The World In The Aftermath (Formerly A World Less Magical)

[Davies]

Julie Martens


Despite what he would sometimes later claim, Julius Martens' father did not name his only son after Julius Erving in hopes that the association would lead him to become a professional athlete. Born in 1969, when Dr. J's college basketball career was only starting up, Julie was given that name because his father usually went by his middle name Gus, for Augustus. That said, Gus Martens did have hopes that his son would get out of Detroit through sport, ideally boxing or football. He was doomed to disappointment, since Julie turned out to be a bookish kid with an interest in science, and Gus took it for granted that there was no future in this for him.

The stress of this eventually led Julie to run away from home at fifteen, but he was already smart enough to recognize that getting involved in a gang was a dead end. Unfortunately, one of the gangs who tried to recruit him -- associated, of course, with the Pythons -- wasn't inclined to take 'no' for an answer, and tried to ambush him one night in October. Julie was rescued by a group of recent arrivals to the city, the Scavengers, who took him back to their lair so that their mentor could help treat some injuries the young human had suffered.

When they found out his name, the Scavengers imputed a deeper meaning to this encounter than it probably merited, since Julius Caesar had been one of the Nine Worthies they'd been named after. Happy to have found some friends, even if he often thought they were sort of screwy, Julie moved in with them, acting as their eyes on the street and helping to keep their home's infrastructure, as well as the vehicles and other machines they picked up, in good working order. While the Scavengers were all extremely gifted at applied technology, Julie turned out to have a much better grasp of the theory, often coming up with technical solutions to the problems that the rats encountered.

When the Scavengers left Earth, Julie was also invited to come with them. Incredibly tempted by the offer, he chose instead to remain behind and get back in contact with his family, bidding farewell to his friends. He returned home to a prodigal son's welcome, and discovered that his father had spent the time he was away saving up money so that he could have the college education he'd wanted if he ever came back. Combined with some scholarships that he managed to finagle, Julie went on to get an engineering degree. When he entered the work force, he wound up recruited by a newly-formed security company -- Argus.

As the second age of heroes got underway, it happened that Julie -- as one of the few employees of the company who'd had close personal associations with a group of superpowers -- was called on to help draft their policies for dealing with them. Reflecting on the way that he'd often been the one to warn the three brothers about events that he'd heard about, he suggested that Argus agents should associate themselves with superheroes and use that association to alert them to events that the company needed to have handled. While the 'handler' policy went through a lot of changes before it was implemented, the seed of the idea was still based on Julie's proposal.

Unfortunately, Julie Martens was one of many Argus employees to die in action during Zane's coup attempt, being killed by Blake Rogers during the early stages of the affair.

Julie Martens -- PL 4

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 2 | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 4 | AWE 2 | PRE 1

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Improved Defense, Inventor, Set-up, Taunt.

Skills:
Deception 5 (+6), Expertise: Streetwise 3 (+7), Investigation 4 (+8), Perception 4 (+6), Stealth 4 (+5), Technology 5 (+9), Treatment 3 (+7), Vehicles 4 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)

Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 3, Fortitude 3, Toughness 4/2, Will 5.

Totals:
Abilities 28 + Advantages 7 + Skills 16 + Defenses 8 = 59 points

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Friends (the Scavengers.) Prejudice (homeless.)

Note: Later in life, as an Argus researcher, Julie's INT, AWE and PRE increase by 2 ranks each, and he gains Contacts, Well-informed, Expertise: Science 5 (+11), Insight 3 (+7), and Persuasion 4 (+7).

[Davies]

Litota


One of the most accomplished assassins in the service of Daath, the android known as Litota is believed to have been one of a large production run of androids created by the late Yacobus the Arch-Imaginist roughly fifty years* ago, at a time when the wonder-worker believed that his life extension methods were failing and he would need to transfer his mentality into an artificial frame. As it happened, Yacobus overcame these difficulties in another way, and the androids were donated to the armies of the Dark Side as they took form. Litota has made comments to the effect that he is the only one of his make and model to still exist, with the implication that he has personally made certain this is the case.

Litota, much like his maker, views himself as an artist in his chosen field, as demonstrated by his chosen name, which derives from a form of poetry once common on Chirab. Where most of the Dark Side's assassins prefer to arrange things so that the deaths they're assigned to accomplish occur and cannot be traced back to them, Litota believes in going the extra light year -- when he brings about the end of an enemy of Daath, he often makes it seem as though the death arose from some great drama in the life of the victim, often causing the blame for the deed falls on one of their loved ones, or on another individual who might oppose Daath and who cannot be as easily eliminated. His most famous endeavor once saw the entire population of a small space station descend into civil war when one member of the crew died unexpectedly.

Another manifestation of this artistic tendency involves his fascination with those he considers 'worthy adversaries', defined as individuals who are able to overcome his attempts to end them while still living up to their own moral codes and standards in the process. It has happened several times in his career that, when he succeeds in having such an individual dead to rights, Litota declared that it would be beneath him to destroy such a worthy adversary, and lets them go. The individual so designated could be forgiven for thinking that this marks an end to their troubles.

They would be horribly mistaken and quickly learn that things have just gotten immeasurably worse. Litota will continue his efforts against them -- he won't kill them, but no one else in their immediate vicinity is remotely safe. The android seems to take a special pleasure in destroying any relationships that his target might have, as though to make Litota himself the only meaningful presence in their lives. He will also create situations where the target could save people around them by abandoning the morality that attracted him, and kill the target out of hand if they stop being 'worthy'. Thus far, he has managed to find a way to break every one of his worthy adversaries.

Because of these eccentricities, however, Litota is not considered the first among Daath's assassins, which somewhat vexes him. Why that honor is bestowed on a nobody like Bruyonne is something he cannot understand, and this has led to a rivalry between the two of them since she first gained that distinction. It's become a particularly violent rivalry since Infernus sent Bruyonne to eliminate a 'worthy opponent' that Litota had just started cultivating, after the general became impatient with the lack of progress. Eventually, it seems likely that there will come a reckoning between these two.

When not engaged in his duties as an assassin, Litota typically poses as a travelling entertainer, often a musician or storyteller. He is every bit as vain about his abilities in this area as he is about his other art ...

