[Mutants & Masterminds] A World Less Magical But No Less Fantastic

[Davies]

Penny Lane

In 1829, a young poet and soldier named Edgar Allan Poe, discharged from the army, moved to Baltimore to live with his widowed aunt and her children for a time before entering West Point. During this time, he decided to visit with some childhood friends of his, named Usher, and was startled to learn that one of them had recently died and the other was very ill. Some rather horrific events then transpired, which he would, a decade later, describe in print as "The Fall of the House of Usher", presenting them as fiction and notably censoring the way that Madeline Usher ended the life of her brother Roderick before dying herself. Perhaps he had forced himself to forget that horror.

There was much that Poe did not know about the Ushers. They were a very old family, and had begun, generations before, a course of inbreeding to regain certain advantages which they were slowly losing. And while Roderick Usher believed himself and his sister to be the last of their family, he was mistaken. There had been another pair of twins born to their parents, a decade before their own birth. When the sister of the pair had died in childhood, they had sent the brother to be raised by some friends of theirs while they tried again. In his thirties when the House of Usher fell, Timothy Usher took the opportunity to reinvent himself as Timothy Ashe, founder of a new house ...

... and the ancestor, in several lines, of one Penelope Ashe, who ran away from home in her early teens when she realized the intentions of most of her male relatives towards her. Being able to read minds can really suck at times. Like her ancestor before her, she took a new name as Penny Lane, and has tried to live a normal, unremarkable life since then. Such plans have been somewhat disrupted by her growing friendship with the android hero Machinanima, and his ongoing feud with her fa-- the people to whom she's related.

Initially, Penny was drawn towards Machinanima because his mind was unlike any consciousness she'd ever encountered, coolly precise rather than a jumble of impulses and memories. Later, she hoped that he might become a powerful protector if her family ever tried to come after her. Most recently, though, she's been startled to realize that she really does care about him, worrying about the violence of his lifestyle and even trying to help him out discreetly. This has also made her feel increasingly guilty about the fact that he doesn't know anything about who she is or where she came from, but she does know that he's never expressed any curiosity about the subject, either. It's just not how he's wired, she guesses.

In addition to the abilities to speak mind to mind and probe the thoughts and memories of others, while shielding her own mind from such intrusions, Penny's telepathy allows her to retain quite a bit of what she gleans from these minds. That's how she's been able to do all the many jobs that she's been doing since Machinanima has met her, and how she's managed to create a variety of false IDs in case she ever has to make a quick getaway. She has never been known to use any sort of telepathic 'power stunts', but nothing is stopping her from developing them other than a lack of opportunity.

Penny Lane -- PL 6

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

Powers:
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 6, Limited to mental effects - 3 points
Stolen Skills & Memories: Enhanced Advantage 1 (Eidetic Memory); Variable 1 (skills & languages), Free Action - 9 points
Telepathy: Mental Communication 2; Cumulative Mind Reading 6 - 26 points

Typical Variable Sets:
I Know Kung Fu: Enhanced Defense 3 (Parry 3); Enhanced Skill 2 (Close Combat: Unarmed 4) - 5 points
Of Course I Speak Sumerian. Doesn't Everyone?: Enhanced Advantage 1 (Language [any]) - 1 point
Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: Enhanced Skill (Expertise: [any] 10) - 5 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Defensive Roll, Eidetic Memory, Fascinate (Persuasion)

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+4), Deception 4 (+5), Insight 2 (+6), Persuasion 4 (+5)

Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 0)

Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 3/1, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 20 + Powers 38 + Advantages 3 + Skills 6 + Defenses 12 = 79 points

Complications:
Freedom--Motivation. Enemy/Family (House of Ashe.) Friend (Machinanima.) Secrets (oh so many.) Uncontrolled Power (Mind-Reading, activates randomly.)

 

[Davies]

Emanuel Cardona

Born in Morocco in 1951, Emanuel Cardona emigrated to France with his family in his early teens. It was as a seventeen-year-old vocational school student that he first encountered la Belle on one of her first appearances. He's never discussed the circumstances of that meeting with anyone, never said whether he was caught up in a protest or took part in one willingly, but he will say that she saved his life that night, and he has spent decades trying to repay that debt. And then he found out exactly how much that was going to cost.

At eighteen, he underwent compulsory military service, serving a bit more than the then-mandatory year. In the aftermath, he returned to Paris and went to work for the Prefecture of Police, frequently crossing paths with la Belle and her rival/parner, la Bête -- with whom he had a much more unfriendly relationship. He rose through the ranks thanks to cases closed with their help, and lent them whatever limited aid that he could as an inspector. The years passed, and they remained exactly the same as Cardona grew older. That didn't bother him, or at least he told himself that it didn't.

He married in 1989, and had a number of children whom he loved almost as much as he loved his job. In 1998, he was recruited by Argus to serve as an implanted agent in the Paris police, and also the handler for France's famous heroes. He viewed this as the best way to ensure that la Belle, at least, had an ally inside Argus. Nothing changed, really -- he'd always provided the police with all the information that he knew about the two of them, if not always what he suspected, and now he was just duplicating those reports for another interested party.

In 2004, he was assigned to work with a new partner, the much younger Helene Remarque, who'd achieved some distinction while assisting la Bête on one of his cases. Cardona found it divertingly amusing that her opinions of the duo were exactly the opposite of his own, but came to respect her sharp intellect and courage. He thought she was probably going to go even further in the police service than he had, as he was looking forward to retirement by that point.

