She is tired of Earth. Those people. She is tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.
The World in the Aftermath -- A Setting for Mutants and Masterminds
- Thread starter Davies
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Davies
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"Tired? Never! Never be boring, and you'll never be bored."
Davies
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- Reaction score
- 352
As a way of wrapping up the mini-series of the Dreamdancer's Four Heavenly Queens, I've written a short sub-index page about the Imagerie. You may recognize the map from somewhere else ...
Davies
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Two Paths To Tomorrow
Owing a bit to people who confuse metaphor with actuality, the idea that there are multiple different "timelines" branching away from each other, or different channels in the "timestream", has gained a bit too much credibility. The reality is that while we do, as far as we can discern, possess free will, the overwhelming majority of volitional acts do not and cannot change the course of the universe. The butterfly flapping its wings does not create a hurricane; billions of butterflies flapping their wings do not create one either. We are here, then we're gone, and everything goes on. Nothing changes.
Or at least, nothing changed before. Perhaps it was because the opening conditions to create that change were now present millions of years in the past. Perhaps it was because time had not existed for an unguessable interval, not so terribly long ago, and its recent return to existence left time more fragile and vulnerable to the antithesis of time -- chance -- than those who were supposed to watch over it realized. Or perhaps a certain woman in red was not the only one manipulating events to suit herself.
Regardless, the entity called Vulcan emerged from hyperspace and slowly approached Earth, intending to claim its energies for itself. But Earth was not undefended. The taskforce sent by the Technate was prepared to fight again for this world, and so were many unexpected allies. A certain Imperial captain who had sworn to himself that he would not be seen as a coward in the sight of the Technate fleet. Pirates from the asteroid belt and from further afield. Olympians and Hesperan soldiers in ships provided by Argus. A fleet of ships coming to the aid of the queen of their world. Ectotronians led by a mad machine who had finally realized that his "master" had no idea that he even existed. Even a small number of fighters launching from the Sprawl. And, of course, the superheroes. The history of charted space records no more bewildering assembly of forces.
The sum total of all their efforts was to open up a small rift in the impervious shields of Vulcan so that a single ship -- carrying the Vagabonds, the Guardians, and some of their allies -- could slip inside the worldship and attempt to bring the fight to its controller. And when they did so, reality itself shuddered and one became two.
In one sequence of events, they succeeded, defeating the master of Vulcan so that the vessel ground to a halt. Yet this victory contained within it the seeds of a greater defeat to follow, for the struggle to claim the resources of the big dumb object began almost immediately afterwards, with this and other revelations eventually leading to the end of the Second Age of Heroes and most of the planet Earth coming under the rule of the cabal known as the Argonauts. They would fall, eventually, but not for a long, long time.
In the other sequence of events, they seemed to have failed -- but it is difficult to say for sure, for all that is definitely known is that Vulcan withdrew from the Solar system and fled, taking those who had invaded it with them. They would not be seen again in this region of space for some time to come. Those left behind mourned their losses, and began to rebuild as the Second Age of Heroes seemed to be enduring even longer, and there were other challenges to face. It would still end, eventually, but not for a long, long time.
Both of these sequences of events exist. It is possible to travel from one to the other. They are, effectively, two different histories, and whether one of them will become the true sequence of events leading to the future and the other nothing more than a counterfactual and imaginary story remains to be seen.
Owing a bit to people who confuse metaphor with actuality, the idea that there are multiple different "timelines" branching away from each other, or different channels in the "timestream", has gained a bit too much credibility. The reality is that while we do, as far as we can discern, possess free will, the overwhelming majority of volitional acts do not and cannot change the course of the universe. The butterfly flapping its wings does not create a hurricane; billions of butterflies flapping their wings do not create one either. We are here, then we're gone, and everything goes on. Nothing changes.
Or at least, nothing changed before. Perhaps it was because the opening conditions to create that change were now present millions of years in the past. Perhaps it was because time had not existed for an unguessable interval, not so terribly long ago, and its recent return to existence left time more fragile and vulnerable to the antithesis of time -- chance -- than those who were supposed to watch over it realized. Or perhaps a certain woman in red was not the only one manipulating events to suit herself.
Regardless, the entity called Vulcan emerged from hyperspace and slowly approached Earth, intending to claim its energies for itself. But Earth was not undefended. The taskforce sent by the Technate was prepared to fight again for this world, and so were many unexpected allies. A certain Imperial captain who had sworn to himself that he would not be seen as a coward in the sight of the Technate fleet. Pirates from the asteroid belt and from further afield. Olympians and Hesperan soldiers in ships provided by Argus. A fleet of ships coming to the aid of the queen of their world. Ectotronians led by a mad machine who had finally realized that his "master" had no idea that he even existed. Even a small number of fighters launching from the Sprawl. And, of course, the superheroes. The history of charted space records no more bewildering assembly of forces.
The sum total of all their efforts was to open up a small rift in the impervious shields of Vulcan so that a single ship -- carrying the Vagabonds, the Guardians, and some of their allies -- could slip inside the worldship and attempt to bring the fight to its controller. And when they did so, reality itself shuddered and one became two.
In one sequence of events, they succeeded, defeating the master of Vulcan so that the vessel ground to a halt. Yet this victory contained within it the seeds of a greater defeat to follow, for the struggle to claim the resources of the big dumb object began almost immediately afterwards, with this and other revelations eventually leading to the end of the Second Age of Heroes and most of the planet Earth coming under the rule of the cabal known as the Argonauts. They would fall, eventually, but not for a long, long time.
In the other sequence of events, they seemed to have failed -- but it is difficult to say for sure, for all that is definitely known is that Vulcan withdrew from the Solar system and fled, taking those who had invaded it with them. They would not be seen again in this region of space for some time to come. Those left behind mourned their losses, and began to rebuild as the Second Age of Heroes seemed to be enduring even longer, and there were other challenges to face. It would still end, eventually, but not for a long, long time.
Both of these sequences of events exist. It is possible to travel from one to the other. They are, effectively, two different histories, and whether one of them will become the true sequence of events leading to the future and the other nothing more than a counterfactual and imaginary story remains to be seen.
In situations such as these? Best to go with all of the above.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
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Professor Douglas Hubbard
In the summer of 1963, a limousine carrying sixteen year-old Cornelia Blake, usually better known by her nickname of "Nellie", arrived at the front entrance of a stately manor located on the outskirts of Poughkeepsie, New York. She exited from the vehicle with some hesitation, as her parents had -- rather abruptly -- informed her that she would be sent to a private academy in this area, but neither they nor the taciturn driver of the car which brought her here had told her anything else about it. No one was present to greet her, yet the young woman felt compelled to enter the mansion and walk in accordance with directions that she only sensed, rather than hearing.
These directions brought her into the office of a balding, middle-aged man who greeted her and then introduced himself as Professor Douglas Hubbard, the owner of this place and director of the Hubbard Foundation, which had recruited her due to her unusual talents, which he had discovered through the use of a device he dubbed "Recondo". He then demonstrated his own talents by speaking directly into her mind, something that she was also able to do, though most of her abilities had a different focus. The Professor explained that his own abilities had been developed through his research into psychic electronics, or psionics as it was called, using technological means to amplify the powers of his mind.
But he had become convinced that even greater potential could be developed through what he dubbed "mentalics", a method of cultivating and disciplining powers without technological means, and training those who possessed such power to use it for the good of all. To that end, he had recruited a number of young people who possessed such powers and was teaching and directing them in their activities as a secret society of superheroes -- the Alien Nation. And he hoped that young Miss Blake would become their latest member.
In later years, Nellie Blake would claim that she found this entire narrative somewhat unconvincing, but at the time, she gave the appearance of willingly agreeing to this proposal, and joined the Alien Nation as their sole female member. For the next six years, she and they trained under the supervision of Professor Hubbard while also engaging in covert missions against a number of superpowered criminals, doing their best to avoid attracting the attention of the authorities or members of the Institute.
However, they could not avoid coming to public awareness forever. In 1969, the Hubbard Foundation came under investigation by members of the Institute, specifically the Primal Pattern and Captain Mystic. (Unbeknownst to them, they had been followed by one of their teammates, initially just observing the situation.) Despite the overtly friendly overtures that the elder superheroes made, the Professor claimed that he perceived nothing but hostility on their minds, and ordered his followers to defend their home against these intruders, to the death if necessary. Confused by these orders, the Alien Nation nonetheless gave a good account of themselves in the battle that followed, but were ultimately defeated.
In the aftermath, the actual goals of the Professor became apparent. Far from cultivating and developing the powers of his followers, he had been studying them with the intention of developing further examples of psionics which would allow him to duplicate them. "Professor" Hubbard was in fact revealed to have simply been one of several researchers formerly employed by Franklin Zane in the development of his "thinking cap", who had used those discoveries for his own purposes. In the final confrontation, Hubbard ranted that he alone possessed sufficient wisdom to use such cosmic powers, that his was the ultimate mind. Not until the last moment of his life did he realize that he was making such declarations while Stardust was standing behind him and listening patiently. His end was brief, but seemed quite painful.
In the aftermath, his five students went their separate ways, most retiring from superheroics. The existence of the first secret school for superheroes has been largely forgotten, only mentioned in a footnote in the works of Richard Lawson. Even with the ignominy of its conclusion, that might seem strange ... except for the fact that all of this is a recent revision to history, an interpolation of certain events that originally happened in the 2010s of the World More Grim into the history of the World in the Aftermath.
Professor Douglas Hubbard -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 7 | AWE 6 | PRE 5
Powers:
Psychic Arsenal: Array (23 points); Removable (-5 points)
Advantages:
Benefit 3 (millionaire), Connections, Equipment 14, Skill Mastery (Deception), Inventor.
Skills:
Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Civics 5 (+12), Expertise: Science 6 (+13), Insight 6 (+12), Perception 6 (+12), Persuasion 6 (+11), Technology 5 (+12).
Equipment:
Stately Manor headquarters (Hero's Handbook DE p. 231) and 19 more points of equipment as needed.
Recondo: Remote Sensing 8 (all senses; 250 miles), Feedback - 32 points
Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)
Psychic Cannon -- (Perception-Ranged Damage 6, Resisted by Will)
Psychic Dominator -- (Perception-Ranged Will 9)
Psychic Paralyzer -- (Perception-Ranged Will 9)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 5, Fortitude 5, Toughness 3, Will 13.
Totals:
Abilities 54 + Powers 28 + Advantages 20 + Skills 22 + Defenses 17 = 141 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 5
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Power/Discovery--Motivation. Cowardice (never risks his own life when he can send someone else to risk theirs.) Secret.
Note: These stats are all equally applicable for the incarnation of the Professor who existed in the World More Grim, though his motivation was solely Discovery.
In the summer of 1963, a limousine carrying sixteen year-old Cornelia Blake, usually better known by her nickname of "Nellie", arrived at the front entrance of a stately manor located on the outskirts of Poughkeepsie, New York. She exited from the vehicle with some hesitation, as her parents had -- rather abruptly -- informed her that she would be sent to a private academy in this area, but neither they nor the taciturn driver of the car which brought her here had told her anything else about it. No one was present to greet her, yet the young woman felt compelled to enter the mansion and walk in accordance with directions that she only sensed, rather than hearing.
These directions brought her into the office of a balding, middle-aged man who greeted her and then introduced himself as Professor Douglas Hubbard, the owner of this place and director of the Hubbard Foundation, which had recruited her due to her unusual talents, which he had discovered through the use of a device he dubbed "Recondo". He then demonstrated his own talents by speaking directly into her mind, something that she was also able to do, though most of her abilities had a different focus. The Professor explained that his own abilities had been developed through his research into psychic electronics, or psionics as it was called, using technological means to amplify the powers of his mind.
But he had become convinced that even greater potential could be developed through what he dubbed "mentalics", a method of cultivating and disciplining powers without technological means, and training those who possessed such power to use it for the good of all. To that end, he had recruited a number of young people who possessed such powers and was teaching and directing them in their activities as a secret society of superheroes -- the Alien Nation. And he hoped that young Miss Blake would become their latest member.
In later years, Nellie Blake would claim that she found this entire narrative somewhat unconvincing, but at the time, she gave the appearance of willingly agreeing to this proposal, and joined the Alien Nation as their sole female member. For the next six years, she and they trained under the supervision of Professor Hubbard while also engaging in covert missions against a number of superpowered criminals, doing their best to avoid attracting the attention of the authorities or members of the Institute.
However, they could not avoid coming to public awareness forever. In 1969, the Hubbard Foundation came under investigation by members of the Institute, specifically the Primal Pattern and Captain Mystic. (Unbeknownst to them, they had been followed by one of their teammates, initially just observing the situation.) Despite the overtly friendly overtures that the elder superheroes made, the Professor claimed that he perceived nothing but hostility on their minds, and ordered his followers to defend their home against these intruders, to the death if necessary. Confused by these orders, the Alien Nation nonetheless gave a good account of themselves in the battle that followed, but were ultimately defeated.
In the aftermath, the actual goals of the Professor became apparent. Far from cultivating and developing the powers of his followers, he had been studying them with the intention of developing further examples of psionics which would allow him to duplicate them. "Professor" Hubbard was in fact revealed to have simply been one of several researchers formerly employed by Franklin Zane in the development of his "thinking cap", who had used those discoveries for his own purposes. In the final confrontation, Hubbard ranted that he alone possessed sufficient wisdom to use such cosmic powers, that his was the ultimate mind. Not until the last moment of his life did he realize that he was making such declarations while Stardust was standing behind him and listening patiently. His end was brief, but seemed quite painful.
In the aftermath, his five students went their separate ways, most retiring from superheroics. The existence of the first secret school for superheroes has been largely forgotten, only mentioned in a footnote in the works of Richard Lawson. Even with the ignominy of its conclusion, that might seem strange ... except for the fact that all of this is a recent revision to history, an interpolation of certain events that originally happened in the 2010s of the World More Grim into the history of the World in the Aftermath.
Professor Douglas Hubbard -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 7 | AWE 6 | PRE 5
Powers:
Psychic Arsenal: Array (23 points); Removable (-5 points)
- Psychic Cannon: Perception Range Damage 7, Resisted by Will, Subtle 2, Unreliable - 23 points
- Psychic Dominator: Perception Range Afflction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Subtle 2, Unreliable - 1 point
- Psychic Hallucinator: Illusion 10 (all senses), Limited to One Subject, Resistible by Will, Unreliable - 1 point
- Psychic Paralyzer: Perception Range Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Hindered, Immobile, Paralyzed), Subtle 2, Unreliable - 1 point
- Psychic Probe: Cumulative Mind Reading 9, Subtle 2, Unreliable - 1 point
- Psychic Rewriter: Perception Range Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Transformed [memories erased]), Subtle 2, Unreliable - 1 point
Advantages:
Benefit 3 (millionaire), Connections, Equipment 14, Skill Mastery (Deception), Inventor.
Skills:
Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Civics 5 (+12), Expertise: Science 6 (+13), Insight 6 (+12), Perception 6 (+12), Persuasion 6 (+11), Technology 5 (+12).
Equipment:
Stately Manor headquarters (Hero's Handbook DE p. 231) and 19 more points of equipment as needed.
Recondo: Remote Sensing 8 (all senses; 250 miles), Feedback - 32 points
Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)
Psychic Cannon -- (Perception-Ranged Damage 6, Resisted by Will)
Psychic Dominator -- (Perception-Ranged Will 9)
Psychic Paralyzer -- (Perception-Ranged Will 9)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 5, Fortitude 5, Toughness 3, Will 13.
Totals:
Abilities 54 + Powers 28 + Advantages 20 + Skills 22 + Defenses 17 = 141 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 5
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Power/Discovery--Motivation. Cowardice (never risks his own life when he can send someone else to risk theirs.) Secret.
Note: These stats are all equally applicable for the incarnation of the Professor who existed in the World More Grim, though his motivation was solely Discovery.
Davies
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- Apr 17, 2021
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Girl Wonder
The truth was, more than anything else, Nellie Blake was afraid of the Professor. Their association started with him apparently exerting mind control over her parents and also the driver of the car, and the prospect that he might wield that power against her was a terrifying one. Later, after she realized how fickle and specious his powers actually were, and learned that her parents had been bribed rather than dominated, that fear gradually began to turn to contempt and disgust. Who can say what would have happened if he had not met his end when he did, freeing her but leaving her at loose ends?
During her time with the Alien Nation, Nellie was the one who received the most personal attention from their supposed mentor, given personal tutelage in the concept of "mentalics" that he claimed to have been developed, along with studies in the psionics that he used but claimed to regard as inferior to what she might become through her innate gifts. She found it irritating that most of what she learned through this were ways of making her more useful to her teammates, such as the way that she was able to grant limited flight to them or allowed synchronized activities through her telepathy. Nellie would have preferred to learn skills that could permit her to stand alone if necessary.
She would later say that she neither liked nor disliked most of her teammates, but rather viewed them as colleagues rather than friends. Each of them seemed to entertain romantic ideas about her at times, which supposedly annoyed her. The truth, which she never admitted, was that Darius charmed her from the first, despite everything, but she came to understand that he had only one love in his life, and that love was not her. She mourned him when he died, but then went on with her life.
After the dissolution of the Nation, Nellie also declined the invitation she received to join the Institute and ignored the pleas of those of her former teammates who went to Vietnam. She would eventually hear about the notion of "Stockholm syndrome" and decide that her involvement with these people had been nothing more than that. Later still, she would do more research into the notion and decide that this "diagnosis" denied her own agency in these events; she and all of her teammates had done the best they could do under the constrained circumstances they had endured. By then, however, it was too late to reach out to most of those teammates.
Little is definitely known about her activities between 1975 (when she was interviewed for a Life Special Edition about the history of the Institute in the aftermath of its dissolution) and her next period of semi-public activities, more than thirty years later. She stated that she had been married for a while, but that it had not worked out, while saying nothing about when that had taken place. She had gone underground at the start of the Pythonian Insurgency after she had escaped an assassination attempt, and eventually took shelter in Hawaii for most of the 80s. Neither the end of the Python years nor the start of the Second Age drew her out of hiding, though she was living in Alaska during the Cerebron attacks and when Exelion sought her out, five years later.
Just what he said to convince her aged self to take up a position at his newly established Academy, after all that she had been through as a child, remains a secret shared only between the two of them. She mentored the first three years of their students, trying to offer them better education than she had received, though she ultimately passed away from cardiovascular disease in 2009, before the first of those students graduated.
Girl Wonder -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 2
Powers:
Psychokinesis: Array (26 points)
Telepathic Basics: Mental Communication 1 - 4 points
Power Stunts:
Carrier: Selective Burst Area Affects Self And Others Flight 5
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Initiative, Trance.
Skills:
Expertise: Science 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 5 (+9), Persuasion 5 (+7), Ranged Combat: Psychokinesis 4 (+7), Technology 5 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 1)
Psychokinetic Hurling +7 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 10/2, Will 11
Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 48 + Advantages 4 + Skills 17 + Defenses 14 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 5
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Power Loss (Telekinetic Hurling, without available material as ammunition.) Temptation of Power.
Notes: The stats above represent Nellie Blake in 1963. By 1968, she was PL 9; increase her array to 29 points (improve most effects to 9 ranks, increase Deflect to 8 ranks, and add Carrier power stunt as a new slot), add Move-by Attack and Power Attack to her advantages, and increase all skills by 2 ranks, and increase Dodge to 8 and Parry to 6. Her exact capacities in later years are not definitely known. The PL 9 stats also describe her incarnation in the World More Grim.
The truth was, more than anything else, Nellie Blake was afraid of the Professor. Their association started with him apparently exerting mind control over her parents and also the driver of the car, and the prospect that he might wield that power against her was a terrifying one. Later, after she realized how fickle and specious his powers actually were, and learned that her parents had been bribed rather than dominated, that fear gradually began to turn to contempt and disgust. Who can say what would have happened if he had not met his end when he did, freeing her but leaving her at loose ends?
During her time with the Alien Nation, Nellie was the one who received the most personal attention from their supposed mentor, given personal tutelage in the concept of "mentalics" that he claimed to have been developed, along with studies in the psionics that he used but claimed to regard as inferior to what she might become through her innate gifts. She found it irritating that most of what she learned through this were ways of making her more useful to her teammates, such as the way that she was able to grant limited flight to them or allowed synchronized activities through her telepathy. Nellie would have preferred to learn skills that could permit her to stand alone if necessary.
She would later say that she neither liked nor disliked most of her teammates, but rather viewed them as colleagues rather than friends. Each of them seemed to entertain romantic ideas about her at times, which supposedly annoyed her. The truth, which she never admitted, was that Darius charmed her from the first, despite everything, but she came to understand that he had only one love in his life, and that love was not her. She mourned him when he died, but then went on with her life.
After the dissolution of the Nation, Nellie also declined the invitation she received to join the Institute and ignored the pleas of those of her former teammates who went to Vietnam. She would eventually hear about the notion of "Stockholm syndrome" and decide that her involvement with these people had been nothing more than that. Later still, she would do more research into the notion and decide that this "diagnosis" denied her own agency in these events; she and all of her teammates had done the best they could do under the constrained circumstances they had endured. By then, however, it was too late to reach out to most of those teammates.
Little is definitely known about her activities between 1975 (when she was interviewed for a Life Special Edition about the history of the Institute in the aftermath of its dissolution) and her next period of semi-public activities, more than thirty years later. She stated that she had been married for a while, but that it had not worked out, while saying nothing about when that had taken place. She had gone underground at the start of the Pythonian Insurgency after she had escaped an assassination attempt, and eventually took shelter in Hawaii for most of the 80s. Neither the end of the Python years nor the start of the Second Age drew her out of hiding, though she was living in Alaska during the Cerebron attacks and when Exelion sought her out, five years later.
Just what he said to convince her aged self to take up a position at his newly established Academy, after all that she had been through as a child, remains a secret shared only between the two of them. She mentored the first three years of their students, trying to offer them better education than she had received, though she ultimately passed away from cardiovascular disease in 2009, before the first of those students graduated.
Girl Wonder -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 2
Powers:
Psychokinesis: Array (26 points)
- Basic Psychokinesis: Perception Range Move Object 8, Precise, Subtle - 26 points
- Psychokinetic Flight: Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH); Linked Deflection 6, Reflect - 1 point
- Psychokinetic Hurling: Ranged Multiattack Damage 8, Split Attack 2 - 1 point
Telepathic Basics: Mental Communication 1 - 4 points
Power Stunts:
Carrier: Selective Burst Area Affects Self And Others Flight 5
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Initiative, Trance.
Skills:
Expertise: Science 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 5 (+9), Persuasion 5 (+7), Ranged Combat: Psychokinesis 4 (+7), Technology 5 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 1)
Psychokinetic Hurling +7 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 10/2, Will 11
Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 48 + Advantages 4 + Skills 17 + Defenses 14 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 5
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Power Loss (Telekinetic Hurling, without available material as ammunition.) Temptation of Power.
Notes: The stats above represent Nellie Blake in 1963. By 1968, she was PL 9; increase her array to 29 points (improve most effects to 9 ranks, increase Deflect to 8 ranks, and add Carrier power stunt as a new slot), add Move-by Attack and Power Attack to her advantages, and increase all skills by 2 ranks, and increase Dodge to 8 and Parry to 6. Her exact capacities in later years are not definitely known. The PL 9 stats also describe her incarnation in the World More Grim.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Wing
Despite what he would sometimes claim, Darius Thibodeaux did not have a father who was a fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II. Cyrus Thibodeaux was a cook attached to that unit, and apparently regarded the dreams that his son soon developed of becoming an airman as nothing more substantial than the air itself. (In his later life, Mr. Thibodeaux admitted in an interview that his dismissal of these ambitions had covered up his private terror that his son would succeed only to die in the next great war. "And I was right about part of that," he added, before weeping unashamedly.)
Darius first realized that he could fly on his own power soon after his fifteenth birthday. Initially only able to hover a bit off the ground, he was soon soaring off into the wild blue yonder and pushing his limits to their utmost. The full extent of his powers went undiscovered until after he was contacted by the Professor, the second young man to join his school. Darius had already begun to work out that he was able to fly higher than an ordinary person would be able to survive, but the importance of the invisible field that surrounded him when in flight -- rendering him utterly impervious to any physical force and highly resistant to most forms of energy as well -- was only realized after careful study.
While initially grateful that the Professor had sought him out and given him the opportunity to exercise his vital powers in a life affording them scope, and for the other opportunities that came his way in the process, it did not take him long to grow to share the suspicions that some of his teammates had about the intentions of their supposed mentor. While happy, in the main, to have the chance to fly higher, faster and further and to use his force field to smash his way into villainous sanctuaries so that his teammates could follow in after him, Darius found himself increasingly dissatisfied with the way that the Professor only encouraged his physical development, rather than educating his mind.
His interest in the sciences was something he shared with Nelly, who encouraged his studies long after their brief mutual infatuation ran its course. While something of a flirt, even when dealing with the generally hostile female henchmen of their opponents, it was obvious to everyone that Darius Thibodeaux only really loved to fly, and it showed. However, he also enjoyed using his powers to help people, and so continued to act as a superhero after the Alien Nation fell apart.
And that was also why he unhesitatingly volunteered to join the collection of superheroes who went to Vietnam. There, he was murdered by Stardust, who used some force beam to draw him close, cancelling the protective effects of his force field, then tore his arms out of their sockets, turning them to feathers as he discarded them and the torso of his latest victim. Darius was one of the lucky ones in that his body was recovered and returned to his mourning family, which included three younger siblings by that point. None of them, nor any of their children, have ever demonstrated his powers, nor any others.
Wing -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 1 | AGL 4 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Super-Sonic Battering Ram: Linked Flight 9 (1000 MPH); Linked Sustained Immunity 20 (physical damage) - 38 points
Unconscious Force Field: Linked Sustained Impervious Protection 6; Linked Sustained Immunity 4 (cold, suffocation, vacuum) - 16 points
Advantages:
Attractive, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Set-up.