Litota -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA -- | AGL 8 | DEX 5 | FGT 8 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 3

Powers:
Android: Immunity 30 (Fortitude); Protection 10; Regeneration 1 (natural healing) - 41 points
Imperturbable: Immunity 5 (interaction skills) - 5 points
Translator Circuit: Comprehend Languages 3 - 9 points

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Assessment, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Equipment 4, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Attack 4 (Close & Ranged; Cover & Concealment), Ranged Attack 3, Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
14 points of equipment as needed.
Arsenal: Array (4 points)

• Knife: Strength-based Damage 1, Improved Critical, Improved Defense - 1 point
• Sword: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical - 1 point
• Throwing Knives: Ranged Multiattack Damage 1 - 1 point

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+12), Athletics 4 (+11), Close Combat: Blades 4 (+12), Deception 9 (+12), Expertise: Criminal 6 (+9), Expertise: Performance 5 (+8), Expertise: Galactic 8 (+11), Insight 6 (+9), Perception 9 (+12), Ranged Combat: Throwing 4 (+9), Sleight of Hand 6 (+11), Stealth 5 (+13), Technology 6 (+9), Vehicles 6 (+11).

Offense:
Initiative +12
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 7)
Knife +12 (Close Damage 8, Crit 19-20)
Sword +12 (Close Damage 10, Crit 19-20)
Throwing Knifes +12 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 1)

Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 12, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 10, Will 8

Totals:
Abilities 64 + Powers 55 + Advantages 19 + Skills 41 + Defenses 11 = 190 points

Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Obsession (worthy opponent.) Subject to Orders. Vanity.

[Davies]

Madame Zozostrz


Much like the one now called Scathach, who was once one of her fiercest rivals, the ancient woman who answers to the title Madame Zozostrz has long since forgotten the name she was given at birth, twelve hundred years ago on Chirab. She was one of the first generation of the rising stars to be granted power by the cosmic accident that created them, and used the power to create and manipulate a form of energy imperceptible to the naked eye to rule over a small region of their home world, using various tricks to make it seem that she had many other powers besides that -- the power to curse, to know the minds of her subjects, to see the future. They thought of her as a witch -- the witch -- and she encouraged that belief and that fear.

Eventually, though, that fear turned to hatred, and the witch was driven from power despite inflicting horrific damage on her enemies, and forced into alliance with the rest of the rising stars. Eventually, she joined them in leaving the planet behind, and accompanied the faction of their kind who travelled through the regions of space that would later become the Imperium, eventually coming to the world later known as Yusei. For a brief while, she tried to practice her old tricks there, but her so-called fellows had had enough of all that, and united to drive her off so that they could pose as more benevolent gods to the populace there.

By that point, she was realizing that she was not truly immortal, as were some of her brethren. She aged very slowly, perhaps one year* for every fifteen that passed, but she could still feel herself growing older. Having just had the limitations of her powers demonstrated to her, the witch naturally sought to increase them so that no one would be able to insult her in that way again, and to gain the eternity she viewed as her due. She chased down many rumors about paths to greater power, but these always turned out to be dead ends, until she learned of Daath.

So the witch made her way to Daath and presented herself as a supplicant to Ananke, having seen that the ruler of Daath could grant great powers to her servants, and either not caring about the price that she would have to pay, or imagining that she could find a way to overcome whatever it would do to her. Ananke accepted her service, as she has always accepted any who would offer it to her ... and then did absolutely nothing. Ananke granted the witch neither additional powers -- or so it seemed -- nor any authority, inflicted no price, and more or less ignored her from that point onward.

The witch, who came to be known as Madame Zozostrz, was naturally not best pleased by this, and so sought to gain additional power from her service to those who had been granted power and authority by Daath's ruler, which usually left them unable to leave the planet, as she could. She journeyed to many worlds through the portals opened by the Metropolitan (and those who had similar powers before it) and became known as a mysterious witch on many of them. She may even have visited Earth, and become the inspiration for witch-like figures of that world's mythology.

But none of these journeys granted her the power or the immortality she sought, and she came to hate those who seemed able to achieve power through their own efforts, through the sort of magical traditions she'd exploited in the past. In the past few centuries, she finally began to achieve a measure of authority on Daath, though never the supremacy that she wanted. Her efforts to gain more were often thwarted by her rival, Yakobus the Arch-Imaginist.

Zozostrz directed many schemes against him, but that war was briefly interrupted by the arrival on Daath of Abraxas, whom she knew of old. Much to her fury, however, he did not recognize her, and seemed uninterested in renewing their acquaintance. Nevertheless, the witch ended up as one of the lower-ranking commanders of the Dark Side due to her experience and knowledge of the universe. She used these new hierarchies to renew her struggles with Yacobus, and may have played a major role in the conspiracy that brought about his end -- or she may be taking credit for things that had nothing to do with her, as she often does.

Her ambitions are without limit. She intends to ascend to the position that Abraxas now holds, and then wreak a vengeance most terrible on Ananke for the neglect she feels that she has suffered. (She imagines that Abraxas has not done this because he enjoys Ananke's favors as well as her favor.) And never once has it occurred to her that she might indeed have been given a power that she did not possess before coming to Daath -- a petty power, to suit a petty soul as hers. Translator circuits rarely afford their owners the mastery of language that she possesses ...

Madame Zozostrz -- PL 12

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA 4 | AGL 0 | DEX 3 | FGT 6 | INT 3 | AWE 6 | PRE 3

Powers:
Eldritch Energy Manipulation: Array (29 points)

• Eldritch Bolts: Ranged Damage 14, Subtle - 28 points
• Eldritch Chains: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 9 (Resisted by Dodge; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile), Extra Condition, Limited Degree, Subtle - 1 point
• Eldritch Manipulation: Perception Range Move Object 9, Precise, Subtle - 1 point
• Eldritch Shifting: Extended Teleport 9 - 1 point
• Eldritch Visions: Remote Sensing 7 (auditory, mental, visual), Subtle - 1 point

Eldritch Force Field: Linked Sustained Impervious Protection 12; Linked Sustained Immunity 10 - 38 points
It's Not Paranoia When They're Really Out To Get You: Senses 1 (danger sense) - 1 point
Long-lived, But Not Youthful: Immunity 1 (aging) - 1 point
Translator Circuit (Or Maybe Not): Comprehend Languages 4 - 12 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Fascinate (Deception), Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Inventor*, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Set-up.

Skills:
Deception 8 (+11), Expertise: Galactic 8 (+11), Expertise: Science 8 (+11), Insight 4 (+10), Intimidation 10 (+13), Perception 6 (+12), Ranged Combat: Eldritch Energy 7 (+10), Sleight of Hand 6 (+9), Stealth 9 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +0
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 7)
Eldritch Bolts +10 (Ranged Damage 14)
Eldritch Chains +10 (Ranged Affliction 9, Resisted by Dodge)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude 9, Toughness 16/4, Will 12

Totals
Abilities 64 + Powers 84 + Advantages 10 + Skills 33 + Defenses 19 = 210 points

Complications:
Power--Motivation. ... Except When It IS Paranoia. Hatred (actual magic-users.) Secret (magical pretensions.) Subject to Orders.

