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Murderman Power Level: 8 (150/150) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: -2 Attack/+2 DC, -2 Defence/+2 Toughness In Brief: Forensic Pathologist blessed by dark gods to return from the dead with the face of his murderer! Alternate Identity: Doctor Magnus Moore Birthplace: Bedlam Residence: Bedlam Base of Operations: Bedlam Occupation: Forensic Pathologist for Police Affiliations: Police Family: Monty Moore (Older brother, pilot, with wife and kids). Lyra Moore (Elderly mother with dementia) Description: Age: 40 (04/04/1984) Apparent Age: 40 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5’11” Weight: 68Kgs Eyes: Green Hair: Brown Magnus has a tall, thin, lanky frame. He is shaven (but often has a bit of stubble), with long hair and glasses. He often looks slightly unkempt. He rarely smiles, looks serious and melancholic, but has the air of intelligence and thoughtfulness. He has an “X” shaped scar on his forehead – from his first “death” (a bullet to the head). History: Magnus was an intelligent child in an intelligent family. He studied medicine and turned to forensic pathology as a speciality. The constant corruption, murder and violence turned him sour, cynical, and depressed. Slowly retreating from society, he started spending more time with the corpses in his care, respectfully, compassionately. One case had a profound effect. The murder of a priest, with the corpse in Magnus’ care. He was pressurised to fabricate evidence by a mob – and when he refused, he was shot in the head. However, such was his care of the dead that the dark gods of the nether realm deemed him worthy of special blessing. Magnus sprang back from the dead with necromantic power! Personality & Motivation: Magnus has a bleak, cynical, burnt out personality. He finds the world stupid, contemptable, full of stupid ideologies. However, he is also a dedicated doctor and passionate about his work – which stops crime. However depressed he gets about life and the universe and everything, his job at least provides him some meaning. On a more cheery note, his new power allows him more agency in straightening out the worst offenders, and he has no qualms about dishing out bitter justice on evil. Powers & Tactics: Murderman can recover from death and injury extremely quickly, and when he dies (by someones hand) he will assume the form of his killer. The murder does not have to be completely direct – for instance, a falling piano trap will not turn him into a piano, but the man/woman who set the piano trap. In addition, he can psychically project any weapon which he has been killed with (like a gun or knife) and summon an ethereal version of the weapon to use. Alternatively, he can touch someone and inflict the psychic pain of death on them, usually overwhelming them in the process. Aside from his powers, he is intelligent and a trained doctor and pathologist. His method is usually methodical and deductive in solving problems. To return to his normal form requires him to use the Oil of Abad, an ancient formula that soaks in after a few hours and returns his form to normal. The dark gods have given him the formula, and he usually carries a small bottle of it (it’s a jet black, oily concoction that smells of rotten fruit). Power Descriptions: When summoning the psychic projections of the weapons that have killed him, they will appear in his (usually) hand, with wispy green ethereal light surrounding them. Complications: In service to the dark gods: The eldritch and unknown forces that power Murderman are neither good nor evil, but have placed upon him the duty to treat corpses and the dead with due reverence. Should he fail in this, his powers will be withdrawn (presumably temporarily) Bleakness: Magnus has a cynical, burnt out personality. He has contempt for stupidity, tribalism, and irrationality. This sour and morbid personality can put people off him. Caffeine, no Alcohol: Magnus is addicted to caffeine (normally as double espresso shots), and will be tired, irritable and sleepy without it (and have a massive headache). In addition, he has a ALDH2 gene mutation, which slows down alcohol metabolism massively. He easily gets drunk and will stay drunk for much longer – hence he avoids alcohol. Headshot: His first death was highly traumatic. Any ballistic type damage to his head (for instance, a critical hit), will send him unconscious due to psychic effects, irrespective of any physical damage. Murder Weapons: Although, technically, Murderman can psychically manifest any weapon (Variable descriptor 2 effect), in actuality it has to have been a weapon he has been murdered with. His usual preference is a “shotgun”. NB: The psychic weapons can (and usually do) have a non-lethal effect. Abilities: 0 + 0 + 0 + 8 + 8 + 0 = 16 Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 10 (+0) / 20 (+5) Enhanced Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 Initiative: +0 Attack: +6 Defense: +6, +3 flat footed Grapple: +6 Knockback: -5 Saving Throws: 5 + 4 + 6 = 15 Toughness: +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) Fortitude: +10 (+5 Con, +5) Reflex: +4 (+0 Dex, +4) Will: +10 (+4 Wis, +6) Skills: 80 Ranks = 20 PP Bluff 4 (+4) Craft (Chemical) 6 (+10) Diplomacy 4 (+4) Intimidate 4 (+4) Investigate 4 (+8) Knowledge [Behavioural Sciences] 8 (+12) Knowledge [Civics] 4 (+8) Knowledge [Life Sciences] 8 (+12) Knowledge [Theology and Philosophy] 4 (+8) Language 2 (English [Native], French, Spanish] Medicine 8 (+12) Notice 8 (+12) Search 8 (+12) Sense Motive 8 (+12) Feats: 3 PP Benefit: Wealth 1 [Well off] Benefit: Police Clearance Jack of all Trades Powers: 10 + 9 + 5 + 29 + 19 = 72 All powers have the divine and necromantic descriptors. Enhanced Constitution 10 [10 PP] Morph 4 (+20, Single appearance: Whoever murdered him, Extras: Action [Reaction], Duration [Continuous], Drawbacks: Involuntary [-1 PP], One way: Requires Oil of Abad and a few hours to reverse – or being murdered again [-2 PP]) [9 PP] Protection 5 [5 PP] Psychic Weapon Array (26 PP Array, Feats: Alt Power 3) [29 PP] BP: Blast 10 (Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2, Variable Descriptor 2 [Weapons]) [26/26 PP] AP: Blast 7 (Extras: Area [Burst], Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Variable Descriptor 2 [Weapons]) [25/26 PP] AP: Strike 10 (Extras: Penetrating 5, Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Extended Reach 2, Improved Critical 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Variable Descriptor 2 [weapons]) [26/26 PP] AP: Nauseate 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [+0, Will], Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2) [24/26 PP] “Touch of pain” Regeneration 17 (Disabled 6 [1/round], Injured 3 [1/minute], Resurrection 8 [1/round], Feats: Persistent, Regrowth) [19 PP] Totals: Abilities 16 + Combat 24 + Saving Throws 15 + Skills 20 + Feats 3 + Powers 72 = 150/150

The Eel Power Level: 7 (116/121PP) Tradeoffs: -3 Toughness/+3 Defense Unspent PP: 5 In Brief: Amnesiac former Labyrinth agent with induced mutations Identity: Unknown Birthplace: UK? Occupation: Currently unemployed Affiliations: The Labyrinth (former) Family: Unknown Description: Age: Mid-twenties? Gender: Female Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 lbs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown with blonde highlights The young woman known only as 'the Eel' is a slender, athletic woman of medium height. Her hair is cut short in a practical pixie bob, and she wears no jewelry. Her movements are graceful and confident, and she speaks in a rather posh, Received Pronunciation accent. The Eel wears a slick, full body suit, which she calls her 'Eelskin'; it not only provides her an element of protection, but also responds to her chameleonic coloration and can even replicate other clothing. It also has a built-in zipable pouch that holds small items. It is currently the only garment she owns, though sometimes she'll wear a thrift store trenchcoat over it in the field. History: A young woman with no memory of her past beyond her strange moniker, 'the Eel' is trying to write a new life on her blank state. She is haunted by the feeling that she's done something very bad, and must atone for it; to this end, she will help those she encounters in any way she can. She currently works as a bartender (one of the few 'normal' skills she recalls) at Club Maxx as 'Eileen Lake', a false identity she's assembled over time. Hide contents Though she doesn't remember it, the Eel was created by the Labyrinth, who very much want to reacquire their property, as she is one of their most valuable assassins, representing a considerable investment. Personality & Motivation: Like many Brits, the Eel has a rather dry sense of humor, frequently dipping into gallows humor. Most of the skills she can recall are rather sinister, and she's struggling to find better uses of them. She's willing to steal to live, though she's not particularly proud of it, and feels a strange affinity for the struggling lower classes. Powers & Tactics: There are very few places the Eel can't get into if she's really determined, as she's extremely sneaky and hard to pin down. Unfortunately she is now much more sensitive to heat, and has to take care to avoid fire-based attacks. The Eel is built for infiltration and information gathering, and while she can handle herself in a fight, she's far from a heavy hitter. However her toxin is very effective at making people more pliable if not outright unconscious, ideal for incapacitating security guards and the like. Complications: I Don't Remember, I Don't Recall.: The Eel is currently suffering from retrograde amnesia, with no memory of events prior to washing up in Bedlam. This leaves her very vulnerable in a very dangerous place. I Think I Used To Be Awful.: Sometimes Eel will catch a glimpse of her previous life, or have an instinctive, hostile reaction to stimuli, and she doesn't like what she sees. Sounds A Bit Posh, Don't She?: The Eel apparently comes from an upper class English family, and therefore speaks in a rather RP accent; this doesn't always go over so well with the 'hoi polloi', especially if they're from the UK. No Pictures, Please: Both the Eel and 'Eileen' hate to be photographed, and will get very upset if it's done without consent. Photos can end up on the web, which could lead to her past catching up with her. Hide contents Find Her, Now!: If the Labyrinth ever finds her location, they will be very motivated to catch their little lost fish. ABILITIES: 2 + 6 + 12 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 34PP Strength: 12 (+1) Constitution: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 22 (+6) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) COMBAT: 6 + 8 = 14PP Initiative: +6 (+6 Dex) Attack: +3 Ranged, +7 Melee (+3 Base, +4 Attack Focus) Grapple: +19/+21 (+7 Melee, +6 Grappling Finesse, +6 Elongation [+2 if using Addl. Limbs]) Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus) Knockback: -1/-2 SAVES: 0 + 4 + 1 + 4 = 9PP Toughness +4 (+3 Con, +1 'Eelskin' suit) Fortitude +7 (+3 Con, +4) Reflex +7 (+6 Dex, +1) Will +6 (+2 Wis, +4) SKILLS: 64R = 16PP Acrobatics 4 (+10) Bluff 6 (+10) Diplomacy 1 (+5) Disable Device 4 (+5) Disguise 0 (+4, +24 from Morph) Escape Artist 0 (+6, +12 w/ Elongation) Gather Information 1 (+5) Investigate 5 (+5) Knowledge (Streetwise) 4 (+5) Notice 6 (+8) Profession: Bartender 3 (+5) Search 4 (+5) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Sleight of Hand 4 (+10) Stealth 4 (+10) Swim 11 (+12) FEATS: 4 + 1 + 1 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 15PP Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Benefit: Alternate Identity ('Eileen Lake') Benefit: Ambidexterity Dodge Focus 6 Equipment 1 Grappling Finesse Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Equipment: 1PP = 5EP Binoculars 1EP Handcuffs 1EP Lockpicks 1EP Laptop 1EP Multi-tool 1EP POWERS: 2 + 4 + 4 + 7 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 5 = 34PP (All powers have the Mutant descriptor) Additional Limbs 2 (Legs/Feet usable as Arms/Hands) [2PP] Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses, Flaws: Blending) [4PP] Device 4 (Eelskin, Flaws: Hard to Lose) [4PP] Morph 4 (+20 Disguise, Flaws: Limited [Clothing Only])[4DP] Protection 1 [1DP] Drain Wisdom 7 [7PP] Elongation 6 (250 feet) [6PP] Immunity 3 (Environmental Condition: Cold, Environmental Condition: Pressure, Suffocation: Drowning) [3PP] Super-Senses 3 (Accurate Ultrasonic Hearing/Sonar)[3PP] Swimming 5 (Speed: 50 mph) [5PP] DRAWBACKS: (-6) = -6PP Vulnerability (Heat Attacks, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate [+50% DC]) [-3PP] Weakness (Hot environments, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate, cumulative -1 penalty on all checks, attack rolls and Defense per 20 minutes) [-3PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 16 Tough Damage Drain Touch DC 17 Fort Drain TOTALS Abilities 34 + Combat 14 + Saves 9 + Skills 13 (52 ranks) + Feats 15 + Powers 34 - Drawbacks 6 = 116/121 points

Greetings and salutations! I am in the process of making by British amnesiac character the Eel more active in Bedlam, and I'm looking for characters to partner with an GMs to make our life miserable. Eel is a PL7 stealth based character with connections to the Labyrinth (that she's unaware of) if you looking for good hooks. Also she's a bartender at Club Maxx, a metal club in the Meadows not far from the airport. I'm up for pretty much anything!

GM Doctor Adriana Aparo stood in the cemetery outside the Saint Fabian's Catholic church on Stark Hill, holding two bouquets of roses, one red, the other white. She crouched down under the moonlit sky and laid each bouquet down in front of the two tombstones resting in front of her. The white roses, she placed upon the grass in front of "Father Rafael Giordano, Beloved Son, Dear Brother, Good Shepherd". The red roses, she carefully put in front of Rafael's neighbor, "Gaetano Giordano, Beloved Son, Dear Brother, Devoted Husband". Her companion and former sister-in-law, Flora Russo, extended a hand to help her stand back up, and then rested that hand on Adriana's shoulder, squeezing it. The two women exchanged a brief conversation as they lingered over the graves for a couple more minutes. Then Flora took Adriana's hand and walked her out of the cemetery. On their way out, Adriana stopped once, turning to look back over her shoulder. After a few seconds, she turned back and resumed her exit.

GM To the north lay Scarlet Hill, a name no one in Bedlam City used anymore, instead referring to both the hill and the mansions turned sub-sub-divided-apartments surrounding it by reference to the Country Club which sat atop it, looming over the south-eastern parts of the city. Both were saturated with diesel exhaust from the Rook Island port at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. To the south lay the freezing waters and hard-packed, littered sands of Graves End Beach. And between north and south lay Bedlam City's answer to Skid Row, the neighborhood known for its most famous boulevard, "Ash Street". Sitting at the foot of the hill, it was not quite as drowned in smog as the Country Club, the trees and grass, not quite as withered and lifeless. At least two out of every three buildings sat empty and abandoned. Homeless people were everywhere, taking shelter in every nook and collecting cans and bottles almost as soon as they were discarded. The only businesses seemed to be invariably overcrowded homeless shelters, thrift stores, and the odd convenience store. Even the check cashing and payday loan storefronts with their neon "We Buy Gold and Silver" signs that seemed to be on every third block in Wolverton and Hardwick Park were too extravagant for Ash Street. The odds seemed long, but the local fast food chain, Wunder-Chuk, was betting that there was an untapped market on Ash Street and in the Country Club. The grand opening of their new branch on Storch Avenue had kicked off earlier in the evening. Everything seemed to go smoothly until the "Clash of The Woodchucks". The local press managed to get their hands on the surveillance footage immediately, and had edited together and spread it like wildfire within an hour. On one side of the restaurant, the employee who had drawn the short straw and had to wear the Wally Woodchuck mascot costume walked up to the wrong little girl, mistakenly thinking he would make her laugh. Instead, she started bawling. On the other side of the restaurant, a true monster had appeared. Some sort of humanoid rodent, like a man with the head of a chipmunk, wearing a trenchcoat and wide-brimmed hat as a comically ineffective ineffective disguise, had walked up to the outdoor seating area carrying a battered, bloody young woman in his arms. He laid her down on one of the unoccupied tables, tore a diamond necklace from her neck, and turned to leave before the young girl's sobbing seemed to get his attention. He ran up to the mascot, slashed at him with bear-like claws, scooped up the little girl, since identified as "Emily Petrovic", age six, and ran off with her. The mascot attacked by the "Woodchuck Man" was admitted to Downtown General with multiple lacerations, but nothing serious. He was being kept at the hospital while the doctors ran tests for any infectious diseases, but they expected to discharge him within the next couple of days. The battered young woman the "Woodchuck Man" had left behind, meanwhile, had been identified as Ashley Fairchild, age 21, a student at Belchner College. She was supposed to be starting her senior year in the fall, and she was engaged to marry her boyfriend, meat packing heir and fellow student Ethan Pfeffner. Now she lay in a coma at the Beth-El Hospital near Stone Ridge, and the doctors couldn't say if she'd ever wake up. Ethan had spoken with reporters, imploring anyone with information relevant to the investigation into his fiancee's assault to come forward. He made special mention of the diamond necklace the creature had stolen, stating that it was an heirloom passed down through five generations of his family. His grandparents offered a $10,000 reward for its safe return. The police were technically searching for the girl and the "Woodchuck Man", but the most and of the Ash Street residents saw of their efforts was a patrol car creeping by maybe once every half-hour. Even that was an unprecedented level of police presence in the area, but it was unlikely to yield any tangible results. As soon as they learned of the incident, Dead Head and Mister Strix had taken it upon themselves to investigate. Their first stop was the restaurant itself, now closed and mostly deserted, save for a single patrol car in the parking lot, and a couple of reporters and unpaid gawkers milling about.

