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

[Shock]

I love the use of the 1st Edition DMG picture.

[Davies]

I love the use of the 1st Edition DMG picture.

Thanks! Long before I read the Ars Goetia, that's where I first met this alleged gentleman.

[Davies]

Renegade


Sometimes, he wonders how the guy who programmed the sleep-learning system in his ship managed to get so much right about what was going to go on in the world he was shot at, more than a century before any of it did. Even if it did get so much wrong, how could someone who could only have been familiar with Earth as it existed in the early 19th century have made as many correct predictions as it did? Well, maybe the answer is simple, since he had a close look at how much time travel has gone on throughout history. And besides that, there are other unexplained questions about his origins on top of that.

The young man who goes by the name Jimmy Young was "born" in a growth tank aboard a space ship sent rocketing away from the planet Anacreon only moments before the world died. The ship had been launched by a person who left next to no record of his personal identity in its computer logs, only the statement that he had recognized that Van-Na spoke the truth when she proclaimed the doom of their world. His technology was not as advanced as hers, and the ship that he shot into space traveled to Earth more slowly, and its passenger was older when he arrived, having lived a dream simulation as he grew to the age of fourteen.

The ship came down in northern Manitoba in 2017, with Paragon recognizing its Anacreonite design and taking it into custody. When he opened it up and discovered its passenger to be a young man who spoke fluent (if terrible) English, he found that confusing, but some investigation revealed what had happened. But when the DNA sequencing identified the new arrival as close kin to both of the Anacreonites already on the planet, things began to take an even more confusing turn ... for the young man was the artificially gestated son of the late General Mong and the still living Jora.

As Jora had viewed Mong as a father figure, not a romantic partner, she found this development horrifying. However, her sense of responsibility, just as keen as that of her husband, would not allow her to just abandon the child -- who after all bore no responsibility for the circumstances of his birth. The Youngs arranged to adopt him and he took the name Jimmy, derived from the dream that he lived. It was an awkward and uncomfortable arrangement for all of them, but it did get a bit better as time passed.

Almost immediately, Jimmy demonstrated the same enhanced versions of the Anacreonite/Dhakimite powers that his stepfather possesses, raising more questions about the circumstances of his conception and training that no one has been able to answer. Paragon hoped that Jimmy might join him in his superheroics, but the young man shot that idea down immediately. He wanted to use his powers to help people, but he was not in any way content to just wait for cries for help, preferring to take action before that happened. During the four years that he lived with them, Roger often considered packing him off to the Institute to give him lessons in the history of such activities, but ultimately never did so.

Last year, Jimmy graduated from high school and started studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He has yet to choose a major but is drawn to life sciences, particularly zoology. While pursuing his studies, he has also debuted as a superhero under the name Renegade. Most people, particularly those familiar with a certain series of video games, have concluded that there must be some connection between him and Paragon, but as yet he has not answered any questions on the subject, while holding forth on what he considers to be some of the absurdities of the superheroic lifestyle as practiced so far.

One of them that he has not commented about is the way that a pair of shades, worn in his civilian identity, are apparently keeping everyone from realizing that Jimmy Young and Renegade are the same person. It makes no &#%!ing sense, but it clearly works, so he would have to be a real sack of $#!+ to argue against something that helps him.

Renegade -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 11/9 | STA 10 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 3 | AWE 5 | PRE 3

Powers:
Anacreonite Powers: Array (18 points)

• Cold Projection: Perception Range Damage 5, Precise, Subtle - 1 point
• Force Projection: Perception-Range Move Object 6 - 18 points
• Heat Projection: Selective Environment 6 (extreme heat), Quirk (character is at the edge of the area, not the center) - 1 point
• Gravity Warp: Enhanced Flight 8 (32000 MPH); Movement 1 (space travel 1) - 1 point
• Sensory Projection: Senses 18 (acute olfactory, extended sight 3, visual counters all concealment, microscopic vision 4, visual penetrates concealment) - 1 point
• Strength Enhancement: Enhanced Strength 2; Enhanced Strength 14, Limited to Lifting - 1 point

Great Speed: Enhanced Advantages 6 (Close Attack 2, Improved Initiative 2, Interpose, Move-by Action); Enhanced Defense 4 (Dodge 2, Parry 2); Flight 6 (120 MPH); Quickness 6; - 28 points
Great Toughness: Immunity 10 (life support); Protection 1, Impervious 10; Regeneration 5 - 26 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Improved Initiative 2, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Startle.

