Avenger Assembled

Warbird PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 34 pp STR 22 (+6) DEX 16 (+3) CON 22 (+6) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +16 Saves: 13 pp TOU +10 (+6 Con, +4 Protection) FORT +8 (+6 Con, +2) REF +8 (+3 Dex, +5) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 72 r=18 pp Acrobatics 12 (+15) Bluff 12 (+12) Craft (Mechanical) 5 (+5) Diplomacy 5 (+5) Knowledge (Technology) 5 (+5) Languages 2 (English, Russian) (Base: German) Notice 13 (+15) Pilot 4 (+6) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 7 (+10) Feats: 19 pp Acrobatic Bluff All-Out Attack Attack Focus (Melee) (4) Challenge (Fast Acrobatic Bluff) Defensive Attack Evasion Improved Initiative Luck Power Attack Set-Up Takedown Attack (2) Ultimate Save (TOU) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 34 pp Device 8 (Warbird Armor) [Hard to Lose) (PFs: Restricted 2) [34 pp] -Communication 4 (1 mile) (radio) (PF: Subtle [encrypted]) [5] -Flight 5 (250 MPH) (PFs: Moving Feint, Move-By Action) [12] -Immunity 3 (environmental cold, low pressure, suffocation [altitude]) [3] -Impervious TOU 6 [6] -Protection 4 [4] -Shield 4 [4] -Strike 4 (PF: Mighty) [5] -Super-Senses 2 (Extended Vision [2] (x100) [2] costs abilities 34 + combat 24 + saves 13 + skills 18/72 + feats 19 + powers 34 = 150 pts ---- Design Notes: To tell the story of Warbird, you first have to tell the story of the Steel Eagle. A few years ago, NATO decided collectively that West Germany needed a superhero. It was forty years since the Second World War, after all, and the West German population needed a native champion to rally around. There was some controversy about the eventual selection of a West German soldier to wear the Steel Eagle armor, a specially constructed battlesuit shaped like winged medieval armor: the West Germans, especially in the 80s, were not comfortable with many overt symbols of nationalism. But eventually, after proving himself time and time again, Steel Eagle became first accepted, then admired, by his countrymen, and what began as a NATO project from on high has given birth to West Germany’s first national superhero. (After all, the German champions of old were many things, but you could hardly call them heroes.) Warbird is a result of the Soviets seeing Steel Eagle’s success, deciding they had to get in on that, and putting an East German Air Force pilot in the first suit of battle armor they could whip together for him. Warbird is the first native superhero of East Germany, and he’s totally an authentic creation of the people’s will ahaha but seriously folks. Anyway, Warbird’s not actually that bad a guy: he’s mostly a sociable fighter jock type who likes to chat up ladies in his spare time. He’s young, too, and doing his best to grapple with an enormous responsibility. His biggest fear is that he’ll be assigned to guard the Wall one night; he doesn’t want to think about that particular balance of duty and loyalty between job and humanity. Think of him as one of the guys from Top Gun in power armor. Like most East Germans, he doesn’t really give a damn about Communism and would dearly love for the Soviets to get out of his country: in the meantime, though, he’s got this job and he’s going to do the best he can for his people. He compensates for any concerns about his loyalty by being the toughest, hardest fighter he can be: maybe it’s Iron Ghost and Siberian Shadow who talk the biggest game about fighting the imperialists, but like or not Warbird will be the last Warsaw Pact fighter to leave the field. My take on his niche in the Soviet team is that he’s their melee guy: he’s the one who flies in with sword and wing and cleaves through enemy mooks in hand-to-hand combat, he’s also the one who can cut a rampaging Nazi robot apart with a powerful sword swing. With extensive use of Acrobatic Bluff and Move-By Action (not to mention Power Attacking), he’s got a really good shot of catching most of his likely enemies flat-footed and laying them out. With his Extended Vision, he’s also got a good chance of spotting ground-bound bad guys from high up and swooping down on them with glorious golden wings extended before they know what’s coming: those range penalties on Notice really stack up! Discerning readers will notice that Warbird’s armor kind of sucks, especially compared to his American and Soviet counterparts; that’s a deliberate design choice, the Soviets made his armor fast (to copy Steel Eagle) and on the cheap; they’re also not going to give a particularly powerful suit of armor to the East German guy, not when they’re still paranoid about German defection. So I went with the idea that this is a badass guy in a pretty cruddy suit; he’s made a lot more powerful by the armor, sure, but at the end of the day what’s really important about the man is the guy inside the armor, not the cheap costume and imitative style. He’d work fine as the native superhero of any low-rent country you want to put in your game, or maybe a hero who’s recently acquired or inherited a power suit and used it to break into superheroing: I could see this as the suit of a supercriminal who has decided to turn good too. If you do want to keep this as Warbird, it’s up to you what happened to him when the Wall fell: he hated the Stasi like poison, sure, but he was still a symbol of a much hated regime. If you want to use him as a villain, or at least as an NPC antihero, maybe in retirement he was embraced by the former East Germans who got nostalgic for Communism, and has decided to do his own part to further that cause in his declining years just as he did in his yoth.

