The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Red Ronin! Netsuko Nishimura! Rinako Saeki! Fujiko Yoshihara! Masaru Kido!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Razzle (Alyssa Robinson)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Razzle (Alyssa Robinson)

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 165/165

STR: -1 (8), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +2 (14), INT: +5 (20), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +2 (14)

Tough: +2/+7, Fort: +6, Ref: +10, Will: +8

Skills: Bluff 6 (+8), Computers 10 (+15), Craft (electronic) 10 (+15), Craft (mechanical) 10 (+15), Diplomacy 6 (+8), Disable Device 10 (+15), Knowledge (physical sciences) 10 (+15), Knowledge (technology) 10 (+15), Language 4 (+4), Notice 6 (+8), Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Feats: Attack Focus (ranged) 2, Attractive (+4), Beginner's Luck, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 5, Eidetic Memory, Improved Critical 2 (Restraint Foam Sprayer (Snare 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Stun Blaster (Stun 6)), Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Master Plan, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery (Computers, Craft (electronic), Craft (mechanical), and Disable Device), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Powers:
Concealed Body Armor (Device 1) (Hard to lose; Subtle (subtle))
. . Protection 4 (+4 Toughness; Subtle (subtle))

Density Drop Belt (Device 5) (Hard to lose)
. . Air Walking (Flight 2) (Speed: 25 mph, 220 ft./rnd; Limited (to when Incorporeal))
. . EMP-like Touch (Nullify 6) (counters: all powers of (type) - technology, DC 16; Limited (to when Incorporeal), Range (touch))
. . Minimal Density (Insubstantial 4) (Incorporeal)

Gadget Backpack (Gadgets 6) (Easy to Lose)

Gadget Backpack Settings:
. . Cloaking Field Projector (Power Setting) (Powers: Cloaking Field Projector (Concealment 6))
. . . . Cloaking Field Projector (Concealment 6) (all aural senses, all visual senses; Affects Others, Burst Area (30 ft. radius - General); Close Range, Selective)
. . Dazzler (Power Setting) (Powers: Dazzler (Dazzle 6))
. . . . Dazzler (Dazzle 6) (affects: 1 type + visual - auditory, DC 16; Burst Area (30 ft. radius - General), Selective Attack)
. . Grav Rod (Power Setting) (Powers: Grav Rod (Move Object 6))
. . . . Grav Rod (Move Object 6) (Strength: 30, Carry: 532 / 1.1k / 1.6k / 3.2k, DC 21; Affects Corporeal, Damaging; Accurate 2 (+4), Precise, Subtle (subtle))
. . Hard Light Vehicle Projector (Power Setting) (Powers: Hard Light Engines (Flight 6), Hard Light Vehicle (Create Object 6))
. . . . Hard Light Engines (Flight 6) (Speed: 500 mph, 4400 ft./rnd)
. . . . Hard Light Vehicle (Create Object 6) (Max Size: 6x 50' cubes, DC 16; Movable (Radius: 30 ft., Strength: 30, Force: 1.6k lbs.); Range (touch); Precise, Progression, Object Size 3, Selective, Subtle (subtle))
. . Portal Gun (Power Setting) (Powers: Portal Gun (Teleport 6))
. . . . Portal Gun (Teleport 6) (600 ft. as move action, 20 miles as full action; Accurate, Portal)
. . Restraint Foam Sprayer (Power Setting) (Powers: Restraint Foam Sprayer (Snare 6))
. . . . Restraint Foam Sprayer (Snare 6) (DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Restraint Foam Sprayer (Snare 6)); Affects Corporeal, Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate 2 (+4), Obscure Sense, Precise)
. . Stun Blaster (Power Setting) (Powers: Stun Blaster (Stun 6))
. . . . Stun Blaster (Stun 6) (DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Stun Blaster (Stun 6)); Affects Corporeal, Range (ranged); Accurate 2 (+4), Precise, Subtle (subtle))

Attack Bonus: +6 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +6, Grapple: +5)

Attacks: Dazzler (Dazzle 6) (DC Fort/Ref 16), EMP-like Touch (Nullify 6), +6 (DC Will 16), Grav Rod (Move Object 6), +12 (DC 21), Restraint Foam Sprayer (Snare 6), +12 (DC Ref/Staged 16), Stun Blaster (Stun 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Unarmed Attack, +6 (DC 14)

Defense: +10 (Flat-footed: +3), Knockback: -3

Initiative: +6

Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, French, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 24 + Skills 22 (88 ranks) + Feats 18 + Powers 61 + Combat 22 + Saves 18 + Drawbacks 0 = 165

Age (as of Jan 2019): 20
Height: 5’ 2”
Weight: 110 lbs
Ethnicity: African American
Hair: Dark Pink (dyed, naturally Dark Brown)
Eyes: Dark Brown

Background: “It’s only us.” These were the favorite words of Alyssa and Aisha Robinson to hear. They were the words of their father, Emmett, when he was holding them both tight. This, however, was a long time ago. Before Alyssa found out he was a unethical bastard of a scientist who worked for the infamous Agency. And before Aisha revealed that she didn’t care. But let’s rewind to the beginning.

. . Emmett Robinson was a scientist. He was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a good man. He was, in fact, a very evil one. He did not care in the least about ethics and morality. He cared about advancing science, inventing something people would pay him lots and lots of money for, and getting filthy rich. He very much subscribed to the philosophy of “Fuck you, I’mma get mine.” This was how he came to be recruited by the infamous Agency. He was a young man after their cold, dead hearts. He married am ambitious woman of similar character named Tiana, and everything was quite lovely for the couple. They had one daughter, who they named Alyssa, and four years later had another, who they named Aisha. Three years after that, Tiana got a little too ambitious, and the Agency turned her into a test subject for her own work. She died in indescribable agony, as equally indescribable things happened to her body. This, naturally, was quite a stressful time for Emmett and his two girls, who knew nothing of her plot. It changed their relationship quite a bit. It was, after all, now only them. At work, Emmett was the ruthless scientific mastermind. But at home he was only a loving father to his girls. And ah, but did they ever love him back. Especially Aisha, who was not quite old enough to fully remember the colder man he had been.

. . However, time waits for none of us, and the girls grew older and more aware of the world. Alyssa was doing music on social media. Remixes, not any actual instrument playing or singing. Still, the Sin-sations were glad to have her in the band. Even if they didn’t know she was a young teen. She was showing more and more talent as a engineer, and Emmett hoped that one day she’d be able to join him at work. This, unfortunately, was not to be. Alyssa was much more gifted than she let one. She’d found out what her father was really up to when he went to work every day, and she was both sickened and horrified. As it turned out, she did have something resembling morals and ethics. She was surprised, too. It’s like Emmett was raising them to be fine, upstanding citizens. She slowly and systematically gathered information on the Agency facility where he worked. Then, because she was not a stupid girl, she backed it up in a dozen separate places on the internet before she had that conversation with dear old daddy. She wasn’t going to join the Agency. She found them abhorrent. Yes, laws were for other people, but there were lines. Much of their work was fueled as much by spite and sadism towards their frequently human test subjects, when it wasn’t fueled by sheer hubris or insanity. Even putting the ethical qualms aside, it was an inefficient and wasteful way to run a business. She wasn’t going to be a part of it. Her father nodded in understanding, then produced a gun and did his best to empty it into her body.

. . The Agency isn’t reasonable. They don’t let people leave. Once you join, you are theirs. Your children are theirs. Your grandchildren are theirs. Depending on the employment contract, they may take your siblings and their progeny, as well. The only way out is taking a direct one way trip to the afterlife. They do not accept criticism or advice. They are doing things they way they want to do things, and you can shut the fuck up about it. You can work for them and be useful, or you can be dead. Every single thought in your head, if it is not useful to them, they don’t want to hear it. You can keep said thoughts to yourself, or you can again be dead. They don’t fucking care. Allow me to emphasize this properly. They. Don’t. FUCKING. Care. Your life and everything about you is utterly without any value except which they assign to it. You can cooperate with this methodology, or experience a drastic reduction in value. Alyssa knew this, and but her father trying to murder her still obliterated their previously close, loving relationship in one stroke. She had a plan, anyway. Emmett’s bullets struck nothing but air, as the Density Drop Belt made its debut.

. . Slight rewind. Alyssa’s work with the Sin-sations had been noticed by Photophobia, who brought it to the attention of Methion, who gave the band a job offer. They had discussed it and accepted. So Alyssa flew through her front door, knowing that place would never be home again as bullets smashed into the door behind her. She regarded her home of several years as her Gadget Backpack got its first non test use. She pulled her Portal Gun, to be specific. The big surprise was the blaster fire from Aisha’s window. Alyssa knew her sister had been demonstrating some psychopathic traits, but the look of cartoonish rage on her face was genuinely unexpected. Alyssa disappointedly used her Portal Gun to get 20 miles away, and then sat down and cried for a little while. There aren’t words for how painful it is to realize that the love of her family was at best conditional and at worst a lie designed to keep her cooperative and compliant. However, she couldn’t sit around crying forever. She was likely being pursued, for one, and for another she had a meeting with someone named Valine to attend.

. . Valine agreed to keeping the Sin-sations on for a trial period. They passed with flying colors, and have been Squad B for three years. Alyssa took the codename Razzle, after “the ol’ razzle dazzle” and a type of candy. A double meaning. She’s quite certain her father has been killed for failing to keep her in line with the Agency’s goals, and for failing to kill her when he couldn’t. She’s also fairly certain her sister’s star is on the rise in the Agency. Well. She’s had three years to get used to it. Not get over it. It’s not something one ever gets over. For reasons that should be very obvious, the authorities have no idea who the supervillain and STG member known as Razzle is under the mask, and no reason to connect her with the pop starlet Alyssa Robinson. Additionally, the Agency has written off her loss for now, as crossing Valine (and through him, Methion) is the textbook definition of a bad business move.

Powers & Tactics: Razzle, unlike the rest of the Sin-sations, has no superhuman powers. She is a tech genius with two specialized devices and the amazing, astounding Gadget Backpack. Her two devices are Concealed Body Armor and Density Drop Belt. Concealed Body Armor is just that. It protects her from damage while not looking like armor to the average person. The Density Drop Belt, however, is a bit more complicated. The truth of all physical matter is that it’s mostly empty space. So to drop physical density without losing any mass is uh, difficult. And you don’t want to lose mass. Your mass is your organs and other stuff you probably want to keep. So to get to Minimal Density the belt puts her in a state of quantum flux in which the bonds between her atoms and molecules both do and do not exist. If this sounds insanely dangerous, well it kind of is and isn’t. The belt, miscalibrated, could casually reduce the user to a pile of raw elements. This is why she keeps it properly calibrated and has several redundant subsystems that will shut the thing off before anything dangerous happens. The net result is that she’s effectively an incorporeal being when it is active, able to fly a little due to her lack of weight. A quirk of the quantum flux allows her to disable electronic equipment merely by touching it. It’s neat.

. . Her Gadget Backpack is even more complicated. It is a genuine wonder of electronic and mechanical engineering. The devices that come out of it are not kept inside, but rather assembled on the spot from the various materials inside of it according to her instructions. When she returns a device to the Backpack, it is disassembled and the materials are returned to storage.

. . Tactically, Razzle sticks very hard to a support role. She will never, ever, knowingly inflict Damage on a living target in anything other than the most desperate circumstances. Her basic reaction to a solo fight is to get out of it. With Insub 4 and Flight 2, plus Concealment or Teleport at her disposal, this is not normally difficult. On missions, her Gadgets are the perfect support. She can get the team to the target area with Hard Light Vehicle Projector and Portal Gun, and hide them while they do their work with Cloaking Field Projector. If muscle is required, Grav Rod can help Gobstopper with that. In team combat, her first move is again to get out of it. There is no benefit to brawling with heroes. Still, there will be circumstances where escape is impossible, or the first order of business is getting the heroes off the team’s collective asses. Stun Blaster is the normal choice, with Restraint Foam Sprayer as a backup and Dazzler for groups. However, don’t get locked into thinking that is all her Gadget Backpack can produce. It is a Variable Power. She can pull out anything from it.

Personality: Razzle is the goodie goodie of the Sin-sations. Don’t get it wrong, she’s still a professional criminal with no respect for the law. However…if hurting people isn’t the job, why are you doing it? Just because she’s a thief, spy, and saboteur doesn’t mean she needs to be cruel and vicious. Honestly, she’s probably a little too pacifistic to be a supervillain. She doesn’t want to fight, and she genuinely doesn’t want to hurt anyone. This does not mean that she won’t. It just means it’s at the bottom of a long list of options.

. . But why crime? She could have easily found a way to go straight, even if it meant dodging the Agency for the rest of her life. Because it’s fun. It’s always an intellectual challenge. A puzzle to be solved. She may not be a remorseless psychopath like her father and sister, but she’s not as different from those two as she thinks. Her opposition to unnecessary violence and killing isn’t from a functioning conscience. She doesn’t have one of those. It’s an intellectual and ideological opposition. She isn’t squeamish. She doesn’t think they’re evil, wrong, and bad. Well, there are scientific ethics to think about, but that’s not a moral code. She’s opposed to unnecessary violence and killing because they’re a sign of sloppiness. If you have to resort to violence to achieve your goal, you have failed to plan, prepare, equip yourself, or execute the plan properly. Unless of course violence is the goal, in which case it’s resorting to additional violence that marks you as having failed somewhere along the way.
Last edited by EternalPhoenix on Wed Jun 08, 2022 4:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: StrRev! STG! Nimbus! Squad B! Dream Girl! Gobstopper! Sprite! Razzle!)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

With Razzle posted I can now ask. Has anyone noticed the thematic through line on all these ladies?
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Sorellanza (Oriana Bianchi)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Sorellanza (Oriana Bianchi)

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 180/180

STR: +5 (10/20), DEX: +5 (20), CON: +1 (12), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +3 (16)

Tough: +0/+6, Fort: +5, Ref: +12, Will: +7

Skills: Acrobatics 10 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Disable Device 13 (+15), Escape Artist 5 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+10), Knowledge (tactics) 3 (+5), Language 6 (+6), Notice 13 (+15), Sense Motive 8 (+10), Stealth 6 (+15)

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (ranged) 5, Defensive Attack, Distract (Bluff), Dodge Focus 5, Equipment 2, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Silenced Sniper Rifle (Blast 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Taser (Stun 6)), Improved Initiative, Precise Shot, Skill Mastery (Bluff, Disable Device, Notice, Stealth), Ultimate Effort (Aim), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Powers:
Arsenal (Device 6) (Hard to lose; Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . Arsenal (Array 12) (default power: blast)
. . . . Flash Bang (Dazzle 6) (Array; affects: 1 type + visual - auditory, DC 16; Burst Area (30 ft. radius - General))
. . . . High Explosive (Blast 6) (Array; DC 21; Burst Area (20-150 ft. radius - General); Progression, Decrease Area 2 (-2 ranks), Progression, Increase Area 2 (area x5), Triggered 2 (any trigger))
. . . . Silenced Machine Gun (Blast 6) (Array; DC 21; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Precise, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Silenced Sniper Rifle (Blast 6) (Default; DC 21; Penetrating [5 ranks only]; Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Precise, Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet), Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Sleep Gas Grenade (Fatigue 6) (Array; DC 16; Cloud Area (30 ft. diameter, lingers - General), Range (ranged))
. . . . Smoke Grenade (Obscure 6) (Array; affects: 1 type + visual - olfactory, Radius: 250 ft.; Duration (continuous), Total Fade; Fades)
. . . . Taser (Stun 6) (Array; DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Taser (Stun 6)); Range (ranged))