Skills:
Expertise: Science 5 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+9), Investigation 6 (+9), Perception 6 (+11), Stealth 7 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +11
Unarmed +11/9 (Close Damage 11/9)
Cold Projection -- (Perception Range Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 11/9, Parry 11/9, Fortitude 10, Toughness 11, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 92 + Powers 77 + Advantages 3 + Skills 15 + Defenses 10 = 197 points

Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 10
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Family (parents.) Power Loss/Weakness (all and becomes Strength and Stamina Disabled, when exposed to theonite.) Reputation (loud, profane & violent.) Secret Identity.

Note: His Power Loss/Weakness complication is psychosomatic, but he has not yet learned this. This raises further questions.

[Davies]

While Hurricane Fiona, assuming that it still happens and uses that name, is several months in the future of these people, I will admit that I picked his residence with an eye towards having him help out in the Maritimes.

[Davies]

Metis


It is so strange. She can remember being so astonished that Dyaus ordered her into the sleep pods after she sent the children to their own uncertain fate; nothing in their time together had led her to believe that he could ever be so unselfish. She can also, more dimly, remember fighting and dying in the last defense of Ganymede when that order was not given. And, still more confusingly, she can remember watching all this playing out against a background of civil strife, rather than an assault by pitiless, remorseless, fearless robots. So strange, and she can ill-afford strangeness as she takes the helm of the ship of state in this new era.

While called "aunt" by many of the children of Dyaus, Metis was not his sister, but a distant cousin whose precise relationship to the Ganemae -- the noble house granted rule over the backwater province of the Sol system by the rulers of the Oekumene -- is difficult to explain. Extended lifespans and technologically-enabled childbirth made such family trees quite common among the Olympians. She was not even born on Ganymede or any of the worlds of this system, but on a planet orbiting a star in the constellation now called Lyra, but was welcomed after she brought a full legion of Spartoi from her home system to the assistance of Dyaus in one minor conflict.

He retained her as a counselor afterwards, though she found herself frustrated by how often he failed to heed her counsel -- as when he set himself on the course of violating one of the bound Titans and got a child on her. Metis begged him not to do it, then begged him not to compound his folly by actually raising the child. He answered that latter plea by placing the girl in her care for the first few years, and Metis spent years dreading the day that she would have to explain the truth about her origins, for all that she came to love the child as much as if she had been her own. Ironically, the world would end before she would have to do so.

When she finally awoke, a month or so ago, she spent what time she could spare from calming her people to try and contact other Olympian settlements. The darkness of space had never seemed so cold or empty as it was when she finally admitted that there was no one out there. It was almost as an afterthought that she tried to reach someone on Earth, and learned that Nike had survived, alone among the children who had been sent into hiding there. That came as a relief ... which died a fiery death when Nike revealed that she knew about the Titan who had given her birth, and had many questions she wanted answered.

So far, Metis has managed to hold off on answering those questions, but she suspects that Nike no longer trusts her. And the story she tells, about the Titan somehow becoming some sort of deity, is purest madness. The child she hoped would one day restore all that had been lost in the downfall of their civilization is well on her way to becoming a terrible menace towards it, and her wisdom fails her in devising a way to repair that. How can she convince Pall-- Nike, the name is Nike, not that other name that keeps featuring in her dreams ...

At least she has learned that the Spartoi who served her seem to have survived the centuries as well, in that Hespera place she has observed.

