Gamebook's builds (hs5ias new thread)

[Gamebook]

Tempest - PL 10

Strength 11, Stamina 8, Agility 3, Dexterity 2, Fighting 9, Intellect 4, Awareness 2, Presence 2

Advantages
Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Favored Environment: Aquatic, Improved Critical: Unarmed, Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist

Skills
Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 4 (+15), Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Magic 8 (+12), Insight 6 (+8), Investigation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Sea Magic 2 (+4)

Powers
Immunity: Immunity 3 (Environmental Condition: Cold, Environmental Condition: High Pressure, Suffocation: Drowning)
Magical Awareness: Senses 2 (Acute: Magic, Awareness: Magic)
Sea Magic
. . Coral Growth: Create 10 (Volume: 1000 cft., DC 20; Increased Duration: continuous, Selective)
. . Coral Spears: Damage 10 (DC 25; Increased Range: ranged, Multiattack, Secondary Effect)
. . Dark Waters: Burst Area Concealment Attack 10 (All Senses, DC 20; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 20, Attack: Will, Increased Range: ranged)
. . Dispel Magic: Nullify 10 (Counters: Magic, DC 20; Broad, Increased Range: perception, Simultaneous)
. . Healing Waters: Healing 10 (Increased Range: ranged, Restorative)
. . Nitrogen Narcosis: Progressive Affliction 10 (1st degree: Fatigued, 2nd degree: Exhausted, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20; Increased Range: ranged, Progressive)
. . Oceanic Travel: Burst Area Teleport 13 (Carry 50 lbs.; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 23, Change Velocity, Extended: 8000 miles in 2 move actions, Selective; Limited to Extended, Medium: Seawater)
. . Seapower
. . . . Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Stamina 6 (Linked; +6 STA)
. . . . Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Strength 10 (Linked; +10 STR)
. . . . Protection: Protection 2 (Linked; +2 Toughness; Impervious [4 extra ranks])
. . Super-Saline Water: Cumulative Cloud Area Affliction 10 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20; Cloud Area: 15 feet radius sphere, DC 20, Cumulative, Increased Range: ranged)
. . Swirl Away: Burst Area Teleport 10 (4 miles in a move action, carrying 50 lbs.; Accurate, Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 20, Selective; Medium: Seawater)
Swimming: Swimming 5 (Speed: 16 miles/hour, 250 feet/round)
Underwater Senses: Senses 3 (Extended: Hearing 1: x10, Low-light Vision, Ultra-hearing; Limited: to underwater)

Offense
Initiative +3
Coral Spears: Damage 10, +10 (DC 25)
Dark Waters: Burst Area Concealment Attack 10 (DC Will 20)
Dispel Magic: Nullify 10 (DC Will 20)
Grab, +9 (DC Spec 21)
Nitrogen Narcosis: Progressive Affliction 10, +10 (DC Fort 20)
Super-Saline Water: Cumulative Cloud Area Affliction 10 (DC Fort 20)
Throw, +8 (DC 26)
Unarmed, +9 (DC 26)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 9, Parry 9, Fortitude 12, Toughness 11/10, Will 7

Power Points
Abilities 50 + Powers 61 + Advantages 11 + Skills 22 (44 ranks) + Defenses 15 = 159

Garth is an Atlantean mage, something unusual for a male to be. He has a great natural talent for magic though and studied magery from an early age. When Prince Orm became king of Atlantis after deposing his father he was picked out and trained as an agent of the throne. Orm was keen to build up the position of men in Atlantis as part of his repression of the temples and the mage colleges. When Arthur Curry became the notable superhero Aquaman Orm sent Garth to join up with him as his superhero sidekick, while spying on him. Garth though secretly hated Orm as a usurper and tyrant and soon came to believe in Aquaman instead. He confessed everything to Arthur, who bade him go on pretending to be a spy while feeding false information to Orm and getting intelligence of his actions. When Dick formed the Teen Titans Arthur saw a way to get Garth out of the dangerous situation he was in without arousing too much suspicion from Orm. He sent Garth to join the team, this safely removing him to the west coast of America and away from the internal conflicts of Atlantis.

Garth on the Teen Titans was a little older than the rest of them, closer to being a genuine man rather than being a child acting like one. He didn't use his Atlantean magic much when was on the team, mostly just using it to make himself super-strong and tough. Atlantis magic is a closely guarded secret and they don't like to show it off around outsiders. If he does really need to though he can perform all sorts of extraordinary feats as he is a very powerful mage, not far off such greats as Zatanna. He greatly enjoyed being on the Teen Titans and was the most disappointed at their breakup, soon going on to help the new junior superteam Young Justice. He only briefly went by the name Aqualad, soon switching to the name Tempest as he found out when your name includes anything like 'kid' or 'lad' people treat you like you're ten years old and this was ridiculous for a strapping young man like him. While on the Teen Titans he was for a while involved in a love triangle with Roy and Donna, she admired both of them and as an Amazon at the time had no concept of fidelity to a male. For a while things got rather steamy between the three of them. Roy's betrayal spoiled what they had though and Donna went off to be by herself for a while. During this time Garth got more involved with Atlantis again for a bit, meeting his future wife the Atlantean sorceress Dolphin during the conflict that would see Orm defeated and Arthur become king of Atlantis.

Garth as a person is changeable like the sea. He switches between being very easy-going and relaxed, mostly interested in fun and games and pretty girls, and being very focused and intense. Whenever anything strikes him as serious and dangerous he drops the goofiness he plays along with with other members of the teams he is on. If the opponents they are up against are just a joke and are hopelessly outmatched though he will continue to act like a cocky youth to taunt them and amuse himself and his friends. He always treats his magic with the utmost gravity, never casually misusing it. If he ever does start weaving magical spells you know that things have really gotten desperate and dangerous.

[Gamebook]

Starfire - PL 10

Strength 8, Stamina 8, Agility 4, Dexterity 2, Fighting 8, Intellect 2, Awareness 2, Presence 3

Advantages
Agile Feint, Attractive, Improved Critical: Star Energy, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Teamwork

Skills
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 4 (+12), Insight 4 (+6), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 6 (+9), Ranged Combat: Star Energy 4 (+6), Technology 4 (+6), Vehicles 4 (+6)

Powers
Flight: Flight 10 (Speed: 2000 miles/hour, 4 miles/round)
Immunity: Immunity 10 (Common Descriptor: Heat)
Immunity: Immunity 7 (Environmental Conditions (All), Suffocation (All))
Movement: Movement 2 (Space Travel 2: other solar systems)
Protection: Protection 2 (+2 Toughness; Impervious [8 extra ranks])
Regeneration: Regeneration 3 (Every 3.33 rounds)
Star Energy
. . Starbolts: Damage 10 (DC 25; Increased Range: ranged, Multiattack)
. . Starburn: Damage 10 (DC 25; Increased Range: ranged, Penetrating 10)
. . Starfire: Damage 10 (DC 25; Increased Range: ranged, Secondary Effect)
. . Starflare: Burst Area Damage 10 (DC 25; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 20, Increased Range: ranged)
. . Stargaze: Damage 10 (DC 25; Increased Range 2: perception)
. . Starwave: Cone Area Damage 10 (DC 25; Cone Area 2: 120 feet cone, DC 20)
. . Starwhirl: Cylinder Area Damage 10 (DC 25; Cylinder Area 2: 60 feet cylinder, DC 20)
Star Vision: Senses 4 (Darkvision, Extended: Vision 2: x100)
Universal Comprehension: Comprehend 2 (Languages - Speak All, Languages - Understand All; Quirk: requires physical contact to learn)

Offense
Initiative +4
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 18)
Starbolts: Damage 10, +10 (DC 25)
Starburn: Damage 10, +10 (DC 25)
Starfire: Damage 10, +10 (DC 25)
Starflare: Burst Area Damage 10 (DC 25)
Stargaze: Damage 10 (DC 25)
Starwave: Cone Area Damage 10 (DC 25)
Starwhirl: Cylinder Area Damage 10 (DC 25)
Throw, +6 (DC 23)
Unarmed, +8 (DC 23)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 10, Parry 8, Fortitude 11, Toughness 10, Will 7

Power Points
Abilities 74 + Powers 99 + Advantages 10 + Skills 18 (36 ranks) + Defenses 14 = 215

When Dick Grayson became Nightwing and disbanded the Teen Titans he went solo for a while, but then felt the need for company. As well Wally was urging him to form a team as he is a natural leader. Garth was deep in the affairs of Atlantis at the time and Roy had fallen out with the rest of them so it gave an opportunity to recruit some new faces. Donna agreed to return now that Roy was gone.

The team was formed just in time to take part in repelling a full-scale invasion by the Citadel, an army of alien mercenaries led by the Tamaranean warlord 'Blackfire' Komand'r to conquer the Earth as a replacement for her lost world of Tamaran. Komand'r was the eldest daughter of the last king of Tamaran, Myand'r, but he and his regime had been overthrown and exiled in a popular revolution. To try and regain his throne he had had his daughters trained as warriors by the greatest master of combat in the galaxy, the Warlords of Okaara, where their natural Tamaranean powers were magnified to the level they are now by their cruel and amoral scientists, the Psions. He then traded his daughters to the Citadel as bonded slave warriors in return for the use of a Citadel army to reconquer Tamaran. This they successfully did and King Myand'r thought to resume his reign. Princess Myand'r though regarded herself as stronger and more capable than her father, having learned to be ruthless during her time with the Warlords and the Citadel. She deposed and murdered her father and imprisoned her mother, keeping her younger sister Koriand'r as a slave warrior. For six years she ruled Tamaran, brutally suppressing all resistance. She was finally defeated by the Green Lantern Corps who under treaty had long kept out of the Tamaran system but who were now called upon by the oppressed Tamaraneans. Komand'r and her army of mercenaries fled and were left to wander the galaxy. They heard about the remote and backward world called Earth and decided that it would be suitable as a new base from which to exact their revenge.

During the fighting between Earth's heroes and the invaders Koriand'r switched sides and turned on her sister, seeing an opportunity to escape by claiming sanctuary on Earth. She was taken in and interrogated by the Justice League where her information on the plans and capabilities of Blackfire and her forces proved instrumental in their defeat. Blackfire and the Citadel retreated, though they would return to seek revenge years later. Komand'r swore eternal hatred against her sister for her betrayal, despite the cruel way she had long treated her.

In the aftermath of the war Koriand'r was placed on the new Teen Titans teams as a suitable place for her to be supervised under the terms of her status as a political refugee. Up until this point she had been communicating through the telepathy of the Martian Manhunter but once she met Dick she was able to learn English by physically touching him. Tamaraneans can absorb knowledge from other beings by physical contact, though this power is limited to language and social customs with non-Tamaraneans, implicit rather than specific thoughts and memories. Being on a totally unfamiliar alien world she had a lot to learn so needed extensive and lengthy contact, which she got by rather passionately engaging with Dick. What at first seemed to the team like an overly friendly greeting became concern that she was indecently assaulting their leader as she bore him to the ground and started getting under his costume while keeping him in a lip lock that was sending him crimson in the face. After prying her off she explained what she was doing while Dick recovered his breath and dignity.

