Erehwen: An Overview

So I've had some irons stuck in my fire. A setting called K'thyna and another called Erehwen. If you remember I mentioned Erehwen before when I answered 20 setting questions about it. Back on August 21st.

Well I also hit up Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator (which since has hit version 1.0). After a bit of tweaking this is what I got:

This is the continent of Ukush. Or at least it's southern portion. It's roughly 1,800 km by about 1,600 km in size, or about 2,880,000 square kilometres in area. It's a small continent but more than big enough for our needs. It's a tropical region with a high mountain range dominating the center of the landmass, providing a cooling effect to the surrounding land.

The Temperatures of  Ukush

The equator is somewhere off Tiorvia's southern coast and not by much.

There are 14 cultures, 16 nations and at least 10 sophont species on the above maps. But we're only really interested in one nation. There, on the eastern side of the map, that cool spot. Erehwen.

Erehwen and Neighbours

The Realm of Erehwen (yes: N-E-Where backwards; or possibly "New Here") surrounded on all sides by the Alvaborszag Prectoriate, the Principality of Beobwon, the Duchy of Eigionia, and the kingdoms of Pachargia, Tintaria and Thorn.
While Eigionia and Pachargia are separated from Erehwen by mountain ranges, and Alvaborszag is literally in the mountains, the rest are not. Thorn's and Erehwen are connected by two rivers, and the borders to Beobwon, Tintaria and Thorn are completely open.

Culturally and religiously, the largest and most expansive group (with 9,2 million believers) are the followers of the Old Way and the New Way; "Kirzastianity" according to their religious and cultural rivals. Although the faithful would never dead-name a deity like that. However I'm neither faithful nor writing about a real thing so I'm going to call it Kirzastianity.
It's an essentially benign religion; a balance between the responsibility and traditionalism of the Old Way and the acceptance and innovation of the New Way. Its popularity lies in that 100% of the Erehwen born clergy can work miracles. In the rest of the world no more that 10% of the clerics or any religion can perform miracles (PC clerics are, of course, always among the miracleworkers).

Alvaborszag, Beobwon, Erehwen, Tintaria and Thorn are all predominantly Kirzastian. There are even believers in the eastern part of the Muuttusan Empire.

This is slightly problematic in that Alvaborszag is supposed be the protectorate of the Vangrian culture; the "orcs". Although the o-word is a racial slur. However so many Vangrians have converted to Kirzastianity that the former culture is essentially dead.

Beobwon still contains pockets of the original Luari culture.

Thorn has a problem in a home-grown non-theist movement, Pasburism, that denounces the Powers and promotes the populace to find power in sorcery and eldritch magic. It's also a republican movement in that it decries the "divine right" of monarchs to rule. In all fairness the Old and New Powers only claim the authority to decide the ruler of Erehwen; there is no official record of their opinions regarding the rulership of other nations. While only 1% of the human population have the "talent" to work eldritch magic, the Pasburists have developed a method to share that ability with their less fortunate fellows. The number of these "Warlocks" is unknown but spreading. They openly walk the streets of Ameshil, in packs, tussling with the army and templars. Even the Beobwonian city of Fiverbury has turned to the Pasburist cause. Rebellion is brewing.

County of Lyster, each hex is 40km

Trouble is also brewing on the border between Alvaborszag, Beobwon and Erehewn. The county of Lyster, which has a silver mine and the only road into, or out of, Alvaborazag, has been part of Erehwen for centuries. But in the last year the Count defected to Beobwon and took everything. The current Erehwenian monarch, the outlander, Maya I said something about teaching the count to play games with thrones. Whatever that means.

Tarragon is the unlabeled circle in the middle

Meanwhile over in Tarragon City, where I want to base my campaign, the monarch has ordered the abandoned dungeons beneath the castle, the mysterious Tarragon Oubliette, opened to explorers and is looking for volunteers to delve its depths. There are concerns that enemies of the realm might be seeking to plunder the city's depths.

Tarragon Oubliette Setting: 20 Questions

"Hey!" I hear you all not yelling. "Where's this last two weeks blog post?"
Well truth is, dear reader, I wrote two posts about the setting of K'thyna I'm working on before realising that both would spoil the setting for any players. I also realised that I really need to playtest Tarragon Oubliette. So then I started working on a setting to playtest in.

The DREAM of Erehwen.

Erehwen is named for its founder and first ruler, the dragon Erehwen who lived within the herb-covered crag of Tarragon Rock. The realm is a monarchy, but the monarch is 'elected' through divine providence. In short the three main religious groups are told by their deities, the Powers, who the best choice would be. Given the nature of these Powers it's never someone untalented at the job and, unless things are going to be particularly boring, usually have strange ideas. This has resulted on a highly enlightened society. For instance, due to having had an orc rule during one particular war-like decade orcs can be subjects of the realm, with all the rights thereof.

Here's Jeff Reint's Quick 20 Questions for the setting of Erehwen:

1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?

Well you're a cleric, which means you're part of the Clergy. The clergy worship the New Way, also known as the New Power. Formerly known as Kirza Sacredgrove. Kirza was an Erehwenite born miraculously to a barren woman through the blessings of the Old Power. Born intersex both the Druids and the Dryads (witches) sought them out to teach them the secrets of the Old Ways. Kirzen was an attentive student, more so than many of their peers, but seemed... bored. They spoke of needing to find a new way and of having to go on a long journey. Not more a few days past their 13th birthday they woke early, packed a bag as if to travel, took a few steps from their front door and dropped dead. There was much grieving, but not long after Kirza's funeral there were sightings of them wandering the realm. Talking to people. Asking questions. On the morning of what would have been their 14th birthday a friend of theirs, Conn Goldeyes woke to find Kirza sitting at the foot of his bed.

 "I've found a new way," Kirza was reported to have said, "I want to show it to you." By dawn Conn was first of the Clergy.

The New Way/Power (nobody says "Kirza" anymore; that would be rude/blasphemy/deadnaming) focuses on laws, innovation, trade and all the other aspects of civilisation.

The Old Way focuses on nature and wilderness. Including hunting, animal husbandry, agriculture and, of course, the harvest. It is practiced by the aforementioned druids and dryads.

2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?

There is a market in the capital, the city of Tarragon, where you can get pretty much everything legal. The illegal stuff will be tougher, you might have to head for the border for that. There are smaller markets across the realm with typically a  smaller range of available equipment.

3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?

The Storm Forge, just on the corner of Tarragon Market Square and Castle Rise, is the best smithy in the realm.

4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

Archmagister Lohion Clearthorne is Chancellor of the Lyceum of Erehwen and, by popular reckoning, is the mightiest wizard in all the realm.

5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?

Ser Dakio "Warmight" Axefang is regarded by many as the greatest of the realm's Guardians. Some attribute his ferocity in battle to his Orc mother, but many who remember is father say that papa Axefang was a mean piece of work himself.

6. Who is the richest person in the land?

The realm of Erehwen itself. Castle Tarragon still sits atop the hoard of the dragon Erehwen and the dungeons beneath.

7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?

Given that all the clergy within Erehwen can work miracles and a decree by the current monarch means that they have an obligation to heal the realm's subjects, magical healing is easily found. There are also special clergical doctors who focus entirely on healing. The druids and dryads also have access to healing magic. The clergy, druids and dryads aren't allowed to charge for their healing services, nor refuse the needy, but can request donations. Since some 'healing' spells require expensive ingredients and material components these are usually included in any requested donations.

8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?

The aforementioned clergy, doctors, druids and dryads.

9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?

Yes. Getting an education in magic sets one up for all sorts of prospects. The only form of magic that doesn't make the practitioner an immediate gentleperson is Wild Magic. That's only because it's proto-magic which is looked down by more 'sophisticated' practitioners.

10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?

The Grand Lyceum of Erehwen, at Tarragon, is the foremost school of learning in the realm, if not the world.
The Lyceum system results in a well educated and highly literate population.

11. Where can I hire mercenaries?

If you are a landowner you're allowed to raise a volunteer militia from among any tenants you might have. It's not uncommon for landowners to pay warriors to become tenants and join their militia. 

But that's not what you asked. You asked about mercenaries. There are... associations... of warriors. Not militias as such but combat solidarities. It might be possible to employ them. But most likely you'll end up bringing mercenaries from outside the realm, and that probably won't go down too well.

12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?

Not within the realm, as such. Most of that sort of thing is found beyond its borders. 

13. Which way to the nearest tavern?

In any town you're probably no more than a stone's throw from some sort of drinking establishment.

14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

The foreign conspirators may have been releasing monsters into the countryside to destabilise things further.

15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?

Some of Erehwen's neighbours are attempting to take advantage of the upheaval from the new monarch. Some of it is ideological, much of it is opportunistic, but a great deal of it is out of fear of change. 

16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?

There are contests of skill. This can include gladiatorial style contests. Lightweight practice weapons are used to reduce the chance of injury and all such contests are to first blood or yield.

17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

There might be a dragon cult. There are certainly groups of conspirators funded or led by foreign agents to destabilise Erehwen.

18. What is there to eat around here?

The national dish is Tarragon Chicken. The local chickens have been bred until they are turkey sized.

19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?

First and foremost there are some missing dragon eggs.

20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure? 

In the depths of the Tarragon Oubliette.

Dementia: Katochic

Previously we looked at the Resolve mechanic, the Delirium & Dementia table and the Choleric dementia.

Now we're going to look at:

Katochic Dementia:

As I said before Katochic comes from the (ancient) Greek words Kato ("Underworld") and Chic ("In the fashion of..."). Thus it means "In the fashion of the underworld". It is thus synonymous with possession and outside influences. Katochic dementia thus appear to be forms of possession, external influences, or interactions with supernatural forces, raising the question whether a character is truly suffering from dementia at all.