* Madame Zozostrz's inventions are always chemical concoctions, and are created through the use of Expertise: Science rather than Technology.

[Davies]

Bruyonne


Generally, when the generals of the Dark Side choose assassination as a tactic, it's meant to remove a potential impediment to one of their forthcoming military campaigns, and they prefer operatives who can accomplish that objective quietly and efficiently. Bruyonne, as the prime assassin on Daath, is usually given other sorts of assignments. She is dispatched, almost always by Abraxas himself, to deliver death to someone on Daath, or less frequently one of their subjugated worlds. And she is not expected, or desired, to accomplish these missions of extermination at all quietly; everyone is supposed to know who killed the target and why.

Little is known about Bruyonne's background. She is believed to have been born in the same year that Abraxas began his rule over the planet, and came under the care of Yacobus the Arch-Imaginist sometime in the next decade*. By the time that Aun Taxad joined their household, she had already been heavily cyborged, using techniques that Yacobus had learned on the conquered world that created General Schatter. Yacobus' primary interest in her was as a research subject, but he also used her as something of a housemaid. Taxad, who had been a domestic servant himself, did not look down on her acceptance of that role, and offered her some small amount of help in between his studies.

After only a few years* of this, some of the leaders of the Dark Side made demands of Yacobus, insisting that he give them one of his two pupils to be made useful as a warrior. He chose to give them Bruyonne, and pressed a new invention, the Polyvalent Whip, into her hands before he sent her on her way. After demonstrating her talents to her new masters, they decided to send her back to Yacobus with the demand that he turn over Aun Taxad instead, as he had been the one they'd wanted, not this silly little girl with her silly little whip.

She delivered that demand as she'd been ordered, and when Yacobus refused, she whipped him to death with the weapon he'd just given her. This was not what the ones who'd sent her had expected to happen. They'd believed that she lacked initiative, and would just follow orders like some sort of automaton. Suddenly, they began to perceive potential uses for their new toy, and were distracted enough by the possibilities that the escape of the being they'd intended to recruit happened before they knew it.

In the two decades since then, Bruyonne has risen as far in the hierarchy of Daath as a mere assassin could be expected to rise, and become gradually more machine than woman. While intelligent and creative in devising deaths, she behaves much like the automaton her former masters expected. Part of this might be a tactic meant to encourage people to underestimate her, while part of it is her genuine lack of interest in anything outside of her missions ... with the exception of two targets she's never actually been assigned to deal with, despite her private burning ambition to find them and end them.

While aware that Litota regards her as a rival and enemy, she views him with as close to respect and admiration as she can probably manage. She finds his style of killing to be fascinating, although not something she'd care to imitate, and almost feels regret about having interrupted him that one time. If he ever tries to kill her, of course, she'll kill him right back. Aside from that, and her frequent meetings with Abraxas, she rarely ever engages in any conversation with anyone other than her targets. With them, she's much more voluble, telling them what sights she has to show them before getting down to the pleasant work to follow ...

Bruyonne -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 3 | STA -- | AGL 5 | DEX 4 | FGT 8 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 3

Powers:
Cyborg: Immunity 30 (Fortitude); Impervious Protection 6 - 42 points
Impossibly Fast: Enhanced Advantages 7 (Close Attack 5, Improved Initiative 2), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative modifier); Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Quickness 4; Speed 4 (30 MPH) - 22 points
Polyvalent Whip: Array (19 points)

• Force Whip: Damaging Move Object 7, Reduced Range 2 - 19 points
• Pain Whip: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 5 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed & Vulnerable, Stunned & Defenseless, Incapacitated), Extra Condition, Reduced Range 2 - 1 point

Translator Circuit: Comprehend Languages 3 - 9 points

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Assessment, Close Attack 5, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 8, Evasion 2, Improved Critical 2 (Polyvalent Whip), Improved Initiative 3, Power Attack, Precise Attack 2 (Ranged; Cover and Concealment), Ranged Attack 2, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13), Athletics 8 (+11), Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Galactic 8 (+9), Insight 8 (+10), Intimidation 9 (+12), Perception 8 (+10), Ranged Combat: Polyvalent Whip 9 (+13), Sleight of Hand 8 (+12), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 8 (+9), Vehicles 6 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +17
Unarmed +13 (Close Damage 3)
Force Whip +15 (Ranged Damage 7)
Pain Whip +15 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 12/8, Parry 12/8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 8/6, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 93 + Advantages 24 + Skills 47 + Defenses 9 = 215 points

Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Sadism. Requires Maintenance. Subject to Orders. Vulnerability (Not immune to pain effect of her own whip or similar weapons, use Will for resistance.)

[Davies]

Singularity


Even among the commanding officers of the Dark Side, who understandably don't want their past histories and potential weaknesses known, the being called Singularity is something of an enigma. He arrived on Daath after the two best sources of information about the planet and its denizens had permanently departed from it, and neither of them ever knew him as anything other than a foe. Much of what follows is speculation, then.

A species known as the Zaxashi can be found on one particular world in the Crimson Imperium, a former client state of the Manguai. They have four arms and constantly produce new teeth throughout their adult lives, but are otherwise humanoid in appearance. (The Technate base in the Sol System has noted that they are similar to the Martian residents known as the Aquerrodi, but not quite identical.) The majority culture of the Zaxashi follows a religion that worships their system's star as a deity, and believes that sufficient devotion to this entity will result in certain gifts being bestowed on the devotee.

This has in fact happened to a few individuals in each generation of the Zaxashi. In previous generations, such superpowered individuals would typically study with the mystics in order to perfect their talents, but this is no longer an option -- and this is officially regarded as a good thing. The fairly conservative religious establishment that currently governs the Zaxashi has decreed that these gifted individuals must become part of their hierarchy and use their powers only when their superiors deem it appropriate, and in ways that demonstrate their complete loyalty to the Crimson Imperium.

Of course, this is somewhat oppressive, and there have been rumors, on Zaxas and worlds of the Imperium with links to it, that some exceptionally talented gifted have avoided that impressed servitude, and now run an underground opposed to the hierarchy. And with these come other rumors that the greatest examples of the gifted have fled their world, and will return some day to overthrow the tyranny which now governs it. And Singularity has four arms, shark-like teeth, and powers over gravity and plasma that are quite similar to those supposedly possessed by the gifted Zaxashi.