Metis -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 9 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 7 | INT 5 | AWE 8 | PRE 4

Powers:
Far Sighted: Remote Sensing 19 (visual, auditory; 500,000 miles), Concentration Duration; Enhanced Remote Sensing 10 (visual, auditory, 500 million miles), Concentration Duration, Tiring - 48 points
Far Speech: Mental Communication 5 (unlimited); Effortless Mind Reading 13, Communication Dependent, Limited to Surface Thoughts - 33 points
Levitation: Flight 5 (60 MPH) - 10 points
Olympian: Immunity 4 (aging, cold, disease, poison); Impervious Toughness 9; Regeneration 5 - 18 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Defense, Jack-of-all-trades, Skill Mastery (Insight), Teamwork.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+11), Deception 8 (+12), Expertise: History 4 (+9), Insight 6 (+14), Investigation 8 (+13), Perception 5 (+13), Persuasion 8 (+12), Technology 6 (+11), Treatment 5 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 11, Fortitude 9, Toughness 11/9, Will 13

Totals:
Abilities 90 + Powers 109 + Advantages 9 + Skills 29 + Defenses 15 = 252 points

Offensive PL: 13
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 11
Skill PL: 9

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Family (Nike.) Power Loss (Olympian, must consume ambrosia weekly.) Strange Memories.

Note: That Jupiter is, as I write this, less than 500 million miles away from Earth, is a neat coincidence.

[Davies]

Guardian Technon


Androids are not supposed to have souls. Of course, the ASIs who create them reject the idea that any living creatures, regardless of sapience, possess something that could be considered a soul, with such phenomena that might be associated with them the product of misunderstood science. Regardless, such phenomena might affect the biological brains of their androids, but should never arise from them, for those brains are carefully designed to never produce psychic phenomena of any sort. So nothing that has happened to the android designed OCHO makes any sense at all.

Created three years ago and programmed to work as an archivist by Savitor, OCHO was "traded" to Axiom as part of an arrangement between the two ASIs that involved matters outside of her clearance level, and assigned to document the superstitious phenomena that agents of Axiom destroyed. While this duty was somewhat puzzling and seemingly pointless, OCHO nevertheless completed several assignments, making holographic recordings of many artifacts seized from superstitionist groups, as well as extensive reports about their every observable detail. The android would then witness the destruction of what she had studied, and felt nothing. (Well, except for a certain amount of puzzlement, as already mentioned.)

Last month, OCHO was sent to perform this duty for a recently recovered artifact, a hammer discovered in the ruins of an Atlantean settlement near Anchorage. The hammer showed signs of being tens of thousands of years old, and had apparently been part of the religion practiced by the gillfolk before they had abandoned the settlement sometime in the 19th century. OCHO undertook the usual painstaking examination of the hammer, but had grown a bit careless after all the previous recordings that had seen nothing out of the ordinary happen. The android expected nothing out of the ordinary to continue happening, even after touching the hammer without any protective gear.

She was mistaken. According to the recording devices, all that transpired was that OCHO collapsed, after which the robots assigned to monitor the procedure removed her from the chamber and destroyed the artifact. To OCHO, it seemed that her consciousness materialized in a vast dark space, gazing up at an ever-shifting cloud pattern. The clouds spoke in a language that she did not understand, then expelled a gust of wind down at her, carrying with it the recognizable words, "Arise from your slumber."

And awaken OCHO did, conscious that she was holding in her hand a necklace with a cloud symbol hanging from its change. Something strange and occult had clearly happened, and OCHO knew that the best that she could hope for from the servants of Axiom was a painless death before they tore her brain apart to figure out what that something had been. She called on the powers, which seemed to accelerate both mind and body, in order to escape, and soon encountered a number of humans who had experienced a similar situation. Joining forces with them just made sense, and she has since served as their hand-to-hand combat specialist and tech guru.

OCHO -- or Felice Oriolo, to use the name of the human identity she has created for herself -- has always believed that she was working for the ultimate betterment of humanity. Since she was awakened, however, she has come to realize that her makers have never consulted humanity about this ultimate betterment, and that neither the absolute order of Axiom nor the condescending benevolence of Savitor are healthy for the species. (On the other hand, she has doubts about the motivations of the beings who awakened her and the other Guardians, which she has not shared with her friends.)

