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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8346277" data-attributes="member: 30538">Mr. Odin<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-9nSP2bL/0/f7c696f1/S/tumblr_nbn02nGafI1scir87o2_500-S.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Photo taken c. 1959Nearly everything that is known about the early life of Oddvar Berg, better known as Mr. Odin, comes from what the man himself revealed in an interview conducted by FBI agents in 1984, and should be taken with several grains of salt. He had worked diligently to destroy any other sources of information about himself, and all of his claims were likely directed towards his immediate goal of persuading the FBI, and by extension the American government, to grant him clemency in exchange for his promised assistance in combating the Pythonian Insurgency. Berg was ultimately unsuccessful in achieving this goal, largely because the agents in question believed him to be lying to them, and would ultimately die in prison seven years later.Oddvar Berg was (he claimed) the last scion of an ancient family of his native Norway, born in 1923. (This birthdate was relatively consistent with his apparent age in 1947, when he entered the United States.) Many members of his family had possessed psychic abilities, usually some form of clairvoyance, but the talent had been growing rarer and weaker in recent centuries, and had last manifested in his great-grandparents' generation. When he developed his own limited ability to foresee the future, in 1938, his parents believed him to be making up stories, and didn't listen to his warnings. Thus, they died in a car crash later that year, which also cost Berg his eye.As he was already practically an adult at this point, being stronger even as a youth than most grown men, Berg was largely left to his own devices. Following the invasion of his country in 1940, he decided to collaborate with the Nazis, viewing this as the most effective way to preserve his own safety. He became associated with the Rinnanbanden, the group of informants for the German spy apparatus led by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rinnan" target="_blank">Henry Rinnan</a>. Berg claimed that he didn't employ his powers on the group's behalf, just his more mundane talents, and that he was not personally responsible for any of its assaults or murders. Further, he claimed, he grew disenchanted with Rinnan towards the end of the war, and had double-crossed the man when Rinnan and his followers attempted to flee to Sweden in 1945.If he did so, it seems likely that he did so mostly as a way to further cover his tracks, with his destruction of records concerning him serving as the primary way that he did so. It sufficed to keep him free and at large during the massive purge of Rinnan's group that took place between 1945 and 1946, and allowed him to make his way to America in search of greener pastures. He arrived in New York and soon found a niche for himself as a professional seer for many of New York's gangsters, under the name Mr. Odin. Around this time, he also began his hobby of 'training' ravens to serve as his minions; the training largely involved brute-force mental conditioning.As the first age of the superhero began to dawn in 1956, Mr. Odin (he later claimed) found himself increasingly disgusted with the petty villainy of the gangsters who employed him, believing that he could give the city a better class of criminal. He took advantage of the confusion following the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachin_Meeting" target="_blank">Apalachin disaster</a> to seize control of some of his former employers' rackets, which led to his first clashes with the Cowl and Masque, becoming their most persistent enemy. (Interestingly, Berg never claimed to have set up the raid.)Pressure from his heroic opponents and criminal rivals alike finally saw Mr. Odin arrested and tried for his numerous crimes in 1967. He was sentenced to death for several murders, but the sentence was commuted to cryogenic suspension in 1968. In its turn, that sentence was lifted after the cryogenic revival process was shown to occasionally have serious neurological consequences for its subjects. In Berg's case, this meant the loss of his major superpower, the ability to control animals at extended distance and perceive the world through their senses, while leaving him with his limited precognition. His attempts to leverage this talent into a method by which he could know some freedom failed, and he ultimately died in prison, largely forgotten, in 1991.According to his own account, he never fathered any children. But he was believed to be lying about that too. Mr. Odin - PL 9 Abilities:STR 4 | STA 3 | AGL 1 | DEX 3 | FGT 7 | INT 4 | AWE 7 | PRE 5Powers:Eyes of the Raven: Perception Range Affliction 9 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled, Controlled), Limited to Animals; Remote Sensing 6 (all senses; 60 miles), Medium (animals) - 42 pointsForewarned is Forearmed: Enhanced Advantages 2 (Improved Initiative 2, Uncanny Dodge); Enhanced Defenses 6 (Dodge 3, Parry 3); Senses 1 (danger sense) - 10 pointsAdvantages:Benefit 3 (Millionaire), Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 6, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative 2, Languages 3 (Danish, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, others, [Norwegian is native]), Minion 2, Set-Up, Uncanny Dodge, Well-InformedEquipment:Light Pistol (Ranged Damage 3), Walking Stick (Strength-based Damage 2) and 22 points of equipment as needed (usually a vehicle.)Skills:Deception 8 (+13), Expertise: Civics 6 (+10), Expertise: Criminal 7 (+11), Expertise: Magic (INT-based) 4 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+12), Insight 6 (+13), Intimidation 8 (+13), Perception 7 (+14), Persuasion 6 (+11), Ranged Combat: Guns 6 (+9).Offense:Initiative +9Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 4)Walking Stick +7 (Close Damage 6)Defense:Dodge 8/5, Parry 10/7, Fortitude 5, Toughness 8/3, Will 9Totals:Abilities 68 + Powers 52 + Advantages 24 + Skills 31 + Defenses 8 = 183 pointsComplications:Power--Motivation. Physical (one eye.) Secret (can actually control any animals, not just birds.) Vindictive.Huge Raven -- PL 4/MR 2Abilities:STR -3 | STA -1 | AGL 3 | DEX 0 | FGT 3 | INT -3 | AWE 2 | PRE 0 Powers:Keen Eyes: Senses 3 (extended 2 low-light vision) - 3 pointsNatural Size: Permanent Shrinking 8 (Dodge +4, Parry +4, Stealth +8, Strength -2, Intimidation -4, Speed -1), Innate - 9 pointsWings: Flight 4 (30 MPH; Wings) - 4 pointsAdvantages:None.Skills:Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+7), Perception 6 (+8), Stealth 0 (+8).Offense:Initiative +3Unarmed +7 (Close Damage -3)Defense:Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 2, Toughness -1, Will 2Totals:Abilities 6 + Powers 16 + Advantages 0 + Skills 5 + Defenses 3 = 30 pointsComplications:Persistent Domination--Motivation. Animal.Note: Character concept by Voltron64.</blockquote>

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