At the time Koriand'r, also known by the diminutive Kory, was just a child by Tamaranean standards. She matured more slowly than human beings and everything that had happened to her since the revolution on Tamaran took place during the equivalent of her early adolescence. On the team she soon became one of their most powerful members. While not as strong as Donna physically she was a faster flier and deployed massive firepower with her ability to project star energy, a hot green plasma that she can emit from her hands and eyes. These powers would only become greater as she developed into an adult.

Kory is both a very fierce warrior and a gentle and sweet girl. She was the favorite of her mother when she was young from whom she learned love and trust, traits that have not been destroyed by the betrayal she has suffered at the hands of her father and sister. Everything about Earth seems wonderful to her after years of the Spartan life of a Citadel slave warrior. She can still hardly believe that you are just free to wander about as you please and don't have officers barking orders at you all the time. She can be rather naive about people though and the team have learned to always keep a close eye on her after some unscrupulous men tried to take advantage of her. Physically no ordinary human could be a threat to her but she could easily be tricked and abused by those clever enough to play on her natural affection and sympathy. When not staying with the team she commonly lives with the family of Justice League member Animal Man. He has a young family he needs help with while he is away working and on League business. She acts as the family au pair, looking after their children at home so his wife can go out. This is also teaching her a lot about normal life on Earth. The only trouble is that as a Tamaranean she has no concept of modesty and will wander about the house and garden completely nude if she is not reminded not to. She always reveals a lot of skin at all times as she absorbs solar energy through her skin, this being a natural part of her physiology. Covering up too much could result in an energy deficiency that would make her ill. She never needs sun screen and finds even the hottest day pleasant, she often has to be reminded that human beings like and need air conditioning. She never sweats or gets hot from exertion and is perpetually warm to the touch.

[Gamebook]

Cyborg - PL 10

Strength 8, Stamina -, Agility 2, Dexterity 4, Fighting 8, Intellect 4, Awareness 1, Presence 1

Advantages
Eidetic Memory, Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Critical: Melee Implement: Strength-based Damage 4, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Skill Mastery: Technology, Takedown

Skills
Acrobatics 4 (+6), Athletics 8 (+16), Expertise: Science 6 (+10), Intimidation 4 (+5), Investigation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+7), Sleight of Hand 6 (+10), Technology 8 (+12), Vehicles 4 (+8)

Powers
Cybernetics
. . Auto Assembly: Quickness 4 (Perform routine tasks in -4 time ranks; Limited to One Type: Physical)
. . Deflection Shield
. . . . Deflect: Deflect 10 (Linked; Redirection, Reflect; Reduced Range: close)
. . . . Shield: Enhanced Trait 4 (Linked; Traits: Dodge +2 (+10), Parry +2 (+10))
. . . . . . Slam: Strength-based Damage 2 (Alternate; DC 25)
. . Extendible Limbs: Elongation 2 (Elongation: 30 feet, +2 to grab)
. . Hack Technology: Cumulative Affliction 10 (3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will, DC 20; Affects Objects, Cumulative, Increased Range 2: perception; Limited: to technological targets, Limited Degree (third only))
. . Hydraulic Jack: Enhanced Strength 3 (+3 STR; Limited to Lifting)
. . Melee Implement: Strength-based Damage 4 (DC 27, Advantages: Fast Grab, Improved Critical, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Improved Trip; Penetrating 10, Reach (melee) 3: 15 ft., Variable Descriptor: close group - Any physical)
. . Micro-Missiles: Blast 8 (DC 23; Extended Range 4, Homing 2: 2 extra attempts, Multiattack)
. . Pulser: Blast 10 (DC 25; Multiattack)
. . Scramble Technology: Nullify 10 (Counters: Technological, DC 20; Broad, Increased Range: perception)
. . Shockwave: Cone Area Damage 10 (DC 25; Cone Area 2: 120 feet cone, DC 20)
. . White Noise Generator: Cumulative Cone Area Affliction 10 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20; Cone Area 2: 120 feet cone, DC 20, Cumulative; Sense-dependent: Hearing)
Cyborg: Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects)
Data Link: Comprehend 5 (Languages - Read All, Languages - Speak All, Languages - Understand All, Machines / Electronics)
Mental Processor: Quickness 4 (Perform routine tasks in -4 time ranks; Limited to One Type: Mental)
Molybdenum Steel Plating: Protection 10 (+10 Toughness; Impervious)
Radio Broadcast: Radio Cosmic Communication 1 (Rapid 3, Subtle: encrypted)
Reboot: Immortality 1 (Return after 2 weeks)
Self-repair: Regeneration 3 (Every 3.33 rounds; Source: technology)
Sensors: Senses 25 (Accurate: Radio, Analytical: Vision, Analytical: Hearing, Analytical: Radio, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Extended: Hearing 1: x10, Extended: Vision 2: x100, Extended: Radio 3: x1k, Infravision, Low-light Vision, Microscopic Vision 2: cell-size, Radio, Rapid: Visual 1, Rapid: Radio 1, Time Sense, Tracking: Infravision 2: full speed, Ultra-hearing, Ultravision)
Speed: Speed 3 (Speed: 16 miles/hour, 250 feet/round)
. . Leaping: Leaping 3 (Alternate; Leap 60 feet at 16 miles/hour)

Offense
Initiative +2
Grab, +10 (DC Spec 20)
Hack Technology: Cumulative Affliction 10 (DC Will 20)
Melee Implement: Strength-based Damage 4, +8 (DC 27)
Micro-Missiles: Blast 8, +10 (DC 23)
Pulser: Blast 10, +10 (DC 25)
Scramble Technology: Nullify 10 (DC Will 20)
Shockwave: Cone Area Damage 10 (DC 25)
Slam: Strength-based Damage 2, +8 (DC 25)
Throw, +10 (DC 23)
Unarmed, +8 (DC 23)
White Noise Generator: Cumulative Cone Area Affliction 10 (DC Fort 20)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 10, Will 7

Power Points
Abilities 46 + Powers 143 + Advantages 13 + Skills 26 (52 ranks) + Defenses 12 = 240

Victor Stone was a college athlete and engineering major who was hideously injured when he was visiting his father at S.T.A.R. labs to participate in an experiment with a new ultra-compact energy source. When his father turned the energy output to maximum it ran out of control and exploded, shattering its containment vessel and sending razor-sharp shrapnel slicing across the laboratory straight into Victor. He lost both hands, was cut in two at the waist and half his head was shot away. Only the fact that he was in the most advanced engineering lab in the world allowed his life to be saved, they implemented experimental new life support technology that pumped artificial blood into him to keep his vital organs going and drugs to contain the massive shock to his system. Victor was kept suspended in a deep coma while his damaged tissue and organs were removed and replaced with artificial ones and life support systems. Nutrient sacs replaced his stomach and guts, air pumps and gas tanks his lungs, drug synthesizers and filtration systems his regulatory organs, advanced neural architecture computers his lost brain tissue. By the time they had finished he was little more than a hollow shell of flesh over a mass of technology. To rebuild his son's body his father cannibalized the S.T.A.R. labs robots and used their mechanical bodies and limbs in place of his lost ones.

After months of painstaking work, often having to perform the research even as they were carrying out operations, Victor was at last stable enough to be awakened. He was horrified at what had become of him, he was now more machine than man. Even his mind was different, the loss of so much of his brain and the upset to his hormonal system meant he felt different and a lot of his memory of his former life was gone. In place of his old thoughts and emotions he had processing imperatives and prioritization algorithms. He might have become suicidal at this point but the programming of his brain no longer allowed him to think such things, his father had installed blocks against depressive thoughts out of concern at Victor's likely reaction to his injury and transformation. While angry at what had happened and been done to him Victor remained obedient and cooperative, immediately complying with his father's orders according to his operational directives.

After further work to perfect his body and operating systems Victor was actually able to return to college, though him playing athletics with regular humans was clearly now impossible. His metal body weighs a quarter of a ton and is immensely strong, he could easily seriously injure someone with a small slip. This was bad enough for Victor but he also found the previously challenging academic work now redundant. His computer brain already contained all human engineering knowledge, all of which he could access and use inside his head at many times the speed of a normal human. Every course he already knew perfectly, all assignments and tests he could answer perfectly within seconds of them being set. He aced his final exams and projects with ease and got his degree within a few weeks, most of which he spent arguing that he was able to do so with the college directors. While his old friends had sort of tried to welcome Victor back they were quite obviously freaked out by what he had become and he could overhear them discussing behind his back if it really was the Victor they knew or some other thing. He was aware that he was a different person now and was inclined to agree with their doubts. In the end he quit campus and went to work for a time with his father at S.T.A.R. labs.

When the alien invasion of Komand'r occurred S.T.A.R. labs came under attack as a major center of human technology. Rather than take shelter Victor quickly adapted industrial tools into weapons and fought back against the intruders. He was giving a good account of himself alongside the defense turrets and robots before superheroes turned up and defeated the attackers. While they flew off Victor went out onto the streets to see how he could help. He picked up on Justice League comms broadcast and contacted the Watchtower to ask what he should do. After getting over their surprise at someone being able to access their supposedly secure systems the JL operations staff directed him to meet up with the Teen Titans. Arriving as emergency reinforcements he helped the Titans track down and rescue Starfire. In the aftermath of the battle the team unanimously offered him membership. Having had fun and felt alive for the first time since awakening after his transformation Victor accepted, choosing to go with what he had become and calling himself Cyborg.

Victor is a serious and responsible young man who works hard to be an efficient superhero. He doesn't boast, show-off or get distracted like some of the others on the new Teen Titans team. Dick soon came to rely heavily on him for his steadiness and he became de facto second-in-command of the team. The most he does is sternly state to supervillains that they are being damn fools and he is going to bust their asses, threats he always immediately makes good on. At times though, especially when he is working hard, he can slip into being a cold machine, his speech becoming digitized and staccato and his actions too precise and regular for a human. He is actually even less human than he appears, technology is laced throughout his body, even his skin is shot through with circuit traces and micro-tubes. He can disassemble himself into small parts for maintenance and repair, most of what remains of his organic components are not directly connected to each other. His arms and head go into metal sockets rather than being attached to what little is left of his internal skeleton. His forearms have re-configurable weapons modules on them designed and built by himself and his father. They can reshape into a wide variety of offensive and defensive armaments and useful tools. If his skin is cut, which is not easy as it is saturated with exceptionally tough chemical polymers, he slowly bleeds a black fluid that smells like motor oil.

