Crusader, PL 10, Granspear ZX (Bronze)

[GranspearZX]

Player Name: GranspearZX

Character Name: Crusader

Power Level: 10 (152/156PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Unspent PP: 4

Progress to Silver Status: 6/60 (Bronze Status earned with Arcturus)

In Brief: A high school teacher trying to follow in the footsteps of his father.

Alternate Identities: Clark Allen Noble

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Freedom City

Occupation: High School Teacher

Affiliations: FDR High School, The Vanguard

Family: Carla Noble (mother), Benjamin Noble (brother), Regina Noble (sister)

Age: 32 (DoB: May 1979)

Apparent Age: 32

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Irish

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 231 lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blonde

Description: Clark Noble could easily be mistaken as a professional athlete; tall and muscular, Clark is a wide-shouldered and often imposing figure to most. His short, blonde hair is often hidden underneath a featureless black cap, and sunglasses usually shade his dark blue eyes.

As the Crusader, his costume is white and red, with red boots and gloves. He also wears a white mask that covers his entire face. His round shield is white, as well, with a red cross dominating its center.

Power Descriptions: Clark doesn't appear to have much in the way of superpowers, but he manages to hold his own with the help of extensive physical training and the help of his shield. The shield itself seems to have unusual properties of its own, virtually indestructible.

History: Clark lead a fairly simple life. He was the first in a set of triplets, and for years it was speculated that being the first-born afforded him a unique advantage. He was an especially charismatic and focused young man, and while he was a fairly perceptive child, he never really noticed that his father wasn't around all that often. As a 5-year old, he was a bit too young to understand what exactly his father was doing. Eventually, Clark did find out, after finding his father sneaking into the house late one night--in costume as the Crusader. In exchange for keeping his father's secret, Brian Noble promised to teach Clark everything that he knew; with the climate as it was for superheroes in the early 80s, Brian could only hope the city would relinquish its ban on their activities.

Tragedy struck in 1993; the Terminus Invasion caused widespread chaos across the city, and Brian Noble went missing during the evacuation of their neighborhood, and when it was all over, many heroes were gone--including the Crusader. Only Clark knew his father's secret, and only he knew that his father was more than just 'missing'. It forced him to grow up a bit faster, taking on the responsibilities of his family even as his twin brother and sister put an increasing strain on his grief-stricken mother. In 1998, he graduated from high school; he nearly joined the military until he started having odd, unsettling dreams of his father. Keeping the part-time job he'd found, he started recreating his father's costume from memory--memories that, he soon discovered, weren't entirely his own. Visiting his father's grave in Memorial Grove, he was suddenly flooded mentally by a vision of his father's spirit--and every Crusader before him, stretching back to the 13th century. When he awoke, nearly a week had passed, and his father's shield lay along side his gravestone. Using his newly acquired powers, he began building on the legacy his father and his ancestors left behind.

Operating largely out of Hanover, Clark put himself through college and earned a B.S. in Athletic Training with a minor in biomechanics, later earning a Master's in education. By then, his sister had moved on, working for the World Health Organization; Robert, however, had developed a gambling addiction. More than once, Clark tried to bail his brother out of situations involving drugs and owing mobsters money, only to later have to take him down along with the other criminals he encountered as the Crusader.

Personality & Motivation: Most people who get to know Clark find him to be very easy going, although his naturally competitive nature often manifests itself from the sidelines when he's coaching. As the Crusader, he tries to curb that instinct and is exceptionally well-suited to working with others. As a leader, he can be an insufferable optimist, stubborn and unrelenting when it comes to achieving his goals. Driven by the desire to honor the Crusader legacy, he presses forward, no matter what, though never at the expense of sacrificing anyone but himself.

He isn't at all the single-minded simpleton that his moral code and lax attitude would lead one to believe, however; while strives to be the quintessential hero, he recognizes that he's human. If nothing else, he tries to conduct himself as a role model, but even he has moments of weakness where righteous indignation overtakes any pretense of taking the moral high road.

Powers & Tactics: Crusader's martial ability with the shield stems from an ancestral knowledge passed down through several generations of heroes who have taken up the Crusader mantle. Though still well within the range of his physical capabilities, Crusader's core abilities come not from any one object, but lifetimes of memories and instinct.

Clark has never been one to shy away from a fight, but he's surprisingly adept at team tactics, able to analyze both his allies' strengths as well as his enemies' strengths and weaknesses. He often prefers to use the Crusader Shield's ricochet effect to dispatch weaker enemies before focusing on the greatest threat, charging shield-first into foes too tough to be taken out from a distance.

---

Complications:

Hatred: Clark's dislike for organized crime borders on the irrational; he's often a little bit rougher with gangsters and mobsters than he probably should be.

Mistaken Identity: Clark's twin brother, Ben, is a notorious gambler and owes a lot of people money, superpowered and not. Despite Clark's best efforts to keep his brother out of trouble, he often gets caught in the crossfire of his brother's immoral behavior.

People's Champ: Clark is guided--and often bound--by his moral code, and he finds it difficult to do anything that might be perceived as 'unheroic'. He'll never willingly strike a downed opponent, and is extremely reluctant to put women or kids in jeopardy.