Please keep in mind that these tables are still works in progress. I intend to give every entry a system based effect but they're not all there (b-dum-tish) yet. That's also not something everyone finds desirable. But as always YMMV.

Roll 1d6:

1. Haunted: The afflicted sees dead people. Sometimes even when they aren't there.
2. Infestation: The afflicted believes that they have become infested with parasites; fleas, worms, bugs; what-have-yous.
3. Minsc's Companion: The afflicted believes that one of their items, or in some cases a pet, is not only animate but intelligent and communicating with them.
4. Shadow Touched: The afflicted hear voices whispering dark secrets to them, criticisms of their actions and appeals to harm those around them. It is almost as if the evil of the last dungeon has seeped into their minds. 
   The Dementia score manifests as a penalty when they’re trying to concentrate on tasks, spell casting and saving throws as the voices seem to seek to distract and dismay the afflicted. However if the afflicted heeds the voices and follows their advice they may instead gain their score as a bonus to research rolls. However the result of such advice are always tainted by evil and, while possibly accurate, easily misconstrued.
5. Stark Hunger: The afflicted feels possessed by a malevolent spirit that gives them an unnatural hunger. They feel the urge to sate this insatiable hunger at any opportunity, prioritising it above other deeds. This is often distressing for the afflicted 
   At the start of every session the character rolls a save versus Madness against (10+Dementia score). If they succeed they resist the hunger. Otherwise the hunger becomes overpowering and the afflicted is drawn to act upon it. This urge does not abate until the hunger is sated. During this time half the Dementia score is a penalty to any action that is not towards appeasing the hunger. 
   If, by the end of the session, the hunger is not sated then the full Dementia score becomes a penalty to all downtime activities that don’t sate the hunger, until the hunger is sated. They will sate the hunger before the next session in which they play. How that plays out is between the player and GM. 
   If the hunger is sated in play the afflicted feels an overwhelming sense of completion, tempered in many cases by guilt. The afflicted gets a bonus to all activities for the rest of the session equal to half the Dementia score.
6. Rider: The afflicted manifest an alternative persona that shares the body of afflicted but can be of a different class or even race. Sometimes these personas claim to be extensions of the afflicted, friends or relatives, sometimes the spirits of the deceased. Or even supernatural entities. Sometimes they express themselves at seemingly logical times, while at other times seemingly at random. The rider has full control of the body of the afflicted when they are manifest but have their own Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores. As well as stamina, resolve, spirit and experience level. They begin play with a character level equal to their host’s minus the Dementia score, with a minimum of first level, and level up separately from their host. However because they share a body all wounds are shared. From the point of view of the rider it may be they who are being ridden. 
   If an active persona wishes to manifest an inactive persona then the inactive persona must succeed in a save versus Madness, with a penalty equal to the Dementia score, to resist. Otherwise they manifest against their will. Or they could just choose to manifest. 
   If an inactive persona wishes to manifest against the will of the active persona then it is the active persona that must make the save versus madness (with the same penalty) to resist them. 
   Inactive personas are considered to be resting when it comes to healing and spell memorisation.

Types of Stark Hunger:

Roll 1d6.

1. Avarice: The afflicted hungers for gold and material wealth. They will sometimes go so far as to steal from their allies.
2. Cannibalism: The afflicted hungers for the flesh and blood of their own kind. This includes all intelligent beings. They will feast on the fallen as well as kill to get their taste of flesh.
3. Inebriation: The afflicted hungers for intoxicants, seeking to lose themselves in drink and drugs.
4. Lust: The afflicted hungers for their own sexual release. They often have no concern for the desires or pleasure of their partners. This isn’t just lust for lust’s sake but lust regardless of the consequences. It’s not tied to their sexual preferences or ideals, or orientation. It’s a compulsion. No redlight district can be passed without sampling. No “interesting” monsters or beasts can go unmolested. They will seduce rather than fight. Fuck rather than negotiate. They need not even enjoy themself. They just wanna. 
   (Please consider the comfort of the other players and GM when roleplaying scenes involving this dementia.)
5. Murder: The afflicted hungers to take the lives of other intelligent beings. This is not the death of any intelligent being, slaying one's enemies in self defence is not murder. 
   The afflicted will often ritualise their slayings to mark them as special or different. At the same time they’re not stupid and will attempt to cover their involvement in any ‘extracurricular’ killings if it will cause them trouble.
6. Perversion: The afflicted hungers for deviant activities and company. This is not “all of the above”. The afflicted does not seek wealth for its own sake but would find certain object-de-arte appealing. They don’t seek to consume the flesh of others but if presented with a juicy  “long pig” chop they would find it hard to resist. They don’t seek to drink themselves into oblivion but sample exotic narcotics and rare, perhaps unwholesome, liquor. They don’t seek sexual company to gratify themselves but wrap it in taboo, risk, or ritual and aberration, and they will feel the need to participate. They don’t desire to end the lives of others but bind a maiden to an altar of a dark god and hand them the knife. See the desire fill their eyes. 
   The afflicted will seek out the companionship of people with compatible tastes, feeling the desire to join secretive cults and clubs of like minded people where they can sate their perverse hungers.

Types of Rider.

Roll 1d3:

1. Avid Rider: The avid rider acts in their own best interest and has a [neutral/selfish] alignment. This does not mean that they are unsympathetic to their host and their colleagues; the rider may just believe that they have a better grasp of what those interests are. The rider will only try and take over their host’s body if it suits their interests or if they think that the persona currently in control is putting them at some risk.
2. Kind Rider: The kind rider acts in the best interest of their host and their comrades, having a [good] alignment. The kind rider won’t, as a rule, attempt to take control unless the persona currently in control is acting in a manner contrary to the rider’s alignment. Or unless the active persona is incapacitated by Delirium or something similar.
3. Vile Rider: The vile rider actively acts against the best interests of their host and their comrades, having an [evil] alignment. This doesn’t have to mean that they’re self destructive; indeed they may seek a way of permanently usurping control of their host body. The vile rider will attempt to take control at any opportunity. Provoking the active persona to make saves versus Madness to lower their Resolve at the most inopportune times and make it easier for the vile rider to assume control.

Next time we'll go through melancholic and phlegmatic dementia.

Dementia: Choleric

Previously:

There are six expressions of dementia. Choleric, which expresses itself as violence and aggression; Katochic, which expresses itself as multiple personalities, prophetic pronouncements and similar; Melancholic, which expresses itself as depression and anxiety; Phlegmatic, which expresses itself as apathy and catatonia; Phobic, which expresses itself as irrational fear; and Sanguine which expresses itself as mania and delusion.

And Now:

Firstly I'm going to apologise for going back to numbered bullet points instead of proper tables but Blogger can't handle HTML tables with the information density I'm creating. They're not huge but they break something deep in the code and create unreadable word salad.

Rolling 1d6 below to generate what sort of dementia a character is afflicted by:

1. Choleric
2. Katochic
3. Melancholic
4. Phlegmatic
5. Phobic
6. Sanguine

Those of you familiar with the long-discredited theory of Humorism will recognise the temperaments associated with the four humours from Ancient Greece: sanguine (blood), choleric (yellow bile), melancholic (black bile), and phlegmatic (phlegm).

It also has phobic, from the ancient greek for "fear" and katochic. Katochic is a word I may have invented. It comes from the ancient Greek kato; "underneath" or "underworld", and chic; "in the fashion of...". So it means "in the fashion of the underworld" and is synonymous with possession or outside influence.

Today we're going to focus on:

Choleric Dementia

Choleric is synonymous with excesses of aggression and anger. 

Roll 1d6 again.

1. Berserk Fury: The afflicted becomes maddened to the point of violence.
   
   Every time they take Vitality, Stamina or Resolve damage they must make a save versus Madness. Failure results in the afflicted flying into a rage and flailing about themselves in their blind wrath. In this state their Dementia score penalises their Defence but is a bonus to their damage and melee attacks.
2. Talking Shit:  The afflicted experiences hard to control tremors and vocal utterances, usually of an obscene nature, when startled or upset.
   Half the Dementia score is expressed as a constant penalty to Dexterity and stealth. When the afflicted loses Resolve the penalty becomes the full Dementia score for the rest of the following round.
3. Cruel Streak: The afflicted become aggressive towards their allies, believing them to be weak and the cause of all the woes the afflicted suffers. They develop a tendency to lash out at those around them. They take their Dementia score as a penalty in Charisma when it comes to interacting with NPCs. They essentially gain the Barbed Wit talent but without the self control. The afflicted gains the same amount of Resolve points themselves as their victims lose.
4. Martial Zeal: The afflicted are filled with wrath seemingly of a divine origin.
   The puissance of their blows and their aim against their foes are heightened but against their friends and allies, even those that have turned against them, are weakened. Unlike berserk fury this is a constant effect. Add half dementia score to combat rolls against enemies but subtract it against (former) allies and friends.
5. Ratted: The afflicted cease to trust their colleagues and others, believing that they are all out to harm and/or deceive them.
   The Dementia score manifests as a bonus to all saving throws, except Madness. It also penalises the character’s Charisma when it comes to interactions with others including loyal henchmen and hirelings.
6. Waking Dreams: The afflicted struggles to sleep and finds that their waking hours take on a surreal and dreamlike character as they are plagued with hallucinations. There is a constant penalty to Intelligence and Wisdom equal to the Dementia score as well as a penalty to all activities equal to half the Dementia score.

Next time we'll look at the Katochic dementia.

Heads Up

I'm going to take a break from Heroes Unlimited and Phenomenal Paragons for a bit. I've got a whole bunch of character write-up to actually write up and a ideas for versus-battles but I don't have anything ready for this week and want to do some 'serious' world building and game design.