A bit more than a year later, Cardona, Remarque and la Belle were all attacked by what he eventually learned were renegade Argus agents, part of the conspiracy that shook the world that year. La Belle was critically injured, and Cardona helped both her and the less wounded Remarque to a safehouse where he hoped they'd be able to recover. Despite his best efforts, though, he saw his beloved heroine take her last breath ... and then dissolve into golden dust.

And then he heard a strange noise coming from the bed where Remarque's unconscious body lay. Slowly, he turned, and watched, in stupefied horror, as her body was altered to make it an exact duplicate of la Belle's. When she awoke, a moment later, she even asked where Remarque was, if his partner was all right. He stammered out that she hadn't made it, and the look of genuine grief on her face convinced him that she knew less than he did about what had just happened.

Nothing, not even the death of his wife in 2009, has ever shattered Cardona as much as what he learned that day. He has never passed on this secret to anyone, not even to Argus, from which he retired in 2011. Every time one of them suffers a life-threatening injury, he quietly waits for his own end, fully expecting that as the person closest to them both, he is doomed to become a new host for these strange beings. It hasn't happened yet. Perhaps it never will. And so he keeps on helping them, in any way that he can, now that he's an old man whose children rarely visit.

But he looks back on the sheer number of times that this must have happened, and is appalled at the price that has been paid for all their heroism.

Emanuel Cardona -- PL 5

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

Advantages:
Assessment, Connections, Contacts, Defensive Roll, Equipment 3, Fearless, Languages 2 (Arabic, Basque, English, French, [Spanish is native]), Well-informed.

Equipment:
Light Pistol (Ranged Damage 3), and 9 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Streetwise 7 (+10), Intimidation 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Investigation 7 (+10), Perception 5 (+9), Persuasion 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Guns 6 (+7), Treatment 2 (+5), Vehicles 5 (+6).

Offense:
Initiative +0
Unarmed +1 (Close Damage -1)
Light Pistol +7 (Ranged Damage 3)

Defense:
Dodge 3, Parry 3, Fortitude 1, Toughness 1/-1, Will 5.

Totals:
Abilities 20 + Advantages 11 + Skills 26 + Defenses 8 = 65 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Elderly. Secrets (ex-Argus agent, knows the secret of la Belle et la Bête.)

 

[Davies]

Okamura Koji

The second longest-serving member of the Ghost Sweepers has been with the team almost as long as Megan Excalibur -- or "Megu-chan", though he's the only person on Earth who's permitted to call her that. He joined a few days after she did, having been recruited at the same time and out of the same high school, but not permitted to join the team in the field immediately. He spent that time having his abilities studied by the Yokoyama Group, as they were atypical for those the Sweeper organization in a number of ways.

As a consequence, Koji believes that his abilities are purely psychic in nature, without any spiritual component. There are no baseball bat-wielding psychics who can teleport in Japanese legend, after all. At least one parapsychologist who took part in the study, however, argued that Koji was somehow channeling the 'spirit' of the protagonist of an extremely popular video game, or possibly the gestalt consciousness of everyone who's ever imagined themselves in that role. Regardless, until relatively recently, Koji didn't have to take the same steps to keep the spirit he's associated 'happy' that his teammates did.

That changed not long after his high school graduation, when the team suffered a major defeat that could easily have resulted in their deaths, had the attacking entity not regarded them as too insignificant to finish off. When the team recovered, it seemed that Koji had completely lost his powers, and nothing that he did was making them come back. After consulting the Yokoyama Group's files, though, Megan decided that the 'Ness' that lived inside Koji's brain had gotten a 'Game Over' result and was pouting over this. The only thing to do, then, was to restart.

She did this by dragging him into a series of fights with various spectral entities, which grew progressively harder until they forced Koji to unconsciously draw on his abilities -- specifically his 'Offense Up' -- to protect himself. Once that was done, the rest of his wild talents came back, one by one, and Koji was once more able to take his place in the party lineup. The entire affair firmly cemented his loyalty to Megan, though neither of them is looking forward to having to do this again.

That loyalty is an interesting development in itself, since Koji started out on the team fully expecting to be handed the position of leader once their original leader retired to an administrator's position in the agency. He was shocked when a girl was given the job instead, especially since her abilities seemed so much less impressive than his. This rivalry is almost entirely a thing of the past, although Koji still finds himself second-guessing Megan's choices in the privacy of his own thoughts, especially when she does things he doesn't understand. But he's seen those weird calls play out too many times to openly question them.

Outside of his teammates, Koji's closest relationship is with his girlfriend, Miyake Shizuna, whom the group rescued from an attempted human sacrifice three years ago. What was a typical Tuesday to the Ghost Sweepers was the most terrifying experience of her life, and she was a long time recovering. Against regulations, Koji decided to take a role in her recovery, and they've become close. She knows that he fights ghosts and witches, but has no idea that he does so with official sanction. It's a fairly happy and supportive relationship that would probably be broken up in an instant if the Ghost Sweeper's oversight committee ever found out about it.

"So they never will," Megan has promised.

Okamura Koji - PL 8

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

Powers:
Psi-Shield: Linked Enhanced Will 4, Impervious; Linked Sustained Protection 4 - 12 points
Psychic Abilities: Array (8 points)

• Brainshock: Perception Range Affliction 8 (Resisted by Will; Entranced), Limited to One Degree - 8 points
• Defense Down: Perception Range Affliction 8 (Resisted by Will; Vulnerable), Limited to One Degree - 1 point
• Hypnosis: Perception Range Affliction 8 (Resisted by Will; Fatigued), Limited to One Degree - 1 point
• [Life Up: Perception Range Healing 2 - 1 point
• Offense Up: Enhanced Strength 4 - 1 point
• Paralysis: Perception Range Affliction 8 (Resisted by Will; Hindered), Limited to One Degree - 1 point

Teleport Stride: Accurate Extended Teleport 6 (125 miles), Activation (Standard Action), Limited to Extended Only - 16 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Assessment, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 2, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative, Power Attack.