Victor spends most of his time either at the Titans base or at S.T.A.R. labs, he doesn't like to go out on his own much. If people spot his mechanical parts, and they are hard to really conceal, they tend to think he is an alien or a supervillain and call the police in a panic. He can sort that out but it is tiresome. He is constantly invited to medical and engineering symposiums but prefers to avoid them, not liking being treated as a lab rat. The only time he really feels accepted and not out of place is when he is out with the Teen Titans. Then he is not a scary freak but an awesome and cool superhero that people clamor for attention from. He has done talks to black youth about the importance of education and the benefits of a career in engineering, but is not sure of the message. Is it 'study like me and you too could become a weird machine person?' Romance is something he has given up on as he just doesn't seem to feel it any more, women no longer excite and interest him like that. He does have occasional daydreams though about meeting someone like him, a female cyborg, someone who would understand and he could connect with (emotionally and electronically). It seems impossible though, he is as far as he knows unique and he would certainly not want anyone to have happen to them what happened to him.

[Gamebook]

Raven - PL 10

Strength 0, Stamina 2, Agility 2, Dexterity 4, Fighting 8, Intellect 3, Awareness 5, Presence 3

Advantages
Fearless, Luck, Ranged Attack 2, Ritualist, Taunt, Trance

Skills
Deception 6 (+9), Insight 8 (+13), Investigation 6 (+9), Perception 8 (+13), Persuasion 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Soul Self 4 (+8), Sleight of Hand 4 (+8), Stealth 6 (+8), Treatment 4 (+7)

Powers
Darkness Girl: Senses 1 (Low-light Vision)
Empathy
. . Empathic Healing: Healing 10 (Increased Range 2: perception, Restorative; Empathic)
. . Hands-on Healing: Healing 10 (Restorative, Resurrection)
. . Induce Emotions: Progressive Affliction 10 (1st degree: Entranced, 2nd degree: Compelled, 3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will, DC 20; Increased Range 2: perception, Progressive; Limited: to emotions)
. . Perceive Emotions: Cumulative Mind Reading 10 (DC 20; Cumulative, Reaction 3: reaction; Limited to Emotions, Side Effect: on failure - experiences emotion)
. . Soothe Emotions: Nullify 10 (Counters: Emotion effects, DC 20; Effortless, Increased Range: perception, Simultaneous)
. . Terrifying Apparition: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 10 (1st degree: Dazed, Entranced, 2nd degree: Stunned, Compelled, Resisted by: Will, DC 20; Perception Area: DC 20 - Sight, Cumulative, Extra Condition, Selective; Limited Degree)
Immunity: Immunity 2 (Aging, Disease)
Poison Talons
. . Death: Progressive Weaken 4 (Linked; Affects: Stamina, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 14; Progressive; Resistible: Toughness)
. . Paralysis: Progressive Affliction 4 (Linked; 1st degree: Fatigued, 2nd degree: Exhausted, 3rd degree: Paralyzed, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 14; Progressive; Resistible: Toughness)
. . Slashing: Strength-based Damage 1 (Linked; slashing, DC 16)
Raven Cloak: Protection 10 (+10 Toughness; Impervious, Sustained)
Raven Flight: Flight 6 (Speed: 120 miles/hour, 1800 feet/round)
Soul Self
. . Accompanied Close Soul Jump: Burst Area Teleport 9 (2 miles in a move action, carrying 100 lbs.; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 19, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Increased Mass, Selective, Turnabout)
. . Accompanied Far Soul Jump: Burst Area Teleport 6 (Carry 200 lbs.; Accurate, Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 16, Dimensional 2: group - any magical, Easy, Extended: 60 miles in 2 move actions, Increased Mass 2, Selective; Limited to Extended)
. . Close Soul Jump: Teleport 12 (16 miles in a move action, carrying 100 lbs.; Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Increased Mass, Turnabout)
. . Far Soul Jump: Teleport 10 (Carry 50 lbs.; Accurate, Easy, Extended: 1000 miles in 2 move actions; Limited to Extended)
. . Nightmare Soulscape: Damage 10 (DC 25; Alternate Resistance: Will, Reaction 3: reaction; Check Required 10: DC 19 - Will)
. . Soul Darts: Damage 10 (DC 25; Alternate Resistance: Will, Increased Range: ranged, Multiattack)
. . Soul Dream: Illusion 10 (Affects: All Sense Types, Area: 1000 cft., DC 20; Uncontrolled)
. . Soul Raven: Cone Area Damage 10 (DC 25; Alternate Resistance: Will, Cone Area: 60 feet cone, DC 20, Increased Range: ranged)
. . Soul Sending: Mental Area Communication 4 (Sense Type: Mental; Area, Subtle 2: undetectable)
Soul Sight: Senses 6 (Accurate: Souls, Acute: Souls, Analytical: Souls, Detect: Souls 2: ranged)

Offense
Initiative +2
Death: Progressive Weaken 4, +8 (DC Fort/Tou )
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 10)
Induce Emotions: Progressive Affliction 10 (DC Will 20)
Nightmare Soulscape: Damage 10, +8 (DC Will 25)
Paralysis: Progressive Affliction 4, +8 (DC Fort/Tou )
Perceive Emotions: Cumulative Mind Reading 10 (DC Will 20)
Slashing: Strength-based Damage 1, +8 (DC 16)
Soothe Emotions: Nullify 10 (DC Will 20)
Soul Darts: Damage 10, +10 (DC Will 25)
Soul Raven: Cone Area Damage 10 (DC Will 25)
Terrifying Apparition: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 10 (DC Will 20)
Throw, +6 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +8 (DC 15)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 5, Toughness 12, Will 15

Power Points
Abilities 54 + Powers 151 + Advantages 7 + Skills 25 (50 ranks) + Defenses 19 = 256

Raven is the daughter of the extra-dimensional entity Trigon, one of the impossible entities from beyond reality that menace all of existence. Essentially she is the product of a union between a mortal woman and existential dread. Her father is the fear of the apocalypse, the nightmare end of the world in which all will perish screaming in blood and fire. Just think of the ghastly things described in the Book of Revelations. Her mother Arella ended up as the progenitor of the devil child that is Raven when she joined a religious cult, having been suffering from abandonment, poverty and depression. At first the members of the cult offered her assistance and company, but soon began making very creepy demands of her. She consented to doing things that made her feel violated out of desperation to retain their support. After one particularly vile orgy where she was repeatedly abused by figures in what she thought were masks she found that she was pregnant. She repeatedly tried to escape to get her coming child away but was too closely confined and guarded by armed cult members.

When her child was born she found that rather than being pink and cherubic it was pale and gaunt. It drained her milk ceaselessly while never seeming to get any fatter. Despite this it grew at an unnatural rate, assuming the form of a young girl in just a few months. This child was clearly not normal, it's skin and eyes were a violet-purple color and it had crimson claws that dripped noxious poison. A mother loves her child though no matter what and she tried to look after it even as it glared at her and muttered obscene prophecies. The child might have been used to usher in the apocalypse as the cult wanted but before it could finish its accelerated maturation the cult came under attack. The Knights of Azarath, a sacred order of warrior monks based on the ancient Zoroastrian faith broke into their compound and killed every cult member they could catch. They took Arella and her child with them as they withdrew as the cult members rallied and counterattacked. Arella went willingly, amazed that there were people who knew of the cult's evil and were prepared to strike against them. Her daughter though at first fought ferociously before being bound and stuffed in a sack.

The Knights of Azarath took Arella and her demonic offspring to their secret stronghold in the Caucasus mountains. Her they set about educating Arella and taming her daughter. The knights are an all-female order made up of a people related to the Amazons. Years of patient work turned the child into a person, who her mother named Rachel. While naturally inclined to cruelty they taught her to use her power over people's souls for good instead. Rachel is supposed to inspire people to hysterics, setting off wars between nations that are prophesied as part of the end of days, but they reformed that into understanding and soothing emotions. They turned her power to raise the dead to fight for her into a force for healing. Eventually they won her over to their way of thinking and she became thoughtful and empathetic instead of agitated and violent.

Rachel was happy for years in Azarath, but as her powers developed she sensed the chaos and misery of the outside world. Attracted to those who were trying to improve things she observed superhero teams like the Justice League and the Teen Titans. The Titans especially interested her as they were youths like her. During Komand'r's invasion she came to sense the desperation and fear of Koriand'r and wanted to help this alien girl. She appeared to Dick Grayson and encouraged him to take action and form a new Titans team to take on the invaders and rescue the girl. In the aftermath of the invasion it was agreed by the knights that she should join the Titans. Her spirit could not be kept locked away forever, she needed to experience the world and gain allies for the struggle ahead.

On the Titans Rachel took the codename Raven, as that bird is a harbinger of doom just like her. Her nature and powers always remained mysterious to her teammates, not because she concealed them but because they could never comprehend them. On the team they tended to treat her as an unknowable force that would help them in idiosyncratic ways. She strived to be worthy of being a Titan, battling against her dreams of blood and destruction. As a person Rachel is deeply weird, she is not human and her concerns and priorities are quite different. Much of the time when not out on a mission she spends secluded in her assigned rooms in the Titans base. Her once sterile quarters are now filled with incense burners and racks of bones and skulls. Raven finds the company of the dead restful, living people with their vibrant emotions are so loud and blinding. Dry skulls just have a faint echo of the mind they had in life left psychically imprinted on the bone. She carefully works away polishing and inscribing the bones of deceased Azarath knights and magicians.

Being around the rest of the Teen Titans was exhausting, they were just so worked up all the time. It was even worse when they are all together and the sexual tension crackled between them. The mutual lust between Dick and Kory was so intense that it was all Rachel could do to restrain herself in their presence. As soon as she was out of their presence she had to head to her quarters for some alone time, or if he was available she would grab Beast Boy and use him until she was relieved (or he was exhausted). Rachel's empathetic powers are on all the time, she can never turn them off. The most she can do is temporarily redirect them to some other function, but that can only be done for so long. It is for her like holding your breath, it can be done for a while but then you have to release it and when you do you pant for a while. The vibes coming off the rest of her teenage cohorts were hardly any better, everyone knows Beast Boy has a dirty mind but he is just vocal about it. Donna does not say so much but if anything she is worse, magnified by some of it being directed straight at Rachel (she is an Amazon after all). It is said a teenage boy thinks of sex every seven seconds so you can imagine what the hyper-accelerated Kid Flash/Impulse was like. Meditation and special incenses kept it suppressed mostly, the rest of the team just thought she was a weird shut-in who spent all her time sitting amid skulls wreathed in scented smoke. The only one she let know of her internal turmoil was Beast Boy. He was such a naive innocent that she could tell him everything and he would just accept it, and he didn't know enough about relationships to be aware of the abuse she was subjecting him to. The one who is different is Victor. His cybernetic mind is very strange to her, it fogs her brain with static as she cannot properly perceive or understand his emotions. Much of what goes through Cyborg's brain is totally unemotional computer code and this is incomprehensible to her emotion senses.