The house has 3 ranks of the Concealed feature, which adds +20 to the DC of any checks made to find the house or learn anything about it - Gather Info, Knowledge, Search, etc. The descriptor is the psychic perception filter created by the house's unholy aura. All 3 heroes have skills high enough to find it eventually, but none of them would be able to just take 10, which is why I described it as taking multiple attempts to keep it in their minds. EDIT: I don't need any actual rolls from any of you.

In Brief: Instead of becoming The Huntress, Helena Bertinelli becomes Spawn. Character: Mister Strix Power Level: 14 (Built as PL9) Tradeoffs: None Power Points: 218/218PP Unspent Points: 0 Alternate Identity: Gaetano “Guy” Giordano (Deceased) Identity: Secret. The public is not aware that either Gaetano Giordano or Mister Strix are undead, or that they are the same person. Legal Status: Deceased USA citizen with no criminal record. Birthplace: Bedlam City, Wisconsin, USA Base of Operations: Bedlam City Residence: The Twilight Lodge Occupation: President of The Twilight Lodge (current), E.R. Doctor (former) Affiliations: The Twilight Lodge (President), Father Cesare Messina (Retired Catholic priest, Friend) Family: Doctor Adriana Aparo (Widow), Luna Giordano née Gallo (Mother), Massimo “Mo” Giordano (Father), Matteo “Matt” Giordano (Older Brother), Flora Russo née Giordano (Older Sister), Rafael Giordano (Younger Brother, Deceased). Matt and Flora are both married, with children. Adriana has re-married, and she has a child with her new husband. DESCRIPTION Age: 38 (Date of Birth: 1981) Apparent Age: 31 (Date of Death: 2012) Gender: Male Ethnicity: (Sicilian) Italian-American Caucasian Height: 6’2” Weight: 165 lbs. Hair: Black Eyes: Black His superhero costume consists of a white skintight jumpsuit, mask, and cape. The chest of the jumpsuit is emblazoned with a white crescent moon set against a black circle. The edges of the cape and gloves are cut with notches suggestive of the feathers on a bird's wings. The gloves are fingerless. The mask covers his entire head except for his jaw and the lower half of his face. It has a shape similar to the feathers on the head of a horned owl. The bottom of the mask comes to a hook with a slight downward curve resembling a raptor's beak. Overall, it looks like a photo-negative version of the original Raven’s costume. Out of costume, a fan of old movies might compare him to a young (and underslept, and possibly ill) Lee Van Cleef or Basil Rathbone, while an enthusiast for more modern fare would compare him to a mid-1990s Nicolas Cage. His flesh is unnaturally pale, and always cold to the touch, regardless of any physical activity or environmental factors. When visible, his veins appear to be black. His build is slender. He was never bulky in life, and when he transformed, most of his fat burned away, and most of his internal organs shriveled and atrophied. His face is all sharp angles, with high, prominent cheekbones, a large nose, and a narrow, pointed chin. His hair is dark, and perpetually messy. (Since he has no reflection in mirrors, even if he had much reason to style his hair, he wouldn't be able to see what he was doing.) He has thick eyebrows, perpetually arched over eyes set deep in their sockets, eyes which always seem to be surrounded by shadows, regardless of the angle or intensity of light in the area. The irises of his eyes are completely black, indistinguishable from the pupils. The center of his eye is one solid black disk. His hands are slightly larger in proportion to the rest of his body than they should be, the fingers slightly longer. His voice is a deep baritone, surprisingly deep for someone of his size. When he feeds or uses his powers, his appearance becomes even more overtly monstrous. His veins bulge and darken. The blackness at the center of his eyes spreads to cover the entire eyeball. His mouth, canine teeth, and tongue all double in size. His voice deepens by at least a full octave, and echoes independent of the local acoustics. When he growls, he sounds like a tiger. HISTORY Guy Giordano’s life ended just as it was about to begin. Gaetano "Guy" Giordano was born the third of four children in an Italian-American family living in Stark Hill. The family all attended the local Catholic school and church. His mother was a librarian turned homemaker, and his father was a "made man" in the Scarpia crime family. Guy was closest with his younger brother, Raphael, and his mother, whom they both took after, being more gentle and scholastically inclined than their brutish father and older brother or their scheming "queen bee" older sister. When they grew up, Guy became a doctor, while Raphael became a priest. Guy went to college and medical school in Chicago and Detroit, and earned a doctorate in emergency medicine alongside Adriana Aparo, his fellow student. After they completed their residency, they got engaged, spent a year working with Doctors Without Borders in Libya and the Congo, then moved back to Bedlam, got married, and bought a house. They were just about to start trying for their first child when Guy got sick and died. Unbeknownst to his family, Guy's younger brother Raphael wasn't just a priest, but a Vatican-sponsored monster-hunter. Raphael had destroyed a powerful elder vampire, and the even older and more powerful vampire who had created that elder took his revenge and replaced the lost member of his "family" by killing Raphael's favorite brother and turning him into a vampire. Raphael was no match for the vampire, who only ever identified himself as "Johann." He ambushed Raphael at the cemetery where Guy was buried. Guy dug himself out of his own grave, emerging in a mindless feeding-frenzy, and Johann made sure that Raphael was caught helpless in Guy's path. Guy drained his little brother dry. After Guy's bloodlust faded and he cried out in anguish over what he'd done, Johann wished him a taunting "Happy Birthday" and stabbed him in the heart with a wooden stake, putting him in a coma. Then he locked Guy's unconscious body in a box and left it there for five years. When Johann finally took the stake out of his heart, Guy woke up, but he had no idea how much time had passed. He ran home, only to learn that his wife lived there with her new husband and their child. He fled the scene before anyone spotted him. Johann laughed, taunted him with another "Happy Birthday," and vanished. Guy spent the next year living in the shadows of Bedlam. He spent days sleeping in sewers, abandoned basements, and hastily dug holes in the dirt, rarely staying in the same place twice. He spent the nights spying on his family and his widow, and through a mix of research and trial and error, figuring out how much time had passed, what had happened to him and what he could do. When he drank Raphael's blood, he absorbed his memories, so he knew that he was a “vampire,” but that could mean a hundred different things. He spent many nights at local libraries, catching up on recent history and researching his “condition.” An academic at heart, he felt “at home” there, and since he could ignore alarms and surveillance equipment, hypnotize guards, and slip through locked doors as a cloud of mist, he had the run of the place. When he needed blood, he would grab sewer rats, or hypnotize the employees at the less ethical animal “shelters,” so he could drain the cats and dogs already scheduled for execution. At first, he made the mistake of trying to subsist entirely on animal blood. But he learned the hard way that the inferior quality (for his purposes) of animal blood would only satisfy his undead body for so long. After the first time he snapped and almost killed a random person on the street, he made an effort to regularly infuse his diet with human blood. He limited his human feeding to whatever criminals and corrupt cops he could find, often guys he recognized as his father’s employees and associates. At one point, he decided that he needed to be destroyed, and even if suicide was a sin, the greater sin would be continuing to live as a monster. So he fought through his instinct to sleep during the day, and he tried to walk out into the sun. He was terribly burned, but he discovered that his undead body had a powerful instinct for self-preservation, one he could not overcome. He fled the light, slept deeper and woke up thirstier than ever before, and by the time he regained the capacity for rational thought, he was standing over the half-drained body of what was now the second random person he had almost murdered. After that debacle, he stopped trying to kill himself. During a chance encounter near the end of his first year as a vampire, he saved the life of a 70-year-old retiree and "supply priest," Father Cesare Messina. Father Messina quickly became his friend and confidant, the only source of human interaction for him since his death. Father Messina felt that it was his duty to help Guy figure out God's plan for him, even if that just meant praying for him and chatting with him over coffee. Father Messina reminded him that the best way to heal one’s own pain was to help others with theirs. As they spoke, an idea formed between the two of them. Guy could do what everyone with extraordinary abilities and a secret to protect did to help make the world better: He could put on a mask, and become a superhero, “Like Raven, that guy in Freedom City.” Father Messina was an ornithology enthusiast, so when the subject of superheroes came up, Raven's was the first name that came to his mind. Of the decorations in Father Messina's home, the pictures and sculptures of owls outnumbered the Christian imagery by at least ten to one. With little prompting from Guy, Father Messina practically gushed about how owls were found all over the world, in all kinds of environments, and how they appear in the myths of almost every culture on the planet, usually as demons or psychopomps. Guy mentioned a local legend he’d heard in the Congo about how owls hunted humans to eat their souls. That reminded Father Messina that while the more popular modern vampire myths describe them transforming into bats, in older stories, they turned into owls. Just like that, Guy knew what form his disguise should take. The tailor who would later craft it was hypnotized to misremember the job, but he was well-paid. "Mister Strix" was born. At the start of this new chapter in Guy's life, Johann reappeared, attacking him without warning and beating him almost to a second death. Then Johann laughed, taunted him with yet another "Happy Birthday," and disappeared. To Guy's surprise, he laughed too. Johann’s assault had an oddly invigorating effect on him. If Johann was still trying to break him, that meant he wasn't broken yet. His conversations with Father Messina had given him a new sense of purpose, but Johann’s beating gave him a new sense of hope. His existence might be evil, but he could still do some good with it. He might not be a doctor anymore, he wasn't going to let that stop him anymore from doing the same thing in death that he used to do in life: Try to save people. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Like any good Catholic, the primary driving force in his life has always been guilt. When he was a child, it was guilt over the apple, and the crucifixion, and not being the son his father wanted. When adolescence opened his eyes a little wider, it was guilt over who his father was and how he made his money. He became a doctor and went to war zones so that he could try to save more lives than his father had destroyed. Now it’s guilt over what he is and what he has to do. In life, he was quiet and gentle, but determined. He always tried to put others before himself. People always told him he was “a good listener.” He loved his wife. He loved his family, even if he didn't like them. He inherited his mother’s love of books, opera, traditional French and Italian cooking, and when he got older, coffee and wine. He always seemed to have his nose in a book. He’d lived in war zones, but he’d never really been in a fight. He'd never wanted to hurt anyone. In death, everything that used to define him or bring him joy has been stolen from him, and he's become a predator who leaves ruin in his wake, a danger to everyone around him. Violence now feels as natural to him as breathing used to, and the only thing that truly brings him joy anymore is sinking his fangs into another person’s neck and sucking the blood out of their veins. He hates the thing he’s been turned into, and the things who turned him into it. He’s trying to make the best of it. POWERS & TACTICS In his mortal life, he was a fully licensed medical doctor with a specialization in emergency medicine, with field experience in multiple war zones. In combat, he is an unskilled brawler, relying entirely on the animal instinct and enhanced physical prowess he gained when he became a vampire. Everything he “knows” about fighting, he learned from movies and television. Popular culture is also his main source of “knowledge” about his own condition. He’s studying all the relevant history and mythology he can get his hands on, but it’s a slow process. The vampire who killed him didn’t tell him anything. Most of what he can do either comes from pure instinct, or is something he read about and decided to try that worked, either immediately or with practice. He is undead, preserved and animated by the life-consuming energy that is the pure darkness of the Schattenwelt, in a process fueled by blood magic. His undead body is far more resilient than his human body was. His skeleton is harder than stone, but just as light as human bone. His flesh feels human to the touch, but displays a resistance to cutting or puncturing more akin to thick leather or Kevlar. His body somehow metabolizes the blood he drinks to sustain his existence, keep him preserved, heal his wounds, and alter his body in ways he is only beginning to explore. He can increase his strength, speed, and agility to superhuman levels, grow claws that can shred metal and stone as if it were paper, or transform into a cloud of mist. His blood can also heal the wounds of others (a Healing power stunt off of his main array), though consuming his blood can bring unpredictable side-effects (a temporary Complication for the other character). He also has some psychic powers. He can broadcast a psychic command which forces the minds of others to ignore his presence. He can more directly hypnotize anyone who looks him in the eye, forcing them to obey all his commands and re-writing their memories. When he bites a living creature and sucks their blood, the combination of sharp fangs, endorphin rush, and blood loss makes it difficult for the victim to understand what is happening or to remember it clearly after the fact, even if he hasn't mesmerized them. Since his blood can heal wounds, he can use his fang to cut his tongue, then lick the puncture wounds closed with the transfer of blood. This combination allows his feeding to go mostly undetected. His senses are several orders of magnitude more acute than his "natural prey", normal humans. He can see clearly in total darkness, pick out tiny details at long range, hear frequencies beyond the the normal range of human hearing, and track by scent like a bloodhound. From a distance, he can hear a person’s heartbeat, hear the blood pulsing through their veins, and smell their breath. Like a shark, he can sniff out even tiny amounts of blood from far away. The smell and taste of blood can give him the type of information about its owner that would make a crime lab jealous. When he tastes blood, he can also tap into any psychic resonance it has absorbed, experiencing the memories of its original owner like they were his own. He’s also learned the hard way that he has just about every quirk and weakness that’s ever been attributed to vampires in folklore. He doesn't have to worry about running water or being invited into a home, but that’s about it. COMPLICATIONS Achilles Heels & Weaksauce Weaknesses: Certain plants, objects, and symbols of mystical and religious significance will repel him, interfere with his movement, and cause him pain and injury. He cannot stand them, even if they were a source of joy or comfort in his mortal life. Daylight Fire Garlic: All parts and states of the garlic plant affect him: The flower and the bulb, whether living, freshly harvested, or even ground into dry powder. Unlike most plants, garlic never withers or dies merely from being in his presence (see "Walking Wasteland", below). Holy Symbols & Blessed Items: Holy symbols and items affect him at the GM’s discretion, on a case by case basis. Generally, the holy symbol must belong to a “Good” deity, or a deity whose portfolio includes concepts such as “Healing,” “Life,” “Light, or “The Sun.” Foods and liquids which have been “blessed,” such as holy water, or which have ritual significance, such as the wine and wafers used in Communion, will also affect him. Holy symbols and items will affect him even if he, or the character wearing or wielding them, do not believe in (or even know of) the religion with which they are associated. However, if he attempts to force his way past the holy object and some sort of opposed check is required, a wielder who knows, believes in, or reveres the deity associated with the holy item will have a better chance of winning the opposed check than a wielder who is ignorant, skeptical, or blasphemous. Jade Mirrors: He has no reflection. Like machines, mirrors do not register his presence. If he can exert enough willpower to stare into a mirror, then a vague, blurry semblance of his visage may briefly appear, only to vanish as soon as he turns away. This effort may cause the mirror to crack, or even to shatter. Mirrors also sometimes break even if he briefly glances at them, or passes by them without peek. Salt: Pure salt will affect him, but saltwater will not, nor will food with a high salt content. Silver Wolf’s Bane: See “Garlic,” above. Everything described there applies to wolf’s bane as well. Wooden Stakes: He can be incapacitated if his heart is impaled with a piece of wood. It doesn't matter if the “stake” is made entirely of wood or not, so long as the part lodged in his heart is composed of pure, whole wood. An arrow or spear with a steel head and a wooden shaft would work, but a piece of compressed particle board would not. Wood and wooden implements do not cause him any of the fear, discomfort, or damage described below, and staking his heart is the only circumstance under which a wooden weapon will overcome his resilience or regeneration. Wood does not limit his movements, and touching it does not harm him. He already has drawbacks and flaws to account for how these items can suppress his powers, penetrate his defenses, and inflict wounds which are slow to heal, and since those traits already provided a power point discount, they do not count as complications. However, these items can have other effects which would count as complications: He cannot stand to look directly at these items. As soon as he sees them, the GM can force him to make a Will save against an Emotion Control (Fear) effect, which may cause him to flee the scene entirely. He cannot knowingly or willingly attempt to touch any of these items, or even to advance to within touch-range of them. He must stay at least 10 feet away, just outside of touch-range. (If the item is hidden from him, then he can unknowingly approach it or touch it.) The GM can force him to save against Damage and/or some other attack effect if he touches any of these items or their shadows, or if the ingests them, or the blood of someone else who has recently ingested them. If another character wears or wields any of these items, then he cannot attempt to physically touch them, or anyone behind them. (As reflected with his Power Loss drawbacks, he also cannot bite them or use his mind control powers on them.) He cannot attempt to directly remove or destroy the items. Another character who wields these items can advance toward him, forcing him to withdraw. If he is bound with these items, or with bonds infused or plated with these materials, then he cannot untie or break those bonds, no matter how objectively flimsy they may be. He may not even be able to lift them. (As reflected with his Power Loss drawbacks, such bonds will also suppress most of his powers.) If these items are mounted on, above, or around a door, window, or other portal, then he cannot pass through that portal, even in his mist form. If these items are placed on top of the lid to a container, or tied or wrapped around it, then he cannot open that container, or enter or exit it in his mist form. If these items are arranged in a circle, then he cannot cross that circle. He cannot step over it, and he cannot fly over it in his mist form. A circle around another character can protect that character from him, while a circle around him can trap him. He can attempt to overcome these limitations, forcing his way past these items, or even forcing himself to touch them, with a focused act of will, most likely represented by a Will save. If these items are being wielded by another character, then the GM can force him and that other character to make an opposed check, most likely Charisma. This effort may cause him harm whether it is successful or not, so he may also have to save against Damage or some other attack effect. If his act of will is successful, then he can temporarily overcome the limits to his freedom of movement, and these items may be damaged, or even destroyed. They may bend, crack, shatter, melt, or burst into flame. Addiction (Blood): He doesn't just need blood. He wants it. He loves it. It is as much his drug as it is his sustenance. The GM can decide that he's thirsty, give him a Hero Point, and then give him a circumstance penalty on a check to represent how difficult it is for him to focus on other tasks when he’d rather be drinking blood. When blood is available, the GM can give him a Hero Point, and then force him to make a Will save to resist the urge to lap it up or suck it down. He can also cause Addiction complications for other characters. They can become addicted to the euphoria of being fed upon by him, or they can become addicted to consuming his supernatural blood. Chill of Undeath: When viewed through Infra-Vision or perceived with another heat-detecting Super-Sense, he always appears to be colder than his surroundings, even if he's in Antarctica or at the bottom of the ocean. The GM can give him a Hero Point if this causes him a setback, such as allowing him to be seen when he would otherwise be concealed, or exposes him as a supernatural creature when he would otherwise go undetected as such. The area around him tends to be unnaturally cold. In his passing, condensation will often form on glass and liquids will often freeze solid. The GM can treat him as having an Uncontrolled touch-range Environment Control (Cold) effect, and they can give him or another character a Hero Point if this causes a setback. Electromagnetic Ghosts: Although machines cannot detect or perceive him directly, his immediate presence can cause electromagnetic interference. When he passes by a radio, audio recorder, or video camera, he can trigger bursts of static or image tearing. The GM can give him a Hero Point if this alerts enemies to his presence. Enemies: Archnemesis Dad: His father is a captain in the Scarpia family syndicate. His surviving brother works with him, as does his sister's husband. When he was alive, he refused to participate in his father’s criminal activities, but he didn't interfere with them either. When he died, so did his ambivalence. Now he’s determined to dismantle everything his family helped build. Burn The Witch!: The secret monster-hunting arm of the Catholic Church knows that his brother killed a vampire, and that soon after, he and his brother were both killed in circumstances which sounded suspiciously like retaliatory vampire attacks. It’s been a few years since then, but if they hear about anything that sounds like a vampire in Bedlam, they will follow up. I Hate You, Vampire Dad!: “Enemy” isn't quite the right word. His sire, "Johann" (real name unknown), is working toward a long-term goal of making him part of Johann's "family." To Johann, that means an