Guardian Technon -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 5 | STA -- | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 8 | INT 7/4 | AWE 4 | PRE 1

Powers:
Android Body: Immunity 30 (Fortitude); Protection 5; Regeneration 1 (natural healing) - 36 points
Swiftness of Thought: Enhanced Advantages 7 (Agile Feint, Close Attack 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Move-by Action), Quirk (Close Attack is only enhanced against targets with a lower Initiative total); Enhanced Defenses 6 (Dodge 3, Parry 3); Enhanced Intellect 3; Quickness 8; Speed 8 (500 MPH) - 34 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Eidetic Memory, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Inventor, Move-by Action.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+9), Close Combat: Unarmed 1 (+9), Deception 7 (+8), Expertise: Science 4 (+11/+8), Perception 6 (+10), Technology 4 (+11/+8).

Offense:
Initiative +11
Unarmed +11/+9 (Close Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 9/6, Parry 11/8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 7/5, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 46 + Powers 70 + Advantages 3 + Skills 14 + Defenses 6 = 139 points

Offensive PL: 8
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 7

Complications:
Doing Good--Motivation. Enemy (Axiom and Savitor.) Secret (android.) Tic (hums Music Box Dancer when nervous.)

[Davies]

Avenging Angel Motoko/復讐の天使もとこ


Last week, Sakura Motoko attended the funeral of a woman who, it now seems, never existed. There were only a handful of mourners, all members of the Ghost Sweepers who looked absolutely devastated by both the loss of their captain and the knowledge, granted to them by a compassionate entity, that they would soon forget everything about her, remembering instead that Motoko had filled her role. Having Motoko, whom some of them were already starting to "remember", present as they were trying to come to terms with their grief made for a rather awkward ceremony, even before the crazy assassin showed up and started screaming about all of this being some sort of sick trick.

Motoko only knew her counterpart for a brief while, and was genuinely bewildered by her decision to throw away her life. Raised as the latest heir to generations of demon hunters, Motoko had always been prepared for the possibility that she might die in the course of her battles, knowing that the children of her older brother, or their cousins, would succeed her if that happened. She was completely unprepared for someone to meet her, and decide, after a short conversation, that Motoko had to survive even at the cost of her own life -- and even her existence. Despite having heard the last words Megumi spoke as the other young woman died in her arms, it still confuses her.

Making matters worse, she is not sure that her continued existence is much of a gift. In her own world, as mentioned, she had a big, confusing frustrating family. In this new world, her mother died years ago, her father is in prison -- and belongs there, from what she has figured out -- and her brother has somehow become an older cousin with whom she has never been close. The legacy she was trained to uphold is now treated as something she made up out of whole cloth to justify her powers, and much of what she learned is regarded as nonsense. That might bother her a bit if not for the way that its validity has been demonstrated at least once so far.

The awkwardness with which she has been transplanted into this new reality also shows up in her relations with "her" team. In her world, Motoko fought alone or or alongside other hereditary demon hunters, and expected them to do their own thing as she did hers. So she is neither a good follower nor the leader that Megumi had become through hard experience, and has, while she still remembers the truth, stepped down from the leadership position she inherited. That would be fine, but she still fights as a lone operative rather than supporting the rest of her team, which is going to only make more problems for her as time goes on.

Well, in the end, she will keep on fighting as long as she can, and has arranged for the relics she inherited to be passed on to the next generation when she finally falls. Before that, she will do all she can with the time she was given, both by fate and by a choice made by a genuine hero. If that is what Megumi meant by, "Empty things sometimes become useful," then she will be as useful as she possibly can.

Avenging Angel Motoko -- PL 9

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

Powers:
Avenging Blade: Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical, Split Attack, Affects Insubstantial 2; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 5 points
Mystic Senses: Senses 3 (acute mystic awareness, danger sense) - 3 points
Ring of Protection: Sustained Impervious Protection 3, Subtle; Removable (-1 point) - 6 points
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 9, Limited to Mental - 4 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Close Attack 2, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fearless 2, Improved Initiative, Inspire 2, Power Attack, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10), Athletics 7 (+9), Close Combat: Sword 3 (+11), Expertise: Magic 6 (+7)*, Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+9), Investigation 5 (+6), Perception 4 (+8), Persuasion 6 (+9), Stealth 4 (+9).
*INT-based

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +10 (Close Damage 2)
Avenging Blade +13 (Close Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 11, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/5/4/2, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 56 + Powers 18 + Advantages 17 + Skills 25 + Defenses 15 = 131 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Legacy--Motivation. Not A Team Player. Prejudice (biracial.) Shifting Memories.