When not at the Titan's base Rachel lives with her mother's relatives. They are a devout and good Christian family who are not really sure who this strange child is, but she is kin so they offer her sanctuary. While they at first tried to include her in their church life they soon learned that she practices her own religious rites based on older and darker faiths than modern American Christianity. The only thing they forbade her from doing was uttering the names of her deities at the table while saying grace before dinner. They do respect her faith but hearing her pray causes nausea and bleeding from the nose and ears in regular people. She keeps her room in their house in perfect order and cleanliness, she avoids freaking them out with the skulls and incense and the sigils on the walls written in her own blood that she has back at the Titans base. Beast Boy would really like to meet them but she has forbade him to come anywhere near the place. She does not trust him to behave himself, and even less does she trust herself. They are a very loving and forgiving family but she thinks it might be pushing it if she loses control and has her sort-of boyfriend right there on the dining room table in front of everyone. The rest of the Titans are by now used to her occasional weird antics, and in any case most them give her a run for her money in the socially inappropriate behavior stakes.

[Gamebook]

Beast Boy - PL 9

Strength 3/0, Stamina 4/1, Agility 5/3, Dexterity 2, Fighting 11/8, Intellect 1, Awareness 1, Presence 2

Advantages
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Taunt, Teamwork

Skills
Acrobatics 8 (+13), Athletics 6 (+9), Deception 4 (+6), Insight 4 (+5), Perception 6 (+7), Persuasion 4 (+6), Sleight of Hand 4 (+6), Stealth 4 (+9), Vehicles 6 (+8)

Powers
Animal Forms: Variable 5 (Action: move; Limited: to contemporary terrestrial animals, Quirk: always green)
. . Monkey (Powers: Brachiation: Movement 1, Tail: Extra Limbs 1, Strength +3 (+3), Stamina +3 (+4), Agility +2 (+5), Fighting +3 (+11))
. . . . Brachiation: Movement 1 (Swinging)
. . . . Tail: Extra Limbs 1 (1 extra limb, Advantages: Improved Grab)
Immunity: Immunity 5 (Alteration Effects)
Regeneration: Regeneration 3 (Every 3.33 rounds)

Power Settings
Bull (Powers: Growth: Growth 4, Horns: Strength-based Damage 3, Speed: Speed 2, Strength +3 (+6), Stamina +3 (+7))
Dolphin (Powers: Immunity: Immunity 1, Swimming: Swimming 4, Strength +5 (+8), Stamina +5 (+9))
Eagle (Powers: Flight: Flight 3, Senses: Senses 1, Talons: Strength-based Damage 3, Strength +5 (+8), Stamina +4 (+8))
Elephant (Powers: Growth: Growth 12, Trunk: Extra Limbs 1)
Gorilla (Powers: Growth: Growth 2, Strength +5 (+8), Stamina +5 (+9), Advantages: Benefit: Prehensile Feet)
Hummingbird (Powers: Flight: Flight 1, Shrinking: Shrinking 12)
Leopard (Powers: Claws & Teeth: Strength-based Damage 2, Speed: Speed 2, Strength +5 (+8), Stamina +5 (+9))
Monkey (Powers: Brachiation: Movement 1, Tail: Extra Limbs 1, Strength +3 (+3), Stamina +3 (+4), Agility +2 (+5), Fighting +3 (+11))

Offense
Initiative +9
Claws & Teeth: Strength-based Damage 2, +11 (DC 20)
Grab, +11 (DC Spec 13)
Horns: Strength-based Damage 3, +11 (DC 21)
Talons: Strength-based Damage 3, +11 (DC 21)
Throw, +4 (DC 18)
Unarmed, +11 (DC 18)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 11, Parry 11, Fortitude 7, Toughness 6/4, Will 5

Power Points
Abilities 36 + Powers 42 + Advantages 11 + Skills 23 (46 ranks) + Defenses 13 = 125

Garfield Logan's parents are nature conservationists and he spent most of his childhood in Africa with them while they worked on setting up nature preserves. During an early adventure of the Young Justice team he was critically injured when supervillains intent on poaching some of the animals made the beasts panic and he was gored by stampeding ungulates. The nearest hospital that had a chance of saving him was too far to get to in time with him in such a fragile condition. His body was just clinging on to life and would not have survived the shock of teleportation or the stress of being carried along at super-speed. The Martian superhero Miss Martian saved his life by psychokinetically altering his body physiology to be partially Martian. With a mutable physiology his body was able to quickly repair enough of the damage to make him stable. When he had finished recovering though it was discovered that the change was permanent, he was now part Martian.

Garfield's Martian powers are confined to being able to change into various types of animal, mostly those from Africa as that is what he is most familiar with. At all times he is deep green all over in color, hair, eyes, everything. The only part of him ironically that is still his natural color is his eyes, they were green before his alteration (Martian's have red eyes). With his new powers when he was a bit older he went to America to be a superhero. His Martian patrons arranged for him to be placed on the new Teen Titans team so he could be with others similar to his age and so the responsible Dick could look after him.

Gar is a bit younger than the rest of the new Teen Titans and is something of a kid mascot. He is much the most childish and goofy, perpetually awestruck at how cool it is he is a superhero and gets to be friends with other superheroes. The rest of the Titans greatly impress him with their powers and advanced training and he strives hard to keep up with them. His natural form is a typical skinny, gawky teen but he spends most of his time in animal forms. As well as those listed above he has dozens of others but most of them are not suited to combat, he adopts them mostly for fun. His ground state form that he spends most of his time in is that of the monkey, which is much stronger and agile than his human form. He has adapted it into a sort of monkey-boy hybrid form. When his teammates get annoyed with him being too silly they will sometimes call him monkey-boy.

As a sixteen year old Gar is interested in girls and thinks that with his amazing powers they should be awestruck by him. He is overawed by the tall and scary Koriand'r and Donna but likes the shorter and slight Rachel. He is far too obtuse to notice that everyone else who knows her is freaked out or terrified by her. He clumsily hit on her early on and thought his moves had produced results the first time she dragged him back to her room. In fact she is just using him as someone physically available who doesn't know any better. He persists in thinking of her as his girlfriend, even though outside of her needs she treats him with disdain. All his suggestions of going out on a date she shoots down, places like a funfair or a crowded movie theater would be far too stressful for her to be able to relax and enjoy herself. Her idea of a good time together is them chanting invocations to ancient gods in a soul circle drawn in blood and spittle. This utterly witless fool goes along with it, even though the prayers are in a dark and unknown tongue that gives him a headache and strange dreams later on. His parents disapprove of his involvement with Rachel and have asked him not to bring her home for dinner.

[Gamebook]

Ra's Al Ghul - PL 11

Strength 3, Stamina 3, Agility 3, Dexterity 4, Fighting 14, Intellect 5, Awareness 5, Presence 6

Advantages
Assessment, Benefit, Cipher, Benefit, Wealth 5 (billionare), Close Attack 2, Connected, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 3, Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 2, Evasion, Fascinate (Persuasion), Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical 2: Sword, Improved Disarm, Inspire 3, Inventor, Jack-of-all-trades, Leadership, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown, Weapon Bind, Well-informed

Skills
Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 6 (+9), Deception 10 (+16), Expertise: History 10 (+15), Insight 8 (+13), Intimidation 8 (+14), Investigation 10 (+15), Perception 8 (+13), Persuasion 8 (+14), Sleight of Hand 6 (+10), Stealth 4 (+7), Technology 4 (+9), Treatment 6 (+11), Vehicles 4 (+8)

Powers
Armour: Protection 2 (+2 Toughness)

Equipment
Armour [Armour: Protection 2, +2 Toughness], Sword

Offense
Initiative +3
Grab, +16 (DC Spec 13)
Sword, +16 (DC 21)
Throw, +9 (DC 18)
Unarmed, +16 (DC 18)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 14, Parry 14, Fortitude 7, Toughness 8/3, Will 15

Power Points
Abilities 86 + Powers 0 + Advantages 43 + Skills 48 (96 ranks) + Defenses 25 = 202

Ra's Al Ghul is the leader of the League of Assassins, a radical religious and social movement that has members and influence across much of the world. They are opposed to existing organized religions and the many corrupt and brutal regimes that run the world, conducting campaigns of rebellion and assassination. As a league they are not a single, centrally directed organization but rather a collection of allied groups that share similarities in philosophy and aims. Ra's Al Ghu is the most powerful and influential leader in the league, having the largest and most powerful collection of followers and it is his extreme writings and teachings that do much to motivate their violent actions. 'League of Assassins' is not their term for themselves, that is applied to them by their enemies, they actually hate that name and tend to kill those who use it to their face. They call themselves 'The People of the Book' and purport to follow the true scripture written in ancient times before the rise of the modern monotheistic religions. Ra's Al Ghul according to himself is descended from Arab warriors from the earliest days of the Arabic conquests in the 7th century AD. He and his closest adherents follow a religion that seems to predate the rise of Islam in its current form as people understand it. They reject the existing forms of the Koran, having their own version that they claim is much older and represents the true holy book of the pre-Islamic peoples. They see the Islam that developed under the Caliphate as a corruption of the true faith, written by enslaved peoples to subvert the noble desert warriors and incorporating heretical elements from other religions such as Zoroastrianism. For them the story of Mohammad as the prophet of God has been distorted and falsified by later biographers for worldly purposes, and Mecca and Medina are not especially holy sites. Historians think that they may get their ideas from reading about radical ultra-militant splinter groups that developed shortly after the first wave of Arabic conquests and rebelled against the formation of a centralized Arab empire.

Ra's Al Ghul himself seems to have been born somewhere in eastern Saudi Arabia in the later nineteenth century. He fought in the great Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War that was aided by the famous Lawrence of Arabia. After the new state of Saudi Arabia was formed he rejected it in disgust at the way it rewarded the dominant Saudi tribes at the expense of the other peoples in the new state, which included his own eastern tribe. He got into radical religious scholarship that over the following years developed into the beliefs he has now. During this time he believed he had a revelation from God that would guide him to a sacred site. He traveled to the most sacred sites of the religion he was developing, those in eastern Palestine (this happened before the formation of the modern state of Israel) as he greatly reveres the ancient Jewish prophets. There he states that he found the burial site of Lazarus, the man Jesus Christ is reported to have raised from the dead. Lazarus had been murdered shortly after his resurrection by enemies of Jesus and buried in secrecy and haste as a man possibly possessed. He took the bones back to his home town and there kept them as a holy relic to inspire the growing body of his followers.