Secret Identity: No one else knows that Clark Noble is the Crusader--a separation that Clark will go to great lengths to keep a secret.

Warrior's Pride: Clark has difficulty backing down from a fight, especially a one-on-one challenge.

Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?: Clark finds most reptiles to be repulsive, but snakes are the absolute worst.

Working Stiff: Clark Noble is a high school football coach and history teacher at FDR High School. He takes his job pretty seriously, and has been known to lose sleep over trying to keep up with his double life.

Abilities: 8 + 6 + 10 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 32PP

Strength: 18 (+4)

Dexterity: 16 (+3)

Constitution: 20 (+5)

Intelligence: 12 (+1)

Wisdom: 12 (+1)

Charisma: 14 (+2)

Combat: 16 + 8 = 24PP

Initiative: +7

Attack: +8 (+10 Shield Fighting Mastery)

Grapple: +12

Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +0 Dodge Focus, +6 Shield), +2 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -10 (-16 w/ Impervium Shield)

Saving Throws: 4 + 5 + 7 = 16PP

Toughness: +10 (+5 Con, +5 Costume); Imp 10 w/ Impervium Shield

Fortitude: +9 (+5 Con, +4)

Reflex: +8 (+3 Dex, +5)

Will: +8 (+1 Wis, +7)

Skills: 60R = 15PP

Acrobatics 9 (+12)

Climb 2 (+6)

Craft (Mechanical) 5 (+6)

Diplomacy 2 (+4)

Intimidate 4 (+6)

Knowledge (History) 4 (+5)

Knowledge (Tactics) 7 (+8)

Language (Native: English; Russian)

Notice 5 (+6)

Search 5 (+6)

Sense Motive 6 (+7)

Stealth 6 (+9)

Swim 4 (+8)

Feats: 21PP

Acrobatic Bluff

Assessment

Attack Specialization (Shield Fighting Mastery)

Blind-Fight

Defensive Attack

Improved Critical 2 (Shield)

Improved Defense

Improved Initiative

Inspire 3

Interpose

Leadership

Luck 2

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Precise Shot

Quick Change

Quick Draw

Powers: 15 + 1 + 5 + 21 + 2 = 44PP

Device 4 (20PP Container, Extra Effort applies to user, Flaws: Easy To Lose, Feats: Indestructible, Restricted 2 [Crusader]) (Crusader Shield, Impervium) [15PP]

Immovable 6 (Resist Movement +24, Resist Knockback -6; Flaws: Action [free]) [3PP]

Impervious Toughness 10 [10PP]

Strike 5 (Feats: Mighty, Thrown [5 10ft range increments]) [7PP]

Leaping 1 (x2 [28ft Running Long Jump, 14ft Standing Long Jump, 7ft Vertical Jump]) (Training) [1PP]

Protection 5 (Costume) [5PP]

Shield Fighting Mastery (20PP Container, Feats: Innate) [21PP]

Shield 5 (+5 dodge bonus; Flaws: Limited [Requires shield]) [10PP]

Blast 6 (Feats: Mighty 5, Ricochet 1; Extras: Area [burst, Targeted, 30ft. Radius], Selective Attack; Flaws: Limited [Requires shield], Side Effect [Disarmed on missed attack roll], Drawback: Minimum Range [1/4 max range]) (Shield Throw) [15PP]

Speed 2 (25mph / 250' per Move Action) (Training) [2PP]

DC Block:

ATTACK           RANGE     SAVE                       EFFECT

Unarmed Touch DC19 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)

Shield Strike Touch DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)

Shield Throw Ranged* DC24 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)

*(60 ft, 30 ft. Targeted Burst Radius; 15 ft. minimum range)

Abilities (32) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (15) + Feats (21) + Powers (44) - Drawbacks (0) = 152/156 Power Points

[Raveled]

... Deflect? Really, man?

[GranspearZX]

What's wrong with Deflect? *blink*

[Raveled]

It's hugely points-inefficient. Let's look at a break-down.

Base Deflect requires you to take a Standard action to negate an attack from one of three sources; fast projectiles, slow projectiles, or melee attacks. In essence it is Nullify (Attacks) Limited to one of those three. To block all of them requires 3 PP/rank. Moreover, ever attack after the first imposes stacking penalties. Since Deflect is limited to PL, you're already only going to have a 50/50 chance of blocking any attack from an opponent of your PL; throw in a higher-PL opponent or some Minions to wear you down first, and your chances start to go down the drain. To be able to block anything without penalties buying Deflect up to a Reaction, or +3 Extra. Now we're at 6 PP/rank, and all we're doing is negating attacks; to send them back at an opponent requires another rank of an extra, so 7 PP/rank.

Compare this to an alternative, Reflective Toughness. It requires that a character's Toughness be Impervious, so that's +1, and it requires +2 Extra to reflect all damage, but the damage hits automatically. There's a fair chance most mooks would be taken out by their own attacks, and even if they didn't the attack wouldn't hurt at all anyway.

As it stands you could probably grab full Impervious Toughness from the shield itself, and then grab Reflective to either melee or ranged attacks within the Shield Fighting Mastery container.

[GranspearZX]

Okay, now that THAT'S fixed...

Gonna have to think about that reflective bit for future edits. :)