[RainOnTheSun]

Metis

This is a nice picture. Do you know where it's from?

[Davies]

Metis

This is a nice picture. Do you know where it's from?

It's a portrait of the goddess Desna (or, as I like to call her, the space pixy) from Paizo's The Mwangi Expanse, which is replete with lovely artwork. When it came time to decide what Metis actually looked like, Nichelle Nichols had just recently passed, and the way that this portrait's fingers are in a sort of reverse Vulcan salute brought it to mind.)

[RainOnTheSun]

Very nice.

[Davies]

Kishu/騎手

Masked

Unmasked

Despite his nomme de guerre, which means "jockey" in Japanese, Ito Motoki never rode horses in races before becoming the third occupant of the House of the Horse in the Shēngxiào. His family owned several that had competed, successfully, in races both in Japan and around the world, and watching these races in the company of that family was one of the more enjoyable parts of his childhood. And, after the family business collapsed and took away many of the comforts he had enjoyed, the sight of those horses being sold off and taken away proved to be the last straw that drove him into despair.

Alone in the condominium that was the last bit of real estate Ito had managed to hold onto, he brooded late at night about how he might reverse his fortunes, about what tools were available to him for this purpose. He silently admitted to himself that he was afraid that he had nothing which would ensure his triumph, and muttered the word "afraid". He unwittingly spoke loud enough that his entertainment system picked up on it and cued up some media associated with fear. To his surprise, the first video to play was a scene from some foreign drama about people running in terror from a cavalry charge, with some of them being trampled underfoot.

That was it, he knew. That was why people, he himself, thrilled to watch horse races, because of the power of the animals on display. That power could be terrifying if it was used against those people, and that fear would be his tool. "Yes," he said aloud. "I will become a horseman!" And as he said it, he realized that he was no longer alone in the condo, and turned to look up at Diorite as she agreed to his proposal and brought him into the circle of her servants, granting him the power that he sought.

Kishu has managed to recover a good proportion of what he lost, but yearns to have more of the wealth and (especially) the power that his family enjoyed in the time of his father. To this end, he has volunteered to be the first leader of the Shēngxiào to operate in the superheroic nightmare that is North America, risking everything for the possibility of increasing their holdings. He chose Vancouver since it seemed to lack well-known superheroes, but has seen many of his efforts thwarted by the recently debuted group who call themselves Guardians, despite having no known ties to the earlier official group of that name. These confrontations vex him, of course, but he is confident that he will be able to overcome them, especially if he exploits the tensions between the members of the team.

In addition to being able to spread terror by his presence alone, or cause it in those on whom he focuses his gaze, Kishu is able to call up a fiery steed on which he is able to ride on both ground and water, defying gravity to ride up the side of buildings. While this mount usually resembles a horse, it has sometimes been shaped like a motorcycle when he thought that might be more intimidating. Regardless of what it looks like, its fire radiates no actual heat and cannot burn anything, being solely a manifestation of the will of its rider.

So it might be more precise to say that it cannot burn anything ... yet.

Kishu -- PL 10

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 4 | DEX 3 | FGT 6 | INT 4 | AWE 3 | PRE 7

Powers:
Hellrider: Movement 2 (Wall-crawling, Water Walking), Limited to while Moving; Speed 6 (120 MPH), Variable; Activation (standard action, -2 points) - 7 points
"Horror Has A Face, And You Must Make A Friend Of Horror": Array (20 points)

• Terrifying Aura: Burst Area Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Hindered & Vulnerable, Defenseless & Immobile, Paralyzed & Unaware), Extra Condition, Visual Sense-Dependent - 20 points
• Terrifying Gaze: Perception Range Affliction 10 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Visual Sense-Dependent, Quirk (no personal immunity) - 1 point

Striking Strength: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Summoned Costume: Feature 1 (instant change) - 1 point

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Benefit 4 (multimillionaire), Connected, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Startle, Well-informed.

