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[Mutants & Masterminds] A World Less Magical But No Less Fantastic
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<blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8113107" data-attributes="member: 30538"><p><span style="font-size: 26px"><span style="color: red">The Grail Knight (II)</span></span></p><p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-MdDqNz6/0/60880218/S/imgbin-fate-zero-fate-stay-night-lancelot-saber-fate-grand-order-others-DvJGA12k0GQGhQuFj674d17wn-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>According to Sheldrake family legend, shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, one of their ancestors committed a serious crime against their liege. The exact details of the crime have been lost to history, but the punishment, which oddly didn't involve their ancestor being shortened by the length of his neck or hung until dead, was memorable. He was sentenced to wear an old-fashioned suit of armor, painted red, with the eldest son of his line likewise condemned to wear it in his turn. A generation later, however, following the Glorious Revolution, Queen Mary generously commuted this sentence to time served and told the current Sheldrake to stop wearing the noisy thing. It was nonetheless still kept in the Sheldrake family's collection of ancient weapons and armor.</p><p></p><p>This episode likely <em>wasn't</em> on the mind of Robert Sheldrake when he became the original Grail Knight, in 1965. Instead, he was inspired by the example of the Cowl and other American crime-fighters, using his keen wits and antique weapons to fight contemporary criminals. His antics were viewed as somewhat absurd by the populace of the United Kingdom, but he was better respected abroad. He was frequently accompanied by his younger brother Gordon, under the alias Armiger. For his part, Gordon was somewhat obsessed with that early chapter of his family's history, though that wasn't yet apparent.</p><p></p><p>For various reasons, Gordon didn't accompany his brother when the latter went to assist the Institute during the Battle of Vietnam. While Robert survived despite serious injuries, he was never the same afterwards. His crime-fighting activities stopped, and he began to use the Grail Knight identity solely for charitable purposes. This disgusted Gordon, who had always enjoyed the fighting part of their activities a bit too much. Robert's 1977 death in an automobile crash was likely engineered by Gordon, though nothing was ever proved.</p><p></p><p>As the second Grail Knight, Gordon sought to become a government agent, but was (to his mind) none too politely told that such a flashy figure was not at all what Her Majesty's service required. Frustrated, he spent several years brooding on his family history, especially the arms and armor of his condemned ancestor. He became convinced that it contained something of that man's spirit and believed that, if he wore it, something of the other man's strength would invest his form, granting him the power to work his will upon the world. And that seemed to be the case. It's now believed that Gordon had somehow developed innate super-powers, possibly from exposure to various radiations and chemicals during his career as the Armiger, but deluded himself that they came from his weapons and armor.</p><p></p><p>Not long after he discovered this, Gordon was contacted by Pythia and invited to become an agent of the organization she'd assembled. He was intrigued and agreed to her proposal, intending to seize control of the group at the earliest opportunity, of course. These ambitions were somewhat checked by the fact that he failed dramatically in his first mission in 1982, underestimating the forces protecting the Prime Minister and only escaping with the sacrifice of the entire unit sent to assist in her assassination. He would be more successful on other missions, however, and donated much of the Sheldrake family's offshore funds to the cause, keeping him in a prominent position within the Insurgency, though he was never given a Director's chair.</p><p></p><p>The Grail Knight was the most persistent rival of General Estrella for the leadership of the Insurgency after Pythia's apparent breakdown, and they are believed to have come to blows on a number of occasions. Estrella's 1992 death may have emboldened the Knight, and he was given command of the defense of Delphi during the final assault. While inflicting heavy casualties on the JSOT forces, he was finally overcome, and stripped of his armor and weapons. Regaining consciousness despite the serious injuries, he is said to have quipped, "All right, we'll call it a draw." Tried in the U.S., he was executed by electrocution two years later.