I've been asked to compile my Resolve mechanism, which is just a stress mechanic that forms part of the core of Project Tarragon Oubliette. Other subsystems, magic, psionics, superpowers and a bunch of other stuff plugs into it.

I could get a bunch of posts out of it. Or I could just put it all up on Google docs. Each would be about as easy as the other.

As for world building its fairly clear to be me that Fon Choille and related projects are on hold for now because of the desktop's death. So I need a new project to replace it. Something I actually want to finish. Something I can do on this laptop/tablet.

I'm partly inspired by the Ourbossa campaign I read about on Tumblr. (That's the final post in the series, but it links to the earlier ones; warnings for misogyny and cannibalism.) So that would be a shipwrecked island survival game. But I'd want to include some Westmarches elements.

Something to think about once I've written about Resolve.

Phenomenal Paragons: Super Teams of Note: The August

I thought I'd share some of the super teams from the Phenomenal Paragons setting. Starting at the top.

The August.

Every world seems to have an analog of the "Big Three" and/or "Big Seven". This one is no different. Although it was the Big Eight. All of them powerful and experienced mega-heroes. 

The August (as in "distinguished" and "Exalted") was formed by August (as in the month) at the behest of The Magpie. The Magpie is a, supposedly, centuries old thief and assassin. The leader of an ancient society of killers that supposedly inspired Hasan ibn al-Sabbah to form his little merry band of murders; from whom we get the word "assassin". Nobody outside his society, the League of Shadows, had supposedly ever seen The Magpie and lived. They were a rumour, an urban legend, a shadow in the darkness. A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, sealed inside a puzzle box made of more complicated puzzle boxes, hidden within a secret room in the deepest darkest depths of a dimension composed entirely of riddles.

Then they pulled a bank job. Or rather they walked into a bank shrouded in a cloak of darkness, identified themselves, told everyone to lie and the floor and keep calm so they wouldn't get hurt, and then waited. The police turned up and were sent packing. The local heroes turned up and were also sent home, bloodied and bruised. But not seriously injured. just put beyond the ability to fight on. At no point did The Magpie resort to lethal force. Even when it was used against them. At every step they demanded that August be sent against them and eventually he arrived. As the most powerful being in the world walked in the front door the world's greatest assassin let their hostages escape out the fire exits. Had this all been a ruse? A plot to assassinate the world's greatest hero? For five minutes silence reigned then August left, The Magpie his prisoner. August paused long enough to explain that The Magpie had surrendered and then the two of them departed together. 

Over the next three days there were glimpsed sightings of them around the world, battling shadowy foes. And every time they'd have a new recruit. From Paris, France, they recruited the sorcerer "Quintessence". From Greece the archaeologist Artemis Argyris. From Tel Aviv the mutant known as "The Everyman". In south east asia they found Kim-Hữu Long, The Immortal Dragon. From Australia the aboriginal mentalist known only as "The Dreamer". Finally, from Area 51 in Arizona, they rescued Cosmonaut Spartak Sobol; the enigmatic Black Knight.  Soon they were eight strong, each member one of the most powerful superhumans on (or off) the planet. Then nothing. For two days they were completely incommunicado.

Then the League of Shadows attacked Rome.

A fell device appeared in St. Marks Square and shadow clad killers stalked the streets. Locals were taken prisoner and dragged to the park to await their fate. Local heroes were less powerless than simply overwhelmed. There was no hope in sight. Had this been The Magpie's plan? To remove the only people that could stop this dark deed?

As it turned out, quite the opposite. Because suddenly, when the first knife was set to fall, they were there. The eight appeared literally from thin air and set to work defeating the League of Shadows. After a battle of hours all the assassins were captured or killed, The Magpie able to take their mastery of shadows from them, and their hostages freed.

It was revealed that one of The Magpie's lieutenants had gone rogue with an insane scheme to murder 80% of the world's population with a magical ritual.  The Magpie had attempted to prevent it but with only a handful of assassins still loyal to them, and those in hiding from their former associates, they had no other choice but to enact a ridiculous scheme to recruit the most powerful beings on the planet.

No charges were pressed against them; the damage to the bank was caused by the authorities and heroes. The Magpie hadn't actually held people as hostages; they'd just presumed that was what was happening and played along.

However to get August's help they'd agreed to suffer whatever punishment the hero felt fit. So August sentenced them to a lifetime of... community service at August's side. They accepted their punishment with what might have been a smile. August then extended an invitation to the others, suggesting that they join them to battle threats to the world. They agreed and The Everyman suggested The August as their collective name.

For years they fought side by side, global champions. Then three years ago August died. Not in battle but in their sleep. Slain by a villain that had learned the greatest hero's weakness; that when he slept he was powerless.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending upon your point of view, the villain did not live long enough to make good on whatever scheme had inspired the murder. August's wife woke and slew the killer within moments; their reflexes and anguish betraying their better judgement. Because over the years the years the friendship  between August and The Magpie had blossomed into love. They had secretly married under their civilian identities about a decade after meeting.

After August's death The Magpie chose to retire, leaving The August with a roster of only six active members. They've been seeking replacements ever since but their two founders are hard to replace.

Team Roster:

• August (Deceased)
• The Magpie (Retired)
• Quintessence 
• Artemis Argyris 
• The Everyman
• Kim-Hữu Long
• The Dreamer
• Black Knight

All be writing them all up for Heroes Unlimited and posting them here as and when.

Heroes Unlimited: Phenomenal Paragons: Road Rash (Symbiotic)

Richard O'Shea thought breaking into Ridgestar Laboratories would net him a small fortune but instead it got him an infection of Vlytetians; a symbiotic hive mind that grants Richard superhuman powers as Road Rash, the supersonic thief.

This is the tenth character in my Phenomenal Paragons series. The introduction to which is here. It is inspired by Jacob Pisson's World's Strongest series, here.

Everyone with more than two brain cells to rub together like Venom right? Marvel's ultimate anti-hero with his weird love/hate fixation on Spiderman? Sure they do. Which is why Heroes Unlimited has an entire class dedicated to the archetype.

Personally I feel Venom is a bit of a two-note villain who can't really exist without Spidey to bounce off of, but that's just me. Although the movie was good.

So. Let's get on with this then.

Step One: The Usual.

Our normal 11's across the board. It's noted that we should pencil the numbers in as they might change later. I should point out that this class is in Powers Unlimited volume 2. The second character expansion for Heroes Unlimited. I think we should know that by now, Kev.

Step Two: Hit Points & S.D.C.

Again it's the usual with Hit Points for the character. But with a random bonus which comes to +7 for us. The symbiote gets its own Hit Points, here totaling to 20, and an A.R. of 10.

For SDC we get a base of 30 for the character. The symbiote doesn't get any.

Step Three: Background & Abilities.

Where did the symbiote come from?

It was 'liberated' from a genetics lab by our hero villain. Who knows if this is where it originated.

Symbiote's Appearance.

Tiny worm-like creatures in the blood. It has no effect on the character's appearance.

Symbiote's Intelligence.

Symbiote is sentient. It has an IQ of 13, ME 14 and MA 17. It has a lifespan of 100 years.

It has the following psionic powers: Empathy, Telepathy (both of which it can use on the host for free), See Aura, Mind Block (self only), Time Sense, and Read Dimensional Portal. It has 56 I.S.P.

The host gains +1 to saves versus psionics, illusions and magic. +2 to save versus possession.

Symbiote Eats.

Normal food. It double's the amount of food the host eats.

Benefits Gained by Host.

Increased SDC: +50 SDC.

Increased Reflexes: +1 PP, +3 Automatic Dodge.

Determining Super Abilities:

2 major abilities and 2 minor abilities to do with speed...

So... For my first major power I pick Sonic Speed.

This gives us +1 attack per round, +100 SDC, +3 PE, +6 initiative, +1 strike, +3 parry, +4 automatic dodge, +6 roll with impact, +1 pull punch.

There's a bunch of stuff about damage which I'll put down in the final character sheet to save space.

Of course the main thing this power does is permit a character run at Mach 1. Which is about 767.2 mph, or Speed 1,096. Don't worry, I'm not going to start doing that in this case. The character can reach top speed in one action, creating a sonic boom. They can swim 300 mph, dive to 300 feet and have a pressure tolerance of 350'. Also add 60' height and 100' breadth to leaps with a running start.
Finally they also get 500' night vision, which is about half to a third of what they need.

My second major power is Rocket Charge. A burst of Mach 2 speed for a brief period during which time the character leaves a trail of fire and hits hard.
This lets a character run at 1,500 mph, +100 mph per level, for 1d4 rounds. So up to a minute. It then takes another 1d4 rounds for the power to recharge. It takes only 1 action to go from a standstill to top speed.
I'm treating it like an afterburner for sonic speed.
+1 attack per round, +3 initiative; +1 strike, parry and dodge. +3 roll with impact and +2 damage per 100 mph of speed.
It increases leaping distance by +20' in both height and breadth for every 100 mph of speed. Only +10' if moving under 100 mph.
Melee attacks do 2d6 damage for every 100 mph of speed, which means 30d6 at top speed just to start. There's a 80% chance to cause knockback. It costs 1 attack at under 800 mph or two attacks if faster. The character is +1 to strike but can only apply bonuses from PP.
There's also a ricochet attack which can attack up to 3 people at first level, although they have to be within 50 feet of each other and each attack is rolled separately.
Lastly there's the flame trail which follows a character for 2d6 seconds. Given that the character is travelling at 2250 feet per second this means that the trail is between 4,500 feet and 27,000 feet with an average of 15,750 feet. So that's an average of a 3 mile flaming trail that can start fires of its own. It doesn't say how much damage it does.

Shush Jack. It'll be fine. They're smart cookies.

We get +30 SDC, and only take half damage from fire and heat, unless it's magical. We can judge distances by 1d4 feet and speed by 1d6 mph.