Equipment:
Baseball bat (Strength-based Damage 2), smartphone and 6 other points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+9/+5), Close Combat: Baseball Bat 4 (+9), Deception 4 (+6), Expertise: Popular Culture 3 (+5), Expertise: Science 3 (+5), Expertise: Streetwise 5 (+7), Insight 3 (+7), Intimidation 4 (+6), Investigation 4 (+6), Perception 4 (+8), Treatment 2 (+4).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 5/1)
Bat +9 (Close Damage 7/3)

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 7, Fortitude 6, Toughness 9/7/5/3, Will 9/5

Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 41 + Advantages 9 + Skills 20 + Defenses 9 = 121 points

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Power Loss (all, if defeated or otherwise suffers damage to his self-image.) Relationship (girlfriend.) Secret (government agent.)

 

[Davies]

Kishinami Monoka

The youngest current member of the Ghost Sweepers, Monoka is just sixteen years old and was recruited two years ago, when she was still in middle school. She's somewhat unique among her colleagues in that she doesn't channel the spirit of an individual from Japanese legend, but one of the four symbols associated with the Chinese constellations -- specifically, the Vermillion Bird, called Suzaku in Japanese, which embodies the element of fire, the southern direction, and summer. This allows her to use various flame-related abilities, notably allowing her to fly on wings of flame -- although not very fast, as superheroic flyers go.

Monoka's powers, while considerably potent, have the strong limitation that she cannot normally call fire into being, but rather causes flames to rise higher and burn faster and more hotly by an act of will. Occasionally, she has been able to somehow cause combustion to occur in regions of high temperatures and low humidity, such as an extremely hot summer day, but for the most part she relies on a set of matches and a lighter that she carries in her blazer pocket to create the fires that she needs to do her work. Despite the challenge that this sometimes creates for her, she has never complained about it. She might only have one match, but she can make an explosion.

Unlike a lot of her colleagues, Monoka strongly believes that Suzaku exists independently of herself, and is a genuine deity, not a manifestation of any innate power on her part. She takes comfort in the notion that she is Suzaku's chosen priestess, and strives always to behave in a way consistent with this heavy responsibility. Ironically, her own personality is somewhat contrary to this, as she is every bit as prone to making quippy remarks as most of her teammates, and a decidedly nasty sense of humor. She claims to want to keep this under control, but whether or not this should be believed is questionable.

Under the air of sanctity, and the sarcastic personality beneath it, there's a rather lonely young woman who values the found family that the Ghost Sweepers have become for her. Her own family is broken in many ways. After her birth father died in a fire that also killed a lot of his colleagues, her mother married again -- to one of Monoka's paternal uncles, just to make things that much more confusing. Neither her mother nor her stepfather care very much about her, and she was dumped at a boarding school where she got wrapped up in a series of events that attracted the Ghost Sweepers attention, being both rescued by them and rescuing them in quick succession.

Monoka is considered a likely candidate to replace Megan Excalibur as the Ghost Sweeper's field commander if the latter ever suffers a career ending injury or power loss. Aware of this, Megan is being very careful in giving Monoka the sort of training that she received when she was Monoka's age, but Megan worries that the younger woman is a bit too in love with her own power to focus on commanding others well. Still, there's time for that lesson to be taught, surely.

Kishinami Monoka -- PL 9

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

Powers:
Flames of the Vermillion Bird: Array (17 points)

• Flame Arrow: Ranged Damage 9, Quirk (requires existing open fire or high temperatures) - 17 points
• Flame Breath: Cone Area Damage 9, Quirk (requires existing open fire or high temperatures) - 1 point
• Flame Shapes: Ranged Shapeable Area Fire Damage 3, Concentration Duration, Selective, Quirk (requires existing open fire or high temperatures) - 1 point
• Scrying: Remote Sensing 9 (visual), Quirk (requires existing open fire) - 1 point

Touched by No Lesser Flame: Immunity 10 (fire effects) - 10 points
Wings of the Vermillion Bird: Flight 5 (60 MPH); Reaction Damage 3 - 22 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Power Attack, Teamwork

Skills:
Expertise: Popular Culture 4 (+6), Expertise: Theology & Philosophy 5 (+7), Insight 4 (+7), Perception 4 (+7), Persuasion 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Flames 5 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0 and Reaction Damage 3)
Firebolt +7 (Ranged Damage 9)
Firebreath -- (Cone Area Damage 9)
Fire shaping -- (Ranged Shapeable Area Damage 3)

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 6, Fortitude 4, Toughness 4/2, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 32 + Powers 52 + Advantages 6 + Skills 13 + Defenses 17 = 120 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Power Loss (all, if Suzaku is disappointed.) Prejudice (minor.) Secret (government agent.) Sly and Sarcastic, Beneath an Air of Sanctity.

 

[Davies]

Asagiri Sayo

More than a decade ago, when Sayo was even younger than Monoka, she and a group of her friends were accidentally transported to a parallel world where magic was much more prevalent than it is on their own. There they developed magical powers, possibly due to the affects of their slide across dimensions and possibly because some of the local powers-that-be needed agents in a hurry. Sayo acquired powers associated with truth and knowledge, able to see through all illusions and ask questions of reality that it had to answer. Until that point, she'd been something of a hoodlum, but the shock of her sudden understanding changed Sayo's personality quite a bit.