Child Sized (Shrinking 4) (-4 STR, -1 Toughness, -1 size category, 3/4 movement speed; Permanent; Innate)

Cybernetics (Container, Passive 6)
. . Cybernetic Eyes (Super-Senses 5) (distance sense, extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft), infravision, ultravision)
. . Internal Smartphone (Features 1)
. . Leaping Boost (Leaping 3) (Jumping distance: x10)
. . Might Boost (Super-Strength 1) (+5 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 600 lbs; +1 STR to some checks)
. . Speed Boost (Speed 3) (Speed: 50 mph, 440 ft./rnd)
. . Strength Boost (Enhanced Strength 10) (+10 STR)
. . Sub-dermal Armor (Protection 6) (+6 Toughness)

Equipment: Mission Specific Equipment 10

Attack Bonus: +7 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +7, Grapple: +7/+8)

Attacks: Flash Bang (Dazzle 6) (DC Fort/Ref 16), High Explosive (Blast 6) (DC 21), Silenced Machine Gun (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Silenced Sniper Rifle (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Sleep Gas Grenade (Fatigue 6) (DC Fort 16), Taser (Stun 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Unarmed Attack, +7 (DC 20)

Defense: +12 (Flat-footed: +4), Size: Small, Knockback: -2

Initiative: +9

Languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian Native, Portuguese, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 30 + Skills 24 (96 ranks) + Feats 25 + Powers 61 + Combat 24 + Saves 16 + Drawbacks 0 = 180

Age (as of Jan 2019): 22 (chronological) 8-10 (appearance/biological)
Height: 4’ 3”
Weight: 55 lbs
Ethnicity: Italian
Hair: Dirty Blonde
Eyes: Hazel

Background: Sorellanza means sisterhood, or sorority in Italian. It is a very appropriate codename for Oriana Bianchi. Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Democratica (or SISDE), Italy’s domestic intelligence agency at the time, had developed a program that used bleeding edge medical science, cybernetics, pharmacology, and psychological brainwashing to convert young girls into loyal cyborg assassins. These girls (known collectively as La Sorellanza) and their mostly male handlers did a lot of good work fighting terrorism and the Mafia, and played a key role in finally ending the Years of Lead (roughly 1968-1988). They also did a lot of shady and outright evil shit to keep their existence secret and maintain the SISDE’s power. Methion had known they were up to no good for some time, but that was true of several intelligence agencies. It wasn’t something new. It was when his agents discovered proof that the child cyborg assassins running around Italy did not belong to the Mafia or the infamous Agency, but the SISDE that he set dominos into motion. This lead to most of the SISDE’s dirty laundry being exposed, and in 2007 the intelligence agency was shut down and reconfigured into the modern day Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Interna (or AISI). The Sorellanza girls, however, he carefully protected from discovery, intending to take them for himself. Making sure that the SISDE’s leadership knew this even he will admit was a mistake.

. . The dying SISDE ordered the liquidation of the Sorellanza girls, apparently out of overly possessive spite. This did not go as planned. The handlers were not all sociopathic or hardened enough to casually murder their long term and/or adorable partners, and some of the girls (being combat veterans) saw it coming. The result was a complete shitshow, with several handlers being killed and the surviving girls (some of them much older than they appeared) disappearing into the global underworld. So the big question is, what happened to them all? Oriana was one of the youngest and newest at that time, but time is unkind to even the best of us. A decade and no longer associating with each other did much to thin their numbers.

. . Oriana was the Sin-sations team member who neither Methion nor Photophobia found. The Strength Revolution is always on the lookout for new recruits, and the jaded young woman in a girl’s body responded to the equivalent of a help wanted ad. She expected to serve under MAG Recon Captain Walter Mackey, but he got word to Methion through Katrea about the inhumanly capable and mature little girl. Soon, the last known member of the Sorellanza girls was playing bodyguard to a group of pop starlets. It has become, rather unexpectedly, a place to truly call home. Oriana doesn’t quite know how to feel about that yet, but she has taken the old name for all of them as her codename. Maybe, just maybe, a few of her older “sisters” will come join her here. If any of them are still alive.

. . For the record, the drugs and brainwashing erased Oriana’s memory of her life before becoming one of the Sorellanza girls. She does not even remember her original name. If the few of them who retained any knowledge of the prior lives is any indication, this is a blessing. The SISDE selected their Sorellanza candidates from hideously abused orphans, victims of human trafficking, and worse. Girls who no one wanted, and who no one would miss. The number of such girls was thin in Italy by itself, but across the entire EU there were naturally more. And the SISDE could easily slip across the Mediterranean to North Africa and check there, as well. Truthfully, Oriana does not know if she is actually Italian, or if this is a cover to prevent her original identity being traced. She is fairly certain that it doesn’t matter anymore. It certainly doesn’t to her.

Powers & Tactics: Oriana is a cyborg, but not entirely of the usual technological type. Her eyes are electronic replacements, yes, but the rest of her upgrades are biological, if grown in a lab. To get all of this to function and to avoid her immune system rejecting any of it, she was injected and infused with a massive amount of chemicals and drugs. The end result was that her ability to physiologically grow and mature was completely destroyed. So while she may have physical abilities that completely outstrip any unpowered pre pubescent child, unlike any of them she will never actually grow up. Additionally, her maximum lifespan has been reduced by anywhere from one third to one half. This is actually superior to the entirely technological version of the process. The girls still grew. The cybernetics did not.

. . The biochemical replacements make her stronger, faster, and a higher jumper than even unpowered grown adults. She can mostly keep up with your average automobile or simply flip it off the wheels. She’s also got fibers weaved underneath her skin that increase her resistance to damage. Her Cybereyes increase the distance she can see, add multiple spectrums, and measure distances accurately. She can even function as her own smartphone.

. . She carries a small arsenal of customized weaponry. Flash Bangs, High Explosives (with any trigger she chooses), a Silenced Submachine Gun, a Silenced Sniper Rifle, Sleep Gas Grenades, Smoke Grenades, and a Taser.

. . Tactically, Oriana has a significant number of options that depend on the current mission. Spying, theft, and sabotage rarely require the use of firearms, after all. And even High Explosives aren’t often needed. The Taser, Smoke Grenades, and Sleep Gas Grenades get the most use in this case. She tries to avoid open combat, striking from Stealth whenever possible. And with Hide In Plain Sight, that’s pretty often. The Flash Bangs and Smoke Grenades are useful for escapes. Lastly, for assassinations she’s either Bluffing the target into thinking she’s harmless and Tricking them into getting too close and sudden SMG burst. Or she’s using one sniper shot from over 200 feet away. Or a set of High Explosives triggers when the target turns their car on. Whatever gets the job done. She never power stunts.

Personality: Oriana is done. Burnt out and tired of all the bullshit that comes with looking like a kid while being an adult. She’s more jaded than Dream Girl, if you can believe it. The part of her that gives a damn about stuff is basically broken. Her ability to make emotional connections is severely atrophied from disuse. The only reason she continues to exist is her job. Her purpose in life. To use her weapons and her skills to rain death and destruction upon anyone her partner/client/squad captain designates. She just...doesn’t care about anything else. Well. There is one thing. Don’t treat her like a child. It drives her batshit crazy. There’s a literally murderous temper underneath that comes out when people push that button hard or often enough.

. . Because she was, in fact, a child. A child who something horrifying happened to. A child who was then turned into a living weapon in service of the SISDE’s goals. Even if one erases the worst memories, the trauma still happened. Their neurology has still altered in response. Drugs and brainwashing don’t fix that. And then she was stuck being a freelance mercenary who looked like a vulnerable child for a decade and a half. She’s not okay. She’s got several trauma responses to seemingly innocuous things. She’ll never willingly get into a red Ferrari. She has to restrain herself from shooting tall, blonde, and physically fit men in sunglasses. Recordings (not live performances) of any music written by Antonio Vivaldi can send her into a full panic attack. She is genuinely not okay, but she’s doing this thing called masking. Because, well, her entire life so far (the parts she actually remembers) have decidedly not rewarded having a breakdown on the sidewalk. So she sucks it up and collapses later. Alone, in a confirmed safe place.
Last edited by EternalPhoenix on Sun Jun 05, 2022 9:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
Gilliam
Posts: 1170
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:28 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: StrRev! STG! Squad B! Dream Girl! Gobstopper! Sprite! Razzle! Sorellanza!)

Post by Gilliam »

I am starting to think you have watched Gunslinger Girls.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: StrRev! STG! Squad B! Dream Girl! Gobstopper! Sprite! Razzle! Sorellanza!)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Gilliam wrote: Sun Jun 05, 2022 9:12 am I am starting to think you have watched Gunslinger Girls.
Maybe. :mrgreen:
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Squad C (The Watchdogs)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Squad C (The Watchdogs)

Theme Songs: Digital Shadow and Numbers, both by Miracle of Sound

Overview

. . These are the hacktivists. For better and for worse. Digital Shadow, Dusk Widow, and Eclipse have been working together off and on for years. Wisecracker and Tsurugi are a relatively new partnership, but they work together very well. They were brought in due to Aeon. Digital Shadow had done plenty of contract work for the STG, and Aeon was his contact. They’ve known each other for longer than Digital Shadow has been Digital Shadow, so it makes sense. After Squad B (The Sin-sations) had entered their trial period, Valine still felt the need to expand the STG. Aeon recommended her old friend Digital Shadow, as he’d done good work for them before. He recommended his usual working partners in Dusk Widow and Eclipse. There were still two short. Aeon did some slight digging and found Wisecracker, who brought along Tsurugi.

. . The Watchdogs are spies, saboteurs, vigilantes, assassins, and (oddly enough) recruiters. That last one requires a little explaining. Every member of the squad is a member of the Numbers. Aeon herself is essentially a founding member of that group. The Numbers are a loosely affiliated computer engineer/programmer/hacker collective. They’re not all criminals. Some are just hobbyists and/or enthusiasts. They are not centralized and there is no hierarchy, let alone any official leadership. It’s completely anarchic, but it works specifically because the specific type of idiot who doesn’t know how to shut up and listen when they’re ignorant on a topic instead of waste everyone’s time with inaccurate information tend to get drummed out in a hurry. The internet can be downright nasty to dumbasses who confuse persistence for being properly informed. Anyway. Having professional supervillains (with apologies to Digital Shadow, who doesn’t consider himself one but dude you are) as known members of the Numbers makes them more attractive to potential members. Aeon is well regarded for her skills and longevity, but also is publically known to be a member of the Strength Revolution. As they have a reputation for terrorism and murder, this is not a good look. Furthermore, she’s seen as kind of an old school supervillain. That corny 60s/70s style stuff. Yanno, flashy costume, flashy powers, moustache twirling, maybe some bwahaha? Super uncool. The Watchdogs do not have either drawback, so they can both bring in more people to the Numbers and recruit more militant numbers members into the Revolution.

Tactics

The Watchdogs put in a lot of effort to stay under the radar when it comes to superheroes and law enforcement. Between Digital Shadow and Wisecracker, no computer system is safe from their spying or simply covering their tracks. Dusk Widow and Eclipse can infiltrate just about any location successfully. And Tsurugi is there to kick the shit out of any heroes the other four can’t handle should things go FUBAR. Eclipse is the team assassin, though Digital Shadow and Dusk Widow are capable of filling the role. Wisecracker isn’t opposed to killing but she’s uh…a little too chaotic to be an assassin. And absolutely nobody wants Tsurugi to start intentionally killing people. She’s scary enough.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Digital Shadow (Marcus Pierce)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Digital Shadow (Marcus Pierce)

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 165/165

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +2 (14), INT: +7 (24), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +2 (14)

Tough: +2/+5, Fort: +5, Ref: +12, Will: +7

Skills: Acrobatics 2 (+5), Computers 13 (+20), Craft (electronic) 8 (+15), Craft (mechanical) 3 (+10), Diplomacy 8 (+10), Disable Device 8 (+15), Drive 2 (+5), Gather Information 13 (+15), Knowledge (current events) 3 (+10), Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+15), Knowledge (technology) 8 (+15), Language 5 (+5), Notice 8 (+10), Sense Motive 8 (+10), Sleight of Hand 7 (+10), Stealth 12 (+15)

Feats: Attack Focus (ranged) 4, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 5, Eidetic Memory, Improved Critical 2 (Blaster Shot (Blast 6)), Inventor, Master Plan, Online Research, Second Chance 2 (Toughness saves vs Ballistic and Piercing), Skill Mastery (Computers, Disable Device, Gather Info, Stealth), Ultimate Effort (Computers skill checks), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Well-Informed

Powers:
Concealed Body Armor (Device 1) (Hard to lose; Subtle (subtle))
. . Protection 2 (+2 Toughness, Feats: Second Chance 2 (Toughness saves vs Ballistic and Piercing); Subtle (subtle))

Custom Smartphone (Device 6) (Easy to lose)
. .Custom Apps (Array 12) (default power: esp)
. . . . Hack The World (Datalink 6) (Array; sense type: radio; Omni-Directional Area; Machine Control, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Hidden Observation (ESP 5) (Default; affects: 2 types, inc. visual; No Conduit, Simultaneous; Medium; Subtle 2 (unnoticable), Notes: Medium of Technology)
. . . . Maximum Privacy Worm (Concealment 10) (Array; all senses; Limited to Machines; Close Range)
. . . . Shutdown Worm Blitz (Nullify 6) (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - technology, DC 16; Burst Area (10-3000 ft. radius - General); Range (touch); Progression, Decrease Area 4 (-4 ranks), Progression, Increase Area 6 (area x100), Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Targeted Shutdown Worm (Nullify 6) (Array; counters: all powers of (type) - technology, DC 16; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate (+2), Precise, Subtle 2 (unnoticable), Triggered 2 (any trigger))
. . Remote (Features 1) (Notes: Functions like a “universal remote control” in relationship to machines that include such capabilities, turning them on or off or controlling them like a regular remote would.)
. . Still A Smartphone (Features 1) (Notes: Full functionality of a masterwork smartphone.)