"I have both projectors, and the solar batteries, and the spares for the projectors and the power source both," said Sharl reassuringly. "And the plans for repairing them if something happens to me and I need someone else to fix the machinery when you're not around." That wasn't a good thought, but he actually felt pretty okay knowing that Miss Americana had planned for this sort of thing. He hefted his bag and gave Miss A a look before going in for a quick hug; he knew how Gina felt about those things, but he couldn't just pull away now. It was a very quick hug. "I guess we could show them...no," he said, obviously working up his courage. "We'll give them a Lab tour when we get back." Facing Miss A, he said, "I'll make you proud. I promise."

A moment to clarify: while the ship is big enough for Dark Star to lift with his Move Object, it's in the rock wall too delicately. Pulling it out will likely cause an avalanche, crushing the ship and destroying all within.

As the heroes approached the fallen object, it didn't take them long to realize what they were looking at: half-buried in the crater wall of the Saha crater was a Terminus spacecraft. Those cold, grim lines that formed into something like a flying space-spider were unmistakable, the red trim on black steel the tell-tale colors of the Lord of the Terminus. It bore no ship name or insignia, of course: Terminus vessels generally did not need to distinguish one from the other, and those who did not recognize a Terminus vessel soon learned their mistake. Caradoc didn't breathe inside his armor, but Murdock felt his blood run cold all the same. Fighting for control at the sight of the craft, its exposed metallic stern gleaming wickedly, he said, "This...this is a troop transport. Short-range, used for interplanetary travel at the most. I don't understand," he confessed, curiosity overpowering fear for a moment. The mystery was greater than the terror. "I see no serious damage. The drones aboard should have been able to repair the ship, or else the internal destruct systems should have..." Suddenly, a flash of energy erupted from the rear of the craft, a blast of sizzling plasma that Harrier cut in half with a sudden swipe from his shining blade; secretly disguised power pike. Before he could speak, a message sounded from below in the eerie, mechanistic tones of a Terminus speaker: "Embrace the glory of Omega. Surrender to the Terminus." The message repeated itself again, then cut off without another word.

Red Hammer PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 40 pp STR 40/24 (+15/+7) DEX 14 (+2) CON 24 (+7) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 24/14 (+7/+2) Combat: 20 pp ATK: +5 DEF: +5 Init: +2 Grapple: +13/+26 Saves: 11 pp TOU +15 (+7 Con, +8 Protection) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +7 (+2 Dex, +5) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 52 r=13 pp Bluff 13 (+20) Diplomacy 3 (+10) Gather Info 3 (+10) Intimidate 13 (+20) Knowledge: Civics 5 (+5) Knowledge: History 5 (+5) Languages 4 (Chinese, French, English, German) (Base: Russian) Notice 3 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Feats: 7 pp Fearless Interpose Leadership Power Attack Startle Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (mental) Powers: 62 pp Enhanced Charisma 10 [10 pp] Flight 1 (10 MPH) [2 pp] Hellfire Control Array [32+3=35 pp] Damage 10 (Extra: Area [Trail]) and Flight 6 (total of Flight 7 [1000 MPH) AP: Hellfire Control 15 (PFs: Precise 2) AP: Hellfire Control 10 (Extra: Area [burst]) (PFs: Progression on Area 2) AP: Enhanced STR 16 and Super-Strength 6 (Heavy Load: 180 tons) (PFs: Countering Punch, Groundstrike) Immunity 2 (aging, environmental heat) [2 pp] Impervious TOU 10 (Flaw: Not Vs. Magic/Silver/Holy) [5 pp] Protection 8 [8 pp] Drawbacks: -3 pp Vulnerable (holy) (uncommon, major) [-3 pp] costs abilities 40 + combat 20 + saves 11 + skills 13/52 + feats 7 + powers 62 -drawbacks 3= 150 pts --- Design Notes: Here’s Red Hammer, the commander of the Soviet superteam in the Defcon/Wargames universe. Like Old Glory and John Bull, he’s a WWII veteran, a beneficiary of the captured German Ubersoldaten process as the Soviet Union desperately tried to stave off the tide of German super-soldiers. Unlike his American and British counterparts, though, Red Hammer was the beneficiary of the _entire_ process, thanks to a Thule Society mystic captured by the Soviet Union in Stalingrad who was, let’s say, induced, to part with the full secrets of the process: subjects are injected with alchemical chemicals while being subjected to secret magical rituals, said rituals guiding the process of transformation and allowing the subject to gain powers without going mad or being permanently transformed into a monster. Red Hammer survived war against the Germans and war at home as his friends died first at the hands of Nazi guns and then at the hands of Stalin’s whims as those who had been heroes one year became enemies of the state another. But Red Hammer himself survived; he was too popular with the Army to kill, but not popular enough with the people to be a threat even to the ever-paranoid Stalin. He was a committed Communist, once, but these days he’s a Russian patriot first. He’s seen too many corrupt leaders come and go, seen so many die in the name of one ideology or another, that he’s not inclined to believe any of them. He’s a soldier for the people. _All_ the people. He didn’t bear any ill will towards Iron Ghost when he had her demoted and transferred to the East Berlin team; he’d dealt with young hotheads before and figured she’d either learn some restraint there or she’d wash out. Red Hammer has a secret, though, one even he doesn’t know: his powers came with a price. The Ubersoldaten process required the surrender of the subject’s soul to infernal powers, something the Thule Society sorcerors opted not to tell even their own soldiers, much less their Soviet captors. Red Hammer traded his soul for great power, and soon his time will be up: there is a time limit of some decades on his immortality and invulnerability, as the forces of Hell don’t buy a soul and then make it so that person is never sucked into their ranks. Some time soon, very soon, Hell will open up and they will come for the greatest hero of the Soviet Union. Red Hammer has no idea where his powers come from: he’s an atheist who has no particular belief system, while he’s encountered sorcery in his decades-long career, he has no experience with infernalism (since he generally just punches infernalists in the face rather than talking to them) While he has no objection to dying for a worthy cause, he has no particular desire to spend an eternity as Satan’s warrior, and given the chance will resist paying back the bargain he never knew he was making. This is something of a re-imagining of the character’s sheet, since as written he’s basically a bland paragon. I liked the idea of building a character that’s effectively a satanic Superman, so I went with that route instead to make a powerful brick and blaster who is surprisingly accurate given his massive tradeoffs (i.e., with Precise Shot, he can drop that massive blast into melee and not worry about hitting his teammates). He’s not as good a leader as his contemporary Old Glory, or as good a planner as John Bull, but then again the guys with Inspire tended to get cacked in the fifties by Stalin and he tends to leave the planning to the higher ups: with his high Charisma he should be able to feint and startle easily enough, and then lay enemies out with massive punches or powerful bursts of “hammerfire”. He’s there for his people when they need him, taking big hits and dishing them out in return. He’s also good at clearing rooms, thanks to his long-time experience as a soldier. I think this would be a fun character to play, honestly, but you could drop the Soviet stylings and make this any kind of ex-supersoldier who got his powers from places he didn’t expect. It also works just fine as a build for a demonic character who has decided to get back to his roots and be an angel again.