Skills:
Athletics 9 (+11), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+12), Deception 6 (+13), Expertise: Business 6 (+10), Expertise: Civics 6 (+10), Insight 8 (+11), Intimidation 8 (+15), Perception 8 (+11), Persuasion 7 (+14).

Offense:
Initiative +4
Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 4)
Terrifying Aura -- (Burst Area Affliction 10)
Terrifying Gaze -- (Perception Range Affliction 10)

Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 12, Fortitude 6, Toughness 8/3, Will 8

Totals:
Abilities 64 + Powers 31 + Advantages 13 + Skills 32 + Defenses 20 = 160 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 10

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Rage. Secret Identity.

[EternalPhoenix]

How many of them is that now? There's 12/13 Chinese Zodiac signs I believe. Have you done them all?

[Davies]

How many of them is that now? There's 12/13 Chinese Zodiac signs I believe. Have you done them all?

I haven't described the current Ox or Pig yet, and the current Rooster has been named but not written up. I'm torn between the Pig being the guy who's in charge of their air force or their master of disguise. Or possibly the one who wants to defect the most.

("The pig got up and/hung his head in shame/as he slow-ly walked a-way." At least those are the lyrics I learned in jr. high.)

[Davies]

Darkwing (II)

In costume

Out of costume

Over the last month, some in Chicago have noted that Darkwing has been acting a bit oddly. Obviously, he rarely if ever gives interviews or allows himself to be filmed, but enough recordings of his public activities are on the web to allow for people to make color commentary about them. This small community of Darkwing-watchers have noted that his recent activities have seemed a bit unsteady and even amateurish, comparable to the way that he behaved at the start of his activities, more than twenty years ago. Speculation about the reasons for this has run rampant, but few indeed are bold enough to suggest that there might be someone else under the hood.

Which is just how Theodore Beauregard (everybody calls him Teddy) likes it. Two months ago -- and he can hardly believe that it has only been two months, because it feels like a lifetime has passed -- Teddy was just an engineering student at Illinois Tech who stumbled onto a method of improving the efficiency of a certain engine by a whole three per cent, and filed for a patent on his discovery. No sooner had he done so than he was contacted by Richmond Enterprises about the possibility of licensing his discovery, and invited to have a discussion on the matter with Robert Richmond himself.

He expected to have a lengthy discussion with the man and his managers about the value of his discovery, and was somewhat shocked to be dealing with Richmond one-on one and to be offered a blank check for the discovery. When Teddy refused, preferring to work out something reasonable with the assistance of some attorneys, he was further confused by the smile on the face of Richmond. And then it got really weird as Robert explained why the motor in question was of interest to him -- it was the one that powered the flight mechanisms of the suit that he used as Darkwing.

For some time -- he would not say how long -- Richmond had been observing Teddy (and several other candidates) and evaluating them for physical ability, mental ability and integrity. Teddy had just passed a final exam, and now Robert was offering to train him to succeed him as the Swift-Winged Sentinel -- at least temporarily, while he conducted some private research that would impede activities involving costumed crime-fighting. Teddy found himself nearly speechless at this last revelation, but managed to find enough presence of mind to ask what would happen if he said no. Richmond answered that he had a plan for that contingency ... but that if Teddy was going to do that, he could have done it without asking.

Rewind a bit. A bit less than a decade before this, Roosevelt Beauregard, a candidate for city council, had been one of the victims of a mysterious, gruesome serial killer haunting Chicago during its horrific heatwave. The murderer was never caught, but the killings were apparently stopped by Darkwing. Teddy had never sworn any oaths or anything, and he had long since put the anger he felt over the death of his father behind him, but at the back of his mind was a wish to prevent anything like that from happening to anyone else. So he agreed.