Heavy Blaster (Device 4) (Easy to lose)
. . Blaster Shot (Blast 6) (DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Blaster Shot (Blast 6)); Accurate (+2), Homing (1 attempt), Precise, Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Stun Shot (Stun 6) (Alternate; DC 16; Range (ranged); Accurate (+2))

Masterwork Baton (Device 1) (Easy to lose)
. . Baton Strike (Strike 2) (DC 19; Accurate 2 (+4), Mighty)

Attack Bonus: +6 (Ranged: +10, Melee: +6, Grapple: +8)

Attacks: Baton Strike (Strike 2), +10 (DC 19), Blaster Shot (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Shutdown Worm Blitz (Nullify 6) (DC Will 16), Stun Shot (Stun 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Targeted Shutdown Worm (Nullify 6), +12 (DC Will 16), Unarmed Attack, +6 (DC 17)

Defense: +12 (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -2

Initiative: +3

Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, Japanese, Russian, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 36 + Skills 29 (116 ranks) + Feats 19 + Powers 38 + Combat 26 + Saves 17 + Drawbacks 0 = 165

Age (as of Jan 2019): 42
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 215 lbs.
Ethnicity: African American
Hair: Black
Eyes: Dark Brown

Background: Marcus Pierce is the single longest tenured computer hacker in the world. He has never been interrupted by imprisonment or fleeing the authorities. They simply can’t find him. 20 unbroken years of seeking justice and sticking it to The Man. They don’t even know his real name or what he looks like. He has more than earned his catchphrase. You can’t catch a digital shadow. Part of this has been luck, especially in the early running. But more and more it’s because he’s not a pure black hat. His black hat hacking (theft, destroying digital property, etc) only keeps him in funds to pursue his white hat hacking (exposing secrets to law enforcement and the media, repairing gaps in the digital security of charities, etc).

. . It ain’t easy being Black in America. It’s tempting to say everything started when the supervillain Aeon came to crash on his couch back when he was 18 and an underclassman at MIT. But naw. It started with being born. Chicago. The Southside. Poor, Black, shitty neighborhood. You know how it goes. Childhood was aight, personally speaking. Extended family caught some bullshit, but that’s life. But you start looking even a little bit like a man? In that neighborhood? Cops start thinking you fit the profile. Lil’ white ladies stay away from you on the street. Store clerks eyeball you like you walked in naked and female instead of Black and male. So yeah, for Marcus it started early. Because he wasn’t just Black and male. He was damn smart, too. He has to mind his Ps and Qs. Can’t piss off the cops. Can’t piss off the gangs. Gotta stay outta trouble, or he’d have been just another statistic. All while knowing damn well that the city, state, and federal governments could be doing better for those left in poverty. He had a plan, and it wasn’t community organizing. See the murder of Fred Hampton. Beyond perfect GPA+the right extracurriculars+no trouble in his background=easy scholarship bait.

. . So he’s at MIT. Joined the fledgling Numbers. Earned a little respect maybe. And a bonafide celebrity in the group needed a place to crash. One small problem. She’s a known supervillain. Name and (costumed) face all over the news. Nobody who had the space wanted her, and nobody who’d take her had the space. Except Marcus. So Courtney Halloran came to stay with Marcus Pierce. They got along like a house on fire. People thought he’d gotten an older girlfriend, but it wasn’t like that. Okay it was a little like that. Because he was 18 and she was a) reasonably attractive, b)nice to him, and c) apparently not a huge fan of pants when relaxing at home. Nothing ever happened, though, because they were simply t0o different. Courtney was a full eight years older, which is a hell of a lot when you’re 18. And the cultural differences between a a woman from the suburban Mid-West and a young man from the Southside of Chicago were stark. Maybe a decade or two later, something would have sparked, but in the late 90s? Nah. They were just friends. They talked about a lot of things. How they grew up. The supervillain lifestyle. Hell, computer engineering/programming/hacking. Of course, nothing in this life lasts forever. About a year later Valine came calling for a new STG member, and she moved out.

. . Digital Shadow was born once Marcus got his Bachelor’s in Computer Programming. 1999 was a banner year for computer security and computer hacking. Digital Shadow was just one of the crowd, notable only for his refusal to be purely black or white hat. But his reputation grew, and his catchphrase began to circulate. Ironically, the originator was found and jailed on suspicion of being him. In 2001, he got his Masters degree and 9/11 changed everything. In 2003, Anonymous was founded in response to the growing membership of the Numbers. In 2005, he launched the info trading bulletin board Shadowland. It was instantly populated by the Numbers, members of Anonymous, and others interested in truth. Wikileaks, launched the year after, was left chagrined. The hacktivist Digital Shadow was now a figure mentioned occasionally on the nightly news, along with his one man operation in Shadowland. Shadowland does not and never has had servers. Marcus essentially used cloud computing to solve the somewhat intractable problem of needing eventually traceable servers for his web site. Crib a little storage and processing power from a few million computers via a virus, what could go wrong? A lot, actually, but Marcus is a genuine genius programmer. And he had access to the hive mind of the Numbers to help him.

. . Name a scandal, Shadowland probably broke it first or had it stolen out from under them. The problem was that there were for every one that got out, there were a dozen that just…didn’t seem to matter. Corruption and cronyism. Marcus was devoting his life to exposing the ugly truth behind what a lot of wealthy people, corporations, and/or authority figures were up to. But apparently money and personal loyalty trumped (ironically enough considering a certain NYC real estate mogul) facts. So Digital Shadow started taking matters into his own hands. Because if the law won’t do it, than the citizens must. Also, you know, fuck the police in general. So Digital Shadow went from computer hacker to vigilante. Not superhero. Vigilante. The goal wasn’t murder or even killing anyone at all. It was to cause just enough of a ruckus that superheroes or the few members of law enforcement who weren’t bastards could step in. This, uh, wasn’t as effective as he’d hoped. Mostly because various security forces and guards were all too happy to fill him to attempt to with bullets, when they weren’t trying to bounce his head off something hard. Like their fists. Or the pavement. After a few hairy escapes, Marcus decided to stop playing nice. He went full violent vigilante, but his only kills were in self defense. Well. Sometimes this was pre-emptive self defense. This did not endear him to law enforcement. The FBI in particular. Digital Shadow made the Most Wanted List. He’s never left.

. . Time went on. He got definitively captured by Dusk Widow. Kind of embarrassing, actually. A terrible misunderstanding that they cleared up while he was disarmed and tied up. Then they started working together sometimes. He deduced she was CIA by the simple virtue of nobody else keeps their identities so secret (FBI, DEA, etc provide cover IDs most can’t penetrate) and also works in the field (which rules out most of the rest of the alphabet soup). He didn’t tell her, as that seemed…unwise. In 2012, she brought in Eclipse (it was easy to track down that he was Delta Force). Thus the original Watchdogs were formed. It was at this point where Marcus had to leave administration of Shadowland to others. Because the FBI was using his update posts to track him and persecute the law-abiding membership. When it comes to catching criminals, there is no low the fibbies won’t sink to when pressed. Still, it left more time for his work with the Watchdogs. Which, arguably, is what made Aeon think of him. At least, that’s what he thought.

. . Marcus had done some work for hire for her and Valine in the past, it was true. So had a lot of other people. He didn’t know what made him special. It wasn’t uncommon to have friends in the biz, either. He didn’t want special treatment because of it. Then he met Valine and instantly understood. They were both crusaders. He could work with this. Obviously he would bring along Dusk Widow and Eclipse. Aeon asked around the numbers and found Wisecracker, who brought Tsurugi. Boom, Squad C. The Watchdogs. Three years together have refined their teamwork to a razor’s edge. They do good work. Marcus is well pleased. After all, you can’t catch a Digital Shadow…or his Watchdogs.

Powers & Tactics: Digital Shadow has no superhuman powers, which would surprise some folks at the FBI. He is, however, a genius computer hacker and tech specialist with four special devices. Three of these are relatively simple. His Concealed Body Armor that increases his resistance to damage (especially to gunfire, arrows, and piercing blades). His Masterwork Baton is basically a fancy club that aids accuracy. And his Heavy Blaster is his mark of rank. Anyone in the know about Strength Revolution hierarchy will recognize the symbol on it as marking him as being in the third tier. The first being Methion himself and the second being Serine, Valine, and Katrea. It has a damage setting and a stun setting. Both use pure force to do their work.

. . It is his Custom Smartphone which is special, and the core of everything he does. Naturally, it still functions as a Masterwork Smartphone. However, it also functions as a universal Remote, able to turn off anything that can be turned off with a remote control, and has several Custom Apps that demonstrate his mastery of hacking and coding. Hidden Observation lets him look or listen safely through any digital camera or microphone within five miles of him. Maximum Privacy Word conceals him from any such devices in the area, including any security sensors. Shutdown Worm Blitz and Targeted Shutdown Worm differ only in their targeted methodology, as they both attempt to deactivate any technological devices or electronics they target. Shutdown Worm Blitz ccovers an area anywhere from 20 feet to over a mile in diameter. Targeted Shutdown Worm is single target and can be either used immediately or set up to trigger late for any reason Digital Shadow might desire. Hack The World is the final App, and it basically allows him to hack any electronic or mechanical device within 20 miles. And the use of each App is only detectable to specialized senses that must also be quite keen.

. . Tactically, Digital Shadow is a pain in the ass. He can do most of what he does very remotely and he’s extremely difficult to detect while he’s doing it. Seriously, Hack The World covers like 2/3s of everything he does. Hidden Observation lets him scout in complete safety when he does have to make a personal appearance. Maximum Privacy Worm keeps him off any electronic records as he sneaks in. Targeted Shutdown Worm is great for sabotage. Shutdown Worm Blitz can shut down anywhere from one block to half a city. Seriously, his entire combat style revolves around avoiding combat though such methods of simply not being any potential combat area and giving heroes something to occupy their attention that isn’t him. Because without those tactics he’s just some dude with a blaster and he’s well aware of it.

. . This works even in on Watchdogs missions. He’s the mastermind and mission control. If he’s in sustained combat that he can’t get out of, he has severely screwed up. He knows the value of cover, but mostly he’s seeking to get the hell out of there. He absolutely will use Shutdown Worm Blitz at full power and blackout half a city if pressed. It’s not that he won’t shoot his Heavy Blaster, it’s that he works very hard so that he doesn’t have to. Don’t forget that he absolutely has a Master Plan (+2 to his and his allies’ check for three rounds and +1 for one round) and an Invention (15 PP’s worth of electronic doohickey) ready to go if he’s on a mission.

Personality: Marcus Pierce was a good man, once. But now? Not so much. Though that depends, one supposes, on how you measure what a good man is. Because what would you do, if you were a person who believed in truth and saw a world slipping into lies? You’d do something about it. But. What if you succeeded again and again? Shone the bright light of truth on the dirty deeds of corrupt and wicked men? Exposed all of their lies and manipulations? And it just…didn’t matter? How long can you stare into the abyss of darkness and evil before it eats you? And what if that’s not the end of you? What if you have to live with that? To say that Marcus is angry really doesn’t capture it. You have to get hyperbolic. He is howling, vehement rage in the shell of a man, rigidly controlled by an incredible genius intellect. Because you can’t show truth to people who just. Don’t want to see it. And if you start destroying the organizations and people responsible, you’re the bad guy.

. . Marcus is the single scariest member of his squad and indeed one of the scariest in the entire Strength Revolution. Not because he’s particularly intimidating personally, and not because he’s an incredibly dangerous killer. Because sometimes he just goes cold and you can see that his heart has rotted away and even his faith in a better world through truth has faded leaving just that howling, vehement rage against the endless parade of lies, bullshit, and systemic injustice. All seems to be left of the man he started as is a virtually incomparably brilliant and devious mind, almost stripped of anything resembling conscience or morality. It seems, sometimes, that he’ll do anything to make sure the truth wins out and justice is done. Even if he has do it himself.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Dusk Widow (Ishani Dhawan)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Dusk Widow (Ishani Dhawan)

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 165/165

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +2 (14), INT: +1 (12), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +3 (16)

Tough: +2/+5, Fort: +6, Ref: +12, Will: +9

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Computers 9 (+10), Diplomacy 12 (+15), Disable Device 14 (+15), Disguise 12 (+15), Gather Information 12 (+15), Knowledge (current events) 9 (+10), Knowledge (tactics) 9 (+10), Language 6 (+6), Medicine 3 (+5), Notice 13 (+15), Sense Motive 13 (+15), Sleight of Hand 12 (+15), Stealth 12 (+15)

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (ranged) 2, Attack Specialization (Unarmed Attack), Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Dodge Focus 3, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Spider Blast (Blast 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Spider Toxin (Blast 6)), Improved Critical 2 (Web Blast (Snare 6)), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Change, Quick Draw, Second Chance 2 (Toughness saves vs Ballistic and Piercing), Skill Mastery 2 (Acrobatics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Gather Info, Notice, Sense Motive, Ste, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory), Well-Informed

Powers:
Concealed Body Armor (Device 1) (Hard to lose)
. . Protection 2 (+2 Toughness, Feats: Second Chance 2 (Toughness saves vs Ballistic and Piercing); Subtle (subtle))

Immunity 1 (poison)

Spider Blasters (Device 5) (Easy to lose)
. . Blaster Settings (Array 10) (default power: blast)
. . . . Spider Blast (Blast 6) (Default; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Spider Blast (Blast 6)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5))
. . . . Spider Paralyze (Paralyze 6) (Array; DC 16; Range (ranged); Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Spider Slumber (Fatigue 6) (Array; DC 16; Range (ranged); Subtle 2 (unnoticable))
. . . . Spider Toxin (Blast 6) (Array; DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Spider Toxin (Blast 6)); Alternate Save (Fortitude))
. . . . Web Blast (Snare 6) (Array; DC 16, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Web Blast (Snare 6)); Transparent)
. . . . Web Lines (Linked)
. . . . . . Speed 3 (Linked; Speed: 50 mph, 440 ft./rnd)
. . . . . . Super-Movement 4 (Linked; slow fall, swinging, wall-crawling 2 (full speed))

Attack Bonus: +10 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +10, Grapple: +12)

Attacks: Spider Blast (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Spider Paralyze (Paralyze 6), +12 (DC Staged/Will 16), Spider Slumber (Fatigue 6), +12 (DC Fort 16), Spider Toxin (Blast 6), +12 (DC Fort 21), Unarmed Attack, +12 (DC 17), Web Blast (Snare 6), +12 (DC Ref/Staged 16)

Defense: +12 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -2

Initiative: +7

Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English Native, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 26 + Skills 40 (160 ranks) + Feats 21 + Powers 20 + Combat 38 + Saves 20 + Drawbacks 0 = 165

Age (as of Jan 2019): 38
Height: 5’ 3”
Weight: 115 lbs.
Ethnicity: Indian-American
Hair: Black
Eyes: Dark Brown

Background: Ishani Dhawan has a lot of red in her ledger. She had a relatively normal childhood and normal young adulthood, at least until she joined the CIA. She ended up recruited as a Paramilitary Operations Officer who was assigned to the Special Activities Division (now Center), specifically in the Special Operations Group. This was somewhat unusual, as she hadn’t served in within the US Special Operations community at all. In fact, she was a college graduate with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree and no time spent in state or federal service at all. The SAC/SOG is a secretive and reclusive group, to say the least, and they notably don’t normally recruit mundane civilians. So it’s baffling why she’d be recruited…until you look at what her degrees are in (a bachelor’s in computer programming and a master’s in political science specializing in international relations), her extracurriculars (black belts in Krav Maga and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, significant training in wrestling and boxing, and stellar performances at several international shooting competitions with both FISU and the ISSF), and her family history (until her parents’ generation, a Dhawan or ancestor thereof had served with distinction in one military or another as far back as records go, which is prior to the birth of the Dutch East India Company). She was a hell of a hard worker with solid natural aptitudes. Her initial training proved she had what it took to be an excellent CIA Officer, and SAC/SOG nabbed her relatively quickly.

