Bluesman (PL10) - Ironox

[Ironox]

Player Name: Ironox

Character Name: Bluesman II

Power Level: 10 (153/155PP)

Trade-Offs: +2 Attack/-2 Damage, +2 Defense/-2 Toughness

Unspent Power Points: 2

Progress To Bronze Status: 5/30

In Brief: Great-grandson of Chester Brown, the gangbusting Bluesman of the 20s and 30s, the second Bluesman looks to live up to his family's legacy both as a hero and musician.

Alternate Identity: Joshua Brown

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Lincoln, Freedom City

Occupation: Struggling musician.

Affiliations: None

Family: Carter Brown, father. Anaya Brown, mother. Charity and Candace Brown, twin younger sisters. Chester Brown Jr., grandfather and trainer

Description:

Age: 21 (DoB: December 1990)

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: African-American

Height: 6'

Weight: 180 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Joshua stands out a bit in a crowd. Standing fairly tall at almost six feet exactly with an athletic build, he looks more like a professional athlete than the struggling musician he is (or at least professes to be). Still, his physical gifts, helped along with a good amount of training, are fairly evident. His hair is kept cropped close to his head in a caesar. His clothes are non-descript most of the time, and might be a little ragged, most of it coming from thrift stores. If given an opportunity, however, he cleans up very well. He is actually quite handsome, and can be charming when he puts his mind to it. However, he doesn't think of it too much, and doesn't always put this to use.

Most would not recognize him at night, however. Dressed in a fedora, a (usually slightly wrinkled) sport coat and slacks with loosened tie, and domino mask, the Bluesman's crusade on the criminal element of Freedom City continues in a new era. Inspired by his great-grandfather, he walks the night as a masked man of mystery, using his guile and skill to fight enemies both mundane and super. Or at least survive until the sunrise, as he likes to say from time to time.

History: Josh was born into the Brown family, famous among superhero circles as the descendants of the Bluesman, one of the famous "mystery men" of the 20s and 30s. Chester Brown's son and grandson followed in his path as musicians, if not heroes, both becoming fairly famous local musicians. However, when Josh was born, it was both of his great-grandfather's lives that caught his attention. He followed the exploits of modern heroes closely, wanting to be like those heroes as a young child. He especially idolized those heroes without powers, standing up against threats with only wits and guile (and perhaps a bit of high-tech). He shared this dual passion with music, learning to sing and play guitar at a young age as well.

This was not unnoticed by his family, however; namely, his grandfather. His grandfather let him in on a little secret that he had not told his son; he had wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, and was trained to do so. However, the original Bluesman's death as well as a leg injury meant that Chester Jr. could not take up the mantle. However, he could train Josh to do so. Josh jumped at the chance. He learned the skills of the mystery men; how to fight, how to investigate crimes, and other useful skills.

Once Chester Jr. was satisfied with his grandson's skills, he revealed one more secret; the preserved suit, hat, mask, and gear of the Bluesman. And so, Josh began his own career as the second Bluesman. At the moment, he lives with his grandfather; ostensibly so that he can live in the city rather than the suburbs until he can get an apartment of his own. For now, Josh has managed to stay out of the news enough that he hasn't had to explain anything to his parents. Of course, since he's pretty much the most obvious suspect as the new Bluesman should anyone do any research into it, he tries hard to keep his head down. Still, it won't last forever, he realizes. But he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it, he figures.

For now, Josh earns money as a musician to help his grandfather make rent and pay his own bills. He usually can make the bills working either as a session musician or playing bars, but its usually a close thing. Still, he wouldn't have it any other way. He even manages to cobble a little together to help fund his nightly exploits. He might not have all the high tech tools, but he's got a nice suit, a sweet hat, and not enough sense to stop getting himself beat up every night. Life is good.

Personality & Motivation: On the whole, Josh is laid-back and mellow in demeanor, and one of his greatest strengths is the ability to keep a cool head even in the most stressful situations. This isn't to say he is completely passive, however. Much to the contrary, he can get pretty competitive and ambitious at times, though it's usually friendly when he does. He has a bit of a sarcastic streak to say the least, and tends towards gallows humor to deal with stress. Despite this he is rather caring and has a bit of a hero complex; he can't stand by when something is going on and he can help. He is a charmer through and through, and is quite unashamed of it. He is a bit of a flirt, and definitely a sucker for a pretty face, but he usually means well. Perhaps the only time he seems completely serious is when composing or playing his music.

Josh, despite his almost carefree demeanor, is deceptively smart and cunning, has a great deal of common sense and is very good at thinking on his feet, which has served him well. He can quickly dissect a situation, formulate a plan for solving a problem, and execute it. This makes him tend towards rashness at times, however, trusting his gut rather than taking a second look. While he is self-reliant and at the moment works alone, he enjoys working with others whenever possible; especially other heroes. He is both mentally and physically tough, and is the type to never know when to say quit, which has both served him well and gotten him in trouble in equal measure.

Powers & Tactics:

Josh is a normal human (for a certain value of normal, anyway), which means that he has to rely on training and a couple gadgets to get the job done. He has a couple of interesting little gadgets that he inherited from his predecessor; not exactly high-tech, but very durable and quite able to perform their functions. He is also a trained boxer and wrestler, able to hold his own in a fist fight. He is also skilled at stealth and misdirection as well. He is also a skilled detective despite his young age, able to dissect a scene and find clues easily.