"That does sound like me," said Mark with a little smile. "Or at least, the person I've turned out to be. It's funny how much high school can change your expectations about the kind of person you'll grow up to be," he said reflectively. "When I found out about my powers, I knew I was going to run off, join the Freedom League, and be a big-time superhero. Now, if I'm working for UNISON, I'll be one of those people who pops up in documentaries about international heroes or stuff like that. Maybe make it onto Freedom League Africa someday." He smiled thinly and finished his tea. "And you know, I'm actually really happy about that. Maybe it's not what I planned, maybe it's all just chaos...but I know I'm making the right choice."

"I thought that part was the coolest," Sharl offered Miss A and Cole, feeling confident about talking now that he thought he wouldn't accidentally reveal something he shouldn't. "You said it's an actual physical sending, not just a destructive copying, right? That's pretty cool. The League has all those teleporters around, but if we could make something that let other people email themselves, that'd be pretty awesome." He smiled winningly, and asked, "Hey Cole, are you allowed to get patents on what you research? I know it's strange because you don't have a background people know yet, and because you're a kid."

"Yes...." A brief cascade of green light shone on Trevor as he approached, coming from a small electronic 'eye' at the rear of the big hovering bike. "Yes, fast-twitch muscle fiber compatibility at 97%. Higher than Red Falcon!" the bike chirped like a cheerful dog, earning an affectionate eyeroll from its usual driver. "Will drive anywhere in system for you," the bike said warmly to Trevor at his approach. "Recommend staying inside lunar orbit," Redbird added a moment later, as if a thought had just come into its electronic brain. "Interstellar armadas in Martian orbit will eliminate any vessel leaving atmospheric shell for extended periods." "Take a break, Sage," Mark murmured to Sage, giving the little acrobat reinforcement about Trevor's idea. "And I'll do it with you. He's right, we're going to need rest if we're going to go any further. And we are going further," he added with a sigificant glance east. "All the way to the Terminus again, if we have to, and back. But if we are going to take that trip, we've got to get some sleep first. Why don't you see if Wander needs help with the tents?" he suggested.

While Sage and Miss Americana spoke, Sharl gave Corbin a hearty handshake. The electronic teenager certainly felt real enough to Corbin's touch, his grip solid and secure, his hand even warm in his. "It's a pleasure to meet you," said Sharl equitably, a little surprised to be at the center of attention from somebody when Miss A was right there. "And you too, Eve," he said with a nod her way. "I don't really have much," he said, hefting his little bag. "Just my projector and my laptop, and some parts for each if they need fixing. You've both been briefed on my needs as an electronic intelligence, yes?" he asked, trying to borrow a note of professionalism from Miss A. "I don't mean to be a bother," he added with a rueful smile, "but if we are going to be traveling together, I don't want you to be surprised at what I have to do. Or what I can't do."