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 8 (+9), Close Attack: Unarmed 3 (+7), Deception 5 (+7), Insight 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 7 (+9).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1)
Slam +7 (Close Damage 9)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 5, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/1, Will 7
Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 54 + Advantages 6 + Skills 18 + Defenses 11 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 7*
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Prejudice (guess.) Show-off.
Note: The stats above represent Wing in 1963. By 1968, he was PL 9; increase his Flight to 10 ranks, increase Sustained Impervious Protection to 8 ranks, add Vibration Sense: Senses 5 (extended 3 ranged acute touch) to his powers, increase all skills by 1 rank and add Expertise: Science 7 (+9), increase Dodge to 7 and Parry to 6. These PL 9 stats also describe his incarnation in the World More Grim.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth,
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Despite what he would sometimes claim, Darius Thibodeaux did not have a father who was a fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II. Cyrus Thibodeaux was a cook attached to that unit, and apparently regarded the dreams that his son soon developed of becoming an airman as nothing more substantial than the air itself. (In his later life, Mr. Thibodeaux admitted in an interview that his dismissal of these ambitions had covered up his private terror that his son would succeed only to die in the next great war. "And I was right about part of that," he added, before weeping unashamedly.)
Darius first realized that he could fly on his own power soon after his fifteenth birthday. Initially only able to hover a bit off the ground, he was soon soaring off into the wild blue yonder and pushing his limits to their utmost. The full extent of his powers went undiscovered until after he was contacted by the Professor, the second young man to join his school. Darius had already begun to work out that he was able to fly higher than an ordinary person would be able to survive, but the importance of the invisible field that surrounded him when in flight -- rendering him utterly impervious to any physical force and highly resistant to most forms of energy as well -- was only realized after careful study.
While initially grateful that the Professor had sought him out and given him the opportunity to exercise his vital powers in a life affording them scope, and for the other opportunities that came his way in the process, it did not take him long to grow to share the suspicions that some of his teammates had about the intentions of their supposed mentor. While happy, in the main, to have the chance to fly higher, faster and further and to use his force field to smash his way into villainous sanctuaries so that his teammates could follow in after him, Darius found himself increasingly dissatisfied with the way that the Professor only encouraged his physical development, rather than educating his mind.
His interest in the sciences was something he shared with Nelly, who encouraged his studies long after their brief mutual infatuation ran its course. While something of a flirt, even when dealing with the generally hostile female henchmen of their opponents, it was obvious to everyone that Darius Thibodeaux only really loved to fly, and it showed. However, he also enjoyed using his powers to help people, and so continued to act as a superhero after the Alien Nation fell apart.
And that was also why he unhesitatingly volunteered to join the collection of superheroes who went to Vietnam. There, he was murdered by Stardust, who used some force beam to draw him close, cancelling the protective effects of his force field, then tore his arms out of their sockets, turning them to feathers as he discarded them and the torso of his latest victim. Darius was one of the lucky ones in that his body was recovered and returned to his mourning family, which included three younger siblings by that point. None of them, nor any of their children, have ever demonstrated his powers, nor any others.
Wing -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 1 | AGL 4 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Super-Sonic Battering Ram: Linked Flight 9 (1000 MPH); Linked Sustained Immunity 20 (physical damage) - 38 points
Unconscious Force Field: Linked Sustained Impervious Protection 6; Linked Sustained Immunity 4 (cold, suffocation, vacuum) - 16 points
Advantages:
Attractive, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Set-up.
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 8 (+9), Close Attack: Unarmed 3 (+7), Deception 5 (+7), Insight 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Persuasion 7 (+9).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1)
Slam +7 (Close Damage 9)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 5, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/1, Will 7
Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 54 + Advantages 6 + Skills 18 + Defenses 11 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 7*
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Prejudice (guess.) Show-off.
Note: The stats above represent Wing in 1963. By 1968, he was PL 9; increase his Flight to 10 ranks, increase Sustained Impervious Protection to 8 ranks, add Vibration Sense: Senses 5 (extended 3 ranged acute touch) to his powers, increase all skills by 1 rank and add Expertise: Science 7 (+9), increase Dodge to 7 and Parry to 6. These PL 9 stats also describe his incarnation in the World More Grim.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth,
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Blaster
Then
Now
While Rodney Ryan was the same age as most of his teammates when the Professor recruited him, he was "discovered" earlier than the rest and given the strenuous training that they would all receive for significantly longer. When combined with the two years he had spent living on his own after his powers manifested and he ran away from home, Blaster often demonstrated a much greater breadth of talents than one would expect of someone whose sole visible ability was to project laser-like beams from his eyes. That experience, and the supposed confidence that the Professor had in him, were the ostensible reasons that he was chosen to lead the Alien Nation. (It seems likely that he was actually viewed as the most thoroughly brainwashed member of the group.)
Born in Sheboygan, Ryan had an extremely unhappy childhood. His father had been invalided home from serving in the army during World War II, after which he married his high school sweetheart and became a father in 1946. That was when the trouble began, as his father quickly developed the fixed idea that he had somehow been cuckolded and that Rodney was not his son; the putative father ranged from one of his supposed friends to a creature from outer space. He treated his wife and son with extraordinary cruelty that finally came to a head when Rodney used his blast for the first time, soon after his fourteenth birthday. Years later, speaking of the event, he would claim that his father, seriously wounded, nevertheless smiled for the only time Rodney could remember, declaring, "I knew you were a goddamned monster," before passing out.
Running away from home (after taking his mother to a hospital) Ryan soon fell into petty thievery and might well have become a footnote in the story of one or another of the superheroes of the early 1960s, had not the Professor found him and given him a new direction. Because of his, he became the most loyal of the Alien Nation, quietly defending their mentor whenever his teammates expressed their suspicions of him. Even after the downfall, he was convinced that it must all have been a terrible misunderstanding ... until the notebooks of the Professor were recovered, and it was confirmed that he had viewed them all as frustrating guinea pigs for his theories, with Hubbard particularly frustrated by his inability to reproduce an invention that combined both the force fields used by Darius and Rodney.
Shattered by these revelations, Ryan nevertheless kept on being a superhero. What else was there, after all? And he agreed to go to Vietnam, begging his old teammates to accompany him. Only two of them agreed, and Rodney would be the sole survivor of this tiny group, because he found himself assigned to act as a bodyguard for the strategists directing the attack on Stardust. The enemy never got near them, of course, and so he found himself doing nothing while his friends died. Shattered once again, he quietly retired in the aftermath, and disappeared.
His next confirmed activity was in 1983, by which point he was managing a restaurant franchise in Denver and sent an unapologetic apology when invited to attend the first meeting of the Mile High Marauders. Throughout the next decade, Ryan maintained the location as a neutral grounds in the conflicts between the various fraternities of Denver, with only those who affiliated with the Insurgency officially unwelcome. He was often grateful for the assistance that the Marauders gave him in guaranteeing both that neutrality and that prohibition, but was firm in his decision to stay out of their struggles. More than once, however, he would act as a sounding board for their members.
The last known survivor of the Alien Nation is still alive and a resident of the Siegel Senior Citizens' Center in Denver. He was drawn back into the game after years of retirement during the invasion and demonstrated that he still has his beams, though they clearly take more out of him than they once did. He survived the experience -- again -- and offered Mysterica a compliment for her effective leadership during the episode, before going back home to play canasta with the other vets.
Blaster -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 3 | DEX 6 | FGT 7 | INT 4 | AWE 3 | PRE 0
Powers:
Blast: Ranged Damage 8, Penetrating 3, Precise - 20 points
Energy Absorption: Immunity 1 (own powers); Immunity 20 (energy damage), Limited to half effect - 11 points
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Blast), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Jack-of-all-trades, Leadership, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 6 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+9), Expertise: Science 3 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+8), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 6 (+9), Ranged Attack: Blast 4 (+10), Stealth 4 (+7).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Blast +10 (Ranged Damage 8, Crit 18-20)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 7, Fortitude 5, Toughness 6/4, Will 9.
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 31 + Advantages 17 + Skills 20 + Defenses 12 = 138 points
Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 8*
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Emotionally Reserved.
Notes: The stats above represent Blaster in 1963. Unlike most of his teammates, he plateaued early and did not improve meaningfully before the end of his career. Currently, he is PL 6; reduce all physical abilities and FGT by 2 ranks each, add Unreliable to his Blaster power, drop all combat advantages except Improved Initiative, reduce all skills by 4 ranks, reduce Will to 7, and add Elderly as a Complication. His incarnation in the World More Grim was PL 10; increase his Blast to 10 ranks and increase his Defensive Roll to 2 ranks.
Then
Now
While Rodney Ryan was the same age as most of his teammates when the Professor recruited him, he was "discovered" earlier than the rest and given the strenuous training that they would all receive for significantly longer. When combined with the two years he had spent living on his own after his powers manifested and he ran away from home, Blaster often demonstrated a much greater breadth of talents than one would expect of someone whose sole visible ability was to project laser-like beams from his eyes. That experience, and the supposed confidence that the Professor had in him, were the ostensible reasons that he was chosen to lead the Alien Nation. (It seems likely that he was actually viewed as the most thoroughly brainwashed member of the group.)
Born in Sheboygan, Ryan had an extremely unhappy childhood. His father had been invalided home from serving in the army during World War II, after which he married his high school sweetheart and became a father in 1946. That was when the trouble began, as his father quickly developed the fixed idea that he had somehow been cuckolded and that Rodney was not his son; the putative father ranged from one of his supposed friends to a creature from outer space. He treated his wife and son with extraordinary cruelty that finally came to a head when Rodney used his blast for the first time, soon after his fourteenth birthday. Years later, speaking of the event, he would claim that his father, seriously wounded, nevertheless smiled for the only time Rodney could remember, declaring, "I knew you were a goddamned monster," before passing out.
Running away from home (after taking his mother to a hospital) Ryan soon fell into petty thievery and might well have become a footnote in the story of one or another of the superheroes of the early 1960s, had not the Professor found him and given him a new direction. Because of his, he became the most loyal of the Alien Nation, quietly defending their mentor whenever his teammates expressed their suspicions of him. Even after the downfall, he was convinced that it must all have been a terrible misunderstanding ... until the notebooks of the Professor were recovered, and it was confirmed that he had viewed them all as frustrating guinea pigs for his theories, with Hubbard particularly frustrated by his inability to reproduce an invention that combined both the force fields used by Darius and Rodney.
Shattered by these revelations, Ryan nevertheless kept on being a superhero. What else was there, after all? And he agreed to go to Vietnam, begging his old teammates to accompany him. Only two of them agreed, and Rodney would be the sole survivor of this tiny group, because he found himself assigned to act as a bodyguard for the strategists directing the attack on Stardust. The enemy never got near them, of course, and so he found himself doing nothing while his friends died. Shattered once again, he quietly retired in the aftermath, and disappeared.
His next confirmed activity was in 1983, by which point he was managing a restaurant franchise in Denver and sent an unapologetic apology when invited to attend the first meeting of the Mile High Marauders. Throughout the next decade, Ryan maintained the location as a neutral grounds in the conflicts between the various fraternities of Denver, with only those who affiliated with the Insurgency officially unwelcome. He was often grateful for the assistance that the Marauders gave him in guaranteeing both that neutrality and that prohibition, but was firm in his decision to stay out of their struggles. More than once, however, he would act as a sounding board for their members.
The last known survivor of the Alien Nation is still alive and a resident of the Siegel Senior Citizens' Center in Denver. He was drawn back into the game after years of retirement during the invasion and demonstrated that he still has his beams, though they clearly take more out of him than they once did. He survived the experience -- again -- and offered Mysterica a compliment for her effective leadership during the episode, before going back home to play canasta with the other vets.
Blaster -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 3 | DEX 6 | FGT 7 | INT 4 | AWE 3 | PRE 0
Powers:
Blast: Ranged Damage 8, Penetrating 3, Precise - 20 points
Energy Absorption: Immunity 1 (own powers); Immunity 20 (energy damage), Limited to half effect - 11 points
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Blast), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Jack-of-all-trades, Leadership, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 6 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+9), Expertise: Science 3 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+8), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 6 (+9), Ranged Attack: Blast 4 (+10), Stealth 4 (+7).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Blast +10 (Ranged Damage 8, Crit 18-20)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 7, Fortitude 5, Toughness 6/4, Will 9.
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 31 + Advantages 17 + Skills 20 + Defenses 12 = 138 points
Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 8*
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Emotionally Reserved.
Notes: The stats above represent Blaster in 1963. Unlike most of his teammates, he plateaued early and did not improve meaningfully before the end of his career. Currently, he is PL 6; reduce all physical abilities and FGT by 2 ranks each, add Unreliable to his Blaster power, drop all combat advantages except Improved Initiative, reduce all skills by 4 ranks, reduce Will to 7, and add Elderly as a Complication. His incarnation in the World More Grim was PL 10; increase his Blast to 10 ranks and increase his Defensive Roll to 2 ranks.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Brawler
The third youth to be recruited for the team that would become the Alien Nation, Patrick Johansen was unique among his eventual comrades in that he had managed to keep his unusual abilities a secret from everyone, including his parents. It helped that his abilities were simply enhanced physical attributes that he had honed through practice and the occasional spot of covert adventuring. He was startled when the Professor and Blaster sought him out, with Hubbard claiming that his technology had detected his activities, but nevertheless agreed to join their ranks.
While primarily trained as a fighter at the school in Poughkeepsie, Brawler was also given enough education to allow him to develop the skills needed to act as a scout for the team, often sneaking in to the locations that the rest of the group would later assault. In the process, however, he learned to question much of what he saw and overheard, and this in turn lead him to develop suspicions about what the Professor told him. For example, he found himself wondering why the technology that had detected his supposedly hidden abilities had not been used to find many of the other individuals with whom the Nation found themselves in conflict, some of whom also possessed "hidden" talents.
Two years before the end, Patrick made a visit home to Sausalito to attend the funeral of his father. His mother, understandably under a great deal of stress, made remarks indicating that she was more aware of his activities as Brawler than he had realized. When questioned further, she admitted that a family friend had witnessed him on one of his excursions and informed both her and her late husband about them; in turn, they had reached out to Hubbard, with whom they were distantly acquainted, in hopes that he could advise them of what they should do.
That the Professor had out and out lied to him from the very start certainly damaged his loyalty to the cause, which had never actually been that strong. He nevertheless kept his suspicions to himself, neither supporting those of his teammates who had concerns nor backing up Blaster who was trying to support the Professor. In the end, that allowed him to walk away and continue his heroic career elsewhere. In many ways, he flourished further after the end of the Alien Nation than he had as a member, and was seriously considering accepting a renewed invitation to join the Institute shortly before the Battle of Vietnam.
Tasked with supervising the evacuation of an area of the countryside that seemed likely to be attacked by Stardust, Brawler was in that region when Stardust converted every living thing within it to a form of crystal. He is believed to have been killed, but his body was never definitely identified in the aftermath, and some accounts suggest that he survived but went underground; just why he would have done that varies from telling to telling, and is usually the weaker part of these narratives.
Brawler -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 5 | AGL 5 | DEX 2 | FGT 7 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Mobility: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Close Attack 2, Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Leaping 5 (250 feet); Movement 2 (safe fall, wall-crawling); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 16 points
Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative 3, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Athletics), Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10), Athletics 6 (+11), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 9 (+11), Investigation 6 (+7), Perception 6 (+8), Sleight of Hand 6 (+8), Stealth 4 (+9).
Offense:
Initiative +17
Unarmed +9/+7 (Close Damage 7)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 6, Toughness 7/5, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 18 + Advantages 14 + Skills 24 + Defenses 5 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Loves To Fight, Hates To Lose.
Note: The stats above represent Brawler in 1963. By 1968, he was PL 9; increase FGT to 9, improve all skills by 2 ranks and add Expertise: History 8 (+9), improve Dodge to 9, Fortitude to 8, and Will to 8. These PL 9 stats also describe his incarnation in the World More Grim.
The third youth to be recruited for the team that would become the Alien Nation, Patrick Johansen was unique among his eventual comrades in that he had managed to keep his unusual abilities a secret from everyone, including his parents. It helped that his abilities were simply enhanced physical attributes that he had honed through practice and the occasional spot of covert adventuring. He was startled when the Professor and Blaster sought him out, with Hubbard claiming that his technology had detected his activities, but nevertheless agreed to join their ranks.
While primarily trained as a fighter at the school in Poughkeepsie, Brawler was also given enough education to allow him to develop the skills needed to act as a scout for the team, often sneaking in to the locations that the rest of the group would later assault. In the process, however, he learned to question much of what he saw and overheard, and this in turn lead him to develop suspicions about what the Professor told him. For example, he found himself wondering why the technology that had detected his supposedly hidden abilities had not been used to find many of the other individuals with whom the Nation found themselves in conflict, some of whom also possessed "hidden" talents.
Two years before the end, Patrick made a visit home to Sausalito to attend the funeral of his father. His mother, understandably under a great deal of stress, made remarks indicating that she was more aware of his activities as Brawler than he had realized. When questioned further, she admitted that a family friend had witnessed him on one of his excursions and informed both her and her late husband about them; in turn, they had reached out to Hubbard, with whom they were distantly acquainted, in hopes that he could advise them of what they should do.
That the Professor had out and out lied to him from the very start certainly damaged his loyalty to the cause, which had never actually been that strong. He nevertheless kept his suspicions to himself, neither supporting those of his teammates who had concerns nor backing up Blaster who was trying to support the Professor. In the end, that allowed him to walk away and continue his heroic career elsewhere. In many ways, he flourished further after the end of the Alien Nation than he had as a member, and was seriously considering accepting a renewed invitation to join the Institute shortly before the Battle of Vietnam.
Tasked with supervising the evacuation of an area of the countryside that seemed likely to be attacked by Stardust, Brawler was in that region when Stardust converted every living thing within it to a form of crystal. He is believed to have been killed, but his body was never definitely identified in the aftermath, and some accounts suggest that he survived but went underground; just why he would have done that varies from telling to telling, and is usually the weaker part of these narratives.
Brawler -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 5 | AGL 5 | DEX 2 | FGT 7 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Mobility: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Close Attack 2, Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Leaping 5 (250 feet); Movement 2 (safe fall, wall-crawling); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 16 points
Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative 3, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Athletics), Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10), Athletics 6 (+11), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 9 (+11), Investigation 6 (+7), Perception 6 (+8), Sleight of Hand 6 (+8), Stealth 4 (+9).
Offense:
Initiative +17
Unarmed +9/+7 (Close Damage 7)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 6, Toughness 7/5, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 18 + Advantages 14 + Skills 24 + Defenses 5 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Loves To Fight, Hates To Lose.
Note: The stats above represent Brawler in 1963. By 1968, he was PL 9; increase FGT to 9, improve all skills by 2 ranks and add Expertise: History 8 (+9), improve Dodge to 9, Fortitude to 8, and Will to 8. These PL 9 stats also describe his incarnation in the World More Grim.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Megavolt
Gary Copper was the last member of the Alien Nation to be recruited before the arrival of Nellie Blake; at five months younger than her, he was also the youngest member of the whole group. The first manifestation of his abilities had caused a blackout in Cedar Rapids, where he had grown up, and in turn led to the family fleeing their home. Just where his parents were taking him was not clear -- though Gary would later develop the theory that they had been intending to take him to the Institute -- and never to be known with certitude, as Professor Hubbard intercepted them, "persuading" them to give their son into his care.
Gary never really developed the same sort of resentment for the Professor that some of his teammates did. He regarded the entire episode as just the first in the series of grand adventures that he was having, and tended to agree with Blaster that his teammates should trust their mentor. In fact, he was given to parroting whatever Blaster said on any and all subjects. Initially, Ryan appreciated this help, but came to find the lack of independent thought that it showed more frustrating than anything else. In response, Gary found himself feeling increasingly unappreciated and unwanted by his teammates.
When the group broke up, Gary took it the worst, and quit superheroics altogether after denouncing his teammates. Returning to Cedar Rapids, he eventually found work in a real estate brokerage, and was soon doing quite well for himself. When contacted by Ryan regarding the mission to Vietnam, he angrily hung up the phone without hearing his old friend out. He would subsequently refuse to be interviewed about his time as a superhero, beyond statements that the whole thing had been a gigantic waste of time.
What happened next was both tragic and ironic. His mentor at the real estate firm where he worked, whom he soon became as attached as he had once been to Ryan, was recruited by the Pythonian Insurgency early on, with most of the other employees having also been drawn into the developing conspiracy. The plan may have been to recruit Gary as an agent of the group, but something went wrong, and so he was marked for assassination, with the attempt accompanying the rising in 1982. (Just what that "something" was remains unclear to this day.)
However, Gary apparently managed to survive this, and went underground. Unlike Nellie, he never emerged, and it is believed that he was eventually caught and eliminated sometime in the next decade, under unknown circumstances. The most reliable account has him making a final public stand against the Insurgency in late 1989, while in Newark, and disappearing immediately afterwards. That this last appearance came about seven months before Irene Jovanovich gave birth to her son, Stephen, later to be known as Megawatt, has been noted by many commentators, but there has never been any conclusive connection made between the two events. When asked about it, Rodney Ryan bluntly expressed doubt that his old teammate had ever been involved with Irene Jovanovich, or any woman.
Megavolt -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 1
Powers:
Electrical Absorption: Immunity 10 (electrical effects); Reaction Energizing Healing 5, Limited to Self, Source (Electricity) - 30 points
Electrodirection: Array (24 points)
Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Defense, Move-by Action.
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Electrodirection 5 (+8), Stealth 5 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 0 and Reaction Damage 6)
Lightning Bolts +8 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Lightning Flash -- (Ranged Burst Area Fortitude 8)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 6, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8/3, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 65 + Advantages 5 + Skills 9 + Defenses 14 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 3
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Power Loss (all, when surrounded by insulating material.)
Note: The stats above represent Megavolt in 1963. By 1968, he was PL 9; increase STA to 4, increase his array to 30 points and increase Lightning Bolts and Lightning Flash to 10 ranks and Electrical Aura and Electrical Pulse to 7 ranks, add Athletics 5 (+5) and Expertise: Popular Culture 5 (+6) to his skills, increase Dodge to 9, Parry to 7 and Will to 7. These PL 9 stats also describe his incarnation in the World More Grim.
Gary Copper was the last member of the Alien Nation to be recruited before the arrival of Nellie Blake; at five months younger than her, he was also the youngest member of the whole group. The first manifestation of his abilities had caused a blackout in Cedar Rapids, where he had grown up, and in turn led to the family fleeing their home. Just where his parents were taking him was not clear -- though Gary would later develop the theory that they had been intending to take him to the Institute -- and never to be known with certitude, as Professor Hubbard intercepted them, "persuading" them to give their son into his care.
Gary never really developed the same sort of resentment for the Professor that some of his teammates did. He regarded the entire episode as just the first in the series of grand adventures that he was having, and tended to agree with Blaster that his teammates should trust their mentor. In fact, he was given to parroting whatever Blaster said on any and all subjects. Initially, Ryan appreciated this help, but came to find the lack of independent thought that it showed more frustrating than anything else. In response, Gary found himself feeling increasingly unappreciated and unwanted by his teammates.
When the group broke up, Gary took it the worst, and quit superheroics altogether after denouncing his teammates. Returning to Cedar Rapids, he eventually found work in a real estate brokerage, and was soon doing quite well for himself. When contacted by Ryan regarding the mission to Vietnam, he angrily hung up the phone without hearing his old friend out. He would subsequently refuse to be interviewed about his time as a superhero, beyond statements that the whole thing had been a gigantic waste of time.
What happened next was both tragic and ironic. His mentor at the real estate firm where he worked, whom he soon became as attached as he had once been to Ryan, was recruited by the Pythonian Insurgency early on, with most of the other employees having also been drawn into the developing conspiracy. The plan may have been to recruit Gary as an agent of the group, but something went wrong, and so he was marked for assassination, with the attempt accompanying the rising in 1982. (Just what that "something" was remains unclear to this day.)
However, Gary apparently managed to survive this, and went underground. Unlike Nellie, he never emerged, and it is believed that he was eventually caught and eliminated sometime in the next decade, under unknown circumstances. The most reliable account has him making a final public stand against the Insurgency in late 1989, while in Newark, and disappearing immediately afterwards. That this last appearance came about seven months before Irene Jovanovich gave birth to her son, Stephen, later to be known as Megawatt, has been noted by many commentators, but there has never been any conclusive connection made between the two events. When asked about it, Rodney Ryan bluntly expressed doubt that his old teammate had ever been involved with Irene Jovanovich, or any woman.
Megavolt -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 1
Powers:
Electrical Absorption: Immunity 10 (electrical effects); Reaction Energizing Healing 5, Limited to Self, Source (Electricity) - 30 points
Electrodirection: Array (24 points)
- Electrical Aura: Reaction Damage 6 - 24 points
- Lightning Bolts: Ranged Multiattack Damage 8 - 1 point
- Lightning Flash: Ranged Burst Area Cumulative Affliction 8 (Resisted by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to one sense - 1 point
- Short Circuit: Perception Range Nullify Technology 6, Broad, Simultaneous - 1 point
Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Defense, Move-by Action.
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Electrodirection 5 (+8), Stealth 5 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 0 and Reaction Damage 6)
Lightning Bolts +8 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Lightning Flash -- (Ranged Burst Area Fortitude 8)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 6, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8/3, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 65 + Advantages 5 + Skills 9 + Defenses 14 = 123 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 3
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Power Loss (all, when surrounded by insulating material.)