The Saudi authorities are very intolerant of defiance and what they perceive of as heresy. Always suspicious of the loyalty of the peoples in the east of the country they moved against Ra's Al Ghul and his growing movement. To avoid arrest and possible execution they had to flee abroad. They wandered for a while, seeing all this exile and persecution as a reenactment of ancient biblical stories and proof they were the chosen of God. Over the years they established bases in a number of regions and steadily grew in numbers and influence, attracting the dissatisfied and radical among the local population. Suffering continued persecution they became more violent, striking back at their oppressors with bombs and knives in the dark. Over time their influence spread across the Islamic world and then beyond. Peoples who were not Islamic began to take on their methods, such as Buddhists in Tibet when they were conquered by the Chinese in the aftermath of the Second World War. Even Christians and Jews began to join the League as Ra's Al Ghul does not view these faiths as separate from his own, they are all peoples who follow the sacred book of old.

After a lifetime of political and religious work Ra's Al Ghul seemed to be coming to the end of his life by the start of the 1970's. In a desperate attempt to improve the ailing health of their beloved leader his followers immersed him in the sacred bathing pools of their faith, then brought out the bones of Lazarus and placed them in the water with him. At that point according to them a miracle happened. The water began to glow green and then Ra's Al Ghul was healed of his illnesses and his youth was restored. God had intervened on Earth to preserve his servant to continue the struggle. It is very difficult to verify this purported miracle, photographs of Ra's Al Ghul from his later life are nonexistent. The youthful man claiming to be the Ra's Al Ghul reborn did look uncannily like him in his youth according to a photograph taken in 1918. Since then Ra's Al Ghul, or the new man who claims to be him, has aged normally and is now elderly himself. Under his leadership the League has thrived, especially after the fall of the USSR and the independence of the central Asian republics. The populations of these states have suffered under some exceptionally brutal and oppressive regimes, fertile ground for the radical message of the League. Across large areas of the world a state of near or actual civil war exists that has been whipped up by the League. The League is now regarded as one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world. Ironically though the League is actually an ally of the west, passing information to various intelligence agencies and killing people for them. They support the existence of Israel and are deadly enemies of radical Islam, who to them are the worst of heretics practicing a religion that is from their perspective just disguised Zoroastrianism.

This toxic brew of religious radicalism and political rebellion has spread over to Gotham. The League has supporters among some of the wealthy of Gotham who see them as being a form of Christian due to their reverence for the life and miraculous works of Jesus Christ. From Gotham they obtain access to business and investment opportunities for their stolen oil wealth. Much of the recent redevelopment of the old docks areas was secretly funded by them. The Batman is aware of their activity in Gotham and does not like it, they are corrupt and violent in their dealings, using bribes and intimidation to get their way. Many people who had lived in the old docks area were driven from their homes by campaigns of persecution and forced to sell up at a fraction of the price they should have received. He refuses to do business with them as Bruce Wayne, for which they have made threats against him. As Batman he has actually met Ra's Al Ghul, warning him off from doing his corrupt business in Gotham. Ra's Al Ghul though sees Batman as a kindred spirit, a radical and violent rebel against the corrupt existing order. He continually seeks an alliance between the League and the Bat-clan, offering the talents and connections of his people to expand Batman's war against crime. His representative in Gotham is his deadly daughter Talia Al Ghul and she is seeking to seduce Batman, offering both herself and enormous quantities of evidence against organized crime across the world. Batman though he is desperate to get his hands on the data is aware that it will be slanted to set him against the enemies and rivals of the League. For now he plays Talia along, seeking to get inside her emotions and break down her loyalty to her father. An angle he is using is that Ra's Al Ghul is now very aged again and cannot count on a second miracle, so she should consider her and the League's future. This is effective as it plays to Talia's own fears and hopes. In her heart she now wants Batman as her husband and the new head of the League. His fame and reputation could provide the new charismatic head that the League needs if it is to avoid splintering into rival factions fighting over Ra's Al Ghul legacy and inheritance after his death. There are also other people in other organizations that would like to see this happen as well, sinister figures in international intelligence such as Director Bones. Batman is close to realizing his plan as Talia has now had a child by him, binding her to him irrevocably, but exactly what that plan is he is no longer quite so sure. Should he seek to drive the League out of Gotham, or should he indeed take it over and try to steer it to something less extreme? In his secret base Ra's Al Ghul is aware of all this from his spies among Batman's people and gloats over how close his own plan is to fruition.

[Gamebook]

Batwoman - PL 10

Strength 2, Stamina 3, Agility 6, Dexterity 5, Fighting 12, Intellect 5, Awareness 5, Presence 5

Advantages
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Benefit, Athletics Based on Agility, Benefit, Wealth 4 (multimillionare), Close Attack 3, Connected, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 14, Evasion, Grabbing Finesse, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical 3: Gauntlets: Strength-based Damage 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 10, Redirect, Takedown, Tracking, Trance

Skills
Acrobatics 10 (+16), Athletics 10 (+16), Deception 8 (+13), Insight 8 (+13), Intimidation 6 (+11), Investigation 10 (+15), Perception 10 (+15), Persuasion 8 (+13), Sleight of Hand 6 (+11), Stealth 8 (+14), Technology 6 (+11), Treatment 6 (+11), Vehicles 8 (+13)

Powers
Batcape: Flight 4 (Speed: 30 miles/hour, 500 feet/round; Gliding, Wings)
Body Armor: Protection 3 (+3 Toughness; Impervious)
Gauntlets: Strength-based Damage 2 (DC 19)
Mask: Senses 5 (Extended: Vision 1: x10, Infravision, Low-light Vision, Tracking: Infravision 1: -1 speed rank, Ultravision)
Grapple: Move Object 3 (400 lbs., DC 18; Custom: Tether, Damaging; Limited Direction: Towards)
. . Swing Line: Movement 1 (Alternate; Swinging)

Equipment
Batsuit [Batcape: Flight 4, Speed: 30 miles/hour, 500 feet/round; Gliding, Wings; Body Armor: Protection 3, +3 Toughness; Impervious; Gauntlets: Strength-based Damage 2, DC 19; Mask: Senses 5, Extended: Vision 1: x10, Infravision, Low-light Vision, Tracking: Infravision 1: -1 speed rank, Ultravision], Bolos, Boomerang, Cell Phone (Smartphone), Commlink, Concealable Microphone, Flash Goggles, Flash Grenade, Flashlight, Gas Mask, Grapple Gun [Grapple: Move Object 3, 400 lbs., DC 18; Custom: Tether, Damaging; Limited Direction: Towards], Handcuffs, Mini-tracer, Rebreather, Restraints, Smoke Grenade, Toolkit (Basic)

Offense
Initiative +10
Bolos, +15 (DC Dog 13)
Boomerang, +15 (DC 18)
Flash Grenade, +15 (DC Dog/Fort 14)
Gauntlets: Strength-based Damage 2, +15 (DC 19)
Grab, +15 (DC Spec 15)
Grapple: Move Object 3, +15 (DC 18)
Smoke Grenade, +15 (DC 19)
Throw, +15 (DC 17)
Unarmed, +15 (DC 17)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 12, Parry 12, Fortitude 7, Toughness 8/3, Will 13

Power Points
Abilities 86 + Powers 0 + Advantages 55 + Skills 52 (104 ranks) + Defenses 18 = 211

Katherine Kane is a former junior military officer who saw too much while serving abroad. Brutality and corruption on all sides, with ubiquitous incompetence and stupidity adding to the misery. She tried to blow the whistle when she found out that the peacekeeping force she was serving with was smuggling in sex slaves for private parties. Her superiors though preferred to just cover up the whole sordid affair, telling her to keep her mouth shut for the good of the service while posting her back home and threatening to blacken her record. Bitter and unable to reconcile her beliefs in honesty and integrity with what she had learned she gave up on her dream of a military career and requested her discharge.

For the next year Kate got in deep with some very dangerous people. She made connections with radical militant groups as she wanted to see if they were doing some good instead of the forces she had formerly always believed were the good guys. For a while she dealt in international armaments, smuggling weapons to peoples fighting for their freedom and independence against brutally oppressive governments and sadistic terrorist factions. She learned how to move and fight with bootstrap armies that enjoyed none of the advantages of massive firepower and unlimited logistical support that had been her own military education. It was during this period that she first met the Batman (although she did not know it at the time, he was operating under a different identity), when he was associating with the League of Assassins for a while. He was able to arrange a great deal of assistance for the rebel groups that she was working with at the time. His cool and calm professionalism greatly impressed her, he was better than most soldiers she had known. She got to know him and he taught her a great deal during their short time together before he disappeared again.

A short while later the Batman got in the news for a particularly prominent incident. Seeing a short snatch of footage of him in action on the news Kate thought he moved in a very familiar way. The build was right as well. Could the man who had been her mentor also be the Batman? She traveled back to the States and took to Bat-watching on the rooftops of Gotham while taking up an education in urban crimefighting. She had learned that the real corruption, the real crime, was to be found amid the wealth of the first world. All the poor peoples around the world just danced to their tune. If the world was ever to improve then the corrupt money that drove demand for cheap oil and abundant drugs had to be fought at the source. The only person who seemed to understand this and be in a position to do something about it was that man she had met in a tent in the desert.

Once she was ready Kate ventured out into the night as new hero the Batwoman, emulating her idol. She is very closely modeled on the Batman, though her suit incorporates a great deal of red to make her distinct. She used her contacts established around the world to find crimes to fight, battling drug rings, oil dealers and organized crime in general. She travels abroad on her operations more than the Batman does, she is less tied to and concerned just with Gotham. He soon became aware of her and sought to shut her down, ambushing her and spoiling her operations. She refused to be intimidated and fought back, rightly guessing that this was a test of her competence and determination. Normally the Batman thrashes all opponents but in Kate he found a challenging adversary. Try as he might he could not stop her and she soon learned his ways and actually managed to anticipate his actions against her and block them. At this point he admitted that she could do his job (almost) as well as he could and offered a mutually profitable alliance between them. She accepted and since then they have shared resources and often worked together. She is not his subordinate though, she is completely her own person and operative.

Early on in her career as Batwoman achieved some spectacular successes in operations against due to some superb intelligence one of her contacts came up with for her. This person was none other than Talia Al Ghul, head of League of Assassins operations in Gotham. Talia had recently approached the Batman but for the moment had been rebuffed. Seeking a way to prove the worth of an alliance to him she saw the new hero Batwoman as a God-sent opportunity. She arranged to meet up with her by betraying a minor operation by some worthless mobsters the League used as intermediaries. When Batwoman burst in to bust them up she was there to meet her and make contact. What Talia did not at that point know was that the two of them had already met, in that desert encampment during Kate's days with Batman. With the costume and having trained to move in a different way to her old stiff military gait she did not recognize Batwoman as Kate. Kate though did recognize Talia and saw her own opportunity. She knew just how deep Talia was with the League and the sort of intelligence that they could provide. The two women struck a deal, Talia would supply Batwoman with leads on crimes that the League knew about and in return Talia would rein in the more unscrupulous League agents active in Gotham. What she got from Talia let Batwoman foil attempted terrorist attacks on American soil and drug cartel strikes against police and military forces fighting South American drug lords. Batwoman soon became almost as notable and lauded as the Batman as some of the world's most wanted criminals were captured because of her.