Teddy spent a whole month training with Robert before his mentor decided that any further education would just result in the new Darkwing catching some of the bad habits that the old one had recently noticed in his own activities. Robert left Teddy in the care of Dancer, who agreed to provide additional mentoring if any was needed.* He also urged Teddy to take Doctor William Caulder into his confidence. With that last gesture, he and Martha Paddington disappeared from Chicago. Some reports suggest that they've re-emerged in Tanelorn, but nothing is known for sure.

As Dr. Caulder was his uncle (the older brother of his stepfather) Teddy decided to do this. While the doctor is even less enthused about these developments than he was about his association with the first Darkwing, he has agreed to lend Teddy whatever help he can, and specifically assist in keeping the secret from his brother and sister-in-law, in the hope that this will only be a brief interlude. He has made this hope clear to Teddy. While his parents are in the dark, they are thrilled (if confused) by the fact that he has been hired to head up the R&D Department of Richmond Enterprises even before his college graduation in a few months.

For his part, Teddy is starting to take a certain enjoyment in his new job. He has only suffered moderate embarrassment and no serious injury so far, and been able to make a positive difference in the lives of several people. He knows it will not always be so easy, that there will be days that he wishes he had found out what the other option was. But he is starting to think that he might keep doing this even if Robert does reclaim the identity. Though he would have to come up with another alias, of course.

Shadowraptor, maybe ...

Darkwing (II) -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 7 | AWE 4 | PRE 3

Powers:
Flight Suit: Removable (-6 points)
* Air Supply: Immunity 2 (suffocation) - 2 points
* Body Armor: Protection 3 - 3 points
* Bodycam: Feature 1 (audio-visual recording) - 1 point
* Comm System: Radio Communication 2 (1 mile), Subtle; Senses 4 (acute extended 2 radio) - 13 points
* Hyperspectral Sensors: Senses 2 (darkvision) - 2 points
* Talons: Strength-based Damage 1; Movement 1 (wall-crawling) - 3 points
* Wings: Flight 6 (120 MPH), Wings - 6 points

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Millionaire), Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 8, Favored Environment (planned situations), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Inventor, Jack-of-all-Trades, Non-Lethal Tactics, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Skill Mastery (Technology), Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
Aerie: Size Large; Toughness 10; Features Communications, Computer, Concealed, Fire Prevention System, Gym, Infirmary, Laboratory, Living Space, Personnel, Power System, Security System, Workshop - 16 points
Utility Belt: Array (18 points)

• Techno-Bolos: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Dodge; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobilized), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 18 points
• Throwing Darts: Strength-based Ranged Multiattack Damage 4 (includes Strength 3), Accurate 2 - 1 point
• Explosives: Ranged Burst Area Damage 5, Triggered 2 - 1 point
• Meta-Taser: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) - 1 point
• Stun Grenade: Ranged Cloud Area Affliction 6 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Visually Impaired, Stunned and Visually Disabled), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 1 point

2 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+7), Athletics 8 (+10), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+12), Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Science 6 (+13), Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+11), Insight 5 (+9), Intimidation 7 (+10), Investigation 4 (+11), Perception 7 (+11), Stealth 5 (+8), Technology 7 (+14), Treatment 3 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +9
Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 4/3, Crit 19-20)
Throwing Darts +13 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 4)
Techno-Bolos +9 (Ranged Affliction 6, Resisted by Dodge)
Explosives -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 5)
Meta-Taser +9 (Ranged Fortitude 6)
Stun Grenade -- (Ranged Cloud Area Fortitude 6)

Defense:
Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8/6/5/3, Will 11.

Totals:
Abilities 70 + Powers 24 + Advantages 27 + Skills 37 + Defenses 21 = 179 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 9

Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Family (parents, uncle.) Mistaken Identity (first Darkwing.) Nemesis (Jack.) Secret Identity.

* She is mostly hiding her sheer astonishment and confusion at all of this, since nothing like it happened in the history she learned.