Heh, you guys are all high enough to notice this. Harrier is too busy gazing at the stars! The Saha crater is about sixty miles across as you approach, one big disk with a single depression in its middle with a larger satellite crater at the 10'clock mark on the crater's face. The crater is old and pitted, like most of those on the lunar far side, which almost completely lacks the great 'seas' of the near side of the moon. However, as you approach the crater: there's something very suspicious there: there's a _new_ crater in the side of the cliff face edges of the big crater wall, so small it wasn't visible from orbit or to the small robotic probe. It's hard to see clearly in starlight, but the jagged walls look very new, with no meteorite abrasion. It's also a plain fact that there is something metallic glinting in the heart of it, much larger than an Omegadrone...

15 Okay

Gimmie some Notice checks

"A rattlesnake bite would not hurt me, Miss Americana." It was hard to tell, particularly through the impenetrable armor, whether or not Harrier was joking. "The connection between drones is deeper than most sciences can understand. Only dimensional barriers have proven sufficient to block it." He worked his pike even so, and as they swung around the Moon's surface the drone's body changed, armor shimmering like stone dropped in water, before he transformed himself into a gleaming, shining knight like something from a techno-fairy tale. "But if they are not fooled, they will attack even so, and if they are...well, all the better. In this armor, I am known as Caradoc." He didn't sound confident in his ability to lie, but with the others along, he felt more sure. Eventually they landed, the impossibly dry and scratchy lunar dust under their feet as they touched down in the central depression of the crater, the double-walled depression giving them an unobstructed view of the rich, dappled black starfield overhead. There was no Earthshine here on farside to block the Milky Way and all the other galaxies, and the sight was more glorious than anyone but Dark Star had seen in their lifetimes. For his part, Caradoc was silenced for a moment by the sheer impossible beauty of the stars overhead. Oh, he'd seen this kind of space before, but never where he could stand and stare at it without fear of attack, or without the stars themselves going out. Space really was beautiful when it wasn't dying.

Vampire Sidekick PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 52 pp STR 30 (+10) DEX 30 (+10) CON 18 (+4) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Unarmed) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +10 Grapple: +16 Saves: 9 pp TOU +8 (+4 Con, +4 Protection) FORT +8 (+4 Con, +4) REF +10 (+10 Dex) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 60 r=15 pp Acrobatics 10 (+20) Bluff 10 (+10) Intimidate 10 (+10) Notice 8 (+10) Languages 2 (Mandarin, Japanese) (Base: English) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 10 (+20) Feats: 16 pp Acrobatic Bluff Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2 Dodge Focus 4 Evasion Fascinate (Bluff) Hide in Plain Sight Power Attack Set-Up Startle Takedown Attack Taunt Uncanny Dodge (olfactory) Powers: 34 pp Concealment 4 (all visual) (Flaw: Vs. Machines Only) [4 pp] Immunity 10 (aging, life support) [10 pp] Impervious TOU 8 (Flaw: Not vs. Magic/Silver/Holy) [4 pp] Protection 4 [4 pp] Regeneration 1 (Resurrection 1/week) (PFs: Persistent, Regrowth) [3 pp] Super-Senses 3 (Acute Scent, Darkvision) [3 pp] Teleport 2 (200 ft) (PFs: Change Velocity, Turnabout) [6 pp] Drawbacks: 6 pp Vulnerable (Holy) (uncommon, major) (-3 pp) Weakness (Dazed by Holy Objects via Charisma check) (-3 pp) costs abilities 52 + combat 28 + saves 9 + skills 15/60 + feats 16 + powers 34 -drawbacks 6= 150 pts ------------ Design Notes: So the idea here is this: this young woman was once a superhero, a teen fighter for justice alongside her young hero friends, maybe a sidekick to an older, grizzled hero. She learned the sort of fast, acrobatic style common to sidekicks, getting the combat style she needed to set the heavy hitters on her team up for really big hits. And then one day her powers went away: maybe they faded as she got older, maybe some accident or enemy’s scheme deprived her of them. Lacking her powers, lacking what she believed made her special, she made a desperate decision and turned to an old antagonist, and now the young hero is back on the streets, fighting bad guys and saving the day. She doesn’t have her old powers back, but she’s got new ones that make her a fast, powerful hand to hand combatant who can get into anywhere and sneak around right under your nose. There was just one little sacrifice she had to make of herself first. That’s right, here’s a build for Jubilee (as she currently exists) as a vampire! She’s a really good sneak and very fast, just as a vampire should be: she’s a living vampire, though, since there just weren’t the points to build her with a Fort Immunity. In comics, the character was transformed against her will, but I think it gives her more agency (and makes for a better story) if you assume she transformed herself deliberately: you can work in something about losing her powers to a terminal disease if you think that choice is a little too Iron Age. If you stick with the comics, maybe she went looking for powers so she’d stop being used as a weapon against her old mentor. My basic idea is that while she’s interested in a cure, since the thirst for blood (represented here as a complication) is much more threatening than she’d once thought, the idea of going back to being a nothing scrub bystander also hurts, and she’s stuck on the horns of a dilemma. In the meantime, she runs around superfast, bashing bad guys with her fists, and occasionally visits her local blood bank when nobody’s paying attention. You can keep the attack victim angle if you don’t want her to be implicit at _all_ in her transformation and its consequences, but I think it makes the character more interesting if she’s dealing with the consequences of a choice she made, reestablishing herself as a hero while trying to ignore the most unheroic impulses inside her. It’s possible to play a vampire superhero without being Iron Age, you just have to be willing to go the right direction with it. She could use a higher Charisma and maybe Attractive, but she's at least functional vs. bystanders and such. As someone who got into comics through the X-Men Animated series, I’ve always been a Jubilee fan: while some people see her as a Kitty Pryde ripoff, I tend to think of Kitty Pryde as being the old and busted version of a character I like! Her vampirism even gives you an excuse for keeping her in old outfits that aren’t nearly as cool and fashionable as they used to be: they were when she was alive! I’m using Teleport to represent vampiric speed, flight, and mist form all in one go, as well as to give you as the player something to stunt off. My idea is that she shouldn’t be pushing her vampire powers too hard; they lead her down some pretty dark and gritty roads! If you keep the date of her debut, she could have been a junior sidekick of the heroes of the Iron Age: if she’s younger, she could be that Claremont graduate nobody talks about. (Well, that _other_ Claremont graduate nobody talks about...)