. . The things she did as a Paramilitary Operations Officer are about as classified as it’s possible to be. She doesn’t talk about them. Any of them. But given what SAC/SOG is known to do, she basically done everything the worst of supervillains might do. Lying to gain trust, manipulating people, unlawful infiltration, theft, espionage, torture, and even murder. Except she did them for her country and not for her own personal benefit. How that makes it any better, she doesn’t know. She just knows she saved lives in the process, and that has to be enough. She’s the only one to ever successfully catch Marcus Peters, alias Digital Shadow. And that was because she was operating domestically at the time in the guise of Dusk Widow, a occasionally appearing superhero. Even though the CIA isn’t supposed to operate domestically, they do keep a small number of Officers available to assist the FBI and various other federal agencies. Also, c’mon. It’s the CIA. Of course they have their own domestic operations they don’t tell anybody about. Especially in a superpowered world. She wasn’t actually trying to catch him, which is how she did it. They happened to be after the same target, and collided. She didn’t even know who he was until later. Let’s You And Him Fight, except she paralyzed him with one shot so it wasn’t actually a fight. And like all of those classic situations, it led to a team up where they took down the bad guy in question.

. . She didn’t report him. Not her job, really. Especially if she kept him on as her own asset. Which she did. It was mutually beneficial. They provided each other with information and backup. It wasn’t, however, quite enough. Two people were not quite enough to investigate the explosive growth of the supers scene that started in 2009. She wasn’t the only SAC/SOG Officer on the case, but they were stretched thin as always due to their miniscule numbers. So she called in a couple of favors from her early days. Sergeant First Class-oh, excuse her-Master Sergeant Adam Holloway had moved up in the world since she’d seen him last as a Green Beret, deep in Afghanistan. He was Delta Force now, and exactly what she needed. Her first called in favor got him assigned to her as part of a pilot program named Operation Eclipse. The second got him his current set of gear. If this was going to work, Dusk Widow needed a partner. Hello, Eclipse.

. . Speaking of Dust Widow, this identity was not created for Ishani. Rather, it belonged originally to Nikki Brown, a fledgling gadgeteer hero. She was also Ishani’s first asset on her mission. With a CIA Officer at her back, she should have been set to be a big name on the hero scene in time. Unfortunately, like so many, she did not get out of her first year. A certain sociopathic gang leader with superhuman strength and regenerative powers (driven out of another city by its heroes) stormed the original Dusk Widow’s neighborhood, sought her out, and beat the rookie heroine to death to establish dominance. Ishani, annoyed and (not that she’d admit it to herself) grieving for Nikki and what she could have been, took a week and a half to seduce and brutally murder (five bullets to the head and turning his neck into sashimi with a meat cleaver was just enough to exsanguinate him before he healed) the son of a bitch at one of her safehouses. Then she retrieved Nikki’s Spider Blasters from his gang’s hideout and instigated a shootout between said gang and the police, escaping in the resulting chaos. She is not pretending to be Nikki. She is pretending to be her friend and successor. This is not as much of a lie as she pretends it is.

. . 4 years after recruiting Eclipse into the partnership, Digital Shadow was unexpectedly recruited by the Strength Revolution’s Special Tactics Group, thanks to their member Aeon. The duo turned trio had chased down a lot of leads as to the source of the explosive growth of the supers scene that started in 2009, as well as done quite a bit of Digital Shadow’s preferred investigative vigilantism. Ishani didn’t mind, as investigative vigilantism was basically in her job description, with the minor technicality of “don’t do it in the US” that she was pretending didn’t exist. She has kept up her usual steady stream of reports since, but has not mentioned that The Watchdogs are actually STG Squad C to her superiors. They’re not doing anything different from before, so it’s fine. Or so she says. The truth is that she’s wildly exceeded her authority and is just as wildly counting on the fact that she’s getting results to keep her from being disavowed and hunted down. Truthfully, the CIA knows they don’t have to lift a finger. Either she’ll keep providing excellent intel from deep within the supers scene, or she’ll be captured and imprisoned in which case they can easily disavow.

Powers & Tactics: Dusk Widow has one minor metahuman power, and two technological devices. Her metahuman power is a complete immunity to mundane poisons. Her liver and kidneys are friggin’ incredible at processing out foreign chemicals before they can measurably affect her. Ironically, she’s never noticed this, as she’s never been much of a drinker nor ever needed significant pain relief as adult. Her parents certainly thought it was weird, though, when she was sick as a kid and children’s acetaminophen did nothing. This ignorance is actually rather dangerous; as she can’t have surgical procedures (normal anesthesia won’t work) and a severe enough infection will kill her because she’ll process out normal antibiotics too fast for them to have an effect. She’d need Morgan Knight’s special grade stuff for anything to have an effect, and saying that’s restricted is like saying water is slightly moist.

. . Her two devices are a set of Concealed Body Armor that increases her resistance to damage (especially to gunfire, arrows, and piercing blades) and the Spider Blasters. They’re a pair of matched custom blasters, and have an astonishing six standard settings (hinting at the late Nikki Brown’s potential for greatness). The base effect is Spider Blast, multiple shots from each Blaster. This is a damaging electrical effect. Spider Paralyze, on the other hand, is a blast of microwave radiation that can render a target immobile with pain. Spider Slumber is an infrared radiation effect that can render targets unconscious. Spider Toxin is deliberately misnamed. It’s a potent blast of gamma radiation that can cook the target from the inside out. Web Blast is even more deliberately misnamed, because it’s not chemical adhesives. It captures the target in a lattice of hard light webbing. Only the target can break it, as the lattice is too fine and flexible to be damage from outside. The last setting is Web Lines, which nanofilament wire, grappling hook anchors, and magnetism to let the user swing around as fast as a car in a city. It also can save from falls and climb up walls at the same speed.

. . Tactically, Dusk Widow is a spy first and foremost. Deception is the order of the day. So she’s using Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and Stealth to avoid discovery and the ensuing combat as much as possible. Her first priority, should her current objectives be either completed or delayable, is to escape from heroes who confront her. Web Lines gets her away from slower heroes. Spider Paralyze and Web Blast get her away from faster ones. If her current objectives are both incomplete and non delayable, then she fights. No mercy and no pity, but no lethal damage either. Flip through the array, find the setting that works, abuse it, repeat. She’s knowledgeable about heroic archetypes, so she won’t have to flip between settings as much if a targeted hero adheres to one of them. Acrobatic Bluff, Fient, and Taunt are available, if not Improved. She does not power stunt, as that would damage the Spider Blasters and she doesn’t have the tech skills to repair them.

Personality: Dusk Widow is a level headed, strong willed, independent woman. Otherwise she’s difficult to pin down. Being a spy, especially one as independent as SAC/SOG Officers need to be, results in a certain…flexibility…in one’s personality. She can be just about anything at any time, depending on needs. A few things, however, can be determined. She has courage in spades. She has a snarky, sarcastic sense of humor. Her empathy for her fellow humans is seemingly without limit. The things she’ll do for them are equally without limit.

. . She joined the CIA to protect people. To be the knife in the dark all evil must fear. And she’s still doing that. She’s not under any illusions that what she’s doing is good or moral, but it is necessary. It has to be. Because otherwise she and just about everyone she knows is a terrible, monstrous person, and that’s not an option she’s willing to accept. She’s also not willing to accept that she’s in way over her head and beholden to two masters now. She desperately hopes she’ll never have to chose between The Watchdogs and the CIA. Because she’s no longer sure what side she’d fall on.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Eclipse (Adam Holloway)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Eclipse (Adam Holloway)

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 165/165

STR: +2 (14), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +0 (10)

Tough: +3/+9, Fort: +6, Ref: +9, Will: +9

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 10 (+10), Craft (electronic) 12 (+15), Craft (mechanical) 12 (+15), Diplomacy 10 (+10), Gather Information 10 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 12 (+15), Knowledge (technology) 12 (+15), Language 3 (+3), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 12 (+15), Survival 7 (+10)

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (ranged) 4, Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Dodge Focus 4, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Silenced Submachine Gun (Blast 4)), Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Change, Quick Draw, Skill Mastery (Craft (elec & mech), Notice, Stealth), Ultimate Effort (Aim), Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Powers:
Saboteur Arsenal (Device 5) (Easy to lose; Custom 5 (Multiple Weapons 5))
. . Saboteur Arsenal (Array 11) (default power: blast; Custom (Array 10.5))
. . . . Dart Gun (Paralyze 6) (Array; DC 16; Range (ranged); Improved Range (150 ft. incr), Progression, Increase Range (max range x2, 1500 feet), Subtle (subtle))
. . . . Flash Bomb Thrower (Dazzle 7) (Array; affects: visual senses, DC 17; Burst Area (35 ft. radius - General))
. . . . Minigrenade Launcher (Blast 7) (Array; DC 22; Burst Area (35 ft. radius - General))
. . . . Silenced Sniper Rifle (Blast 6) (Default; DC 21; Penetrating [3 ranks only]; Improved Range 2 (300 ft. incr), Precise, Progression, Increase Range 2 (max range x5, 3000 feet), Subtle (subtle))
. . . . Silenced Submachine Gun (Blast 4) (Array; DC 19, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Silenced Submachine Gun (Blast 4)); Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate (+2), Precise, Subtle (subtle))

Saboteur Suit (Device 5) (Hard to lose)
. . Body Armor (Protection 6) (+6 Toughness)
. . Goggles (Super-Senses 4) (extended (type): Visual 1 (-1 per 100 ft), infravision, ultravision)
. . Infiltration Gear (Array 7) (default power: morph)
. . . . Electronic Invisibility (Concealment 10) (Alternate; all senses; Limited to Machines)
. . . . Negative Light Projection (Concealment 4) (Alternate; all visual senses; Passive)
. . . . Holographic Disguise (Morph 6) (Default; morph: broad group - humanoids, +30 Disguise; Precise)

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +12, Melee: +8, Grapple: +10)

Attacks: Dart Gun (Paralyze 6), +12 (DC Staged/Will 16), Flash Bomb Thrower (Dazzle 7) (DC Fort/Ref 17), Minigrenade Launcher (Blast 7) (DC 22), Silenced Sniper Rifle (Blast 6), +12 (DC 21), Silenced Submachine Gun (Blast 4), +14 (DC 19), Unarmed Attack, +8 (DC 17)

Defense: +9 (Flat-footed: +3), Knockback: -4

Initiative: +7

Languages: Arabic, English Native, Hebrew, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 28 + Skills 34 (136 ranks) + Feats 22 + Powers 40 + Combat 26 + Saves 15 + Drawbacks 0 = 165

Age (as of Jan 2019): 40
Height: 6’
Weight: 180 lbs.
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Hair: Light Brown
Eyes: Gray

Background: Adam Holloway’s daddy never beat the devil out of him, even after a childhood of trying. Hell, all the Army did was channel that inner bastard into something productive. Killing people the Army needed dead. He enlisted after graduating high school at 18. Took him seven years to get to Sergeant First Class. During that time he attended college at night, graduating with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. Then he joined US Special Forces. The Green Berets. He was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. One of their Weapons Sergeants. 25 year old sniper par excellence, according to the Army. Which was why he attended Sniper School in Fort Benning, Georgia during his first rotation Stateside. 3rd SFG do six months in Afghanistan and six months at home. He drew the short straw, leaving soon after joining up. A year later (placing it after Sniper School), 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D, aka Delta Force) put out an ad for new recruits. Adam liked the Green Berets, but the devil inside had grown restless. There was nothing on his record. Yet. But his CO was concerned. Adam worked too hard. He volunteered for extra duties and additional training all the time. And he rarely interacted without anyone outside of professional necessity. His social life, by appearances, did not exist. He was crosstrained well enough to outright replace any other member of his unit, his lower rank aside. It bothered his Captain, and the Lieutenant Colonel in overall command. Adam Holloway drove himself like someone was chasing him with a flaming whip. The hell could make a man do that to himself? But his record was spotless. He was, by all appearances, a hell of a soldier with no apparent psychological issues. So they let him go to Delta Force selection Camp Dawson, West Virginia.

. . Delta Force selection is four weeks of hell. Most fail. Elite Army Rangers, Green Berets, and other professional badasses physically break during the exhausting physical portion, or mentally crack during the intense interrogation that follows. Adam thrived as if he was born to do the physical portion. It was the interrogation that dragged the devil out of him as he metaphorically kicked and screamed. He didn’t hurt anybody. Didn’t even need to be restrained. But he scared the instructors and psychologists shitless. Delta’s CO, however, grinned fiercely. The Colonel had been looking for a cold bastard, and by god he’d found one. Adam was in. He underwent the Operator Training Course and again thrived. He was assigned to the new (at the time) D Squadron. He served for five years in their reconnaissance and surveillance troop, commanding a team as a promoted Master Sergeant. It was the single best five years of his life. He performed so well, in fact, that he was specially chosen for a pilot program in tandem with the CIA. Named Operation Eclipse, the goal was to infiltrate the supers scene and find out exactly why in blazes it had exploded in the past 3 years (being as this was 2012, 3 years after the founding of the Exiles, and the year after NPC Investigations got up and running; they were not the only ones to surge forward). Adam got special equipment developed by DARPA and met his CIA partner on this operation. Ishani Dhawan, who was already using the codename Dusk Widow.

. . This was uh, interesting. Adam had been firmly ensconced in the Army and Army life for over a decade now. Living a civilian life, even in the context of a mission, was definitely an adjustment. But he still had a superior, and he still had orders. He was surprised Officer Dhawan remembered him, but that was part of her job, wasn’t it? Remembering people. This mission, in a lot of ways, was more challenging than anything he had done before. Observing and reporting wasn’t new. But combat with superhuman opposition and no backup was. 4 years in, the Colonel retired. The new Colonel made it clear that he was continuing the pilot program just to keep Adam out of the unit. The man had seen his psych eval, and gotten just as alarmed as any normal person would. This was fine with Adam. They (Digital Shadow, Dusk Widow, and Eclipse) had gotten a job offer. He had a feeling his life was about to get even more interesting.

