Penitent (PL10 Hero)

[Shofet]

Player Name: Shofet

Character Name: The Penitent

Power Level: 10 (150/150PP)

Trade-Offs: +3 Toughness/-3 Defense

Unspent Power Points: 0

Progress To Bronze Status: 0/30

In Brief: Sin-eater who takes on the burden of redeeming a thousand damned souls.

Alternate Identity: Bram Davis

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Charleston, WV, United States of America

Occupation: None

Affiliations: An esoteric order of Sin-Eaters

Family: None that recognise him as such

Description: A demonic looking being.

Age: 25 (DoB: Wednesday, January 4th, 1987

Apparent Age: Twenty-five

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Scottish-Appalachian (so Caucasian)

Height: 6'04"

Weight: 242 lb

Eyes: Red irises, yellow sclera, cat's pupils

Hair: Jet black

A tall, burly man with an explicitly demonic look about him, with long, black horns curving from his head, short barbs and spines extending from various spots in his ash-grey skin, and a mouth full of snow-white fangs. His head is topped with a mop of jet black hair that splays in various directions, sometimes obscuring his pointed ears. He has no facial hair to speak of, and does not seem to grow any stubble. His eyebrows and mouth are curved just so, making it look like even when he's smiling something has put him in a foul mood. All over his torso are Latin, Arabic and Hebrew names for Angels and titles for God in the form of tattoos written in black ink and highly stylised.

Power Descriptions:

In general, his powers betray a supernatural sense about him, and a connection with the dead. For example, when he flies, the observant (and magically attuned) can see faint, ghostly hands holding him up, or when he strikes someone with his super-strength, the afformentioned observant and magical individual will see many ghostly hands striking instead of just his. Additionally, when he uses his powers of Hellfire, the strong smell of sulfur remains.

History:

Bram Davis was born just outside of Charleston, West Virginia, to a very distinctly Appalachian family of one Mister Andrew Davis and a lovely Missus Marienne Davis (nee Abernathy). However, once one got past the stereotypes, it could be noticed that this couple was a lot more intelligent than some random couple of hillbillies, and frankly, a bit more eerie. Both of them were Sin-Eaters, a people who came from a long tradition extending back into the earliest days of Christendom in the British Isles. Sin-eaters, originally, were people who "ate" the sins of the very recently dead, ensuring their path into Heaven, while feeding the bellies of the sin-eaters, who were generally poor folk. Over time, this ritualised in the Applachian area, forming a sort of esoteric order of people who did so while creating a safety net for the generally poor population that performed this.

Bram himself was born, perhaps somewhat spectacularly, with a pure heart that had staying power. The boy was never given to lust, or hate, or anger, and never thought a selfish thought in all his life. This, of course, was a bit of a spectacle among people like the Davis' and other members of their strange order, who made sure to cultivate this. Bram remained well-liked, if avoided by those wishing to have a particularly visceral party, and was instructed in how a sin-eater works in his youth until the day came that he would be a man.

Now, there was a ritual among the order that those newly inducted into being a full-fledged sin-eater would go out into the world for a few years, and help use their gift all over. Bram was quite excited about the prospect, loving the idea of helping those in need. However, Bram was pulled aside by the leaders. Since the initiation for all was done in secret, as was the going away, this was the last time Bram would see his parents. It was explained to Bram thus:

"You see, my boy, that there are those souls in Hell that, while damned, may have not been evil if not forced into a desparate situation by circumstance. While certainly there are truly evil souls out there, it has been felt that some should be given the chance to be spared by a particular custom we have.

"We have, once every few generations, found a child born with a pure heart and given them a choice. If you accept our offer, a thousand souls of those who, not through pain but genuine desire to make good, wish to repent their actions and make good what they have done wrong on Earth. While their absolution is no guarantee, by accepting our offer, you would give them that chance to be accepted into a realm befitting their intentions.

"This would admittedly change you greatly, and you would be beholden to the vice that you have miraculously avoided all your life, but it brings with you the chance to do these thousand right."

Out of his own innocence, and perhaps foolishness, Bram accepted this burden upon himself. A thousand damned souls were bound to the body of Bram Davis, using the names of Angels and titles of the Lord in Hebrew, Latin and Arabic. Through this, the personality of the original Bram Davis faded, and was replaced with a new being: the Penitent. Now, emotions such as anger, jealousy, hate and pain became very real to him while his form became something demonic. However, he was instructed to, despite all this, help these souls reach their reward, defend those who are good from the forces of evil, and perhaps most importantly, help the living evil turn back to good. To do this, he was given three strictures:

1) He may not ever take a human or sapient life unless under the most absolutely dire circumstances, whereby humanity faces total extinction if avoided.

2) He may not ever violate the free will of another thinking being by sullying their mind through attempted control and may not tolerate it in others.

3) He must always be willing to allow forgiveness of an individual, no matter how badly they have wronged him. Revenge can not be taken by him in even the pettiest of ways.

So he ventured out into the world under the cover of night, and set out to right wrongs. This has served him well for the past few years, however, a silent calling and a sudden doubling in power has led him to Freedom City to deal with something he can feel coming.

Personality & Motivation:

Anyone who knew the meek, charming, somewhat thick Bram Davis would not be easily convinced the Penitent is the same man. The Penitent is a passionate, sarcastic, aggressive and obnoxious being, with a personality given to self-indulgence. However, there are areas where his original personality shines through. The Penitent is a fervent egalitarian, seeing no reason anyone should be treated different for any reason; additionally, while his temper lights up faster than a powder-keg with a lit match in it, it also snuffs like a candle in a stiff breeze. He also has a very strong sense of empathy, and a lot of his bravado disappears when he sees someone who is truly miserable or upset, which will get him to do his best to talk.