Note: The stats above represent Megavolt in 1963. By 1968, he was PL 9; increase STA to 4, increase his array to 30 points and increase Lightning Bolts and Lightning Flash to 10 ranks and Electrical Aura and Electrical Pulse to 7 ranks, add Athletics 5 (+5) and Expertise: Popular Culture 5 (+6) to his skills, increase Dodge to 9, Parry to 7 and Will to 7. These PL 9 stats also describe his incarnation in the World More Grim.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Dexter Sinister
When arrested for the first time, in 1964, Dexter Sinister claimed that the whole affair was just a terrible misunderstanding. All that he had been trying to do was draw attention to his magic show, twice weekly at the Warner Palace Theatre in Atlantic City, and everything that he had supposedly stolen had been taken with the express permission of its owners, to be returned in a suitably dramatic fashion. Yes, he understood that they were denying that, now, but that was because they had been embarrassed when his performance was interrupted by those young hooligans -- whoever they were -- and now sought to deny any involvement. It was all part of the show! Surely the authorities should understand that!
They did not understand. Well, getting out again was relatively trivial, considering his powers, but now he was a fugitive. And it was all the fault of those wretched superheroes! The whole thing, top to bottom, could be laid at their door. If not for all the media attention going to them, his show would have been thrice weekly -- nightly, perhaps! -- and he would have never needed to embark on that scheme, after the frustration boiled over to the point where he developed the power to teleport himself. Well, his losses would be avenged.
The truth was, Dexter Sinister (born Jean-Yves Marcel in a small town in Quebec, forty-six years before) lied even to himself. He had discovered his talent for shifting through space in his late teens, and employed it in the early years of his magic act. As he had grown more accomplished with the tricks of his profession, however, he had made the conscious decision to set aside his powers as the "cheat" that he had come to view them as being, since he could baffle the rubes with straightforward skill and took great pride in that.
That pride, more than anything else, led him to conclude that his performances were failing to draw audiences as they were more enthralled with those who did employ "cheats". The problem was more likely that his show was just plain old-fashioned, and losing sales due to the many other entertainments that were attracting the public interest. Even if superheroes never existed, and he himself had been a straightforward sleight-of-hand-man, his show would probably have been on its last legs. But he could never accept this, and so -- villainy!
And unfortunately, Dexter lacked the necessary cruelty to be a really effective criminal. During his second encounter with the Alien Nation, he was horrified to discover that his colleagues -- they would have termed themselves "employers" -- were agents of the Soviets. Dexter was hardly a patriot, but he rather liked money and definitely did not want a world where money meant nothing, and so he betrayed the agents to the Nation. In return, the young heroes gave him enough of a head start that he was easily able to escape them. He would face them three more times before it all came to an end, as well as encountering a few other superheroes of the first age. (One possibly apocryphal tale claims that he and the Living Thunderbolt had a duel of teleportation that ended in a draw.)
By the early 1970s, however, penology had advanced enough for Dexter to be imprisoned in a cell that somehow prevented him from teleporting away. The techniques involved would have probably interested him if they were being done to someone else. Instead, he stayed in his cell, growing older and more bent, until 1982 when he was rescued by and recruited into the Pythonian Insurgency. The same vague conscience as before, and his quickly-developed conviction that the Pythons were absolutely insane, eventually lead to him fleeing and surrendering to the authorities, spilling his guts without hesitation.
In the aftermath, he was placed in witness protection. For a few more years, he endured the frustration of no longer being able to perform, before he finally passed away in 1996, largely forgotten.
Dexter Sinister -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 1 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 4 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 3
Powers:
Enhanced Reflexes: Enhanced Advantages 8 (Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6) - 19 points
Versatile Teleporter: Array (35 points)
Beginner's Luck, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll 2, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 10, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3, Ranged Attack 7, Taunt, Well-informed.
Equipment:
50 points of equipment as needed for any given exploit, often including Snares (Ranged Affliction 5 [Dodge/Damage; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobile], Extra Condition, Limited Degree) and Flashbangs (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Perception Impaired, Perception Disabled]).
Skills:
Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Criminal 4 (+6), Expertise: Performance 8 (+11), Insight 4 (+7), Persuasion 6 (+9), Sleight of Hand 8 (+11), Stealth 6 (+8), Technology 8 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +15
Unarmed +6/+4 (Close Damage 1)
Defense:
Dodge 12/6, Parry 10/4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 6, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 55 + Advantages 21 + Skills 25 + Defenses 11 = 150 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Greed/Fame--Motivation. Occasional Pangs Of Conscience.
When arrested for the first time, in 1964, Dexter Sinister claimed that the whole affair was just a terrible misunderstanding. All that he had been trying to do was draw attention to his magic show, twice weekly at the Warner Palace Theatre in Atlantic City, and everything that he had supposedly stolen had been taken with the express permission of its owners, to be returned in a suitably dramatic fashion. Yes, he understood that they were denying that, now, but that was because they had been embarrassed when his performance was interrupted by those young hooligans -- whoever they were -- and now sought to deny any involvement. It was all part of the show! Surely the authorities should understand that!
They did not understand. Well, getting out again was relatively trivial, considering his powers, but now he was a fugitive. And it was all the fault of those wretched superheroes! The whole thing, top to bottom, could be laid at their door. If not for all the media attention going to them, his show would have been thrice weekly -- nightly, perhaps! -- and he would have never needed to embark on that scheme, after the frustration boiled over to the point where he developed the power to teleport himself. Well, his losses would be avenged.
The truth was, Dexter Sinister (born Jean-Yves Marcel in a small town in Quebec, forty-six years before) lied even to himself. He had discovered his talent for shifting through space in his late teens, and employed it in the early years of his magic act. As he had grown more accomplished with the tricks of his profession, however, he had made the conscious decision to set aside his powers as the "cheat" that he had come to view them as being, since he could baffle the rubes with straightforward skill and took great pride in that.
That pride, more than anything else, led him to conclude that his performances were failing to draw audiences as they were more enthralled with those who did employ "cheats". The problem was more likely that his show was just plain old-fashioned, and losing sales due to the many other entertainments that were attracting the public interest. Even if superheroes never existed, and he himself had been a straightforward sleight-of-hand-man, his show would probably have been on its last legs. But he could never accept this, and so -- villainy!
And unfortunately, Dexter lacked the necessary cruelty to be a really effective criminal. During his second encounter with the Alien Nation, he was horrified to discover that his colleagues -- they would have termed themselves "employers" -- were agents of the Soviets. Dexter was hardly a patriot, but he rather liked money and definitely did not want a world where money meant nothing, and so he betrayed the agents to the Nation. In return, the young heroes gave him enough of a head start that he was easily able to escape them. He would face them three more times before it all came to an end, as well as encountering a few other superheroes of the first age. (One possibly apocryphal tale claims that he and the Living Thunderbolt had a duel of teleportation that ended in a draw.)
By the early 1970s, however, penology had advanced enough for Dexter to be imprisoned in a cell that somehow prevented him from teleporting away. The techniques involved would have probably interested him if they were being done to someone else. Instead, he stayed in his cell, growing older and more bent, until 1982 when he was rescued by and recruited into the Pythonian Insurgency. The same vague conscience as before, and his quickly-developed conviction that the Pythons were absolutely insane, eventually lead to him fleeing and surrendering to the authorities, spilling his guts without hesitation.
In the aftermath, he was placed in witness protection. For a few more years, he endured the frustration of no longer being able to perform, before he finally passed away in 1996, largely forgotten.
Dexter Sinister -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 1 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 4 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 3
Powers:
Enhanced Reflexes: Enhanced Advantages 8 (Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6) - 19 points
Versatile Teleporter: Array (35 points)
- Long Distance: Extended Teleport 9 (2 miles/500 miles), Extra Mass 7, Turnabout - 35 points
- Proximal: Accurate Teleport 9 (2 miles), Extra Mass 7, Turnabout - 1 points
Beginner's Luck, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll 2, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 10, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3, Ranged Attack 7, Taunt, Well-informed.
Equipment:
50 points of equipment as needed for any given exploit, often including Snares (Ranged Affliction 5 [Dodge/Damage; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobile], Extra Condition, Limited Degree) and Flashbangs (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Perception Impaired, Perception Disabled]).
Skills:
Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Criminal 4 (+6), Expertise: Performance 8 (+11), Insight 4 (+7), Persuasion 6 (+9), Sleight of Hand 8 (+11), Stealth 6 (+8), Technology 8 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +15
Unarmed +6/+4 (Close Damage 1)
Defense:
Dodge 12/6, Parry 10/4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 6, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 55 + Advantages 21 + Skills 25 + Defenses 11 = 150 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Greed/Fame--Motivation. Occasional Pangs Of Conscience.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
And now, the most ridiculously-motivated supervillain I can imagine.
Spinner
According to Bobby Freeman, one of his earliest memories was of being held in the arms of his mother and watching as she put a record on the turn table, then set it going. The sight of the record turning around and around and around was even more fascinating to his infant mind than the beautiful sounds that came from the speakers. To him, there was something wondrous, even holy about records and the music they brought into the world.
Coming of age in the early sixties, all that Bobby wanted to do with his life was to become a disc jockey on FM radio. He believed that he had an encyclopedic memory for good music -- of course anything that he could not remember had to fail to meet that standard -- and an engaging style of speech that would keep listeners interested when the music ended. Nothing could possibly go wr-- now, wait, what was happening over there?
Without his even noticing, the 8-track cartridge had come into use, with Ford introducing new models of cars in late 1965 that included players for the cartridges. Bobby regarded this development with disgust, even horror. Now people who were driving would be able to listen to whatever music they damned well liked, instead of the tunes carefully chosen by their betters at radio stations. And the physical medium of the cartridges disgusted him, as well -- where was the spinning? There was supposed to be spinning! At least he could take comfort in the notion that when he went to work as a disc jockey, he would be providing music in the way that it was meant to be enjoyed to those who truly appreciated it.
Bobby was promptly fired on his first day at work for giving his new boss attitude. The loss of this job, and the promise that he was never going to work in radio again, combined with his anger and disgust over the new medium to facilitate the breakout of his powers, which manifested in being able to spin rapidly and move at fantastic speeds. He promptly used these powers, under the imaginatively chosen alias Spinner, to attack various vehicles in attempts to rip the 8-track players out of them, as well as attacking stores selling the cartridges. His misfortune was to launch an assault on one such emporium in Poughkeepsie while Brawler, of the Alien Nation, was shopping there. The young hero promptly defeated him and left him for the authorities to imprison.
That was the beginning of a grudge between the two of them, with Spinner also sometimes being defeated by other members of the Alien Nation. In 1968, however, he was finally held long enough to be brought to trial, and convicted of the murder of two of the first victims of his rampage, whose car had crashed after he slammed into it and ripped the player out of its controls. His death sentence was commuted to cryogenic suspension, and he went to sleep for seven years. When awakened in 1975, his powers were all but gone, as was what had remained of his sanity.
Bobby Freeman remained imprisoned for the remainder of his life, seeming largely oblivious to the world around him. He died in 1984 of a stroke, suffered after reading an article about the development of compact discs. Witnesses to his end describe him as having laughed until the moment he stopped breathing.
Spinner -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 0 | AWE 1 | PRE 0
Powers:
Flurry of Blows: Selective Burst Area Strength-based Damage 4 - 14 points
Like A Record, Baby: Concealment 4 (visual), Partial; Enhanced Defenses 10 (Dodge 5, Parry 5); Sustained Immunity 5 (grabs and entangles); Speed 6 (120 MPH); Strength-based Damage 4 - 29 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Startle.
Skills:
Athletics 8 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 5 (+9), Expertise: Popular Culture 8 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+8), Perception 7 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 5)
Flurry -- (Close Burst Area Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 9/4, Parry 11/6, Fortitude 4, Toughness 5/3, Will 5
Totals:
Abilities 24 + Powers 36 + Advantages 7 + Skills 18 + Defenses 8 = 100 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Disgusted By The Content Of Modern Music, Too.
Spinner
According to Bobby Freeman, one of his earliest memories was of being held in the arms of his mother and watching as she put a record on the turn table, then set it going. The sight of the record turning around and around and around was even more fascinating to his infant mind than the beautiful sounds that came from the speakers. To him, there was something wondrous, even holy about records and the music they brought into the world.
Coming of age in the early sixties, all that Bobby wanted to do with his life was to become a disc jockey on FM radio. He believed that he had an encyclopedic memory for good music -- of course anything that he could not remember had to fail to meet that standard -- and an engaging style of speech that would keep listeners interested when the music ended. Nothing could possibly go wr-- now, wait, what was happening over there?
Without his even noticing, the 8-track cartridge had come into use, with Ford introducing new models of cars in late 1965 that included players for the cartridges. Bobby regarded this development with disgust, even horror. Now people who were driving would be able to listen to whatever music they damned well liked, instead of the tunes carefully chosen by their betters at radio stations. And the physical medium of the cartridges disgusted him, as well -- where was the spinning? There was supposed to be spinning! At least he could take comfort in the notion that when he went to work as a disc jockey, he would be providing music in the way that it was meant to be enjoyed to those who truly appreciated it.
Bobby was promptly fired on his first day at work for giving his new boss attitude. The loss of this job, and the promise that he was never going to work in radio again, combined with his anger and disgust over the new medium to facilitate the breakout of his powers, which manifested in being able to spin rapidly and move at fantastic speeds. He promptly used these powers, under the imaginatively chosen alias Spinner, to attack various vehicles in attempts to rip the 8-track players out of them, as well as attacking stores selling the cartridges. His misfortune was to launch an assault on one such emporium in Poughkeepsie while Brawler, of the Alien Nation, was shopping there. The young hero promptly defeated him and left him for the authorities to imprison.
That was the beginning of a grudge between the two of them, with Spinner also sometimes being defeated by other members of the Alien Nation. In 1968, however, he was finally held long enough to be brought to trial, and convicted of the murder of two of the first victims of his rampage, whose car had crashed after he slammed into it and ripped the player out of its controls. His death sentence was commuted to cryogenic suspension, and he went to sleep for seven years. When awakened in 1975, his powers were all but gone, as was what had remained of his sanity.
Bobby Freeman remained imprisoned for the remainder of his life, seeming largely oblivious to the world around him. He died in 1984 of a stroke, suffered after reading an article about the development of compact discs. Witnesses to his end describe him as having laughed until the moment he stopped breathing.
Spinner -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 3 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 0 | AWE 1 | PRE 0
Powers:
Flurry of Blows: Selective Burst Area Strength-based Damage 4 - 14 points
Like A Record, Baby: Concealment 4 (visual), Partial; Enhanced Defenses 10 (Dodge 5, Parry 5); Sustained Immunity 5 (grabs and entangles); Speed 6 (120 MPH); Strength-based Damage 4 - 29 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Startle.
Skills:
Athletics 8 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 5 (+9), Expertise: Popular Culture 8 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+8), Perception 7 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 5)
Flurry -- (Close Burst Area Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 9/4, Parry 11/6, Fortitude 4, Toughness 5/3, Will 5
Totals:
Abilities 24 + Powers 36 + Advantages 7 + Skills 18 + Defenses 8 = 100 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Disgusted By The Content Of Modern Music, Too.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Nocturne
She was the first of many things. The first female costumed crime-fighter, the first French costumed crime-fighter, the first European costumed crime-fighter -- at least in her own age. (By the late 1950s, l'Ange de la Musique had been largely forgotten or dismissed as fictional.) Depending on how much of the rumors surrounding her are to be credited, she might also be considered the first lesbian costumed crime-fighter, though whether she defined herself as such is unknowable. Sadly, all those firsts are ignored, in favor of her being remembered, when she she is remembered at all, as a horrible example and an object lesson.
Had Claudine Ambrose not somewhat randomly decided to take a trip to New York in late 1955, it seems likely that she would have lived a much less notable if probably longer life. Born in Saigon twenty-five years before that, her father had been a bureaucrat in the colonial administration of Conchinchina who had sent his wife and only daughter back to Vichy France shortly after the Japanese seized control of the region. He was eventually killed sometime in the next four years, under somewhat obscure circumstances, but his death left his family materially richer, with Claudine inheriting the whole fortune when her mother passed away in 1947. While supposedly unhappy with the life of the idle rich, she found herself without direction or ambition.
Then she found that direction when, midway through her months-long stay in New York, the Cowl first struck forth from the shadows. She would later clam that she was fascinated with him from the first, consuming every bit of information that the papers of the day contained -- which was to say, not much. Later biographers would wonder whether or not she might have been the masked woman who involved herself in one of the first exploits of the Cowl, though her own account stated that she did not begin her own activities until she returned to Paris.
She equipped herself with some tools of the trade -- a whip and a pistol, both of which she preferred to use for intimidation purposes, save when absolutely necessary -- but otherwise employed some supposedly self-taught skills in savate, acrobatics and burglary. (Again, there is some question about this, as her talents in this area seemed to have been significantly more advanced than could have been acquired through a quick study.) She was also quick to use her press image as an additional tool; unlike most costumed crime-fighters of this time, she was unhesitant when it came to talking to the press, and unhesitatingly revealed her whole history -- or what she said was her whole history -- to them.
That was a fatal mistake, for the information she revealed to the press apparently provided one of the criminals she had encountered and thwarted but failed to capture with enough information with which to determine where she lived, and murder her when she had only been active for a few months. At least, that is the generally accepted version of events, though there have been claims that she was actually murdered by agents of the Fourth Republic, or by the Communists. Regardless, her death convinced the nascent superheroic community that secret identities were an absolute necessity, and no other individual in the whole of the first age tried to operate without one.
Nocturne -- PL 6
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 0 | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 5 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 2 (well-to-do), Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 4, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4.
Equipment:
20 points of equipment as needed, typically including a Light Pistol (Ranged Damage 3) and Whip (Improved Grab, Improved Trip, Reach 3).
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 5 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+7), Deception 6 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 7 (+9), Insight 7 (+10), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Sleight of Hand 5 (+8), Stealth 8 (+11).
Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1)
Whip +5 (Close Damage 1, Reach 3)
Pistol +7 (Ranged Damage 3)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 3, Toughness 5/1, Will 7
Totals:
Abilities 38 + Advantages 16 + Skills 26 + Defenses 13 = 93 points
Offensive PL: 5
Defensive PL: 6
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Thrills/Fame--Motivation. Public Identity.
She was the first of many things. The first female costumed crime-fighter, the first French costumed crime-fighter, the first European costumed crime-fighter -- at least in her own age. (By the late 1950s, l'Ange de la Musique had been largely forgotten or dismissed as fictional.) Depending on how much of the rumors surrounding her are to be credited, she might also be considered the first lesbian costumed crime-fighter, though whether she defined herself as such is unknowable. Sadly, all those firsts are ignored, in favor of her being remembered, when she she is remembered at all, as a horrible example and an object lesson.
Had Claudine Ambrose not somewhat randomly decided to take a trip to New York in late 1955, it seems likely that she would have lived a much less notable if probably longer life. Born in Saigon twenty-five years before that, her father had been a bureaucrat in the colonial administration of Conchinchina who had sent his wife and only daughter back to Vichy France shortly after the Japanese seized control of the region. He was eventually killed sometime in the next four years, under somewhat obscure circumstances, but his death left his family materially richer, with Claudine inheriting the whole fortune when her mother passed away in 1947. While supposedly unhappy with the life of the idle rich, she found herself without direction or ambition.
Then she found that direction when, midway through her months-long stay in New York, the Cowl first struck forth from the shadows. She would later clam that she was fascinated with him from the first, consuming every bit of information that the papers of the day contained -- which was to say, not much. Later biographers would wonder whether or not she might have been the masked woman who involved herself in one of the first exploits of the Cowl, though her own account stated that she did not begin her own activities until she returned to Paris.
She equipped herself with some tools of the trade -- a whip and a pistol, both of which she preferred to use for intimidation purposes, save when absolutely necessary -- but otherwise employed some supposedly self-taught skills in savate, acrobatics and burglary. (Again, there is some question about this, as her talents in this area seemed to have been significantly more advanced than could have been acquired through a quick study.) She was also quick to use her press image as an additional tool; unlike most costumed crime-fighters of this time, she was unhesitant when it came to talking to the press, and unhesitatingly revealed her whole history -- or what she said was her whole history -- to them.
That was a fatal mistake, for the information she revealed to the press apparently provided one of the criminals she had encountered and thwarted but failed to capture with enough information with which to determine where she lived, and murder her when she had only been active for a few months. At least, that is the generally accepted version of events, though there have been claims that she was actually murdered by agents of the Fourth Republic, or by the Communists. Regardless, her death convinced the nascent superheroic community that secret identities were an absolute necessity, and no other individual in the whole of the first age tried to operate without one.
Nocturne -- PL 6
Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 0 | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 5 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 2 (well-to-do), Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 4, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4.
Equipment:
20 points of equipment as needed, typically including a Light Pistol (Ranged Damage 3) and Whip (Improved Grab, Improved Trip, Reach 3).
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 5 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+7), Deception 6 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 7 (+9), Insight 7 (+10), Intimidation 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Sleight of Hand 5 (+8), Stealth 8 (+11).
Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 1)
Whip +5 (Close Damage 1, Reach 3)
Pistol +7 (Ranged Damage 3)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 3, Toughness 5/1, Will 7
Totals:
Abilities 38 + Advantages 16 + Skills 26 + Defenses 13 = 93 points
Offensive PL: 5
Defensive PL: 6
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Thrills/Fame--Motivation. Public Identity.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Jiraiya
In costume
Out of costume
Kageyama Sarutobi was not the name he was given at birth. That, and all else about the life that he might have led, vanished in the flames that consumed the home where he lived, with his infant self thrown from a window to be caught by the man he would come to call Professor Chi -- Kunisawa Chihiro. At least, that was the story that he was told by the Professor growing up. Later in life, he would come to suspect that there were holes in the account he had been given, but by then he was past caring.
At fifteen years of age, Professor Chi deemed him ready to begin the training regime he had developed. The Professor explained that he had spent the last few decades studying the training techniques employed by dozens if not hundreds of martial arts schools, applying scientific rigor to determine what worked and what was impractical nonsense and superstition. From this, he had developed what he believed to be techniques that anyone could use to develop superhuman talents, and proposed to test these methods on Sarutobi. The young man, who had been raised to be loyal, agreed in the hope that he could use these talents in the defense of his homeland.
The training was harsh and exacting, yet not really unpleasant. The dietary restrictions that he was forced to undergo, and the occasional medical procedures that the Professor performed but never really explained, were much harder to endure. But every day, Sarutobi found himself growing stronger, faster and more resilient, and becoming ready to use all these talents as the first superhero of Japan. In 1964, as Doctor Typhon began his first attacks against the people of the Home Islands, Professor Chi deemed his first student to be ready, and sent him out to do battle under the alias of the gallant ninja of folklore -- Jiraiya.
Jiraiya regarded the defense of Japan against superpowered opponents to be his personal responsibility. While willing and able to cooperate with heroes from the west, he nevertheless kept a cool distance from them, believing that needing assistance indicated a weakness on his part that he should strive to overcome. He was also not best pleased when the Professor introduced him to the second student, Katsuki Junko, who took the name of Tsunade, the wife of Jiraiya. Despite this inauspicious start, they learned to work together well.
They had to, especially after the Professor was killed when the Martians attacked Tokyo. Going through the ruins of his laboratory, the two ninja discovered his private journal, and learned more about the processes that had created them than they had ever wanted to know. The diet, incorporating chemical treatments, was far more important than they had realized, since the medical treatments they had received would cause their bodies to age rapidly without them. And the Professor had regarded all this as something to be fixed in later generations of the program, not the current one. They were being tested to their deaths.
This discovery initially drew the two of them closer together, but the anger that it aroused in Sarutobi would eventually drive them apart. The callous cruelty outraged him, and this, combined with the disaster in Vietnam, left him increasingly disgusted with science and technology in general, seeking to escape the world that had produced all this by returning to an imagined and deliberately romanticized past. After Junko left him, he began deliberately planning to create a community of martial artists who would embrace the disciplines he still valued while rejecting the technical perversions of them. This community would become known as the Shadow School.
For more than a decade, Sarutobi strove to regain the peace he had once known in the practice of the martial arts, and share it with others as well. While abandoning the chemical additives to his diet, he managed to hold off the accelerated aging that came with them to a slightly greater degree than Katsuki managed through his intensive training. Nevertheless, by the time he was forty-eight, in 1992, he would have been taken for a man in his sixties.
The last day of his life seemed like any other, as he greeted a new group of would-be students who had made the trek into the territories of the Shadow School. Yet something kept drawing his attention to one of the younger members of this new class, who was staring up at him with a cold glare. With a start, he recognized his own facial features in those of the boy, as well as those of Junko, and realized what this must mean. He was struggling to find the right words with which to address his son when he collapsed in front of the students, never to regain consciousness.
In the confusion, the boy slipped away. He would not return to the Shadow School, looking much older and calling himself Sakamoto Sasuke, for four more years. And everything that happened after that, happened.
Jiraiya -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 6 | FGT 8 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 2
Powers:
Abundant Step: Leaping 3 (60 feet); Movement 1 (trackless) - 5 points
Chi Mastery: Array (16 points)
All-out Attack, Assessment, Chokehold, Close Attack 3, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 6, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Improvised Weapon, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Tracking, Trance, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind, Well-informed.
Equipment:
16 points of equipment as needed.
Arsenal: Array (12 points)
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 6 (+9), Deception 8 (+9), Expertise: Science 8 (+10), Insight 5 (+9), Intimidation 7 (+9), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+8), Ranged Attack: Thrown 6 (+12), Sleight of Hand 6 (+12), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 6 (+8), Vehicles 4 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +10
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 3)
Sword +11 (Close Damage 6, Crit 19-20)
Nerve Strike +11 (Close Fortitude 8)
Throwing Stars +12 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 1)
Hypnotic Gestures -- (Perception Range Will 8)
Flurry of Blows -- (Close Burst Area Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 11, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8/3, Will 9
Totals:
Abilities 66 + Powers 24 + Advantages 29 + Skills 38 + Defenses 15 = 172 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 7
Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Secret Identity. Unwitting Dependence (regular treatment from Professor Chi.)