[Davies]

Simon Legendre


According to the best guess that Argus has been able to make, the man who has been using the name "Simon Legendre" since his arrival in the United States in 1986, claiming a birthdate in 1882, was really born Richard Christophe in Port-au-Prince in 1934. In his early twenties, he became associated with Luckner Cambronne around the same time that the latter rose to the attention of François Duvalier, and was recruited into the paramilitary force that Cambronne led, officially known as les Cagoulards and later the Milice Civil. Because of their tendency to cause unexplained disappearances, the group became associated with a figure in Haitian folklore who kidnapped naughty children to carry them off in his satchel -- Tonton Macoute.

Despite his claims to have been deliberately sought out for his supposed occult powers, the aforementioned best guess suggests that those powers developed in 1959, and that Christophe reportedly viewed the Voudou practices of both the leadership of his organization and the ordinary citizens on whom it preyed with cynical contempt. His only gods were wealth and power, and his ability to bend the wills of other mortals to his own afforded him many opportunities to gain both.

Following the death of Duvalier in 1971, Cambronne was sent into exile in Miami, where he was murdered in 1977. Legendre has supposedly claimed responsibility for this, but there is no evidence that he had visited the United States prior to his emigration. (He had applied for a tourist visa in 1967, but withdrew the application shortly after the conviction of Angelo Anselmo.) Regardless, he has also claimed to have acted as the true leader of the Tontons after the fall of Cambronne and the marginalization of Roger Lafontant.

If that is the case, he was a somewhat inept leader, unable to prevent the assassination of Jean-Claude Duvalier and his entire family by Pythonian assassins, and unable to then win the civil war between pro- and anti-Python militias that promptly broke out in the aftermath. On the other hand, he personally survived and was able to escape to the United States, supposedly providing "crucial information" to the CIA concerning the pro-Python government that eventually seized control of Haiti. Settling in New Orleans, he gradually began to build a criminal empire through the use of his domination and through good old fashioned violence and terror.

There Legendre has remained ever since, challenged first by the Sylph (whom he defeated through means he found almost embarrassingly easy) and later the Veil (a significantly harder nut to crack.) While resembling an extremely elderly man, quite possibly even as old as he claims, he retains the strength and agility of one much younger, and frightening levels of endurance and durability. His primary ability remains his ability to exert psychic dominance, though he has claimed to be able to perform far greater feats of magic as threats.

Those were bluffs, until recently. In the aftermath of recent events, Legendre awakened with an even greater ability to dominate and the power to see through the eyes of those whom he mastered, but also with the conviction that the lwa were real, aware of him, and willing to be persuaded to support his efforts. This change in his approach has resulted in the Veil seeking assistance from the Powerhouse and becoming a member of the group, such that Legendre has drawn down even greater opposition. That does not frighten him, for he is certain that his friends on the other side will grant him everything he needs to triumph ...

Simon Legendre -- PL 13

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

Powers:
Domination: Perception-Range Cumulative Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Concentration Duration, Check Required (Expertise: Magic DC 18), Subtle; Remote Sensing 6 (all; 60 miles), Medium (controlled target); Senses 1 (communication link with dominated subject) - 91 points
Longevity: Immunity 1 (aging); Protection 3 - 4 points

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (crime lord, millionaire), Chokehold, Connected, Contacts, Fearless 2, Improved Hold, Ritualist, Well-informed.

Skills:
Close Combat: Grab 4 (+8), Deception 6 (+10), Expertise: Criminal 9 (+12), Expertise: Magic 7 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+11), Insight 8 (+10), Intimidation 8 (+12), Investigation 6 (+9), Perception 6 (+8), Ranged Combat: Guns 6 (+9), Persuasion 6 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage +2)
Grab +8 (Close Grab 2)
Domination -- (Perception Range Will 13)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 50 + Powers 95 + Advantages 12 + Skills 37 + Defenses 15 = 209 points

Offensive PL: 13
Defensive PL: 8
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 7

Complications:
Greed--Motivation. Elderly Appearance. Weakness (scent of khus syrup.)

Note: Prior to recent changes, he was PL 9, he did not have Ritualist, his Expertise: Magic was INT-based, and his Domination power took the following form:

Domination: Perception-Range Cumulative Affliction 9 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Concentration Duration, Subtle; Senses 1 (communication link with afflicted subject) - 47 points