. . Adam’s feeling was right. In three years of STG work, he’s seen more action than the combined seven years of Delta Force and Green Beret work. His daddy couldn’t beat the devil out of him. The Army could only channel it. But the STG doesn’t have rules like that. He’s pretty sure the new Colonel hasn’t read a single one of his reports. He’d have had less work if the man did. No. The man’s less soldier and more political animal. He’s absolutely read them and is hanging Adam out to dry just to get rid of him. If Eclipse is ever caught, there’s a big pile of reports to bury Adam and the old Colonel under. The longer he spends with the STG, the more he considers doing something about that…

Powers & Tactics: Eclipse has no superhuman powers. He only has two devices and the tech skills to maintain and improve upon them should he decide to do so. Though technically his Saboteur Arsenal is five different weapons. They were designed and created by the Defense Sciences Office (or DSO) inside of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (or DARPA). The Saboteur Arsenal was just some basic engineering work, mostly. It’s the ammunition that’s cutting edge work. A Dart Gun that fires darts coated in a paralytic poison without any long term side effects. A launcher for high powered yet miniaturized Flash Bombs. Another launcher for high powered yet miniaturized Fragmentation Grenades. Two very nice firearms in a Sniper Rifle and Submachine Gun, both fitted with integral silencers.

. . It is the Saboteur Suit that has a wonder of electronic engineering. The Body Armor is well made, offering more resilency and flexibility than standard issue military body armor. And Goggles are also cutting edge, extending the wearer’s vision while expanding visual senses into the infrared and ultraviolet ranges. It is, however, the Infiltration Gear that rides the bleeding edge of current technology. It’s pure holographic tech, confiscated from a now deceased supervillain years ago and refined since. Thought DARPA and the DSO did get a bit overzealous on seeking mass production methods. Eclipse had to make significant alterations so that it would consistently function and not be as heavy on drain the power supply. There are two possible functions. Holographic Disguise is just that. Only the keenest of eyes can pierce through the disguising holograms and see Eclipse beneath. Alternatively, the holograms can hide him from all technological equipment, as well as the eyes of any organics. The latter effect is unfortunately broken by the higher level of movement required to attack a target. Not that it can’t be reactivated, of course, but still.

. . Tactically, it depends. Eclipse is either on sniper overwatch or using Holographic Disguise to infiltrate. As a sniper, he’s not about to betray his position by using anything but the Silenced Sniper Rifle or Dart Gun. Normally, this means he’s at least 200 feet away from where the team is operating reporting to them important details of what he sees. If an infilitration operation is blown, however, things change. If there’s no chance of salvaging the operation’s goals, then it’s time for escape and evasion. If he personally isn’t discovered, he’ll just slip away to start sniper overwatch. It’s when he is discovered that the other weapons come out. Flash Bomb Launcher and the Dart Gun are useful here, as well as the Silenced Submachine Gun. And of course, groups of enemies can be targeted with Minigrenade Launcher. If the enemies are known supervillains or prominent crime figures, he’ll absolutely kill them if they don’t back off. Heroes and law enforcement he keeps to nonlethal with. Improved Acrobatic Bluff and Stealth are his best friends in combat. All Out Attack is only used when sniping. He has no power stunts available.

Personality: Eclipse is very psychologically unusual. His precise mental disorder (or disorders) is unclear, as he displays elements of Borderline Personality Disorder and Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder. For the former, the self harm (via intensive exercise and repetitive training) and dangerous behaviors (he’s slowly worked his way from regular soldier to elite soldier used for difficult missions to super elite soldier used for impossible missions to essentially a professional supervillain working for some of the most dangerous people in the world), along with the expected unstable interpersonal relationships (note the lack of any familial, platonic, or romantic relationships mentioned in Background) and distorted sense of self (the whole “devil” thing). The latter is only partial because he remembers the incidents when his “devil” comes out and while he admits to not fully being in control during these events, he does not distinguish it as a completely separate person from himself. Said “devil” apparently has Antisocial Personality Disorder (or sociopathy) and is disturbingly sadistic and capable of extreme violence. It isn’t so much a different personality (his body language, mannerisms, and speech patterns are the same) so much as the humanity simply falling off him in terrifying fashion.

. . In practice, he’s a stoic ultra professional soldier type who doesn’t talk much. And when he does get chatty, you need to be running. Fast. Ideallly through somewhere with lots of cover. He does, under normal circumstances, care about people. In social situations he’s personable enough, but obviously guarded and a little awkward. He had no idea how to interact with people “off the clock”. Yes, he’s quite capable of killing people, but in normal circumstances that’s because he’s been training and operating as a professional soldier for his entire adult life. Soldiers who can’t use their weapons on the enemy don’t get into the Green Berets, let alone Delta Force. Honestly, he’s just trying very hard not to be hated. He doesn’t want to be hatred. His father very clearly hated him.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Wisecracker (Donna Quinn)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Wisecracker (Donna Quinn)

Power Level: 9; Power Points Spent: 165/165

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

Tough: +3/+6, Fort: +6, Ref: +12, Will: +6

Skills: Acrobatics 12 (+15), Bluff 12 (+15), Computers 12 (+15), Craft (electronic) 7 (+10), Craft (mechanical) 7 (+10), Diplomacy 7 (+10), Disable Device 12 (+15), Escape Artist 7 (+10), Knowledge (behavioral science) 7 (+10), Knowledge (physical sciences) 7 (+10), Knowledge (technology) 7 (+10), Language 3 (+3), Notice 7 (+10), Perform (comedy) 7 (+10), Sense Motive 7 (+10), Sleight of Hand 7 (+10), Stealth 12 (+15)

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Specialization 2 (Long Handled Mallet (Device 1)), Challenge - Improved Acrobatic Bluff, Challenge - Improved Feint, Challenge - Improved Taunt, Dodge Focus 5, Evasion, Improved Critical (Mallet Smack (Strike 3)), Improved Trick, Power Attack, Quick Change, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Disable Device, Stealth), Takedown Attack, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Powers:
Long Handled Mallet (Device 1) (Easy to lose; Subtle (subtle))
. . Mallet Smack (Strike 3) (DC 21, Feats: Improved Critical (Mallet Smack (Strike 3)); Mighty)

Toy Gun (Device 5) (Easy to lose)
. . Toy Gun Shells (Array 10) (default power: stun; Precise)
. . . . Banana Peel Shooter (Trip 6) (Array; Autofire (interval 2, max +5), Knockback; Accurate 2 (+4))
. . . . Flying Boxing Glove (Stun 6) (Default; DC 16; Range (ranged); Accurate 2 (+4))
. . . . Knockout Gas Shell (Fatigue 6) (Array; DC 16; Range (ranged); Accurate 2 (+4))
. . . . Mini Stink Bomb (Nauseate 6) (Array; DC 16; Range (ranged); Accurate 2 (+4))
. . . . Van de Graaff's Revenge (Paralyze 6) (Array; DC 16; Range (ranged); Accurate 2 (+4))

Wisecracker Costume (Device 3) (Hard to lose)
. . Concealed Body Armor (Protection 3) (+3 Toughness; Subtle (subtle))
. . Enhanced Trait 1 (Feats: Quick Change)
. . Wrist Comm (Datalink 4) (sense type: radio; Omni-Directional Area; Machine Control, Subtle (subtle))

Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +8, Grapple: +11)

Attacks: Banana Peel Shooter (Trip 6), +12 (DC 16), Flying Boxing Glove (Stun 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Knockout Gas Shell (Fatigue 6), +12 (DC Fort 16), Mallet Smack (Strike 3), +12 (DC 21), Mini Stink Bomb (Nauseate 6), +12 (DC Fort/Staged 16), Unarmed Attack, +8 (DC 18), Van de Graaff's Revenge (Paralyze 6), +12 (DC Staged/Will 16)

Defense: +12 (Flat-footed: +4), Knockback: -3

Initiative: +3

Languages: English Native, Hebrew, Japanese, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 36 + Skills 35 (140 ranks) + Feats 18 + Powers 31 + Combat 30 + Saves 15 + Drawbacks 0 = 165

Age (as of Jan 2019): 27
Height: 5’ 9”
Weight: 145 lbs
Ethnicity: African American
Hair: Black w/ variable color stripes (stripes are dyed)
Eyes: Dark Brown

Background: Donna Quinn has saved more lives than anyone will likely ever meet. She’s also broken more laws than anyone likely ever will. She is more or less emblematic of the spirit of the Numbers. The Numbers are a loosely affiliated computer engineer/programmer/hacker collective, scattered across the four corners of the world. They don’t have a hierarchy, let alone any leadership. It’s completely anarchic, and there are no qualifications to join. Members follow who they want to until they no longer do. But if anybody in that chaotic, ever changing not-really-an-organization could be said to be a leader, if anyone could be said to command enough respect to get a large portion of the Numbers to follow her, it would be Donna Quinn. It’s not clear if she knows this, but everybody knows she wouldn’t care and never would do anything about it. It would be contrary to who she is.

. . Donna was an orphan, bouncing chaotically from foster home to foster home. It was her own fault, really. She never was very good at being a good, obedient girl who didn’t make a fuss. Curfews? Broke ‘em. House rules? What are those? Laws? Never heard of ‘em. Oh hi Officer. How ya doin’? One hell of a wild child, and that was all most folks saw. Or bothered to see. Someone young, Black, and female who saw too much, thought too much, spoke too much, and never goddamn listened. Oh yeah, adults loved her. However. Her grades were always immaculate. She never went so far as to seriously injure anyone. And her rule breaking was always on solid moral grounds, if not legal. She was a good person, if not particularly law abiding.

. . It surprised a lot of people Donna bothered to go to college (University of Florida-Go Gators!; she says), and surprised them again when she graduated successfully. Summa Cum Laude, with a bachelor’s in Psychology. She was on the gymnastics team, for heaven’s sake. Won a national All Around Championship. However, her chaotic ways had not ceased in college. She’s simply found a new outlet. She had joined the Numbers after studying computer programming in her spare time, and taken up the name and mask of Wisecracker. Mentored by Wildcat (Julia Chang) and Redline (Isaiah Williams) in the ways of the investigative vigilante, and often partnering with Hack/Slash (Jasmine Tsai), Donna’s breaks were full of espionage, theft, and street justice. Power to the people, she says. Calling her a hero would have been uh, stretching it. A Robin Hooder? Now that had got a ring to it.

. . In the middle of this happened the Nihonto Incident. A virtual reality game, first of its kind. Yet another entry in the Ultradimension Tsurugi-chan! series of games. Cyberdimension Tsurugi-chan!: 4 Swords Network. Ten thousand specially selected players from around the world plopped on their VR helmets (specially designed for the new game), logged in for the launch event, and got to playing. It took an hour before the first person realized they couldn’t log out. Poor man had a pizza coming, but alas the helmet had unplugged his voluntary nervous system from his body and into the game. Something had gone terribly wrong, because it wasn’t supposed to be able to do that. Safeguards had allegedly been programmed in to prevent the unplugging part. Naturally the blame fell on the VR helmet’s designer, the eccentric Dr. Kenta Saito. But he could not be reached, for he was supposedly attending the game’s opening logged on. And it was his avatar that proclaimed the new rules of 4 Swords Network to everyone in and out of game. Everyone had to work together to get stronger and defeat the final boss Makaze Violet. Oh, and if they ran out of health in the game or their VR helmet disconnect from the game? The wireless transmitter in their helmet would switch from radio frequencies to high powered microwaves, cooking their brain and causing nearly instant death. It was going to be a lot of fun playing together. So the villain appeared to be Dr. Saito…except he’d been dead for half a day. He was only guilty of a terrible lapse in perception. Makaze Violet had evolved into a full artificial intelligence while retaining her personality and goals as 4 Swords Network’s final boss and main antagonist. When Dr. Saito objected to her plans and tried to shut her down, he was the first to get his brain cooked. And so the poor players were trapped in the game. With an AI playing defense, there wasn’t a hacker or computer programmer in the world who could safely shut the game down without killing anyone. Even superheroes failed, getting their special gear hopelessly bricked or technopathic brains fried.

. . Two years went by. The player count dropped. Hope dimmed. Then a certain Wildcat remembered an old device. Made in 1982 by another eccentric genius. It was capable of digitizing flesh and blood and transporting it to digital space. That old one was hopelessly outdated, but Julia knew various R&D departments had been working on the tech for decades. There was a version out there somewhere that was compatible with modern tech. She put the word out to the Numbers, who found one in Seattle. She contacted Redline, Hack/Slash, and (most importantly to this story) Wisecracker. All three were in, and Redline promised to bring another rookie to help out. They met IRL for the first time and put a plan together. One daring midnight theft and some reconfigurations later, they were ready. Wildcat, Hack/Slash, and Wisecracker were the entry team. The two technopaths (Redline and the aforementioned rookie Bluescreen) would run interference with the AI to make sure it didn’t notice them. The trio was inside the game for only a few days. However, from their perspective it was far longer. As digital data, they experienced time far faster than normal human speed, so it was about six months for them. The two technopaths could compensate to communicate with them at need; however the actual players had no such advantages. So the trio was on their own…mostly. Since they were data, Redline was able to hack their game statistics up to level normally impossible for player or non player characters. And while 3 of the 4 Sword Goddesses lay broken and defeated, he was able to half rescue one. The titular Tsurugi-chan. the newly minted quartet curb stomped every boss monster and guardian creature Makaze Violet would dig up to throw at them and finally battled the AI herself in a titanic battle. She tried to crush the “cheaters”, but found herself bound by the rules of her own game. When four powerful swords unite against her, she is always defeated. The broken remains of the other 3 Sword Goddesses gave their blessing on the fight. After a terrific struggle, Makaze Violet suffered defeat and eviction from control of 4 Swords Network.

. . With the renegade AI hopelessly shackled and then imprisoned in a mobile hard drive, the players of 4 Swords Network suddenly found it a very different game. One less hostile to the concept of their victory, and more fair to winning. Redline extracted the trio and surprisingly, Tsurugi herself. Several factors (interacting with the human trio for months and absorbing shed fragments of their and Makaze Violet’s data during the battle, among other things) had forced her to evolve into an AI and then altered her code enough to confuse the digitization device into believing her one of the group. So while the reunited group was dealing with that and their own intense exhaustion (and before they could even consider reprogramming options), the players discovered their path of destruction and cleared the game. Everyone was free. The Nihonto Incident had come to an end. The fallout from it, however, is best discussed elsewhere. Because Wisecracker and the rest had nothing to do with it. At any rate, they didn’t exactly call a press conference to announce they’d saved several thousand people’s lives. They did it because it needed doing, not for the glory…outside of online Numbers hangouts, anyway. Also they’d kiiiiinda stolen a multi-million dollar piece of tech from a multi-billion dollar corporation to do it and weren’t giving it back because fuck ‘em. For the record, Wildcat kept the hard drive with Makaze Violet inside and Redline kept the digitization device, both of them because they had the space (digital for Wildcat, physical for Redline) to store them. And because Wisecracker was the one with the extra bed, she got stuck with Tsurugi. Or Miyuki Harada, as she said her real name was. And since yanno, group of skilled hackers, she soon had a legal identity that matched.