Note: Should stats be needed for the PL 9 version of Sarutobi in later years, after he founded the Shadow School, reduce STR to 2, STA to 2, AGL to 4, DEX to 5, and FGT to 6, reduce his Chi Mastery array to 10 points and add Tiring to each slot, drop Equipment from his advantages, but add Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Smash and Weapon Break, remove Expertise: Science, Technology and Vehicles from his skills, but add Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+8), Expertise: History 8 (+10) and improve all other skills by 1 rank each. His motivation had become Responsibility and he now had the additional complications Cultured Disdain (technology and advanced science) and Rapid Aging. By the early 90s, he had degenerated physically -- reduce all physical stats and FGT by 2 ranks each.
Appearance in later years.
In costume
Out of costume
Kageyama Sarutobi was not the name he was given at birth. That, and all else about the life that he might have led, vanished in the flames that consumed the home where he lived, with his infant self thrown from a window to be caught by the man he would come to call Professor Chi -- Kunisawa Chihiro. At least, that was the story that he was told by the Professor growing up. Later in life, he would come to suspect that there were holes in the account he had been given, but by then he was past caring.
At fifteen years of age, Professor Chi deemed him ready to begin the training regime he had developed. The Professor explained that he had spent the last few decades studying the training techniques employed by dozens if not hundreds of martial arts schools, applying scientific rigor to determine what worked and what was impractical nonsense and superstition. From this, he had developed what he believed to be techniques that anyone could use to develop superhuman talents, and proposed to test these methods on Sarutobi. The young man, who had been raised to be loyal, agreed in the hope that he could use these talents in the defense of his homeland.
The training was harsh and exacting, yet not really unpleasant. The dietary restrictions that he was forced to undergo, and the occasional medical procedures that the Professor performed but never really explained, were much harder to endure. But every day, Sarutobi found himself growing stronger, faster and more resilient, and becoming ready to use all these talents as the first superhero of Japan. In 1964, as Doctor Typhon began his first attacks against the people of the Home Islands, Professor Chi deemed his first student to be ready, and sent him out to do battle under the alias of the gallant ninja of folklore -- Jiraiya.
Jiraiya regarded the defense of Japan against superpowered opponents to be his personal responsibility. While willing and able to cooperate with heroes from the west, he nevertheless kept a cool distance from them, believing that needing assistance indicated a weakness on his part that he should strive to overcome. He was also not best pleased when the Professor introduced him to the second student, Katsuki Junko, who took the name of Tsunade, the wife of Jiraiya. Despite this inauspicious start, they learned to work together well.
They had to, especially after the Professor was killed when the Martians attacked Tokyo. Going through the ruins of his laboratory, the two ninja discovered his private journal, and learned more about the processes that had created them than they had ever wanted to know. The diet, incorporating chemical treatments, was far more important than they had realized, since the medical treatments they had received would cause their bodies to age rapidly without them. And the Professor had regarded all this as something to be fixed in later generations of the program, not the current one. They were being tested to their deaths.
This discovery initially drew the two of them closer together, but the anger that it aroused in Sarutobi would eventually drive them apart. The callous cruelty outraged him, and this, combined with the disaster in Vietnam, left him increasingly disgusted with science and technology in general, seeking to escape the world that had produced all this by returning to an imagined and deliberately romanticized past. After Junko left him, he began deliberately planning to create a community of martial artists who would embrace the disciplines he still valued while rejecting the technical perversions of them. This community would become known as the Shadow School.
For more than a decade, Sarutobi strove to regain the peace he had once known in the practice of the martial arts, and share it with others as well. While abandoning the chemical additives to his diet, he managed to hold off the accelerated aging that came with them to a slightly greater degree than Katsuki managed through his intensive training. Nevertheless, by the time he was forty-eight, in 1992, he would have been taken for a man in his sixties.
The last day of his life seemed like any other, as he greeted a new group of would-be students who had made the trek into the territories of the Shadow School. Yet something kept drawing his attention to one of the younger members of this new class, who was staring up at him with a cold glare. With a start, he recognized his own facial features in those of the boy, as well as those of Junko, and realized what this must mean. He was struggling to find the right words with which to address his son when he collapsed in front of the students, never to regain consciousness.
In the confusion, the boy slipped away. He would not return to the Shadow School, looking much older and calling himself Sakamoto Sasuke, for four more years. And everything that happened after that, happened.
Jiraiya -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 6 | FGT 8 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 2
Powers:
Abundant Step: Leaping 3 (60 feet); Movement 1 (trackless) - 5 points
Chi Mastery: Array (16 points)
- Flurry of Blows: Selective Burst Area Damage 5 - 1 point
- Hypnotic Gestures: Perception Range Affliction 8 (Dazed and Vulnerable, Stunned and Defenseless), Extra Condition, Limited Degree, Sight Dependent - 16 points
- Nerve Strike: Cumulative Affliction 8 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Paralyzed) - 1 point
- Restoration: Healing 8 - 1 point
All-out Attack, Assessment, Chokehold, Close Attack 3, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 6, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Improvised Weapon, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Tracking, Trance, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind, Well-informed.
Equipment:
16 points of equipment as needed.
Arsenal: Array (12 points)
- Smoke Grenade: Ranged Cloud Area Concealment Attack 4 - 12 points
- Sword: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical - 1 point
- Throwing Stars: Ranged Multiattack Damage 1 - 1 point
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 6 (+9), Deception 8 (+9), Expertise: Science 8 (+10), Insight 5 (+9), Intimidation 7 (+9), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+8), Ranged Attack: Thrown 6 (+12), Sleight of Hand 6 (+12), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 6 (+8), Vehicles 4 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +10
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 3)
Sword +11 (Close Damage 6, Crit 19-20)
Nerve Strike +11 (Close Fortitude 8)
Throwing Stars +12 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 1)
Hypnotic Gestures -- (Perception Range Will 8)
Flurry of Blows -- (Close Burst Area Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 11, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8/3, Will 9
Totals:
Abilities 66 + Powers 24 + Advantages 29 + Skills 38 + Defenses 15 = 172 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 7
Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Secret Identity. Unwitting Dependence (regular treatment from Professor Chi.)
Note: Should stats be needed for the PL 9 version of Sarutobi in later years, after he founded the Shadow School, reduce STR to 2, STA to 2, AGL to 4, DEX to 5, and FGT to 6, reduce his Chi Mastery array to 10 points and add Tiring to each slot, drop Equipment from his advantages, but add Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Improved Smash and Weapon Break, remove Expertise: Science, Technology and Vehicles from his skills, but add Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+8), Expertise: History 8 (+10) and improve all other skills by 1 rank each. His motivation had become Responsibility and he now had the additional complications Cultured Disdain (technology and advanced science) and Rapid Aging. By the early 90s, he had degenerated physically -- reduce all physical stats and FGT by 2 ranks each.
Appearance in later years.
Well that's certainly about as big a tragedy of wasted potential and legacy as Jodie Crowley.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Halfworlder
Jarna Yabb got her start as a member of the private security force for the legislature of Tyymlt, one of the planets of the Crimson Imperium. She would likely still be there if not for an episode where someone -- officially identified as part of the Insurgency, but the truth is that it was probably just some disaffected scientist -- set up a dimensional distortion bomb on the legislature grounds. The commander asked for volunteers to disarm the device, and Jarna nobly volunteered.
Yahright she did. When nobody volunteered, as they were none of them idiots, the commander picked Jarna at random and sent her in regardless. Jarna managed to prevent the bomb from detonating completely, and thus taking out the whole building, but she was squarely in the area that the dimensional distortion did affect, and lost consciousness fully expecting to wake up in the afterlife. Bewilderingly, she instead awakened to find that she was still alive, and possessed of the power to shift from her normal physical form to an incorporeal and translucent one. Within a week or so later, she was recruited for the Scarlet Knights -- again, not really given a choice in the matter.
Jarna never wanted any of this. She just wanted to do her twenty-three years*, retire with a fat pension, and live out the rest of her life in peace. Instead, she has been trained to use her ghostly form as a weapon -- somehow projecting beams of energy from her hand -- and sent on a bewildering mission to some weird planet in the Unclaimed Regions that is supposedly crucial to the security of the Imperium. None of this made the least bit of sense to her, but she fears the consequences of refusal.
And all that was before she actually arrived on Earth. Jarna had expected that they were probably going to have to fight some of the powered Earthlings on the way in, but the actual arrival turned out to be pretty peaceful. The problems started after the embassy was set up, and she was given the assignment of investigating affairs on a tiny island that apparently had some sort of historical connection with the nation hosting them. It seemed like it would be a much easier assignment than some of the other Knights received.
Yahright it was! Blood-drinking monsters! Insane robots! Lunatics fighting the blood-drinking monsters with ancient weaponry! Schoolchildren using weapons that could harm even her! And then, while she was fleeing in panic, Jarna wound up in this house of horrors where she was made to watch some incredibly macabre stories with the people who had appeared in them, and was shown some disturbing things about her own history that she had never realized. It was all just too much!
So she went back to the embassy and gave her report. To wit: this planet is a nightmare and they should leave at once. And of course, that report was dismissed, and she was left to wonder how much worse things must be in other parts of this planet.
Then there is the other thing. While she was not called on to take part in the battle against Vulcan, much to her relief, Jarna learned another facet of her powers in the aftermath. Somehow, she is able to travel to an alternate reality where that battle happened differently. She has even encountered another version of herself there. Which would be nice, if not for the fact that Jarna, more than anyone else, knows how untrustworthy she herself is!
Halfworlder -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 4 | FGT 3 | INT 4 | AWE 2 | PRE 3
Powers:
Ghostshift: Linked Continuous Concealment 4 (auditory, olfactory); Linked Continuous Concealment 4 (visual), Partial; Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH); Linked Continuous Insubstantial 4 (vulnerable to magic); Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (life support); Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH) - 68 points
Ghost Ray: Ranged Damage 8, Affects Corporeal, Unreliable - 16 points
Worldshift: Movement 1 (dimensional movement between parallel timelines) - 2 points
Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+9), Deception 7 (+10), Expertise: Galactic 6 (+10), Insight 6 (+8), Perception 9 (+11), Ranged Combat: Ghost Ray 8 (+12), Technology 4 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Ghost Ray +12 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 44 + Powers 86 + Advantages 8 + Skills 26 + Defenses 19 = 183 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Mercenary--Motivation. Cowardice. Secret (worldshifting power.) Unfamiliar With Earth Culture (or, as she sees it, more familiar than she wants to be.)
Jarna Yabb got her start as a member of the private security force for the legislature of Tyymlt, one of the planets of the Crimson Imperium. She would likely still be there if not for an episode where someone -- officially identified as part of the Insurgency, but the truth is that it was probably just some disaffected scientist -- set up a dimensional distortion bomb on the legislature grounds. The commander asked for volunteers to disarm the device, and Jarna nobly volunteered.
Yahright she did. When nobody volunteered, as they were none of them idiots, the commander picked Jarna at random and sent her in regardless. Jarna managed to prevent the bomb from detonating completely, and thus taking out the whole building, but she was squarely in the area that the dimensional distortion did affect, and lost consciousness fully expecting to wake up in the afterlife. Bewilderingly, she instead awakened to find that she was still alive, and possessed of the power to shift from her normal physical form to an incorporeal and translucent one. Within a week or so later, she was recruited for the Scarlet Knights -- again, not really given a choice in the matter.
Jarna never wanted any of this. She just wanted to do her twenty-three years*, retire with a fat pension, and live out the rest of her life in peace. Instead, she has been trained to use her ghostly form as a weapon -- somehow projecting beams of energy from her hand -- and sent on a bewildering mission to some weird planet in the Unclaimed Regions that is supposedly crucial to the security of the Imperium. None of this made the least bit of sense to her, but she fears the consequences of refusal.
And all that was before she actually arrived on Earth. Jarna had expected that they were probably going to have to fight some of the powered Earthlings on the way in, but the actual arrival turned out to be pretty peaceful. The problems started after the embassy was set up, and she was given the assignment of investigating affairs on a tiny island that apparently had some sort of historical connection with the nation hosting them. It seemed like it would be a much easier assignment than some of the other Knights received.
Yahright it was! Blood-drinking monsters! Insane robots! Lunatics fighting the blood-drinking monsters with ancient weaponry! Schoolchildren using weapons that could harm even her! And then, while she was fleeing in panic, Jarna wound up in this house of horrors where she was made to watch some incredibly macabre stories with the people who had appeared in them, and was shown some disturbing things about her own history that she had never realized. It was all just too much!
So she went back to the embassy and gave her report. To wit: this planet is a nightmare and they should leave at once. And of course, that report was dismissed, and she was left to wonder how much worse things must be in other parts of this planet.
Then there is the other thing. While she was not called on to take part in the battle against Vulcan, much to her relief, Jarna learned another facet of her powers in the aftermath. Somehow, she is able to travel to an alternate reality where that battle happened differently. She has even encountered another version of herself there. Which would be nice, if not for the fact that Jarna, more than anyone else, knows how untrustworthy she herself is!
Halfworlder -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 4 | FGT 3 | INT 4 | AWE 2 | PRE 3
Powers:
Ghostshift: Linked Continuous Concealment 4 (auditory, olfactory); Linked Continuous Concealment 4 (visual), Partial; Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH); Linked Continuous Insubstantial 4 (vulnerable to magic); Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (life support); Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH) - 68 points
Ghost Ray: Ranged Damage 8, Affects Corporeal, Unreliable - 16 points
Worldshift: Movement 1 (dimensional movement between parallel timelines) - 2 points
Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+9), Deception 7 (+10), Expertise: Galactic 6 (+10), Insight 6 (+8), Perception 9 (+11), Ranged Combat: Ghost Ray 8 (+12), Technology 4 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Ghost Ray +12 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 44 + Powers 86 + Advantages 8 + Skills 26 + Defenses 19 = 183 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Mercenary--Motivation. Cowardice. Secret (worldshifting power.) Unfamiliar With Earth Culture (or, as she sees it, more familiar than she wants to be.)
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Seraph Song
She rarely thinks about her life before, when she lived in a shanty town outside the mines where her father worked to bring home enough just enough money to keep the whole family barely fed. Even some of the details are missing, but even though she realizes, intellectually, that things like her name should be important, she finds it hard to care about them. Sometimes, the name Sacabeth floats through her mind, but whether it was her given name or the name of the town is no longer all that clear.
Regardless, when she was just an adolescent, she knew that she had to do something to do something to make sure that her family no longer suffered as much as they did. So, before she ran away to join the Cainites, she smothered her three younger siblings in their sleep, and is sure that her parents appreciated having four less mouths to feed. Of course, their mother was getting on in years and her father was probably going to kill her soon, regardless, so she left her older sister alive to take over when that happened, and that was probably appreciated too.
She endured the training in the army of that region of Hell, being slowly turned into something more than human and yet, being indistinguishable from all the others, somehow lesser as well. But she had dreams to rise above all of that, unlike any of the others. So when the local exarch became annoyed at the leaders of his army and proclaimed that his personal training would allow the least and simplest of the Cainites to become the perfect agent of his will, and pointed her out, she seized her chance. Enduring further torments, she emerged with the power to utilize her shadow to seize and rend both the body and mind of those who offended her ... and promptly used that gift on the exarch, rending him to death before any could free him.
(No one tried all that hard, to be honest. They were all sick of the "I can make a better soldier than you" game he had kept playing over and over again, which usually just produced Cainite wreckage that he blamed on them. To see him fall victim to his ultimate creation was quite amusing, and they now had the perfect scapegoat to present to dread Asmodeus.)
Just as she had always planned, the act brought her to the attention of dread Asmodeus himself, who deemed her ... unrefined, but capable of becoming more refined in his service. As some of his servants transformed her appearance so that she looked more like the human being she had once been, the Lord of Hell explained that a new world had recently become available to his servants, and he wished for her to be the vanguard of his invasion of this world. Proclaiming her to be as lovely as a seraph and with a voice like a song, she was sent through the portal to get things started.
Seraph Song emerged in a place called Detroit, at a time called July of 2021. For a few hours, she just walked around staring in wonder at the lovely blue sky before she realized that she had to get down to business. Some research turned up a fascinating ritual that the residents of this place had once performed called "Devil's Night", which had sadly fallen into disfavor. Nevertheless, it proved quite easy to discover some who still yearned to set a fire so damned big the gods -- or at least, someone almost like that -- would notice them again.
Unfortunately, she underestimated how quickly some of the local muscle would respond to these celebrations, preventing the fires from really getting started. Seraph was cursing her misfortune and trying to figure out how she would explain this failure when the most important event in her life transpired. There, in the moonlight, she saw him -- the angel. When she had been named Seraph, she had not really known what the word meant; she had learned, but thought such creatures to be nothing more than imagination. But there he was, and she knew at last why she had been born.
She returned to Hell and surprised Asmodeus by demanding -- not pleading, not begging, but insisting -- that she be given another chance. The audacity, on that occasion, amused him, accompanied as it was by the pledge that when she triumphed this time she would bring him back a great gift. This time, she would carefully lay down her plans and bring about the fall of the angel, dragging him down into Hell with her as her trophy. Such favor will she earn, then.
However, in the course of her preparations, something odd has happened. Her ability to open a door between Hell and Earth has altered so that she can now reach two similar but distinct worlds. After some brief explorations, she reported to Asmodeus about the differences, and watched in mild confusion as a purple-robed adviser whispered counsel to her master. Asmodeus then commanded her to focus her efforts on the version of the World in the Aftermath where Vulcan still hung in the skies of Earth like a skull. She obeyed, of course, but keeps an eye on the other reality as well; if nothing else, what she learns in destroying the Angel of one world will make the downfall of the one on the other even easier, doubling what she gains from all this.
That this might be doubling nothing has yet to occur to her.
Seraph Song -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 5 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 8 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 5
Powers:
Abnormal Fortitude: Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Protection 4 - 18 points
Hellgate: Movement 1 (dimensional movement to Hell and back), Portal - 6 points
Shadowsnare: Linked Damaging Move Object 10; Linked Ranged Cumulative Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned), Concentration, Limited Degree; Indirect 2 - 52 points
Advantages:
Attractive, Daze (Deception), Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Grab, Taunt.
Skills:
Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Magic 6 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+10), Insight 9 (+12), Perception 8 (+11), Persuasion 9 (+14), Ranged Attack: Shadowsnare 6 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 5)
Shadowsnare +10 (Ranged Affliction 10, Resisted by Dodge)
Defense:
Dodge 11, Parry 9, Foritude 7, Toughness 9, Will 11
Totals:
Abilities 72 + Powers 76 + Advantages 5 + Skills 27 + Defenses 18 = 198 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 9
Complications:
Power--Motivation. Involuntary Transformation (will become gradually less human in appearance without regular treatment in Hell.) Obsession (the American Angel.) Secret Identity. Subject to Orders (by Asmodeus.)
Hell is empty
And all the devils are here.
She rarely thinks about her life before, when she lived in a shanty town outside the mines where her father worked to bring home enough just enough money to keep the whole family barely fed. Even some of the details are missing, but even though she realizes, intellectually, that things like her name should be important, she finds it hard to care about them. Sometimes, the name Sacabeth floats through her mind, but whether it was her given name or the name of the town is no longer all that clear.
Regardless, when she was just an adolescent, she knew that she had to do something to do something to make sure that her family no longer suffered as much as they did. So, before she ran away to join the Cainites, she smothered her three younger siblings in their sleep, and is sure that her parents appreciated having four less mouths to feed. Of course, their mother was getting on in years and her father was probably going to kill her soon, regardless, so she left her older sister alive to take over when that happened, and that was probably appreciated too.
She endured the training in the army of that region of Hell, being slowly turned into something more than human and yet, being indistinguishable from all the others, somehow lesser as well. But she had dreams to rise above all of that, unlike any of the others. So when the local exarch became annoyed at the leaders of his army and proclaimed that his personal training would allow the least and simplest of the Cainites to become the perfect agent of his will, and pointed her out, she seized her chance. Enduring further torments, she emerged with the power to utilize her shadow to seize and rend both the body and mind of those who offended her ... and promptly used that gift on the exarch, rending him to death before any could free him.
(No one tried all that hard, to be honest. They were all sick of the "I can make a better soldier than you" game he had kept playing over and over again, which usually just produced Cainite wreckage that he blamed on them. To see him fall victim to his ultimate creation was quite amusing, and they now had the perfect scapegoat to present to dread Asmodeus.)
Just as she had always planned, the act brought her to the attention of dread Asmodeus himself, who deemed her ... unrefined, but capable of becoming more refined in his service. As some of his servants transformed her appearance so that she looked more like the human being she had once been, the Lord of Hell explained that a new world had recently become available to his servants, and he wished for her to be the vanguard of his invasion of this world. Proclaiming her to be as lovely as a seraph and with a voice like a song, she was sent through the portal to get things started.
Seraph Song emerged in a place called Detroit, at a time called July of 2021. For a few hours, she just walked around staring in wonder at the lovely blue sky before she realized that she had to get down to business. Some research turned up a fascinating ritual that the residents of this place had once performed called "Devil's Night", which had sadly fallen into disfavor. Nevertheless, it proved quite easy to discover some who still yearned to set a fire so damned big the gods -- or at least, someone almost like that -- would notice them again.
Unfortunately, she underestimated how quickly some of the local muscle would respond to these celebrations, preventing the fires from really getting started. Seraph was cursing her misfortune and trying to figure out how she would explain this failure when the most important event in her life transpired. There, in the moonlight, she saw him -- the angel. When she had been named Seraph, she had not really known what the word meant; she had learned, but thought such creatures to be nothing more than imagination. But there he was, and she knew at last why she had been born.
She returned to Hell and surprised Asmodeus by demanding -- not pleading, not begging, but insisting -- that she be given another chance. The audacity, on that occasion, amused him, accompanied as it was by the pledge that when she triumphed this time she would bring him back a great gift. This time, she would carefully lay down her plans and bring about the fall of the angel, dragging him down into Hell with her as her trophy. Such favor will she earn, then.
However, in the course of her preparations, something odd has happened. Her ability to open a door between Hell and Earth has altered so that she can now reach two similar but distinct worlds. After some brief explorations, she reported to Asmodeus about the differences, and watched in mild confusion as a purple-robed adviser whispered counsel to her master. Asmodeus then commanded her to focus her efforts on the version of the World in the Aftermath where Vulcan still hung in the skies of Earth like a skull. She obeyed, of course, but keeps an eye on the other reality as well; if nothing else, what she learns in destroying the Angel of one world will make the downfall of the one on the other even easier, doubling what she gains from all this.
That this might be doubling nothing has yet to occur to her.
Seraph Song -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 5 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 8 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 5
Powers:
Abnormal Fortitude: Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Protection 4 - 18 points
Hellgate: Movement 1 (dimensional movement to Hell and back), Portal - 6 points
Shadowsnare: Linked Damaging Move Object 10; Linked Ranged Cumulative Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned), Concentration, Limited Degree; Indirect 2 - 52 points
Advantages:
Attractive, Daze (Deception), Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Grab, Taunt.
Skills:
Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Magic 6 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+10), Insight 9 (+12), Perception 8 (+11), Persuasion 9 (+14), Ranged Attack: Shadowsnare 6 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 5)
Shadowsnare +10 (Ranged Affliction 10, Resisted by Dodge)
Defense:
Dodge 11, Parry 9, Foritude 7, Toughness 9, Will 11
Totals:
Abilities 72 + Powers 76 + Advantages 5 + Skills 27 + Defenses 18 = 198 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 9
Complications:
Power--Motivation. Involuntary Transformation (will become gradually less human in appearance without regular treatment in Hell.) Obsession (the American Angel.) Secret Identity. Subject to Orders (by Asmodeus.)
Hell is empty
And all the devils are here.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Makayla Dozens
From the time she was very young, Miguelita Delgado had been told about the brave heroine who had saved her father, then working in construction all the way up in Denver, when Cerebron attacked ... and then, a few years later, also saved her mother when her class trip to Florida came under attack by supervillains. Her parents had only lived to meet because of her, and one day they hoped that they might be able to introduce their eldest daughter to her so she might see how grateful they were. And then, one day just a few months ago, Miguelita came home to find her mother sobbing on the phone, and learned that was never going to happen.
It was hard for her to really grasp this, but she got it better than her younger brother and sister. So Miguelita found herself trying to keep those two rambunctious tweens under control as they traveled on what seemed like a fun family trip to Australia, but was really a somber pilgrimage by her parents to the place where their hero had died. At the end, while her mother and father just stood in silence at the spot that the guide indicated, she found herself chasing down Rodrigo and Ximena yet again ... but paused when she saw something out of place. It looked like an old-fashioned flip phone. Had someone else visiting this site dropped it by mistake? She picked it up --
-- and it turned on, projecting a holographic image of an alien creature which started talking to her. Miguelita let out a squawk and tried to drop the device, but it refused to let go of her hand. With a popping sound in her ears, she abruptly realized that she could understand what the alien was saying. "In thanks for your sister's sacrifice, we offer you this token. All of those in the great link will help when needed. We wish that we could give you more." The alien made some sort nodding bow, the image vanished, and so did the device, turning into light which flowed into her hand.
Her parents had raised no fools, so Miguelita promptly went to her mother and father and told them everything that had just happened. That had the added effect of pulling them out of their funk, and between the three of them they worked out what had happened. Essentially, Miguelita could make the "phone" appear in her hand, and with that she could "call" on any of the rather large number of aliens -- no, of people -- in the so-called great link, and assume their appearance and powers. The one thing she could not do was put the phone down.
Esteban and Joane Delgado knew just one thing -- they could not take their superpower daughter back to Colombia. It would not end well for anyone. So they called on some resources that they had hoped they would never have to use, and managed to get the process of permanently immigrating to Australia underway. It has not been an easy transition, but both parents recognize it as absolutely necessary for Miguelita to become the blessing that she is clearly meant to be for this world.