Our first minor power is Extraordinary Prowess. It's identical in every regard to the power as described under Swift Justice.

Our second minor power is Physical Perfection. Again it's identical to its description under Ms. Fury's write-up.

Step Four: Education and Skills. 

Rolling for education we get Trade School. I immediately take the opportunity to take the Professional Thief program and double down on it. This gives us:
Locksmith, Prowl, Climbing, and Surveillance Systems.
The second pass gets us a pick of five skills. I go with:
Streetwise, Find Contraband, Pick Pockets, Safe Cracking, and Concealment.
Finally we get 8 secondary skills. My choices are:
Basic Hand-to-Hand, +2 attacks, +2 roll with impact, +2 pull punch.
Athletics, +1 parry, dodge & roll with impact; +1 PS, +3 Spd, +5 SDC.
Body-Building, +2 PS, +10 SDC.
Running, +1 PE, +10 Spd, +3 SDC.
Swimming, Business & Finance, Cooking, General Repair.

Step Five: Alignment.

6, Miscreant.

Step Six: Rounding Out.

I've been skipping this step before because, reasons. The important stuff ends up on the finished character sheet anyway. So why break the habit of a lifetime. Lets move onto the finished character sheet.

Name: Richard O'Shea.

Super Identity: Road Rash.

Level: 1, Symbiotic.

Height: 5'8", Weight: 120 lbs, Age: 23.

Alignment: Miscreant.

Disposition: Wild, cocky and overconfident. Takes unnecessary risks.

IQ 11 [13], ME 11 [14], MA 13 [17], PS 16, PP 18, PE 16, PB 19, Spd 35.

Hit Points: 33, S.D.C.: 245, P.P.E.: 20, I.S.P.: [56]

Superpowers:
Sonic Speed:
Rocket Charge:
Extraordinary Prowess:
Physical Perfection:

[Psionics: Symbiote Only]
Empathy (4), Telepathy (4), See Aura (6), Mind Block (4), Time Sense (2), Read Dimensional Portal (6).

Skills:
Athletics, Basic Hand-to-Hand, Basic Maths, Body Building, Business & Finances, Climb, Concealment, Cooking, English Language, English Literacy, Find Contraband, General Repair, Locksmith, Pick Pockets, Pilot Automobile, Prowl, Running, Safe Cracking, Streetwise, Surveillance Systems, Swimming.

Saves:
Coma/Death: +9%
Harmful Drugs/Toxins: +1
Horror Factor: +0
Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +2
Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +1
Psionics (15+): +1
Possession: +2

Combat:
Attacks: 2+4
Initiative: +9
Strike: +3 (+4 Rocket Charge; +1 Ricochet Attack.)
Damage: +1 (+2/100mph)
 1d6 Normal Punch
 2d6 Fast Punch/Kick
 2d6+2/100mph Rocket Charge
 4d6 Superfast Punch
 5d6 Superfast Kick
 5d6 Ricochet Attack
 1d6x10 Superfast Power Punch (2atk)
 2d4x10 Superspeed Body-slam (3atk)
Dodge: +2
Autododge: +10
Parry: +5
Roll with Impact: +11
Pull Punch: +3

Benchmarks:
Carry Capacity: 160 lbs; Lifting 320 lbs.
Stamina: Carry for 64 minutes. Carry maximum for 32 minutes. Lift for 16 rounds.
Ground Speed: 24 mph; 700 mph, duration as stamina. 1,500 mph for 1d4 minutes.
Swimming Speed: 48 yards (144 ft.) per round; 300 mph for 16 minutes (64 rounds; 960 seconds)
Leaping Distance: 64 ft. high, 108 ft. broad from a sonic speed start. 4 ft. high, 8 ft. broad from a running start. 2 ft. high, 5 ft. broad from a standing start.

Background:
Richard O'Shea's lack of imagination led him to break into Ridgestar Labs; he just couldn't imagine what he would find. The lab was guarded by robots but these were all on the same power grid. Richard physically disabled it, along with all the magnetic locks. It would be day before anyone noticed. He loaded the van up with valuable looking equipment and then opened the wrong door. A mass of worm like creatures overwhelmed him, burrowing into him. By rights he should have died. But when opened his eyes he was miles away and running like a maniac. He heard voices; the worms were inside him, talking to him, giving him power to run at supersonic speeds.

They called themselves the Vlytetians, they said that they came from elsewhere, but they didn't know where or how they got to the lab. But they wanted to know and Richard was going to be their chauffeur.

Since then they traveled around looking for answers, pulling off the odd robbery to fund their travels. This has brought them to Ennor where Ridgestar have a number of facilities.

Oh, Richard lacks imagination but the Vlytetians are schemers.

Heroes Unlimited: Callous Criminals: The Belladonna Gang

This is going to be the start of an infrequent thing of non-super characters for my Heroes Unlimited campaign, Phenomenal Paragons. Specifically criminals.

Instead of doing my usual rambling explanation of my creations I'm going to cut straight to the characters. They're built from charts in the Gamesmaster's Guide, so no great complexities there. The only thing to note is that they are all level 1 and their default attribute score is 9 rather than the 11 I usually use for NPCs. Otherwise the rules are the same; average rolls for random bonuses. I'm also going to give skill scores since I noted them during creation. Said rules can be found here.

Here we go.

"Lucky" Strickland found his grandfather and all the customers of OSTERIA DEI MASCALZONI feeding a beautiful woman when he arrived for his dinner. After his parent's had married and settled on Ennor his mother had brought her parents over and they'd opened the restaurant as a legit front for the family's criminal activities. It had been years since, since his grandmother's death, that he'd heard nonno  speak his native Italian, yet here he was "Belladonna, bella donna"; pretty woman. She smiled as she made eye contact with him. A smile that made his heart race and his loins clench. He had to remind himself that his Janessa would not take any infidelity kindly.

Hours later, after they'd closed up shop for the night, he challenged this "Belladonna".
"What's the con, lady?" he said, trying his best to sound like a TV mafioso.
"No deceptions," she said in her strange accent. "I just want to reclaim what was taken from me."
"We don't have nothing of yours here,"he said, thinking for a moment. "I might be able to help you find it, for a price. What is it you've lost?"
"Power, glory, worship, godhood."
"I got some of that," his grandfather interjected.
"Nonno, no!"
"What? It's just sitting in a bank vault gathering dust. You're too scared of it to use it Lucky, and I'm too old. So why not give the Hand of Glory to the Belladonna?" Lucky sat for a moment, metaphorical wheels spinning in his head. Suddenly he smiled as an idea condensed in his mind. He grabbed up his phone and hit speed dial.
"Essa!" he said when his girlfriend picked up. "Call in the girls for tomorrow! I've got an idea for a job!"

Fortunato "Lucky" Strickland.
Height: 5' 11", Weight: 160 lbs. Age: 28.
Class: Con Artist.
Alignment: Aberrant.
Disposition: Schemer; gambler. Likes to take chances. Distrustful of reliance on magic or superpowers.
IQ 13, ME 9, MA 9, PS 14, PP 11, PE 9, PB 16, Spd 12.
Hit Points: 12, S.D.C.: 30, P.P.E.: 5.

Skills:
Charm/Intimidate 30%
Art 40%, Athletics, Basic Electronics 45%, Basic Maths 77%, Business & Finance 40%, Computer Operation 60%, Concealment 44%, Disguise 40%, Forgery 45%, Hand-to-Hand Basic, Literacy 98%, Palming 40%, Pick Pocket 45%, Pilot Automobile 62%, Prowl 30%, Seduction 23%, W.P. Knife.

Saves:
Coma/Death: +0%
Harmful Drugs/Toxins (15+): +0
Horror Factor: +0
Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +0
Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +0
Psionics (15+): +0
Possession: +0

Combat:
Initiative: +0
Attacks per Round: 2+2
Strike: +0; +1 (Knife)
Damage: +0
 1d4+0 punch
 1d6+0 knife
 2d4+0 baseball bat
Parry: +1
Dodge: +1
Roll with Punch: +3
Pull Punch: +2

Benchmarks:
Normal Carry Capacity: 140 lbs; Lifting: 280 lbs.
Normal Stamina: Carry Max 36 minutes, 18 minutes while running or fighting. Lifting for 9 rounds (135 seconds; 2.25 minutes).
Ground Speed: 8.4 mph for 9 minutes.
Swimming Speed: 42 yards (126 ft.) per round for 9 minutes/36 rounds.
Leaping Distance: 3.5 ft. high; 7 ft. broad, from a running start. 2.1 ft. high; 4.2 ft. broad, from a standing start.

"So she can make people want do what she says." Janessa Quincy eyed Lucky over the kitchen table of the flat they shared together. Belladonna was in the bathroom having a cleansing soak.
"I don't know how I feel about that."
"Sorry babe. I could hardly leave her to take advantage of my Nonno, like that."
"So we bought her here to take advantage of us instead."
Belladonna hadn't wanted to sleep in the bed in the guest room but instead share the bed in the master bedroom. And share the occupants. Sleep and sex, it seemed, was something new and exciting to her.
"Sorry," Lucky repeated, lowering his head,
"It won't happen again." said Essa.
"It will," Lucky said sadly, "Whenever she wants it to." Essa sighed.
"I guess," she said. "It's not like it wasn't fun. I would have just rather have had a choice in it."
They sat quietly for a minute.
"You realise she's a Mask, right?" Essa said. Lucky nodded.
"In more ways than one," he smiled at her.
"It's just that I thought you didn't like them."
"I don't like people with powers, its true. They're cheating; living life on easy mode. And I don't like people who are dependent on other people with powers. People like my dad. But Belladonna." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "She might have power but she's dependent on us. We'll let her play at leading our gang, but she's our Mask. She's our henchman. We'll get rich and pay her off with trinkets of power."
"No way we can lose?"
"None at all."