"No, I think we've covered everything," said Star Knight, looking at first Harrier, then the others. "If you can take them to the central depression of the Saha Crater on the far side, we can begin our plans on Earth. If you can't figure out what's going on in the crater, or if we lose contact with you for more than a few hours, we will start moving towards using high-energy weapons on the craterbed, whatever the consequences with the Farsiders. If there is a war with the Terminus coming again, we're not going to fight it in Freedom City." She stepped back to let Dark Star grab everyone for the teleport out, but before she could there was one member of the team who had to guard himself against the lunar conditions first. "Please don't be alarmed." said Murdock, a moment before he seemed to explode. For just an instant, metal erupted all over his body, those lines on his face and hands splitting open to reveal the cold steel within as the fleshly disguise was sucked away and metal plates chunk-chunk-chunked out to transform the man into the hulking, armored form of an Omegadrone. The rod he'd worn at his belt snapped outward to turn out to be a powerpike, just like those the heroes had seen wielded against so many of their number in 1993. "Drones are programmed to destroy unattached drones beyond any other target. If they see me, and attack...we shall have a better understanding of their situation."

Sharl went back to work when Miss A came back, calling out readouts from the panel he was monitoring as if he had no other concerns. He'd been about to let Cole scan him, he was sure, but from Miss A's coming back it was easy for him to guess he'd made a mistake. Stupid, he thought irritably of himself. He could have scanned your energy signature, maybe gotten a look at your programming code, then figured out where you were from! The fewer people who knew that, heroes or otherwise, the better. Other heroes worried about bad guys targeting their families with guns and bombs: all it would take would be one person stealthy enough to break into the Sanctum with an EMP device and tens of millions of people, all of his people, would be gone. It was reason enough to keep any secrets.

