Search the Community

Player Name: Arichamus Character Name: The Osprey Power Level: 10 / 11 (160/164PP) Trade-Offs: +2 Attack/ -2 Damage(Utility Belt), +2 Defense/ -2 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 4 Progress To Platinum Status: 14/120 (Gold earned with >King of Suits) In Brief: Test subject using his new-found powers to battle the criminal underworld and uncover the truth. Alternate Identity: Alden Richards Identity: Secret Birthplace: Southwark, London, England Occupation: Shipping warehouse employee, chemistry technician, superhero Affiliations: Ministry of Powers, Docklands, Eileen Rose(junior officer in the SAS), Order, Justice Family: Patricia Richards(Mother, Divorced), Russel Richards-Brown(Father, Divorced), Maria-Annabelle Richards(Sister), Frances Richards(Sister) Description: Age: 24 (DoB: 1989, February 9th) Apparent Age: Same as physical age Gender: Male Ethnicity: English Caucasian Height: 6' 2"/1.9m, 6' 11"/2m Weight: 200 Lbs/90.7kg Eyes: Brown/Yellow Hair: Brown/White & brown feathers Alden during everyday life wears sturdy, eminently practical clothes in dull colours. Thick jeans, heavy boots and tan jackets over long-sleeved grey cotton shirts feature prominently in his limited wardrobe, and his utilitarian glasses are hardened grey steel. On the job he wears the crisp green/white waterproof uniform coat and pants of his company. His hair is thick, curly and cut short, and he has a perpetual five-o'clock shadow around a frequently dour mouth below his thin high eyebrows, bright, lively eyes and broad nose. He's unusually pale from working mostly nights, and his recent start as a vigilante crimefighter has deepened that noticeably. Years of physical work has kept him trim and lean, and a dedicated exercise and martial arts regimen has hardened and bulked him up considerably more than most men his age. He speaks with a low, soft voice in an almost stereotypical English accent, though in times of stress, excitement or anger it takes on a rougher edge. Movements are loose-limbed and casual with considerable grace. In his disguise as Osprey he's a tall, imposing man in a mostly white costume with a dark brown cape cut to vaguely suggest wings(the result of weeks of work), the colors scattered like the fish eagle's plumage, and a white mask covering his head adorned with a short, sharp curved beak. On the chest in a patch of black is a white emblem of an osprey diving. A simple belt of weapons hangs on his waist. When he activates his powers Alden grows even taller as well as sprouting wings from his back, his skin is covered in feathers, his feet and hands turn into claws and his head mutates to adopt avian features including bright yellow eyes. Power Descriptions: Osprey's animal powers are quite obvious, as they appear when he transforms wholly into a giant bird-man. His altered biology lets him use powerful claws to cut through steel, fly under his own power, grip things with phenomenally power talons and briefly survive underwater and in icy cold. A couple of lingering affect of his mutation is that he has a bizarre ability to understand and communicate with birds, and see far further than most in the dark or underwater. Aside from that he has a small pool of highly specialized weapons, like a small acetylene torch for cutting through walls and doors, or a LED for temporarily blinding with light.. History: Alden Richards had admired heroes for a long time before Prof. Blackpool's invitation arrived. Since childhood he had watched on the television or out the window the exploits of Britain's mightiest heroes besides the Lioness Britannia: the strange and beloved Vanguard. Or the Royal Squadron or Crownguard or the Fab Four or whatever the papers called them that month. The country didn't have nearly as many heroes as the States or Canada so the sight of people who called Great Britain home and possessed extraordinary powers they used solely for the public good, not to mention their rumored association with the legendary and excitingly mysterious Ministry of Powers, was always something people came running to see. Alden rarely needed much excuse to leave the house anyway, since being there meant he had to endure the endless and furious arguments that erupted in the family as surely as the tides. There was always something for the resourceful to complain about, since even on the good days things were lean the apartment was too small for even the small family and winters were painful to get through on what little they could afford. Like most, the photogenic, handsome and upstanding Champion(Powerful melding of man and alien machine! Sworn defender of the British Isles and the world!) had the lion's share of