unholy combination of child, friend, and lover. Unfortunately for him, Johann doesn't think he’ll realize his potential as a vampire until his human spirit is broken and stripped away from him by a conga line of trauma and disappointment, a process Johann expects to take at least a hundred years. Johann shows up once a year like clockwork to beat him within an inch of his life as a celebration of his "birthday" as a vampire. In addition, Johann will, seemingly at random, send various minions, pawns, or even other “children,” to torment him in some way. They might attack him directly, provide aid to his enemies, or harm something or someone he cares about (including Bedlam City itself). Enemy To All Living Things: While machines seem to simply ignore him (as represented with his Permanent Concealment from them), nature seems to actively resent him. Animals universally hate and fear him, unless they have consumed his blood, or are under the effect of some sort of mind control power. They will flee from him, attempt to scare him away, and/or attack him. He automatically fails any Handle Animal or Ride skill checks. (See, also, “Walking Wasteland,” below.) Glamour Failure: He has quirks which either explicitly reveal him to be a supernatural creature, or at least create a subconscious “Uncanny Valley” effect, making humans deeply uncomfortable in his presence. The air is unnaturally quiet around him because of all the normal sounds his body doesn't make, and he lacks several signs of life that most observers would take for granted. The GM may give him penalties to checks involving social interaction, or declare such checks to be impossible. Indifferent or even Friendly NPCs could turn Hostile, attacking or fleeing. Many of those features are already mentioned in "Description," above, and others are described in other Complication entries. He never casts a shadow, regardless of the level or angle of light in the surrounding area. His hands and fingers appear to have normal friction ridges, yet his touch never leaves prints. His footsteps never leave tracks, or make a sound. He does not breathe, cough, sneeze, or yawn. (This is particularly noticeable in winter.) His heart does not beat. He has no pulse of any kind. He does not sweat. When he is wounded, his skin does not bruise, and his cuts do not bleed. He will only bleed if decapitated or staked through the heart. His blood is so dark that it mostly appears to be black, only showing red when light hits it at just the right angle. If he cries, the tears are blood. His body does not age. Most machines seem to ignore him. He has no reflection in mirrors, or any other reflective surface. He does not show up in photographs or on video cameras, film or digital. His voice cannot be heard in auditory recordings, or through microphones, telephones (cellular or land-line), or radios. He doesn't show up as a blip on any kind of radar or sonar. He can walk freely through the laser, infra-red, and microwave beams used by motion detectors without them registering his presence. Automatic doors won’t even open for him. A gas chromatograph mass spectrometer can at least attempt to analyze samples of his tissues, and mechanical components like buttons which detect physical pressure will recognize the force his touch exerts upon them, but that seems to be the extent to which machines recognize or acknowledge him. Note: Aside from his lack of reflection, this is the result of the Permanent flaw on his Concealment against machine senses, so he should not receive any Hero Points for it. However, it may be a complication for other characters. For example, a robot or cyborg ally whose eyes are mechanical cameras and whose ears are mechanical microphones may receive a Hero Point in exchange for not being able to see or hear him. Heavy Sleeper: When the sun is in the sky, it is almost impossible for him to stay awake, and once he falls asleep, he stays asleep. Instead of suffering the usual -10 Notice penalty while asleep, he automatically fails Notice checks. Other characters can even lift or manipulate his body without waking him up. Nothing less than a direct attack on his body will disturb his daytime slumber. I Do Not Drink…Wine: His Immunity to Fortitude effects includes Immunity to Starvation and Thirst, but not only does he not need to eat or drink, he physically cannot. If he tries to consume food, or if he tries to drink any liquid other than blood, then he will quickly vomit it back up, along with some of his own stored blood, and the GM can also force him to save against an attack effect, like Nauseate, or even Damage. Involuntary Transformation (Berserk Rage): His undead body has instincts for predation and self-preservation more powerful than those of any living creature, and more powerful than his moral compass. When he attempts to resist those instincts, the GM can force him to make a Will save. Failure can result in a complication for him and/or for others. Starvation can cause him to be overcome with bloodlust, to the point of mindlessly attacking the next human he encounters, without caring if his prey survives the encounter or not. Potential causes of “starvation” include simply going too long without drinking blood, trying to subsist for too long on blood of low quality (animal blood, refrigerated blood bags, etc.), or depleting the blood stored in his body by using it to fuel his powers. When exposed to one of his weaknesses, especially fire or sunlight, he feels a powerful primal urge to flee from it. If he is unable to summon the willpower to endure its presence, then during his flight, he may brutally attack anyone who gets in his way, whether they meant to or not. Once he is out of danger, he may then be overcome with bloodlust, as if he were starving, as his scared inner animal seeks to re-assert control over its surroundings. Made of Evil: He is that which should not be, but is. He is a monster, an abomination, a dead thing preserved and animated with the life-consuming darkness of the Schattenwelt. Any powers which “Detect Evil” will show him as such, and any powers which “Protect From Evil” or “Smite Evil” will affect him as if he were applicably “Evil,” regardless of his actual conduct or inner sense of morality. Any power such as “Aura Vision” which can detect the presence or state of a “soul” will show his to be present, but shredded, hanging in tatters, and stained by shadows and blood. Mainlining The Monster: Some view him as a monster to be destroyed, but others see him as a resource to be exploited. His blood and body could be used as a component for countless magical spells, rituals, potions, or other items. When ingested or injected by a living creature, his blood can act as a powerful and potentially addictive drug. The specific effects vary depending on the person, the amount consumed, and the GM’s whims. It can act as a stimulant or a narcotic. It can cause euphoria, hallucinations, and/or uncharacteristically aggressive or deviant behavior. It can even heal wounds, cure diseases, or grant temporary powers, such as Enhanced physical abilities, or Immunities like Aging and Disease. It can also create a temporary psychic link, and a temporary stain or “taint” on the user’s “soul” or “aura” with a "negative resonance." Prejudice: If someone does learn that he is a vampire, or that his family is part of the Bedlam Mafia, it could cause them to mistrust him (and they might not be wrong). Conversely, if he learns that another character is also a vampire, or some other sort of undead creature, then this can be a complication for them, because his default reaction will be homicidal violence. Relationships: His wife remarried, and has children with her new husband. But he still cares about her, and by extension, her new family. He still cares about his family too, even the mobsters. He keeps tabs on all of them, and he will leap to their aid if they are in danger. Father Cesare Messina, the retired priest, is the only friend he's made since his death. He will drop everything to help Messina. But the priest’s secret association with him could cause problems for both of them. Responsibility: By assuming ownership of The Twilight Lodge, he has assumed responsibility for both the cursed structure, and the damned souls who staff it in their quest for redemption. Secrets: It is not public knowledge that Gaetano Giordano is Mister Strix, or that either of them is a vampire. As far as most people know, Gaetano Giordano is still buried in his grave. Unlife: Even though he has no Constitution score and Immunity to Fortitude effects, he still needs to sleep, and he still needs “food” in the form of blood. He only gets restful sleep if he has complete shelter from sunlight, and if his resting place includes soil from his homeland. He does not need to be buried; a thin layer of dirt spread out under him is sufficient.When he drinks blood, his undead body stores that blood in his heart. His body consumes a small amount of that stored blood every night to preserve his corpse, and a greater amount to heal his wounds and fuel his powers.After a day without sleep and/or three days without blood, the GM can inflict negative conditions upon him, like Fatigued or Exhausted, cumulative penalties on certain checks, and/or temporary ability damage. The GM may allow him some sort of check to delay or lessen these effects, akin to the Constitution checks and Fortitude saves mortals can make to resist the damage caused by neglecting their physical needs.He will not be destroyed by starvation or lack of sleep, but the supernatural preservation of his body will be disrupted. At first, he will start to look sick. Then, he will begin to age. Finally, he will start to decay. Eventually, his flesh will wither away and slough off completely, leaving little more than a fanged skeleton. Eventually, he won’t have eyes or a tongue, but he will still be able to see and speak. Once he finally gets the blood and restful sleep he needs, the decay will gradually reverse. If his soft tissues have rotted away, then his bones will absorb the blood he “drinks" directly. The decay will reverse at roughly the same rate at which a mortal would recover from starvation and/or sleep deprivation.His ideal sustenance is the blood of a living human (or humanoid alien with genetic similarity sufficient to produce viable offspring with a human), taken directly from that human’s veins, ideally while the human is experiencing some sort of intense emotion. The further his feeding deviates from that ideal, the less nourishment and satisfaction he derives. He can consume blood from cold storage, so long as that stored blood would be safe to transfuse back into a living human. He cannot feed on necrotic or coagulated blood, and attempting to do so will cause him to vomit as if it were human food (see “I Do Not Drink…Wine,” above). He can feed from vertebrate animals and aliens which have “blood” (the fluids of arthropods, for example, would not work), but it is not as satisfying, or as efficient; it would take multiple units of animal blood to equal the same “nutritional content” as one unit of human blood. The blood of living supernatural creatures, such as faeries, werewolves, or dragons, on the other hand, tastes better than human blood, provides more efficient nourishment, and may also have side-effects at the GM’s discretion. Potential side-effects include addiction, inebriation, temporary insanity (hallucinations, berserk rage, etc.), and temporary Boosts to his existing powers, and temporarily gaining new powers. Depending on the individual, the blood of human mutants and mutates, powerful aliens, and, depending on their descriptors, even other vampires, may have the same effects. Walking Wasteland: Since he is infused with the life-consuming dark energy of the Schattenwelt, his very presence can be hostile to life. At his touch, or even in his passing, non-animate plants (except for garlic or wolf’s bane) may wither, or even melt or crumble into ash, while food and drink such as bread, milk, cheese, or wine (but never salt) may spoil or rot. Animals which happen to be pregnant may spontaneously miscarry. ABILITIES 18PP Strength: 28/12 (+9/+1), 38/12 Lifting (Heavy Load: 4,800 lbs. [2.4 tons] / 130 lbs.) Dexterity: 28/12 (+9/+1) Constitution: - Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 18 (+4) COMBAT 12PP Initiative: +9/+1 (+9/+1 Dex) Attack: +9/+3 Melee (+3 Base, +6 Enhanced Attack Focus), +3 Ranged (+3 Base) Grapple: +20/+4 (+9/+3 Melee Attack, +9/+1 Strength, +2 Super-Strength) Defense: +9/+3 (+3 Base, +6 Enhanced Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 9 (4 vs Vampire Weaknesses) SAVING THROWS 5PP Toughness: +9 (Impervious 9, except against Vampire Weaknesses) Fortitude: - Reflex: +9/+1 (+9/+1 Dex, +0PP) Will: +9 (+4 Wis, +5PP)Ultimate Save SKILLS 32R = 8PP Acrobatics 0 (+10/+1) Handle Animal 0 (-) Intimidation 0 (+18/+4) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 6 (+10) Knowledge (Streetwise) 11 (+15) Languages 4 (English [Native], French, Italian, Latin, Spanish) Medicine 11 (+15) Notice 0 (+18/+4) Ride 0 (-) Search 0 (+18/+4) Sense Motive 0 (+18/+4) Stealth 0 (+20/+1) FEATS 4PP Benefit (Legally Deceased) Interpose Jack of All Trades Ultimate Save (Will) Enhanced: Attack Focus (Melee) 6 Dodge Focus 6 Evasion 2 Hide In Plain Sight Takedown Attack 2 EQUIPMENT 7PP = 35EP The Twilight Lodge (Headquarters) [39/40EP = 8PP, 8PP from Dead Head] Power Level: 14 Size: Large Exterior (500ft, Mansion) / Huge Interior (1,000ft, Castle) [3EP] Toughness: 10 [1EP] (Descriptors: Magically Warded and Ectoplasm-Reinforced Structure) Features: [35EP] Communications (Feats: Dimensional 3 [Any/All]) (Descriptors: Interdimensional Ghost-Phone) Concealed 3 (+20 DC) (Descriptors: Magical Perception Filter, Unholy Aura) Defense System 2 (Descriptors: Ghosts, Zombies) Dimensional Portal (Hells) Dual Size (Descriptors: Interdimensional Structure) Feature: Secret Sewer Entrance Fire Prevention System Garage Gym Holding Cells 2 (Toughness 15, Nullify 10) (Descriptors: Magically Warded and Ectoplasm-Reinforced Dungeon) Library Living Space 2 (Masterwork) Personnel (Descriptors: Undead Servants) Pool Powers 7 (196PP) Power System (Descriptors: Hellfire Furnace) Security System 3 (DC30) (Descriptors: Magical Wards) Self-Repairing (Descriptors: Ectoplasm-Infused Structure, Undead Servants) Workshop (Artificer/Ritualist) Powers: [PL14 x 2 = 28PP per rank, x7 ranks = 174/196PP] Concealment 3 (ESP effects, Mental-type senses, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Limited [Observers outside the clubhouse can use ESP effects and Mental-type senses to perceive the exterior of the clubhouse, but not the interior, and vice versa], Permanent) [3PP] Features 1 (Temporal Inertia) [1PP] Immunity 1 (Mister Strix's Vampiric Aura) [1PP] Nullify 10 (All Insubstantial, Super-Movement [Dimensional Travel], and Teleport effects of any descriptor, Extras: Action 3 [Reaction], Effortless, Range [Perception], Flaws: Limited [Only counters attempts to enter or exit the clubhouse]) [62PP] Psychomancy 23 (46PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 3) [49PP] Base Power: Mind Reading 10 (Extras: Action [Standard], Mental, Flaws: Limited [Probe], Feats: Subtle) [11PP] Alternate Power: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area [General, Burst], Mental, Selective, Flaws: Limited [Fear], Feats: Progression [Area Size] 3 [500ft radius]) [33PP] Alternate Power: Illusion 10 (Sense Types: All, Extras: Selective, Flaws: Phantasm, Feats: Progression [Area Size] 6 [500ft radius]) [46PP] Alternate Power: Teleport 10 (Extras: Duration 2 [Continuous, no action needed to keep portals open], Portal, Flaws: Action 2 [Standard Action to open or close a portal], Limited [Short-Range Jumps, 1,000ft], Limited [To/From points inside the building], Feats: Change Direction, Insidious, Progression [Portal Size] 2 [25ft], Subtle) [25PP] Super-Senses 13 (Normal Vision, Extras: Counters Concealment, Counters Illusion, Counters Obscure [All Descriptors], Penetrates Concealment, Flaws: Limited [Inside the building]) [7PP] Transform 10 (Memory Alteration, Extras: Action 3 [Reaction], Alternate Save [Will], Duration [Continuous, Lasting], Mental, Range [Perception], Flaws: Limited [Memory alteration is limited to erasing or distorting memories of the clubhouse interior], Limited [The clubhouse will only alter a target's memory when they are leaving the building], Feats: Subtle) [51PP] POWERS 185PP Descriptors (All Powers): Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead Side Bar: Vampire Weaknesses (Limited, Power Loss) Concealment 8 (All Auditory, Radio, and Visual type senses, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Limited [Machines], Permanent) [8PP] (Descriptors: Unholy Aura) Enhanced Dexterity 16 (Drawbacks: Power Loss [Vampire Weaknesses, Frequency: Uncommon]) [15PP] (Descriptors: Superhuman Agility, Superhuman Speed) Enhanced Feats 17 (Attack Focus [Melee] 6, Dodge Focus 6, Evasion 2, Hide In Plain Sight, Takedown Attack 2, Drawbacks: Power Loss [Vampire Weaknesses, Frequency: Uncommon]) [16PP] (Descriptors: Superhuman Agility, Superhuman Speed) Enhanced Skills 68 (Acrobatics 1, Intimidation 14, Notice 14, Search 14, Sense Motive 14, Stealth 11, Drawbacks: Power Loss [Vampire Weaknesses, Frequency: Uncommon]) [16PP] (Descriptors: Super-Senses, Unholy Aura) Features 3 (Deathly Aura*; Touch does not leave prints; Wounds do not bleed) [3PP] (Descriptors: Unholy Aura) *See "Death Powers" in Power Profiles. Healing 1 (Extras: Action 4 [Reaction], Affects Objects, Total; Flaws: Limited [Objects], Personal, Source [Blood]) [5PP] (Descriptors: Regeneration) Immunity 30 (Fortitude effects) [30PP] Impervious Toughness 9 (Flaws: Limited [Vampire Weaknesses inflict Penetrating damage]) [5PP] (Descriptors: Regeneration, Superhuman Resilience) Protection 9 [9PP] (Descriptors: Superhuman Resilience) Regeneration 14 (Recovery 14 [+9, Recovers over time like a living creature], Feats: Regrowth) [15PP] Regeneration 22 (Recovery Rate: Injured 6 [no rest], Disabled 8 [no rest], Resurrection 8 [1 round], Flaws: Limited [Vampire Weaknesses inflict Incurable damage; Requires outside aid to Resurrect if decapitated, staked through the heart, incinerated, dissolved, or disintegrated]) [11PP] Super-Movement 1 (Trackless) [2PP] (Descriptors: Unholy Aura) Super-Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling, Drawbacks: Power Loss [Vampire Weaknesses, Frequency: Uncommon]) [1PP] Super-Senses 11 (Acute Analytical Tracking Smell/Taste, Darkvision, Microscopic Vision, Postcognition [Flaws: Medium {Blood}], Ultra-Hearing, Drawbacks: Power Loss [Vampire Weaknesses, Frequency: Uncommon]) [8PP] Vampire Power 19 (38PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4, Drawbacks: Power Loss [Vampire Weaknesses, Frequency: Uncommon]) [41PP] Base Power: [12 + 16 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 38PP] Drain Constitution 9 (Extras: Linked [Mind Reading], Flaws: Limited [1 rank per round], Requires Grapple, Feats: Insidious, Slow Fade 4 [1 hour], Subtle) [9PP] (Additional Descriptors: Blood Drain) Mind Reading 9 (Extras: Action [Standard], Linked [Drain], Flaws: Range 2 [Touch], Requires Grapple) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Blood Divination) Enhanced Strength 16 [16PP] Leaping 3 (x10, Running Long Jump: 190ft) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Strength) Speed 3 (50MPH, 500ft per Move Action) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Speed) Super-Strength 2 (Lifting Strength: 38, Heavy Load: 4,800 lbs. [2.4 tons]) [4PP] Alternate Power: [9 + 16 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 38PP] Autofire Strength 9 [9PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Speed) Enhanced Strength 16 [16PP] Incurable Strength Damage (Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Variable Descriptor [Piercing and/or Slashing damage; Claws and/or Fangs], Drawbacks: Lethal) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Claws, Fangs) Leaping 3 (x10, Running Long Jump: 190ft) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Strength) Speed 3 (50MPH, 500ft per Move Action) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Speed) Super-Strength 2 (Lifting Strength: 38, Heavy Load: 4,800 lbs. [2.4 tons]) [4PP] Alternate Power: [10 + 16 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 36PP] Concealment 10 (All Non-Mental type senses, Flaws: Phantasm, Feats: Selective, Drawbacks: Progression [Counter Rank / Save DC] 1 [-1 = Rank 9 / DC19]) [10PP] (Additional Descriptors: Hypnosis, Mind Control, Psychic Invisibility) Enhanced Strength 16 [16PP] Leaping 3 (x10, Running Long Jump: 190ft) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Strength) Speed 3 (50MPH, 500ft per Move Action) [3PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Speed) Super-Strength 2 (Lifting Strength: 38, Heavy Load: 4,800 lbs. [2.4 tons]) [4PP] Alternate Power: [10 + 23 = 33PP] Concealment 10 (All Non-Mental type senses, Flaws: Phantasm, Feats: Selective, Drawbacks: Progression [Counter Rank / Save DC] 1 [-1 = Rank 9 / DC19]) [10PP] (Additional Descriptors: Hypnosis, Mind Control, Psychic Invisibility) Flight 3 (50MPH, 500ft per Move Action, Extras: Linked [Immunity, Insubstantial], Feats: Subtle) [7PP] (Additional Descriptors: Mist Form) Immunity 2 (Critical Hits, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Linked [Flight, Insubstantial]) [4PP] Insubstantial 2 (Extras: Duration [Continuous], Linked [Flight, Immunity]) [12PP] Alternate Power: [37PP] (Additional Descriptors: Hypnotic Eyes) Mind Control 9 (Extras: Conscious, Duration [Sustained, Lasting], Linked [Transform], Mental, Flaws: Distracting, Sense-Dependent [Visual], Feats: Subtle) [19PP] Transform 9 (Memory Alteration, Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Duration [Continuous, Lasting], Linked [Mind Control], Mental, Range [Perception], Flaws: Distracting, Sense-Dependent [Visual], Feats: Subtle) [18PP] DRAWBACKS -14PP Vulnerability ("Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy" effects, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-1PP] Vulnerability ("Fire" effects, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-2PP] Vulnerability ("Silver" effects, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-1PP] Weakness (Daylight, Frequency: Very Common, Intensity: Moderate [Cumulative -1 Drain on Toughness, Destroyed when Toughness reaches -6], Time: 1/round) [-8PP] Weakness (Healing effects without Descriptors which identify them as being "Evil", "Unholy", or otherwise beneficial to the "Undead" do not work on him, even if they have the "Affects Objects" extra, and they also inflict Damage of equal rank; Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Moderate, Time: Instant) [-2PP] Abilities (18) + Combat (12) + Saving Throws (5) + Skills (8) + Feats (4) + Powers (185) – Drawbacks (14) = 218/218 Power Points ATTACK RANGE SAVING THROW EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC24 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Blood Drain Touch/Grapple DC19 Fortitude* Drain Constitution* Opposed Will vs +9 Mind Reading Claws/Fangs Touch DC24 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical, Lethal, Incurable) Hypnotic Eyes Perception (Visually Sense-Dependent) Opposed Will vs +9** Mind Controlled DC19 Will Transformed (Memory Alteration) Psychic Invisibility Personal DC19 Will*** Total Concealment from all non-Mental type senses *This saving throw is not Staged, because he can only drain 1 Constitution rank per round, regardless of the margin by which the victim failed their save. **Because the two Linked effects target the same saving throw (Will), the victim makes one saving throw and compares it against the DC for both effects. The Transform effect has a static DC, but the Mind Control effect has a DC determined by a power check, so it is possible that the victim will successfully save against one of the linked effects but fail to save against the other one. ***Creatures with Intelligence 0 are unaffected. Creatures with Intelligence 1+ only get a saving throw if he does something to draw attention to himself. Machines with Intelligence 0 are also unaffected, but he has a separate, permanent Concealment effect against all Auditory, Radio, and Visual-type machine senses.