When the survivors of this adventure finally found a way back to Japan, their powers were lost, but Sayo managed to retain the knowledge that she'd gleaned through the use of her own. She became a teenaged detective, often handling cases that seemed to involve supernatural phenomena. During one of them that actually did turn out to be mystical in nature, Sayo found herself empowered on this world, as well, when she forged a contract with what she believed (and to be honest, still believes) to be the ghost of the great detective, Akechi Kogoro. That led to her joining the first incarnation of the Ghost Sweepers, of which she's the only surviving and still-active member.

Sayo's powers are primarily defensive instead of the offensive ones used by most of her teammates, and so she's well-aware that she cannot act as a frontline combatant as they do. Instead, she acts as the team's scout and investigator, often using the faculty for disguise that she shares with Akechi to impersonate and infiltrate the opposition ranks. In a scuffle, her primary goal will be to escape, though if she can inflict some damage on the enemy while doing so, she'll try to do so. Likewise, she's never sought a leadership position, preferring to advise whoever is in charge.

However, her association with Akechi brings with it problems as well as blessings. The fact that she can't ever guess -- or at least can't discuss her guesses until her detective work has uncovered proof to back them up -- is something of a pain, as it forces her to play her cards close to her chest and often annoys her teammates. That's still not anywhere nearly as annoying as the fact that Akechi requires her to smoke Egyptian cigarettes while on the case, despite her attempts to convince him that a nicotine patch would be much less noxious.

Asagiri Sayo - PL 8

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 1 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 5 | AWE 4 | PRE 3

Powers:
Master of Disguise: Continuous Morph 2 (Other People), Deception Check Required (DC 12), Removable (–1 point), Standard Action - 5 points
Quicksilver Wits: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Defensive Roll, Improved Initiative, Seize Initiative, Speed of Thought); Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Quickness 4, Limited to mental actions; Impervious Will 6, Limited to mental effects - 17 points

Advantages:
Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Improvised Tools, Jack-of-all-trades, Languages 2 (English, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, [Japanese is native]), Power Attack, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Investigation), Speed of Thought, Taunt, Tracking, Well-informed.

Equipment:
Smartphone and 3 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+8), Deception 6 (+9), Expertise: Magic 2 (+5), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+11), Insight 6 (+10), Investigation 8 (+13), Perception 8 (+12), Sleight of Hand 6 (+8), Stealth 8 (+10), Technology 2 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +13/+2
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 0)

Defense:
Dodge 10/6, Parry 8/4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 6/3/1, Will 9

Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 23 + Advantages 16 + Skills 31 + Defenses 12 = 124 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Addiction (nicotine.) Power Loss (Quicksilver Wits, if Akechi is offended.) Secret (government agent.)

 

[Davies]

Tetsu

Despite the Ghost Sweepers' mission being to deal with hazardous supernatural phenomena, they sometimes end up dealing with events that are confused with supernatural phenomena. Most of the time they turn over those cases to more mundane authorities, but there have been a few that weren't so easily resolved. The most notorious of these cases involved the discovery of a functional automated android production factory in Saitama, possibly the very same one which had produced the android who became known as Iris Philips of the Discovery Company. The question of who constructed this facility remained an open one even after the challenge it presented had been resolved.

The Ghost Sweepers shut down the factory, but one android remained intact at the end, having been given no mission programming by the facility's controlling intelligence. The team turned it over to the Yokoyama Group, expecting to hear no more about it, and were shocked when they received a new member a week later -- the android, given programming to make him into a loyal ally of the team. It took a while for them to get used to this unusual ally, but Tetsu ("Iron") has proven his worth many times over.

Tetsu maintains a cover identity as Iwasaki Tetsurou, a college student who received extensive cybernetic implants to save his life. (From a certain point of view this is true, as he would never have become functional without them.) As Tetsu is aware that he's not particularly good at maintaining this cover identity, he avoids dealing with people as much as possible. He would actually prefer to be more truthful about his real nature, but all signs point to this creating more problems than it would solve. Someday, hopefully.

The Yokoyama Group did not tell the Ghost Sweepers that Tetsu was put on their team as an insurance policy, intended to prevent any of them from going rogue in a fairly direct manner. Megan has repaid this favor by not telling them that one of the other members of the team, who channels the legendary magician Kashin Koji -- apparently a very talented inventor, instead of a sorcerer -- discovered that contingency programming almost immediately, and removed it, as well as the whole 'loyalty' business. Tetsu works with the team out of his own free will, not because of any electronic slavery.

Tetsu -- PL 8

Abilities:
STR 6 | STA - | AGL 0 | DEX 2 | FGT 4 | INT 4 | AWE 1 | PRE -1

Powers:
Android Body: Immunity 30 (Fortitude); Protection 8 - 38 points
Implanted Autoblaster: Ranged Multiattack Damage 6 - 18 points
Speed: Enhanced Advantages 3 (Improved Initiative 3); Enhanced Defenses 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Quickness 4; Speed 4 (30 MPH) - 19 points

Advantages:
Eidetic Memory, Evasion, Improved Initiative 3, Precise Shot (ranged, cover), Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Intimidation 8 (+7), Investigation 5 (+9), Perception 7 (+8), Ranged Combat: Blaster 8 (+10), Technology 4 (+8), Vehicles 6 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +12
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 6)
Autoblaster +10 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 6)

Defense:
Dodge 8/4, Parry 8/4, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 8, Will 6

Totals:
Abilities 22 + Powers 75 + Advantages 4 + Skills 19 + Defenses 9 = 129 points

Complications:
Acceptance--Motivation. Regular Maintenance. Secret Identity.