New American PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 42 pp STR 40 [24] (+15/+7) DEX 14 (+2) CON 24 (+7) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 20 pp ATK: +5 (+10 Ranged) DEF: +5 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +12/+25 Saves: 10 pp TOU +15 (+7 Con, +8 Protection) FORT +8 (+7 Con, +1) REF +5 (+2 Dex, +3) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 36 r=9 pp Bluff 4 (+7) Craft (mechanical) 4 (+4) Intimidate 12 (+15) Knowledge (Technology) 4 (+4) Notice 4 (+6) Pilot 4 (+6) Sense Motive 4 (+6) Feats: 20 pp All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Ranged 5 Challenge (Fast Startle) Fearless Improved Crit 2 (suit weapons) Improved Initiative Luck 3 Move-By Action Power Attack Startle Takedown Attack Ultimate Save (TOU) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 53 pp Device 13 (New American Armor) (Hard to Lose) (PF: Restricted [security clearance]) [53 pp] -Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4 pp] -Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9 pp] -Impervious TOU 10 [10 pp] -Protection 8 [8 pp] -Super-Senses 2 (Low Light Vision, Radio) [2 pp] -Weapons Array [30+2=32 pp] -Blast 10 (Extra: Autofire) 'cannons' -AP: Blast 10 (Extra: Targeted Area [shapeable]) 'missiles' -AP: Enhanced STR 16 and Super-Strength 5 (Heavy Load: 96 tons) 'mass-driver' Drawbacks: 4 pp Normal ID (full round action to don suit) costs abilities 42 + combat 20 + saves 10 + skills 9/36 + feats 20 + powers 53 - drawback 4 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: The New American’s life is falling apart before his eyes. Things weren’t always like this. He was too young to fight in Vietnam, but he heard plenty growing up about how the hippies, liberals, and pot-smoking pacifists cost America victory. Determined to fight for a new America, the _right_ kind of America, he joined the US Army where he distinguished himself for his heroism, upright character, and outspoken political views. When General Striker came to him personally to offer him the New American armor, he was overjoyed: finally, a chance to change the world just like he’d always dreamed! The only downside was Old Glory: the so-called ‘hero’ was still a hero to the people, and any political change in America would be blocked by that wussy do-gooder. The New American was assigned to America’s national superteam to show up Old Glory and get him to retire, preferably in some embarrassing way that would permanently discredit him. The two men clashed again and again, but before a crisis could break out, the team went on a mission alongside their Soviet counterparts to find the mastermind plotting to start World War III, a monster who turned out to be an ex-Nazi with an Antarctic base planning to destroy all his old enemies by making them kill each other. And there, by that armored megalomaniac’s side, stood a proud and confident General Striker. He’d been the Nazi’s ally and tool all along, planning to use the New American and others in his armor to seize control of the nation and establish a military dictatorship. Striker and his allies hadn’t been plotting to save America. They’d been plotting to take it, and they’d assumed that the New American was their man all along. Horrified, the New American fought against his former mentor, and helped suppress a coup attempt launched by former allies back in the United States afterwards. He knew what exposing and defeating Striker would cost him personally, but in the end he he was willing to fall on his sword. He knew Striker’s papers would show how close they’d been, personally and politically, and fully expected a courtmartial afterwards: after all, he’d betrayed America’s trust, even if he’d done so with what at the time he’d thought were the best of intentions. But to his surprise, and his shame, Old Glory testified on his behalf: the man who he’d once thought of as a coward and fool, a man who he’d planned to publicly destroy and replace, told the world that the New American was a true hero, a man who’d been misled rather than been malicious. Not only did he keep his Army post, he even kept his armor! He got his second chance with the assignment to the West Berlin team, but things are still hard, very hard. His vision of America has been destroyed before his eyes, and he’s not thoughtful enough to find a new star to follow: he’s still a loud jock and patriot, but he doesn’t really believe it anymore. He drinks heavily in his spare time, and has begun what will surely be a self-destructive physical relationship with his Soviet counterpart the Iron Ghost. It’s not that he’s not grateful for mercy. It’s that deep down, after learning the kind of man he’d once been, he’s not sure he deserves it. With his massive TOU tradeoff, he can absorb fantastic punishment (particularly vs. mundane opponents), and with his varying melee vs. ranged tradeoff he can be an accurate marksman and a mighty powerhouse. OK, so my design philosophy here is that this is basically John Matrix in a set of power armor: he’s big, he’s tough, and his armor commands a tremendous quantity of dakka. He’s pretty formidable even outside the suit! Though he and Avro Arrow are in competition with each other as the US tries to sell their power-armored design to NATO, they actually could work out a modus vivendi together: her armor is suitable for aerial support, while his own suit is built for ground-pounding and ground support: he’s the A-10 Warthog to her F-16 fighter jet. Of course, to do that he’d have to be willing to show some humility and weakness, which is a pretty tough challenge for America’s armored hero. Removed from his own setting, this would make a decent build for an American soldier in a set of powered armor, perhaps designed to be a new generation of heroes. If that’s the case, save up for the Security Clearance Benefit for him. Note that he just _barely_ has enough knowledge to fix up his suit, assuming it’s not too beaten up. That’s why his Luck is so high, so he can pull off stunts with his armor that won’t fry the suit’s weaponry.

Phantom Archer PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 40 pp STR 20 (+5) DEX 20 (+5) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+12 ranged) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +5 Grapple: +13 Saves: 8 pp TOU +8 (+5 Con, +3 Protection) FORT +7 (+5 Con, +2) REF +7 (+5 Dex, +2) WILL +7 (+3 Wis, +4) Skills: 72 r=18 pp Acrobatics 15 (+20) Bluff 13 (+15) Climb 1 (+6) Drive 1 (+6) Knowledge: Streetwise 4 (+4) Languages 3 (English, German, Russian) (Base: French) Notice 12 (+15) Pilot 1 (+6) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 12 (+15) Survival 2 (+5) Feats: 21 pp Accurate Attack Acrobatic Bluff All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Ranged 4 Challenge 2 (Fast Acrobatic Bluff, Fast Taunt) Dodge Focus 4 Evasion Move-By Action Power Attack Precise Shot Quick Draw [draw] Taunt Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 31 pp Device 3 (Bow) (Easy to Lose) [12 pp] Blast 3 (PFs: Improved Crit, Improved Range 3, Mighty 5) [15] Protection 3 [3 pp] Teleport 4 (400 ft/1 mile) (Extra: Accurate) (PFs: Change Velocity, Easy, Progression, Turnabout) [16 pp] costs abilities 40 + combat 32 + saves 8 + skills 18/72+ feats 21 + powers 31 = 150 pts ---- Design Notes: Here's Phantom Archer, the French member of the NATO superteam in West Berlin in the Wargames universe. The Archer was once an Olympic athlete until a major car accident revealed his innate teleportation abilities, causing him to get called up to the French national superteam. France isn't actually a member of NATO these days, but they do have a unified command structure: something the Archer brings up to his comrades on a daily basis. He's not actually in the chain of command that his fellows are, he just has to do what he's told because that's what he was ordered to do by _his_ commander back in Paris. (Who had his own reasons for getting the Archer out of his hair and in West Berlin for a while.) He's basically the Longbow Hunters Green Arrow with Nightcrawler's abilities, popping around on the battlefield and skewering bad guys with sharpened arrows: he doesn't have the fancy trick arsenal that most of your comic book archers usually have: while he has plenty of room for stunting, he doesn't have a lot of options short of hitting bad guys with pointed arrows or hitting them with blunt arrows. That said, with his Taunt, Acrobatic Bluff, and high Stealth, not to mention Teleport, he really should never have any trouble catching his enemies flat-footed and Power Attacking hard. He's not popular with the leadership, but they know he'll fight to the last if West Berlin is overrun. He has a terrible crush on Avro Arrow, but he'd never admit it since he'd never admit being into a woman for her brains. (The fact that she doesn't really know who he is, being much more focused on her job than any romantic life, would genuinely hurt him if the subject comes up.) He's hard to work with, arrogant and boastful, and certainly a loud French patriot [he does not get along well with most of the Americans on the team], but he's very competent. He has reason to cop an attitude, or at least thinks he does: he was only 18 when his powers developed (and he's not that old now), and his Olympic dreams died the day of that car accident. It was hard giving up everything he'd ever wanted (metahumans can't compete in the Olympics, even if their abilities have zip to do with whatever they're competing at), and going from that to the sometimes low-rent life of a superhero has given him something of an attitude problem. That's mostly with authority figures, though: he gets along mostly fine with his fellow young supers, and has become a member of an informal team of younger heroes in West Berlin who patrol at night and occasionally clash with their Soviet opposite number cross the border. He's very proud of his superior athletic ability, and tends to take taunts about relying on superpowers pretty badly, since he's so sensitive about what they cost him in the first place. He's basically Johnny Storm meets Nightcrawler meets Green Arrow: arrogant heroes are hard to play well, so make sure you're not actually causing friction when you play this dude. What should be interesting with him is the story of becoming a hero, of realizing that he has a chance to give to the community in a way he never could when he was just an Olympian: he'll also get a lot more adulation for saving the world than he'd ever have gotten for hitting targets really well at the Olympics. He'd work just fine as is, either as a member of the French superteam or an American hero with an archery theme. He'd be an interesting character to age up a bit and play as the savvy old combat veteran, with his friends all ribbing him about his wilder younger days...