GM The house was both "there", and "not there". The house physically existed, or, at least, it seemed to. There were pipes and cables connecting it to the rest of Bedlam City's infrastructure. But it was a blank spot on every map. There were no utility bills, no tax assessments, nothing on a scrap of paper in any office that Gremlin could break into or a single file in any database that L0vel@ce could hack open which proved that the house existed. No one Hitter asked knew anything about it, no matter how nice or how hard he asked them. And the investigation was complicated by the fact that all three of them kept having difficulty remembering that they were conducting an investigation in the first place. The house just kept slipping their minds. When they finally made the trek across the river to Greely Point to view the house in person, they had trouble looking directly at it. They stood in one spot for several minutes as their attention kept wandering away from it. The few people they saw walking around the neighborhood in the warm summer night seemed to look everywhere but at the house, even as they crossed the street to avoid it. Some were walking their dogs, and the dogs barked and growled and whimpered at the house, but their owners barely reacted. Hitter in particular was distracted with thoughts of how close they were to the Gorganzua syndicate's territory, a group who wouldn't look kindly on an Asian, a Latina, and a one of Scarpia's soldiers, retired or not. The house was surrounded by other mansions just like it, except the others were smaller, and the trees and grass near those houses were still alive.

GM Post Bedlam Harbor. Tuesday, May 21st, 2019. 8:35 am. You found all sorts of useful junk floating in Lake Michigan; wood, bottles, bits of plastic. Stafford T. Phillips, mostly known as 'Relic' to his few friends, had been plying his trade on these waters for decades, collecting these treasures in his little jet boat, the Eartha Kitt, then selling them for scrap, or to several local artists who worked in found materials. A few hours every day with his net and his crook was usually all he needed to maintain his simple lifestyle. This morning, Relic was poking around the eddies that caught junk by the base of Pier 7, a favorite spot of his. He was leaning over to snag a particularly promising looking mass with his crook, when he realized it was a body; he only saw a quick flash of wetsuit and a floating cloud of hair, but that was enough to chill his blood and twist his stomach. "Holy s###," he cried out. "Holy s###!" Somehow in all his years of scrap hunting, he'd never come across a body before, and now that he had, he had no idea what to do. In a panic, he raised his voice as loud as he could to see if someone nearby could help him. "Hey! Hey! We've got a body down here! A human body!"

So over here I was talking about moving Dead Head out to Bedlam. But then I was reminded of something: Bedlam's got a cap of PL 10. And right now, he's at PL 12/15 (PL 12 for offense, fully Toughness-shifted PL 15 for defense). Time for some changes! How to explain it? Maybe his long absence weakened him some physically, but he made up for it by learning some new tricks.

So I've noticed that Merge is low enough to get into Bedlam, so it seems a good enough opportunity to try something out. I'm thinking two threads, with a couple of people each, that looks at the general (mortal) corruption. One will be street level around a series of strange fires in one of the poor districts of the city, the other will involve the upper echelons of the people running Bedlam. The first part is more traditional, whilst the second will involve a little undercover work. Both will be around the same time, so I'm afraid you won't be able to do both. Anyone interested?