---

Complications:

Secret: While he is proud to carry the mantle of the Bluesman, Josh knows that it wouldn't be too hard to intuit who he is. So, he tries to stay out of the spotlight to keep his secret, and his family safe.

Struggling: Josh makes a living as a musician. He can usually keep the bills paid and pay his half of his grandfather's rent. But he doesn't have a lot of spending money.

Enemies: Josh has made an enemy of organized crime, though they don't realize the connection between him and the Bluesman. For now, though, anyone wearing a suit and a domino mask is persona non grata to the mob.

Abilities: 8 + 8 + 6 + 8 + 6 + 8 = 44PP

Strength: 18 (+4)

Dexterity: 18 (+4)

Constitution: 16 (+3)

Intelligence: 18 (+4)

Wisdom: 16 (+3)

Charisma: 18 (+4)

Combat: 14 + 16 = 30PP

Initiative: +8

Attack: +12 Melee, +7 Ranged

Grapple: +15

Defense: +12 (+8 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -4, -2 Flat-footed

Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 6 = 16PP

Toughness: +8 (+3 Con, +4 Defensive Roll, +1 Jacket), +4 Flat-footed

Fortitude: +8 (+3 Con, +5)

Reflex: +9 (+4 Dex, +5)

Will: +9 (+3 Wis, +6)

Skills: 124R = 31PP

Acrobatics +8 (+12)^{Skill Mastery}

Bluff +9 (+13, +17 Attractive)^{Skill Mastery}

Diplomacy +8 (+12, +16 Attractive)

Disable Device +8 (+12)^{Skill Mastery}

Escape Artist +4 (+8)

Gather Information +8 (+12)

Intimidate +4 (+8)

Investigate +8 (+12)

Knowledge (Art) +4 (+8)

Knowledge (Pop Culture) +4 (+8)

Knowledge (Streetwise) +4 (+8)

Notice +8 (+11)

Perform (Singing) +8 (+12)

Perform (Stringed Instruments) +15 (+19)

Search +8 (+11)

Sense Motive +8 (+11)

Stealth +8 (+12)^{Skill Mastery}

Feats: 28PP

Attack Focus (Melee) 5

Attractive

Defensive Roll 2

Dodge Focus 4

Equipment 2

Evasion 1

Fascinate (Perform [stringed Instruments])

Hide in Plain Sight

Improved Initiative

Improvised Tools

Jack-of-all-Trades

Luck 2

Move-by Action

Redirect

Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Disable Device, Stealth)

Takedown Attack 1

Taunt

Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Equipment 2 (10EP)

1 + 5 + 1 + 3 = 10EP

Armored Jacket: Protection 1 [1EP]

Grapple Gun: Super-Movement 2 (Slow Fall, Swinging) + Speed 1 [10mph / 100ft per Move Action]) [5EP]

Laptop: [1EP]

Throwing Stars: Blast 0 (Power Feats: Mighty 3) [3EP]

Powers: 4 = 4PP

Device 1 (5PP Container, Flaws: Hard-To-Lose [4PP] (Weighted Gloves & Steel-Toed Shoes)

Damage 4 (PF: Mighty) [5PP]

DC Block

ATTACK            RANGE    SAVE                       EFFECT

Unarmed           Touch    DC19 Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

Weighted Gloves   Touch    DC23 Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

Throwing Stars    Ranged   DC18 Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

Totals: Abilities (44) + Combat (30) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (32) + Feats (27) + Powers (4) - Drawbacks (0) = 153/155 Power Points

[Dr Archeville]

Fluff: Looks great!

Just a few mechanical errors:

Combat:

Initiative: Should be +8 (+4 Dex, +4 from Improved Initiative)

Grapple is +15 -- Attack Focus (Melee) does add to Grapple. (Attack Specialization [unarmed] does not.)

Base Defense 8 + Dodge Focus 5 = Defense 13, not 12.

Knockback: As with Toughness (see below), you should note his KB when he's flat-footed.

Saves:

Toughness: You should note his Toughness when he is flat-footed, and thus not benefiting from the Defensive roll.

Feats

I count 28 feats, not 29.

Equipment
Cell phones are free, so you've got 1 ep free.

Skills

Knowledge (Art) is not fully statted (you've listed ranks, not total modifier).

DC Block

This is slightly off -- base for Damage effects is 15, not 10, so his Damage is DC 19 unarmed, 23 w/ Gloves.

[Ironox]

Fixed the typos and added the notes requested. I removed a rank of Dodge Focus to get down to my cap, and added the extra two points as skill ranks. Added a laptop to his Equipment.

[Dr Archeville]

Your Defense still lists +5 Dodge bonus

You have 28 feats, not 27.

You have 1pp unspent (since you've got 28 feats, not 27). You'll need to spend that, since we don't allow chars to start with unspent points. (If nothing else, take a 3rd rank of Luck, or the second Takedown feat, or two more ranks on two Knowledges so you can get those up to +10.)

[Ironox]

Sorry, missed that fix. Should be good now.

I counted again and got 27 feats. I think I just messed up the summary at the end, but I might have missed something. I should be up to 150/150 now, unless I'm missing something.

[Dr Archeville]

:approved:

[Avenger Assembled]

APPROVED

[Dr Archeville]

Archived due to inactivity.