his heart, and when the hero came in person to deal with what would have been a devastating fire on the Richard's street during a battle against aliens, stopping just long enough to make sure nobody else was in danger, Alden's boyhood reverence for superheroes rivaled just about any other devotions he had. They didn't have problems, they SOLVED them for other people. By his mid teens however the young man had other things to think about. His parents' marriage had always been a little unsteady, but at last in 2005 they divorced after Patricia was fired from the plant she had worked at for well over a decade, more than halving the family income. Alden frequently spent time with his mother in eastern Southwark, not least because of the hard-won jobs he got in the area that let him help support her. Walking and biking to work brought him again and again up against the crime and poverty eating away at sections of the city, the misery that everyone seemed helpless to stop, It was partially because of that that he took up martial arts training for self-defense, practicing every day he could so that when the time came he could make the difference between life and death for someone. His twenties rolled around, and by 2009 the only real results of his training was a stray bullet from an abortive mugging breaking his rib and making friends with an athletic young woman named Eileen Rose, someone made of sterner stuff than him and who bent herself inexorably to a job in the military. Both of them were starting to lose hope in their dreams when Professor Thomas Blackpool contacted them. He was doing biochemistry research to test out a mutagen with possible military applications, and wanted volunteers. To sweeten the deal he offered the pair close to a thousand pounds each to go through a series of clinical trials, happily assuming legal responsibility for whatever happened. Both leaped at the chance, Alden especially eager for what sounded like the perfect way to get real actual superpowers(and help support his parents), Eileen gleeful for the chance to get known by whatever higher-ups had ordered the study. The trials took several weeks of regular checkups, injections with the formula code-named Osprey, observation of the slow change in them and the other trial subjects' chemistry and a host of other strangely mundane ways of checking the progress of super-science. Alden and Eileen got more and more uneasy as months passed and they weren't seeming to change at all. During a stay at the lab to test sleeping patterns everything went utterly wrong. Alden didn't remember what happened but he awoke to find himself strapped down, spattered with blood and Eileen being rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. A distraught Blackpool explained that the young man had transformed into a man-bird in the night and attacked his friend, but that she was almost bound to live and the charges against him weren't likely to end in jail time. However, Thomas sadly told him that this was the last straw and his lack of progress meant he would need to be taken out of the trials. Given a prescription of serum to help get the chemicals safely out of his system, Alden left with only a fraction of what he had been offered, and thankful for it. That night, after breaking the painful news to his mother about what had happened, he was jolted awake by the sound of a distant cry for help. Gulping down the pills Blackpool had given him, Alden raced out to see what had happened...and crashed in an agonized heap as the transformation began. In the next few months he worked on triggering the changes by sheer effort of will, managing to make his new power more of a help than a hindrance. Knowing that downtown London would be hard to hide in he practiced out in the countryside, flying by nights to and fro across the green hills and valleys. During his cross-country training he ran into a stranger eerily like himself, a half-crazed owlman whose ravings held several declarations that he had once been like Alden, and wanted to save him from the 'true threat'. This was the release, the power and world he had always dreamed of! He wasn't the mighty protector of the weak he wished he could be, though swooping down to save the helpless from the guns and knives of criminals satisfied him deeply, the fear and shock in their eyes making every painstaking hunt worth every rain-soaked hour. On top of it all, the Osprey Treatment had opened the world of chemistry up to him, and he managed to get enough training to start work as a technician at a small chemistry lab in eastern Southwark that supplemented his income from the dockside warehouse. From his studies he learned something troubling: the medicine Blackpool had been supplying him with before he vanished back into the world of academia, his Osprey Formula a qualified success, wasn't actually cleansing him of it, and in fact was slowly increasing its potency. Alden was shocked, horrified that he had been lied to like that and instantly suspicious...but on the other hand, it let him fight against evil in the world, so was it really best for him to give it up? And why had he had such a violent reaction when Eileen had returned to the study with such(as she enthused to him) astounding success, with even some rumors that she was being considered for the special forces? Whatever the case, his friend's wish was soon granted as well, being selected for a prestigious(and amazingly grueling, she confided) position in the Service attached to the Ministry of Powers, a branch of the armed forces composed of people with supernatural abilities to deal with rare yet dangerous rogue powers. Surprisingly enough, they've remained each others' confidante on personal matters, and the strong-hearted Eileen gladly agreed to give him whatever help he asked for, though she did warn him that it would count as a favor. Taking his mind off of those problems Alden flung himself into the world of costumed crime-fighting, dedicating himself to becoming a true superhero at last, his 'look' and focus inspired heavily by the Raven and the fearsome Scottish archer known as Arrowhawk. Between putting together his disguise, gathering materials for weapons so he wouldn't have to rely on his power to win his battles, teaching himself how to solve crimes that had already happened, his work and meeting with his friends, the next year passed all too quickly, until at last the Osprey was ready to strike. Now, three years later, the Vanguard have mysteriously disappeared and the Osprey has gotten a pretty reputation as a menace to the underworld of Britain. Everyone from the fastidious Middleman to the common thug has at least heard a rumor about him. The Ministry of Powers has decided to extend an invitation to the young man, an offer to find out the truth of what really happened to Britain's strongest heroes, defend his home from greater threats than ever before, and join the ranks of the Ministry's greatest asset in the new Taskforce UK! Personality & Motivation: Alden is terse, patient, calm and quiet. Not to an extreme, but he won't babble on for twenty words when two will do and keeps his thoughts and feelings close to the vest. This often leads to him clamming up even more when under pressure as his mind races. He rarely truly rests and is almost constantly physically or mentally active, knowing all too well how impermanent most situations are. A long time in poverty has embittered him to people with fantastic wealth like the aristocracy and nobility and a corresponding liking for people who grew up like he did. Alden is polite and warm when meeting somebody for the first time, but unafraid to precisely speak his mind and unlikely to consider somebody a friend unless they really share something. Most days he carries himself freely and confidently, a composed young man still excited about where his life is going. He has a firm and absolute belief that everyone can change and can recognize what's right and wrong, and has a lot of compassion for the people he often battles. Not that he'll let anyone know that if he can help it. When disguised as Osprey he plays to a T the role of a dread figure of the night, talking only when necessary and doing his best to present a coldly enigmatic front. Body language shifts to slower and more dramatic motions and his tendency to loom ominously behind people skyrockets. Behind the harsh face of the eagle Osprey conveys the message that everyone, no matter how powerful they think they are, can be brought low before the forces of justice. Powers & Tactics: Osprey prefers not to use his powers, instead focusing on ambushes and strikes from above. His tactics shift quickly and depend largely on how many he's fighting. If a few he'll do his best to isolate them first, if many he'll try to cluster the majority together so he can keep track of them better as he picks off outliers, if one or two he sets up a simple ambush and leaps upon them. He tries to avoid physical combat when he can, but when he can't just knock foes out from hiding he turns into a blur of savage punches and brutal kicks, aiming with the utmost precision to decisively bring down his enemies. His transformation power is something he keeps for emergencies or when he needs to chase after someone and his grapple gun isn't enough. Complications: Adrenaline Requirement: A surge of adrenaline is the fastest way to activate