It is quite possible that he came to Daath in the hopes that he could awaken even greater powers for himself through service to Ananke. If so, it is also quite likely that the price that he paid was the loss of any memories concerning his reasons for seeking that power, for he now acts as one who cares only about how much havoc he can wreak with his powers. He has a somewhat adversarial relationship with Infernus, who acts as his superior officer -- for now -- but is easily controlled by his master. As long as there are things to burn with fires of the sun and crush with the gravity of a black hole, he will be very satisfied with his life.

Singularity -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 13 | STA 11 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 11 | INT 1 | AWE 3 | PRE 3

Powers:
Multi-armed: Extra Limbs 2 - 2 points
Solar-Powered: Array (52 points)

• Blazing: Reaction Damage 13 - 1 point
• Defy Gravity: Flight 14 (32,000 MPH); Movement 2 (space travel 2); Move Object 10 - 1 point
• Graviton Crush: Linked Ranged Damage 13; Linked Ranged Affliction 13 (Resisted by Fortitude; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 52 points
• Sun Hurl: Cone Area 2 Damage 13, Secondary Effect - 1 point

Space Voyager: Immunity 10 (life support); Protection 4, Impervious 12 - 26 points
Teeth: Strength-based Damage 2, Improved Critical 2 - 4 points
Translator Circuit: Comprehend Languages 3 - 9 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Startle.

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+11), Expertise: Galactic 10 (+11), Intimidation 9 (+12), Perception 8 (+11), Ranged Attack: Solar-Powered 9 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 13)
Bite +11 (Close Damage 15, Crit 18-20)
Graviton Crust +13 (Ranged Damage 13 and Foritude 13)
Sun Hurl -- (Cone Area Damage 13)

Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 11, Fortitude 12, Toughness 15, Will 10

Totals:
Abilities 98 + Powers 94 + Advantages 9 + Skills 22 + Defenses 16 = 239 points

Complications:
Destruction--Motivation. Subject to Orders. Very Heavy When Not Defying Gravity.

[Davies]

Ananke


Long ago -- longer ago than this language has words to describe -- a group of extraordinarily powerful entities, whom we could call the Old Ones, realized that they needed still more power in order to accomplish a task that they had set for themselves. Thus, they sought out a source of power that they could use for this task, and eventually found one in the form of a living entity which was essentially a sentient, though non-sapient, galaxy. The Old Ones succeeded in binding the creature into a form that they could use to power their experiments in granting their power to other beings, allowing those creatures to ascend to a similar sort of immortality.

However, the Old Ones were somewhat surprised to learn that there were unintended consequences to their action. By binding the creature, they created another living entity who possessed a minute amount of that galaxy's power which could, theoretically, be used to undo the binding effect. And despite the Old Ones' best efforts, they were not able to destroy the being who had just come into existence. The best that they could manage to do was to move her from their part of the multiverse to another part … a world less magical, where hopefully no one would ever be able to use her to that end.

She found herself on a dark world and used what power she had to make it into a place where she would be comfortable, then sat on the throne she had created for herself and waited. A few of the Great Ones who ruled the galaxy in its early eons came to observe her, but they did not stay long. (Some of the oldest architecture on Daath shows signs of their construction, though.) They fell, in time, and the Titans eventually rose to take their place. Some of them were more interested in the gifts she had to give, such as one who sought to become the mightiest being in all reality. They learned that there was always a price to be paid for those gifts, though.

The Titans fell to the Olympians they had created to be their servants, and the Olympians were not kind to their former masters, especially the mighty being. When they made their way to Daath in turn, they took its ruler for one of the Titans, but found her to be impervious to any force they could direct against her. Some of them became part of her court, seeking the same secrets of power their mentors had. In time, they too fell away, though not before they gave her the name that she now bears -- Ananke.

And so, the long slow dance of time continued. The story of Daath spread to the civilizations that grew up in the aftermath of the Olympians' fall, and many came to seek power there. She granted it, usually, and accepted the service of those who offered it to her. They believed she could withdraw the gifts she had bestowed, which may have motivated their decision to serve her. (They also believed that she knew which gifts would result from her blessing; she did not and does not.) Some of them might have dreamed of a day when their powers would become such that they could overcome even her. That wish would never come true, though. Only one thing in all of reality can affect her in any way. Should someone solve the equation that she embodies, the binding will end, and she will cease to exist.

Aside from her invincibility, Ananke's own powers are surprisingly weak, which explains why she has always relied on others to rule and defend her planet. She can awaken powers in any being she wishes, but has no control over what is awakened, and the subject always pays a price of some sort. (She has no control over that, either.) She is certainly one of the most well-informed beings in the universe and can perceive into any other multiversal reality that her creators have influenced, or any visited by one she has empowered.

She wondered, when Abraxas came to her court, whether he would be the one to solve the equation. He has the capacity to do so. But he chose otherwise and saved Daath from the assault of Vulcan. While Ananke herself would have survived the devastation of her world, it would have been inconvenient, and he had demonstrated his power in an adequate way. So, she granted him the rule of the planet, and no other gift or curse. She gave that to the child he carried with him.

However, Ananke believes that another being from Earth, born around the time that Abraxas came to Daath, is much more likely to be the one to solve the final problem. But there have been many who might do so, and none ever have. Thus, she awaits the outcome vast with vast indifference. What happens after that, when all the realities created by the Old Ones dissolve into the mindless nuclear chaos that was and will be Azathoth ... is someone else's problem.

Ananke -- PL 18/X

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 12 | AGL 4 | DEX 3 | FGT 0 | INT 12 | AWE 9 | PRE 9

Powers:
Cosmic Knowledge: Comprehend Langugages 4 - 12 points
Empowerment: Feature 1 (empowerment) - 1 point
Impervious: Immunity 140 (Fortitude, Toughness, Will), Innate - 141 points
Nine Words of Mastery: Array (39 points)

• Word of Banishment: Perception Range Movement 1 Attack (dimensional travel to prison dimension), Resisted by Will, Increased Resistance 12, Reversible - 1 point
• Word of Death: Perception Range Damage 13, Resisted by Will, Hearing-Dependent - 39 points
• Word of Life: Perception Range Healing 9, Resurrection - 1 point
• Word of Motion: Accurate Easy Extended Teleport 9, Extended Only - 1 point
• Word of Pain: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Hearing-Dependent - 1 point
• Word of Rule: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Hearing-Dependent - 1 point
• Word of Sight: Remove Sensing 11 (visual), No Conduit, Dimensional 3 - 1 point
• Word of Stillness: Perception Range Nullify Magic 13, Broad - 1 point
• Word of Terror: Perception Range Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Impaired and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Disabled, Incapacitated and Paralyzed), Extra Condition, Hearing-Dependent - 1 point

Truesight: Senses 7 (visual senses counter all concealment and illusions) - 7 points

Advantages:
Benefit (Ruler of Daath), Fascinate (Persuasion), Jack-of-all-trades, Speed of Thought, Well-informed.