Miguelita is still unsure about all that has been thrust upon her. But listening to the vast number of recorded messages contained in what she calls "the Helpline", all offering their thanks for "her sister" (a simplification of "fellow female resident of the planet") for having prevented something terrible happening to their worlds, many of them ending with phrases that mean "Let me help" ... it seems to her that it would a horrible, horrible waste of all that if she decided not to use this to help people. And hey, no one has to know just who is taking all these crazy shapes, and Australia ... it seems like it needs some heroes, now. So ... at least for now, she will go be Makayla Dozens.
Makayla Dozens -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 0 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 3 | INT 2 | AWE 1 | PRE 2
Powers:
Helpline: Enhanced Advantage 1 (Multilingual); Linked Morph 3 (various super-powered forms); Linked Variable 8 (superpowered forms) - 71 points
Typical Variable Settings:
Bruto (Default): Enhanced Advantage 2 (Close Attack 2); Enhanced Strength 8; Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Protection 8; Leaping 6 - 40 points
Pathique: Impervious Will 8, Limited to mental effects; Mental Communication 3; Mind Reading 10; Senses 3 (acute radius psychic awareness) - 39 points
Torchy: Reaction Damage 3; Ranged Damage 9, Accurate 3; Immunity 5 (fire damage) - 38 points
Zipper: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Close Attack 2; Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against opponents with a lower initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 16 (Dodge 8, Parry 8); Quickness 10; Speed 10 - 40 points
Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Luck, Multilingual.
Skills:
Athletics 4 (+4), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+6), Investigation 3 (+5), Perception 4 (+5), Stealth 4 (+4).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 0 or by form)
Bruto Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 6, Fortitude 2, Toughness 10/8/2/0, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 22 + Powers 72 + Advantages 5 + Skills 9 + Defenses 14 = 121 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 1
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Family. Secret Identity. Shyness.
Note: While the Helpline takes the form of a phone in her hand when she activates it, any attempt to Disarm her of it will automatically fail.
So I console myself in thinking that some things generate their rewards in second-hand ways.
From the time she was very young, Miguelita Delgado had been told about the brave heroine who had saved her father, then working in construction all the way up in Denver, when Cerebron attacked ... and then, a few years later, also saved her mother when her class trip to Florida came under attack by supervillains. Her parents had only lived to meet because of her, and one day they hoped that they might be able to introduce their eldest daughter to her so she might see how grateful they were. And then, one day just a few months ago, Miguelita came home to find her mother sobbing on the phone, and learned that was never going to happen.
It was hard for her to really grasp this, but she got it better than her younger brother and sister. So Miguelita found herself trying to keep those two rambunctious tweens under control as they traveled on what seemed like a fun family trip to Australia, but was really a somber pilgrimage by her parents to the place where their hero had died. At the end, while her mother and father just stood in silence at the spot that the guide indicated, she found herself chasing down Rodrigo and Ximena yet again ... but paused when she saw something out of place. It looked like an old-fashioned flip phone. Had someone else visiting this site dropped it by mistake? She picked it up --
-- and it turned on, projecting a holographic image of an alien creature which started talking to her. Miguelita let out a squawk and tried to drop the device, but it refused to let go of her hand. With a popping sound in her ears, she abruptly realized that she could understand what the alien was saying. "In thanks for your sister's sacrifice, we offer you this token. All of those in the great link will help when needed. We wish that we could give you more." The alien made some sort nodding bow, the image vanished, and so did the device, turning into light which flowed into her hand.
Her parents had raised no fools, so Miguelita promptly went to her mother and father and told them everything that had just happened. That had the added effect of pulling them out of their funk, and between the three of them they worked out what had happened. Essentially, Miguelita could make the "phone" appear in her hand, and with that she could "call" on any of the rather large number of aliens -- no, of people -- in the so-called great link, and assume their appearance and powers. The one thing she could not do was put the phone down.
Esteban and Joane Delgado knew just one thing -- they could not take their superpower daughter back to Colombia. It would not end well for anyone. So they called on some resources that they had hoped they would never have to use, and managed to get the process of permanently immigrating to Australia underway. It has not been an easy transition, but both parents recognize it as absolutely necessary for Miguelita to become the blessing that she is clearly meant to be for this world.
Miguelita is still unsure about all that has been thrust upon her. But listening to the vast number of recorded messages contained in what she calls "the Helpline", all offering their thanks for "her sister" (a simplification of "fellow female resident of the planet") for having prevented something terrible happening to their worlds, many of them ending with phrases that mean "Let me help" ... it seems to her that it would a horrible, horrible waste of all that if she decided not to use this to help people. And hey, no one has to know just who is taking all these crazy shapes, and Australia ... it seems like it needs some heroes, now. So ... at least for now, she will go be Makayla Dozens.
Makayla Dozens -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 0 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 3 | INT 2 | AWE 1 | PRE 2
Powers:
Helpline: Enhanced Advantage 1 (Multilingual); Linked Morph 3 (various super-powered forms); Linked Variable 8 (superpowered forms) - 71 points
Typical Variable Settings:
Bruto (Default): Enhanced Advantage 2 (Close Attack 2); Enhanced Strength 8; Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Protection 8; Leaping 6 - 40 points
Pathique: Impervious Will 8, Limited to mental effects; Mental Communication 3; Mind Reading 10; Senses 3 (acute radius psychic awareness) - 39 points
Torchy: Reaction Damage 3; Ranged Damage 9, Accurate 3; Immunity 5 (fire damage) - 38 points
Zipper: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Close Attack 2; Improved Initiative 3), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against opponents with a lower initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 16 (Dodge 8, Parry 8); Quickness 10; Speed 10 - 40 points
Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Luck, Multilingual.
Skills:
Athletics 4 (+4), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+6), Investigation 3 (+5), Perception 4 (+5), Stealth 4 (+4).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 0 or by form)
Bruto Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 6, Fortitude 2, Toughness 10/8/2/0, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 22 + Powers 72 + Advantages 5 + Skills 9 + Defenses 14 = 121 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5
Skill PL: 1
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Family. Secret Identity. Shyness.
Note: While the Helpline takes the form of a phone in her hand when she activates it, any attempt to Disarm her of it will automatically fail.
So I console myself in thinking that some things generate their rewards in second-hand ways.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Chausseur
Innocence, in the view of some, is the most terrible thing in the world. It is a condition which everyone eventually loses, and its loss can terribly damage the person who remains in the aftermath, with that damage then being passed on to others in turn. But innocence ended early is no less likely to result in a terribly damaged person than innocence ended late. Perhaps worst of all, though, is for innocence to end, then to have it somewhat restored, and then destroyed a second time.
Roughly thirty years from now, the age of heroes has been over for quite some time, to be replaced by a dystopian technocracy that makes the Sprawl look pleasant and upbeat. Those superpowers who still exist are enslaved for the benefit of the ruling class, the so-called Argonauts, with the majority of the population utterly impoverished and without any protection. The best that any of them can hope for is to be develop powers, either naturally or by volunteering for experimental treatments, and so become useful.
The woman called Chausseur ("hunter") is one such servant of the Argonauts, carefully conditioned to be obedient to their instructions while still possessing enough of a sense of self to be capable of independent action. She is an agent sent to capture newly manifesting superpowers so that they can be "processed" for the benefit of the Argonauts, and is also sent to recover those who manage to slip their bonds. It is for that purpose that she has traveled back in time to the current year, in pursuit of the fugitive called Gibier.
It should be said that she does not hate Gibier. If anything, she views him with what passes in her mind as fondness, and gave him that name ("prey") as a compliment to recognize his skill at evading her pursuit after the second time that he escaped. She does not understand why he would want to escape, but it makes no difference to her. She would tell herself that she does not hate anyone. She is perfectly capable of torturing someone to the brink of death, as she did to the farmer who made the terrible mistake of helping Gibier soon after his arrival, without feeling anything at all.
Except that in this world before her masters exist, she has occasionally found things that she does hate, though she has not yet directly encountered them. The patience with which she pursues Gibier would utterly vanish if she were ever to encounter the earlier version of him who exists in this time, and what she would do if she were to encounter the version of herself who exists now would be terrifying. (And pointless, since killing either of them would destroy herself by paradox.) The merest mention of the Bethany Ryan School for Accelerated Studies in the newspapers has been known to drive her into a fury that has damaged her cover and forced her underground on a number of occasions.
Making matters worse for her is the division of history that has accompanied recent events. In the world where Vulcan hangs in the sky above Earth, she is still receiving radiotelepathic transmissions from her masters in the future, reinforcing her psychologically conditioned obedience and giving her life direction. In the other world where Vulcan vanished, her masters do not exist, and cannot provide that reinforcement or direction. Consequently, the conditioning she has received every day of her adult life is breaking down, and so is her mental health.
While it would be nice to think that would result in her remembering the good kid that she used to be, it is also possible that the horrors she has witnessed and endured will result in something far more terrible emerging. For innocence to be offered a third time would be truly heart-breaking.
Chausseur -- PL 11
Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 6 | FGT 9 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 3
Powers:
Broken Mind: Immunity 20 (mental effects), Limited to half effect - 10 points
Faster Than The Eye: Concealment 4 (visual), Limited to While Moving; Enhanced Advantages 9 (Close Attack 3, Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative 5), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6) - 24 points
Knife Tricks: Array (6 points); Removable (-1 point)
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Assessment, Chokehold, Close Attack 5/2, Daze (Intimidation), Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Evasion 2, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 5, Improved Trip, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Seize Initiative, Startle, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge.
Equipment:
25 points of equipment as needed, usually spy gear.
Skills:
Athletics 8 (+11), Deception 6 (+9), Insight 6 (+10), Intimidation 9 (+12), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 9 (+13), Sleight of Hand 6 (+12), Stealth 8 (+13), Technology 8 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +23
Unarmed +14/11 (Close Damage 3)
Twin Blades +16/13 (Close Damage 5, Crit 19-20)
Bladestorm -- (Burst Area Damage 4)
Defense:
Dodge 13/7, Parry 15/9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 5/3, Will 7.
Totals:
Abilities 70 + Powers 68 + Advantages 18 + Skills 30 + Defenses 7 = 192 points
Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Conditioned Obedience--Motivation. Hatred (anything that reminds her of her former life.) Phobia (loud noises.)
Only emptiness remains
It replaces all
All the pain
(Won't you come out and play with me?)
Innocence, in the view of some, is the most terrible thing in the world. It is a condition which everyone eventually loses, and its loss can terribly damage the person who remains in the aftermath, with that damage then being passed on to others in turn. But innocence ended early is no less likely to result in a terribly damaged person than innocence ended late. Perhaps worst of all, though, is for innocence to end, then to have it somewhat restored, and then destroyed a second time.
Roughly thirty years from now, the age of heroes has been over for quite some time, to be replaced by a dystopian technocracy that makes the Sprawl look pleasant and upbeat. Those superpowers who still exist are enslaved for the benefit of the ruling class, the so-called Argonauts, with the majority of the population utterly impoverished and without any protection. The best that any of them can hope for is to be develop powers, either naturally or by volunteering for experimental treatments, and so become useful.
The woman called Chausseur ("hunter") is one such servant of the Argonauts, carefully conditioned to be obedient to their instructions while still possessing enough of a sense of self to be capable of independent action. She is an agent sent to capture newly manifesting superpowers so that they can be "processed" for the benefit of the Argonauts, and is also sent to recover those who manage to slip their bonds. It is for that purpose that she has traveled back in time to the current year, in pursuit of the fugitive called Gibier.
It should be said that she does not hate Gibier. If anything, she views him with what passes in her mind as fondness, and gave him that name ("prey") as a compliment to recognize his skill at evading her pursuit after the second time that he escaped. She does not understand why he would want to escape, but it makes no difference to her. She would tell herself that she does not hate anyone. She is perfectly capable of torturing someone to the brink of death, as she did to the farmer who made the terrible mistake of helping Gibier soon after his arrival, without feeling anything at all.
Except that in this world before her masters exist, she has occasionally found things that she does hate, though she has not yet directly encountered them. The patience with which she pursues Gibier would utterly vanish if she were ever to encounter the earlier version of him who exists in this time, and what she would do if she were to encounter the version of herself who exists now would be terrifying. (And pointless, since killing either of them would destroy herself by paradox.) The merest mention of the Bethany Ryan School for Accelerated Studies in the newspapers has been known to drive her into a fury that has damaged her cover and forced her underground on a number of occasions.
Making matters worse for her is the division of history that has accompanied recent events. In the world where Vulcan hangs in the sky above Earth, she is still receiving radiotelepathic transmissions from her masters in the future, reinforcing her psychologically conditioned obedience and giving her life direction. In the other world where Vulcan vanished, her masters do not exist, and cannot provide that reinforcement or direction. Consequently, the conditioning she has received every day of her adult life is breaking down, and so is her mental health.
While it would be nice to think that would result in her remembering the good kid that she used to be, it is also possible that the horrors she has witnessed and endured will result in something far more terrible emerging. For innocence to be offered a third time would be truly heart-breaking.
Chausseur -- PL 11
Abilities:
STR 3 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 6 | FGT 9 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 3
Powers:
Broken Mind: Immunity 20 (mental effects), Limited to half effect - 10 points
Faster Than The Eye: Concealment 4 (visual), Limited to While Moving; Enhanced Advantages 9 (Close Attack 3, Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative 5), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6) - 24 points
Knife Tricks: Array (6 points); Removable (-1 point)
- Bladestorm: Selective Burst Area Strength-based Damage 1 - 6 points
- Twin Blades: Strength-based Damage 2, Accurate, Improved Critical, Split Attack - 1 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Assessment, Chokehold, Close Attack 5/2, Daze (Intimidation), Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Evasion 2, Grabbing Finesse, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 5, Improved Trip, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Seize Initiative, Startle, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge.
Equipment:
25 points of equipment as needed, usually spy gear.
Skills:
Athletics 8 (+11), Deception 6 (+9), Insight 6 (+10), Intimidation 9 (+12), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 9 (+13), Sleight of Hand 6 (+12), Stealth 8 (+13), Technology 8 (+10).
Offense:
Initiative +23
Unarmed +14/11 (Close Damage 3)
Twin Blades +16/13 (Close Damage 5, Crit 19-20)
Bladestorm -- (Burst Area Damage 4)
Defense:
Dodge 13/7, Parry 15/9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 5/3, Will 7.
Totals:
Abilities 70 + Powers 68 + Advantages 18 + Skills 30 + Defenses 7 = 192 points
Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Conditioned Obedience--Motivation. Hatred (anything that reminds her of her former life.) Phobia (loud noises.)
Only emptiness remains
It replaces all
All the pain
(Won't you come out and play with me?)
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Too depressing to detail, and it happens about ten years in the future from the present day of the setting. Suffice it to say that it comes out of a merger between factions of Saturn and the Vision, with help from the cult of Asmodeus, and that they take their name from successfully defeating the Powerhouse and claiming the Argo for their own base. If you remember Mys-Tech from Marvel UK, you have the right idea.
Got it, kill Asmodeus and have Hell fight amongst itself for the scraps so that they can't aide Saturn and the Vision.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Creates a different group of Argonauts whose control over the world is more vulnerable to magical counterattack and subversion but still daunting. Not a complete solution.
Last edited:
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
So, to explain one of the references in Halfworlder's story, I decided to put up a page describing New Worminghall while putting up the rest of this week's profiles. See you on Monday for a trip to the Futurian Academy.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Constance Packard
Fifteen years old in 2022, Constance Packard -- if you would avoid embarrassment and possible injury, never call her Connie -- is the only daughter of a pair of Argus agents who were thrown together during the coup attempt, and wound up married shortly after. They divorced when Constance was four, remarried when she was seven, divorced again when she was eleven, and are currently planning marriage number three. Constance has no real hope that this one will last either, but she strongly believes in enjoying the ride.
The ride has brought her to the Futurian Academy, following the discovery of her superpowers. In addition to possessing peak-human strength, coordination and reflex speed -- likely to improve beyond that as she matures -- she also possesses greater-than-peak levels of stamina and endurance. In addition, her skin constantly generates an invisible mesh that increases her resistance to injury to even greater levels; Constance can make it visible with effort, but finds this uncomfortable and largely unnecessary.
Unlike most of her fellow students, Constance has refused to develop a secret identity, as she has no intention of going on to become a superhero. She plans to go to work for Argus as one of its agents extraordinary, having (as she sees it) already started in this career path by tagging along with either of her parents on a few of their missions, without their knowledge, of course. From these experiences, she has picked up several pieces of spy gear from enemy agents and bases, developing some packrat tendencies in the process.
Of the teachers at the academy, Constance is probably closest to Barry Grimwald, both as a coach and something of a mentor. She really enjoys listening to his stories about sports heroes of the past, and has gotten him to open up about his own time at the school, as she genuinely admires him for having wanted to follow a path unlike most of his fellow students, much like herself. For this reason, when she found out that he was planning on taking the remaining members of the class of '23 on a mission to rescue the missing Black Mouser, Constance promptly volunteered to come along.
History bifurcates at this point.
In the timeline where Vulcan has vanished, Grimwald decides that the risks are too great and tells Constance to remain behind, much to her disappointment. (He instead goes to France and recruits la Belle et la Bête to come with them, inadvertently drawing their opponent the Red Queen in as well and giving Pythia exactly what she needs to triumph.) Constance chooses to salve her ego by taking command of her own class group and training them to serve as a group of heroes. It will prove to be a challenging experience for her, as well as making her start to wonder about the possibility of doing more of this in the future.
In the timeline where Vulcan is still present, Grimwald agrees to bring Constance with them, much to her excitement. That quickly turns into concern as she is shown more of the worlds beyond her own world than she ever expected to see, and comes to realize that Argus, which she has been raised to view as a shield against the chaos, is fatally unaware of just how dangerous the world truly is. In time, this will lead her down a dark path, despite the fact that her help is critical to ensuring the failure of the scheme Pythia was running.
Constance Packard -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 5 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Powers:
Fast Runner: Speed 2 (8 MPH) - 2 points
Force Field: Impervious Toughness 5, Subtle - 6 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improvised Weapon, Move-by Action, Ranged Attack 3, Skill Mastery (Athletics), Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.
Equipment:
20 points of gear as needed, especially from Gadget Guides: Utility.
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 5 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+8), Expertise: Sports 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Sleight of Hand 4 (+8), Stealth 4 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 4)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 8, Fortitude 6, Toughness 7/5, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 60 + Powers 8 + Advantages 18 + Skills 14 + Defenses 11 = 111 points
Offensive PL: 6
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Minor. Packrat Tendencies. Prejudice (American in the U.K.)
Fifteen years old in 2022, Constance Packard -- if you would avoid embarrassment and possible injury, never call her Connie -- is the only daughter of a pair of Argus agents who were thrown together during the coup attempt, and wound up married shortly after. They divorced when Constance was four, remarried when she was seven, divorced again when she was eleven, and are currently planning marriage number three. Constance has no real hope that this one will last either, but she strongly believes in enjoying the ride.
The ride has brought her to the Futurian Academy, following the discovery of her superpowers. In addition to possessing peak-human strength, coordination and reflex speed -- likely to improve beyond that as she matures -- she also possesses greater-than-peak levels of stamina and endurance. In addition, her skin constantly generates an invisible mesh that increases her resistance to injury to even greater levels; Constance can make it visible with effort, but finds this uncomfortable and largely unnecessary.
Unlike most of her fellow students, Constance has refused to develop a secret identity, as she has no intention of going on to become a superhero. She plans to go to work for Argus as one of its agents extraordinary, having (as she sees it) already started in this career path by tagging along with either of her parents on a few of their missions, without their knowledge, of course. From these experiences, she has picked up several pieces of spy gear from enemy agents and bases, developing some packrat tendencies in the process.
Of the teachers at the academy, Constance is probably closest to Barry Grimwald, both as a coach and something of a mentor. She really enjoys listening to his stories about sports heroes of the past, and has gotten him to open up about his own time at the school, as she genuinely admires him for having wanted to follow a path unlike most of his fellow students, much like herself. For this reason, when she found out that he was planning on taking the remaining members of the class of '23 on a mission to rescue the missing Black Mouser, Constance promptly volunteered to come along.
History bifurcates at this point.
In the timeline where Vulcan has vanished, Grimwald decides that the risks are too great and tells Constance to remain behind, much to her disappointment. (He instead goes to France and recruits la Belle et la Bête to come with them, inadvertently drawing their opponent the Red Queen in as well and giving Pythia exactly what she needs to triumph.) Constance chooses to salve her ego by taking command of her own class group and training them to serve as a group of heroes. It will prove to be a challenging experience for her, as well as making her start to wonder about the possibility of doing more of this in the future.
In the timeline where Vulcan is still present, Grimwald agrees to bring Constance with them, much to her excitement. That quickly turns into concern as she is shown more of the worlds beyond her own world than she ever expected to see, and comes to realize that Argus, which she has been raised to view as a shield against the chaos, is fatally unaware of just how dangerous the world truly is. In time, this will lead her down a dark path, despite the fact that her help is critical to ensuring the failure of the scheme Pythia was running.
Constance Packard -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 5 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Powers:
Fast Runner: Speed 2 (8 MPH) - 2 points
Force Field: Impervious Toughness 5, Subtle - 6 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improvised Weapon, Move-by Action, Ranged Attack 3, Skill Mastery (Athletics), Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.
Equipment:
20 points of gear as needed, especially from Gadget Guides: Utility.
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 5 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+8), Expertise: Sports 5 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Sleight of Hand 4 (+8), Stealth 4 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 4)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 8, Fortitude 6, Toughness 7/5, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 60 + Powers 8 + Advantages 18 + Skills 14 + Defenses 11 = 111 points
Offensive PL: 6
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Minor. Packrat Tendencies. Prejudice (American in the U.K.)
Last edited:
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Dead Boy
By one measurement, Curt Palmer is the chronologically oldest member of his class at the Futurian Academy, as he was born seventeen years ago. By another measurement, however, he is the youngest, as his second birth came just over a year and a half ago.
Mysticism of all sorts has flourished in the United Kingdom under the covert rule of Dracula, and that "of all sorts" includes the fraudulent. The grimoire that housewife Pamela Palmer used to develop a spell that was supposed to resurrect her son Curt, dead of an allergic reaction to a bee sting, was one such fraud, the quote-unquote Nechronommicon. It contains no occult secrets, no blasphemous truths, nothing that should have allowed her ritual to have any material effect. And yet it worked.
Nick Grey has encountered people who had attempted to use the Nechronommicon for mystical practices in the past, and recognized the signs that it was being used once more. (No, not through his prophetic talents; he recognized the theft of a number of supposed reagents prescribed by the tome, and tracked the thefts to the Palmer home.) He arrived too late to interfere with the ritual, and was by turns horrified and amazed that it had worked, giving animation to the corpse of Curt Parker while destroying the mind of his mother, such that she was left semi-catatonic on the basement floor where the working had taken place.
The conventional explanation for what had happened would be that Pamela had torn off a chunk of her own psyche which was now providing the consciousness for the creature made from Curt, possibly combined with a spirit drawn down out of the night. Yet in every case of such reanimation that Nick had ever heard about or personally encountered, this resulted in a being utterly hostile to all life except its creator, and often held back from violence against that creator only by mystical compulsion. The being before him did nothing other than passively trying to protect the giggling wreck of a human being that lay between them.
With difficulty, Nick managed to communicate with the newly-made undead, who seemed to have all of the memories that Curt was supposed to have, right up until Curt had died from anaphylactic shock. Nick was left with only the conclusion that a miracle -- a dark miracle, but nevertheless a miracle -- had happened in that basement, one that endured even after Pamela Palmer died in her hospital bed a few months later. Nick could not, would not, destroy the results of that miracle, and so he took Curt with him to the Futurian Academy in the hopes that its staff could keep the child safe and, if need be, keep the world safe from the child.
The Dead Boy, as he has come to be known, is insanely strong and resistant to injury. However, he cannot talk or even make nonverbal sounds; his lungs do not work at all. He sees in the dark, but perceives a monochrome world in any circumstances. Whatever force keeps him animate prevents his body from rotting, as well, but he must feed on raw meat every day in order to recover from injuries. He sometimes communicates through note cards and the occasional use of sign language, but often just uses head gestures to indicate his opinions.
While willing to do whatever he can to protect those who have befriended him, Curt does not believe that he has any future as a superhero, though he sometimes fantasizes about becoming an adventuring companion to Nick. He has avoided getting close to any of his classmates, though he thinks they are all good people. Privately, he views himself as living on borrowed time that will, sooner than later, run out and return him to the darkness and silence, and simply wants to live as full a "life" as he can before that happens.
Dead Boy -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 7 | STA -- | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 1 | PRE 0
Powers:
Undead: Immunity 31 (Fortitude, olfactory sensory effects); Impervious Protection 8; Regeneration 1; Senses 2 (darkvision) - 50 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Hold, Interpose.
Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Insight 4 (+5), Intimidation 6 (+6), Perception 5 (+6), Stealth 4 (+5).
Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 7)
Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 8, Will 5.
Totals:
Abilities 22 + Powers 50 + Advantages 8 + Skills 11 + Defenses 11 = 102 points
Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5*
Skill PL: 1
Complications:
Survival--Motivation. Legally Dead. Physical Limitations (cannot talk, color blind.) Power Loss (Regeneration, without regular diet of raw meat.) Prejudice (living dead.)
By one measurement, Curt Palmer is the chronologically oldest member of his class at the Futurian Academy, as he was born seventeen years ago. By another measurement, however, he is the youngest, as his second birth came just over a year and a half ago.