 

[Davies]

Yurusha Elaynu

What sort of person takes a look at the most powerful stellar empire in known space, ruled by one of the most brilliant and resourceful individuals ever to live, and decides, "This has to go, and I'm the one to bring it down"? In the case of Yurusha Elaynu -- Senator Elaynu to you -- who has served as the commander in chief of the Insurgency for nearly three decades, now, it's the sort of person who was there at the start of it all, who regards the mistakes she made back then as the greatest errors of her life, and who will do almost anything to correct the consequences of her actions and inactions. Almost anything, which is why she is more likely to be an antagonist than an ally for would be heroes of the Crimson Imperium.

Seventy-six years* ago, the Imperium was facing one of the greatest challenges of its history. The mysterious superbeing dubbed Galactor was busily commanding the pillaging of worlds on the periphery, and the Senate was dithering over the appropriate response. Yurusha was then a young senatorial aide, likely decades away from earning her own seat, but she was in a position to join the embassy that the Senate sent to the mystics on their garden world of Hasham, to demand or to beg, depending on the situation, that they do more about Galactor than they'd heretofore done.

It was a long and difficult journey, and Yurusha was the only member of the Senatorial group to actually survive the voyage, leaving the onus of deciding how to approach the mystics on her. Had she humbled herself and begged, perhaps they would have been moved to send more assistance. But she'd believed that she couldn't get much more humble, and so she phrased the request in the form of a demand, and so two of the mystics, a mentor and his student, left Hasham along with what was left of her expedition. She despaired, then; what could two men do?

Having gotten something of a lesson in the actual answer to that question when pirates attacked the ship, she felt a bit more hopeful. On the other hand, they were now without a pilot, and so they made an emergency landing on the backwater world of Gomiori in hopes of finding one. And there the tale began to take its strange turns, for not only did they meet with a young and incredibly self-impressed pilot named Eflas Garden, who agreed to help them, the younger mystic brought back a mendicant named Osborne, who claimed to have certain special knowledge of Galactor's weaknesses.

For a wonder, this little band of heroes managed to accomplish what not all the forces set against the powers of Galactor had managed to do so far, and sent him to flight away from the Imperium. The cost was great, though, for the older mystic laid down his life for the cause, but not before he urged his pupil to take Eflas as his own pupil. This meant that Yurusha would be separated from him, and that was a sorrow, for they had grown close despite themselves. But she was more concerned with her own reward: the senatorial rank that would normally have been decades away. Her joy at this was only lightly disturbed by the way that the same gift was bestowed, for his role in all this, on Osborne.

Ten years* went by, as she watched the crimson-robed Senator grow in power and influence, striving to stop him when possible and slow him down the rest of the time. Despite her opposition, Yurusha never had the sense that he viewed her as an enemy, but rather as a source of amusement. Despite this frustration, there came a bit of happiness back into her life when Eflas, now a mystic in truth, returned to the world with his master to act as the overseers of the Senate. She soon learned that Eflas still thought that rules were for other men, and they loved and then married in secret despite the laws against it.

Four years* went by, and a new crisis arose, and the Crimson King was asked by a cabal of Senators to take the title of Lord Protector. And as if that wasn't enough of a horror, Eflas' master revealed himself to be the King's chief ally, slaughtering those mystics who refused to swear obedience to the new Crimson Imperium and terrorizing the resistant Senators as well. Eflas came to his wife's aid, fighting his master in a deadly duel that left the other man critically injured, and then helped her to flee the planet, separating from her to increase their chances of escape. She wouldn't see him again for more than sixty years*.

For her, the war began that day, not decades later when she finally assembled allies who could provide the forces she could not. She knew that the battle to come would take decades, so she began taking boosterspice to slow her aging process and protect her from poisons. Even then, she knew that some of the other leaders of her Insurgency viewed it as hers for only so long as it would take to remove her. It was nothing new to her; life in the Senate in those last years had been good training for this.

To Yurusha, there is no question that the Insurgency must not, under any circumstances, seek to change the pre-Crimson King Imperium from the way that it was, but rather restore it, with all its flaws intact. Once that is done, they can start to make the sort of reforms that will make it impossible for this interlude to ever repeat itself, but to insist on such changes when there is no Senate to approve of them is simply to set oneself up as a different dictator than the Imperium currently endures, or at best an oligarchy of several would-be dictators. She has explained this, over and over again, to her fellows, and yet even the best of them, like Balin Mauresco, just ignore her. She doesn't want to kill any of them, but they're really not leaving her with any other options.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, she is once again alone. After Gelesh, she and Eflas finally began to slowly and tentatively rebuild their long-shattered relationship. They had both changed so much, and it was a difficult process. Then, one day, he simply didn't wake up. There was no great battle, no dissolution into a luminous being instead of crude matter. He just passed away in his sleep, leaving her bereft of her most important ally. His last pupil will have to take up the banner for him, when he finally returns from wherever he's gone. Hopefully that Lansam child will bring him back alive ...

Yurusha Elaynu -- PL 6

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

Powers:
Boosterspice: Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) - 3 points
Translator Earrings: Comprehend 2 [understand and speak all languages]; Removable (-1 point) - 5 points

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 4 (Millionaire), Connected, Daze (Deception), Defensive Roll, Equipment 11, Improved Critical (Blaster Pistol), Improved Initiative, Inspire 2, Leadership, Luck 3, Taunt, Teamwork.