Playing City of Heroes again reminded me of the Midnighters / Midnight Club / Midnight Squad. It's the BPRD, but as an NGO. This passage in the lore caught my eye: Unlike many of the other hero organizations that have blossomed and then faded in Paragon City's past, the Midnight Squad has endured in one form or another since the 1920's. This amazing record of success stems entirely from the fact that the Squad has never been a formal team of heroes like the Freedom Phalanx or Dawn Patrol. Instead it is more like a very exclusive private club, the only requirement for which is that you know a great deal about magic and the occult. Members come and go, but the club remains. I think there's something to that. In this PBP format, at least, attempts to organize Justice League or Avengers style "teams" have met with limited success at best. But an affiliation organized more along the lines of a traditional gentlemens club, working mens club, or similar fraternal organization, might work better. The idea I'm brainstorming is a private club for Bedlam City vigilantes, probably with an emphasis on the supernatural ones (whom I believe make up the majority, as befitting a town that's basically on top of a Buffy-style Hellmouth), but not exclusive to them, based out of a central location which can act as a meeting place, temporary safehouse (for the heroes or their guests), and/or permanent residence for one or more of the heroes. The building could also act as a centralized, collaborative library, workshop, and storage space. The club members would have a vague obligation to provide aid and hospitality to other members in need, which would provide a ready-made excuse for any members to thread with each other. Maybe the club would actually exist on paper as a 501c7 tax-exempt member-funded social club, or maybe not. I could see reasons for both approaches. Mechanically, I assume the building would be a Headquarters which I'd pay for; other PCs could contribute Equipment ranks if they wanted to, but I don't think it would be necessary. Maybe members could spend 1PP on a Feature representing access to the club. The descriptor could just be their name on the rolls, or a physical object, or even an invisible magic tattoo which only appears when they want to enter the club or otherwise identify themselves as members. Maybe the building could have the Sealed feature, and thanks to protective wards, it would only be physically accessible to Feature-having members and their explicit guests. Maybe the HQ could also have features like Personnel, Self-Repairing, and Defense Systems, represented by ghosts and/or revenants (serving voluntarily, of course - maybe damned souls who signed up to work off karmic debts and escape Hell?). Being a literal haunted house would be very on-brand. Strix is doing the Spawn thing right now, penniless and squatting in an abandoned house, so I'd have to come up with some reason for him to come into money, and possibly get himself a consensual Renfield. I'm open to suggestions on that front. Has the name "Midnighters" or some variant been used on this board before? I've seen it pop up in enough places that I don't remember.

'Eileen Lake' needed a job, and fast. She'd been sleeping curled up in a ball on the floor of John Smith's hotel room for a week, and she felt awful about it. So John made a few calls and pulled a few strings, and found out that WORK IN PROGRESS

So my new Bedlam PC the Eel just got approved (many thanks, Fox and AA!), and I had an idea for intro thread, if someone would be interested in running it. The idea is Eel washes up on the shore or at the docks of Bedlam, with no memory of how she got there or anything really other than her 'name'. Disoriented, she may wander around on her own or be discovered by a favorite PC or NPC. I'm pretty open as to how this goes, or even how many folks are involved, though I guess limiting it to two other characters seems reasonable. Let me know if this is something you'd be interested in!

The Eel Power Level: 7 (105/105PP) Tradeoffs: -3 Toughness/+3 Defense Unspent PP: 0 In Brief: Amnesiac former Labyrinth agent with induced mutations Identity: Unknown Birthplace: UK? Occupation: Currently unemployed Affiliations: The Labyrinth (former) Family: Unknown Description: Age: Mid-twenties? Gender: Female Height: 5’6” Weight: 125 lbs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown with blonde highlights The young woman known only as 'the Eel' is a slender, athletic woman of medium height. Her hair is cut short in a practical pixie bob, and she wears no jewelry. Her movements are graceful and confident, and she speaks in a rather posh, Received Pronunciation accent. The Eel wears a slick, full body suit, which she calls her 'Eelskin'; it not only provides her an element of protection, but it responds to her chameleonic coloration, as well as offering others some protection from her secreted toxin. It also has a built-in zipable pouch that holds small items. It is currently the only garment she owns. History: Personality & Motivation: Powers & Tactics: There are very few places the Eel can't get into if she's really determined, as she's extremely sneaky and hard to pin down. Unfortunately she is now much more sensitive to heat, and the befuddling toxin she secretes can't be turned off. The Eel is built for infiltration and information gathering, and while she can handle herself in a fight, she's far from a heavy hitter. However her toxin is very effective at making people more pliable if not outright unconscious, ideal for incapacitating security guards and the like. Complications: I Don't Remember, I Dont Recall: The Eel is currently suffering from retrograde amnesia, with no memory of events prior to washing up in Bedlam. This leaves her very vulnerable in a very dangerous place. I Think I Used To Be Awful: Sometimes Eel will catch a glimpse of her previous life, or have an instinctive, hostile reaction to stimuli, and she doesn't like what she sees. Sounds A Bit Posh, Don't She: The Eel apparently comes from an upper class English family, and therefore speaks in a rather RP accent; this doesn't always go over so well with the 'hoi polloi', especially if they're from the UK. You're A Bloody Ghost: The Eel has no ID, credit cards or cellphone, and doesn't show up in any databases; this makes living in the modern world very difficult. Abilities: 2 + 6 + 12 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 34PP Strength: 12 (+1) Constitution: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 22 (+6) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 6 + 6 = 12PP Initiative: +6 (+6 Dex) Attack: +3, +7 Melee (+3 Base, +4 Attack Focus), +3 Ranged Grapple: +19/+21 (+7 Melee, +6 Grappling Finesse, +6 Elongation [+2 if using Addl. Limbs]) Defense: +10 (+3 Base, +10 Dodge Focus) Knockback: Saves: 0 + 4 + 1 + 4 = 9PP Toughness +4 (+3 Con, +1 'Eelskin' suit) Fortitude +7 (+3 Con, +4) Reflex +7 (+6 Dex, +1) Will +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 40R = 10PP Acrobatics 2 (+8) Bluff 1 (+5) Diplomacy 1 (+5) Disable Device 4 (+5) Escape Artist 0 (+6, +12 w/ Elongation) Gather Information 1 (+5) Knowledge (Streetwise) 4 (+5) Notice 6 (+8) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Stealth 4 (+10) Swim 11 (+12) Feats: 4 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 16PP Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Benefit: Ambidexterity (Hands and feet) Dodge Focus 7 Equipment 1 Grappling Finesse Improved Grab Improved Grapple (free w/ Additional Limbs) Improved Pin Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Equipment: 1PP = 5EP Binoculars 1EP 'Eelskin' protective suit 1EP Handcuffs 1EP Lockpicks 1EP Multi-tool 1EP Powers: 2 + 4 + 7 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 5 = 30PP (All powers have the Mutant descriptor) Additional Limbs 2 (Both Legs) [2PP] Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses, Flaws: Blending) [4PP] Drain Wisdom 7 (Extras: Poison, Flaws: Permanent) [7PP] Elongation 6 (250 feet) [6PP] Immunity 3 (environmental condition: Cold, environmental condition: Pressure, suffocation: Drowning) [3PP] Super-Senses 3 (Accurate Ultrasonic Hearing)[Sonar] Swimming 5 (Speed: 50 mp) [5PP] Drawbacks: (-6) = -6PP Vulnerability (Heat Attacks, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate [+50% DC]) [-3PP] Weakness (Hot environments, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate, cumulative -1 penalty on all checks, attack rolls and Defense per 20 minutes) [-3PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 16 Tough Damage Drain Touch DC 17 Fort Drain Abilities 34 + Skills 10 (40 ranks) + Feats 16 + Powers 30 + Combat 12 + Saves 9 + Drawbacks 6 = 105 points