By the time Wander and Midnight had returned to the rubble-covered street corner where they'd left the first group behind, between them the rest of Young Freedom had managed to get Red Falcon's bike up and running. Well, almost up and running. Redbird hovered over the dusty pavement, muttering "Insufficient fast-twitch muscle fibers in present organics. Red Falcon too injured to pilot in combat conditions. Serious situation..." Distracted from the unhappy bike by the arrival of the others, Edge looked up as Wander and Midnight jumped down to join them. "Hey guys," he said, a little tiredly. "We got the bike fixed, even if she won't let any of us ride her. Did you get what you were looking for?" From the camping supplies Erin and Trevor were carrying, it certainly looked like they had.

Patriotic Giant PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 34 pp STR 40 [24] (+15/+7) DEX 10 (+0) CON 30 [22] (+10/+6) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 20 (+5) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+7 melee) (+4 w/Growth, +5 melee) DEF: +7 (+3 flat-footed) (+5 w/Growth [+2 flat-footed)) Init: +3 Grapple: +16/+27 Saves: 12 pp TOU +15/+11 (+10 Con, +5 Protection) (+6 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +12/+8 (+10 Con, +2) (+6 Con, +2) REF +5 (+0 Dex, +5) WILL +8 (+3 Wis, +5) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Concentration 10 (+12) Diplomacy 10 (+15) Intimidate 11 (+16/+20) Knowledge: History 4 (+5) Languages 2 (German, Russian) (Base: English) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 14 pp All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Melee Dodge Focus Inspire 5 Power Attack Second Chance (Concentration checks to maintain powers) Startle Takedown Attack Ultimate Save (TOU) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 52 pp Growth 8 (Extra: Duration [sustained] (+0) )(Huge size) [24 pp] (-2 ATK/DEF, +8 Grapple, -8 Stealth, +4 Intimidate, 16 ft tall, 4K-32K lbs, 15 ft space, 10 ft reach, x2 carrying capacity) Immunity 6 (aging, disease, poison, starvation and thirst, suffocation) [6 pp] Impervious TOU 9 [9 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Regeneration 1 (Resurrection 1/week) (PFs: Persistent, Regrowth) [3 pp] Super-Strength 2 (Heavy Load: 48 tons) (PF: Groundstrike [5 pp] costs abilities 34 + combat 24 + saves 12 + skills 14/56 + feats 14 + powers 52 = 150 pts -------------- Design Notes: Just in time for the 4th of July, here's my take on a Patriotic Giant like Quality/DC's Uncle Sam. He's big, he's tough, and he's the kind of all-inspiring leader America needs! At 16 ft tall he's not the world-spanning giant that the character sometimes was back in the Golden Age, but he's still very big and very buff. Growth 8 lets him be an impressive giant without being potentially broken like the higher ranks of the power, and also lets him afford things like his immunities, impervious, and Super-Strength; Geez3r has more on this subject in his excellent treatise on size-changing characters. He's your guy to charge onto a Golden Age battlefield and punch Nazi tanks around, then go home and laugh it up with the cops after beating up criminals on the home front. He's an upright, honest man with no Bluff; preferring to concentrate on his role as diplomat and leader. His size makes him very scary to bad guys, enough that there are very few things that could ever faze America's two-fisted champion! He's got a stronger will than most giants, powered as he is by sheer American optimism, and like America he can never really die. (You know, you could always go with his size being tied to America's national identity, and explain that he is in fact just not as big as he used to be back in the Golden Age.) Patriotic heroes get something of a bad rap sometimes, but who's to say what America needs isn't a giant man in an Uncle Sam costume ready to punch bad guys in the face? Flag heroes are as important today as they ever were, even if you don't want to get political and have him go fight those bad people in foreign countries. It's easy enough to justify that in the World of Freedom; the US Army's experiments in deploying superhumans have largely been failures, and so the US has made a deliberate policy to avoid using superpowered people in wartime, at least on the battlefield. So he could easily be a hometown hero with American pride, saving the world at home so the men and women in uniform can feel confident in their deployments that their families are protected from rampaging killbots and mole-men and the like. Of course, if you do play him in a Golden Age game, he really should be there on the front lines punching Nazis whenever the occasion presents itself. Of course, if you really want to send a message with this guy, just make him Latino or some other ethnic group that isn't the typical WASP in red white and blue that makes up so many patriotic heroes. He'd need some kind of ax to be Paul Bunyan, if you want to go another mythological route. If you're not wedded to being an American hero, lots of countries have good symbols, some of which were played with in Alex Ross' Uncle Sam graphic novel some years back. This could be Columbia easily enough, or the Russian bear, or even Brittania! In the World of Freedom, this guy has probably had a lot of dealings with the various Lady Liberties over the years. One major distinction (though bad WoF writers have dropped this ball lately) is that Uncle Sam is very much an _American_ symbol, for all that entails, which may or may not have anything to do with the Spirit of Liberty...