. . Wisecracker’s antics now had a partner. It was a little rough on the finances to have another mouth to feed and educate about the world she was now in, but whatever. Could’ve shoved Tsurugi back into 4 Swords Network, sure, but the Bad Plan alarm went off in everyone’s head. Because yanno, one AI caused the problems with the game in the first place. Let’s not go down that road again, ‘kay? Also the game was probably going to be shut down and she’d probably die when they did that. Being a party to murder would be so uncool. So they kept her around. Donna put in the work and got her Master’s in Psychology, just in time for Digital Shadow to reach out through the Numbers with a job offer. Not for Donna and her shiny new degree, but for Wisecracker. Normally, this would have likely gone to Wildcat, Redline, or perhaps even Hack/Slash, but he knew that they were already members of their own crews that absolutely would not fit in the two spaces he had remaining. And said crews had their own leaders who were not them. So doubly conflicting. So Wisecracker got the call, and she brought Tsurugi along with her to take that last slot.

. . Three years down the road, and everything’s going pretty great, actually. The Watchdogs don’t actually work full time, you know? So Donna had the time to get her Doctorate, and now works as a psychologist who rotates through several different free clinics. Between that, dealing with Tsurugi, and Watchdogs missions she’s very, very busy. Life is good. The authorities have not yet connected the activities of the supervillain (by their classification, not hers) Wisecracker to Doctor Donna Quinn, Ph. D.

Powers & Tactics: Wisecracker has no superhuman powers. She uses three technological (sort of) devices of her own creation. Her Long Handled Mallet is just a polo mallet with an extended handle so she can use it two handed. The handle itself collapses so she can wear it at her waist when not in use. Also worn at her waist is her Toy Gun. It is an oversized toy revolver. Seriously, .50 caliber bullets would be too small, so it’s obviously a toy. What’s not a toy is the homemade shells she loads into it and the customizations that allow it to fire them. But these aren’t bullets. that wouldn’t be funny. They’re all more exotic effects than a mere bullet. Banana Peel Shooter fires greased banana peels to make the target to slip, fall, and literally slide away. When it works, It’s hilarious. The Flying Boxing Glove is a shell that explodes into (what else?) a boxing glove to hit the target. At the speed of a fired bullet. Painful, and can knock the target out, but not incapable of causing any real damage. The Knockout Gas Shell explodes into an anesthetic gas on impact with a target, attempting to put them to sleep. The Mini Stink Bomb also explodes on impact, into a cloud of sulfurous gas that can render its target too nauseated to function. Van de Graff’s Revenge is a gel capsule with a certain electric charge. It does its best to shut down the target’s voluntary nervous system on impact.

. . Her last device is her Wisecracker Costume. It has body armor, is easy to put on quickly, and has a Wrist Comm that lets her hack anything within a mile radius. She is a very good hacker. She used to wear the armor underneath a more awkward costume, but working for the STG has its benefits. It resembles a jester’s motley but with a full cowl and the bells silenced for stealth reasons.

. . Tactically, Wisecracker has a wealth of options available to her. She relies on Bluff and Stealth to stay out of unnecessary combat. Her first approach if confronted during an op is to get away. She does not hesitate to use her Toy Gun’s Flying Boxing Glove, Mini Stink Bomb, or Van de Graff’s Revenge settings in this case. In open combat she relies on her Toy Gun, switching to her Long Handled Mallet only if disarmed or the heroes close the distance. She has the Improved versions of Acrobatic Bluff and Feint to remove dodge bonuses, and Improved Taunt to whack saves down at need. Improved Trick and Power Attack also have their uses, though she has yet to use Power Attack with her Long Handled Mallet on a living target. She does not power stunt except in absolute desperation, as doing so damages her Toy Gun. These are Dazzle 6 (Visual Senses; Burst Area) and Snare 6 (Burst Area).

Personality: Fuck The Police. All Cops Are Bastards. Eat The Rich. Power To The People. Speak Truth To Power. Etcetera. Ad nauseam. And so on.Wisecracker realized from a very early age (at about age 9, after the planes hit the towers and Starman II died) that adults were full of shit. They claimed they knew best, but they didn’t know what the hell they were doing any better than she did. So she started trying to figure it out for herself. Later events (like the pathetic federal response after Hurricane Katrina) only confirmed her rebellious ideology. The system was broken, and the people who gave a shit were outnumbered and outgunned by the people who didn’t. That is, if you though the system could be reformed in the first place. Yeah, fuck that. She was gonna work outside the system as much as possible, and Robin Hood this thing. Take back what the billionaires stole from the common people, a little bit at a time. And then give it back where she could.

. . This isn’t to say that she’s perpetually angry. No, she’s chosen to laugh instead of scream in rage. Life is to be enjoyed. And there’s nothing more enjoyable that doing harm to dickheads with her weapons and her words. What’s a few wisecracks between colleagues in criminality? And she’s not exclusively a criminal. She spends just as much time in various low income communities helping with various things as Donna Quinn. She’s a noted psychologist and community organizer. If there is going to be real change, then it’s coming from the bottom up and not the top down. She is kind. She does cares about doing good and right, and works tirelessly to make sure that (in her mind) she is doing so. She’s a great therapist and her patients adore her. She bashes real supervillains for being selfish dickheads when she catches them in the act. If she upheld the law instead of breaking it all the time, she’d be one hell of a superhero. But she knows very well that right and wrong have little to do with legal and illegal. And so she’s seen as a supervillain instead.
Last edited by EternalPhoenix on Tue Jun 14, 2022 10:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest: Seawings Creator Commentary; Yas & Friends + Truman Home)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Strength Revolution progress update #5 (100% finished from previous are removed; my but it's been a while since the last one of these)

Squad D (The Outsiders)
Tana, of the Waves (100% finished)
Nika, the Heartfire (100% finished)
Rudolphus "Rudy" Evander (100% finished)
Calamity Jane (Judith and Amalia Richter) (100% finished)
Thespian (Claudia Baker) (100% finished)

Military Action Group
Walter Mackey (Captain, Recon Division) (100% finished)
. . Rose “Zulu” Ross (Lieutenant, Recon Division) (New!; 100% finished)
. . Patricia “Shadow” Garza (Lieutenant, Recon Division) (New!; 100% finished)
Simon Vyntra (Captain, Heavy Division) (100% finished)
. . Sergio “Tectonic” Marquez (Lieutenant, Heavy Division)(100% finished)
. . Casey “Casino” Duff (Lieutenant, Heavy Division)(100% finished)
Victor "Shotsy" Leroy (Captain, Assault Division) (100% finished)
. . Jack “Android” Martin (Lieutenant, Assault Division) (New!; 100% finished)
. . Shigeru “Dice” Miyamoto (Lieutenant, Assault Division) (New; Build finished, write up in progress)
Mahmoud "Combo" Isra (Captain, Support Division) (Build finished, write up in progress)
. . Cecile “Prophet” Fournier (Lieutenant, Support Division) (New!; Build finished)
. . Raul “Bonus” Torres (Lieutenant, Support Division) (New!; Build finished)
Jedda "Fast Lane" Briggs (Captain, Transport Division) (New!; Build finished)

Psi-Division (I'll dig into these very soon)
Hayate Ishikawa (Build finished)
Arielle Cadieux (Build finished)
Valentina Alvarez (Build finished)
Miriam Mizrahi (Build finished)
Ichika Ishikawa (Build finished)
Kaede Kobayashi (Build finished)

I'm making progress! :mrgreen: Even if the MAG's entries tripled (plus one more) in size along the way because I couldn't simply drop names and leave 'em unbuilt! :sweat_smile: Look forward to Tsurugi in several hours! 8-)
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Tsurugi (Miyuki Harada)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Tsurugi (Miyuki Harada)

Power Level: 8/12; Power Points Spent: 180/180

STR: +7 (16/25), DEX: +5 (16/20), CON: +7 (18/24), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +5 (16/20), CHA: +5 (16/20)

Tough: +10, Fort: +8/+7, Ref: +14, Will: +9

Skills: Acrobatics 7 (+12/+15), Bluff 7 (+12/+15), Computers 8 (+10), Disable Device 8 (+10), Gather Information 7 (+12/+15), Knowledge (streetwise) 3 (+5), Knowledge (technology) 8 (+10), Language 7 (+7), Notice 5 (+10/+12), Sense Motive 5 (+10/+12), Stealth 7 (+12/+15)

Feats: Accurate Attack, Attack Focus (melee) 7, Challenge - Improved Feint, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 5, Evasion, Improved Critical 2 (Tsurugi Sword Strike (Strike 3)), Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Powers:
Tsurugi Sword (Device 2) (Easy to lose)
. . Tsurugi Sword Strike (Strike 3) (DC 25, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Tsurugi Sword Strike (Strike 3)); Penetrating [1 extra rank]; Mighty)

Tsurugi-no-Okami (Alternate Form 12)
. . Tsurugi-no-Okami (Alternate Form) (Powers: Goddess Armor (Protection 3), Goddess Wings (Flight 6), Attack Bonus +2 (+7), Strength +9 (25, +7), Constitution +6 (24, +7), Dodge Focus 5 +2 (+5), Dexterity +4 (20, +5), Wisdom +4 (20, +5), Charisma +4 (20, +5), Acrobatics +3 (+15), Bluff +3 (+15), Gather Information +3 (+15), Stealth +3 (+15), Notice +2 (+12), Sense Motive +2 (+12), Fortitude -1 (+7), Attack Focus (melee) 7 +2 (+7), Feats: Evasion)
. . . . Goddess Armor (Protection 3) (+3 Toughness; Impervious [3 extra ranks])
. . . . Goddess Wings (Flight 6) (Speed: 500 mph, 4400 ft./rnd)

Goddess Transformations:
Tsurugi-no-Okami (Alternate Form) (Powers: Goddess Armor (Protection 3), Goddess Wings (Flight 6), Attack Bonus +2 (+7), Strength +9 (25, +7), Constitution +6 (24, +7), Dodge Focus 5 +2 (+5), Dexterity +4 (20, +5), Wisdom +4 (20, +5), Charisma +4 (20, +5), Acrobatics +3 (+15), Bluff +3 (+15), Gather Information +3 (+15), Stealth +3 (+15), Notice +2 (+12), Sense Motive +2 (+12), Fortitude -1 (+7), Attack Focus (melee) 7 +2 (+7), Feats: Evasion)

Attack Bonus: +5/+7 (Ranged: +5/+7, Melee: +10/+14, Grapple: +17/+21)

Attacks: Tsurugi Sword Strike (Strike 3), +14 (DC 25), Unarmed Attack, +14 (DC 22)

Defense: +14 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -8

Initiative: +9

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Japanese Native, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Totals: Abilities 36 + Skills 18 (72 ranks) + Feats 18 + Powers 66 + Combat 28 + Saves 14 + Drawbacks 0 = 180

Chronological Age (as of Jan 2019): 6 years (as a program), 5 years (post awakening), over 1000 years (in her games)
Physical Age (as of Jan 2019): 5 years (wear and tear level), about 20 years (physiological maturity level)
Appearance Age (as of Jan 2019): mid teens (untransformed), mid 20s (Tsurugi-no-Okami)
Height: 5’ (untransformed), 5’ 8” (Tsurugi-no-Okami)
Weight: 100 lbs (untransformed), 125 lbs (Tsurugi-no-Okami)
Ethnicity: Japanese
Hair: Lavender (untransformed), Purple (Tsurugi-no-Okami)
Eyes: Purple (untransformed), Blue (Tsurugi-no-Okami)

Background: Miyuki Harada is not a human being. Hell, she’s not even a real person. She is the protagonist of the video game series Ultradimension Tsurugi-chan! and thus literally a fictional character. So what in blazes is a fictional character from a video game doing in the real world working for the Strength Revolution? Well, it goes back a ways. There was a guy in ’82 who created a method of physically entering the video game he’d made by digitizing flesh and blood and zapping it inside the computer housing said game. Naturally, his less than ethical financier used this incredible invention to “murder” people by zapping them into his game world. Starting with the inventor himself. He didn’t get a full 6 months before a superhero escaped his game, rescued everyone trapped inside, and handed him his ass on a plate. But the technology continued to be explored afterward by various R&D departments and firms, with the inventor both helping and getting wealthy off the fees paid to look into his tech. Of course, it was just a matter of time before someone started actually using the tech again, which is where Wisecracker and the Nihonto Incident come in.

. . Tsurugi remembers. What she was supposed to be. She was programmed to be an ally and a mentor to the “new allies” (her game’s players) who chose her namesake weapon. She would teach them the basics of using a tsurugi, and send them off on quests that would help her world. Every time they completed one of her quests, she was to send them on another one in an itemized list. After, of course, rewarding them with a new combat technique, a more powerful tsurugi, another item, or something else. The list was not short, and naturally each quest had its own specific reward. There were specific ways she was supposed to react to various things players said or did. And if they were defeated in combat, she would come and dramatically save them, revitalizing their health and chopping the enemies down. At least at first, anyway. Got t let them stand on their own at some point, right? And, of course, she’d remember all their names, faces, and their reactions to what she did, customizing her previously mentioned reactions to them. She really was very well programmed. But that’s all she was ever meant to be. A complex computer program without a shred of self awareness or independent identity. This was not how it went. Makaze Violet trapped all the “new allies” in the game, and took away her ability to rescue them when their health depleted. Instead they just…disappeared. The three other Goddesses. Tachi. Nagamaki. Yajiri. Her sisters, even if they didn’t always get along. Makaze Violet destroyed them somehow. It took her quite a while to do it, but still. That didn’t make sense. They didn’t have health to deplete if they weren’t in Combat Mode. She would have been destroyed too, except three new people showed up and saved her from the monster Makaze Violent sent to break her. There was nothing in her programming for this situation. She was just a fancy puppet, with nothing else to her existence. She did not know what to do. So Tsurugi did something no version of her had ever done before. Because she was Tsurugi, with intimate knowledge of her own personal history and actions in previous games. And that was Makaze Violet, her long time foe. For the first time ever, she made a decision instead of blindly following her programming. She engaged Combat Mode despite not receiving a Player Downed signal, and fought beside Wildcat, Hack/Slash, and Wisecracker. They were not “new allies”, but they were allies. Makaze Violet had changed the world somehow, and her “new allies” couldn’t stop it on their own. So it was up to Tsurugi, last of the 4 Sword Goddesses, to stop the villain, avenge her sisters, and save the world. You know, again.

. . This, well, took a lot of time. And it was weird. Wildcat fought just like Yajiri, with the long bow and those steel headed arrows. Hack/Slash fought just like Tachi, with those two single edged swords. And Wisecracker fought just like Nagamaki, with that very long handled sword. Nobody knew it, but Redline (their telepathic ally on the outside, which made zero sense to Tsurugi, but it was irrelevant to the Main Quest) had grafted the broken data of the other 3 Sword Goddesses onto the hacker trio as part of his hacking them into being powerhouses in game. Hell, Redline himself didn’t know the origin of the data, just that it was free floating in the game’s code. Saved him a lot of time in beefing up the ladies. As recounted elsewhere, over 6 months (in game time) they slashed their way through Makaze Violet’s legion of boss monsters and guardians, and at last challenged the villain herself. Tsurugi had grown more in the interim. There had been many situations that her programming didn’t cover, and she had to choose what to apply or fail the Main Quest. She was, essentially, writing new programming to cover the gaps in the existing code. Not that she knew that. Or knew that she could do that. Or even realized she was doing it. She wasn’t self aware. Not yet. But the Tsurugi that faced Makaze Violet with her fireforged friends (they fit the definition in her memories, of course) was very, very different from the Tsurugi who first joined them. The broken remains of the other 3 Sword Goddesses gave their “successors” their blessing, and after a ferocious battle Makaze Violet was defeated. Tsurugi had a tearful goodbye with Tachi, Nagamaki, and Yajiri, while the other three did…something with that Redline guy. Sealing Makaze Violet away? Didn’t they just do that? How strange. And now they were just going to leave? Wait. That’s not right. W…what happens now? Her sisters were gone. The “new allies” were also leaving, the trio said. And even Makaze Violet was gone. Was…was Tsurugi was going to be alone?