Skills:
Expertise: Dimensional 10 (+22), Expertise: Galactic 11 (+23), Insight 12 (+21), Perception 13 (+22), Persuasion 12 (+21).

Offense:
Initiative +12
Unarmed +0 (Close Damage 0)
Word of Mastery -- (Perception Range Will 13)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude Immune, Toughness Immune, Will Immune.

Totals:
Abilities 98 + Powers 215 + Advantages 5 + Skills 29 + Defenses 10 = 350 points

Complications:
None. Really, None.

[RainOnTheSun]

Aside from her invincibility, Ananke's own powers are surprisingly weak, which explains why she has always relied on others to rule and defend her planet.

That's a pretty good primary power to have, though, if you can get it. You know what they say: when you have your health, you have everything.

[Davies]

That's a pretty good primary power to have, though, if you can get it. You know what they say: when you have your health, you have everything.

... I don't think that's quite what they say, but yeah, good point.

[Davies]

Roman Statia


One question that Roman Statia frequently finds himself wondering, as he skims through reports on the activities of the caped and costumed crowd, is whether it is more courageous to believe in something, as they seem to do, or to believe in nothing, as many of his associates -- well, former associates, really -- are inclined to do. He can understand the appeal of that sort of nihilism, as it does seem to be the rational response to the fact that the world only makes sense when you force it to do so, but he's never quite been able to embrace it.

When he was a child, Roman believed that the world made sense. There was his family, related to all the other ancient families in one way or another, an invisible aristocracy that guided the world and always would; and there was everyone else, who were all basically pawns on the chessboards of the world. In 1987, when he had not yet turned 18, he found himself catapulted into the heights of that aristocracy, when his father and mother were murdered by the Pythonian Insurgency, whom the Statia family had been supporting financially up until that point. Needless to say, Roman cut all ties to the terrorists, and urged his fellow ancients to do the same. He was ... well, not really surprised but certainly revolted by how many of them refused to do so, despite the losses material and personal that they were suffering.

Eventually, the Insurgency ended, and many of the leading members of the mutant families suffered further for their role in it, while the Statia clan prospered, relatively speaking. But Roman was left to wonder why his parents had died, and none of the resources he had at his disposal would answer that question. And then he heard rumors that a private security firm was forming from the remnants of those who'd fought against the Insurgency, and it occurred to him that these people might know more than the public record would reveal. So he contacted them and invested a fair amount of his personal fortune into their new business, and so helped to form Argus.

For his investment, and the intelligence that he provided about his kind -- nothing that they couldn't discover from other sources, but confirmation was nice -- he was given the title Director of Mutant Family Activities. Roman accepted this, though he had no intention (then) of providing them with further insights into the secrets of his kind, only in discovering what they knew about the reasons behind his parents' deaths. And lo and behold, in their files was information gained from interviews by JSOT personnel of the assassins themselves -- who claimed that Pythia herself had ordered the hit, claiming that the Statias were planning to betray the Insurgency.

But that made no sense. His father had been pleased with the results of that alliance, and commented to Roman that he thought the Pythons would be a much more useful tool to control the world than the various mundane governments had ever been. Whatever had actually motivated Pythia's decision had died with her, but Roman had the disturbing feeling that it might have been for the simple intent that he'd be where he was at that point, or even just to amuse herself.

For a bit more than a decade afterwards, he walked a delicate line between his responsibilities to Argus and those he had to the Families. He directed operations only against those of the ancients who had fallen out of favor with the rest, and steered the company away from those of his peers whom Roman still respected. But he kept finding it harder and harder to feel respect for these petty would-be godlings and their constant jockeying for influence. Through it all, he maintained his own businesses at a comfortably static level, growing only as much as was needed to stay a bit ahead of inflation.

Finally, in the aftermath of Zane's coup, his role in Argus was exposed to the rest of the Families, and he found himself no longer welcome in their company. Still unwilling to use his role against these people who'd decided that he was their enemy, he stopped attending company meetings -- while still making himself available for personal discussions with other Directors of the company, if need be. Roman is starting to feel his age, and would consider retirement if he could find some way to do so safely.

With regards to his personal powers, Roman has the ability to slow down time for those around him, both incapacitating living beings in his vicinity and also providing them with the same protection from injury that he himself enjoys, by slowing damaging effects down enough that they do little if any damage. His powers in this respect are not particularly versatile, as he does not seem to be able to speed his own activities up as Exelion can, but it's possible that he's reserving his full abilities for an especially dangerous situation.

Roman is married to another member of the families, who has minor healing powers. The relationship was arranged when they were both children, but they saw no good reason not to wed once Roman found himself the head of his family. It's not a particularly warm or intimate relationship, and has never produced any biological offspring, but they have adopted a number of children, most notably several members of the other families who were abandoned for failing to demonstrate any powers or the wrong sorts of powers. Concern for his family's fate is a major reason that he remains with Argus, for now.

Roman Statia -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 4 | AWE 3 | PRE 3

Powers:
Force Field: Selective Burst Area 2 Affects Others and Self Sustained Impervious Protection 10, Subtle - 61 points
Stasis Field: Selective Burst Area 2 Cumulative Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile, Paralyzed & Unaware), Extra Condition, Concentration - 91 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 6 (billionaire, security clearance), Connected, Contacts, Improved Initiative, Speed of Thought, Well-informed

Skills:
Deception 10 (+13), Expertise: Business 8 (+12), Expertise: Civics 6 (+10), Expertise: History 6 (+10), Expertise: Science 5 (+9), Insight 10 (+13), Intimidation 9 (+12), Investigation 8 (+11), Perception 6 (+10), Persuasion 10 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 1)
Stasis Field -- (Burst Area Will 13)

Defense:
Dodge 3, Parry 3, Fortitude 4, Toughness 12/2, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 38 + Powers 152 + Advantages 12 + Skills 39 + Defenses 9 = 250 points

Complications:
Security--Motivation. Family (wife and children.) Reputation (traitor, to many of the ancients.)

Note: If Roman possesses additional time manipulation abilities, they likely take the form of Quickness 10 and a Close Progressive form of his Affliction effect at 18 ranks as an alternate power.