The Penitent's main motivation, unsurprisingly enough, is to help people. Not out of a sense of justice or duty, because while those are present, his main way of thinking is that he really just doesn't like seeing people being hurt, emotionally or physically. This means that while he does indeed try to save the day, he's often focused on helping the people hurt in the aftermath in a crime, or even the criminal themself. Thus, while his temper sometimes gets in the way, he lives to help everyone whatever side of life they are on.

Powers & Tactics:

The Penitent's style of fighting is quick incapacitation, with the quicker, the better. When fighting an opponent that is truly dangerous (i.e., willing to hurt, or, god forbid, kill civilians) that he can't knock down right away, the Penitent makes sure to make himself seem the biggest threat at the moment so any attacks will be focused on him instead of the populace. Since he is rather tougher than the average person, he is less afraid of getting close up to a strong enemy, but he still prefers to open with a ranged blast of Hellfire.

---

Complications:

Unsettling: Regardless of his intentions or personality, the fact that the Penitent is carrying a thousand dead guys (and ladies!) around with him, coupled with his demonic appearance, naturally puts people off around him. While many are capable of ignoring it or even eventually getting used to it, an eerie feeling surrounds him and people subconsciously are drawn to thoughts of their own mortality. This has a double-effect with those explicitly tied to the dead or any of the afterlives, as they see in full form several ghostly forms clinging to him, ranging from about eight to ten at any given time and switching every once in a while.

Penniless: The Penitent, due to the fact that he looks explicitly like a demon all the time and is naturally eerie, can not find himself a place willing to hire him. This is coupled with him being horrifically bad with money, meaning most of his money is blown on some variety of drink with food as an afterthought. As such, he has no money to speak of and generally no place to live.

Tempted: While Bram's soul is the one in control and his purity has gone a long way in keeping the Penitent from becoming wicked, there are still a thousand others who are there and their own issues do affect the Penitent greatly. The Penitent fights a constant battle to never go too far. Coupled with his temper, it can be very difficult and losing the battle is always almost a pleasant thought.

Bound by Stricture: Part of the Penitent's issue is how absolute his strictures are, and how he's supposed to ensure them in others. That means that he won't work with anyone who actively controls minds or uses mental manipulation, or someone working for the purpose of vengeance. He also is obligated to be forgiving of someone who is genuinely sorry for what they have done, meaning the expedient solution isn't always the one he can take.

Abilities: 5 + 0 + 6 + 8 + 6 + 8 = 33PP

Strength: 30 (15) (+10/+2)

Dexterity: 10 (+0)

Constitution: 26 (16) (+8/+4)

Intelligence: 18 (+4)

Wisdom: 16 (+3)

Charisma: 18 (+4)

Combat: 4 + 14 + 6 + 2 = 26

Initiative: +2

Attack: +10 Melee, +3 Ranged

Grapple: +1

Defense: +7

Knockback: -0

Saving Throws: 3 + 3 = 6PP

Toughness: +13 (+8 CON, +5 Impervious Toughness)

Fortitude: +8 (+8 CON)

Reflex: +3 (+5)

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

Skills: 24R = 6PP

Diplomacy 4 (+8)

Gather Information 4 (+9)

Intimidate 8 (+13)

Investigate 4 (+9)

Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 4 (+6)

Feats: 10PP

All-Out Attack

Fast Overrun

Fearless

Improved Grab

Improved Grapple

Improved Overrun

Improved Sunder

Jack-Of-All-Trades

Startle

Rage

Powers: 7 + 1 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 5 + 27 = 77PP

All powers have the "magic" descriptor

Communication 5; Spiritual Messenger; Extras: Area Power Feats: Selective Range 5 Miles, Mental [7PP]

Comprehend 1: Languages Drawbacks: Broad-type (limited to human languages only) Power Feats: Innate [2PP]

Enhanced Constitution 10 [10PP]

Enhanced Constitution 15 [15PP]

Flight 6: 500 MPH / 5 000 ft per move action [12PP]

Impervious Toughness 5; Extras: Impervious; Flaws: Ablative (Physical) [5PP]

Infernal Power Array 10 (20 points) Power Feats: Accurate 3[27PP]

BPHellfire Control 8Brimstone Flames; Feats: Split 2, Affects Insubstantial 2 {20PP}

Alternate Power: Dazzle(auditory) 10 Terrible Howling (Auditory); ExtrasArea Cone {20PP}

Alternate Power: Healing 9 Unholy Salvation; Extras: Energizing, Resurrection {20PP}

Alternate Power: Drain 10( Ghastly Leech Extras: Link (strike){20PP}

Alternate Power: Disintegration 5( Ravages of the Afterlife; {20PP}

Drawbacks

Power Loss (Holy Places: Uncommon, Major) [-3PP]

Vulnerable (Divine: Very Common, Major) [-5PP]

DC Block

      ATTACK   RANGE   SAVE                      EFFECT

      Unarmed  Touch   DC25 Toughness (staged)   Damage (physical)

      Blast    Ranged  DC24 Toughness (staged)   Damage (energy)

      Dazzle   Ranged  DC17 Reflex/Fortitude     Sensory (auditory)

      Disint.  Ranged  DC24 Fortitude/Toughness  Damage (trait/physical)

      Drain    Touch   DC25 Fortitude (staged)   Damage (trait)

Totals: Abilities (33) + Combat (26) + Saving Throws (6) + Skills (6) + Feats (10) + Powers (77) - Drawbacks (8) = 150/150 Power Points

I put this in here on the reccomendation of Aoiroo so non-mods can find math flaws that I have failed to see.