Janessa "Essa" Quincy
Height: 5' 9", Weight: . Age: 24.
Class: Getaway Driver.
Alignment: Aberrant.
Disposition: Shy and timid. Only trusts a small circle of friends and family.
IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 16, PP 13, PE 10, PB 17, Spd 22.
Hit Points: 13, S.D.C.: 48, P.P.E: 4

Skills:
Charm/Impress 35%
Athletics, Automotive Mechanics 50%, Basic Maths 50%, Body Building, Concealment 24%, Hand-to-Hand Basic, Literacy 55%, Pilot Automobile 82%, Pilot Motor Boat 60%, Pilot Motorcycle 76%, Pilot Race Car 73%, Prowl 30%, Running, Streetwise 24%, W.P. Blunt, W.P. Knife.

Saves:
Coma/Death: +0%
Harmful Drugs/Toxins (15+): +0
Horror Factor: +0
Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +0
Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +0
Psionics (15+): +0
Possession: +0

Combat:
Initiative: +0
Attacks per Round: 2+2
Strike: +0; +1 (Blunt, Knife)
Damage: +1
 1d4+1 punch
 1d6+1 knife
 2d4+1 baseball bat
Parry: +1
Dodge: +1
Roll with Punch: +3
Pull Punch: +2

Benchmarks:
Normal Carry Capacity: 160 lbs; Lifting: 320 lbs.
Normal Stamina: Carry Max 40 minutes, 20 minutes while running or fighting. Lifting for 10 rounds (150 seconds; 2.5 minutes).
Ground Speed: 15.4 mph for 10 minutes
Swimming Speed: 48 yards (144 ft.) per round for 10 minutes/40 rounds.
Leaping Distance: 4 ft. high; 8 ft. broad, from a running start. 2.4 ft. high; 4.8 ft. broad, from a standing start.

They had just finished breakfast when there came a pounding on the front door. Peering though the security peephole revealed only darkness.
"Topaz!" Essa smiled as she threw open the door.
Topaz Davis loomed in the hallway, her six-two frame casting a shadow against her smaller, yet older, cousin. It was hard to believe that Topaz was only 17; the school uniform looked odd on her.

"Topaz this is Belladonna," Lucky made introductions, "Belladonna, this is Topaz. Essa's second cousin. Despite her size and mature appearance she is only a child. Do not fuck her."
"I'd break her," Topaz grinned.
"I am stronger than I look, child." Belladonna smiled demurely. The pause before the word child being insultingly long.
Lucky looked between the two and realised that despite Topaz being the taller of the two, it wasn't by much.
"Big words pretty lady," Topaz growled, her eyes narrowed, "Prove it."

Topaz and Belladonna sat across the kitchen table from each other, elbows on the table and right hands clasped. Arm wrestling. For a long moment they sat in deadlock. Topaz's arm muscles bulging like corded ropes as Belladonna quietly pushed against it. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, Topaz's arm began to creep back. Topaz gritted her teeth and groaned, the table creaked. But the creeping did not halt. Belladonna looked almost bored as the back of Topaz's hand crashed to the tabletop.
"Jeebus Crust lady! How much do you lift?" Topaz had jumped from her chair the moment her hand was released, flexing her fingers as if checking that they still worked. Belladonna hadn't moved.
"One of those stink belching wagon's you travel around in," she said.
"A car?" Essa looked from Belladonna to Topaz and then Lucky."
"Jeebus Crust!" Topaz repeated.

Topaz Davis 

Height: 6' 2", Weight: 180 lbs. Age: 17

Class: Enforcer

Alignment: Anarchist

Disposition: Hot headed, quick tempered, emotional but essentially nice.

IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 27, PP 11, PE 11, PB 17, Spd 22.

Hit Points: 14, S.D.C.: 91, P.P.E.: 10.

Skills: 

Charm/Impress 35%

Athletics, Basic Maths 60%, Body Building, Boxing, Cooking 40%, Dancing 35%, Hand-to-Hand Martial Arts, Literacy 55%, Pilot Automobile 72%, Pilot Truck 54%, Prowl 35%, Running, Streetwise 29%, W.P. Blunt, W.P. Revolver, W.P. Targeting, Wrestling.

Saves: 

Coma/Death: +0%
Harmful Drugs/Toxins (15+): +0
Horror Factor: +0
Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +0
Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +0
Psionics (15+): +0
Possession: +0

Combat:
Initiative: +2
Attacks per Round: 2+3
Strike: +0; +1 (Blunt, Throwing)
Damage: +12
 1d4+12 punch
 1d6+12 knife
 2d4+12 baseball bat
 3d6 revolver
Parry: +2
Dodge: +2
Roll with Punch: +5
Pull Punch: +3

Benchmarks:
Normal Carry Capacity: 540 lbs; Lifting: 1080 lbs.
Normal Stamina: Carry Max 44 minutes, 22 minutes while running or fighting. Lifting for 11 rounds (165 seconds; 2.75 minutes).
Ground Speed: 15.4 mph for 11 minutes
Swimming Speed: 42 yards (126 ft.) per round for 72 rounds.
Leaping Distance: 3.5 ft. high; 7 ft. broad, from a running start. 2.1 ft. high; 4.2 ft. broad, from a standing start.

They were still standing there when Tammie arrived. She was a tiny bit above average height and on the slim side of average build. She looked like she'd missed more than a few meals in her life. She was in many ways medium brown. Brown skin and wild brown hair. Her youthful beauty only marred by the scattering of early-onset vitiligo spots up the left side of her face. She too wore a school uniform; the same school as Topaz.

Tammie Keys 

Height: 5'7", Weights: 125 lbs. Age: 17.

Class: Thief.

Alignment: Anarchist.

Disposition: Nervous and fidgety. A bit of a worry wart.

IQ 9, ME 9, MA 9, PS 13, PP 15, PE 9, PB 14, Spd 9.
Hit Points: 12, S.D.C.: 35, P.P.E.: 7

Skills:
Basic Electronics 50%, Basic Maths 60%, Basic Mechanics 45%, Card Sharp 32%, Climbing 60% (Rappelling 50%), Hand-to-Hand Basic, Literacy 65%, Palming 30%, Pick Locks 60%, Pick Pockets 55%, Pilot Automobile 72%, Prowl 45%, Safe Cracking 29%, Streetwise 29%, W.P. Blunt, W.P. Knife, W.P. Targeting (Knife).

Saves:
Coma/Death: +0%
Harmful Drugs/Toxins (15+): +0
Horror Factor: +0
Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +0
Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +0
Psionics (15+): +0
Possession: +0

Combat:
Initiative: +0
Attacks per Round: 2+2
Strike: +0; +1 (Knife, Blunt)
Damage: +0
 1d4+0 punch
 1d6+0 knife
 2d4+0 baseball bat
Parry: +1
Dodge: +1
Roll with Punch: +3
Pull Punch: +2

Benchmarks:
Normal Carry Capacity: 130 lbs; Lifting: 260 lbs.
Normal Stamina: Carry Max 36 minutes, 18 minutes while running or fighting. Lifting for 9 rounds (135 seconds; 2.25 minutes).
Ground Speed: 6.3 mph for 9 minutes
Swimming Speed: 39 yards (117 ft.) per round for 9 minutes/36 rounds.
Leaping Distance: 3.25 ft. high; 6.5 ft. broad, from a running start. 1.95 ft. high; 3.9 ft. broad, from a standing start.

"No masks?" Tammie fidgeted as they all sat together in the living room. Her hands played with her keys.

"No masks. It looks premeditated," Lucky confirmed.

"So people can recognise us?" Topaz looked unsure.

"Belladonna is our mask," Lucky repeated. "People do what she tells them, whether they want to or not. If any of us are caught we just claim that she made us do it.  As far as the law is concerned we're her victims."

"Oh yeah. You can't be held responsible for your actions if you're mind controlled." Essa smiled.

"That's right. But you have to be able to show that you were controlled. So we go into the bank, Belladonna uses her power on the cashiers and customers to get cash and valuables. Then we 'steal' the Hand of Glory from Nonno's deposit box. Essa will be parked out back of the bank. 

"If what Nonno says is true we can use the hand to exit out through the back wall. But before we go Belladonna will use it to look for more magic in the bank. We leave as soon as we have as much as she wants."

"I want it all." Belladonna sat cross-legged on an armchair, regarding them all hungrily.

"Which brings me to another thing. Belladonna is boss but you all go through me..."

"You are high priest" Belladonna purred. "Until I tire of you." 

"So any questions?" Lucky sighed.

"What do we do afterwards?" Topaz asked. "The pigs will be after us, mind control or not."

"She made me do it" Essa quoted.

"I was thinking a summer long crime spree," Lucky said. "If you want." Topaz shrugged and looked over a Tammie, who nodded.

"Yeah. Whatever," she said.

Heroes Unlimited: Phenomenal Paragons: Ms. Fury Versus Belladonna

Dahlia Drake looked at her watch and tutted. She'd rather be sniffing out rumours of new masks active in the city than queuing at her local branch of Bastards Bank over what was everyone's lunch break. She had terrible timing. She was almost at the front of the queue when the door opened and in walked three women and a man. Dahlia wouldn't have even noticed them had the atmosphere in the bank not changed. From the awkward silence and shuffling to a suddenly enegerised wave of muttering. The man behind her in the queue said "A-dang!" quite loudly causing her to turn and look.

Hannah Rutherford (YouTuber) as Dahlia Drake

It had to be some sort of celebrity and her entourage. They all had looks Dahlia would be tempted to envy, even the big muscular woman at the back who looked like she was a body-guard or something. The man had the look of a manager or PR guy. But it was the woman who led them that drew the eye. She was truly beautiful, in a way that no one should be. She was a mass of contradictions; strong yet fragile, tall yet somehow small, confident yet unsure. The big woman and a companion stood back by the doors while the man and the last woman, Dahlia could only think of her as "The Starlet", approached and bypassed the queue; heading straight for the row of counters and the bank tellers behind their glass screens. Nobody objected as they walked right up to the teller furthest from where Dahlia stood.