In Brief: Instead of becoming The Huntress, Helena Bertinelli becomes Spawn. Character: Mister Strix Power Level: 13 (Built as PL8) Tradeoffs: None Power Points: 206/216PP Unspent Points: 10 Alternate Identity: Gaetano “Guy” Giordano (Deceased) Identity: Secret. The public is not aware that either Gaetano Giordano or Mister Strix are undead, or that they are the same person. Legal Status: Deceased USA citizen with no criminal record. Birthplace: Bedlam City, Wisconsin, USA Base of Operations: Bedlam City Residence: An abandoned, boarded-up house on Ash Street. The only sign of habitation is his casket sitting in the basement. The entrance to the basement is blocked with heavy debris. He accesses the house and the basement with Mist Form. Occupation: None Affiliations: Father Cesare Messina (Retired Catholic priest, Friend) Family: Doctor Adriana Aparo (Widow), Luna Giordano née Gallo (Mother), Massimo “Mo” Giordano (Father), Matteo “Matt” Giordano (Older Brother), Flora Russo née Giordano (Older Sister), Rafael Giordano (Younger Brother, Deceased). Matt and Flora are both married, with children. Adriana has re-married, and she has a child with her new husband. DESCRIPTION Age: 37 (Date of Birth: 1981) Apparent Age: 31 (Date of Death: 2012) Gender: Male Ethnicity: (Sicilian) Italian-American Caucasian Height: 6’2” Weight: 180 lbs. Hair: Black Eyes: Black His superhero costume consists of a white skintight jumpsuit, mask, and cape. The chest of the jumpsuit is emblazoned with a white crescent moon set against a black circle. The edges of the cape and gloves are cut with notches suggestive of the feathers on a bird's wings. The gloves are fingerless. The mask covers his entire head except for his jaw and the lower half of his face. It has a shape similar to the feathers on the head of a horned owl. The bottom of the mask comes to a hook with a slight downward curve resembling a raptor's beak. Overall, it looks like a photo-negative version of the original Raven’s costume. Out of costume, a fan of old movies might compare him to a young (and underslept, and possibly ill) Lee Van Cleef or Basil Rathbone. His flesh is unnaturally pale, and always cold to the touch, regardless of any physical activity or environmental factors. When visible, his veins appear to be black. His build is slender. He was never bulky in life, and when he transformed, most of his fat burned away, and most of his internal organs shriveled and atrophied. His face is all sharp angles, with high, prominent cheekbones, a large nose, and a narrow, pointed chin. His hair is dark, and perpetually messy. (Since he has no reflection in mirrors, even if he had much reason to style his hair, he wouldn't be able to see what he was doing.) He has thick eyebrows, perpetually arched over eyes set deep in their sockets, eyes which always seem to be surrounded by shadows, regardless of the angle or intensity of light in the area. The irises of his eyes are completely black, indistinguishable from the pupils. The center of his eye is one solid black disk. His hands are slightly larger in proportion to the rest of his body than they should be, the fingers slightly longer. His voice is a deep baritone, surprisingly deep for someone of his size. When he feeds or uses his powers, his appearance becomes even more overtly monstrous. His veins bulge and darken. The blackness at the center of his eyes spreads to cover the entire eyeball. His mouth, canine teeth, and tongue all double in size. His voice deepens by at least a full octave, and echoes independent of the local acoustics. When he growls, he sounds like a tiger. HISTORY Guy Giordano’s life ended just as it was about to begin. Gaetano "Guy" Giordano was born the third of four children in an Italian-American family living in Stark Hill. The family all attended the local Catholic school and church. His mother was a librarian turned homemaker, and his father was a "made man" in the Scarpia crime family. Guy was closest with his younger brother, Raphael, and his mother, whom they both took after, being more gentle and scholastically inclined than their brutish father and older brother or their scheming "queen bee" older sister. When they grew up, Guy became a doctor, while Raphael became a priest. Guy went to college and medical school in Chicago and Detroit, and earned a doctorate in emergency medicine alongside Adriana Aparo, his fellow student. After they completed their residency, they got engaged, spent a year working with Doctors Without Borders in Libya and the Congo, then moved back to Bedlam, got married, and bought a house. They were just about to start trying for their first child when Guy got sick and died. Unbeknownst to his family, Guy's younger brother Raphael wasn't just a priest, but a Vatican-sponsored monster-hunter. Raphael had destroyed a powerful elder vampire, and the even older and more powerful vampire who had created that elder took his revenge and replaced the lost member of his "family" by killing Raphael's favorite brother and turning him into a vampire. Raphael was no match for the vampire, who only ever identified himself as "Johann." He ambushed Raphael at the cemetery where Guy was buried. Guy dug himself out of his own grave, emerging in a mindless feeding-frenzy, and Johann made sure that Raphael was caught helpless in Guy's path. Guy drained his little brother dry. After Guy's bloodlust faded and he cried out in anguish over what he'd done, Johann wished him a taunting "Happy Birthday" and stabbed him in the heart with a wooden stake, putting him in a coma. Then he locked Guy's unconscious body in a box and left it there for five years. When Johann finally took the stake out of his heart, Guy woke up, but he had no idea how much time had passed. He ran home, only to learn that his wife lived there with her new husband and their child. He fled the scene before anyone spotted him. Johann laughed, taunted him with another "Happy Birthday," and vanished. Guy spent the next year living in the shadows of Bedlam. He spent days sleeping in sewers, abandoned basements, and hastily dug holes in the dirt, rarely staying in the same place twice. He spent the nights spying on his family and his widow, and through a mix of research and trial and error, figuring out how much time had passed, what had happened to him and what he could do. When he drank Raphael's blood, he absorbed his memories, so he knew that he was a “vampire,” but that could mean a hundred different things. He spent many nights at local libraries, catching up on recent history and researching his “condition.” An academic at heart, he felt “at home” there, and since he could ignore alarms and surveillance equipment, hypnotize guards, and slip through locked doors as a cloud of mist, he had the run of the place. When he needed blood, he would grab sewer rats, or hypnotize the employees at the less ethical animal “shelters,” so he could drain the cats and dogs already scheduled for execution. At first, he made the mistake of trying to subsist entirely on animal blood. But he learned the hard way that the inferior quality (for his purposes) of animal blood would only satisfy his undead body for so long. After the first time he snapped and almost killed a random person on the street, he made an effort to regularly infuse his diet with human blood. He limited his human feeding to whatever criminals and corrupt cops he could find, often guys he recognized as his father’s employees and associates. At one point, he decided that he needed to be destroyed, and even if suicide was a sin, the greater sin would be continuing to live as a monster. So he fought through his instinct to sleep during the day, and he tried to walk out into the sun. He was terribly burned, but he discovered that his undead body had a powerful instinct for self-preservation, one he could not overcome. He fled the light, slept deeper and woke up thirstier than ever before, and by the time he regained the capacity for rational thought, he was standing over the half-drained body of what was now the second random person he had almost murdered. After that debacle, he stopped trying to kill himself. During a chance encounter near the end of his first year as a vampire, he saved the life of a 70-year-old retiree and "supply priest," Father Cesare Messina. Father Messina quickly became his friend and confidant, the only source of human interaction for him since his death. Father Messina felt that it was his duty to help Guy figure out God's plan for him, even if that just meant praying for him and chatting with him over coffee. Father Messina reminded him that the best way to heal one’s own pain was to help others with theirs. As they spoke, an idea formed between the two of them. Guy could do what everyone with extraordinary abilities and a secret to protect did to help make the world better: He could put on a mask, and become a superhero, “Like Raven, that guy in Freedom City.” Father Messina was an ornithology enthusiast, so when the subject of superheroes came up, Raven's was the first name that came to his mind. Of the decorations in Father Messina's home, the pictures and sculptures of owls outnumbered the Christian imagery by at least ten to one. With little prompting from Guy, Father Messina practically gushed about how owls were found all over the world, in all kinds of environments, and how they appear in the myths of almost every culture on the planet, usually as demons or psychopomps. Guy mentioned a local legend he’d heard in the Congo about how owls hunted humans to eat their souls. That reminded Father Messina that while the more popular modern vampire myths describe them transforming into bats, in older stories, they turned into owls. Just like that, Guy knew what form his disguise should take. The tailor who would later craft it was hypnotized to misremember the job, but he was well-paid. "Mister Strix" was born. At the start of this new chapter in Guy's life, Johann reappeared, attacking him without warning and beating him almost to a second death. Then Johann laughed, taunted him with yet another "Happy Birthday," and disappeared. To Guy's surprise, he laughed too. Johann’s assault had an oddly invigorating effect on him. If Johann was still trying to break him, that meant he wasn't broken yet. His conversations with Father Messina had given him a new sense of purpose, but Johann’s beating gave him a new sense of hope. His existence might be evil, but he could still do some good with it. He might not be a doctor anymore, he wasn't going to let that stop him anymore from doing the same thing in death that he used to do in life: Try to save people. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Like any good Catholic, the primary driving force in his life has always been guilt. When he was a child, it was guilt over the apple, and the crucifixion, and not being the son his father wanted. When adolescence opened his eyes a little wider, it was guilt over who his father was and how he made his money. He became a doctor and went to war zones so that he could try to save more lives than his father had destroyed. Now it’s guilt over what he is and what he has to do. In life, he was quiet and gentle, but determined. He always tried to put others before himself. People always told him he was “a good listener.” He loved his wife. He loved his family, even if he didn't like them. He inherited his mother’s love of books, opera, traditional French and Italian cooking, and when he got older, coffee and wine. He always seemed to have his nose in a book. He’d lived in war zones, but he’d never really been in a fight. He'd never wanted to hurt anyone. In death, everything that used to define him or bring him joy has been stolen from him, and he's become a predator who leaves ruin in his wake, a danger to everyone around him. Violence now feels as natural to him as breathing used to, and the only thing that truly brings him joy anymore is sinking his fangs into another person’s neck and sucking the blood out of their veins. He hates the thing he’s been turned into, and the things who turned him into it. He’s trying to make the best of it. POWERS & TACTICS He is an unskilled brawler, relying entirely on the animal instinct and enhanced physical prowess he gained when he became a vampire. Everything he “knows” about fighting, he learned from movies and television. Popular culture is also his main source of “knowledge” about his own condition. He’s studying all the relevant history and mythology he can get his hands on, but it’s a slow process. The vampire who killed him didn’t tell him anything. Most of what he can do either comes from pure instinct, or is something he read about and decided to try that worked, either immediately or with practice. He is undead, preserved and animated by the life-consuming energy that is the pure darkness of the Schattenwelt, in a process fueled by blood magic. His undead body is far more resilient than his human body was. His skeleton is harder than stone, but just as light as human bone. His flesh feels human to the touch, but displays a resistance to cutting or puncturing more akin to silk, thick leather, or Kevlar. His body somehow metabolizes the blood he drinks to sustain his existence, keep him preserved, heal his wounds, and alter his body in ways he is only beginning to explore. He can increase his strength, speed, and agility to superhuman levels, grow claws that can shred metal and stone as if it were paper, or transform into a cloud of mist. His blood can also heal the wounds of others (a Healing power stunt off of his main array), though consuming his blood can bring unpredictable side-effects (a temporary Complication for the other character). He also has some psychic powers. He can broadcast a psychic command which forces the minds of others to ignore his presence. He can more directly hypnotize anyone who looks him in the eye, forcing them to obey all his commands and re-writing their memories. When he pierces a living creature's skin with his fangs and sucks out their blood, he triggers a rush of endorphins which overwhelms his victim with intense pleasure. This makes it difficult for his victim to understand what is happening or to remember it clearly after the fact. Since his blood can heal wounds, he can use his fang to cut his tongue, then lick the puncture wounds closed with the transfer of blood. This combination allows his feeding to go mostly undetected. Like a shark, he can sniff out even tiny amounts of blood from far away. The smell and taste of blood can give him the type of information about its owner that would make a crime lab jealous, and when he tastes blood, he can tap into any psychic resonance it has absorbed, experiencing the memories of its original owner like they were his own. He can see in the dark because he is Darkness. When he makes a scary face and roars, hardened soldiers will run, hide, and lose bladder control, because he’s giving them a glimpse of the literal Abyss, and when they look into his eyes, they don’t just see “darkness,” but “The Darkness.” He’s also learned the hard way that he has just about every quirk and weakness that’s ever been attributed to vampires in folklore. He doesn't have to worry about running water or being invited into a home, but that’s about it. COMPLICATIONS Achilles Heels & Weaksauce Weaknesses: Certain plants, objects, and symbols of mystical and religious significance will repel him, interfere with his movement, and cause him pain and injury. He cannot stand them, even if they were a source of joy or comfort in his mortal life. Daylight Fire Garlic: All parts and states of the garlic plant affect him: The flower and the bulb, whether living, freshly harvested, or even ground into dry powder. Unlike most plants, garlic never withers or dies merely from being in his presence. Holy Symbols & Blessed Items: Holy symbols and items affect him at the GM’s discretion, on a case by case basis. Generally, the holy symbol must belong to a “Good” deity, or a deity whose portfolio includes concepts such as “Healing,” “Life,” “Light, or “The Sun.” Foods and liquids which have been “blessed,” such as holy water, or which have ritual significance, such as the wine and wafers used in Communion, will also affect him. Holy symbols and items will affect him even if he, or the character wearing or wielding them, do not believe in (or even know of) the religion with which they are associated. However, if he attempts to force his way past the holy object and some sort of opposed check is required, a wielder who knows, believes in, or reveres the deity associated with the holy item will have a better chance of winning the opposed check than a wielder who is ignorant, skeptical, or blasphemous. Jade Mirrors: He has no reflection. Like machines, mirrors do not register his presence. If he can exert enough willpower to stare into a mirror, then a vague, blurry semblance of his visage may briefly appear, only to vanish as soon as he turns away. This effort may cause the mirror to crack, or even to shatter. Mirrors also sometimes break even if he briefly glances at them, or passes by them without peek. Salt: Pure salt will affect him, but saltwater will not, nor will food with a high salt content. Silver Wolf’s Bane: See “Garlic,” above. Everything described there applies to wolf’s bane as well. Wooden Stakes: He can be incapacitated if his heart is impaled with a piece of wood. It doesn't matter if the “stake” is made entirely of wood or not, so long as the part lodged in his heart is composed of pure, whole wood. An arrow or spear with a steel head and a wooden shaft would work, but a piece of compressed particle board would not. Wood and wooden implements do not cause him any of the fear, discomfort, or damage described below, and staking his heart is the only circumstance under which a wooden weapon will overcome his resilience or regeneration. Wood does not limit his movements, and touching it does not harm him. He already has drawbacks and flaws to account for how these items can suppress his powers, penetrate his defenses, and inflict wounds which are slow to heal, and since those traits already provided a power point discount, they do not count as complications. However, these items can have other effects which would count as complications: He cannot stand to look directly at these items. As soon as he sees them, the GM can force him to make a Will save against an Emotion Control (Fear) effect, which may cause him to flee the scene entirely. He cannot knowingly or willingly attempt to touch any of these items, or even to advance to within touch-range of them. He must stay at least 10 feet away. (If the item is hidden from him, then he can unknowingly approach it or touch it.) The GM can force him to save against Damage and/or some other attack effect if he touches any of these items or their shadows, or if the ingests them, or the blood of someone else who has recently ingested them. If another character wears or wields any of these items, then he cannot attempt to physically touch them, or anyone behind them. (As reflected with his Power Loss drawbacks, he also cannot bite them or use his mind control powers on them.) He cannot attempt to directly remove or destroy the items. Another character who wields these items can advance toward him, forcing him to withdraw. If he is bound with these items, or with bonds infused or plated with these materials, then he cannot untie or break those bonds, no matter how objectively flimsy they may be. He may not even be able to lift them. (As reflected with his Power Loss drawbacks, such bonds will also suppress most of his powers.) If these items are mounted on, above, or around a door, window, or other portal, then he cannot pass through that portal, even in his mist form. If these items are placed on top of the lid to a container, or tied or wrapped around it, then he cannot open that container, or enter or exit it in his mist form. If these items are arranged in a circle, then he cannot cross that circle. He cannot step over it, and he cannot fly over it in his mist form. A circle around another character can protect that character from him, while a circle around him can trap him. He can attempt to overcome these limitations, forcing his way past these items, or even forcing himself to touch them, with a focused act of will, most likely represented by a Will save. If these items are being wielded by another character, then the GM can force him and that other character to make an opposed check, most likely Charisma. This effort may cause him harm whether it is successful or not, so he may also have to save against Damage or some other attack effect. If his act of will is successful, then he can temporarily overcome the limits to his freedom of movement, and these items may be damaged, or even destroyed. They may bend, crack, shatter, melt, or burst into flame. Addiction (Blood): He doesn't just need blood. He wants it. He loves it. It is as much his drug as it is his sustenance. The GM can decide that he's thirsty, give him a Hero Point, and then give him a circumstance penalty on a check to represent how difficult it is for him to focus on other tasks when he’d rather be drinking blood. When blood is available, the GM can give him a Hero Point, and then force him to make a Will save to resist the urge to lap it up or suck it down. He can also cause Addiction complications for other characters. They can become addicted to the euphoria of being fed upon by him, or they can become addicted to consuming his supernatural blood. Chill of Undeath: Since his Environment Control (Cold) power has the "Uncontrolled" flaw, it does not generate Hero Points for him. However, his cold aura may cause complications for other characters. Enemies: Archnemesis Dad: His father is a captain in the Scarpia family syndicate. His surviving brother works with him, as does his sister's husband. When he was alive, he refused to participate in his father’s criminal activities, but he didn't interfere with them either. When he died, so did his ambivalence. Now he’s determined to dismantle everything his family helped build. Burn The Witch!: The secret monster-hunting arm of the Catholic Church knows that his brother killed a vampire, and that soon after, he and his brother were both killed in circumstances which sounded suspiciously like retaliatory vampire attacks. It’s been a few years since then, but if they hear about anything that sounds like a vampire in Bedlam, they will follow up. I Hate You, Vampire Dad!: “Enemy” isn't quite the right word. His sire, "Johann" (real name unknown), is working toward a long-term goal of making him part of Johann's "family." To Johann, that means an unholy combination of child, friend, and lover. Unfortunately for him, Johann doesn't think he’ll realize his potential as a vampire until his human spirit is broken and stripped away from him by a conga line of trauma and disappointment, a process Johann expects to take at least a hundred years. Johann shows up once a year like clockwork to beat him within an inch of his life as a celebration of his "birthday" as a vampire. In addition, Johann will, seemingly at random, send various minions, pawns, or even other “children,” to torment him in some way. They might attack him directly, provide aid to his enemies, or harm something or someone he cares about (including Bedlam City itself). Electromagnetic Ghosts: Since his Obscure power has the "Uncontrolled" flaw, it does not generate Hero Points for him. However, his aura of interference with mechanical senses may cause complications for other characters. Enemy To All Living Things: While machines seem to simply ignore him (as represented with his Permanent Concealment from them), nature seems to actively resent him. Animals universally hate and fear him, unless they have consumed his blood, or are under the effect of some sort of mind control power. They will flee from him, attempt to scare him away, and/or attack him. He automatically fails any Handle Animal or Ride skill checks. (See, also, “Walking Wasteland,” below.) Glamour Failure: He has quirks which either explicitly reveal him to be a supernatural creature, or at least create a subconscious “Uncanny Valley” effect, making humans deeply uncomfortable in his presence. The air is unnaturally quiet around him because of all the normal sounds his body doesn't make, and he lacks several signs of life that most observers would take for granted. The GM may give him penalties to checks involving social interaction, or declare such checks to be impossible. Indifferent or even Friendly NPCs could turn Hostile, attacking or fleeing. Many of those features are already mentioned in "Description," above, and others are described in other Complication entries. He never casts a shadow, regardless of the level or angle of light in the surrounding area. His hands and fingers appear to have normal friction ridges, yet his touch never leaves prints. His footsteps never leave tracks, or make a sound. He does not breathe, cough, sneeze, or yawn. (This is particularly noticeable in winter.) His heart does not beat. He has no pulse of any kind. He does not sweat. When he is wounded, his skin does not bruise, and his cuts do not bleed. He will only bleed if decapitated or staked through the heart. His blood is so dark that it mostly appears to be black, only showing red when light hits it at just the right angle. If he cries, the tears are blood. His body does not age. If viewed with Infra-Vision, his body always appears to be colder than his surrounding environment, no matter what that environment may be. Most machines seem to ignore him. He has no reflection in mirrors, or any other reflective surface. He does not show up in photographs or on video cameras, film or digital. His voice cannot be heard in auditory recordings, or through microphones, telephones (cellular or land-line), or radios. He doesn't show up as a blip on any kind of radar or sonar. He can walk freely through the laser, infra-red, and microwave beams used by motion detectors without them registering his presence. Automatic doors won’t even open for him. A gas chromatograph mass spectrometer can at least attempt to analyze samples of his tissues, and mechanical components like buttons which detect physical pressure will recognize the force his touch exerts upon them, but that seems to be the extent to which machines recognize or acknowledge him. Note: Aside from his lack of reflection, this is the result of the Permanent flaw on his Concealment against machine senses, so he should not receive any Hero Points for it. However, it may be a complication for other characters. For example, a robot or cyborg ally, whose eyes are mechanical cameras and whose ears are mechanical microphones, may receive a Hero Point in exchange for not being able to see or hear him. Heavy Sleeper: When the sun is in the sky, it is almost impossible for him to stay awake, and once he falls asleep, he stays asleep. Instead of suffering the usual -10 Notice penalty while asleep, he automatically fails Notice checks. Other characters can even lift or manipulate his body without waking him up. Nothing less than a direct attack on his body will disturb his daytime slumber. I Do Not Drink…Wine: His Immunity to Fortitude effects includes Immunity to Starvation and Thirst, but not only does he not need to eat or drink, he physically cannot. If he tries to consume food, or if he tries to drink any liquid other than blood, then he will quickly vomit it back up, along with some of his own stored blood, and the GM can also force him to save against an attack effect, like Nauseate, or even Damage. Involuntary Transformation (Berserk Rage): His undead body has instincts for predation and self-preservation more powerful than those of any living creature, and more powerful than his moral compass. When he attempts to resist those instincts, the GM can force him to make a Will save. Failure can result in a complication for him and/or for others. Starvation can cause him to be overcome with bloodlust, to the point of mindlessly attacking the next human he encounters, without caring if his prey survives the encounter or not. Potential causes of “starvation” include simply going too long without drinking blood, trying to subsist for too long on blood of low quality (animal blood, refrigerated blood bags, etc.), or depleting the blood stored in his body by using it to fuel his powers. When exposed to one of his weaknesses, especially fire or sunlight, he feels a powerful primal urge to flee from it. If he is unable to summon the willpower to endure its presence, then during his flight, he may brutally attack anyone who gets in his way, whether they meant to or not. Once he is out of danger, he may then be overcome with bloodlust, as if he were starving, as his scared inner animal seeks to re-assert control over its surroundings. Made of Evil: He is that which should not be, but is. He is a monster, an abomination, a dead thing preserved and animated with the life-consuming darkness of the Schattenwelt. Any powers which “Detect Evil” will show him as such, and any powers which “Protect From Evil” or “Smite Evil” will affect him as if he were applicably “Evil,” regardless of his actual conduct or inner sense of morality. Any power such as “Aura Vision” which can detect the presence or state of a “soul” will show his to be present, but shredded, hanging in tatters, and stained by shadows and blood. Mainlining The Monster: Some view him as a monster to be destroyed, but others see him as a resource to be exploited. His blood and body could be used as a component for countless magical spells, rituals, potions, or other items. When ingested or injected by a living creature, his blood can act as a powerful and potentially addictive drug. The specific effects vary depending on the person, the amount consumed, and the GM’s whims. It can act as a stimulant or a narcotic. It can cause euphoria, hallucinations, and/or uncharacteristically aggressive or deviant behavior. It can even heal wounds, cure diseases, or grant temporary powers, such as Enhanced physical abilities, or Immunities like Aging and Disease. It can also create a temporary psychic link, and a temporary stain or “taint” on the user’s “soul” or “aura” with a "negative resonance." Prejudice: If someone does learn that he is a vampire, or that his family is part of the Bedlam Mafia, it could cause them to mistrust him (and they might not be wrong). Conversely, if he learns that another character is also a vampire, or some other sort of undead creature, then this can be a complication for them, because his default reaction will be homicidal violence. Relationships: His wife thinks he’s dead. She’s remarried. She has children with her new husband. But he still cares about her, and by extension, her new family. He still cares about his family too, even the mobsters. He keeps tabs on all of them, and he will leap to their aid if they are in danger. Father Cesare Messina, the retired priest, is the only friend he's made since his death. He will drop everything to help Messina. But the priest’s secret association with him could cause problems for both of them. Secrets: It is not public knowledge that Gaetano Giordano is Mister Strix, or that either of them is a vampire. As far as most people know, Gaetano Giordano is still buried in his grave. Unlife: Even though he has no Constitution score and Immunity to Fortitude effects, he still needs to sleep, and he still needs “food” in the form of blood. He only gets restful sleep if he has complete shelter from sunlight, and if his resting place includes soil from his homeland. He does not need to be buried; a thin layer of dirt spread out under him is sufficient.When he drinks blood, his undead body stores that blood in his heart. His body consumes a small amount of that stored blood every night to preserve his corpse, and a greater amount to heal his wounds and fuel his powers.After a day without sleep and/or three days without blood, the GM can inflict negative conditions upon him, like Fatigued or Exhausted, cumulative penalties on certain checks, and/or temporary ability damage. The GM may allow him some sort of check to delay or lessen these effects, akin to the Constitution checks and Fortitude saves mortals can make to resist the damage caused by neglecting their physical needs.He will not be destroyed by starvation or lack of sleep, but the supernatural preservation of his body will be disrupted. At first, he will start to look sick. Then, he will begin to age. Finally, he will start to decay. Eventually, his flesh will wither away and slough off completely, leaving little more than a fanged skeleton. Eventually, he won’t have eyes or a tongue, but he will still be able to see and speak. Once he finally gets the blood and restful sleep he needs, the decay will gradually reverse. If his soft tissues have rotted away, then his bones will absorb the blood he “drinks" directly. The decay will reverse at roughly the same rate at which a mortal would recover from starvation and/or sleep deprivation.His ideal sustenance is the blood of a living human (or humanoid alien with genetic similarity sufficient to produce viable offspring with a human), taken directly from that human’s veins, ideally while the human is experiencing some sort of intense emotion. The further his feeding deviates from that ideal, the less nourishment and satisfaction he derives. He can consume blood from cold storage, so long as that stored blood would be safe to transfuse back into a living human. He cannot feed on necrotic or coagulated blood, and attempting to do so will cause him to vomit as if it were human food (see “I Do Not Drink…Wine,” above). He can feed from vertebrate animals and aliens which have “blood” (the fluids of arthropods, for example, would not work), but it is not as satisfying, or as efficient; it would take multiple units of animal blood to equal the same “nutritional content” as one unit of human blood. The blood of living supernatural creatures, such as faeries, werewolves, or dragons, on the other hand, tastes better than human blood, provides more efficient nourishment, and may also have side-effects at the GM’s discretion. Potential side-effects include addiction, inebriation, temporary insanity (hallucinations, berserk rage, etc.), and temporary Boosts to his existing powers, and temporarily gaining new powers. Depending on the individual, the blood of human mutants and mutates, powerful aliens, and, depending on their descriptors, even other vampires, may have the same effects. Walking Wasteland: Since he is infused with the life-consuming dark energy of the Schattenwelt, his very presence can be hostile to life. At his touch, or even in his passing, non-animate plants (except for garlic or wolf’s bane) may wither, or even melt or crumble into ash, while food and drink such as bread, milk, cheese, or wine (but never salt) may spoil or rot. Animals which happen to be pregnant may spontaneously miscarry. ABILITIES 20PP Strength: 26/14 (+8/+2), 36/14 Lifting (Heavy Load: 3,680 lbs. [1.84 tons] / 175 lbs.) Dexterity: 26/14 (+8/+2) Constitution: - Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 16 (+3) Charisma: 18 (+4) COMBAT 16PP Initiative: +8/+2 (+8/+2 Dex) Attack: +4, +8/+4 Melee (+4 Base, +4 Enhanced Attack Focus), +6 Claws/Fangs Grapple: +18/+6 (+8/+4 Melee Attack, +8/+2 Strength, +2 Super-Strength) Defense: +8/+4 (+4 Base, +4 Enhanced), +4/+2 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 8 Here is a new DC chart for the "Combat" section reflecting the changes: ATTACK RANGE SAVING THROW EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC23 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Claws/Fangs Touch DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical, Lethal, Incurable) Blood Drain Touch/Grapple DC18 Fortitude* Drain Constitution* Opposed Will vs +8** Mind Reading DC18 Will (Staged)** Sickened/Nauseated/Incapacitated Glimpse of The Abyss Touch/Area (Visual Perception) DC18 Reflex Avoided DC18 Will (Staged) Shaken/Frightened/Panicked Hypnotic Eyes Perception (Visually Sense-Dependent) Opposed Will vs +8** Mind Controlled DC18 Will** Transformed (Memory Altered) Psychic Invisibility Personal DC18 Will*** Total Concealment from all non-Mental type senses *This saving throw is not Staged, because he can only drain 1 Constitution rank per round, regardless of the margin by which the victim failed their save. **Because the two Linked effects target the same saving throw (Will), the victim makes one saving throw and compares it against the DC for both effects. This effect has one static DC and one DC determined by a power check, so it is possible that the victim will successfully save against one of the linked effects but fail to save against the other one. ***Creatures with Intelligence 0 are unaffected. Creatures with Intelligence 1+ only get a saving throw if he does something to draw attention to himself. Machines with Intelligence 0 are also unaffected, but he has a separate, permanent Concealment effect against all Auditory, Radio, and Visual-type machine senses. SAVING THROWS 5PP Toughness: +8 (Impervious) Fortitude: - Reflex: +8 (+8 Dex, +0PP) Will: +8 (+3 Wis, +5PP) SKILLS 32R = 8PP Craft (Culinary) 1 (+5) Handle Animal 0 (-) Intimidation 1 (+13/+5, +15 Deathly Aura) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 1 (+5) Knowledge (Current Events) 1 (+5) Knowledge (History) 1 (+5) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 4 (+8) Knowledge (Pop Culture) 1 (+5) Knowledge (Streetwise) 11 (+15) Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 1 (+5) Languages 4 (English [Native], French, Italian, Latin, Spanish) Medicine 5 (+8) Notice 1 (+12/+4) Ride 0 (-) Search 0 (+12/+4) Sense Motive 0 (+12/+3) Stealth 0 (+15/+2) FEATS 2PP Benefit (Legally Deceased) Interpose Enhanced: Attack Focus (Melee) 4 Evasion 2 Hide In Plain Sight Takedown Attack 2 Veteran Rewards: Equipment 7 (35EP) EQUIPMENT 7PP = 35EP POWERS 168PP Concealment 8 (All Auditory, Radio, and Visual type senses, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Limited [Machines], Permanent) [8PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Enhanced Defense 4 (Extras: Linked [Enhanced Dexterity, Enhanced Feats], Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency:Common]) [6PP] Enhanced Dexterity 12 (Extras: Linked [Enhanced Defense, Enhanced Feats]) [12PP] Enhanced Feats 9 (Attack Focus [Melee] 4, Evasion 2, Hide In Plain Sight, Takedown Attack 2, Extras: Linked [Enhanced Defense, Enhanced Dexterity])[9PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Superhuman Agility, Superhuman Speed, Undead) Enhanced Skills 40 (Intimidation 8, Notice 8, Search 8, Sense Motive 9, Stealth 7, Power Loss 2 [Lost while exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency: Common]) [8PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Fearsome Visage, Necromancy, Shadow, Super-Senses, Undead, Unnaturally Deep and Resonant Voice) Enhanced Strength 12 (Extras: Linked [Super-Strength], Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency: Common]) [10PP] Super-Strength 2 (Lifting Strength: 36, Heavy Load: 3,680 lbs. [1.84 tons], Extras: Linked [Enhanced Strength]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Superhuman Strength, Undead) Environment Control 2 (Cold [Intense], Area: 10ft radius, Extras: Action 3 [Reaction], Flaws: Duration 2 [Instant], Range [Touch], Uncontrolled) [1PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Cold, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Features 3 (Deathly Aura*; Touch does not leave prints; Wounds do not bleed) [3PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) *See "Death Powers" in Power Profiles. Healing 1 (Extras: Action 4 [Reaction], Affects Objects, Restoration, Total Flaws: Limited [Objects], Personal, Source [Blood]) [6PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Regeneration, Shadow, Undead) Immunity 30 (Fortitude effects) [30PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Impervious Toughness 8 (Flaws: Limited [Effects with one or more of the following Descriptors inflict Penetrating damage: “Acid”; Attempts to impale him through the heart with a "Wooden Stake"; “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”; “Disintegration”; “Fire”; “Garlic”; “Jade”; "Natural Weapons" of "Supernatural Creatures", such as the Claws, Fangs, and/or Horns of Demons, Dragons, Faeries, Vampires, or Werewolves; “Salt”; “Silver”; “Wolf’s Bane”]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Regeneration, Shadow, Superhuman Resilience, Undead) Leaping 3 (x10, Running Long Jump: 180ft, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency: Common]) [1PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Superhuman Strength, Undead) Obscure 2 (Sense Types: Auditory, Radio, and Visual, Area: 10ft radius, Extras: Action 3 [Reaction], Flaws: Duration 2 [Instant], Limited [Machines], Partial, Range [Touch], Uncontrolled) [2PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Electromagnetic Interference, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Protection 8 [8PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Superhuman Resilience, Undead) Regeneration 14 (Recovery 14 [+9, Recovers over time like a living creature], Feats: Regrowth) [15PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Regeneration 12 (Recovery Rate: Injured 6 [1/round, No rest], Disabled 6 [1 round], Flaws: Limited [Effects with one or more of the following Descriptors inflict Incurable damage: “Acid”; “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”; “Disintegration”; “Fire”; “Garlic”; “Jade”; "Natural Weapons" of "Supernatural Creatures", such as the Claws, Fangs, and/or Horns of Demons, Dragons, Faeries, Vampires, or Werewolves; “Salt”; “Silver”; “Wolf’s Bane”]) [6PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Regeneration 8 (Resurrection 8 [1 round], Flaws: Limited [If decapitated, he requires outside aid to reunite his head and body before he can resurrect; If impaled through the heart with a wooden stake, or a blade or bullet made from his other weaknesses, he requires outside aid to remove the "stake" before he can resurrect; He requires outside aid and extra time to resurrect if his body is completely burned, disintegrated, or dissolved]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Speed 3 (50MPH / 500ft per Move Action, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency: Common]) [1PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Superhuman Speed, Undead) Super-Movement 1 (Trackless) [2PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Super-Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency: Common]) [1PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Super-Senses 11 (Acute Analytical Tracking Smell/Taste, Darkvision, Microscopic Vision, Postcognition [Flaws: Medium {Blood}], Ultra-Hearing, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including one or more of the following Descriptors: “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane”; Frequency: Common]) [7PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Vampire Power 8 (16PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [20PP] (Descriptors: Black Magic, Blood Magic, Darkness, Death, Evil, Necromancy, Shadow, Undead) Base Power: [16PP] (Additional Descriptors: Blood Divination, Blood Drain, Euphoria) Drain Constitution 8 (Extras: Linked [Mind Reading, Nauseate], Flaws: Limited [1 rank per round], Requires Grapple, Feats: Insidious, Slow Fade 4 [1 hour], Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 3 [While exposed to Daylight, he can only bite with a regular unarmed attack, which will not have any euphoric effect on the victim; Cannot attempt to bite anyone while he is Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Cannot attempt to bite any character wearing or wielding "Fire", a Mirror, or an item with any of the aforementioned descriptors, or anyone hiding behind that character; Frequency: Very Common]) [6PP] Mind Reading 8 (Extras: Action [Standard], Linked [Drain, Nauseate], Flaws: Duration [Instant, Lasting], Range 2 [Touch], Requires Grapple) [2PP] Nauseate 8 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Linked [Drain, Mind Reading], Flaws: Requires Grapple) [8PP] Alternate Power: [6 + 7 = 13PP] Autofire Strength 8 (Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Frequency: Common]) [6PP] (Additional Descriptors: Super-Speed) Damage 2 (Extras: Autofire, Penetrating, Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Incurable, Mighty, Variable Descriptor [Claws and/or Fangs; Piercing and/or Slashing], Drawbacks: Inaccurate, Lethal, Power Loss 2 [While exposed to Daylight, he cannot create claws, and his bite is a regular unarmed attack; Cannot create claws or attempt to bite anyone while he is Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Frequency: Common]) [7PP] (Additional Descriptors: Claws, Fangs) Alternate Power: [7 + 2 = 9PP] Concealment 10 (All Non-Mental type Senses, Flaws: Phantasm, Feats: Selective, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Frequency: Common], Progression [Counter Rank / Save DC] 2 [-2 = Rank 8 / DC18]) [7PP] (Additional Descriptors: Hypnosis, Mind Control, Psychic Invisibility) Emotion Control 8 (Extras: Area [Perception, Visual], Flaws: Limited [Fear], Range 2 [Touch], Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Frequency: Common]) [2PP] (Additional Descriptors: Fearsome Visage, Glimpse of The Abyss) Alternate Power: [15PP] (Additional Descriptors: Mist Form) Flight 2 (25MPH, 250ft per Move Action, Extras: Linked [Immunity, Insubstantial], Feats: Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 2 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight, or while Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Frequency: Common]) [3PP] Immunity 2 (Critical Hits, Extras: Duration [Sustained], Linked [Flight, Insubstantial]) [2PP] Insubstantial 2 (Gas, Extras: Linked [Flight, Immunity]) [10PP] Alternate Power: [14PP] (Additional Descriptors: Hypnotic Eyes, Psychic) Mind Control 8 (Extras: Conscious, Duration [Sustained, Lasting], Linked [Transform], Mental, Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Sense-Dependent [Visual], Feats:Subtle, Drawbacks: Power Loss 3 [Lost while Exposed to Daylight; Lost while Restrained with bonds including the “Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy”, “Garlic”, “Jade”, “Salt”, “Silver”, and/or “Wolf’s Bane” descriptors; Cannot be used against any character wearing or wielding "Fire", a Mirror, or an item with any of the aforementioned descriptors, or anyone hiding behind that character; Frequency: Very Common]) [6PP] Transform 8 (Memory Alteration, Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Duration [Continuous, Lasting], Linked [Mind Control], Mental, Range [Perception], Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Sense-Dependent [Visual]) [8PP] DRAWBACKS -13PP Vulnerability ("Blessed/Celestial/Consecrated/Holy" effects, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-1PP] Vulnerability ("Fire" effects, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-2PP] Vulnerability ("Silver" effects, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor [+1 DC]) [-1PP] Weakness (Daylight, Frequency: Very Common, Intensity: Moderate [Cumulative -1 Drain on Toughness, Destroyed when Toughness reaches -6], Time: 1/round) [-8PP] Weakness (Healing effects without Descriptors which identify them as being "Evil", "Unholy", or otherwise beneficial to the "Undead" do not work on him, even if they have the "Affects Objects" extra, and they also inflict Damage of equal rank; Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor, Time: Instant) [-1PP] Abilities (20) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (5) + Skills (8) + Feats (2) + Powers (168) – Drawbacks (13) = 206/216 Power Points