"And we shouldn't go that far anyway," said Sharl, fighting off nerves as he heard the buzz from downstairs that the teens who'd come to pick him up had arrived. "Well, not that far on this giant place you call a world," he added with a little grin. "I did the math, and I'll be going the entire distance of the Halbmond on this trip..." He sobered a little, then said, "I'll call you as soon as we get to this first place, and everywhere else we're going, and I'll keep sending emails. And maybe take holos, er, pictures, and send them to you, so you can show off all the good stuff your sidekick is doing at school." He'd be sending some to his parents too, but that was a matter for another time because the doors were opening! When Corbin and Eve walked into the room, Sharl was sitting in a swivel chair in Miss Americana's laboratory, a small satchel on his back and his sunglasses in his sweater pocket. He got up as they approached, the chair not moving an inch on his movement. Though he was something of a candle beside the glowing loveliness of Miss A, he said, "Hello!" a little nervously anyway.

"I recommend placing any partially assimilated drones somewhere where they can be medically examined away from your civilization. Is it true there is a League facility in Antarctica?" Star Knight nodded at that. Having mentioned those partially assimilated, Harrier finally spoke more. "Before we go into this situation together, I feel I should share why I am here." He shot a look at Star Knight as if to confirm that he already suspected, then nodded. "I am an expert on the Terminus because I was completely assimilated." His voice was even and his eyes steady, but his hands shook slightly on the table from repressed tension. He was acutely conscious that Miss Americana was his only friend there. "If they have been completely assimilated, you should not take my example as a sign they should not be dealt with as you would any other drone. I and one other are the only two cases of...freed drones with which I am familiar."

Inside Mark's head, crickets chirped for a moment before he gathered himself. "That was very helpful, sir," said Mark without blinking, telling the sort of smooth lies that even his friends didn't realize he cold do without batting an eyelash. "but could you explain it to me in words? Preferably simple ones. I'd like to share all the stuff you just gave me, but I don't think my friends will understand the maths, and I don't think I could explain them nearly as well as you just did. After all, I only have high school math." He smiled winningly. "I'm not an expert like you!"

"So far nothing we know has changed," Star Knight explained to Dark Star as he approached. "The mission profile is the same: Miss Americana and Dragonfly are our technical consultants, while Murdock is our expert on the Terminus and Omegadrone technology. You all also have the advantage of being able to operate in lunar space without the necessity of artificial life support systems. If whatever Omegadrone, or drones, there do need to be destroyed after investigation, Dark Star, you're the League member the best suited for the job."

"What you see now is what we know," admitted Star Knight. "We have teams working on this now, but when it comes to Omegadrones or any other sign of Terminus activity, the League takes a proactive policy. That's why we've brought you all in to consult now. As far as the Farside soldiers, the city's telepaths are weak, but they have been able to make limited contact with their minds. While they are in some emotional distress, their individuality is intact and they are not suffering...well, what we would expect them to be suffering." His hands steepled in front of his face, Murdock said, "Captured inhabitants should have had their brains probed for strategic information and tactical data by now, with those deemed fit already assimilated and unable to be reached by telepaths. Something...something is happening there I don't understand. Or, more likely, they have deployed a telepathic baffling device. There is machinery that can do so, even in the Terminus."