         

Elle Fanning (Actor) as Belladonna

"Hello," the starlet said, her accent strange and beyond Dahlia's ability to place. "I am Belladonna. I have come to make a..." she paused for a moment as she searched for the word and then snapped her fingers at her male companion. He bobbed his head.

"Withdrawal," he said.
"Yes. A withdrawal."
"And how much would you like to withdraw?" the bank teller asked.
"Everything!" Belladonna said with a radiant smile.
"Everything?" the bank teller seemed unsure as to what they were hearing.

"I am withdrawal all of your money," Belladonna said, "Give Me All Your Wealth." The words carried an inhuman compulsion and for a brief moment Dahlia fought the urge to hand over the contents of her purse. Will only just beating the beautiful woman's domination. Many around her were not so successful. Soon a pile of purses, wallets watches, jewelry and other valuables piled at Belladonna's feet. The bankers stuffed money into sacks provided by Belladonna's henchmen. All three of them had reached into duffle bags they had slug over their shoulders and were pointing them at people as if they contained shotguns or something.

"This is a robbery!" the man said to the customers. "Everyone down on the floor!"
"Better yet," Belladonna smiled, "Kneel, in Worship of Me!"
The bank customers knelt as one. But not Dahlia. Because where Dahlia had stood a black clad figure crouched, coiled like a jungle cat. Ms. Fury.
"Mask!" the male henchman yelled.

Dahlia made two saving throws versus Psionics; the first rolled a 15, only just passing, while the second was a 20. Unfortunately her roll versus Belladonna's Awe was only a 9+2, or 11. She automatically loses initiative versus the villains, loses an action and doesn't get any parry or dodge versus their first action this round.

Belladonna has 4 henchman with her, one is the getaway driver and is waiting outside. One is "Keys", a safecracker/locksmith who has just locked the doors of the bank. The second is "Topaz", the big muscular woman. The guy is "Lucky", a con artist who has attached himself to Belladonna. The getaway driver is "Essa". I used the Quick Villains rules from the GM Guide to generate them. They are all armed with baseball bats and knives. Topaz is also packing a revolver. They don't have any powers. These aren't the mindlessly loyal fanatics from Belladonna's power. But if this job succeeds their loyalty will certainly increase. Belladonna is unarmed and unarmoured; she left her bow and a whip in the getaway car.

There are thirty other people, customers and staff, in the bank.

Ms Fury doesn't roll for initiative. Belladonna rolls 24 (20+4), Keys rolls 8 (8+0), Topaz 20 (18+2), and Lucky rolls 12 (12+0). Essa is only going to come into play if the fight leaves the bank.

Words of magic spill from Belladonna's lips and she is covered in shimmering spectral plate mail. Ms Fury crouches confused by what she's seeing, not truly believing her eyes. Briefly finding it impossible to attack the beauty before her. A shot rings out from Topaz by the doorway, creasing Fury's shoulder. But she just stands there as if in a daze. Lucky and Keys draw baseball bats from their bags.

Because she failed her Awe/Horror save Ms. Fury literally loses her first action and must stand there as Belladonna casts Armour of Ithan on herself (AR18 and 170 SDC) and Topaz shoots her (2+4 for aimed shot =6; a hit, just, for 8 damage).

Belladonna casts another spell; a bolt of energy springs from her hands and splashes against Fury, seemingly shaking her from her confusion. But not before another shot rings out, again grazing her.. Lucky raises his bat between Fury and Belladonna as Keys charges across the bank. Fury leaps for Belladonna, across the kneeling customers, slipping past Lucky's bat to land on the piled wallets and purses, to scatter them.

For her second action Belladonna casts Energy Bolt, Magic Missile with the serial numbers filed off, at Ms. Fury. Energy bolt can only be defended against by a dodge roll of 18+, but since Fury can't dodge this round she just has to take it. This is bad news for Fury as Belladonna gets three more actions a round than her. That's 3 sure hits of between 4 and 24 points of damage 12 to 72 damage a round. Fury has to take her down and quick. Not that she knows that yet. She takes 18 damage from the bolt.

Topaz shoots again (6+4=10, a hit for 9 damage. Lucky basically holds action until Fury closes while Keys closes the distance between herself and the mask. Fury does the same, leaping across the gap between her and Belladonna. Lucky swings to hit (15+0=15, a hit), but his bat is deflected by Ms. Fury (15+8=23, a parry).

Belladonna attempts to evade Fury's coming attack. Topaz draws her bat out of the bag rather than shoot into melee. Lucky continues to defend his mistress while Keys joins him in swinging a bat at Ms. Fury. Keys misses while Lucky finds his bat deflected by Fury's claws. Those same claws slash at Belladonna, slipping through the gaps in her armour, tearing at clothing, scratching the skin beneath.

Belladonna declares her dodge on Fury; (11+6=17). Lucky and Keys swing to attack; (7+0=7, a hit) and (3+0, a miss) respectively. Fury parry's Lucky (3+8, a success by 1) and then slashes at Belladonna (19+6=25, a hit and above the AR of her armour) for 21 points of damage. Having found the 'Knockback' rules at long last, there's a 20% chance for Belladonna to be knocked off her feet. I roll 31 and she remains standing. Both Ms. Fury and Belladonna, between their strength, and in Belladonna's case, experience knock over 1 in 5 of anyone they hit. In Fury's case, however, due to her raw ability to take an impact (SDC) it takes twice as much force to push her over.

Again Belladonna attempts to evade, at the same time Topaz rushes across the bank, bat raised. Lucky and Keys swing again but Fury deflects them both, knocking Lucky's bat into Keys's, while still managing to slash at their boss. Belladonna fires off three bolts of energy in quick succession which strikes our hapless heroine. Topaz swings and misses.

Belladonna dodges again (14+6=20). Lucky and Keys both attack Ms Fury (8+0=8), (10+1=11) but she parries both (18+8 and 18+8; 26 for both). This raises a question for me as to how many attacks a character can parry in a single action. Searching the forums I learn that in Rifts a character can parry up to 3 attacks per action, but 4 or more can only be dodged.  Seems reasonable. The next question is, should I roll to parry separately for each parry or just once per action? 

Fury then attacks Belladonna again (19+6=25), slipping through gaps in the armour again to do 11 points of damage.

This leaves everyone but Belladonna and Topaz out of actions. Topaz gets her last shot in (2+0=2, a miss) and Belladonna gets to fire off three energy bolts to round the round off. Belladonna ends the round down 32 SDC while Ms. Fury is down 35 SDC. To put this into perspective Ms. Fury has lost just under 15% of her SDC while Belladonna is down by just over 25%. Fury is quite the rough'em-tough'em kinda gal. 

Round two begins with initiative. Ms. Fury rolls 14 (9+5), Belladonna rolls 22 (18+4), Keys 13 (13+0), Topaz 5 (3+2) and Lucky 9 (9+0). Sequence is Belladonna, Ms. Fury, Keys, Lucky and then Topaz.

Belladonna decides to withdraw to heal herself and evades Ms. Fury as she does so. The cat clothed vigilante attempts an acrobatic kick but misses. She lands on her feet and parries the cudgel blows of the others with her claws.

Belladonna rolls 17 (11+6) to dodge and Fury only manages a 14 (9+5) with her kick. Keys (5+0=5), Lucky (18+0=18) and Topaz (6+1=7) all attack. Ms. Fury's parry with her claws is +8, which means she automatically parries any attack roll of 9 or less. I won't even bother rolling to parry them. Rolling to parry Lucky's blow gives me (19+8=27), a success.

Belladonna casts a spell on herself and some of the scratches she suffered at Ms. Fury's claws begin to close up, but not completely,  Fury attempts an acrobatic kick against Topaz, who is currently the  most immediate threat to her. But the muscled woman twists out of the way, evading the strike. Keys bat almost catches the heroine but is defected by her claws while Lucky swings wide.

Belladonna casts Heal Self at a cost of 20 PPE and heals 17 SDC. Ms. Fury rolls (7+5=12) to kick Topaz but the criminal rolls (11+2=13) to dodge, using up this action. Keys attacks (13+0=13) but is deflected (12+8=20). Lucky just flat out misses (4+0=4, which is below the minimum of 5 to hit).

Belladonna keeps healing herself while Ms. Fury goes back from kick to claws, slashing at Topaz in an attempt to reduce the number of opponents she has to fight. Topaz tries to parry with her bat but the vigilante reaches around it to cut her left shoulder with enough force to throw her to the floor. Keys swings at Ms. Fury who deftly parries her. "Okay, you're next." she purrs. Again Lucky's swing goes wide.

Belladonna regains another 13 SDC, leaving her only 2 points down. Fury hits Topaz with (17+6=23) versus a parry of (15+2=17). She does 17 SDC damage, which is basically minimum damage. 16 to 29 points of damage in enough to give a 20% chance of knocking Topaz over. I roll 01. She falls. She loses her attack and must spend her next action standing. Key rolls (17+0=17) but is parried with (13+8=21). Lucky rolls (3+0=3).

Belladonna fires another energy bolt at Ms. Fury who bent out of the way. It splashed against a far wall, leaving a scorch mark. Keys and Lucky again find their blows deflected by Ms. Fury's claws. Topaz recovers her bat and stands. She swings at Fury, who parries once more. Another energy bolt follows. Belladonna grabs a fancy red silk rope from  the queue line and whips it at Ms. Fury, who slashes it with her claws, cutting it below a useful length.