Read everything before you do anything. I'm going to run another supernatural-themed horror-ish thread set in Bedlam City, co-starring my own PC, Mister Strix. There are currently 2 slots open for other PCs. Since the thread will take place in Bedlam City, I cannot take any PCs with an effective combat Power Level higher than 10. Investigative skills are good. Aptitudes for either magic or technology are good, each in their own way. The ability to power-stunt to adapt to the unexpected is good. I'll leave recruitment open for at least a week, maybe two, so that everyone gets a chance to see it and make their bid if they want in (even the recent newbies, if they get their asses in gear). I'll post in this thread again to announce when recruitment is closed. When deciding on PCs, I will give preferential treatment to 1) People I'm friends with in Real Life, 2) People who are already busting their asses running threads and/or doing administrative work for the site, and 3) New players. If you want to play, don't post in this thread. Send me a private message instead (here on the site, not on Discord). If you post in this thread, then I'll know that you didn't read this entire post, and I'll assume you would've just skimmed the posts in the actual thread, too. I'd prefer not to have to repeat myself more than is necessary. I'm not having people post replies here because I like my privacy and I care about yours, so I'd rather not advertise to the world who got picked to play and who got left on the bench. Your message should include the following: A link to your character's sheet. A link to your character's Guidebook entry, if they have one. Any part of your character (background, Complications, etc.) that you'd like to see get some spotlight or development, or any traits you'd like an opportunity to use. (No guarantees, but I'll try.) If your character is not based in Bedlam City, then one or more possible reasons they could have for going there. One or more "trap doors," in-character excuses for why your PC would have to suddenly drop everything and exit the story. The classic example is how Batman will drop everything if The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum, and give top priority to his recapture. Everyone who applies but who doesn't get picked will go on a private waiting list. Here's some disclaimers, so that everyone knows what they're getting into: If you apply to this thread, then you commit to a posting rate of once every 48 hours. As soon as I announce that a player is up, they have 48 hours to make an in-character post. If that player doesn't post inside their 48-hour deadline, then I will skip them and move on to the next player. If I skip a player 3 times, then I will activate one of their trap doors and cut them from the thread. Then I will call up a player from the waitlist to take their spot. Manage your expectations. I'll do the best I can to provide a decent quality thread, but if you sign up, do it knowing that I'm a middling GM (or player) at best. I'm not particularly creative (as you can see from my own PCs) or witty. If you sign up for one of my threads, you're not doing it because you expect your mind to be blown, but because so few people volunteer to GM anything that you'll take what you can get. In case you don't know already, my tastes and my instincts lean grim, dark, and gross. I don't mess with sexual assault, and I wouldn't even if the site rules allowed it. Otherwise, I don't offer "content warnings," except to say that, if "content warnings" are an issue for you, then you probably shouldn't sign up for one of my Bedlam City threads. I'm going to be using a villain loosely based on a template from one of the many, many published M&M books, with some tweaks of my own. The villain's stats will not be published on the forum in advance. You will be going in blind. That's not usually how it's done around here. That having been said, as a personal rule, I try to avoid blind rolls, and I don't force people to use Extra Effort or spend Hero Points blindly. If it won't help, I'll let you know before you waste it. If you'd make a roll with Skill Mastery, then I'll tell you so you don't have to bother rolling. It's common in RPGs for some players to get so attached to and emotionally invested in their PCs that they take any bad thing that happens to that PC or any failure on that PC's part as a personal insult or attack. If you're one of those people, then you shouldn't sign up for one of my threads. There. Now you can't say I didn't warn you. (Yes, I'm recycling a thread title from over a decade ago. I like the movie.)