Tali's real motive in cultivating Batwoman though was to show the benefits of an alliance between the League and the Bat-clan. It worked, Batman agreed to meet with Talia to see what she had for him. Since then the two of them have been doing a mutual dance, each seeking to subtly bend the other to their will. This has also drawn Batwoman in to work more closely with Batman. Increasingly though she is getting suspicious of Talia and her motives. Getting out of this deadly web that she has gotten in to will not be easy though, especially as there are many who want her further in, not pulling back. Among them is Director Bones, who has long been a contact of her in government. He actually proposed to her that she try to seduce Talia, he's such a creep. Her greatest supporter is her father US Army Colonel Jake Kane, he provides funding for her operations out of the historic Kane family fortune (first earned in railroads and real estate, then gas and oil) and is a major source of advanced military grade equipment for her. Recently though she has become suspicious even of her father, he seems to want to know an awful about the Batman, how he operates and what his resources are. Being military she operates on a need-to-know basis and has been stonewalling her father, creating an unfamiliar distance between them.

Personally Kate is a soldier at heart, all discipline and self-sacrifice. Under her costume she retains tattoos from her time in the services. While mostly serious and focused she has a wonderful sense of wry and witty humor, having learned that there can be levity even in the most grim circumstances. She is a lesbian herself and has not let her busy job as Batwoman get in the way of her love life. For girlfriends she tends to go for women rather like her, active and professional ladies. She had affairs with several fellow officers when in the army, with female fighters and leaders during her year abroad, and since returning to Gotham with lawyers and police officers. She has recently met up with a number of women superheroes in various adventures and has been very struck by them, they are so beautiful and powerful. She feels that she needs to get in more with the superheroes, they operate at a different level to everything she has been doing so far, and she wants to find out if any of those superheroines are into girls.

[Gamebook]

Talia Al Ghul - PL 9

Strength 1, Stamina 2, Agility 4, Dexterity 4, Fighting 12, Intellect 5, Awareness 5, Presence 5

Advantages
Assessment, Attractive, Benefit, Cipher, Benefit, Wealth 4 (multimillionare), Connected, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 2, Evasion, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Critical 2: Sword, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Inspire 2, Leadership, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown, Well-informed

Skills
Acrobatics 8 (+12), Athletics 8 (+9), Close Combat: Sword 2 (+14), Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Business 8 (+13), Insight 8 (+13), Intimidation 8 (+13), Investigation 8 (+13), Perception 8 (+13), Persuasion 8 (+13), Sleight of Hand 6 (+10), Stealth 8 (+12), Technology 4 (+9), Treatment 6 (+11), Vehicles 6 (+10)

Equipment
Light Pistol, Sword

Offense
Initiative +8
Grab, +12 (DC Spec 11)
Light Pistol, +9 (DC 18)
Sword, +14 (DC 19)
Throw, +9 (DC 16)
Unarmed, +12 (DC 16)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 12, Parry 12, Fortitude 6, Toughness 4/2, Will 12

Power Points
Abilities 76 + Powers 0 + Advantages 32 + Skills 52 (104 ranks) + Defenses 19 = 179

Talia Al Ghul is the most powerful of Ra's Al Ghul's surviving children. Down the years all of his sons have gotten themselves killed in the perpetual violent struggles of the League, leaving his daughters as his heirs. Talia is the head of League operations in Gotham, which means that she controls much of their money. This giver her enormous leverage over the League which is only increasing as her investments pay off and she makes more money through legitimate business deals than the rest of the League's operations in oil-money, bank-robbing, drug-running and other activities they engage in to generate funds. As Ra's Al Ghul ages she is positioning herself as the heir to his leadership. As a woman though there is a limit to how much she will be able to take control upon his eventual death. The League is a sprawling and fractious entity with many powerful and fiercely independent warlords. They will not be much inclined to acknowledge the temporal or spiritual superiority of a woman, even one who is the daughter of their founder and prophet. Ra's Al Ghul plan to have Batman become the new head of the League thus accords with her own desires. She wants a man who is something of an outsider to the League and its at times traditional ways. If Batman does agree to lead the League she as his wife would wield continued influence through him while he is forceful and charismatic enough to hold the League together. Talia also wants to take the League in a much more legitimate direction and cut down on its criminal activities. She would like to evolve it into more of a business group and political party, campaigning for free elections and social reform rather than relying so much on bombs and blades to get its way. The League is a broad social movement in many ways, somewhat similar to the international communist movement or the anti-colonial protesters of the twentieth century.

Talia's relationship with Batman is based on her pursuing him. She has wanted him ever since their time in the desert together, no other man she has known has ever measured up to him in any department. What she is able to offer from the League's resources and the opportunity she represents to reform the League is very tempting for him. As well he finds her an intellectual match for him, someone capable of understanding and appreciating the complexity and difficulty of what he is trying to do. So many of the young people he has found and trained down the years have just not been able to cope with the demands and sacrifices necessary with the result that they fail him and themselves. This includes Dick Grayson, who though he loves him and acknowledges his talents as a detective and fighter, has never been able to be more than a foot soldier in the war they are fighting. He is just too nice to be able to run Bruce's wider operations. With Talia he is raising his son with her to be the heir he will one day need, and the combination of his and Talia's attributes has made for a person who shows a talent far beyond any of his other apprentices.

For her part Talia is a scheming and ruthless witch, but does have a genuine concern for others and wants to improve the world. She is prepared to do some very dark deeds to achieve that though. On her orders or personally she has killed a lot of people, not a few of them rivals and opponents in the League itself. There are suspicions that the deaths of some of Ra's Al Ghul's sons are down to her as she got rid of people who had an unfair advantage over her in League politics while not being in her opinion as capable as her. Such a thing was very likely done on the command or at least with the connivance of Ra's Al Ghul himself, he is known to have killed sons of his who have failed him or rebelled against him. Talia is a very attractive woman, her mother was specially chosen by Ra's Al Ghul to produce the best offspring possible, she was beautiful while also being a brilliant leader and operator and a deadly fighter. Talia has at least one younger sister who is still in training. Her decision to have a child with Batman was partly a political play, to tie him to her and increase her standing within the League as a mother, but also she just wanted to have a child and for him to be the father. She is aware of the existence of Catwoman and that Batman also has a child with her, but regards Selina as just a concubine and agent, no real challenge to her relationship with Batman. The child Helena interests her more, the product of a union between two such talented people should be brilliant and could become a great asset to the League one day.

[Gamebook]

Red Tornado - PL 10

Strength 8, Stamina -, Agility 4, Dexterity 3, Fighting 8, Intellect 5, Awareness 5, Presence 5

Advantages
Defensive Roll 2, Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Evasion, Fascinate (Persuasion), Favored Environment: Airborne, Improved Initiative, Leadership, Ranged Attack 5, Second Chance: Mind Control, Taunt, Teamwork

Skills
Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 4 (+12), Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Journalism 8 (+13), Insight 8 (+13), Investigation 12 (+17), Perception 4 (+9), Persuasion 8 (+13), Ranged Combat: Air Control 2 (+5), Sleight of Hand 4 (+7), Stealth 4 (+8), Technology 4 (+9)

Powers
Air Control
. . Air Control: Cylinder Area Move Object 10 (25 tons; Cylinder Area: 30 feet cylinder, DC 20, Selective; Limited: Air)
. . Air Jet: Move Object 10 (25 tons, DC 25; Damaging, Multiattack; Limited: Air)
. . Storm: Environment 7 (Impede Movement (2 ranks), Visibility (-2), Radius: 1800 feet; Selective)
. . Suffocation: Cylinder Area Affliction 10 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20; Cylinder Area: 30 feet cylinder, DC 20, Increased Range: ranged)
. . Tornado: Cylinder Area Move Object 10 (25 tons, DC 25; Cylinder Area: 30 feet cylinder, DC 20, Damaging; Limited: Air)
. . Wind Wall: Cylinder Area Deflect 10 (Cylinder Area: 30 feet cylinder, DC 20, Selective)
Communication: Other Communication 2 (Sense Type: Sound waves)
Flight: Flight 8 (Speed: 500 miles/hour, 1 mile/round)
Immortality: Immortality 1 (Return after 2 weeks)
Immunity: Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects)
Protection: Protection 8 (+8 Toughness; Impervious)

Offense
Initiative +8
Air Control: Cylinder Area Move Object 10 (DC 20)
Air Jet: Move Object 10, +10 (DC 25)
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 18)
Suffocation: Cylinder Area Affliction 10 (DC Fort 20)
Throw, +8 (DC 23)
Tornado: Cylinder Area Move Object 10 (DC 25)
Unarmed, +8 (DC 23)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 10, Parry 8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 10/8, Will 10

Power Points
Abilities 66 + Powers 107 + Advantages 17 + Skills 35 (70 ranks) + Defenses 11 = 236

The Red Tornado was Lois Lane when she was living as a robot for a while after her original body was destroyed. Caught up in a massive wave of energy during one of their adventures together Superman was not able to physically fly her out in time. Seeing her body start to disintegrate he did something that he had researched a while back but had never had cause to deploy before now. He used his X-Ray vision to intensively scan the structure of her brain, right down to the molecular level. As he did so he memorized it, reproducing her brain structure as a subset of his own. Doing this though subjected her brain to such high intensity scanning energies that it dissolved even as he did it, which is why he had never used this dangerous and difficult technique before. Once he had finished Lois was now alive in his own head, effectively sharing his brain with him. Keeping all this held in his head was difficult even for Superman and it was freaking even the usually fearless Lois out. She was still conscious and aware but had no control of a body anymore, all she could do was talk to Clark in his head. Acting quickly he transplanted her brain state into the best robot body he had before his memory could begin to give out and he started to forget bits of her. This was the Red Tornado, a robot with elemental wind powers built by the villainous scientist T. O. Morrow that he had defeated a while back and had been keeping in the Fortress of Solitude for examination. Using his heat vision he transmitted a pulsed code at tremendous speed into it which exactly reproduced Lois Lane's mind in its computer brain, running as a neural simulation. As he completed this he had to release his intense concentration and with the equivalent of a mental gasp most of what he had memorized about Lois flew out of his ears. He still retains some surprising (and a few embarrassing) memories from her to this day but nearly all of her was just held in his short-term memory and never made it to long-term, so there isn't a second Lois Lane in his head.