Equipment:
Concealed Body Armor (Protection 2, Subtle), Customized Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5, Accurate), and 4 points of equipment as needed.
Personal Shuttlecraft: Size Gargantuan; Strength 12; Speed 12 (air/space); Defense 6; Toughness 13; Powers: Movement 2 (Space Flight); Features: Autopilot (+4), Communications, Computer, Navigation System, Remote Control

Skills:
Deception 6 (+10), Expertise: Civics 9 (+11), Expertise: Galactic 8 (+10), Expertise: Streetwise 4 (+6), Insight 7 (+9), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 8 (+10), Persuasion 7 (+11), Ranged Weapons: Blaster 3 (+5), Stealth 7 (+8), Technology 6 (+8), Vehicles 5 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +2 (Close Damage 0)
Blaster Pistol +7 (Ranged Damage 5, Crit 19-20).

Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 4, Fortitude 3, Toughness 6/4/2, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 5 + Advantages 29 + Skills 38 + Defenses 13 = 115 points

Complications:
Responsbility--Motivation. Conservative Views. Dependency (must take regular doses of boosterspide or lose Immunity and begin aging rapidly.) Enemy (oh so many.) Hunted by the Authorities.

* Earth years.

Author's Note: Certain aspects of this character's backstory were suggested by Voltron64.

 

[Davies]

Doctor Wlelahu

Within a few weeks of the settlement of Muraddin, the newly born Technate found itself in the first of a series of wars against the Hazlan people who lived in a star system just a few light years away. Even the most pro-Technate account of these affairs will admit that the new arrivals provoked the war by traveling to that system without making any attempt to broadcast peaceful intentions, but the Hazlan response was fairly disproportionate. While the Technate won that war, forcing the Hazlan in that system to sign a peace treaty, but promptly found themselves in another with a different nation of Hazlan. The whole cycle kept repeating, off and on for, for more than a hundred years*, as there was no higher authority over all the Hazlan nations that the Technate could treat with.

Finally, these pointless conflicts came to an end around ninety years ago, with all the Hazlan nations agreeing to permanent peace treaties among themselves and formally joining the Technate. Their integration with Technate civilization has been fairly slow, however, owing to their steadfast adherence to Hazlan traditions, of which their insistence on certain gender roles for work assignments has been the biggest barrier. Male Hazlan are soldiers and poets, while females perform all technical and administrative work, and never the twain are supposed to meet.

The one big exception to the latter is that medicine is considered an appropriate pursuit for both males and females, likely because it is used on the battlefield as well as civilian life. The largest success at integrating Hazlan into the Technate Space Agency's organization, then, has been in their department of medicine, to the point where the Hazlan medic is becoming something of a stock type in popular fiction. That probably wasn't taken into consideration when the chief medical officer for the relaunched TSV Adventure was selected, but he has been known to play to the expectations of the role, diagnosing at a glance and commenting that his claws are always sterilized for surgery.

Wlelahu is neither a particularly brilliant nor inspired doctor, but he has devoted his life to perfecting his craft to the best of his ability. He gets along well with the Captain, following the ancient tradition of the ship's doctor acting as the sounding board and counsellor to her master. He has actually had more success in getting her to moderate her more aggressive instincts than the robot has -- something that Wleahu thinks that Otodevol resents -- because she recognizes and respects that Wleahu has made a conscious choice to follow a more pacifistic path than his traditions would expect. The doctor and the robot don't get along, but confine their verbal sparring matches to situations where the ship isn't in immediate danger.

The one real problem in Wleahu's life is the fact that, as a student in the Academy, he was recruited to serve as an undercover operative of the Cosmic Intelligence Agency, and given training to prepare him for that role. He strongly suspects that his position on the TSA's flagship was arranged for the agency's benefit, and has frequently found himself in a position where he has to choose between what he believes is best for the ship, and what's best for the agency. So far, this hasn't cost him anything other than a great deal of stress and uncertainty, but he expects that the price will only go up as time goes on. Still, he's also been able to use the intelligence reports that he gets to the ship's benefit, and so believes that it's worth it ... for now.

Doctor Wlelahu -- PL 6

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

Powers:
Claws: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points
Fur: Immunity 1 (cold) - 1 point
Keen Senses: Senses 2 (low-light vision, ultrahearing) - 2 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Equipment 4, Improvised Tools, Language (Technate Standard, [Yazlan is native]), Second Chance (Treatment), Well-informed.

Equipment:
Medical Kit, Protective Uniform (Protection 4, Subtle), Stunbeamer (Ranged Affliction 5 [Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated]) and 4 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Deception 5 (+7), Expertise: Galactic 7 (+10), Expertise: Science 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+8), Persuasion 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Stunbeam 4 (+7), Technology 4 (+7), Treatment 8 (+11).

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 1)
Claws +3 (Close Damage 3)
Stunbeamer +7 (Ranged Fortitude 5)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 3, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/3, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 42 + Powers 5 + Advantages 9 + Skills 26 + Defenses 8 = 90 points

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Divided Loyalties. Secret (CIA agent.)

 

[Davies]

Only one post today, but it's a twofer.

Tarmund the Hunter & Sister Night

Tarmund

In the Crimson Imperium, where what justice you can get depends on how much you're willing to pay for it, a bounty hunter might be a hero, a villain, or just someone trying to survive the tough times that keep coming. They might be all three, at different times. But some of the profession, simply by their methods of choice, fall more into one category than others. The pair of Tarmund the Hunter and Sister Night are a good example of those who would generally be considered villains. And it's somewhat ironic that their activities usually serve to support the structure of the Crimson Imperium, as both of them might be expected to prefer its fall.