Ms. Fury rolls a dodge of (14+6=20), which beats the 18 needed to evade the energy bolt. Keys rolls a (5+0=5) and Lucky (7+0=7), both below the 9 minimum of Fury's clawed parry. Again only Topaz and Belladonna have actions left. I remember that Roll with Impact is a thing and so I roll for it; (19+3=22). This also beats 18 so I half the 17 damage down to 8. Topaz rolls (15+1=16) for her attack but Fury's parry roll is (19+8=27). Belladonna has used more than half of her PPE and so tries to get inventive and uses a rope as an improvised whip (I decide on -2 strike due to length and unwieldiness, but +1 damage from the weight and brass hook at the end). Her attack roll is (9+6-2=13), whereas Ms. Fury's parry is (9+8=17). I decide that the rope is cut because the claws minimum damage is greater than the rope's SDC. I haven't found rules for damaging weapons 

Round 3 begins with initiative again. Fury rolls 23 (18+5), Belladonna rolls 20 (16+4), Keys rolls 18 (18+0), Topaz rolls 14 (12+2) and Lucky 8 (8+0). And that's the sequence for the round.

Ms. Fury continues her assault of Topaz, who parry's the claw strike with her bat. Belladonna drops the end of the rope. She points to the most attractive customer and begins to cast a spell. Keys tries to batter Ms. Fury again but misses. Topaz throws her bat at Ms. Fury who knocks it aside. But in the process she leaves herself open to Lucky who clocks her with a solid hit.

Ms. Fury rolls (4+6=10) but Topaz parries with (13+1=14). Belladonna picks out the most attractive customer in the bank a woman with P.B. 22 and begins to cast Love Charm on her. Keys's attack is (3+0=3). Topaz throws her bat at Fury (18+1=19) but it is deflected (19+8=27). However Lucky's attack (17+0=17) is not as Ms. Fury only rolls (4+8=12) to parry. She takes 8 SDC damage.

Ms. Fury claws at Topaz who attempts to deflect the blow with a forearm against the vigilante's wrist but fails, getting raked across the arm for her troubles. Belladonna finishes her spell and the woman she cast it upon blushes and squirms. Keys and Lucky both swing wildly as Topaz twists her wrist and turns the block into a grab...

Ms. Fury hits with a (19+6=25) while Topaz's parry is only (3+1). Topaz isn't knocked over. Neither Keys nor Lucky roll over Fury's minimum parry. I'm not entirely sure how wrestling works. However it says that someone with the skill can pin an opponent on a roll of 18 or higher. I roll a natural 20.

Neelam Gill (Model) as Aditi

Ms. Fury attempts to break free of Topaz's grip as her opponent seeks to restrict her movement further by grabbing her other wrist. 

 "Fill the bags with the offerings," Belladonna says to her newly enslaved hostage, "And bring as many as you can once you're done." The woman, who we shall call Aditi, nods.

 "Anything for you, my love," she sighs and gets to work.

Keys has abandoned the attack to instead approach the door to the deposit box vault, pulling some keys from her jacket pocket. Lucky takes the opportunity presented by his foe's restricted movement to hit her with the bat. She barely reacts as she uses her feline flexibility to pull free from Topaz.

Okay so it says that each party who are wrestling one another roll 1d20 and add P.P.. That's (8+24=32) for Ms. Fury and (17+11=28) for Topaz. I think Topaz only has somewhere in the region of 35% chance to successfully grapple Ms. Fury. Also I think I've done wrestling wrong. Luck hits with a (13) and does 5 SDC damage.

Ms. Fury responds with an acrobatic kick, which hits Topaz causing her to stagger but not fall. Belladonna absentmindedly waits while Key unlocks the vault door, shooting off an energy bolt at Ms. Fury almost to amuse herself. Lucky's bat fails to connect again.

Belladonna takes a deposit box key from Key and enters the vault. Finding the box she wants immediately. She opens it and grins at its contents.

Ms. Fury's kick connects with an (11+5=16) against Topaz's dodge of (8+2=10). She does 18 damage but fails to floor Topaz by a couple of percent. The energy bolt she takes only does 6 damage, pushing her over 100 SDC taken. Topaz's grapple attempt took 2 actions meaning that she doesn't get to do anything further this round.

Initiative for round four goes thus; Ms. Fury 12 (7+5), Belladonna 13 (9+4), Topaz 7 (5+2), Keys 20 (20+0), and Lucky 14 (14+0). Sequence is Keys, Lucky, Belladonna, Ms. Fury, and Topaz.

Keys begins gathering the filled bags of money from the bank tellers as Lucky takes another swing at Ms. Fury and his bat is turned away at the last moment by her claws. Belladonna exits the vault, her eyes glowing with an unearthly light. As is the mummified human left hand she's holding in hers. Ms. Fury slashes at Topaz, who evades.

Belladonna shakes the glowing hand at Ms. Fury and dust flies from it to settle on the vigilante who shakes her head and stumbles. Topaz punches her and Ms. Fury falls, her eyes heavy. As they close she sees a glowing doorway open in  the outside wall of the bank, revealing a back alley and an idling white van. She hears Belladonna command "Sleep" and she falls into a dreamless slumber.

Lucky's attack is (16+0) but Ms. furry parries with (12+8=20). Ms. Fury's attack is (6+6=12) versus Topaz's dodge of (14+2=16). Then Belladonna uses the Sleep Dust power from the Hand of Glory. Ms. Fury has to save versus magic versus 14. She rolls (5+2=7), only half of what she needed and falls asleep while the criminals escape.

 "Miss? Miss?" Dahlia Drake opens her eyes to see Guardian Angel standing over her, smiling. She starts into full wakefulness. "It's alright miss. You're safe. They've gone." Dahlia realises that she's not in costume and relaxes a little. "Can you remember what happened?"

 "There were four of them," Dahlia begins, "Three women and a man. Their leader called herself Belladonna..."

So this fight was a bit more rough around the edges than before. Testing poorly explained/understood sub-systems. In hindsight Wrestling seems to involve a normal barehanded strike followed by a grappling roll with an 18+ meaning an automatic pin. The grappling roll happens every action it's contested. 

The Hand of Glory will get a short write up later. Belladonna and her gang will also return. I have plans. Speaking of which Aditi wasn't planned. But with the crook's plans disrupted they were going to need an extra pair of hands. Belladonna would only charm the first attractive person she saw. Unfortunately there's a chance that when the Love Charm spell wears off (in 35 minutes in this case) it's effects either warp the victim's mind or become permanent. For Aditi it's become permanent. Since running this fight I've gone back and created Aditi as an NPC. Since the GM guide only has rules for creating criminals and not bystanders I made her using the rules for PC, just didn't apply a powerset class. I also used an expanded education chart which I found on the forums and recompiled for my own use. It's interesting. Aditi is a Bollywood and Hong Kong actress; she's a martial artist who has borderline superhuman abilities, without powers. I think I might start a line of posting criminals and bystanders.

So, uh, join me next week for... 59... 

The Super Soldier!

Get your flags ready.

Heroes Unlimited: Phenomenal Paragons: The Warlock (Hardware Hero: Analytical Genius)

Marcus Mould built a fusion reactor in his parent's shed when he was 12 and joined the army at 18 to serve queen and country. But his genius was recognised and instead of getting his hands dirty he was moved into Army Intelligence. Bored, he left the day his contract was up for renewal. On his 22nd birthday he formed Clocktower Analytics. Now he still serves queen and country, and anyone else who can afford his fees, as The Warlock.

This is the fifth character in my Phenomenal Paragons series. The introduction to which is here. It is inspired by Jacob Pisson's World's Strongest series, here.

The Hardware Hero is your MacGuyver type, although it includes your Knight Riders, your Airwolves, your Street Hawks, and, if you want to get into really obscure late 80's action shows, The Wizard.

The Wizard, for you not in the know, was a kids action show back in 1986, starring David Rappaport as little person inventor Simon McKay who, along with his FBI bodyguard, would go on adventures and fight crime. This show had a weird influence on me even though I never saw a single episode as while visiting family in the US I was given a tour of the set by one of the producers. I was 13. It was an experience.

All this becomes relevant in a moment.

Step One: The Usual.

11's across the board except with I.Q. which has a minimum of 9. The rules literally say to raise to raise an I.Q. of 8 or lower up to 9. However, while 11 is higher than 9, my rules for these characters say that if there's an attribute requirement then I raise the first required attribute up to 20. So 20 I.Q. it is.

Step Two: Education.

I go random and get Military Specialist. This has a tight list of programs to choose from and 5 secondary skills. The first program I don't get a choice in, being Basic Military at +20% skill. This gives me:
Hand-to-Hand Basic,
Running, +1 P.E., +10 Spd., +3 SDC.
Climbing,
Military Etiquette,
Basic Radio,
W.P. Rifle, +4 aimed shot, +2 wild shot.
I can then choose another military program or Espionage, and get +20%. I choose the latter.
Hand-to-Hand Martial Arts, This replaces Basic HtH. I consider tracking down the Commando HtH but I don't think its in any of the books I'm using.
Detect Ambush,
Intelligence,
Wilderness Survival,
Disguise,
Impersonation.
I then get given another go around on the Espionage program, this time only at +15%. I pick:
Detect Concealment,
Escape Artist,
Pick Locks,
Sniper, +2 aimed shot
Tracking.
Then I get the Modern Weapon Proficiencies program, which gives me 3 picks from a short list. I chose:
W.P. Pistol,
W.P. SMG,
W.P. Heavy Weapons.
Finally I get a pick of any skill program at +10% and I, sticking with the theme, select Demolitions.
Demolitions,
Demolitions Disposal,
Underwater Demolitions.