Lois Lane found herself inhabiting a large metal body. This was styled as an impassive-faced male but she insisted on it being immediately altered to a female appearance. Once a suitable wig had been affixed as well she was able to look at herself in a mirror. Of all the weird experiences she had had since first meeting Superman this was the weirdest, even worse than that time Brainiac implanted cybernetic parts all over her to turn her into a version of him. She was not even sure she was alive any more, though in her head she felt no different and could not detect any memory loss or cognitive impairment. Clark had apparently pulled off the operation flawlessly, as he always did. Rather than sitting passively in the Fortress of Solitude while Clark ran endless series of tests and pondered what to do next she took the body out to see what it could do. Whenever Lois Lane gets superpowers she always turns out to be really good at using them. Despite Clark's concern over her putting herself in danger yet again she operated as a superhero for a while, going by the name Red Tornado as a cover. While some people noticed that this robot hero had been made to look like Lois Lane most people on contemporary Earth were not capable of making the leap to recognize that it was Lois in a new body as such things just do not happen in regular life outside of science fiction. Batman though guessed what had happened the moment he saw her.

Lois spent some time as the Red Tornado before Clark was able to devise a suitable procedure to put her back into a cloned flesh-and-blood body. She would miss the speed and strength and the thrilling adventures of being the Red Tornado, but she had to admit that there were a lot of downsides to being made of metal as well. Lois Lane is a sensual person and the lack of physical stimulation from being unable to taste or feel was beginning to affect her psychologically. When she awoke in a perfect recreation of her old body (with a few improvements Clark would tell her about later) she was relieved and delighted and immediately embarked on a short whirlwind of good food and great sex. The whole experience in retrospect was more traumatic for Clark than for her, Lois indomitable spirit of adventure saw her through while he worried and worked frantically to save her. After this he moved to make their relationship more settled and permanent, which led to their marriage and starting a family.

[Gamebook]

Hippolyta - PL 14

Strength 15/2, Stamina 10/2, Agility 5, Dexterity 4, Fighting 11, Intellect 4, Awareness 6, Presence 6

Advantages
Assessment, Attractive, Benefit, Status 4: Queen of Themyscira, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2: Amazon Weapons, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Inspire 2, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 7, Takedown

Skills
Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 6 (+21), Deception 6 (+12), Expertise: History 6 (+10), Expertise: Military 6 (+10), Expertise: Politics 8 (+12), Insight 8 (+14), Intimidation 6 (+12), Investigation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+12), Persuasion 8 (+14), Stealth 4 (+9), Treatment 4 (+8), Vehicles 6 (+10)

Powers
Amazon Bracelets (Removable)
. . Deflect: Deflect 12 (Redirection, Reflect; Reduced Range: close)
. . Impervious Defense: Impervious Toughness 12 (Sustained)
Amazon Weapons (Easily Removable)
. . Amazon Bow: Strength-based Damage 3 (DC 33; Increased Range: ranged)
. . Amazon Sword (Alternate; Removable)
. . . . Damage: Strength-based Damage 3 (DC 33, Advantages: Improved Critical)
Queen of the Amazons
. . Commune with the Gods: Senses 1 (Communication Link: Mental)
. . Enhanced Trait: Enhanced Trait 42 (Traits: Stamina +8 (+10), Strength +13 (+15))
. . Flight: Flight 11 (Speed: 4000 miles/hour, 8 miles/round)
. . Immunity: Immunity 6 (Aging, Custom: Mind Control 5)
. . Protection: Protection 2 (+2 Toughness)
. . Senses: Senses 3 (Counters Illusion: Sight, Extended: Sight 1: x10)

Offense
Initiative +9
Amazon Bow: Strength-based Damage 3, +11 (DC 33)
Damage: Strength-based Damage 3, +11 (DC 33)
Grab, +11 (DC Spec 25)
Throw, +11 (DC 30)
Unarmed, +11 (DC 30)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 11, Parry 11, Fortitude 13, Toughness 14/12, Will 14

Power Points
Abilities 80 + Powers 110 + Advantages 26 + Skills 43 (86 ranks) + Defenses 17 = 276

The mother of Diana and Donna, Hippolyta has been queen of the Amazons for several centuries. She inherited the title from her own mother as the most worthy of her daughters. Like all Amazons she is the reincarnation of a woman from ancient times when the Olympian gods were still worshiped. She does not remembers her many past lives, what is reborn is the original person as they were as a babe, they lead a new life each time they are born again to one of their sisters. Hippolyta's soul is the same as the original leader of the Amazons in ancient times, she has been queen a number of times down the ages. After the cataclysmic events that saw her daughter Diana become the Wonder Woman she for a time wanted to abdicate in her favor but Diana did not want to be queen, she had too much to do in the mortal world and the Amazons needed an established leader to rebuild devastated Themyscira.

As a warrior Hippolyta is no less mighty than Diana or her champion Nubia. She is not quite as expert as those two however as she does not often fight in front line combat. It's not that she doesn't want to, but she has the responsibility of command and cannot immerse herself in battle. Nubia also knows that it would throw the Amazons into dismay if she were to fall in battle and does everything she can to keep her out of harms way. Even when Hippolyta does manage to get into combat her bodyguard tend to always throw themselves in front of her and not let the enemy engage her. At times to the tremendous anxiety of the Amazon leadership though Hippolyta has left Themyscira to visit with her daughter, meet her friends and take part in her adventures. When the mightiest Amazon women fight together they are a force that would give even the Justice League pause.

Hippolyta could appear youthful, as an immortal she does not age, but prefers to keep a more aged appearance than most Amazons. It gives her appearance more seniority and gravitas she feels. It is pretty nominal though, just a few lines around the mouth and eyes rather than the flawless features most Amazons indulge in. She cannot bring herself to have any grey hairs though. As the ruler of Themyscira she knows rather more about the nature of the Amazons than most. If an Amazon ever abandoned Themyscira and their holy duty they would gradually lose their enhanced strength and eternal life and youth as they are gifts from the gods to let them fulfill their appointed task, not inherent qualities. Occasionally an Amazon does this and lives out the rest of their life as a mortal. When this happens their soul departs for the afterlife and is not reincarnated. Over the thousands of years the Amazons have kept their guard this has slowly depleted their numbers from the original cohort. To ensure they do not become too few in number Hippolyta occasionally raises worthy mortal women up to be Amazons. This has not always worked out well, like that time Harley Quinn managed to lie and connive her way onto the island.

As queen Hipolyta is stern and strict, her affection for her sisters does not let her flout the exacting laws of the Amazons. For offenses she has had Amazons exiled to the mortal world, stripped of their immortality and strength as unworthy. Mercifully this has happened only a few times in their history. She is the only one of the Amazons who can see the gods with her waking eyes, she often sees them walking across Themyscira or swimming in the waters around the island. They often have messages and warnings for her, though sometimes they just want to regale her with a new poem or song. This makes her the chief priestess of the Amazons as well as queen, the Amazons comes from a time when the rulers were priest-kings, officiating both politically and religiously. The religious rites of the Amazon may appear barbaric to modern eyes as they often involve blood sacrifice and burnt offerings. Some of their feasts are astonishingly wild, with mass drunkenness and promiscuity. Others are very formal and precise, going on all day with elaborate rituals and long recitations of ancient lore. Very few outsiders have seen this, recently only some members of the Justice League. Most of them coming from predominantly culturally Christian countries they felt uneasy on witnessing such things, these were rites from times when human sacrifice was still occasionally practiced.

[Woodclaw]

I just love that picture, it's perfect.

[Thorpocalypse]

No doubt. That Phil Cho art is off the hizook, as the kids say.

Loving the tweaks to their backgrounds, too. I had forgotten about the Earth-2 Lois Lane being Red Tornado for a while. The whole clone body this for Lois makes great sense, considering everything she's been through over the years.

[Gamebook]

Alfred Pennyworth - PL 9

Strength 1, Stamina 2, Agility 2, Dexterity 4, Fighting 8, Intellect 2, Awareness 3, Presence 3

Advantages
Benefit, Cipher, Connected, Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 3, Improved Aim, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 8, Set-up, Taunt, Well-informed

Skills
Athletics 6 (+7), Deception 8 (+11), Insight 8 (+11), Intimidation 6 (+9), Investigation 8 (+10), Perception 6 (+9), Persuasion 6 (+9), Sleight of Hand 8 (+12), Stealth 4 (+6), Technology 6 (+8), Treatment 6 (+8), Vehicles 6 (+10)

Equipment
Brass Knuckles, Knife, Sniper Rifle

Offense
Initiative +2
Brass Knuckles, +8 (DC 17)
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 11)
Knife, +8 (DC 17)
Sniper Rifle, +12 (DC 20)
Throw, +12 (DC 16)
Unarmed, +8 (DC 16)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 5, Toughness 4/2, Will 11

Power Points
Abilities 50 + Powers 0 + Advantages 22 + Skills 39 (78 ranks) + Defenses 17 = 128

Alfred Pennyworth is the old family retainer of the Wayne family. He became the ward of the young Bruce Wayne after his parents were tragically killed in the absence of any trustworthy relatives. All the Wayne grandparents were already deceased and both of Bruce's parents were only children. A few relatives came out of the woodwork claiming parts of the Wayne estate but their only interest in the boy was as a way to get more access to the money. After a legal wrangle taking several years Alfred was made sole guardian and trustee. Though he did everything he could for young master Bruce the trauma of that terrible event left the boy depressed and anxious. As he became older Alfred took him abroad, ostensibly to get him away from Gotham and its ghosts. The two were scarcely seen for the next ten years, they just dropped off the face of the world. Documents show that they stayed at various private houses around Europe for the next ten years before returning to Gotham. Those who move in the world of international crimefighting and superheroics though have other suspicions. A person fitting Alfred's description was seen in locations across much of the world at wide intervals in the company of people of very dubious repute; arms dealers, freedom fighters/terrorists, professional mercenaries. There are further rumors that he was working with British Intelligence at this time. In later appearances a tall, dark man usually accompanied him. American intelligence agencies think that this person's name or alias was 'Khuffash' and marked him as likely connected to the League of Assassins. They tried repeatedly to make contact with the pair of them but they always avoided contact and their League informants professed ignorance.

When Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham he was accompanied by the faithful Alfred who had the mothballed Wayne Manor extensively renovated, using contractors more normally employed in installing advanced private and corporate security. The reason given was that Mr Wayne was anxious of the threat of crime and demanded total security. The returned Bruce did not act anxious though, he spent much of his time living it up on the town with various Gotham beauties in between aggressive business dealing. Wayne Manor was once again made a center of Gotham social life, with numerous events held in the gorgeously redecorated rooms and gardens to celebrate civic life and raise money for good causes. One odd thing though is that much of the manor is always locked off, and all the internal doors are heavy security doors; massive, solid steel plates with wood veneer. The entire manor is an armored fortress under its genteel surface. Eccentric behavior by the very rich is common though and a mania for security hardly rare among the elite of Gotham, what with the city's known history of kidnappings and home invasions.