Tarmund the Hunter, notorious for bringing back only enough of his targets to identify them, with the rest sliced away by his weapon of choice, is a former Imperium Marine -- a deserter. Only a very few of the Imperium's elite manage to overcome their indoctrination to even consider abandoning their posts, and most of those who put those ideas into action don't survive very long in the wild. It's not that the Imperium bothers to hunt them down -- that would be a further waste of the resources already expended in producing such a flawed vessel -- but that they cease to have access to the food supplements and drug treatments that keep their biological modifications functional.

Tarmund has survived longer outside of the corps than any other known deserter, roughly twenty years*. The Inquisition, which has made use of his services in the past, considers it likely that he has some sort of mutation which works with his biomods, supporting them so that he doesn't need so much of the supplements. He does still need them, though, and much of the money that he makes from his bounty hunting goes to pay for black market access to these chemicals. Occasional efforts have been made to shut down the suppliers of such, but those efforts have been stymied from orders from higher up ... much higher up.

The woman called Sister Night is an actual mystic, although a renegade who is close to treading the Nightmare Path. Most of those mystics who survived the purges at the start of the Crimson King's reign agreed to remain on Hasham and shun involvement in the larger universe beyond their idyllic garden planet, under the threat of having their world bombarded into ashes by the division of the Imperium Navy that guarded them. But the young pupil who would become Sister Night, unsatisfied with the slow pace of life on this world, unhappy with how little she was being taught, chose to make an escape attempt, and succeeded without provoking that retaliation. (Not that she cared what sort of retaliation she might have provoked, as long as she personally got away.)

Sister Night is an extremely accomplished telepath, and while she does not yet have the ability to gain power from the fear she causes in other living creatures, she is able to steal 'vital energy from them, either so subtly that they have no idea that they are being harmed until they fall down dead, or blatantly, which usually takes the form of lightning blasts. The Inquisition considers her a much greater potential threat than Tarmund, but will still make use of her services. If she ever took a pupil, they would both immediately be marked for death, but she is probably too selfish to ever share her power with anyone.

Tarmund considers Sister Night a useful ally, who has abilities that he cannot match and is willing to use them to their mutual benefit, whom he will naturally try to protect as long as it's convenient. That is as far as his feelings for her extend. He has no romantic interests whatsoever, and satisfies whatever sexual needs he might have through paid companionship. Her feelings for him, on the other hand, border on obsession. When they first joined forces, Sister Night attempted to put her fellow mercenary under her psychic domination. Her powers failed then, as they had never failed before, and they failed again on a few occasions. She eventually reached the conclusion that Tarmund must be somehow protected by the Source, using it unconsciously, and has come to believe that he is destined to father an even greater champion, someday. If she ever realized that she was simply unlucky when she made those attempts, it would probably lead to a violent end to their partnership.

Neither Tarmund nor Sister Night would ever even consider working with the Insurgency -- Tarmund regards them with contempt, and the Sister cares only for her own power. They were recently given a very unusual job offer from the Inquisition, which would have them travelling to a backwater planet they've never even heard about in order to recover -- alive -- an Inquisitor who seems to have gone rogue. They're still considering whether to take the job, but the pay for just taking the job is very impressive indeed, regardless of their success or failure.

Tarmund the Hunter -- PL 12

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA 8 | AGL 6 | DEX 4 | FGT 8 | INT 1 | AWE 4 | PER 3

Powers:
Augmented Biology: Immunity 4 (disease, need for sleep, poison, starvation & thirst), Limited to half effect - 2 points
How Can Something So Big Move So Fast?: Leaping 3 (125 feet); Movement 1 (environmental adaptation [zero-g]); Speed 3 (15 MPH) - 8 points
Situational Awareness: Senses 1 (Danger Sense) - 1 point
Starforged Axe: Strength-based Damage 3, Accurate, Improved Critical 3; Easily Removable (-3 points) - 4 points
Translator Implant: Comprehend Languages 2 (understand all languages, speak any language) - 6 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Equipment 7, Fearless 2, Improved Critical (axe), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Attack 2 (close; cover and concealment), Takedown, Ultimate Effort (Toughness check), Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
Space Armor (Immunity 10 [life support]; Protection 2).
Spaceship: Size Gargantuan; Strength 12; Speed 12 (air/space); Defense 6; Toughness 13; Powers: Movement 2 (Space Flight); Features: Autopilot (+4), Communications, Computer, Holding Cells, Infirmary, Living Space, Navigation System, Remote Control. (Cost shared with Sister Night.)

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+12), Athletics 6 (+13), Close Combat: Axe 4 (+12), Expertise: Military 8 (+9), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+11), Perception 6 (+10), Ranged Combat: Blaster 6 (+10), Technology 6 (+7), Vehicles 6 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +10
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 7)
Starforged Axe +14 (Close Damage 10, Crit 16-20)

Defense:
Parry 12, Dodge 10, Fortitude 13, Toughness 12/10/8, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 82 + Powers 21 + Advantages 21 + Skills 34 + Defenses 18 = 176 points

Complications:
Bloodlust--Motivation. Dependency (chemical supplements to maintain powers and health.) Useful Ally (Sister Night.)