Mysticism of all sorts has flourished in the United Kingdom under the covert rule of Dracula, and that "of all sorts" includes the fraudulent. The grimoire that housewife Pamela Palmer used to develop a spell that was supposed to resurrect her son Curt, dead of an allergic reaction to a bee sting, was one such fraud, the quote-unquote Nechronommicon. It contains no occult secrets, no blasphemous truths, nothing that should have allowed her ritual to have any material effect. And yet it worked.
Nick Grey has encountered people who had attempted to use the Nechronommicon for mystical practices in the past, and recognized the signs that it was being used once more. (No, not through his prophetic talents; he recognized the theft of a number of supposed reagents prescribed by the tome, and tracked the thefts to the Palmer home.) He arrived too late to interfere with the ritual, and was by turns horrified and amazed that it had worked, giving animation to the corpse of Curt Parker while destroying the mind of his mother, such that she was left semi-catatonic on the basement floor where the working had taken place.
The conventional explanation for what had happened would be that Pamela had torn off a chunk of her own psyche which was now providing the consciousness for the creature made from Curt, possibly combined with a spirit drawn down out of the night. Yet in every case of such reanimation that Nick had ever heard about or personally encountered, this resulted in a being utterly hostile to all life except its creator, and often held back from violence against that creator only by mystical compulsion. The being before him did nothing other than passively trying to protect the giggling wreck of a human being that lay between them.
With difficulty, Nick managed to communicate with the newly-made undead, who seemed to have all of the memories that Curt was supposed to have, right up until Curt had died from anaphylactic shock. Nick was left with only the conclusion that a miracle -- a dark miracle, but nevertheless a miracle -- had happened in that basement, one that endured even after Pamela Palmer died in her hospital bed a few months later. Nick could not, would not, destroy the results of that miracle, and so he took Curt with him to the Futurian Academy in the hopes that its staff could keep the child safe and, if need be, keep the world safe from the child.
The Dead Boy, as he has come to be known, is insanely strong and resistant to injury. However, he cannot talk or even make nonverbal sounds; his lungs do not work at all. He sees in the dark, but perceives a monochrome world in any circumstances. Whatever force keeps him animate prevents his body from rotting, as well, but he must feed on raw meat every day in order to recover from injuries. He sometimes communicates through note cards and the occasional use of sign language, but often just uses head gestures to indicate his opinions.
While willing to do whatever he can to protect those who have befriended him, Curt does not believe that he has any future as a superhero, though he sometimes fantasizes about becoming an adventuring companion to Nick. He has avoided getting close to any of his classmates, though he thinks they are all good people. Privately, he views himself as living on borrowed time that will, sooner than later, run out and return him to the darkness and silence, and simply wants to live as full a "life" as he can before that happens.
Dead Boy -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 7 | STA -- | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 1 | PRE 0
Powers:
Undead: Immunity 31 (Fortitude, olfactory sensory effects); Impervious Protection 8; Regeneration 1; Senses 2 (darkvision) - 50 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Hold, Interpose.
Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Insight 4 (+5), Intimidation 6 (+6), Perception 5 (+6), Stealth 4 (+5).
Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 7)
Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 8, Will 5.
Totals:
Abilities 22 + Powers 50 + Advantages 8 + Skills 11 + Defenses 11 = 102 points
Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 5*
Skill PL: 1
Complications:
Survival--Motivation. Legally Dead. Physical Limitations (cannot talk, color blind.) Power Loss (Regeneration, without regular diet of raw meat.) Prejudice (living dead.)
Last edited:
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Equerry
Art by Ali Phelps
None of this was supposed to happen to her. Meredith Vassar expected to be sent away to school, just like everyone in her family has been, but she was expecting the school in question to be New Worminghall, where she would be taught how to use the powers she had started to develop for the covert benefit of society. Instead, she was trooped off to the Futurian Academy to be taught how to use those powers for the overt benefit of society. Not a word of explanation was she given about the reasons for this abrupt change in plans.
Meredith has adapted to all this fairly well, embracing the idea that she is in training to become a latter-day knight by adopting Equerry ("squire") as her nomme de guerre. The most reliable of her powers is the ability to manifest an energy blade in her right hand while projecting a force screen from her left arm, both of which she has trained to use effectively. With greater difficulty, she can project an energy blast from her sword hand or create barriers with her off hand, and has occasionally managed to create other energy manifestations.
In addition to these talents, she has a sense for magic and has been able to perform magical rituals from time to time. She is reluctant to do this as she views herself as woefully ill-prepared to do serious magic and fears the consequences of calling up what she cannot then put down. It has also been noted that Meredith has a knack for dealing with animals of all sorts, which she jokingly indicates as having come out of looking after the horses on her family estate.
With all that in mind, Equerry makes a fairly good knight. She has even attracted a mentor of sorts in the form of Michael Carrington, the nephew of both of the Grail Knights, who has indicated that he thinks she would be a good candidate to revive that identity when she graduates, if all goes well. In the timeline where Constance has taken charge of their class, she is happy to act as a sergeant and learn from the much more experienced heroine; in the other timeline, Meredith is starting to come into her own as the leader of their small unit.
Both of those roles are made a bit more complicated by the big lie in that first paragraph, above. Far from being packed off without any explanations, both of her parents and the headmaster of New Worminghall, Jeffery Searle, took the time to explain the reasons that she was being sent there, and what she was expected to do there. Meredith does not like to think of herself as a spy. She tells herself that she is just doing what many of her classmates do in writing letters home to their parents, and if hers are slightly more detailed than most, and if she knows that someone else will be reading them, that is still not treason, right? So she keeps trying to convince herself, at least.
Equerry -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 3 | DEX 2 | FGT 5 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Manifestations: Array (8 points)
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Animal Empathy, Assessment, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Move-by Action, Ritualist, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind.
Equipment:
Protective Gear (Protection 1) and 4 points of equipment as needed.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 5 (+7), Close Combat: Sword 4 (+9), Expertise: History 5 (+6), Expertise: Magic 5 (+7), Insight 4 (+6), Perception 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Bolt 4 (+6), Sleight of Hand 4 (+6).
Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 2)
Manifest Sword +9 (Close Damage 5, Crit 19-20)
Manifest Bolt +6 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9/7, Parry 11/9, Fortitude 4, Toughness 5/4/3/2, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 11 + Advantages 15 + Skills 20 + Defenses 16 = 100 points
Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 3
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Divided Loyalties. Secret (family heritage.)
Art by Ali Phelps
None of this was supposed to happen to her. Meredith Vassar expected to be sent away to school, just like everyone in her family has been, but she was expecting the school in question to be New Worminghall, where she would be taught how to use the powers she had started to develop for the covert benefit of society. Instead, she was trooped off to the Futurian Academy to be taught how to use those powers for the overt benefit of society. Not a word of explanation was she given about the reasons for this abrupt change in plans.
Meredith has adapted to all this fairly well, embracing the idea that she is in training to become a latter-day knight by adopting Equerry ("squire") as her nomme de guerre. The most reliable of her powers is the ability to manifest an energy blade in her right hand while projecting a force screen from her left arm, both of which she has trained to use effectively. With greater difficulty, she can project an energy blast from her sword hand or create barriers with her off hand, and has occasionally managed to create other energy manifestations.
In addition to these talents, she has a sense for magic and has been able to perform magical rituals from time to time. She is reluctant to do this as she views herself as woefully ill-prepared to do serious magic and fears the consequences of calling up what she cannot then put down. It has also been noted that Meredith has a knack for dealing with animals of all sorts, which she jokingly indicates as having come out of looking after the horses on her family estate.
With all that in mind, Equerry makes a fairly good knight. She has even attracted a mentor of sorts in the form of Michael Carrington, the nephew of both of the Grail Knights, who has indicated that he thinks she would be a good candidate to revive that identity when she graduates, if all goes well. In the timeline where Constance has taken charge of their class, she is happy to act as a sergeant and learn from the much more experienced heroine; in the other timeline, Meredith is starting to come into her own as the leader of their small unit.
Both of those roles are made a bit more complicated by the big lie in that first paragraph, above. Far from being packed off without any explanations, both of her parents and the headmaster of New Worminghall, Jeffery Searle, took the time to explain the reasons that she was being sent there, and what she was expected to do there. Meredith does not like to think of herself as a spy. She tells herself that she is just doing what many of her classmates do in writing letters home to their parents, and if hers are slightly more detailed than most, and if she knows that someone else will be reading them, that is still not treason, right? So she keeps trying to convince herself, at least.
Equerry -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 3 | DEX 2 | FGT 5 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Manifestations: Array (8 points)
- Manifest Barrier: Create 8, Tiring - 8 points
- Manifest Bolt: Ranged Damage 8, Tiring - 1 point
- Manifest Shield and Sword: Enhanced Defenses 4 (Dodge 2, Parry 2); Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical - 1 point
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Animal Empathy, Assessment, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Move-by Action, Ritualist, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind.
Equipment:
Protective Gear (Protection 1) and 4 points of equipment as needed.
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics 5 (+7), Close Combat: Sword 4 (+9), Expertise: History 5 (+6), Expertise: Magic 5 (+7), Insight 4 (+6), Perception 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Bolt 4 (+6), Sleight of Hand 4 (+6).
Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 2)
Manifest Sword +9 (Close Damage 5, Crit 19-20)
Manifest Bolt +6 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9/7, Parry 11/9, Fortitude 4, Toughness 5/4/3/2, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 11 + Advantages 15 + Skills 20 + Defenses 16 = 100 points
Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 3
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Divided Loyalties. Secret (family heritage.)
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
El Cabador
Lamar de la Peña would prefer to be known as "Digger" to obscure his Spanish origins and reduce the chances that harm will come to his family and loved ones because of his actions. But after being informed that this term is an old slang for "Australian", he reluctantly agreed to go with the name suggested to him. He has half-heartedly suggested that, instead of returning to Galicia after he graduates from the Academy, he might look into emigrating to Australia and using that name there. The joke there is that he does not really expect to live that long.
Following the coup attempt in 2006, the Spanish government instituted a policy of having all children within their borders tested for potential superpowers when they turned 12, ostensibly to better organize attempts to protect them from such anti-superpower attacks. Despite expectations, this has never resulted in children identified as superpowers being kidnapped by the government and indoctrinated as its agents. Matters are unfortunately worse; the information collected by the agency responsible for the testing has been sold to a variety of interested parties, who have themselves occasionally kidnapped and indoctrinated these children. And sometimes, as with Lamar, they do worse than that.
In the assay conducted shortly after his twelfth birthday, Lamar was identified as having limited regenerative powers. A little over two years later, he was kidnapped by agents of some conspiracy who obnoxiously refused to give him a long, boring motive rant. Instead, he was just subjected to repeated tests of his regenerative capabilities that accelerated their development, such that he was able to survive being bolted into a cybernetically-controlled exoskeleton. They apparently believed that its circuitry would make Lamar obedient to their will. They were wrong; he escaped and fled to the police.
Of course, by the time that investigators returned to the location where all this had supposedly happened, it had already been cleared out, leaving Lamar the only witness. Attempts to get him out of the suit were beyond the capacities of the Ministry, who called on Argus, who in turn arranged for the young man to be taken to Dr. Noemi Charpentier at the Academy. Her clairvoyant examination revealed that there was about a seventy-five per cent chance that even the most careful and precise attempt to remove Lamar from the suit would result in his death, with even the best case scenario leaving him probably disabled for life. For better or worse, the suit was part of his skin, now.
Needless to say, el Cabador mourns his lost mundane life, but the examples he has been given of others who have endured under such burdens has kept him from losing himself in self-pity too often. He has a fairly self-deprecating sense of humor, which often focuses on how frequently his tunnelling powers are useful to the team. (Not often, in other words.) That said, he is also entirely willing to throw himself in front of attacks and let the armor that he curses protect others as well as himself.
El Cabador -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 0 | PRE 1
Powers:
Healing Factor: Immunity 2 (disease, poison); Regeneration 10 - 12 points
Protective Shell: Immunity 2 (need for sleep, starvation and thirst); Impervious Protection 4 - 10 points
Tunneller: Burrowing 2; Strength-based Damage 2; Movement 2 (slithering, wall-crawling); Senses 3 (acute tracking scent, low-light vision) - 11 points
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Favored Environment (underground), Great Endurance, Improved Initiative, Interpose.
Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7), Close Combat: Claws 4 (+8), Deception 6 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+5), Insight 5 (+5), Investigation 4 (+5), Perception 6 (+6), Stealth 4 (+6).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 2)
Claws +8 (Close Damage 4)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 7, Toughness 8, Will 4
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 33 + Advantages 5 + Skills 19 + Defenses 15 = 102 points
Offensive PL: 6
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 2
Complications:
Unwanted Power--Motivation. Huge and Heavy. Minor. Prejudice (Spaniard in the U.K.)
Lamar de la Peña would prefer to be known as "Digger" to obscure his Spanish origins and reduce the chances that harm will come to his family and loved ones because of his actions. But after being informed that this term is an old slang for "Australian", he reluctantly agreed to go with the name suggested to him. He has half-heartedly suggested that, instead of returning to Galicia after he graduates from the Academy, he might look into emigrating to Australia and using that name there. The joke there is that he does not really expect to live that long.
Following the coup attempt in 2006, the Spanish government instituted a policy of having all children within their borders tested for potential superpowers when they turned 12, ostensibly to better organize attempts to protect them from such anti-superpower attacks. Despite expectations, this has never resulted in children identified as superpowers being kidnapped by the government and indoctrinated as its agents. Matters are unfortunately worse; the information collected by the agency responsible for the testing has been sold to a variety of interested parties, who have themselves occasionally kidnapped and indoctrinated these children. And sometimes, as with Lamar, they do worse than that.
In the assay conducted shortly after his twelfth birthday, Lamar was identified as having limited regenerative powers. A little over two years later, he was kidnapped by agents of some conspiracy who obnoxiously refused to give him a long, boring motive rant. Instead, he was just subjected to repeated tests of his regenerative capabilities that accelerated their development, such that he was able to survive being bolted into a cybernetically-controlled exoskeleton. They apparently believed that its circuitry would make Lamar obedient to their will. They were wrong; he escaped and fled to the police.
Of course, by the time that investigators returned to the location where all this had supposedly happened, it had already been cleared out, leaving Lamar the only witness. Attempts to get him out of the suit were beyond the capacities of the Ministry, who called on Argus, who in turn arranged for the young man to be taken to Dr. Noemi Charpentier at the Academy. Her clairvoyant examination revealed that there was about a seventy-five per cent chance that even the most careful and precise attempt to remove Lamar from the suit would result in his death, with even the best case scenario leaving him probably disabled for life. For better or worse, the suit was part of his skin, now.
Needless to say, el Cabador mourns his lost mundane life, but the examples he has been given of others who have endured under such burdens has kept him from losing himself in self-pity too often. He has a fairly self-deprecating sense of humor, which often focuses on how frequently his tunnelling powers are useful to the team. (Not often, in other words.) That said, he is also entirely willing to throw himself in front of attacks and let the armor that he curses protect others as well as himself.
El Cabador -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 0 | PRE 1
Powers:
Healing Factor: Immunity 2 (disease, poison); Regeneration 10 - 12 points
Protective Shell: Immunity 2 (need for sleep, starvation and thirst); Impervious Protection 4 - 10 points
Tunneller: Burrowing 2; Strength-based Damage 2; Movement 2 (slithering, wall-crawling); Senses 3 (acute tracking scent, low-light vision) - 11 points
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Favored Environment (underground), Great Endurance, Improved Initiative, Interpose.
Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7), Close Combat: Claws 4 (+8), Deception 6 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+5), Insight 5 (+5), Investigation 4 (+5), Perception 6 (+6), Stealth 4 (+6).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 2)
Claws +8 (Close Damage 4)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 7, Toughness 8, Will 4
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 33 + Advantages 5 + Skills 19 + Defenses 15 = 102 points
Offensive PL: 6
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 2
Complications:
Unwanted Power--Motivation. Huge and Heavy. Minor. Prejudice (Spaniard in the U.K.)
Argus: "F-ing amateurs..."
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Stupendo
"Stupendo?" Dr. Charpentier repeated, looking across her desk at the young man seated before it.
"Indeed!" he replied liltingly. It was hard to imagine that he was only fifteen years old, just like his classmates, when his growth spurts had clearly come early and often, leaving him just an eyeblink over 180 centimeters in height. His voice was appropriately deep, as well. It had been purest luck that the school recruiter had discovered him doing his magic act during Carnival while the former was vacationing in Trinidad and Tobago, and then been interested enough to discover that he was the right age to be a student at the academy.
The headmaster let out a sigh. "We don't make a practice of restricting people in their choice of pseudonym, Mr. Edwards, but I think you might want to reconsider this one."
"But why?" he asked, smiling broadly and eyes -- good grief -- twinkling behind his spectacles. "After all, I am stupendous!" He drew out the last vowel to make it long instead of short.
Noemi considered correcting the pronunciation, but reminded herself that it had been a deliberate choice on his part. "All right, then. I just hope that you don't regret this if going by that name makes people laugh at you."
His smile vanished then. "I --!" he started to say, then broke off.
"Go on," she said, sensing that she was getting closer to the heart of the matter than she had so far.
He lowered his eyes to his hands, where his gloved hands were tightly clenching each other. "If people are laughing at me," he said, slowly and deliberately, "it means they are not frightened of me."
Dr. Charpentier blinked once, then a sad smile spread across her face. "I see," she said. "And that's important to you, I imagine. 'Stupendo' it is, then. And you are cleared for field work, but I'm going to insist that you attend the counselling sessions that we recommend for everyone who goes on these expeditions. All right?" she concluded.
He'd looked up as she spoke, and was regarding her with obvious relief. "Ite, Madame Principal," he replied, coming to his feet and offering her an elaborate bow.
"I hope it will be okay," she murmured as she watched him head out her office door, before looking down at the news report about what was being termed '"the swindling of the United Nations" by the local press. "Because I think we're going to need someone who can make them laugh soon."
Stupendo -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 1 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Powers:
Levitation: Flight 4 (30 MPH) - 8 points
Precognitive Reflexes: Enhanced Advantages 4 (Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge); Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Senses 1 (danger sense) - 13 points
Psychokinesis: Perception-Range Damaging Move Object 8 - 32 points
Advantages:
Attractive, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Fascinate (Persusasion), Inspire, Jack-of-all-trades, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Performance 6 (+8), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 4 (+6).
Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage 0)
Psychokinesis -- (Perception-Range Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9/5, Parry 7/3, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 53 + Advantages 4 + Skills 12 + Defenses 12 = 111 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Fear (being feared.) Minor. Prejudice (Trinidadian in the U.K.)
Seasons come and seasons go
But Carnival will last
From Port-of-Spain straight to S'ando
Take it out, take it out and play ah mas'
"Stupendo?" Dr. Charpentier repeated, looking across her desk at the young man seated before it.
"Indeed!" he replied liltingly. It was hard to imagine that he was only fifteen years old, just like his classmates, when his growth spurts had clearly come early and often, leaving him just an eyeblink over 180 centimeters in height. His voice was appropriately deep, as well. It had been purest luck that the school recruiter had discovered him doing his magic act during Carnival while the former was vacationing in Trinidad and Tobago, and then been interested enough to discover that he was the right age to be a student at the academy.
The headmaster let out a sigh. "We don't make a practice of restricting people in their choice of pseudonym, Mr. Edwards, but I think you might want to reconsider this one."
"But why?" he asked, smiling broadly and eyes -- good grief -- twinkling behind his spectacles. "After all, I am stupendous!" He drew out the last vowel to make it long instead of short.
Noemi considered correcting the pronunciation, but reminded herself that it had been a deliberate choice on his part. "All right, then. I just hope that you don't regret this if going by that name makes people laugh at you."
His smile vanished then. "I --!" he started to say, then broke off.
"Go on," she said, sensing that she was getting closer to the heart of the matter than she had so far.
He lowered his eyes to his hands, where his gloved hands were tightly clenching each other. "If people are laughing at me," he said, slowly and deliberately, "it means they are not frightened of me."
Dr. Charpentier blinked once, then a sad smile spread across her face. "I see," she said. "And that's important to you, I imagine. 'Stupendo' it is, then. And you are cleared for field work, but I'm going to insist that you attend the counselling sessions that we recommend for everyone who goes on these expeditions. All right?" she concluded.
He'd looked up as she spoke, and was regarding her with obvious relief. "Ite, Madame Principal," he replied, coming to his feet and offering her an elaborate bow.
"I hope it will be okay," she murmured as she watched him head out her office door, before looking down at the news report about what was being termed '"the swindling of the United Nations" by the local press. "Because I think we're going to need someone who can make them laugh soon."
Stupendo -- PL 8
Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 1 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Powers:
Levitation: Flight 4 (30 MPH) - 8 points
Precognitive Reflexes: Enhanced Advantages 4 (Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge); Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Senses 1 (danger sense) - 13 points
Psychokinesis: Perception-Range Damaging Move Object 8 - 32 points
Advantages:
Attractive, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Fascinate (Persusasion), Inspire, Jack-of-all-trades, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Performance 6 (+8), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 4 (+6).
Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage 0)
Psychokinesis -- (Perception-Range Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9/5, Parry 7/3, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 8
Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 53 + Advantages 4 + Skills 12 + Defenses 12 = 111 points
Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Fear (being feared.) Minor. Prejudice (Trinidadian in the U.K.)
Seasons come and seasons go
But Carnival will last
From Port-of-Spain straight to S'ando
Take it out, take it out and play ah mas'
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Mikhail Andropov
In the decades before the Isle of Leighton became Tanelorn, one of its greatest financial powerhouses was the robotics manufacturer AndroTech. In those same decades, the greatest secret of AndroTech was that it had been created solely as a means of supporting the never-ending war that its founder and permanent CEO, Mikhail Andropov, fought with his nemesis Kent Wildman. Andropov, sometimes called the Body Thief, was a powerful mentalist who could irresistibly transfer his consciousness into another body on the death of his current one, and used this to remain in control of AndroTech through years of battles with Wildman and his allies that generally went poorly for him.
When the world ended and the Isle became an extradimensional refuge, Andropov was shocked by the transformation he observed in Wildman, which made him and many of his allies into godlike "Guardians". For the first time since he had awakened to his own powers, Andropov found himself uncertain that his genius and psychic might would allow him to survive an encounter with his foes, never mind the triumph that he always imagined and had never actually achieved. Their augmented brains might well develop some method of preventing him from transferring his consciousness and thus imprison him. This would not do at all.
Therefore, for most of the generation that followed, he hid his activities, encouraging his enemy to believe that he had been left behind to die on their original world. (Wildman never really believed that, but had countless other more immediate problems.) He watched, with patience that would have surprised his enemies, as the Guardians began to expand, sharing their powers with others -- much to his bewilderment -- and beginning to explore the multiverse that existed then. When the Guardians were handed their first real setback by forces of the Sprawl, he finally saw an opportunity and seized it, traveling to the other extradimensional city state with the intention of turning its rulers into his pawns.
He had fatally underestimated his intended prey. The corp that he tried to take over was one that had already conducted a fair amount of psychic research, and recognized the signs of that sort of subversion. Andropov was captured and incapacitated through a drug regimen that prevented him from using his psychic powers, even his previously invincible body thieving trick. Subjected to endless tests that left him almost dead, his previously unbreakable ego shattered over the next several years.
Eventually, that corp was able to begin studies of another psychic from Tanelorn, who at first came to them willingly. She also came to rue this choice, and was rescued by her friend. In the process, however, they also discovered that Andropov was being held in captivity, and he begged for their help. Despite knowing that no good would come of this, they rescued and returned him to Tanelorn before departing on another mission. There, he was startled to learn that Wildman was dead and the Guardians depowered. Not that he could enjoy either development, as his own powers had been destroyed by his experiences. While the Warden, McGovern and other old enemies doubted this, it soon became clear that all that he wanted to do was live out the remainder of this, the last life he would ever know, in peace.
In other words, despite that being one of the worst performances of his career, they bought it! Yes, his powers had been greatly diminished by what the Sprawl did to him. Yes, he can no longer transfer bodies -- at least not yet. But he knows that he can build up his powers through exercising them, just as he did before, and his worst enemies -- both of them -- are nowhere to be found. Once again, he is going to have to demonstrate the surprising quality of patience that served him so well at the start of Tanelorn, to which he has now added caution. But eventually, he knows, his mastery of mind will lead him to rule this place and the world beyond the island as well.
Mikhail Andropov - PL9
Abilities:
STR -1 | STA 2 | AGL 0 | DEX 0 | FGT 0 | INT 7 | AWE 7 | PRE 5
Powers:
Diminished Psychic Potential: Array (29 points)
Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Eidetic Memory, Jack-of-all-trades, Multilingual, Speed of Thought, Ultimate Effort (Will checks).
Skills:
Deception 6 (+11), Expertise: Business 5 (+12), Expertise: Criminal 5 (+12), Expertise: Dimensional 3 (+10), Expertise: Science 5 (+12), Persuasion 8 (+13), Technology 4 (+11).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +0 (Close Damage -1)
Mental Blast -- (Perception Range Damage 7)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 11.
Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 36 + Advantages 7 + Skills 18 + Defenses 20 = 120 points
Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Power--Motivation. Reputation (supposedly former supervillain.) Secret (recovered psychic powers.) Trademark (purple clothes.)
Note: Should he ever regain his full psychic abilities, he becomes PL 12; increase his Array to 37 points, increase Mind Probe to 12 ranks and Mental Blast to 9, add Phantasms: Illusion 9 (all senses), Resistible by Will and possibly other mental powers as slots, change Shielded Mind to Enhanced Will 4, Impervious 12, Limited to Mental Effects. In addition, he gains the power Body Thief: Linked Immortality 5, Limited (not if there are no unshielded minds in the vicinity of his death); Linked Morph 3 (humans). It is likely that he will quickly acquire ranks of Benefit (wealth) and Connections.