[Davies]

Corentin Van Damme


Much of Corentin Van Damme's life seems to have been shaped by his experience of the Second World War -- not an atypical fact for those born in his generation. His family's fortunes had been diminished by the Great Depression, but they were still rich enough, and his father foresighted enough, to recognize that the neutrality that the Netherlands had been guaranteed by the Third Reich would not last. Well before the invasion in May of 1940, the Van Damme patriarch sent his wife and two children into exile, first to the United Kingdom and from there to their properties in South Africa. They would not return to their homeland until 1946.

The young man who returned seemed to be in a perpetual bad mood. It wasn't so much the death of his father during the war that upset him, or the loss of much of what had remained of his family's wealth. (The latter was quickly recouped over the next two decades, in any event.) Nor did he feel any real empathy for how other Dutch citizens had suffered for being unable to flee. What maddened him was the fact that the decision to leave had been made without his consent. Never again, he vowed, would anyone make decisions for him.

Years passed, and the world changed -- generally in ways that further unsettled Van Damme. The way that so many of the superpowered were blatantly revealing themselves to the world offended him, more than it caused him to feel concern that his own family's secret legacy might be revealed. These people were getting ideas above their stations, and giving them to the dregs of humanity, as well. Something had to be done about it, and as there was no one else that he could trust to do that something, he decided to do it himself, and embarked on a career of supervillainy as De Damp -- the Vapor.

He first confronted the Primal Pattern in 1967, initially attempting to convince them that he was a fellow elemental who had learned how to return to human form as part of a ruse that was supposed to lead to their deaths. It didn't work out, and De Damp was startled to learn that he was vulnerable to the flames of Phoenix. He managed to escape capture, but decided that different prey would be better. So it was that he began to oppose the Grim Brigade instead, and clashed with them several times in the late 1960s.

After one last defeat in 1970, De Damp was captured and imprisoned in a cell designed by a number of heroic scientists, including Mechano and የዶክተር ግሩም/Yedokiteri Girumi. It was airtight, releasing periodic bursts of fresh air into the cell and extracting carbon dioxide through a complicated valve system that didn't allow the incorporeal villain to escape. Utterly infuriated by this confinement, Van Damme chose to bide his time and hold out hope that some circumstance would eventually lead to his escape.

It took thirty-eight years, but that circumstance did eventuate. His lawyers managed to convince the authorities that he had descended into senile dementia long since, that he couldn't even remember how to transform into De Damp's vaporous form. He was given a compassionate release from his prison, and quietly escorted back to the Van Damme estate, where his children and their families -- none of whom had visited him in prison, it should be said, waited for him. Of course, he was not even close to being senile, and he described his big plans to the rest of the family.

Before he really got going, however, his son interrupted him and said that while he welcomed his father's advice, Van Damme was no longer the head of the family, and that they had no intention of assisting in or even enabling his criminal activities. Supposedly, Van Damme laughed at that, thinking it a joke. On realizing that it was not, he promptly tore his son's head from his body, then did the same to his grandchildren and son-in-law. His daughter-in-law he left alive, since he though she might be useful for when he decided to breed new heirs. His daughter was left alive as a backup for that purpose.

Since then, Corentin has pursued numerous criminal activities in Europe and Africa -- not America, not yet. The purpose of these adventures is never profit, as such, but to bring about the demise of as many publicly active superpowers as possible. He also serves as a major voice in the councils of the Families, who are by and large terrified of (and in some few cases disgusted by) him. He is vaguely aware that he made an enemy for life when he advised one of the other family heads to kill his own renegade daughter, but is far too lost in his dreams of vengeance to think that he might be in danger. Besides, he also has allies he can definitely count on, such as Roderick Ashe ...

Corentin Van Damme - PL 8

Abilities:
STR 8 | STA 6 | AGL 5 | DEX 1 | FGT 8 | INT 1 | AWE 0 | PRE 3

Powers:
Gaseous Form: Affects Substantial on Strength 8; Concealment 6 (auditory, normal sight), Precise; Linked Flight 7 (250 MPH); Linked Sustained Immunity 10 (life support); Linked Continuous Insubstantial 2 - 63 points
Longevity: Immunity 1 (aging) - 1 point

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Benefit 5 (billionaire, blackmail*), Chokehold, Connected, Daze (Intimidation), Evasion 2, Fast Grab, Improved Defense, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Languages 3 (Dutch, German, others), Move-by Action, Power Attack, Redirect, Startle, Uncanny Dodge.

* Uses Intimidation for Connected checks.

Skills:
Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Business 7 (+8), Expertise: Crime 8 (+9), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+7), Insight 8 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+11), Stealth 5 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 8)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 7, Toughness 6, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 64 + Powers 63 + Advantages 25 + Skills 24 + Defenses 11 = 188 points

Complications:
Psychopathy--Motivation. Utterly Intolerant. Vulnerability (heat.)

Note: In his youth, at PL 10, his gaseous form included Growth 6 (Only When Insubstantial) and an additional 6 ranks of Affects Substantial, but his FGT and AGL were 2 ranks less.

[Davies]

Lucrezia Fortin


The Fortin family, formerly of Languedoc and later of Quebec, are relatively young for one of the ancient families, having only joined the others at the start of the sixteenth century. They portrayed themselves as the heirs to a hidden tradition that descended from Roman Gaul, but no one at the time believed it or cared, either. The Fortins had power, and they had used it to gain wealth, and so they got a seat at the Round Table with the rest. And they managed to hold onto it right up until the present day.

At forty-four, Lucrezia Fortin, the current head of the Fortins, is believed to be one of the most powerful teleporters to have ever lived. She is capable of transmaterializing to any Terrestrial location she can imagine, to any position with low, medium or high Earth orbit, and -- by pushing her limits to their utmost -- can and has teleported from the Earth to the moon. She can also bring a remarkably large amount of material with her when she shifts. Her one great weakness appears to be that she lacks the enhanced reflexes that accompany the powers of many shorter-ranged teleporters, but as she typically relies on her bodyguard detail rather than her own combat abilities -- which are still not to be sneezed at -- it's not much of a problem for her.

While theoretically capable of an enormous amount of criminal activity, Lucrezia uses her abilities for purposes that are generally less dramatically illegal. She has increased her families fortunes through a great deal of smuggling and other covert transportation, most notably arranging for the materials needed to build covert bases for a variety of interests get where they need to be. While almost entirely mercenary, she does have a point where she'll decide that no amount of money she's being offered is worth the insult to her personal values, and has made enemies by doing so. She also refuses to transport human cargo and will loudly state that she is not a taxi service.

Most recently, one of her most stable clients has been the Skywatch organization, specifically their moon base. While the Canadian, Brazilian, European and Arabian space programs continue to support the organization, their virtual abandonment by the current American and Russian administrations has put a severe dent in their supply chain. Lucrezia saw an opportunity and contacted Skywatch, offering to employ a small cabal of teleporters to ferry material to Moon Base Alpha. She does this four times a year, keeping the organization functioning. It seems like a good investment to her.