Sister Night - PL 12

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 4 | AGL 1 | DEX 2 | FGT 6 | INT 2 | AWE 6 | PRE 4

Powers:
Bonded Laser Sword: Damage 3, Penetrating 3, Accurate 2; Easily Removable (-3 points) - 5 points
Draw On The Source: Impervious Will 12, Limited to mental effects; Regeneration 5 - 11 points
Sense The Source: Enhanced Defense 8 (Dodge 4, Parry 4); Senses 5 (Accurate, Acute, Ranged Danger Sense) - 13 points
Work With The Source: Array (36 points)

• Lifetheft: Perception Range Damage 8, Resisted by Fortitude, Insidious, Subtle - 1 point
• Telepathic Basics: Comprehend Languages 2; Mental Communication 2; Cumulative Mind Reading 8 - 36 points
• Telepathic Delusion: Illusion 12 (all senses), Limited to One Subject, Resisted by Will - 1 point
• Telepathic Suggestion: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 12 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Hearing Dependent - 1 point

Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 5, Fearless, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Trance, Ultimate Effort (Will checks), Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
4 points of equipment as needed.
Spaceship: Size Gargantuan; Strength 12; Speed 12 (air/space); Defense 6; Toughness 13; Powers: Movement 2 (Space Flight); Features: Autopilot (+4), Communications, Computer, Holding Cells, Infirmary, Living Space, Navigation System, Remote Control. (Cost shared with Tarmund.)

Skills:
Close Combat: Laser Sword 5 (+11), Deception 8 (+12), Insight 4 (+10), Intimidation 5 (+9), Perception 4 (+10), Stealth 8 (+9), Technology 6 (+8), Treatment 6 (+8), Vehicles 8 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 0)
Laser Sword +13 (Close Damage 3)
Lifetheft -- (Perception Range Damage 8, Resisted by Fortitude)
Suggestion -- (Perception Range Will 12)

Defense:
Dodge 10/6, Parry 12/8, Fortitude 8, Toughness 9/4, Will 12.

Totals:
Abilities 50 + Powers 68 + Advantages 14 + Skills 27 + Defenses 17 = 176 points

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Obsession (Tarmund.) Watched Very Closely By the Inquisition.

 

[Davies]

Infernus

As with all the twisted aristocracy of Daath, what is known about the so called Flame Emperor Infernus is largely derived from Aun Taxad and Vittara's recollections, which are themselves based on overheard conversations, rumors, dubious accounts and (in Aun Taxad's case) conjecture. Infernus is believed to be one of the mightiest of Daath's second tier of potentates, beings of lesser power than the Metropolitan or Tavipahter but possibly greater freedom of action. He rules over a land of flame located near one of Daath's geographic poles, but, in Aun Taxad's memories, was more often to be found in Abraxas' palace attempting to inveigle his way into a position of greater authority as an adviser to Abraxas.

According to a dubious account told to Vittara by one of her tutors, Infernus was once a much greater power than he is now. Before the Metropolitan or Tavipahter, Infernus was the effective ruler of Daath -- though his rule was apparently contested by others of similar potency, most of whom no longer exist. The circumstances of his rise to power and those of his fall to his present state are mysteries, but the fact that he survived that fall is easily explained by the fact that he, alone among the powers of Daath, apparently cannot be permanently killed by violence.

This is not rumor. Early in his time as a page in Abraxas' service, Aun Taxad personally witnessed his master casually executing Infernus for some unknown insult or error. Yet a month later, the Flame Emperor had returned, showing no signs of any injuries. Yacobus the Arch-Imaginist would later tell Aun Taxad that Infernus was like a phoenix, dying and reborn in flames, time and again. The price for this, apparently, was that Infernus is apparently dependent on fuel for his flames. Starve them, and he will not be reborn.

Lately, the Flame Emperor's attempts to gain power in Abraxas' service have apparently borne fruit, for he has replaced the Warlord Schatter as the commander of the Dark Side's invading armies, supplementing them with flame beings drawn from his own province. These beings cause a more visceral fear within their opponents than other forces of Daath do, for there are ancient traditions on many worlds throughout the galaxy tof a world of flames and agony where the damned and doomed are punished. Whether those tales are memories of times long gone when many gates to Infernus' realm on Daath existed are impossible to say ...

Infernus -- PL 14

Abilities:
STR 8 | STA 9 | AGL 3 | DEX 2 | FGT 8 | INT 6 | AWE 3 | PRE 4

Powers:
Ancient: Comprehend Languages 4; Enhanced Advantage 1 (Jack-of-all-Trades); Impervious Will 12 - 25 points
Fire Generation: Array (36 points)

• Fire Bolt: Ranged Damage 18 - 36 points
• Fireball: Ranged Burst Area Damage 12 - 1 point
• Fireflash: Perception Area Cumulative Affliction 12 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to One Sense - 1 point
• Firestorm: Ranged Cloud Area Damage 12 - 1 point
• Heatwave: Cone Area Cumulative Affliction 12 (Resisted by Fortitude; Fatigued, Exhausted, Incapacitated) - 1 point

Flame Shield: Sustained Impervious Protection 10 - 20 points
Reborn, Like The Phoenix: Immortality 5 (1 day); Immunity 10 (aging, disease, poison, all environmental conditions, suffocation) - 19 points
Rocket Flight: Flight 10 (2000 MPH) - 20 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Improved Grab, Improved Smash, Jack-of-all-Trades, Power Attack, Startle.

Skills:
Expertise: Galactic 4 (+10), Insight 8 (+11), Intimidation 8 (+12), Perception 8 (+11), Ranged Combat: Fire Control 8 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 8)
Fire Bolt +10 (Ranged Damage 18)
Fireball -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 12)
Firestorm -- (Ranged Cloud Area Damage 12)
Fireflash -- (Perception Area Affliction 12, Resisted by Dodge)
Heatwave -- (Cone Area Affliction 12)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 8, Fortitude 13, Toughness 19/9, Will 12

Totals:
Abilities 86 + Powers 124 + Advantages 5 + Skills 18 + Defenses 19 = 252 points

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Flames Must Be Fed (requires large amounts of food.) Subject to Orders (Abraxas and Daath's true ruler.)