In the decades before the Isle of Leighton became Tanelorn, one of its greatest financial powerhouses was the robotics manufacturer AndroTech. In those same decades, the greatest secret of AndroTech was that it had been created solely as a means of supporting the never-ending war that its founder and permanent CEO, Mikhail Andropov, fought with his nemesis Kent Wildman. Andropov, sometimes called the Body Thief, was a powerful mentalist who could irresistibly transfer his consciousness into another body on the death of his current one, and used this to remain in control of AndroTech through years of battles with Wildman and his allies that generally went poorly for him.
When the world ended and the Isle became an extradimensional refuge, Andropov was shocked by the transformation he observed in Wildman, which made him and many of his allies into godlike "Guardians". For the first time since he had awakened to his own powers, Andropov found himself uncertain that his genius and psychic might would allow him to survive an encounter with his foes, never mind the triumph that he always imagined and had never actually achieved. Their augmented brains might well develop some method of preventing him from transferring his consciousness and thus imprison him. This would not do at all.
Therefore, for most of the generation that followed, he hid his activities, encouraging his enemy to believe that he had been left behind to die on their original world. (Wildman never really believed that, but had countless other more immediate problems.) He watched, with patience that would have surprised his enemies, as the Guardians began to expand, sharing their powers with others -- much to his bewilderment -- and beginning to explore the multiverse that existed then. When the Guardians were handed their first real setback by forces of the Sprawl, he finally saw an opportunity and seized it, traveling to the other extradimensional city state with the intention of turning its rulers into his pawns.
He had fatally underestimated his intended prey. The corp that he tried to take over was one that had already conducted a fair amount of psychic research, and recognized the signs of that sort of subversion. Andropov was captured and incapacitated through a drug regimen that prevented him from using his psychic powers, even his previously invincible body thieving trick. Subjected to endless tests that left him almost dead, his previously unbreakable ego shattered over the next several years.
Eventually, that corp was able to begin studies of another psychic from Tanelorn, who at first came to them willingly. She also came to rue this choice, and was rescued by her friend. In the process, however, they also discovered that Andropov was being held in captivity, and he begged for their help. Despite knowing that no good would come of this, they rescued and returned him to Tanelorn before departing on another mission. There, he was startled to learn that Wildman was dead and the Guardians depowered. Not that he could enjoy either development, as his own powers had been destroyed by his experiences. While the Warden, McGovern and other old enemies doubted this, it soon became clear that all that he wanted to do was live out the remainder of this, the last life he would ever know, in peace.
In other words, despite that being one of the worst performances of his career, they bought it! Yes, his powers had been greatly diminished by what the Sprawl did to him. Yes, he can no longer transfer bodies -- at least not yet. But he knows that he can build up his powers through exercising them, just as he did before, and his worst enemies -- both of them -- are nowhere to be found. Once again, he is going to have to demonstrate the surprising quality of patience that served him so well at the start of Tanelorn, to which he has now added caution. But eventually, he knows, his mastery of mind will lead him to rule this place and the world beyond the island as well.
Mikhail Andropov - PL9
Abilities:
STR -1 | STA 2 | AGL 0 | DEX 0 | FGT 0 | INT 7 | AWE 7 | PRE 5
Powers:
Diminished Psychic Potential: Array (29 points)
- Mental Blast: Perception Range Damage 7, Resisted by Will, Subtle - 29 points
- Mind Probe: Cumulative Mind Reading 9, Subtle - 1 point
Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Eidetic Memory, Jack-of-all-trades, Multilingual, Speed of Thought, Ultimate Effort (Will checks).
Skills:
Deception 6 (+11), Expertise: Business 5 (+12), Expertise: Criminal 5 (+12), Expertise: Dimensional 3 (+10), Expertise: Science 5 (+12), Persuasion 8 (+13), Technology 4 (+11).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +0 (Close Damage -1)
Mental Blast -- (Perception Range Damage 7)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 11.
Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 36 + Advantages 7 + Skills 18 + Defenses 20 = 120 points
Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 7
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Power--Motivation. Reputation (supposedly former supervillain.) Secret (recovered psychic powers.) Trademark (purple clothes.)
Note: Should he ever regain his full psychic abilities, he becomes PL 12; increase his Array to 37 points, increase Mind Probe to 12 ranks and Mental Blast to 9, add Phantasms: Illusion 9 (all senses), Resistible by Will and possibly other mental powers as slots, change Shielded Mind to Enhanced Will 4, Impervious 12, Limited to Mental Effects. In addition, he gains the power Body Thief: Linked Immortality 5, Limited (not if there are no unshielded minds in the vicinity of his death); Linked Morph 3 (humans). It is likely that he will quickly acquire ranks of Benefit (wealth) and Connections.
Last edited:
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Thomas LaFontaine
Imagine, if you can, discovering that there was someone just like you who had engaged in repeated morally reprehensible acts that ultimately led to their painful demise. Not that difficult, perhaps, especially if your life has crossed numerous worlds. But imagine what it does to the person who learns of their duplicate when they have to admit to themselves that the part of that which they find most objectionable is that their counterpart failed at what they attempted, rather than the attempt itself.
Thomas LaFontaine has always thought of himself as a good person. His father, Andrew, invented the prototype of the powered armor employed by the Warden, and worked tirelessly to keep it functioning and provide improvements for the benefit of the first two men who operated it. Thomas inherited this duty from his father for the benefit of the two most recent operators, including Patricia MacMillan, and also provided tech support for many of the other heroes of what would become Tanelorn, even assisting in the grand experiment that saved the island.
Despite this, and despite having been present when the first Guardians awakened to their powers, he was not himself chosen to stand among them. It was bewildering. It was not so much that a miscreant like Drummond received it instead of him -- that was probably just the result of the strange bond between her and Kent -- but he found himself genuinely disconcerted that he received nothing, not at the very start of it, nor when he was present as the second group received it, either.
It only got worse when he spoke to Kent about his confusion. The sheriff of Tanelorn hesitated to offer his opinion on the subject until Thomas pressed him for it. "With the exception of Drummond, everyone who has received this enhancement has been someone who cares more about other people than they do about themselves. And ... Tom, I don't think it makes you a bad person, but that's just not you."
He went on to say that Thomas cared more about doing his work well than how it benefited people, which was a good attitude to have, but that the enigmatic force that empowered the Guardians was looking for other attitudes. Thomas found it difficult to argue with this reasoning, but was unsure how much of that was owed to the argument and how much to the enhanced charisma that came with the rest of the Guardian package. He returned to his work, with perhaps a bit less enthusiasm than he had possessed before this.
By rights, it should have stopped mattering at all when Tanelorn became part of the World in the Aftermath and the Guardian force vanished, likely forever. But then McGovern came back with news about the various counterparts that they all had or had once had on this world. Which led to Thomas learning about the life and deeds of one Andreas LaFontaine, the criminal scientist who had been responsible for creating both Trouble and Bravo. And that, in turn, led to him realizing that he had no practical objections to any of this, aside from not knowing enough about the life sciences. No practical objections, and no compelling moral ones either. So, perhaps Kent had been a bit too generous in declaring that he was not a bad person.
This has bothered him enough to start trying to take steps to deal with the problem it presents. Chiefly, he has volunteered to serve as the official head of the Tanelornian base that has been established on the surface of Vulcan, to help defend their claim against the various other factions which have made claims of their own. Thomas hopes that he will come to find value in this service; he is also genuinely curious about what could be discovered on the worldship and how it could be used in his own proj-- ahem -- for the benefit of Tanelorn and humanity as a whole. (He will, if pressed, admit that he has a ways to go here.)
Of course, this only applies to the version of Thomas in one of the two timelines; in the other, he is seeking other ways to deal with these issues, and will probably only start wearing body armor and carrying weapons if Tanelorn ever comes under direct attack. Which could happen ...
Thomas LaFontaine - PL 10
Abilities:
STR 5/1 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 4 | FGT 5 | INT 10 | AWE 2 | PRE 3
Powers:
Blaster Rifle: Ranged Multiattack Damage 8; Easily Removable (-8 points) - 16 points
Body Armor: Enhanced Strength 4; Immunity 10 (life support); Leaping 5; Impervious Protection 5; Removable (-6 points) - 27 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Connected, Defensive Roll, Equipment 6, Evasion, Fearless, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle.
Equipment:
Goggles (+2 to resistance checks against Visual Sense Afflictions) and 29 points of other equipment, often a vehicle.
Skills:
Athletics 7 (+12/+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 5 (+10), Expertise: Dimensional 3 (+13), Expertise: Science 4 (+14), Expertise: Streetwise 2 (+12), Intimidation 8 (+11), Perception 7 (+9), Ranged Combat: Blaster 4 (+8), Technology 5 (+15), Vehicles 5 (+9).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 5/1)
Blaster Rifle +12 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 9/7/4/2, Will 7
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 43 + Advantages 22 + Skills 25 + Defenses 19 = 167 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 10
Complications:
Professionalism--Motivation. Dependency (regular age suppression treatment.) Somewhat Callous And Lacking in Empathy.
Imagine, if you can, discovering that there was someone just like you who had engaged in repeated morally reprehensible acts that ultimately led to their painful demise. Not that difficult, perhaps, especially if your life has crossed numerous worlds. But imagine what it does to the person who learns of their duplicate when they have to admit to themselves that the part of that which they find most objectionable is that their counterpart failed at what they attempted, rather than the attempt itself.
Thomas LaFontaine has always thought of himself as a good person. His father, Andrew, invented the prototype of the powered armor employed by the Warden, and worked tirelessly to keep it functioning and provide improvements for the benefit of the first two men who operated it. Thomas inherited this duty from his father for the benefit of the two most recent operators, including Patricia MacMillan, and also provided tech support for many of the other heroes of what would become Tanelorn, even assisting in the grand experiment that saved the island.
Despite this, and despite having been present when the first Guardians awakened to their powers, he was not himself chosen to stand among them. It was bewildering. It was not so much that a miscreant like Drummond received it instead of him -- that was probably just the result of the strange bond between her and Kent -- but he found himself genuinely disconcerted that he received nothing, not at the very start of it, nor when he was present as the second group received it, either.
It only got worse when he spoke to Kent about his confusion. The sheriff of Tanelorn hesitated to offer his opinion on the subject until Thomas pressed him for it. "With the exception of Drummond, everyone who has received this enhancement has been someone who cares more about other people than they do about themselves. And ... Tom, I don't think it makes you a bad person, but that's just not you."
He went on to say that Thomas cared more about doing his work well than how it benefited people, which was a good attitude to have, but that the enigmatic force that empowered the Guardians was looking for other attitudes. Thomas found it difficult to argue with this reasoning, but was unsure how much of that was owed to the argument and how much to the enhanced charisma that came with the rest of the Guardian package. He returned to his work, with perhaps a bit less enthusiasm than he had possessed before this.
By rights, it should have stopped mattering at all when Tanelorn became part of the World in the Aftermath and the Guardian force vanished, likely forever. But then McGovern came back with news about the various counterparts that they all had or had once had on this world. Which led to Thomas learning about the life and deeds of one Andreas LaFontaine, the criminal scientist who had been responsible for creating both Trouble and Bravo. And that, in turn, led to him realizing that he had no practical objections to any of this, aside from not knowing enough about the life sciences. No practical objections, and no compelling moral ones either. So, perhaps Kent had been a bit too generous in declaring that he was not a bad person.
This has bothered him enough to start trying to take steps to deal with the problem it presents. Chiefly, he has volunteered to serve as the official head of the Tanelornian base that has been established on the surface of Vulcan, to help defend their claim against the various other factions which have made claims of their own. Thomas hopes that he will come to find value in this service; he is also genuinely curious about what could be discovered on the worldship and how it could be used in his own proj-- ahem -- for the benefit of Tanelorn and humanity as a whole. (He will, if pressed, admit that he has a ways to go here.)
Of course, this only applies to the version of Thomas in one of the two timelines; in the other, he is seeking other ways to deal with these issues, and will probably only start wearing body armor and carrying weapons if Tanelorn ever comes under direct attack. Which could happen ...
Thomas LaFontaine - PL 10
Abilities:
STR 5/1 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 4 | FGT 5 | INT 10 | AWE 2 | PRE 3
Powers:
Blaster Rifle: Ranged Multiattack Damage 8; Easily Removable (-8 points) - 16 points
Body Armor: Enhanced Strength 4; Immunity 10 (life support); Leaping 5; Impervious Protection 5; Removable (-6 points) - 27 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Connected, Defensive Roll, Equipment 6, Evasion, Fearless, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle.
Equipment:
Goggles (+2 to resistance checks against Visual Sense Afflictions) and 29 points of other equipment, often a vehicle.
Skills:
Athletics 7 (+12/+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 5 (+10), Expertise: Dimensional 3 (+13), Expertise: Science 4 (+14), Expertise: Streetwise 2 (+12), Intimidation 8 (+11), Perception 7 (+9), Ranged Combat: Blaster 4 (+8), Technology 5 (+15), Vehicles 5 (+9).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 5/1)
Blaster Rifle +12 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 9/7/4/2, Will 7
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 43 + Advantages 22 + Skills 25 + Defenses 19 = 167 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 10
Complications:
Professionalism--Motivation. Dependency (regular age suppression treatment.) Somewhat Callous And Lacking in Empathy.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Viviane
Whenever someone is rude enough to ask the eldest resident of Tanelorn about her age, and whenever she is in a sufficiently good mood to give a straightforward answer, it will usually be, "Older than you." A precise answer would be "a bit more than twenty-seven hundred years old", as she was born roughly nine hundred years before the common era, and the parallel reality where she originated had reached the 1800s of that era when she left it for Tanelorn, a few decades ago.
Viviane (not her birth name, but the only one she has used for more than a millennium) is one of the Vima, unaging transhuman beings who sought to protect the Earth and its peoples from the shadows. On her world, Europe was colonized and conquered by aliens called the Alvadine in the eighth century, creating a peaceful but unfortunately stagnant civilization that never enjoyed much in the way of technological progression. Viviane was chosen by the leaders of the Vima to live among the Alvadine ruling class and keep an eye on them, spending a decade or so shaping her ears to be pointed.
Spending what was a long time among them by the standards of both the Vima and the Alvadine, Viviane came to feel a certain sympathy for the plight that the aliens suffered, having suffered the downfall of their own world through no fault of their own and seeking to rebuild it here. But she never forgot that they had done so at the expense of the people of Earth, and worked to help the latter as much as she could. She led a lonely and often paranoid existence, especially after most of the other Vima on Earth relocated away from the planet, leaving her and the other implanted observers without hope of rescue.
Fortunately, rescue would come from another direction entirely, when the Alvadine court where she was occupied as a courtier was contacted by agents of Tanelorn seeking to open up a trading alliance with them. Learning that the Prince was plotting against these voyagers, Viviane impulsively reached out to them to reveal that and the other hidden truths of this place, portraying herself as a human who had developed her powers "naturally" rather than revealing the whole truth of the Vima. After the plot was foiled, the Tanelornians offered Viviane sanctuary at the same time as they broke off relations with the Alvadine in favor of an alliance with lands far to the east of her homeland.
She accepted and worked with the Guardians of Tanelorn as an adjunct for quite some time, eventually being given a promotion to direct these agents. Through it all, she hesitated to reveal the true nature of her powers, at first out of cultivated caution but eventually out of growing shame for having not told the truth sooner. For a while, she told herself that it was hardly important, as the Vima had no interest in other worlds than their own; when she once again made contact with the others, they explicitly told her that she need not bother making reports about her activities.
And then the world where she was born, and everyone she had known and countless others she had not, was destroyed in the Anachronic Calamity, leaving her truly an orphan of the multiverse. Retiring from duty with the guardians -- themselves depowered by recent events, and in a state of confusion only a little bit less than her own -- Viviane spent some time trying to come to terms with her loss. She has finally reached a level of acceptance and is starting to consider what she should do next.
Her next move will likely be to try and track down the signal on this brave new world that tells her that there is another Vima here, in hopes that it will be another member of her people. (She will be disappointed.) Learning that there is a community of Vima on the World That Burned will excite her with the possibility that these are her people. (She will be further disappointed.) What all these disappointments will add up, in the end, remains to be seen. But she of all people is used to having illusions shattered.
Viviane - PL 11
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 3 | AWE 5 | PRE 5
Powers:
Art of the Impossible: Independent Illusion 11 (all senses), Limited to One Subject, Resisted by Will; Perception Ranged Damage 11, Resisted by Will - 88 points
Vima: Immunity 11 (aging, life support); Regeneration 10; Senses 2 (darkvision) - 23 points
Occasional Power Stunt:
Mass Hallucination: Independent Illusion 8 (all senses), Selective, Resisted by Will; Perception Range Selective Perception Area Damage 6, Resisted by Will
Advantages:
Assessment, Attractive, Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative, Multilingual, Skill Mastery (Perception), Trance.
Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Deception 6 (+11), Expertise: Dimensional 6 (+9), Expertise: Philosophy 7 (+10), Insight 6 (+11), Perception 8 (+13), Persuasion 7 (+12), Stealth 6 (+8), Treatment 5 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 2)
Illusion Assault -- (Perception Area Will 11)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 7, Will 6, Toughness 6/4, Will 12
Totals:
Abilities 54 + Powers 111 + Advantages 7 + Skills 27 + Defenses 19 = 218 points
Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Secret (Vima.) Unfamiliar With Contemporary Earth Culture or Technology.
Whenever someone is rude enough to ask the eldest resident of Tanelorn about her age, and whenever she is in a sufficiently good mood to give a straightforward answer, it will usually be, "Older than you." A precise answer would be "a bit more than twenty-seven hundred years old", as she was born roughly nine hundred years before the common era, and the parallel reality where she originated had reached the 1800s of that era when she left it for Tanelorn, a few decades ago.
Viviane (not her birth name, but the only one she has used for more than a millennium) is one of the Vima, unaging transhuman beings who sought to protect the Earth and its peoples from the shadows. On her world, Europe was colonized and conquered by aliens called the Alvadine in the eighth century, creating a peaceful but unfortunately stagnant civilization that never enjoyed much in the way of technological progression. Viviane was chosen by the leaders of the Vima to live among the Alvadine ruling class and keep an eye on them, spending a decade or so shaping her ears to be pointed.
Spending what was a long time among them by the standards of both the Vima and the Alvadine, Viviane came to feel a certain sympathy for the plight that the aliens suffered, having suffered the downfall of their own world through no fault of their own and seeking to rebuild it here. But she never forgot that they had done so at the expense of the people of Earth, and worked to help the latter as much as she could. She led a lonely and often paranoid existence, especially after most of the other Vima on Earth relocated away from the planet, leaving her and the other implanted observers without hope of rescue.
Fortunately, rescue would come from another direction entirely, when the Alvadine court where she was occupied as a courtier was contacted by agents of Tanelorn seeking to open up a trading alliance with them. Learning that the Prince was plotting against these voyagers, Viviane impulsively reached out to them to reveal that and the other hidden truths of this place, portraying herself as a human who had developed her powers "naturally" rather than revealing the whole truth of the Vima. After the plot was foiled, the Tanelornians offered Viviane sanctuary at the same time as they broke off relations with the Alvadine in favor of an alliance with lands far to the east of her homeland.
She accepted and worked with the Guardians of Tanelorn as an adjunct for quite some time, eventually being given a promotion to direct these agents. Through it all, she hesitated to reveal the true nature of her powers, at first out of cultivated caution but eventually out of growing shame for having not told the truth sooner. For a while, she told herself that it was hardly important, as the Vima had no interest in other worlds than their own; when she once again made contact with the others, they explicitly told her that she need not bother making reports about her activities.
And then the world where she was born, and everyone she had known and countless others she had not, was destroyed in the Anachronic Calamity, leaving her truly an orphan of the multiverse. Retiring from duty with the guardians -- themselves depowered by recent events, and in a state of confusion only a little bit less than her own -- Viviane spent some time trying to come to terms with her loss. She has finally reached a level of acceptance and is starting to consider what she should do next.
Her next move will likely be to try and track down the signal on this brave new world that tells her that there is another Vima here, in hopes that it will be another member of her people. (She will be disappointed.) Learning that there is a community of Vima on the World That Burned will excite her with the possibility that these are her people. (She will be further disappointed.) What all these disappointments will add up, in the end, remains to be seen. But she of all people is used to having illusions shattered.
Viviane - PL 11
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 4 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 3 | AWE 5 | PRE 5
Powers:
Art of the Impossible: Independent Illusion 11 (all senses), Limited to One Subject, Resisted by Will; Perception Ranged Damage 11, Resisted by Will - 88 points
Vima: Immunity 11 (aging, life support); Regeneration 10; Senses 2 (darkvision) - 23 points
Occasional Power Stunt:
Mass Hallucination: Independent Illusion 8 (all senses), Selective, Resisted by Will; Perception Range Selective Perception Area Damage 6, Resisted by Will
Advantages:
Assessment, Attractive, Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative, Multilingual, Skill Mastery (Perception), Trance.
Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Deception 6 (+11), Expertise: Dimensional 6 (+9), Expertise: Philosophy 7 (+10), Insight 6 (+11), Perception 8 (+13), Persuasion 7 (+12), Stealth 6 (+8), Treatment 5 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 2)
Illusion Assault -- (Perception Area Will 11)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 7, Will 6, Toughness 6/4, Will 12
Totals:
Abilities 54 + Powers 111 + Advantages 7 + Skills 27 + Defenses 19 = 218 points
Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Secret (Vima.) Unfamiliar With Contemporary Earth Culture or Technology.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Mobilis
Maple DuQuesne was born in Tanelorn years after the transition. He grew up -- in terms of physical age, for many of his peers claim that he has never grown up emotionally -- in a world that might as well always have been floating in the void beneath the eternal glow, and never expected any other existence. That another existence has begun, with Tanelorn established on the World in the Aftermath, is something he regards with excitement and wonder, and he intends to see as much of it as he can. Which is typical of someone who has always been one of "the children who move too fast", to quote a song that had slightly different lyrics on the world where his parents were born.
The irony is that while Maple -- or Mobilis, to use his ops moniker -- did receive slightly enhanced reflex speeds as part of his mutation, he actually cannot move any faster on his own. Instead, his primary ability, similar to that possessed by the Warden, is the ability to enhance the movement of others. For whatever reason, he is only able to enhance what is already present instead of granting mobility that the target does not already possess, meaning that he can only increase the running speed of most human targets. For this reason, Mobilis has historically used his ability to enhance the motion of vehicles that he uses, especially the skycycle that he personally constructed in his adolescence.
The adventuresome spirit that Mobilis possesses was initially satisfied by his service with the Guardians, for which he volunteered as soon as he was able. Despite having visited numerous worlds, and having heard tales of still others from his parents and other old people back home, he found himself utterly unprepared for the experience of having his home become part of one. Initially, he was terrified of the vast blue that had burst into existence above him, but as it became clear that it was just what the old folks called sky and that he could safely move through it as he never could move through the void, fear became fascination.
As a first step towards his goal of seeing as much of the world beyond Tanelorn as he possibly can, Mobilis has volunteered his services as a bodyguard/driver for the first ambassador that Tanelorn has dispatched to that outside world. That this post has taken him to a version of the country where his parents once lived, Canada, is also not without his interests. When not on duty at the embassy in Ottawa, he spends his time exploring as much as he can of the provinces around that city as he can. The ambassador regards these expeditions as intelligence gathering; Mobilis would not dispute that but certainly does not consider himself a spy.
In the course of his journeys, Maple has sometimes had the opportunity to help people and does so whenever he can. Because of this, he has come to be regarded as something of a superhero, which mildly confuses him, as he finds it hard to imagine that anyone would not help people in need if they encountered them and does not imagine himself as anything special. Some might say that demonstrates a most unusual attitude. He would find that confusing, too.
Mobilis - PL 9
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 4 | FGT 7 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Powers:
Speed It Up: Variable 2 (enhanced mobility), Affects Others Only, Quirk (cannot grant target mobility that it does not already possess) - 13 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 8, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (unarmed), Improved Initiative, Instant Up, Interpose, Move-by Action, Ranged Attack 5, Set Up, Teamwork, Ultimate Skill (Vehicles), Uncanny Dodge.
Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5) and six points as needed.
Skycycle: Size Medium; Strength 4; Speed 12/7 (air); Defense 15; Toughness 5; Features Remote Control, Senses 3 (direction sense, radio, time sense), Subtle Flight - 24 points
Skills:
Athletics 8 (+10), Acrobatics 6 (+11), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+10), Insight 7 (+10), Perception 9 (+12), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 6 (+8), Vehicles 9 (+13).
Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 2, Crit 18-20)
Blaster +9 (Ranged Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 6, Toughness 8/3, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 56 + Powers 13 + Advantages 28 + Skills 27 + Defenses 14 = 137 points
Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Overconfident. Responsibility (embassy duty.)
Note: Should stats for his PL 14 Guardian incarnation be required, add Enhanced Ability 5 for all abilities.
We are the children who move too fast
We are the dust of a future past
We raise our voices in the night
Crying to heaven
And will our voices be heard
Or will they Break Like The Wind
Maple DuQuesne was born in Tanelorn years after the transition. He grew up -- in terms of physical age, for many of his peers claim that he has never grown up emotionally -- in a world that might as well always have been floating in the void beneath the eternal glow, and never expected any other existence. That another existence has begun, with Tanelorn established on the World in the Aftermath, is something he regards with excitement and wonder, and he intends to see as much of it as he can. Which is typical of someone who has always been one of "the children who move too fast", to quote a song that had slightly different lyrics on the world where his parents were born.
The irony is that while Maple -- or Mobilis, to use his ops moniker -- did receive slightly enhanced reflex speeds as part of his mutation, he actually cannot move any faster on his own. Instead, his primary ability, similar to that possessed by the Warden, is the ability to enhance the movement of others. For whatever reason, he is only able to enhance what is already present instead of granting mobility that the target does not already possess, meaning that he can only increase the running speed of most human targets. For this reason, Mobilis has historically used his ability to enhance the motion of vehicles that he uses, especially the skycycle that he personally constructed in his adolescence.