On the other hand, she's reached the conclusion that one of her family's long-standing alliances is no longer worth its upkeep. Having arisen from worshippers of the being known as Nocticula, the Fortins had long acted as her agents in dealing with the other hidden powers of the world. Lucrezia has no particular moral objection to Nocticula's murderous ways, but she does not intend to let the so-called demon queen drag her family down with her through conflict with Basilea and other heroes. What Nocticula will do when she finds out that she's been cut off from some valuable resources is not yet known.

Lucrezia has never married, though she has two young children born to two different consorts. As yet, only the older of the two has manifested any superpowers, and appears able to teleport short distances -- at a younger age than even Lucrezia did! -- and also shift out of phase with the world around her. Her mother is observing the progress of the Loyola boy at the so-called Futurian Academy, and may consider sending her daughters there if she likes what she sees. But that's a problem for the future.

Lucrezia Fortin -- PL 6

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 1 | AGL 0 | DEX 2 | FGT 3 | INT 3 | AWE 2 | PRE 4

Powers:
Long-Range Teleportation: Accurate Extended Teleport 16 (60,000 miles), Extended Only, Increased Mass 9 - 57 points

Advantages:
Benefit 5 (billionaire), Close Attack 2, Connected, Equipment 6, Extraordinary Effort, Evasion, Fearless 2, Improved Initiative, Languages 4 (French, Italian, others), Taunt, Well-informed.

Equipment:
30 points of equipment as needed, typically including a knife (Strength-based Damage 1, Improved Critical 1), pepper spray (Affliction 4 [Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware], Limited to One Sense), and holdout pistol (Ranged Damage 2), smartphone and a vehicle.

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+5), Deception 6 (+10), Expertise: Business 8 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+9), Expertise: Current Events 4 (+7), Perception 4 (+6), Insight 7 (+9), Persuasion 4 (+8), Ranged Combat: Pistols 4 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage 0)
Knife +5 (Close Damage 1, Crit 19-20)
Pepper Spray +5 (Close Fortitude 4)
Holdout Pistol +6 (Ranged Damage 2)

Defense:
Dodge 2, Parry 3, Fortitude 3, Toughness 1, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 57 + Advantages 25 + Skills 26 + Defenses 8 = 146 points

Complications:
Greed--Motivation. Genuine Disgust for Racism and Religious Intolerance. "I Am NOT A Taxi Service."

Note: If Lucrezia possesses enhanced reflexes like those of other teleporters, she likely has Enhanced Advantages 9 (Close Attack 2*, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion*, Improved Initiative 4*), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total) and Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6). *Replaces standard version of this advantage.

[Davies]

Simon Munroe


More than anything else, the children of the ancient families are raised to believe that their lives and choices will have significance. Whether that quality will derive from their powers or from their wealth depends on their circumstances, but the idea that there might come a day when they will be faced with a situation where these things don't matter usually doesn't usually feature in their thinking. If it should happen that they encounter a circumstance where they are humbled in that way, it may be a recipe for the birth of -- perhaps not a hero, as such, but a better example of the human species than they've been to that point. Or, of course, a much worse one.

Simon Munroe, born into an privileged British family, was raised to believe that he would one day join the ranks of the secret masters of the world. From an early age, since he was a quite clever child, he formed an idea of what sort of master he would be. To his credit, he wanted to improve the circumstances of the world rather than exploiting it, and specifically planned to focus all of the power that would one day be his on improving the world's ecological situation.

This concern for the environmental health of the planet likely came, in part, from the weather controlling powers he possessed, which left him very sensitive to the ways that human activity was influencing the atmosphere. However, Simon also realized that his own powers of meteorokinesis were not quite as grand as those of some of the members of his family tree had been, and that he was going to need to rely on his financial advantages to make his mark on the world. And that meant he would have to wait for his turn at the helm of his family's businesses. Which was fine, for if his parents had never had much time for him or his ideas, he had no reason to wish harm on them, either.

And then the world changed forever, and his parents died in Cerebron's attack. At just twenty-seven, Simon Munroe was now the one who made the big decisions about how his family's money was used, and if he hadn't wanted things to be this way, he found that he could live with the consequences, and contacted his business managers to start making preparations for the more green approaches he'd been planning for a while.

That was when things started to go horribly wrong, for the managers told him, very bluntly, that their fiduciary responsibility prevented them from following his instructions if they believed that those instructions would lead to serious material losses for the family. Simon could certainly fire them and hire new personnel to take their places, but whoever he hired would be in the same situation, and nothing would change. Some more moderate versions of his plans might be possible, but the big ideas he'd been planning all this while were never going to be on the table.

The financial power he'd always dreamed of possessing wasn't going to help him any more than his weather control did. Simon retreated to the family estate, and let his frustrations explode into a small, localized storm over the the manor, as he stood on the roof in the rain and screamed wordlessly up at the sky. The tantrum finally reached an end when the storm clouds he'd called into being finally produced a lightning bolt -- not one of the ones that he could summon up, but the genuine article -- that smashed into him.

This had never happened before, and he'd never known that his powers also allowed him to harmlessly absorb electrical energy, and then channel it to enhance his weather controlling powers to the point where he was as powerful as some of those hoary old bastards he'd read about. It didn't last very long, particularly as he began using his powers to smash the manor. But the realization that his powers, which he'd never regarded as anything special, were potentially great, changed how he was going to approach things from now on. It was time for some direct action.

Ever since, Simon Munroe has heedlessly pursued an ecoterrorist agenda, clashing with heroes and villains alike in his pursuit of a world that suits his ideas about the ideal environment, most recently with Nike after he attempted to personally 'correct' Athens' emissions. He routinely juices himself with small electric shocks, building up a reservoir of power in the process. He has grown completely callous about the fate of human lives in the pursuit of this goal, and has idly speculated out loud that culling the population down to about a tenth of its current level would probably do much to get the process of healing the planet started. (That it would also create an ecological catastrophe of its own doesn't really register with him.)

That's a bit much, even for the most ruthless members of his former society, whose plans definitely aren't best served by Simon's goals, so he's suffered a number of assassination attempts over the last two decades. He's been thought dead many times, but keeps returning. Nike finds him uncomfortably reminiscent of one of her father, who had a similar set of powers ...