</p><p></p><p>Michael Carrington, the only son of Robert and Gordon's younger sister, considered becoming a new Grail Knight in the late Nineties, but ultimately decided that the legacy was too tainted by Gordon's activities to do so. Now in his late forties, he has nonetheless used his wits and wealth to assist Prydwen, Blakestone and other U.K.-based heroes on many occasions, bringing some good out of this whole mess.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Grail Knight -- PL 9</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong></p><p><strong>STR</strong> 4/2 | <strong>STA</strong> 5/3 | <strong>AGL</strong> 5/3 | <strong>DEX</strong> 2 | <strong>FGT</strong> 9/4 | <strong>INT</strong> 1 | <strong>AWE</strong> 3 | <strong>PRE</strong> 3</p><p></p><p><strong>Powers:</strong></p><p><strong><em>Healing Factor:</em></strong> Immunity 2 (disease, poison); Regeneration 10, Persistent - 13 points</p><p><strong><em>"Magic" Armor:</em></strong> Impervious Protection 4; Removable (-2 points) - 6 points</p><p><strong><em>"Magic" Power:</em></strong> Enhanced Agility 2; Enhanced Fighting 5; Enhanced Strength 2; Enhanced Stamina 2 - 22 points</p><p><strong><em>"Magic" Sword: </em></strong>Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical 2; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 3 points</p><p></p><p><strong>Advantages:</strong></p><p>All-out Attack, Diehard, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (sword), Power Attack, Startle, Takedown, Ultimate Effort (Toughness checks)</p><p></p><p><strong>Skills:</strong></p><p>Athletics 5 (+9), Close Combat: Sword 2 (+11), Expertise: Military 7 (+8), Expertise: Politics 6 (+7), Insight 4 (+7), Intimidation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+9).</p><p></p><p><strong>Offense:</strong></p><p>Initiative +5</p><p>Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 4)</p><p>"Magic" Sword +11 (Close Damage 7, Crit 17-20)</p><p></p><p><strong>Defense:</strong></p><p>Dodge 7/5, Parry 9/4, Fortitude 7/5, Toughness 9/4, Will 6</p><p></p><p><strong>Totals:</strong></p><p>Abilities 42 + Powers 44 + Advantages 9 + Skills 18 + Defense 7 = 120 points</p><p></p><p><strong>Complications:</strong></p><p><strong><em>Glory--Motivation. Power Loss</em></strong> ("Magic" powers, when suffers a loss of confidence.) <strong><em>Racist, Sexist, Snob.</em></strong></p><p></p><p><em>Author's Notes: You knew I was going to put a Monty Python reference in there </em>somewhere<em>, right?</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Davies, post: 8113107, member: 30538"] [size=150][color=red]The Grail Knight (II)[/color][/size][color=red][/color] [img]https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-MdDqNz6/0/60880218/S/imgbin-fate-zero-fate-stay-night-lancelot-saber-fate-grand-order-others-DvJGA12k0GQGhQuFj674d17wn-S.jpg[/img] According to Sheldrake family legend, shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, one of their ancestors committed a serious crime against their liege. The exact details of the crime have been lost to history, but the punishment, which oddly didn't involve their ancestor being shortened by the length of his neck or hung until dead, was memorable. He was sentenced to wear an old-fashioned suit of armor, painted red, with the eldest son of his line likewise condemned to wear it in his turn. A generation later, however, following the Glorious Revolution, Queen Mary generously commuted this sentence to time served and told the current Sheldrake to stop wearing the noisy thing. It was nonetheless still kept in the Sheldrake family's collection of ancient weapons and armor. This episode likely [i]wasn't[/i] on the mind of Robert Sheldrake when he became the original Grail Knight, in 1965. Instead, he was inspired by the example of the Cowl and other American crime-fighters, using his keen wits and antique weapons to fight contemporary criminals. His antics were viewed as somewhat absurd by the populace of the United Kingdom, but he was better respected abroad. He was frequently accompanied by his younger brother Gordon, under the alias Armiger. For his part, Gordon was somewhat obsessed with that early chapter of his family's history, though that wasn't yet apparent. For various reasons, Gordon didn't accompany his brother when the latter went to assist the Institute during the Battle of Vietnam. While Robert