options on the table—Experimentation, Nature, and Tech Upgrades—and there was never really a choice: Tech Upgrades it was.
From the list, I chose Nuclear as the Energy Power and paired it with a Power Suit for the Technological Power, fully committing to the idea that this character is essentially a highly educated problem wrapped in radiation shielding.
That setup gave me my starting abilities. For Yellow Abilities, I took Energy Burst (Nuclear Energy) using the D10, and Techno-Absorb using the D8, giving me a mix of raw output and defensive tech nonsense. For Green Ability, I chose Organi-Hack (Nuclear Energy), which feels equal parts useful and unnerving.
Archetype
Rolling 1d10 and 2d8 for archetype gave me 15, which pointed straight at the Transporter archetype. Perfect.
For Mobility Power, I chose Teleportation (D10), because if you’re going to move, you might as well do it dramatically. For Athletics Power, I went with Strength (D8), which also granted the Physical Quality: Fitness (D8). Turns out this academic isn’t skipping leg day.
For Green Abilities, I took Hit & Run using Teleportation and Run Down using Strength—get in, strike, and vanish before anyone can respond. For Yellow Ability, I grabbed Mobile Dodge, making this character extremely hard to pin down once things start moving.
I also chose the Principle of Science, doubling down on the idea that every solution starts with curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to push the big red button for research purposes.
Personality
The dice landed me on 9 – Inquisitive, which fits perfectly. This is a hero who needs to know how things work, especially when they’re glowing or actively dangerous. That inquisitive nature also sets my status dice: Green at D6, Yellow at D8, Red at D10—the worse things get, the better he performs.
Based on the Academic background, I also created a custom Quality: Leading Nuclear Engineer (D8), cementing him as someone who warned everyone about the risks before the meltdown.
For Red Powers, I took Full Defensive (Power Suit) and Untouchable Movement (Teleportation). In the Recon section, I added Charged Up Blast (Nuclear Energy). Health totals: 8 + 10 + 8 + 4 = 30, which I filled in across the health levels on the sheet.
Backstory
Dr. Elias Mercer, now known as Professor Flux, was one of the world’s foremost nuclear engineers, pioneering wormhole research that could transform energy and transportation. Anticipating the limits of the human body, he designed the Aetherion Suit, a high-tech marvel capable of regulating nuclear energy, stabilizing wormholes, and performing feats no mortal could survive. Mercer provided the knowledge and guidance; the suit handled the dangerous work, calculating, shielding, and channeling energy flawlessly.
During a sabotaged experiment, a reactor meltdown combined with a collapsing wormhole. The Aetherion Suit instantly activated, absorbing the nuclear surge, stabilizing the portal, and carrying Mercer through the chaos. The accident fused him with the suit, transforming him physically and granting powers no ordinary human could wield. Now as Professor Flux, he relies on the suit to teleport, unleash nuclear bursts, and endure extreme hazards, hunting the saboteurs who nearly ended him—while still approaching every crisis with the careful mind of a brilliant scientist and the unstoppable force of his technological partner.
Capabilities and Motivations
Professor Flux’s abilities are a direct extension of his intellect and the Aetherion Suit. The suit amplifies his strength, mobility, and control over nuclear energy, letting him teleport through wormholes, channel devastating energy bursts, and withstand forces that would crush a normal human. Every action is calculated, every maneuver a demonstration of science in motion, making him both a formidable hero and an unstoppable force when reality itself is under threat.
His motivations are rooted in responsibility, curiosity, and justice. Professor Flux isn’t just fighting villains—he’s pursuing the saboteurs who nearly ended his career and threatened the world with catastrophic energy misuse. While the suit grants him near-limitless capabilities, his greatest strength remains his mind: a relentless desire to understand, innovate, and protect humanity from the very forces he studies.
Personal Life
Outside the lab and away from wormholes and nuclear surges, Professor Flux is surprisingly… ordinary. He’s single, mostly by choice, having spent decades prioritizing research and invention over relationships. Friends describe him as brilliant but absent-minded—often forgetting meals or appointments while chasing theoretical problems or tinkering with the Aetherion Suit.
His private life is quiet, filled with late nights in the lab, coffee-fueled design marathons, and the occasional solitary walk to clear his mind. He keeps a small apartment packed with books, schematics, and miniature prototypes, a reflection of a life lived at the intersection of genius and obsession. While the world sees him as a superhero, at heart he’s still Dr. Elias Mercer—the curious, disciplined scientist who just happens to have the universe’s most powerful suit at his command.
Creating the Artwork
To bring Professor Flux to life visually, we used Artistly to generate a comic-style illustration. Using carefully crafted prompts, we described him as a muscular man in his mid-50s, wearing glasses, a black bodysuit with small white stars, and a bold nuclear symbol on his chest. The hero is depicted stepping out of a glowing teleportation portal, with the suit’s energy and motion captured in dramatic comic-book style lighting. This allowed us to translate the character we rolled up in Sentinels Comics RPG directly into a striking visual companion for Superhero Saturday.
2026 Goals Progress
- 🖌️ Minis Painted: 0 / 150
- 🏔️ Large Models / Terrain: 0 / 6
- 🎥 YouTube Videos: 0 / 24
- 📝 Game Reviews: 0 / 4
- 🎲 Games Played (TTRPG + Board Games): 0 / 4
- 📜 Thursday Drop-Ins Created: 0 / 12
- 🧪 New TTRPG Systems Tried: 0 / 3
- ⚔️ Shadowdark Mini-Campaign Sessions: 0 / 3
- 📘 Shadowdark Release on DriveThruRPG: 0 / 1
Since this is the first post of the year, none of our 2026 goals have been completed yet—but that just means there’s plenty of room to get rolling, and what better way to start than diving into a brand-new superhero build?
Keep on gaming!
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