Simon Munroe -- PL 12

Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 3 | AGL 4 | DEX 2 | FGT 3 | INT 3 | AWE 4 | PRE 2

Powers:
Electrical Absorption: Immunity 10 (electrical effects); Variable 5 (enhanced weather control powers), Free Action, Fades, Only After Electrical Damage - 45 points
Weather Control: Array (20 points)

• Dazzling Display: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6/15 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Vision and Auditory Impaired, Vision and Auditory Disabled, Vision and Auditory Unaware) - 1 point
• Lifting Winds: Cylinder Area Damaging Move Object 4/11 - 1 point
• Lightning Bolts: Ranged Multiattack Damage 6/14, Indirect 2 - 1 point
• Localized Storm: Environment 5/11 (Cold, Impede Movement, Visibility), Selective - 20 points
• Wind Riding: Burst Area Affects Others and Self Flight 5/11 (60 MPH/4000 MPH) - 1 point

Wind Screen: Enhanced Defenses 12 (Dodge 6, Parry 6) - 12 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Benefit 5 (billionaire), Connections, Daze (Intimidation), Defensive Roll, Fearless 2, Improved Defense, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Well-informed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+12), Athletics 9 (+10), Expertise: Business 6 (+9), Expertise: Science 6 (+9), Insight 5 (+9), Intimidation 8 (+10), Persuasion 9 (+11), Ranged Combat: Weather Control 7 (+9), Perception 8 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 1)
Dazzling Display +9 (Ranged Fortitude 15/6)
Lifting Winds -- (Cylinder Area Damage 11/4)
Lightning Bolts +9 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 14/6)

Defense:
Dodge 15/9, Parry 14/8, Fortitude 5, Toughness 5/3, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 44 + Powers 81 + Advantages 14 + Skills 33 + Defenses 17 = 189 points

Complications:
Environmental Fervor--Motivation. Makes a Show of Acting More In Sorrow Than In Anger. Tends to Retreat When Actually Angry.

[RainOnTheSun]

Tends to Retreat When Actually Angry.

I'm curious what the reason for this is.

[Davies]

Tends to Retreat When Actually Angry.

I'm curious what the reason for this is.

Basically, it reiterates what he did when he found out the managers weren't going to go along with his schemes -- rather than fight, he retreated to what he considered a safe space and indulged in his fury there ... and that led to his awakening to greater power. So now, when he gets really angry, he withdraws from conflict so that he can master his passions and possibly grow from them. It's an attempt to turn the 'I grow through conflict, so I'll seek out conflict' trope on its head.

[Davies]

Warning: Disturbing content ahead.

Roderick Ashe


The complicated origins of the House of Ashe has already been told in the biography of Penelope Ashe, better known as Penny Lane. For three generations after Timothy Ashe took that as his name, his family made an apparently sincere effort to move away from the degenerate practices of their forebears, making alliances through intermarriage with other families of the secret aristocracy of America, in the belief that this would restore the family's latent powers. Shortly before the turn of the twentieth century, these efforts finally began to bear fruit, with the birth of a number of children who possessed the sensory faculties that their ancestors had known.

These children of the House of Ashe were encouraged -- or perhaps compelled -- to marry within their small circle. The results were mixed, with only some of the children demonstrating greater aptitudes for psychic talents, and others demonstrating only questionable sanity. The damage had been done, however, and the next generation of the Ashe family would become even more disturbingly inbred, as was Nicholas Ashe.

Roderick Ashe, the current head of the house, rose to that position in 2008, when he was forty-four years old. (In the interests of not disturbing the readers of this document, the simplest terms for the familial relationships between members of the House of Ashe will be used hereafter.) The former head had been his mother's older brother, and was known not to think highly of Roderick, who seemed to take no real interest in the family business of vice, preferring to engage in what the Ashes considered to be artistic pursuits.

In 1994, however, Roderick became the father of a daughter named Penelope. Sadly, the child's mother died shortly after giving birth, due to an unfortunate accident with the pieces of a shattered hand mirror. Initially, Penny was of very little interest to Roderick, and her care was entirely given to a series of nannies. But when it became clear that she was an actual mind reader, at around thirteen years of age, she became the subject of a great deal of extremely prurient interest from the male members of her family. This lead her to run away from home within the next year

A few months after that happened, Roderick seized control over the House of Ashe, killing only a few of his rivals in the process, preferring to intimidate them so that he could make use of their talents later. He laid down a single simple rule for the family -- Penelope was to be left entirely to her own devices until such time as she returned home of her own volition. Any attempt to coerce or compel her to do so would be met with extraordinary sanction. With that done, Roderick turned to the business of running the business. In addition to the family's traditional vice, he's moved into information brokerage, and does a great deal of business with the Combination, Jolene, and the Schemer.

Of course, Roderick fully intends to one day bring Penny back home as a bride and the mother of more of his children, who will ideally have her telepathy as well as his own psychometry, the tool that has ensured he knows nearly everything that goes on in Baltimore. While it would have been nice if she'd rejected the world as an Ashe is supposed to do, the fact that she's been gone for more than twelve years suggests that this won't happen. So she'll have to be brought back forcefully, and the edict was always meant for everyone else, not himself.

The alliance she's made with that obnoxious construct Machinanima complicates matters, but Roderick is quite confident that he can overcome this obstacle, too. The possibility of using Machinanima to eliminate another of his problems, namely Corentin Van Damme, also intrigues him. If the operation succeeds, he is sure to be recognized as the leader of all the families, and get started on the grand project of bringing them all around to the House of Ashe's way of thinking. What a gift that would be to give his first grandchild ...

Roderick Ashe -- PL 8

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 2 | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 2 | INT 3 | AWE 7 | PRE 3

Powers:
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 6, Limited to Mental Effects - 3 points
Supreme Psychometry: Enhanced Advantage 1 (Ultimate Effort [Investigation]), Quirk (only for Well-Informed checks); Mind Reading 8, Limited to Emotions, Only while Remote Sensing; Remote Sensing 13 (all senses), Medium (inanimate object touched within the last twenty-four hours), Simultaneous; Senses 4 (Postcognition), Limited to inanimate object as subject; Senses 2 (darkvision), Only while Remote Sensing - 60 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Benefit 5 (billionaire), Connected, Contacts, Improved Initiative, Languages 3 (many), Skill Mastery (Perception), Well-informed.

Skills:
Deception 8 (+11), Expertise: Business 8 (+11), Expertise: Criminal 8 (+11), Insight 5 (+12), Investigation 10 (+13), Perception 6 (+13), Persuasion 7 (+10), Sleight of Hand 8 (+10), Stealth 8 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 6, Fortitude 3, Toughness 2, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 63 + Advantages 14 + Skills 34 + Defenses 9 = 154 points

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Completely Depraved. Obsession (Penny Lane.) Secrets (many.)