survived despite serious injuries, he was never the same afterwards. His crime-fighting activities stopped, and he began to use the Grail Knight identity solely for charitable purposes. This disgusted Gordon, who had always enjoyed the fighting part of their activities a bit too much. Robert's 1977 death in an automobile crash was likely engineered by Gordon, though nothing was ever proved. As the second Grail Knight, Gordon sought to become a government agent, but was (to his mind) none too politely told that such a flashy figure was not at all what Her Majesty's service required. Frustrated, he spent several years brooding on his family history, especially the arms and armor of his condemned ancestor. He became convinced that it contained something of that man's spirit and believed that, if he wore it, something of the other man's strength would invest his form, granting him the power to work his will upon the world. And that seemed to be the case. It's now believed that Gordon had somehow developed innate super-powers, possibly from exposure to various radiations and chemicals during his career as the Armiger, but deluded himself that they came from his weapons and armor. Not long after he discovered this, Gordon was contacted by Pythia and invited to become an agent of the organization she'd assembled. He was intrigued and agreed to her proposal, intending to seize control of the group at the earliest opportunity, of course. These ambitions were somewhat checked by the fact that he failed dramatically in his first mission in 1982, underestimating the forces protecting the Prime Minister and only escaping with the sacrifice of the entire unit sent to assist in her assassination. He would be more successful on other missions, however, and donated much of the Sheldrake family's offshore funds to the cause, keeping him in a prominent position within the Insurgency, though he was never given a Director's chair. The Grail Knight was the most persistent rival of General Estrella for the leadership of the Insurgency after Pythia's apparent breakdown, and they are believed to have come to blows on a number of occasions. Estrella's 1992 death may have emboldened the Knight, and he was given command of the defense of Delphi during the final assault. While inflicting heavy casualties on the JSOT forces, he was finally overcome, and stripped of his armor and weapons. Regaining consciousness despite the serious injuries, he is said to have quipped, "All right, we'll call it a draw." Tried in the U.S., he was executed by electrocution two years later. Michael Carrington, the only son of Robert and Gordon's younger sister, considered becoming a new Grail Knight in the late Nineties, but ultimately decided that the legacy was too tainted by Gordon's activities to do so. Now in his late forties, he has nonetheless used his wits and wealth to assist Prydwen, Blakestone and other U.K.-based heroes on many occasions, bringing some good out of this whole mess. [b]The Grail Knight -- PL 9 Abilities: STR[/b] 4/2 | [b]STA[/b] 5/3 | [b]AGL[/b] 5/3 | [b]DEX[/b] 2 | [b]FGT[/b] 9/4 | [b]INT[/b] 1 | [b]AWE[/b] 3 | [b]PRE[/b] 3 [b]Powers: [i]Healing Factor:[/i][/b] Immunity 2 (disease, poison); Regeneration 10, Persistent - 13 points [b][i]"Magic" Armor:[/i][/b] Impervious Protection 4; Removable (-2 points) - 6 points [b][i]"Magic" Power:[/i][/b] Enhanced Agility 2; Enhanced Fighting 5; Enhanced Strength 2; Enhanced Stamina 2 - 22 points [b][i]"Magic" Sword: [/i][/b]Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical 2; Easily Removable (-2 points) - 3 points [b]Advantages:[/b] All-out Attack, Diehard, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (sword), Power Attack, Startle, Takedown, Ultimate Effort (Toughness checks) [b]Skills:[/b] Athletics 5 (+9), Close Combat: Sword 2 (+11), Expertise: Military 7 (+8), Expertise: Politics 6 (+7), Insight 4 (+7), Intimidation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+9). [b]Offense:[/b] Initiative +5 Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 4) "Magic" Sword +11 (Close Damage 7, Crit 17-20) [b]Defense:[/b] Dodge 7/5, Parry 9/4, Fortitude 7/5, Toughness 9/4, Will 6 [b]Totals:[/b] Abilities 42 + Powers 44 + Advantages 9 + Skills 18 + Defense 7 = 120 points [b]Complications: [i]Glory--Motivation. Power Loss[/i][/b] ("Magic" powers, when suffers a loss of confidence.) [b][i]Racist, Sexist, Snob.[/i][/b] [i]Author's Notes: You knew I was going to put a Monty Python reference in there [/i]somewhere[i], right?[/i] [/QUOTE]
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