Who Alfred really is, his personal history and what his real connection to Batman is is yet another Bat mystery. Batman's more paranoid associates have attempted to research his past but have largely drawn a blank. An utterly unremarkable English childhood in many ways, attending his local grammar school where he was notably good at sport and languages, followed by a military career that started in a venerable old English infantry regiment and then became murky. It seems likely that he was for a time in British special forces, SAS or SBS or something. Batwoman has found out more than most thanks to her military connections through her father, Jacob Kane seems to have had contacts with Alfred's units in Aden and other locations in the Middle East and East Africa during his own days in US special forces. He does not seem to have ever been an officer but was a senior sergeant, a very important position in the British army where NCO's do most of the actual work. What he was doing in his old haunts when he was supposed to be the guardian of a psychologically disturbed orphan makes her suspicious. She personally knew 'Khuffash' but never saw any Englishman with him who fit Alfred's description. There were so many tall, skinny wind-burnt men wrapped in burnooses though that it is possible he was around. Any operative of his capabilities would easily have been capable of adopting local mannerisms and Alfred has a facility with languages. Certainly Khuffash knew and spoke to a lot of people she never learned the identities of or saw their faces. As an English butler though Alfred has a poker face that could sweep the table and it would in any case be rude to make a direct accusation. She would though like to know what maybe happened to the real Bruce Wayne. Surely Alfred could not have engaged in foul play?

[Gamebook]

Martian Manhunter - PL 13

Strength 14, Stamina 10, Agility 4, Dexterity 6, Fighting 12, Intellect 6, Awareness 5, Presence 3

Advantages
Assessment, Benefit, Galactic Reputation, Benefit, Security Clearance: Head of the D.E.O., Connected, Contacts, Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Extraordinary Effort, Great Endurance, Improved Critical 2: ????, Improved Grab, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Teamwork, Trance, Well-informed

Skills
Deception 8 (+11), Expertise: Science 8 (+14), Insight 8 (+13), Investigation 12 (+18), Perception 8 (+13), Persuasion 4 (+7), Sleight of Hand 4 (+10), Stealth 4 (+8), Technology 8 (+14), Treatment 4 (+10), Vehicles 4 (+10)

Powers
Immunity: Immunity 14 (Aging, Critical Hits, Life Support, Sleep)
Impervious Defense: Impervious Will 16
Martian Body Control
. . Disruption (Affects Corporeal 14, Alternate Resistance: Fortitude)
. . . . Destruction (Alternate; Affects Corporeal 14, Penetrating 14)
. . . . Energy Vision: Damage 14 (Alternate; DC 29; Increased Range: ranged)
. . . . Pain: Affliction 14 (Alternate; 1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 24; Affects Corporeal 14)
. . Extra Limbs: Extra Limbs 4 (4 extra limbs, Advantages: Improved Grab)
. . Flight: Flight 11 (Speed: 4000 miles/hour, 8 miles/round)
. . Immunity: Immunity 14 (Aging, Critical Hits, Life Support, Sleep)
. . Incorporeal: Insubstantial 4 (Incorporeal; Precise)
. . . . Fluid: Insubstantial 1 (Alternate; Fluid; Precise)
. . . . Superdense
. . . . . . Enhanced Trait: Enhanced Trait -32 (Linked; Traits: Agility -10 (-6), Toughness +20 (+34), Fighting -18 (-6))
. . . . . . Impervious Defense: Impervious Toughness 30
. . . . Toughened: Protection 4 (Alternate; +4 Toughness; Impervious [10 extra ranks])
. . Morph: Morph 4 (+20 Deception checks to disguise; Any form)
. . Movement: Movement 1 (Space Travel 1: within solar system)
. . Psychic Concealment: Concealment 10 (All Senses; Passive, Resistible: Will)
Martian Senses: Senses 10 (Darkvision, Extended: Vision 2: x100, Extended: Hearing 2: x100, Penetrates Concealment: Vision)
Martian Telepathy
. . Focused Mind Reading: Cumulative Mind Reading 13 (DC 23; Cumulative, Insidious)
. . Mental Blast: Damage 10 (DC 25; Alternate Resistance: Will, Increased Range 2: perception)
. . Mental Illusions: Illusion 10 (Affects: All Sense Types, Area: 1000 cft., DC 20; Limited to One Subject)
. . Mental Shielding: Burst Area Enhanced Trait 10 (Traits: Will +10 (+26); Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 20, Increased Range: ranged, Selective)
. . Mind Control: Cumulative Affliction 10 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Compelled, 3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will, DC 20; Cumulative, Increased Range 2: perception)
. . Mind Manipulation: Cumulative Affliction 10 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Transformed, Resisted by: Will, DC 20; Cumulative, Increased Range 2: perception)
. . Mind Riding: Cumulative Mind Reading 10 (DC 20; Cumulative, Sensory Link)
. . Mind Scan: Senses 14 (Accurate: Mental, Acute: Mental, Awareness: Mental, Detect: Mental 2: ranged, Extended: Mental 7: x10m, Radius: Mental)
. . Persistent Mind Reading: Cumulative Effortless Mind Reading 10 (DC 20; Cumulative, Effortless)
. . Telekinesis: Move Object 13 (200 tons, DC 28; Damaging, Precise)
. . Telekinetic Shield: Create 12 (Volume: 4000 cft., DC 22; Movable, Precise, Subtle 2: invisible)
. . Telepathy: Mental Area Communication 4 (Sense Type: Mental; Area, Selective, Subtle: encrypted)
Regeneration: Regeneration 5 (Every 2 rounds, Advantages: Diehard; Persistent)

Offense
Initiative +4
Energy Vision: Damage 14, +12 (DC 29)
Focused Mind Reading: Cumulative Mind Reading 13 (DC Will 23)
Grab, +12 (DC Spec 24)
Mental Blast: Damage 10 (DC Will 25)
Mind Control: Cumulative Affliction 10 (DC Will 20)
Mind Manipulation: Cumulative Affliction 10 (DC Will 20)
Mind Riding: Cumulative Mind Reading 10 (DC Will 20)
Pain: Affliction 14, +12 (DC Fort 24)
Persistent Mind Reading: Cumulative Effortless Mind Reading 10 (DC Will 20)
Telekinesis: Move Object 13, +12 (DC 28)
Throw, +12 (DC 29)
Unarmed, +12 (DC 29)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 12, Parry 12, Fortitude 10, Toughness 14, Will 16

Power Points
Abilities 120 + Powers 224 + Advantages 21 + Skills 36 (72 ranks) + Defenses 19 = 420

The Martian Manhunter is the last of his kind, the metamorphic race humans know as the Green Martians. They settled on the Red Planet Mars several thousand years ago and lived in peace for a long time. Among themselves the telepathic martians are a communal race who constantly exchange thoughts, memories and feelings between themselves. At times they even physically melded together, then split apart into two or more new martians that had combinations of their minds. An existence alien to humans but it made them happy. This all came to an end when a rival metamorphic race, the 'white martians' invaded. The whites are not really a true species of their own, instead they are a parasitic strain of information that assimilates metamorphs to their own kind. Green Martians infected by them were converted to the monstrous and aggressive Whites who then sought to consume the rest of them. For years the Greens fought this plague and in the end developed a cure. This cure though destroyed the infected Green Martians, it did not restore them to their original form. With the war nearly lost and only a handful of Greens left though they decided to deploy it. Spreading the cure cost the lives of all but one of the remaining Green Martians. The cure though spread quickly through the White population, devastating it and forcing the survivors to hide underground on Mars, unable to walk the surface again.

Left alone the last Green Martian departed Mars for the wider galaxy. For many years he made a living using his natural Martian powers in a variety of jobs, mostly related to detective or bounty-hunting work. During this period he became known as the Martian Manhunter (that is a human translation of [name of his world] [person finder and bringer back]). Eventually though the warning systems he had emplaced on Mars detected that at least one White Martian had left the planet and traveled to Earth. He immediately returned to track down his ancestral enemy before it could menace the native inhabitants of Earth. Tracing it telepathically he found that it had infiltrated and subverted a human intelligence agency and was using it to search the planet for something or someone. He confronted it and forced it to shed its disguise, then worked with the humans to attempt to capture it. It resisted fiercely however and to protect human lives he was forced to destroy it.

In the aftermath of this incident he was approached by the senior leadership of the humans. They wanted to offer him a job! The humans were aware that intelligent aliens existed and were beginning to travel secretly to Earth. They were planning to set up an agency specifically to manage this situation but were faced with a grave difficulty. No human knew anything about aliens, who they were, what they looked like and what they could do, what political connections they had. Ill-informed action by their part could endanger their operatives and innocent bystanders, and potentially the whole Earth if they offended an alien power by harming one of its people. From their work with the Martian Manhunter they had realized that he knew a great deal about all these things and that he was a good and trustworthy person. The head of the operation was General Lane (father of famous reporter Lois Lane) and his forceful personality overcame all the reservations his colleagues had about employing an alien. Under the Manhunter's supervision the Department of Extra-Normal Operations was formed with him as director.

If there is any one person who directs superheroics on Earth it is John Jones (a human approximation of his external Martian name J'onn J'onnz. His inner Martian name can only be pronounced telepathically). He spends most of his time in a human appearance, it makes life easier for those around him and in everyday life. When out with superheroes though he usually reverts to a version of his true form, a green humanoid figure. His true Martian form he very rarely goes to, it is ugly and monstrous to human sensibilities. It was on his initiative that the Justice League was formed and he tries hard to get the eclectic superheroes of Earth to be more responsible and professional in their conduct. He doesn't feel much kinship with most humans, they seem so limited and blind compared to his own race, confined to the tiny little circle of their own minds and bodies. He can communicate with them mentally but always feels a sense of disappointment that they cannot speak back in the same way so prefers to just speak verbally. Telepathic contact in any case weirds most humans out, they fear that their minds are being read, taken over or damaged by it. Humans tend to associate foreign voices in your head with mental illness (or demonic possession).

J'onn's greatest worry is the White Martians still lurking on Mars. He has not forgotten or forgiven what they did to his people. Any suggestion that one may be on Earth brings a swift response from him and his forces. Aliens on Earth that have metamorphic or telepathic powers are at serious risk of being arrested and intensively interrogated by him to make sure they are not White Martians. Over the years he has recruited a number of superheroes to work more permanently with the D.E.O., offering its considerable resources to aid them in the fight for justice. At times though he has just resorted to outright hiring them with generous salaries, such as when he formed the Global Guardians team. Personally J'onn is an ascetic, working all hours with rare breaks for meditation. He does enjoy some human drinks and foodstuffs, cuisine is one area where Earth with its abundant natural life is definitely superior to his own civilization. Martians mostly lived on concentrated nutrient pills, food was an area of life they tended to neglect in favor of their physiological and mental pursuits. He is friends to many superheroes, having worked with many of them, but as a very different alien species there will always be a certain distance between them.

[Ken]

Martian Manhunter

He's wearing too much. Common problem these days.