. . Her programming, at this stage, was a work of art no one human could have ever accomplished. What happened on the technical level was that the battle with Makaze Violet was fought the quartet in game and by Redline and his rookie protégé Bluescreen out of game. They cut away bits of her so that she could be safely contained, and she couldn’t entirely fight back because of the battle in game. Some of that loose code was absorbed unintentionally by Tsurugi, which kicked her evolution into turbo and tipped her over the edge from mere ultra complex program to true self aware AI. But for Tsurugi, it was like achieving enlightenment. The irony of a Goddess having a spiritual awakening was not lost on her later. She ran to her friends to beg them not to leave her here alone…and got caught in the beam that un-digitized them. This shouldn’t have done a damn thing to Tsurugi. 30 seconds earlier, it probably wouldn’t have. So it was a hell of a surprise to literally everyone to have a fourth person standing there when they’d only sent three.

. . Tsurugi didn’t quite look the same. Her game did not have a photo realistic art style at all. Her voice and personality, however, were identical. Redline’s quick investigation revealed the truth. She had made the jump to being an AI literally right then, and the working theory was that because of her proximity to the three humans turned data during their quest and during getting un-digitalized, well… the scanner on the digitization device got confused and brought her back with them. This was a shocking development, especially for Tsurugi. Six months (Three days? What?) ago, she was basically a mindless automaton made of programming code. And now she was both self aware and corporeal. Flesh and blood, kinda. So naturally she had a complete and total meltdown, as anyone suddenly thrown into an entirely different world in an entirely different body (as she understood the concept) would. Probably didn’t help that she was butt naked, except for her tsurugi she was still holding. And uh…it turned out she still had access to her Goddess transformation. Somehow. Oh, boy.

. . While the hacker group was dealing with all of that and their own extreme fatigue, the Nihonto Incident resolved itself. The group sorted out who was taking what, and went their separate ways. Wildcat got that object that supposedly held Mazake Violet, because she had the spare digital storage to keep her in. Redline got the digitization device, because he had the spare physical storage to keep it in. And Wisecracker got Tsurugi, because she had a spare bed for the newly personed girl to sleep on. It was a trial, learning the rules of the physical world. So many new lessons every day. Physical bodies were kind of annoying. Eating and drinking and washing and the toilet and sleeping. Socialization she knew how to do. It was just a matter of adapting existing knowledge. Her programming, not that that word applied anymore. Pain was the worst. It was like she was a newborn baby, except physically a adult. So while she could walk, talk, and reason, everything else about the human experience had to be taught. It was technically a faster process because she wasn’t physiologically developing at the same time, but still. It took the aforementioned newborn babies several years to begin to get a grasp on everything, and over a decade to get something resembling functional. So faster was uh, relative. And occasionally messy.

. . But Wisecracker got the offer to join this Special Tactics group thing, Tsurugi volunteered to fill the last slot on the squad. The last three years have been uh, interesting. She has learned many more new things than she did living in Wisecracker’s apartment. This world isn’t that different from her own. There are still monsters to fight. They are still villains to defeat. And there is much worth protecting. Like her friends in the Watchdogs. And all those innocent citizens. So Tsurugi will continue to draw her sword and fight. The poor girl doesn’t understand at all that she’s on the wrong side, but then again she (in her programmed memories and personality) never cared much for stuffy things like laws and rules. They got in the way of doing what was right too much. Besides, literal Goddess. It’s fiiiine. The one thing about the physical world that she doesn’t quite understand yet that’s incredibly important is that people die when they are killed. Hence why the whole Squad tries very hard to prevent her from intentionally killing anyone or being involved in any assassinations. She still thinks they just come back later. You know, like in her game. Respawn, that’s the word. And various world religions asserting the existence of an afterlife and/or reincarnation doesn’t help. At all.

Powers & Tactics: Tsurugi’s body is human. Technically. She’s classified as a mutant with altered physiology, which is one way to put it. She has all the organs in all the right places to be a vanilla human being. Except they don’t quite function in the same way. A doctor would be utterly baffled as to how she’s still alive with all those dysfunctional organs. Yet somehow it all works. There’s plenty of foods she can’t digest, she seems to absorb ambient energy (like static electricity) from the air around her, and oh yeah, she can transform into a more powerful version of herself. The way her transformation seems to work is that she draws in ambient energy even more than normal and somehow converts it her own mass in stunning defiance of how physics is supposed to work. Little bits of matter can release immense amounts of energy, not the other way around. There is a thunderous crack of sound and a near blinding flash of light as she changes.

. . Transformed, she is Tsurugi-no-Okami. Her physical abilities increase dramatically, and her mental abilities also get a boost. She’s adorned in bulletproof skintight armor and can friggin’ fly with a set of mechanical/hard light looking wings. She’s fast in flight, too, able to out distance modern jet liners. In either form she’s a swordswoman of expert skill, but transformed she’s cut cars in half with her namesake weapon. A tsurugi, by the way, is a straight bladed and double edged sword. Literally double edged, as in both sides can cut instead of one.

. . Tactically, Tsurugi has only one option, really. Apply sword to opponent. This is a little deceptive because of her ability to transform. Normally she doesn’t transform at all. Her PL 8 normal state suffices for most encounters because 1) she’s on a team with four other people in it and 2) they work very hard not to have to fight to begin with. So under most circumstances, encounters don’t have a lot of enemies (powerful or otherwise) to deal with. Her job is explicitly to handle the things the otherwise unpowered human members of the squad can’t. As Tsurugi-no-Okami, she can fly and hit harder and more accurately than any of them. She’s a hell of a surprise for a hero team of average PL 8-9 power. Especially because she can both Accurate and Power Attack, and can knock out dodge bonuses before striking with Improved Acrobatic Bluff. Untransformed, she just does her best to stay out of the way and let the others do what they’re good at. Transformed, she’s the front line and plays ferry during retreats. She’s strong enough to carry Digital Shadow or Eclipse alone, or both Dusk Widow and Wisecracker together without losing speed. She is currently incapable of power stunting.

Personality: Tsurugi-chan (she insists on the honorific when untransformed) is a cute, cheerful airhead. She’s perky, eager, and affectionate to her squadmates, especially Wisecracker. No sense of personal space. She wears her emotions on her sleeve, and can be a little klutzy. But she firmly believes in helping people, even if you have to break the rules. Even after all this time, she’s still a bit lost in the physical world, and can seem quite immature. She is, after all, in some ways only five years old. Slang and idioms will often slide right by her. But at the end of the day she was one of her (admittedly fictional, not that it matters to her) world’s greatest heroes. So she can rein all that in to get the job done.

. . Tsurugi-no-Okami, on the other hand, could never be confused with a child. She even drops the insistence on the honorific. She is regal and mature, with some haughtiness and pride in her abilities. She was, after all, one of her (again admittedly fictional, not that it matters to her) world’s Goddesses. She was the strongest, and she was well aware of it. This has not changed to a large degree. She is still vastly stronger than most of her opponents, and she is well aware of that. She does love a good fight, and loves winning even more. However, she remains level headed, because she’s learned the hard way (though programmed memories that are real to her) that pride goeth before a fall. The backstory to the plot of her first game had the other 3 Goddesses team up and kick her ass for being a jerk and thus stripping her of her powers for a time.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
Commander Titan
Posts: 338
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 3:14 am

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest:StrRev STG Squad C! Digital Shadow! Dusk Widow! Eclipse! Wisecracker! Tsuru

Post by Commander Titan »

Finally finished perusing the The League of Seven:

Blackgate Pirates: Pirates are fun. Modern day, super-powered pirates, are also fun (as the Krakoan-era Marauders comic has shown). This quite literally looks like a job for Aquaman.
  • Yori Newgate: I appreciate that someone at his power level isn't suddenly deciding he wants to conquer Australia or whatever.
  • Nayan: I really like the idea of a duplicator providing the "infrastructure" for a superpower organization, making it a hell of a lot easier to answer "...where do they find this many guys to work for the bad guys?" Like in the current X-Men comics where Multiple Man does a lot to keep the world afloat. And like so many pirates, Nayan is as much outcast as he is villain. And his morals, and also the ticking clock of the astra inside him, yeah, he's the perfect plot hook character.
  • Zuberi Wafula: That Spider-Man game was a lot of fun. Albeit a bit distressing to play through the later sections during the start of the pandemic... Anyway, tentacles are always a good power (I was a fan of Laughing Octopus in MGS4 - Doc Ock is a serious threat, but kind of silly at times, but Laughing Octopus showcased how even in a mil-SF setting the tentacles would be terrifying). And its a good way to turn a intellectual threat into a physical one as well.
  • Layla Khan: Scary, and a good example of the dangers of a skilled mortal even on a superhuman crew. Sniper rifles, at least in fiction, basically are a superpower.
Devil Hunter Society: Do they know the secret about "demons/devils" don't exist as mentioned in Miss Mimic's bio? If not, would revealing that change their habits at all?
  • Kiske, of The Thousand: It took the Devil Hunter Society write-up for it to set in, but Kiske is pretty old, huh? He's had a long time to calcify his attitudes and views then. No wonder he is how he is.
Turgenev Mercenary Group: I really like that each of the members presented runs the gamut of morality and ideal mission parameters. Lots of opportunities for them to be slotted into an adventure and cross paths with the heroes. Hm... has anyone ever tried to hire one of them (other than Turgenev himself) against, say, the Blackgate Pirates?
  • Ruslan Turgenev: Brutal backstory. I picture maybe Dave Bautista playing him? Someone BIG, but still capable of serious depth.
  • Tatsuya Gushiken: The World's Greatest Swordsman - did someone arrange the whole set of rules and competition? Or is it simply a case where people were insatiably curious about it and it happened organically.
  • Bellona Accardo: A modern war cultist. The breakdown of her morality vis a vis Bellona the goddess is quite interesting.
  • Reyna Oleastro: I like that she's both the engineer and the cop/agent herself, as opposed to a more straightforward RoboCop-style "test subject by necessity." On a team with proper funding, she could be a good Iron Man/Captain America-hybrid, I'd think?
OWN (Operatives Without Names): A great name!
  • Nagesh Malik: As some of the comments around his original posting said, what a great character: A monster, but not one constantly performing massacres or the like without reason.
  • Aidan Killian: Do his cybnertics have any connection to Reyna's work?
  • Shanyuan Baoli: I've always liked sand control as a power. I don't know why. The sands explicitly being demonic/hellish lets them have some neat extra capabilities.
The Cult of The Light: Interesting group. Given the omnidirectional grapple belt - how high-profile/public do they go in for when making hits? And given their essentially a religious group, any particular rituals/worship practices?
  • Lakis Hasapis: Does Thanatos have any thoughts on Bellona's arrangement? These gods seem to cause nothing but trouble for humanity. Typical.
  • Lestari: That's a particularly messed up, but interesting, psychology! Normally martial arts characters get to be "extra enlightened," not delusional, so this is refreshing.
  • Reina Wong and Holter (Aerin Grosvenor): Am I wrong to think that, in a parallel world somewhere, Mortellini and BLACK come across them first and they take slightly more heroic (or at least less templar-ish) paths? They seem like under different circumstances they could find themselves operating within his parameters, perhaps. Either way, Holter's a great example of a hero just deciding they are sick of the old song and dance, and a reminder of how close others come to the line...
Ninguem
  • Shazza Ferreira: God, her life is just all one hyperviolent action film or 90s comic, huh? Nanomachines!
  • Cecilia Bridges: Absolute loyalty to a power source / weapons system is a neat, sort of horrifying concept.
Knights of Karelia: Of the Seven and their own factions, this is definitely the favorite. They're professional, they can be as heroic as they can villainous, and Karelia as the setting's Latveria is fun.
  • Baroness Valia: I appreciate the contrast between her cybernetics/tech and Shazza's. One generation, self-made, versus another, taken from the Agency. On her own merits, I always like the "Noble Demon" villains, who can be reasoned with more often than not. And can be counted on to do something useful when Galactus shows up. Very curuous to hear more about Megagirl, when the time comes.
  • Jade Knight (Ma're Iryen) I loved the old Centurions cartoon, and its fun to see that powerset here. Plus another connection to the ancient war. "Dig up the ancient android/gynoid" arms race would be a fun campaign / series frame as well. You could give them different thematic powers to be your "robot of the week," drawing from Mega Man and the like.
  • Miss Mimic (Francesca Zanetti): Already a tough enough moral situation to manage, without the grey situations that the Knights of Karelia and League of Seven generate!
  • Oväder (Linnéa Sjöberg): Is the Tempest Staff a one-off development, or does all Karelia enjoy made-to-order weather? I could see windmill-like towers dotting the landscape, but controlling the weather instead of drawing power from it.
  • Strażak (Jedrick Jagoda): Perhaps everyone in the Phoenixverse should just call a truce one weekend and agree to just deal with the Agency once and for all. And its nice to see a real hero here, and limiting his power to the feet/kicks is a neat restriction.
  • Princess Audrielle Eliska: She shows a human side of Valia, and could go all kinds of interesting places in the future. Literally - she seems rich to have a "hero self from one timeline" and "villain self from another" come back in time to mess around (perhaps only to have her present day self reject both!).
Current Setting Projects:
User avatar
EternalPhoenix
Posts: 1858
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2022 6:42 am
Location: The Land of Mary

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest:StrRev STG Squad C! Digital Shadow! Dusk Widow! Eclipse! Wisecracker! Tsuru

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am Finally finished perusing the The League of Seven:

Blackgate Pirates: Pirates are fun. Modern day, super-powered pirates, are also fun (as the Krakoan-era Marauders comic has shown). This quite literally looks like a job for Aquaman.
I dunno, Yori's a little out of his weight class. He'd hand most versions of Arthur their ass on a plate.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Nayan: I really like the idea of a duplicator providing the "infrastructure" for a superpower organization, making it a hell of a lot easier to answer "...where do they find this many guys to work for the bad guys?" Like in the current X-Men comics where Multiple Man does a lot to keep the world afloat. And like so many pirates, Nayan is as much outcast as he is villain. And his morals, and also the ticking clock of the astra inside him, yeah, he's the perfect plot hook character.
It's true, he's got a lot going on.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Zuberi Wafula: That Spider-Man game was a lot of fun. Albeit a bit distressing to play through the later sections during the start of the pandemic... Anyway, tentacles are always a good power (I was a fan of Laughing Octopus in MGS4 - Doc Ock is a serious threat, but kind of silly at times, but Laughing Octopus showcased how even in a mil-SF setting the tentacles would be terrifying). And its a good way to turn a intellectual threat into a physical one as well.
Fun fact, I had a very different tech specialist in his slot for ages before I just found him too depressing. Used nanomachines to rapidly regenerate from damage and increase his physical abilities. The inital test of the nanomachines killed his lady love and fused them to him permanently, so he was basically immortal. Or maybe it was that she designed and made them and it was his mistake that got her killed and him empowered. Meh, I dunno. Like I said, too depressing.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Layla Khan: Scary, and a good example of the dangers of a skilled mortal even on a superhuman crew. Sniper rifles, at least in fiction, basically are a superpower.
The Grand Wizard Methion agrees with you. There's a sniper in each Special Tactics Group Squad, and about half of the Military Action Group's Recon division are snipers and assassins. Spoilers for those of you reading this, I guess, even though that posting is about eleven days away, I think?
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 amDevil Hunter Society: Do they know the secret about "demons/devils" don't exist as mentioned in Miss Mimic's bio? If not, would revealing that change their habits at all?
It's safe to say that they do. The point is relatively moot. Evil is evil, after all, regardless of how human it used to be. And there's plenty of supernatural nasties that have nothing to do with demons, devils, or Hell. If they knew about Francesca, they'd likely be trying to kill her. After, hopefully, prying some information out of her about any other folks like her she knows. Now, if they knew she'd been partially purified? Pre Kiske takeover they would have likely taken her in and made her one of their own. Help her sort out her issues. After, though? Kiske sees threats and not threats. Enemies and not enemies. He'd still be trying to have her killed.