the transformation agent, and while usually that's easy enough to spark it means while in human form Osprey's powers can be simply blocked. Animal Instincts: Osprey's nature frequently shines through his humanity, driving Alden to violence, making him irrationally protective of birds and giving a strong impression that something's 'off' about him, especially in his eyes. Blind Without 'Em: Alden is near-sighted while human, yet far-sighted when in bird-man form. Glasses and special goggles help with this, but he can always lose those. Clean-up: Osprey's combat arsenal is mostly re-purposed civilian tools or weapons made from more or less easily-accessed sources. If somebody manages to find them, they could be used to track him down. Destabilised: The Osprey formula coursing through his body makes him that much more susceptible to other drugs, and infections are very hazardous. Enemies: The London Mob and most criminal groups operating around the Docklands have deep grudges against the Osprey by now. Honour: Alden has a habit of leaving pragmatism on the wayside. Prejudice: Aristocrats, old and new money who "Don't do anything worth doing" with their wealth, the idle rich. Responsibility: Family. Alden's family is unaware of what he does, and he aims to keep them safe from his other life by whatever means necessary. Secret: Identity Twisting Body: For all of Alden's control, the chemical agents that let him transform are never totally in his hands, and turning into a monstrous bird-man in everyday life is a very real, if unlikely, danger. Abilities: 10 + 8 + 8 + 4 + 4 + 6 = 40PP Strength: 20/26 (+5/+8) Dexterity: 18 (+4) Constitution: 18 (+4) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 16 (+3) Combat: 20 + 12 = 32PP Initiative: +8 Attack: +10 Base, +12 Utility belt Grapple: +15/18 Defense: +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -4/-7 Saving Throws: 4 + 6 + 4 = 14PP Toughness: +8 (+4 Con, +4 Armored Jumpsuit) Fortitude: +8 (+4 Con, +4) Reflex: +10 (+4 Dex, +6) Will: +7 (+3 Wis, +4) Skills: 104R = 26PP Acrobatics 4 (+8) Bluff 5 (+8/+12 with Attractive) Climb 4 (+9/12) Computers 9 (+11) Diplomacy 5 (+8/12 with Attractive)) Disable Device 11 (+13) Escape Artist 9 (+11) Gather Information 5 (+8) Intimidate 10 (+13) Investigate 6 (+8) Knowledge(Streetwise) 6 (+8) Knowledge(Physical Sciences) 4 (+6) Medicine 5 (+7/+9 with Masterwork Medical Gear) Notice 6 (+8) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 6 (+10) Feats: 17PP Accurate Attack Attractive Contacts Dodge Bonus 6 Equipment 3 [15EP] Hide in Plain Sight Improved Initiative Power Attack Sneak Attack Startle Equipment 3 = 15EP [equip] Armored Jumpsuit(Protection 4)[4EP] Camera[0EP] Cell Phone[0EP] Grapple Gun(Super-Movement 2 (Swinging, Wall-Crawling 1) + Speed 1)[5EP] Handcuffs[0EP] Medical Gear(Masterwork)[2EP] Multitool[1EP] +3EP to Vanguard HQ The Haven for the Features Concealed, Defence System 1 and Holding Cells Powers: 16 + 2 + 12 + 3 = 33PP Alternate Form 3.2[16PP] Damage 2(Talons; Feats: Improved Critical(19-20), Mighty)[4PP] Enhanced Strength 6(Improved Musculature; Feats: Improved Pin)[7PP] Flight 2(Wings; 25MPH, 250ft. per Round)[4PP] Immunity 2(Altered Biology; Cold Environments, Drowning; Flaws: Limited(Half)[1PP] Comprehend 2(Animals, Speak to & Understand; Flaws: Avian Animals Only)[2PP] Device 3(15PP Device; Hard to Lose)[12PP] Utility Belt Array 6(12PP Array, Power Feats: Alternate Power 3)[15PP] Base Power: Blast 5(Eagle Talons; Power Feats: Mighty 2(DMG 7])[12PP] AP: Dazzle 4(Visual Senses; Extras: General Area Burst)[12PP] AP: Obscure 3(Visual Senses, Smoke, 50ft. radius; Extras: Independent, Total Fade)[12PP] AP: Snare 6[12PP] Super-Senses 4(Normal Visual: Counters Obscure(Limited: Water), Extended 1(100 Notice Increments), Low Light Vision)[3PP] Drawbacks: 2 =2PP No Fine Control(Can't use Device while in Alternate Form or manipulate small objects; Frequency: Common; Intensity: Minor)[2PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC20/23 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Dazzle Ranged DC14 Fortitude Blinded Snare Ranged DC16 Reflex (Staged) Entangled/Bound Strike Touch DC27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Totals: Abilities (40) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (26) + Feats (17) + Powers (33) - Drawbacks (2) = 160/164 Power Points

OOC for The Haven is being trawled through and repaired, and is half back on line. Feel free to explore or make rolls to use it if you wish (it is quite safe now!) Social posts for a bit, with Eileen now in the mix, and Blackpool all ready for some ear bashing from Jasmine. We shall then move to examining the Osprey and looking to catch the Tyullian.