Then I spot the note at the bottom of the section saying that Analytical Geniuses (Genii?) don't get an education. They have a list of skills and a few secondary skills. Had I been following the rules to the letter I wouldn't even know what sort of Hardware Hero I was creating at this point. I'm literally discovering this now as I write this; character already designed. I'm not going to waste all my work up until this point. So rules... (freaking cargo cult game design, I swear...)

Step Three: Special Skills; Hardware Area of Expertise.

Hardware Heroes come in four broad categories: the Electrical Genius, as with The Gaunter; the Mechanical Genius, who builds Super vehicles; the Weapons Expert, who makes and uses weapons real well; and the Analytical Genius, who does all of the above, but not as well.

The Analytical Genius is MacGuyver and The Wizard rolled into one. Skills-wise they get:
Electrical Engineer (+15%),
Mechanical Engineer (+15%),
Weapons Engineer (+10%),
Robot Mechanics (+15%),
Robot Electronics (+10%),
Basic Radio (+20%),
Read Sensory Instruments (+20%),
Chemistry (+20%),
Analytical Chemistry (+20%),
Computer Operation (+20%),
Computer Programming (+10%),
Computer Repair (+10%),
Astrophysics (+15%),
Art (+10%),
Anthropology (+10%),
Biology (+10%),
Paramedic (+10%),
Intelligence (+10%),
Research (+20%),
Advanced Maths (+30%).

Kev' baby, get help.

At the top of the list it literally says "in addition to scholastic and secondary skills". I also get a skill program of choice and 6 secondary skills! I could just...

So I choose Business. I know I'm technically cheating at this point but if you're going to be bad at game design Kev', then I'm gonna milk it for every drop. This is an NPC after all.
Basic Mathematics,
Business & Finance,
Computer Operation,
Law (General),
Research.

I also get Special Skills. These are:
Analyse & Operate Devices,
Build/Modify Armour,
Communications: ECM.

Going all out I decide I have 11 secondary skills:
Athletics, +1 parry and dodge, +1 roll with impact, +1 P.S., +3 Spd., +5 SDC.
Body Building, +2 P.S., +10 SDC.
Swimming,
SCUBA,
W.P. Knife, +1 strike when thrown.
W.P. Targeting (Knife), +1 strike.
Language, x3; I pencil in Russian, Mandarin, and Arabic. Normally when it comes to languages while designing characters I ask the GM what languages will be featuring in their game and select at least one of those. In this case I'm going with languages that an army intelligence officer is likely to find useful in the twenty first century.
Pilot Motorcycle,
Pilot Race-car.

Step Four: Hardware.

I get a random valued workshop, which I decide to to treat as a budget; so an £80,000 workshop. I then get a budget for building something. It's expected to be a suit of power armour or a supervehicle. I choose £4 million.

No Tony, Business & Finance would have to be a secondary skill for you.

Given that Pilot Jet Pack and Pilot Armoured Vehicle are advanced piloting skills, playing strictly by the rules you'd have to pick the Advanced Piloting program to be able to use powered armour. That would be your one program and done. Not really a fully fledged character skill-wise.

I decide on a super vehicle. Just the one to start.

I settle on a motorcycle. Make it a heavy chassis for £2,000 and 100 SDC. Put in an engine capable of speed class 24, the maximum for a motorcycle, for £9,000. Heavy composite armour giving AR 18 and 1,400 SDC for £50,000. An autocannon that does 1d6x10+20 damage in a front facing fixed mount for £15,000. Engine readouts for £550 and a radio locator for £1,500. Modify the engine for super fuel efficiency for another £15,000. Ram prow for £1,100, searchlight for 300 and siren for £90. Armour the tires with AR 10 and 20 SDC to deflate, for £2,800 and make the self repairing and self inflating for £1,400.

The Warwolf.

Max speed or 480 mph, cruise speed of 150 mph.
Max load of 450 lbs.
10x range.
1 pilot and 1 passenger.
AR18, 1,500 SDC
£98,740 off the shelf.

The Guardian City Metropolitan Police Force pay £99,000 each, with livery for the P.R.A.T. Squad. It only costs The Warlock £39,496 in parts to make.

The Warwolf looks like the cross between a Dodge Tomahawk and the Batpod.

Other Stuff

Alignment: I roll 5 on my die and get Aberrant. This is when my military super spy turns into The Warlock. Like The Wizard, only evil. And not proper villainy either. No he's an anti-hero. A utilitarian pragmatist fighting the good fight in a bad way.
Hand-to-Hand: I'm tempted by the Assassin HtH style, which is only available to evil characters, but in the end I stick with martial arts.
There's an option to sacrifice a bunch of stuff, including attacks per round, to get an additional whole Hardware Hero class. I elect not to.
Weapons & Armour: I can use the budget to buy stuff, so that's alright.
When out and about The Warlock wears what look like motorcycle leathers but are actually the equivalent to riot armour (AR14, 180 SDC) when riding his Warwolf. The helmet has a multi-optic system built into it. Full cost is £39,600 and weighs 17 lbs.
Carries a ceramic combat knife and 3 ceramic throwing knives (1d6 damage). Has access to a number of different firearms locked away in an armoury in his home/workshop.
S.D.C.: The character starts with a base of 35 SDC.


Name: Marcus Mould.
Super Identity: The Warlock.
Level: 1, Analytical Genius.
Height: 5'10", Weight: 150 lbs.
Alignment: Aberrant.
Disposition: Snob. Arrogant. Acts superior to others.
Team: The Clock Tower.
IQ 20, ME 11, MA 11, PS 14, PP 11, PE 12, PB 11, Spd 24.
Hit Points 15, S.D.C. 43, P.P.E. 20.

Superpowers:
No Skill Cap: Usually skills are capped at 98% but the Analytical Genius has no upper cap to their skills meaning that they can rise above this. This is used to counter negative penalties. However a roll of 99 or 100 is still a fail no matter how high the skill.

Skills:
Scholastic Skills:
Basic Maths 76%, Business & Finance 56%, Law (General) 46%, Pilot Automobile 78%, Speak English, Read/Write English.
Military Skills:
Basic Radio 106%, Climbing 71% (Rappelling 61%), Demolitions 79%, Demolitions Disposal 79%, Detect Ambush 61%, Detect Concealment 51%, Disguise 56%, Escape Artist 56%, Impersonation 46%, Intelligence 82%, Martial Arts Hand-to-Hand, Military Etiquette 66%, Pick Locks 56%, Running, Sniper, Tracking 51%, Underwater Demolitions 76%, Wilderness Survival 61%, W.P. Heavy Weapon, W.P. Pistol, W.P. Rifle, W.P. S.M.G.
Analytical Skills:
Advanced Maths 86%, Analytical Chemistry 56%, Anthropology 41%, Art 56%, Astrophysics 51%, Biology 51%, Chemistry 61%, Computer Ops 81%, Computer Programming 51%, Computer Repair 46%, Electrical Engineer 66%, Mechanical Engineer 61%, Paramedic 61%, Read Sensors 61%, Research 81%, Robot Electronics 56%, Robot Mechanics 56%, Weapons Engineer 46%.
Special Skills:
Analyse & Operate Devices 88%, Build & Modify Armour 88%, Communications: ECM 78%.
Secondary Skills:
Athletics, Body Building, Language: Arabic 61%, Language: Mandarin 61%, Language: Russian 61%, Pilot Motorcycle 70%, Pilot Race-car 64%, SCUBA 61%, Swimming 61%, W.P. Knife, W.P. Targeting (Thrown Knife).

Saves: 

Coma/Death: +0%

Harmful Drugs/Toxins (15+): +0

Horror Factor: +0

Magic (Spells 12+, Circles/Wards 13+, Ritual 16+): +0

Poison (Lethal 14+, Non-Lethal 16+): +0

Psionics (15+): +0

Possession: +0

Combat:

Initiative: +2
Attacks per Round: 2+2
Strike: +0, +2 (Thrown Knife)
Damage:
1d4 Punch
1d6 Knife
Dodge: +1
Parry: +1
Roll with Impact: +4
Pull Punch: +3

Benchmarks:

Carry Capacity: 120 lbs; Lifting: 240 lbs

Stamina: Carry Max 48 minutes, 24 minutes while running or fighting. Lifting for 12 rounds (180 seconds; 3 minutes)

Ground Speed: 16.8 mph for 12 minutes

Swimming Speed: 42 yrds (126 ft.) per round for 12 minutes.

Leaping Distance: 3.5 ft. high; 7 ft. broad. 14 ft drop.

Background:

Born to a working class family in Guardian City Marcus Mould was something of a child prodigy. The sort of child who would take something apart to see how it worked he differed only in that he could put them back together again. At the age of twelve he built a fusion reactor in a garden shed, just to see if he could. It wasn't powerful or useful but it worked. The world became his oyster. Prestigious universities beat a path to his door just to offer him scholarships.

Then there came the Sunday of the Psirens when a cabal of psychic, self styled, 'witches' invaded Ennor in an attempt to make it their personal kingdom. Marcus and his family were sheltering in Ennor Cathedral during the fighting. His mother crippled by a stray telekinetic bolt. Marcus witnessed Brigadier Garret defeat the leader of the Psirens before succumbing to his own wounds.

The event galvanized Marcus. He decided to join the army at 18 and sign up for the super-soldier program. However after basic training he learned that he didn't have the right genetic markers to participate in the program (and he failed the psych evaluation). Instead he was transferred to army intelligence. Much to his irritation his squad-mate, Victor Valiant, was accepted into Project Broomstick, the super soldier program, and is now the hero Captain Valiant.

Marcus didn't renew his contract at 22 and instead left the army to form his own freelance intelligence and technology company; Watchtower Analytics. Now he works as a consultant and fights crime under the codename of "The Warlock". Although his talents are better served in the workshop or at a computer than out on the streets cracking skulls.

Join us next time when we'll be creating... 70... oh. Another...

Immortal

...This one won't be a ghost, I swear.