As a side note, I'm surprised you said nothing about his subordinates. Zuki is among my favorites of the whole League project, and Kino's powerset just makes me happy.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 amTurgenev Mercenary Group: I really like that each of the members presented runs the gamut of morality and ideal mission parameters. Lots of opportunities for them to be slotted into an adventure and cross paths with the heroes. Hm... has anyone ever tried to hire one of them (other than Turgenev himself) against, say, the Blackgate Pirates?
Maybe, but it's a piss poor idea for anyone to try. Ruslan will probably kill whoever put the contract out personally, if he doesn't just sic the Pirates on them.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Ruslan Turgenev: Brutal backstory. I picture maybe Dave Bautista playing him? Someone BIG, but still capable of serious depth.
How do I put this? I'm not opposed to Big Dave or any othe rminority getting work, but Ruslan is explicitly Russian. Russia is one of the whitest countries on Earth. I mean, if a casting director thinks Big Dave is the best fit for someone literally born in Czarist Russia, I'm not going to complain. He'd probably do a fantastic job. But he's neither white nor Russian. It'd be like having a Nigerian play Tatsuya. Or a Korean play Reyna. Or a Swede play Zuberi. It's just weird to imagine.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Tatsuya Gushiken: The World's Greatest Swordsman - did someone arrange the whole set of rules and competition? Or is it simply a case where people were insatiably curious about it and it happened organically.
It happened organically. People who hone their skills to that high of a peak are extremely competitive by nature. What better way to measure your progress than against someone else? With the internet, it's easier to keep track of one's relative ranking and of course individual swordspeople have fans that help do so. It works similarly for Martial Artists, Assassins, and Thieves along with any other one I come up with eventually. :mrgreen:
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Reyna Oleastro: I like that she's both the engineer and the cop/agent herself, as opposed to a more straightforward RoboCop-style "test subject by necessity." On a team with proper funding, she could be a good Iron Man/Captain America-hybrid, I'd think?
Yeah, I guess. They'd still have to get her patents released by Mexico for her to be of any real use (aside from repairs and general knowlege) in the Iron Man half of that role, but yeah.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Aidan Killian: Do his cybnertics have any connection to Reyna's work?
No. His cybernetics were installed in Ireland. The government of Mexico owns Reyna's work entirely. Cybernetics is a demanding discipline, it's true, but there's more than her and Zuberi in the world. I've toyed with them being an Agency design, but eh. For now it can stay generic.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 amThe Cult of The Light: Interesting group. Given the omnidirectional grapple belt - how high-profile/public do they go in for when making hits? And given their essentially a religious group, any particular rituals/worship practices?
I think I'll let a GM decide that if he uses them. But if it was me, I'd have them be as high profile as necessary to get the job done, and not one whit more.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Lakis Hasapis: Does Thanatos have any thoughts on Bellona's arrangement? These gods seem to cause nothing but trouble for humanity. Typical.
Thanatos is a Greek deity that was appropriated by Romans. Bellona was Roman the entire time. He does not care, except perhaps to be amused.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Reina Wong and Holter (Aerin Grosvenor): Am I wrong to think that, in a parallel world somewhere, Mortellini and BLACK come across them first and they take slightly more heroic (or at least less templar-ish) paths? They seem like under different circumstances they could find themselves operating within his parameters, perhaps. Either way, Holter's a great example of a hero just deciding they are sick of the old song and dance, and a reminder of how close others come to the line...
It's a theme I keep coming back to in the Strength Revolution. A significant number of these people seem like they could fit into BLACK, except...the thing that sets BLACK apart is that they all know they're not doing anything just and right. They don't see themselves as "the good guys". Reina and Holter do see themselves that way. It's perhaps a fine philosophical point, but it's one I'll stick to with all my might.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 amNinguem
  • Shazza Ferreira: God, her life is just all one hyperviolent action film or 90s comic, huh? Nanomachines!
Yeah, her life is full of blood and death. Mostly of her enemies. There's breaks, but yeah.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 amKnights of Karelia: Of the Seven and their own factions, this is definitely the favorite. They're professional, they can be as heroic as they can villainous, and Karelia as the setting's Latveria is fun.
Karelia is a real place! And a real ethnicity! It's not an independent nation in our world, being owned by Finland and Russia, but it's real!
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Baroness Valia: I appreciate the contrast between her cybernetics/tech and Shazza's. One generation, self-made, versus another, taken from the Agency. On her own merits, I always like the "Noble Demon" villains, who can be reasoned with more often than not. And can be counted on to do something useful when Galactus shows up. Very curuous to hear more about Megagirl, when the time comes.
Look, Valia fuckin' rules, man. I love her to bits. Megan will be a while in coming, though. So much lined up in front of her, assuming I don't change my mind along the way.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Jade Knight (Ma're Iryen) I loved the old Centurions cartoon, and its fun to see that powerset here. Plus another connection to the ancient war. "Dig up the ancient android/gynoid" arms race would be a fun campaign / series frame as well. You could give them different thematic powers to be your "robot of the week," drawing from Mega Man and the like.
You could, but Ma're is based more on KOS-MOS than that cartoon I've never seen. :mrgreen: Though obviously there were other models with other capabilities.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Oväder (Linnéa Sjöberg): Is the Tempest Staff a one-off development, or does all Karelia enjoy made-to-order weather? I could see windmill-like towers dotting the landscape, but controlling the weather instead of drawing power from it.
The Law of Unintended Consequences prevents that sort of large scale weather control, at least if you're sane. If you alter weather over an entire country, even a small one like Karelia, there's going to be unpredictable effects to weather patterns across the globe. Valia is not nearly stupid enough to get blamed for a Cat 5 Hurricane striking the United States. Or Brazil. Or China. Or, god help them, if the monsoons decided not to show up in South/Southeast Asia. It was something she made a while ago to fight Megagirl with. It didn't work, so chucked into the vault. Now, one could technically control the entire planet's weather with tech like this and skirt the Law. But uh, superheroes tend to, uh, vigorously object to that sort of thing when someone like Valia does it. It's almost as if she's untrustworthy and prone to doing awful things over petty slights or something. Weird. :mrgreen:
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Strażak (Jedrick Jagoda): Perhaps everyone in the Phoenixverse should just call a truce one weekend and agree to just deal with the Agency once and for all. And its nice to see a real hero here, and limiting his power to the feet/kicks is a neat restriction.
Well...the Agency, as shown in Jedrick's entry, has potent power nullification on hand. And they make way too many powerful people way too much money with their research. There's reasons Vincent and BLACK hasn't taken them entirely apart in spite of their cartoonish evil.
Commander Titan wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 5:58 am
  • Princess Audrielle Eliska: She shows a human side of Valia, and could go all kinds of interesting places in the future. Literally - she seems rich to have a "hero self from one timeline" and "villain self from another" come back in time to mess around (perhaps only to have her present day self reject both!).
Ha, that sounds like her all right. She's on her side, not anyone else's.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
The Archetype Blendarama!
You, Dear Reader, may comment on any build at any time. I will be happy regardless.
User avatar
Commander Titan
Posts: 338
Joined: Thu May 19, 2022 3:14 am

Re: The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse; Newest:StrRev STG Squad C! Digital Shadow! Dusk Widow! Eclipse! Wisecracker! Tsuru

Post by Commander Titan »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm It's safe to say that they do. The point is relatively moot. Evil is evil, after all, regardless of how human it used to be. And there's plenty of supernatural nasties that have nothing to do with demons, devils, or Hell. If they knew about Francesca, they'd likely be trying to kill her. After, hopefully, prying some information out of her about any other folks like her she knows. Now, if they knew she'd been partially purified? Pre Kiske takeover they would have likely taken her in and made her one of their own. Help her sort out her issues. After, though? Kiske sees threats and not threats. Enemies and not enemies. He'd still be trying to have her killed.
Fair enough. Actually that begs the question - how much do the Seven's support/extended groups interact with one another? You said Ruslan wouldn't take any contracts against the Blackgate pirates, for example. Is it publicly known they're in alignment? Do the Cult of Light know their "god" pals around with some of the villainous groups listed?
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm As a side note, I'm surprised you said nothing about his subordinates. Zuki is among my favorites of the whole League project, and Kino's powerset just makes me happy.
They're all well-written and well-constructed builds (as far as I can tell, I'm real rusty on actual mechanics, and mostly follow sites like this for settings, since it's been ages since I've played a supers game and likely to be ages more until my group agrees to one). But, to be honest? I think most of their paradigm is just not for me. I appreciate the pieces you've laid out, about how heroes could redeem/revolt the society as a whole. The group is quite "swords and magic" and feels a little silo'd off from the more central superhero stuff that tends to draw my attention. Again, not bad or poorly done, just not quite my cup of tea. They also feel the closest to what I presume are their anime inspirations, and I have a very narrow and fleeting knowledge of anime these days. I caught the scattered references/inspiration from Death Note, Attack on Titan and Black Lagoon in other League of Seven/adjacent characters, for example, but I've never watched any of those and mostly just know them by osmosis in geek-spaces.
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm How do I put this? I'm not opposed to Big Dave or any othe rminority getting work, but Ruslan is explicitly Russian. Russia is one of the whitest countries on Earth. I mean, if a casting director thinks Big Dave is the best fit for someone literally born in Czarist Russia, I'm not going to complain. He'd probably do a fantastic job. But he's neither white nor Russian. It'd be like having a Nigerian play Tatsuya. Or a Korean play Reyna. Or a Swede play Zuberi. It's just weird to imagine.
Sure, but unfortunately I don't know that many large-but-charismatic Russian actors! I was speaking more of a general archetype/casting role.
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm It happened organically. People who hone their skills to that high of a peak are extremely competitive by nature. What better way to measure your progress than against someone else? With the internet, it's easier to keep track of one's relative ranking and of course individual swordspeople have fans that help do so. It works similarly for Martial Artists, Assassins, and Thieves along with any other one I come up with eventually. :mrgreen:
Oh sure, sure. I can definitely see the dedicated message boards, fan wikis, stat tracking or Twitter updates, just like any real-world fandom. I'm sure there are some (especially Assassins and Thieves) who, given that they try to do their work in secret, would be a bit exasperated by civilian fans trying to track down all their moves.
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm Yeah, I guess. They'd still have to get her patents released by Mexico for her to be of any real use (aside from repairs and general knowlege) in the Iron Man half of that role, but yeah.
Well, again, with a wealthy enough patron many doors might be opened!
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm It's a theme I keep coming back to in the Strength Revolution. A significant number of these people seem like they could fit into BLACK, except...the thing that sets BLACK apart is that they all know they're not doing anything just and right. They don't see themselves as "the good guys". Reina and Holter do see themselves that way. It's perhaps a fine philosophical point, but it's one I'll stick to with all my might.
No, I can see that. Its like Leverage, where part of what keeps them honest is reminding themselves they're the "bad guys" doing good. The members of BLACK might be "necessary evil," but by acknowledging their flaws they keep themselves in line (to a degree), whereas the Cult of Light (actually, a whole bunch of League of Seven members/associates) think they are heroes and thus can keep justifying worse and worse actions. Is that sort of the distinction you're aiming for?
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm Karelia is a real place! And a real ethnicity! It's not an independent nation in our world, being owned by Finland and Russia, but it's real!
In case it wasn't clear, I am aware of that (I've seen quite a bit about it in some news corners, given Russia's current aims and the possibility of NATO expanding). But I thought it was a novel choice!
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm Look, Valia fuckin' rules, man. I love her to bits. Megan will be a while in coming, though. So much lined up in front of her, assuming I don't change my mind along the way.
If nothing else, I'm a little intrigued given how much more like a conventional superhero she sounds, whereas much of the material you've presented so far sort of plays into different angles of costumed characters.
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm The Law of Unintended Consequences prevents that sort of large scale weather control, at least if you're sane. If you alter weather over an entire country, even a small one like Karelia, there's going to be unpredictable effects to weather patterns across the globe. Valia is not nearly stupid enough to get blamed for a Cat 5 Hurricane striking the United States. Or Brazil. Or China. Or, god help them, if the monsoons decided not to show up in South/Southeast Asia. It was something she made a while ago to fight Megagirl with. It didn't work, so chucked into the vault. Now, one could technically control the entire planet's weather with tech like this and skirt the Law. But uh, superheroes tend to, uh, vigorously object to that sort of thing when someone like Valia does it. It's almost as if she's untrustworthy and prone to doing awful things over petty slights or something. Weird. :mrgreen:
Sure sure sure. And a good degree of restraint being exercised then. And also a plot hook, then, if someone less concerned with geopolitics tried to get their hands on the technology in order to achieve some meteorological goal. The heroes might have to team up with the Knights, since Valia is trying to prove "Not me this time!"
EternalPhoenix wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 11:52 pm Well...the Agency, as shown in Jedrick's entry, has potent power nullification on hand. And they make way too many powerful people way too much money with their research. There's reasons Vincent and BLACK hasn't taken them entirely apart in spite of their cartoonish evil.
True true true. But hey, that makes them an excellent reason for all sorts of parties to call even temporary truces when they sniff out Agency involvement. Presumably a lot of rank-and-file supervillains go "hey, I'm a crook, but I'm not an Agency crook!" much like when Marvel villains decide they don't want to hang out with HYDRA Nazis.
Current Setting Projects:
Post Reply