GM Meanwhile...below the Thames...in the Haven... The Haven was being tidied, swept, and cleaned. A small horde of tech staff, security forces, and agents were searching it with careful detail. Amongst them, Professor Blackpool, Osprey, and Dr Jasmine Benoit, otherwise known as Catalyst. And a new face, Captain Eileen Rose. She was a woman of average height, with short cropped blonde hair and a handsome face, marred by a scar down one side of her face. She had the body of a muscular snake, all coiled and energetic. Her military fatigues were littered with striped and awards. Captain Rose was simply one of the best the Military had. That was before the Osprey formula had been tried on her. Admittedly at much much lower doses. The only visible sign was the eyes. Black, black and wide. Avian eyes. Not much escaped those eyes, sharp as an eagles. Professor Blackpool had taken them to the Haven's medical laboratories. "This place is a gold mine" he explained. "The Haven had access to all of the Ministries research, including the Osprey formula. But here, here they did so much more! The Osprey formula is only the beginning! You see, its highly unstable..very risky...it can cause..." Captain Rose gave a glare at him with her inhuman eyes. "...yes, well. Its unstable. In essence, it can reset DNA, you see. Stabilise any mutations or deteriorations. Those poor souls that the Haven reactivated? those cyborgs? guess what...they had been stuffed full of the Osprey formula! With the Haven back on line, we may be able to perfect it!"

GM Friday, November 15th, 2013 Southside 10:32 PM The cool November air felt like an early greeting from the forthcoming winter. The waxing gibbous moon overlooking the dark sky was difficult to make out under the cover of a menagerie of thick clouds. If the effulgent lights reflecting from the casinos and various businesses North of the banks of the South River were a symbol of change and prosperity. Then the rigid buildings that have supported multiple generations of families South of that very same river represented perseverance and longevity like nowhere else. Only in the Southside did wealth and poverty truly find themselves standing side by side. With many of the area's affluent neighborhoods paired with those neighborhoods unfortunate to be stricken with rampant crime and misfortune. Outwardly one could be excused for thinking the Southside hasn't changed at all in decades. The mob's influence was as strong as ever, and the perpetual corruption continued to counteract any efforts to improve the situation. But the denizens of the Southside knew better. The heroic efforts of costumed crimefighters who patrolled the area continued to make their streets safer every day providing a magnitude of comfort for those who needed it. And fear for those who needed that even more. Rumours of a new underground designer drug operation had been brewing in the air for days now. There has even been talk of shipments leaving Port Regal for international waters. The distribution has led to increased gang activity as of late with talk of the occasional group of thugs loading up and starting a commotion in unsuspecting areas of the community. Despite all the publicity not a single trace of the source of the drugs distribution could be found. The situation was slowly turning the district into a volatile hotbed for crime and chaos, more so than usual.

OOC for >this thread in which Osprey, Foreshadow, and Net Fly seek to put a stop to a Super Drugs operation.

GM Deptford Docks, London August 31st, Near Midnight... The sky was not as dark as a costumed nocturnal crime fighter would have likes. The stars, and moon, where out in force. The summer heat was ablated somewhat but the Thames, swirling dark through London. The air was dry, and for many it would be a night of music and love. But not for Osprey. Smuggling in London was controlled by one man. The middleman. Who he was, nobody knew. Few even knew of his existence. But he had his finger in every pie. The gangs of London knew exactly who they had to go through to get 'product' in. Or, in some cases, out. And a major haul of drugs was coming in. The superdrug Max, by all accounts. On a small freighter docked in the pier, being unloaded by a gang of heavies. As Osprey looked on, he saw the five men being approached by two policemen, who started asking questions...

OOC for Short intro thread for Osprey

The Vanguard were the united kingdoms major superteam in the late twentieth century, forming slowly between 1970 and 1980. Much is known about them, from press cuttings and interviews. Of course, some information is more classified, and known only to those with access to the Ministry of Powers files on these exceptional individuals. What is not known is how and why they disappeared overnight...