GM Saturday 22nd Dec, late evening We wish you a merry S**tmas, we wish you a merry s**tmas, we wish you a merry sh*tmas, and a $£%!ing new year! Yes, it was that glorious time of year in Bedlam, when the drunks prowled the streets spreading violence and badwill to all men. And women. And dogs. Of course, some people tried to celebrate it, but cynicism knew no bounds in Bedlam, and Ms. Caroline Cruz could hear a bunch of louts singing outside. Drunk. She knew drunk, of course. She knew it very well indeed. But that was not her concern right now, for she heard some banging on the door. "CRUZ! CRUZ! ARE YOU IN THERE? ARE YOU IN THERE?" It was not an unfriendly voice, but not friendly either. It was a low, panicked and desperate voice. And it belonged to a man in an overcoat, gloves, and hat. Dark skinned, darked hair, moustache, thick rimmed glasses. Slightly rotund around the girth but one would not call him fat. He was of average build and not blessed with good looks, but one would say he was well dressed. Rich, even. And of course Rich people had money. Money to spend on investigators. Even at this time of the evening.

I'm looking to run a horror thread set in Bedlam for 1 to 3 characters. It will probably be primarily investigation based, but there is potential for some relatively simple combat encounters, depending on what happens. No PL requirements. Characters doesn't have to be supernatural to fit in or deal with the issue, but it might help to have some investigative abilities. And if you'd like, it would be nice to have a mention of where in Bedlam your characters could be around the middle of December.

Summer 2018 Hardwick Park From her rooftop perch, Wadjet watched the girls down below through binoculars, occasionally stopping to make notes in the notebook she'd started carrying. Los únicos que quedan son los que no fueron con Mouse, ¡estúpido! ¿Crees que a la Mara le importa una mierda que no corras? She was writing down names and faces now, the names of girls she'd grown up with, wondering when they were going to find themselves in the goddamned graveyard. Once she was sure she had all of them, she and Anna were going to pay them a little visit and get them to get the Hell out of town. This group of four, the oldest of which couldn't be more than sixteen, was eating pupusas and obviously working themselves up to steal the silver Porsche 911 that some dumbass whiteboy had left parked here in a corner of the neighborhood near Wolverton, where the cops usually didn't bother patrolling. She didn't really care about what property crime they were about to commit, but if she could catch them in the act, it might be a weapon to use to get them the hell out of this neighborhood - this neighborhood where dreams went to die.

Bedlam City. It's a place where shadowy tendrils weave in and out of its machinations. Crime saturates the streets, and with a shortage of good Samaritans to keep the darkly-lit alleys safe, villainy remains unchecked. Only a select few have the courage and wherewithal to fight the war that festers in the heart of this urban Wisconsin jungle, but even then it's an uphill battle. Things have taken a turn, and not for the better. Rumors ride on the winds and through the slum-ridden bars of fresh competition, their corruption and mysterious agenda as much a hot topic for gossip as it is a malignant tumor. The magical community is in a quiet uproar, rife with dread and no small measure of desperation. Even the local crimelords only ever dare whisper their name for fear of drawing their wrath down upon them: The Accord. It's Bedlam's best worst-kept secret: there's a big play coming, and the Accord is at its head as magical armaments and subtle but seemingly impossible crimes tear through the disquieted metropolis with silent, unknown purpose. The whole city can feel it as old contacts go dark and lesser organizations go to ground in preparation for what might be coming. It's going to fall to the few vigilantes -- magical or otherwise -- courageous enough to stand up to the Accord before their nefarious plot unfurls and wreaks havoc across the city. Hello! If you're reading this, I'm looking to start some shenanigans over in Bedlam City. Magic and crime are both on the rise, and anyone savvy enough to beat it out of some unfortunate mook to spill the truth or grab hold of some of the bizarre arcane gear they're wielding and track down its origin can discern its source: the Accord, a clandestine magical mafioso-type outfit who's recently taken root in Bedlam City for their own nefarious purposes. I can swing two more folks at most, as @Ecalsneerg and @Tarrakhash are guaranteed a spot if they so choose. Expect plenty of investigating and fighting in equal measure as the heroes race to uncover the Accord's scheme and put a stop to it before it's too late!

GM Feb 3rd, 2018 On the start of a long dark night And cold, too. The woman was running down a bad street in a bad part of town. Wolverton. It bled drugs, it bled guns, it bled blood. And it looked like it would bleed this woman too. She was dressed in bad clothes, a little torn. She was running barefoot, and left a bloody footprint. All this, Arrowhawk saw in the dark streets. And behind her, a car, black like the night sky, headlights on and blazing full beam, a determined man at the wheel, his eyes fixed on the woman, his car gaining fast. He didn't look intent on running her down. probably. He did look intent on catching her...

JETTE Power Level: 7 (105/115PP) Unspent Power Points: 10 Trade-Offs: -1 Attack /+1 Damage, +1 Defense / -1 Toughness In Brief: Silver Age techie sidekick turned bitter and cynical PI Catchphrase: N/A Theme: Date Line (I Am Gone), by Yellowcard Alternate Identity: Caroline Cruz (Secret) Birthplace: New York City Residence: Hardwick Park, Bedlam, Wisconsin Base of Operations: Bedlam, Wisconsin Occupation: Private Investigator Affiliations: AEGIS (though not by choice at all) Family: Terry Cruz (disgraced billionaire businessman, not really dead), the Cruz family (very estranged) Description: Age: 58 (Born in 1960) Apparent Age: Late 30s Gender: Female Ethnicity: Puerto Rican Height: 5’ 5” Weight:130 lbs. Eyes: Light Brown Hair: Brown streaked with gray Appearance: Caroline pretty much just wears loose fitting clothing, most commonly jeans and dark colored shirts. Her shoes are battered sneakers, and she has an oversized leather jacket covering her Quantum Gauntlets. She doesn’t look nearly as old as she is, and is still in great shape. As JETTE, she wears a mask and a blonde wig to hide her identity. History: It started in 1963, with Caroline’s cousin Terry Cruz. He was a filthy rich industrialist in Freedom City. A witty, charming genius, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t like him. At least, that’s how Caroline remembers it. He invented a flight belt made out of inexpensive components. He then built a battlesuit around the technology, and became a superhero (The Human Rocket). He was never as famous as The Raven or the Centurion, and he never quite made it to the level of the Freedom League, but he did his part. In 1975, however, Terry made a fateful decision to follow a dream. Humans didn’t need to be stuck on the ground. He’d make it so everyone could fly. He needed a helper, so he recruited the then 15 year old Caroline (already a tech genius in her own right), his own younger brother Donald (the man was a born salesman, better than even Terry) and set to work. A year later, Caroline debuted as JETTE, and the flight belts were put into production. Donald was to run the factory itself, with Caroline as tech support. Terry would help out where he could, but his life was a busy one. He trusted his family with his dream. At first, everything was okay. There were some unexpected bugs to iron out in the manufacting process, but between Caroline’s skills and Donald’s leadership they pulled through. Then the first shipment disappeared. It turned up in the hands of a band of thieves, with the design weaponized in ways Terry had only seen in his nightmares. He and Caroline stopped them, of course, but that didn’t account for the entire shipment. Orders dried up overnight. His good name was tarnished. AEGIS was investigating him for giving them to those criminals. As if he’d do such a thing. He was going to get to the bottom of this. There wasn’t any need to stop production. They’d just store them in the factory until Terry cleared his name. It took two years (and a few more battles with flight belt equipped criminals), but get to the bottom of it Terry did. Donald, as it turned out, while he shared much of his older brother’s intellect, lacked anything resembling Terry’s integrity. He did, however, share the knack for hiring competent people and putting them in positions to succeed. “The Don”, was a rising star in the criminal underworld, and this was his chance to make it big. Terry refused to let it be at his expense. Turned out Don had his own battlesuit, and a squad of battlesuited muscle (including many of the factory’s key employees) to back him up. Terry had just Caroline. The fight tore the factory apart, and destroyed the stored flight belts. When it was over, “The Don” was presumed dead, his goons had vanished, and any evidence that didn’t point directly to Terry and Caroline Cruz being guilty of his crimes was virtually destroyed. The trial was quick. The prosecution basically had them cold, and anything that could’ve proven their innocence was long gone. They both got over a decade of hard time. Between that, the lost money spent on the belts and the revelation of just how much money Donald had stolen from his brother’s company, Terry was ruined. Both of them were barred from using their technological skill sets without authorization as a condition of early release. After his release, a broken Terry dropped off the face of the earth. Caroline scraped by doing odd jobs and moving around a lot, until she moved to Bedlam in 2003. Here, nobody looked too closely at your record, and even her AEGIS minder (to make sure she isn’t tech’ing without permission) that pops in now and again is virtually incompetent and probably corrupt as the rest of the law. She started doing unlicensed PI work to pay the bills. Soon afterward, she took her Quantum Gauntlets out of storage. They didn’t work, obviously. They needed refurbishing. But she needed the firepower. Bedlam was a tough place. And somewhere, deep inside, a hero’s heart still beat. Personality & Motivation: Caroline is bitter, cynical, and jaded. She’s seen what happens to visionaries who try to change the world for the better, and the worst that humanity has to offer. She has deep and intimate knowledge of how much people suck. So she drinks. Who wouldn’t? However, even 40 years gone, the altruistic core of who she is remains. Some things are just wrong. There’s lines she won’t cross and things she won’t allow to happen in her presence. Powers & Tactics: Caroline, wielding the Quantum Gauntlets, is essentially a blaster. Blast, blast, and blast some more. Maybe mix in a thrown item if she’s feeling fancy. She can fly, but this doesn’t often play a role in combat tactics. Really handy for getting the hell out of a bad situation, though. The energy flowing through her body makes her more resistant to damage, as well. Power Descriptions: 40 years ago, the Quantum Gauntlets were bulky whole hand, arm and shoulder blade covering monstrosities. The refurbish cut them down quite a bit. Without her big leather jacket they’re metal bands around her forearms with a thin strip of flexible metal running up her arms and meeting on her back. They do have a fingerless glove element, which is the control mechanism. But that can pass as regular fingerless gloves. What they do is allow her to channel quantum energy to manipulate the four fundamental forces. They’re not as powerful as they used to be, but they get the job done well enough for Bedlam. Complications: Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Caroline drinks. A lot. She admits she’s probably a functional alcoholic. The key, she says, is to celebrate the functional part of that term. She does keep it to outside of business hours, most of the time. But sometimes it can get in the way. Especially when humanity’s worst qualities smack her in the face. A GM may award a Hero Point when booze (or the unholy craving for booze) gets in her way. Using My Mind Is Illegal: Caroline isn’t supposed to be using her technological knowledge and skills without authorization under penalty of re-imprisonment. Her Quantum Gauntlets are a shining example of exactly what she isn’t supposed to be doing. She has an AEGIS agent (who may or may not be as incompetent as she thinks he/she is) assigned to her to make sure she isn’t tech’ing around without permission who can drop by unannounced at any time. A GM may award a Hero Point if this becomes an issue. Broke As All Hell: Caroline doesn’t have money. She never has money. Her apartment is tiny, and doubles as her office. She doesn’t own a vehicle. Her diet sucks. A GM may award a Hero Point if she needs cold hard cash, as she has practically none. Quantum Failure: The Quantum Gauntlets are over 40 years old. They were built when she had virtually unlimited funds. They then sat in a box for over a quarter century. Lastly, they were refurbished using very, very limited funds. So they don’t always work properly. The active powers can be weaker than expected, or outright refuse to work. A GM may award a Hero Point for this happening. Abilities: 0 + 2 + 4 + 14 + 4 + 2 = 26PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 12 (+1) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 24 (+7) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 12 (+1) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex) Attack: +4 Base, +6 Ranged Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Grapple: +4 Knockback: -3 (-1 without Quantum Gauntlets) Saving Throws: 3 + 4 + 3= 10PP Toughness: +6 (+2 Con, +4 Protection) Fortitude: +5 (+2 Con, +3) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +5 (+2 Wis, +3) Skills: 72R = 18PP Concentration 3 (+5) Craft (Electronics) 8 (+15) SM Craft (Mechanical) 8 (+15) Gather Information 9 (+10) Intimidate 7 (+8) Investigate 1 (+8) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 8(+15) Knowledge (Streetwise) 3 (+10) Knowledge (Technology) 8 (+15) Notice 6 (+8) Search 1 (+8) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Stealth 4 (+5) Feats:14 PP Accurate Attack Attack Focus (ranged) 2 Dodge Focus 4 Improvised Tools Inventor Move By Action Power Attack Precise Shot Skill Mastery (Craft [elec & mech], KN [phys sci & tech]) Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers:21PP (All technological) Device 5 (Quantum Gauntlets; 25 PP Container; FlawHard-To-Lose[/i]; Power Feat: Subtle (hide-able under a coat or some such) [21PP] Blast 8 (Power Feat: Alternate Power 1) (Quantum Blast) [17PP] AP: Move Object 8 (Heavy Load 3.2 tons) (Magneto-Gravitics) [1PP] Flight 2 (25 mph, 220 ft/rnd) [4PP] Protection 4 [4PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 15 Toughness Damage Quantum Blast Ranged DC 23 Toughness Damage Totals: Abilities (26) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (10) + Skills (18) + Feats (14) + Powers (21) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/115 Power Points