The adventuresome spirit that Mobilis possesses was initially satisfied by his service with the Guardians, for which he volunteered as soon as he was able. Despite having visited numerous worlds, and having heard tales of still others from his parents and other old people back home, he found himself utterly unprepared for the experience of having his home become part of one. Initially, he was terrified of the vast blue that had burst into existence above him, but as it became clear that it was just what the old folks called sky and that he could safely move through it as he never could move through the void, fear became fascination.
As a first step towards his goal of seeing as much of the world beyond Tanelorn as he possibly can, Mobilis has volunteered his services as a bodyguard/driver for the first ambassador that Tanelorn has dispatched to that outside world. That this post has taken him to a version of the country where his parents once lived, Canada, is also not without his interests. When not on duty at the embassy in Ottawa, he spends his time exploring as much as he can of the provinces around that city as he can. The ambassador regards these expeditions as intelligence gathering; Mobilis would not dispute that but certainly does not consider himself a spy.
In the course of his journeys, Maple has sometimes had the opportunity to help people and does so whenever he can. Because of this, he has come to be regarded as something of a superhero, which mildly confuses him, as he finds it hard to imagine that anyone would not help people in need if they encountered them and does not imagine himself as anything special. Some might say that demonstrates a most unusual attitude. He would find that confusing, too.
Mobilis - PL 9
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 5 | DEX 4 | FGT 7 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 2
Powers:
Speed It Up: Variable 2 (enhanced mobility), Affects Others Only, Quirk (cannot grant target mobility that it does not already possess) - 13 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 8, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (unarmed), Improved Initiative, Instant Up, Interpose, Move-by Action, Ranged Attack 5, Set Up, Teamwork, Ultimate Skill (Vehicles), Uncanny Dodge.
Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5) and six points as needed.
Skycycle: Size Medium; Strength 4; Speed 12/7 (air); Defense 15; Toughness 5; Features Remote Control, Senses 3 (direction sense, radio, time sense), Subtle Flight - 24 points
Skills:
Athletics 8 (+10), Acrobatics 6 (+11), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+10), Insight 7 (+10), Perception 9 (+12), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 6 (+8), Vehicles 9 (+13).
Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 2, Crit 18-20)
Blaster +9 (Ranged Damage 5)
Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 6, Toughness 8/3, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 56 + Powers 13 + Advantages 28 + Skills 27 + Defenses 14 = 137 points
Offensive PL: 7
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Overconfident. Responsibility (embassy duty.)
Note: Should stats for his PL 14 Guardian incarnation be required, add Enhanced Ability 5 for all abilities.
We are the children who move too fast
We are the dust of a future past
We raise our voices in the night
Crying to heaven
And will our voices be heard
Or will they Break Like The Wind
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Dali/다리
Lee Choi Sut -- Dali is a title -- was born on the same world as Viviane, but much more recently and further to the east from her usual abode, in a part of the world that would be known as the Korean peninsula in other worlds, such as the one where he currently resides. At a young age, he was identified as the newest reincarnation of the founder of a tradition of mystical martial arts, and taken away to study these principles in a monastery. While not exactly happy to be separated from his parents, the disciplines that he learned did seem strangely familiar to him, which might have explained why he excelled at them.
However, being expected to live in a monastery and practice his disciplines when his homeland was under threat by invaders from the Empire of Tibet and its vassal states of Sung proved to be a bit more than he could endure. The land -- nay, the world entire -- was in need of a hero, and the Dali decided that he should be that one. So he escaped from the monastery and set out on a journey to the west -- reference absolutely intended -- gathering allies and comrades as he went in preparation for the fight that was surely to come against the wicked emperor.
There was just one problem -- there was no wicked emperor to be found. There had been one, a few generations ago, and his policies did still influence the attitudes of the Empire his descendants had inherited, but the leaders of that state were trying to behave in a somewhat more enlightened and benevolent manner. The war had not simply begun out of greed or envy, but had been provoked by the rulers of his own homeland who had not fully realized what they were calling down on their heads. Instead of fighting battles, the Dali and his allies helped to negotiate a peaceful end to the war.
Unfortunately, that peace left Lee himself unwelcome in his homeland for the burdens that the negotiations imposed on it. Nor was what he represented well-regarded among the Tibetans, who had embraced mechanism and materialism. So where in the world should he go? And then one of his comrades revealed herself to be a traveler from a place called Tanelorn, where they might all find refuge until they figured out what to do next. The Dali agreed.
For quite some time, he divided his time between living peacefully in the extra-dimensional city state, passing on the teachings to a different community than he had ever expected, and occasionally accompanying his friends old and new on journeys to yet more strange new worlds. The recent destruction of the world where he was born was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least, but he has mourned their loss in an appropriate manner and has said his farewells. The new world that Tanelorn inhabits is a fascinating one, and he yearns for the opportunity to explore it ...
... especially since it seems that there is, at long last, a wicked emperor to be found, ruling unjustly over what would seem to be his homeland.
Dali - PL 11
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 1 | AWE 6 | PRE 1
Powers:
Scion of the Elemental Masters: Variable 9 (elemental powers) - 63 points
Typical Variable Sets:
Earthmoving: Perception Range Damaging Move Object 11 - 44 points
Fire Shield: Reaction Damage 8; Sustained Protection 11 - 43 points
Healing Light: Ranged Selective Burst Area Healing 9 - 45 points
Iron Might: Enhanced Strength 11; Impervious Protection 11 - 44 points
Utterdark: Linked Burst Area Concealment 4 Attack; Linked Burst Area Cumulative Weaken Stamina 11 (Resisted by Fortitude) - 43 points
Voice of the Woods: Selective Burst Area Affliction 11 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Damage; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile); Comprehend Plants 2; Visual Concealment 4, Only in woodlands - 41 points
Wind Bolt: Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH); Linked Insubstantial 2; Ranged Damage 10, Accurate - 45 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Diehard, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown, Trance, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+11), Athletics 5 (+7), Expertise Dimensional 6 (+7), Expertise: Philosophy 10 (+11), Insight 6 (+12), Perception 4 (+10), Persuasion 8 (+9), Stealth 4 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 13/2)
Wind Bolt +11 (Ranged Damage 10)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 13/2, Will 13.
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 63 + Advantages 15 + Skills 25 + Defenses 15 = 176 points
Offensive PL: 11*
Defensive PL: 11*
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 5
Complications:
Faith/Discovery--Motivation. Techbane (Disabled on all Technology and Vehicles checks.) Wanderlust.
Lee Choi Sut -- Dali is a title -- was born on the same world as Viviane, but much more recently and further to the east from her usual abode, in a part of the world that would be known as the Korean peninsula in other worlds, such as the one where he currently resides. At a young age, he was identified as the newest reincarnation of the founder of a tradition of mystical martial arts, and taken away to study these principles in a monastery. While not exactly happy to be separated from his parents, the disciplines that he learned did seem strangely familiar to him, which might have explained why he excelled at them.
However, being expected to live in a monastery and practice his disciplines when his homeland was under threat by invaders from the Empire of Tibet and its vassal states of Sung proved to be a bit more than he could endure. The land -- nay, the world entire -- was in need of a hero, and the Dali decided that he should be that one. So he escaped from the monastery and set out on a journey to the west -- reference absolutely intended -- gathering allies and comrades as he went in preparation for the fight that was surely to come against the wicked emperor.
There was just one problem -- there was no wicked emperor to be found. There had been one, a few generations ago, and his policies did still influence the attitudes of the Empire his descendants had inherited, but the leaders of that state were trying to behave in a somewhat more enlightened and benevolent manner. The war had not simply begun out of greed or envy, but had been provoked by the rulers of his own homeland who had not fully realized what they were calling down on their heads. Instead of fighting battles, the Dali and his allies helped to negotiate a peaceful end to the war.
Unfortunately, that peace left Lee himself unwelcome in his homeland for the burdens that the negotiations imposed on it. Nor was what he represented well-regarded among the Tibetans, who had embraced mechanism and materialism. So where in the world should he go? And then one of his comrades revealed herself to be a traveler from a place called Tanelorn, where they might all find refuge until they figured out what to do next. The Dali agreed.
For quite some time, he divided his time between living peacefully in the extra-dimensional city state, passing on the teachings to a different community than he had ever expected, and occasionally accompanying his friends old and new on journeys to yet more strange new worlds. The recent destruction of the world where he was born was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least, but he has mourned their loss in an appropriate manner and has said his farewells. The new world that Tanelorn inhabits is a fascinating one, and he yearns for the opportunity to explore it ...
... especially since it seems that there is, at long last, a wicked emperor to be found, ruling unjustly over what would seem to be his homeland.
Dali - PL 11
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 4 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 1 | AWE 6 | PRE 1
Powers:
Scion of the Elemental Masters: Variable 9 (elemental powers) - 63 points
Typical Variable Sets:
Earthmoving: Perception Range Damaging Move Object 11 - 44 points
Fire Shield: Reaction Damage 8; Sustained Protection 11 - 43 points
Healing Light: Ranged Selective Burst Area Healing 9 - 45 points
Iron Might: Enhanced Strength 11; Impervious Protection 11 - 44 points
Utterdark: Linked Burst Area Concealment 4 Attack; Linked Burst Area Cumulative Weaken Stamina 11 (Resisted by Fortitude) - 43 points
Voice of the Woods: Selective Burst Area Affliction 11 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Damage; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile); Comprehend Plants 2; Visual Concealment 4, Only in woodlands - 41 points
Wind Bolt: Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH); Linked Insubstantial 2; Ranged Damage 10, Accurate - 45 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Diehard, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown, Trance, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+11), Athletics 5 (+7), Expertise Dimensional 6 (+7), Expertise: Philosophy 10 (+11), Insight 6 (+12), Perception 4 (+10), Persuasion 8 (+9), Stealth 4 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 13/2)
Wind Bolt +11 (Ranged Damage 10)
Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 5, Toughness 13/2, Will 13.
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 63 + Advantages 15 + Skills 25 + Defenses 15 = 176 points
Offensive PL: 11*
Defensive PL: 11*
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 5
Complications:
Faith/Discovery--Motivation. Techbane (Disabled on all Technology and Vehicles checks.) Wanderlust.
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Red Samrai
The world that eventually produced the Sprawl (dubbed "the World That Ran Out of Green" by the Warpwitch) diverged quite sharply from the history that we know; nevertheless, if one were to go back into its history far enough, one would find familiar nations and peoples, who continued to exist, however divergent, even in the Sprawl itself. One effect of the arrival of the Sprawl on the World in the Aftermath has been something of a reawakening interest in these "minority cultures", now that half-way familiar versions of them can be seen in the world surrounding them.
One of those cultures is that of a nation known as Cipangu in their original world, and Japan in this one. The story as it is usually told is that one particular division of Tokushi Intelligent Systems, established by the descendants of people from Cipangu, preserved and honored a bit more of their history than most corporate entities did. When they discovered the existence of Japan on this world, they were at first pleasantly surprised, then saddened by how much of their culture had actually been lost to them. Most, of course, took this with resigned acceptance -- "shouganai".
But one employee of the division was not inclined to accept that it could not be helped. Using cybernetic techniques to turn himself from simply an above average physical specimen into a superman, then gathering up advanced tools, this nameless corporate drone rebelled and fled into the night to become a different sort of corporate raider, seeking to overthrow the status quo of the Sprawl itself. Unfortunately, despite rapidly becoming folk heroes in the Sprawl, this Red Samrai and his followers ("the neoboshi") have been unable to as yet make any alliances with the other would-be revolutionaries of the Sprawl, often finding themselves working at cross purposes with forces led by Pendrake.
Which is understandable because most of the previous paragraph is a lie. The Red Samrai is a complete fraud. Once it became clear that the Pendrake rebellion was not going to be easily eliminated, Tokushi Intelligent Systems developed the concept of the Red Samrai as a way to sabotage it by presenting a more dramatic competitor. One of their security personnel, Densei Toranaga, was selected to wear the costume and lead this movement, with the eventual intention of betraying it. As he was a loyal Tokushi employee and the people he was leading were only proles, this has yet to bother whatever vestigial conscience he might possess.
This might change, though. Gradually, the Red Samrai is being exposed to ideas and philosophies that are utterly unlike those that filled his training and employment. Whether he will come to embrace them or remain true to his indoctrination remains to be seen ... but even if the former should happen, it seems likely that his employers have a backup plan, or two, set up to deal with such a defection.
Red Samrai -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 5/3 | STA 5/3 | AGL 4/2 | DEX 4/3 | FGT 10/4 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Battle Armor: Immunity 2 (suffocation), Unreliable (limited uses); Impervious Protection 4; Removable (-1 point) - 8 points
Cybernetics: Enhanced Agility 2; Enhanced Dexterity 1; Enhanced Fighting 6; Enhanced Stamina 2; Enhanced Strength 2; Senses 10 (communication link with base, direction sense, distance sense, tracking infravision, low-light vision, acute radio, time sense, ultrahearing) - 36 points
Daikatana: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 3; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 6 points
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Defensive Attack, Daze (Intimidate), Equipment 5, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Block, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Interpose, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind, Weapon Break.
Equipment:
"Musket" (Ranged Damage 8) and 9 points of equipment as needed.
Skills:
Athletics 6 (+11/+9), Close Combat: Sword 2 (+12/+6), Deception 6 (+8), Expertise: Military 6 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+10), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+10), Perception 8 (+10), Technology 5 (+7), Vehicles 5 (+9/+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +10/4 (Close Damage 5/3)
Daikatana +12/+6 (Close Damage 8/6, Crit 18-20)
Musket +10/+9 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 8/6, Parry 10/4, Fortitude 7/5, Toughness 9/7/5/3, Will 8.
Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 50 + Advantages 30 + Skills 30 + Defenses 10 = 162 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Loyalty--Motivation. Power Loss (Cybernetics, without regular maintenance.) Secret (corp agent posing as revolutionary.)
The world that eventually produced the Sprawl (dubbed "the World That Ran Out of Green" by the Warpwitch) diverged quite sharply from the history that we know; nevertheless, if one were to go back into its history far enough, one would find familiar nations and peoples, who continued to exist, however divergent, even in the Sprawl itself. One effect of the arrival of the Sprawl on the World in the Aftermath has been something of a reawakening interest in these "minority cultures", now that half-way familiar versions of them can be seen in the world surrounding them.
One of those cultures is that of a nation known as Cipangu in their original world, and Japan in this one. The story as it is usually told is that one particular division of Tokushi Intelligent Systems, established by the descendants of people from Cipangu, preserved and honored a bit more of their history than most corporate entities did. When they discovered the existence of Japan on this world, they were at first pleasantly surprised, then saddened by how much of their culture had actually been lost to them. Most, of course, took this with resigned acceptance -- "shouganai".
But one employee of the division was not inclined to accept that it could not be helped. Using cybernetic techniques to turn himself from simply an above average physical specimen into a superman, then gathering up advanced tools, this nameless corporate drone rebelled and fled into the night to become a different sort of corporate raider, seeking to overthrow the status quo of the Sprawl itself. Unfortunately, despite rapidly becoming folk heroes in the Sprawl, this Red Samrai and his followers ("the neoboshi") have been unable to as yet make any alliances with the other would-be revolutionaries of the Sprawl, often finding themselves working at cross purposes with forces led by Pendrake.
Which is understandable because most of the previous paragraph is a lie. The Red Samrai is a complete fraud. Once it became clear that the Pendrake rebellion was not going to be easily eliminated, Tokushi Intelligent Systems developed the concept of the Red Samrai as a way to sabotage it by presenting a more dramatic competitor. One of their security personnel, Densei Toranaga, was selected to wear the costume and lead this movement, with the eventual intention of betraying it. As he was a loyal Tokushi employee and the people he was leading were only proles, this has yet to bother whatever vestigial conscience he might possess.
This might change, though. Gradually, the Red Samrai is being exposed to ideas and philosophies that are utterly unlike those that filled his training and employment. Whether he will come to embrace them or remain true to his indoctrination remains to be seen ... but even if the former should happen, it seems likely that his employers have a backup plan, or two, set up to deal with such a defection.
Red Samrai -- PL 10
Abilities:
STR 5/3 | STA 5/3 | AGL 4/2 | DEX 4/3 | FGT 10/4 | INT 2 | AWE 2 | PRE 2
Powers:
Battle Armor: Immunity 2 (suffocation), Unreliable (limited uses); Impervious Protection 4; Removable (-1 point) - 8 points
Cybernetics: Enhanced Agility 2; Enhanced Dexterity 1; Enhanced Fighting 6; Enhanced Stamina 2; Enhanced Strength 2; Senses 10 (communication link with base, direction sense, distance sense, tracking infravision, low-light vision, acute radio, time sense, ultrahearing) - 36 points
Daikatana: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 3; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 6 points
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Defensive Attack, Daze (Intimidate), Equipment 5, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Block, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Interpose, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Startle, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind, Weapon Break.
Equipment:
"Musket" (Ranged Damage 8) and 9 points of equipment as needed.
Skills:
Athletics 6 (+11/+9), Close Combat: Sword 2 (+12/+6), Deception 6 (+8), Expertise: Military 6 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+10), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+10), Perception 8 (+10), Technology 5 (+7), Vehicles 5 (+9/+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +10/4 (Close Damage 5/3)
Daikatana +12/+6 (Close Damage 8/6, Crit 18-20)
Musket +10/+9 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 8/6, Parry 10/4, Fortitude 7/5, Toughness 9/7/5/3, Will 8.
Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 50 + Advantages 30 + Skills 30 + Defenses 10 = 162 points
Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 6
Complications:
Loyalty--Motivation. Power Loss (Cybernetics, without regular maintenance.) Secret (corp agent posing as revolutionary.)
Davies
Legendary Pubber
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
- Messages
- 218
- Reaction score
- 352
Kalder
In the World Closer to Death, a few days flight south of Bemarris, lies the Mannehung Collective, a group of five widely dispersed farming villages that have a mutual defense pact but no central authority or, indeed, any authority at all. Every resident of any of the village is permitted to do as they see fit, subject only to the restraints of tradition and the possibility that their actions might offend their neighbors enough to lead to their shunning. Fortunately, they live in an area where banditry and monstrosity, endemic to the regions further north, are almost unknown. Almost ...
Periodically passing through each of these villages is a traveling carnival composed of a group of mechanical creatures ("robots", to use a term that no one in this era would use) led by a human exhibitor named Kalder. They travel at a relatively slow pace by moving on the ground, such that there is usually about a year between each visit to one of the villages. On their arrival in each village, they set up tents, charge a pittance for admission, and then give demonstrations of the abilities of the mechanicals, culminating in a series of performative battles between Kalder and the robots, which he always wins. Normally, during set-up, Kalder will spend the pittance he obtained in the previous village to purchase food and other supplies in the current one, keeping money circulating within the Collective.
On rare occasions when Kalder and his rude mechanicals arrive in the area, their arrival happens to coincide with reports of a different mechanical creature engaged in a rampage not far from the village. When this happen, the villagers will normally entreat the travelling fighter to employ his skills to end this potential threat. While he drives a hard bargain for these services, pointing out that fighting an unfamiliar creature is much more dangerous than the performative battles he usually fights, Kalder has never yet outright refused to perform these tasks. However, he always stipulates that he must be allowed to do these fights unobserved.
Needless to say, the youth of the village are often keen to watch what they are sure must be an even more terrific spectacle than the regular shows and have been known to ignore the stipulation and try and follow him. This almost never works and the youth are sent back in disappointment. Rarely, however, they do not come back at all, with Kalder returning in a somber mood to tell the tale of how they paid far too high a price for their curiosity, since he was too hard-pressed protecting himself to do the same for them. Kalder always refuses payment on these occasions and leaves the village quickly.
If any of the youth who tried to follow him did observe his activities and then survived to return to the village, they would tell a somewhat strange tale. While Kalder does indeed fight the mechanical creature once he has tracked it down, it is usually much more easily defeated than the stories he later tells would indicate. After it has been vanquished, however, he performs some strange procedures that restores the creatures, then has a brief conversation with it, and bids it go off away from the region.
Suffice it to say that Kalder is most careful to make sure that no one ever sees what he actually does when he goes to fight one of these mechanical creatures. He was taught how to make repairs to them -- though he knows nothing about the theoretical basis for these repairs -- by the mechanist-wizard who raised him and infused him with invisible machines that grant him his great strength and toughness. After defeating one of the "rogue" mechanicals, he will instruct them to go away and spend a while shut down before menacing the outskirts of a different village. If not for the rewards of these episodes, his carnival would likely have fallen apart long ago, as he also often comes away from these encounters with spare parts needed to make repairs to his performers.
It all balances out, in his view. After all, what use would there be for someone crafted to fight mechanical monsters in a world where all the mechanical monsters have been destroyed?
Kalder -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 8 | AGL 3 | DEX 2 | FGT 10 | INT 0 | AWE 2 | PRE 0
Powers:
Enhanced Physiology: Immunity 5 (cold, disease, heat, poison, radiation); Impervious Toughness 4; Regeneration 5 - 14 points
Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Evasion, Favored Foe (robots), Improved Critical 2 (unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Improvised Weapon, Instant Up, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Technology), Startle, Tracking.
Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+11), Athletics 8 (+12), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+12), Expertise: Performance 9 (+9), Insight 9 (+11), Perception 8 (+10), Stealth 6 (+9), Technology 8 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 6, Crit 18-20)
Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 10, Fortitude 8, Toughness 8, Will 7.
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 16 + Advantages 16 + Skills 29 + Defenses 10 = 129 points
Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 7
Complications:
Survival--Motivation. Secret (fixes robots instead of destroying them.)
Note: The robots that accompany Kalder in his performances are Large Robots (Deluxe Gamemaster's Guide, p 152.) As they are programmed to attack no one but him, they don't count as minions.
In the World Closer to Death, a few days flight south of Bemarris, lies the Mannehung Collective, a group of five widely dispersed farming villages that have a mutual defense pact but no central authority or, indeed, any authority at all. Every resident of any of the village is permitted to do as they see fit, subject only to the restraints of tradition and the possibility that their actions might offend their neighbors enough to lead to their shunning. Fortunately, they live in an area where banditry and monstrosity, endemic to the regions further north, are almost unknown. Almost ...
Periodically passing through each of these villages is a traveling carnival composed of a group of mechanical creatures ("robots", to use a term that no one in this era would use) led by a human exhibitor named Kalder. They travel at a relatively slow pace by moving on the ground, such that there is usually about a year between each visit to one of the villages. On their arrival in each village, they set up tents, charge a pittance for admission, and then give demonstrations of the abilities of the mechanicals, culminating in a series of performative battles between Kalder and the robots, which he always wins. Normally, during set-up, Kalder will spend the pittance he obtained in the previous village to purchase food and other supplies in the current one, keeping money circulating within the Collective.
On rare occasions when Kalder and his rude mechanicals arrive in the area, their arrival happens to coincide with reports of a different mechanical creature engaged in a rampage not far from the village. When this happen, the villagers will normally entreat the travelling fighter to employ his skills to end this potential threat. While he drives a hard bargain for these services, pointing out that fighting an unfamiliar creature is much more dangerous than the performative battles he usually fights, Kalder has never yet outright refused to perform these tasks. However, he always stipulates that he must be allowed to do these fights unobserved.
Needless to say, the youth of the village are often keen to watch what they are sure must be an even more terrific spectacle than the regular shows and have been known to ignore the stipulation and try and follow him. This almost never works and the youth are sent back in disappointment. Rarely, however, they do not come back at all, with Kalder returning in a somber mood to tell the tale of how they paid far too high a price for their curiosity, since he was too hard-pressed protecting himself to do the same for them. Kalder always refuses payment on these occasions and leaves the village quickly.
If any of the youth who tried to follow him did observe his activities and then survived to return to the village, they would tell a somewhat strange tale. While Kalder does indeed fight the mechanical creature once he has tracked it down, it is usually much more easily defeated than the stories he later tells would indicate. After it has been vanquished, however, he performs some strange procedures that restores the creatures, then has a brief conversation with it, and bids it go off away from the region.
Suffice it to say that Kalder is most careful to make sure that no one ever sees what he actually does when he goes to fight one of these mechanical creatures. He was taught how to make repairs to them -- though he knows nothing about the theoretical basis for these repairs -- by the mechanist-wizard who raised him and infused him with invisible machines that grant him his great strength and toughness. After defeating one of the "rogue" mechanicals, he will instruct them to go away and spend a while shut down before menacing the outskirts of a different village. If not for the rewards of these episodes, his carnival would likely have fallen apart long ago, as he also often comes away from these encounters with spare parts needed to make repairs to his performers.
It all balances out, in his view. After all, what use would there be for someone crafted to fight mechanical monsters in a world where all the mechanical monsters have been destroyed?
Kalder -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 8 | AGL 3 | DEX 2 | FGT 10 | INT 0 | AWE 2 | PRE 0
Powers:
Enhanced Physiology: Immunity 5 (cold, disease, heat, poison, radiation); Impervious Toughness 4; Regeneration 5 - 14 points
Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Evasion, Favored Foe (robots), Improved Critical 2 (unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Improvised Weapon, Instant Up, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Technology), Startle, Tracking.
Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+11), Athletics 8 (+12), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+12), Expertise: Performance 9 (+9), Insight 9 (+11), Perception 8 (+10), Stealth 6 (+9), Technology 8 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 6, Crit 18-20)
Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 10, Fortitude 8, Toughness 8, Will 7.
Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 16 + Advantages 16 + Skills 29 + Defenses 10 = 129 points
Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 7
Complications:
Survival--Motivation. Secret (fixes robots instead of destroying them.)
Note: The robots that accompany Kalder in his performances are Large Robots (Deluxe Gamemaster's Guide, p 152.) As they are programmed to attack no one but him, they don't count as minions.
