Mithril Man (PL10) - Adam The Astute

[AdamTheAstute]

Player Name: AdamTheAstute

Character Name: Mithril Man

Power Level: 10 (150)

Trade-Offs: -2 Attack/ +2 Damage (Blast), None (Unarmed)

Unspent Power Points: 0

Progress To Bronze Status: 0/30

In Brief: Once a boy weakened by physical impairments, this southern sweetheart was given a the unique opportunity of being a UNISON agent decked out in powered armor!

Alternate Identity: Adam Nelon

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Pell City, AL

Occupation: Military

Affiliations: UNISON

Family: Kathleen Nelon (Mother), Orin Nelon (Father), Geoffry Warren (Half-Brother)

Description:

Age: 18 (DoB: November 7, 1993)

Apparent Age: N/A

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Height: 5'7â€

Weight: 140 lbs

Eyes: Dark Brown

Hair: Dark Brown

Though he is fairly young for a wielder of powered armor, beneath it all, Adam is a fairly lanky individual. Though mildly pot-bellied, he is rather slender, to the point of seeming emaciated. His casual form of dress is usually a pair of loose jeans, a short-sleeve T-Shirt, and a hooded jacket, alongside some white sneakers. Though it would be hard to notice, a look at the young man's face suggests a rather haggard appearance, his eyes looking sunken in and squinted, hidden behind golden glasses. Essentially skin and bone, nothing about him would ever make you think he was anything more than a below Average Joe. His hair and eyes are a very dark shade of brown, almost to the point of seeming black as pitch, and his hair is worn as a long mane which he uses to hide his gaunt face.

Power Descriptions:

Contrary to what his name implies, Mithril Man does not in fact wear a suit of armor made of Mithril. It is instead made of several different metals that, when combined, gives the armor the appearance of the fictional metal. Resembling silver, this alloy is known for being lightweight, yet incredibly sturdy, which is a good thing, as it allows the suit to accessible to this slender southern sentinel, as it enables him a full range of mobility and combat prowess while in this silver soup can of his. It comes equipped with a set of energy emitters on his hands and feet which fire green bolts of plasma, with which he can both propel himself and blast his enemies. In addition, it also comes equipped with a Radar system based within a special OS within the suit, allowing for him to stay on his toes in the heat of battle.

History:

At a young age, Adam Nelon was cursed with a muscular condition known as Cerebral Palsy, on top of Asthma, as a result of premature birth. Though weakened because of it, Adam grew up to be a spry, bright-eyed, and surprisingly quite intelligent young boy. For the majority of his life, he grew up in Pell City, a small town situated in Northern Alabama with nothing particularly remarkable. While having grown up in the boonies, Adam learned to be rather well-mannered and well-spoken, often confounding his peers with an astoundingly deep vernacular at the age of six, although at the cost of not having many friends.

As far as his personal life went, Adam lived a subpar life of paycheck to paycheck, content with only getting through the day in school and gaming through the night at home. Though his family was dysfunctional, he soldiered through some of the worst tortures of Middle School and High School, and through the torture managed to blossom into a fairly stable adult.

Seeking to study abroad among friends in England, Adam used what little money he had to buy a plane ticket to London. However, rather than have a leisurely flight across the pond, the young adult ended up becoming a part of the tarmac though having taken the brunt a transport shuttle, breaking several bones in his body, leaving him very close to dying, had it not been for the intervention of a local military detachment, who were at the scene not long before the incident.

Over the course of several months, Adam was kept in a comatose state as his broken body was mended by a team of the American military's finest doctors and surgeons, several of which working day and night, to restore the body to proper condition. Upon being resuscitated, the military recruited him for an experiment called the Mithril Project, which was intended to help the disabled contribute to both the military and peacekeeping in Freedom City. As it had been discovered, unlike previous applicants to the project, Adam had a unique biochemical makeup in his brain than the average person. This certain makeup enabled his neurological makeup to endure the rigors of prolonged usage of Project Mithril's neural interface network, which in most subjects, would result in burn outs after even mere hours of sustained use. This made him the ideal being for this particular experiment, and with their funding being on death's door, this would be their final chance at proving that the armor could be successful. Seeing as he wasn't going to be going much of anywhere for any considerable amount of time, he eagerly accepted, and was put into a training regiment to both calibrate and test his full capabilities in piloting powered armor. In the end, after a long stint of training, Adam was offered the opportunity of a lifetime; to see the world as a UNISON agent. The idea of being able to travel the world, solving the problems it holds as Mithril Man!

Personality & Motivation:

Both inside and outside the suit, Adam, in spite of military training, remains a stable and stoic individual, if only to keep himself in order when completing a mission. His mind, though having been tried time and again, remains clear and focused, hiding behind a laid-back, calm demeanor. While not keen on rushing a task, if the threat is severe enough to warrant so, he will leap into action as the need arises. While not exactly a loner, his skills around people are fairly rusty, particularly around older people. He tends to prefer children, as they are more easily amazed by the feats that he can perform with his new suit. This doesn't mean he can't socialize with older folk. He often prefers people who are able to understand what he's discussing, and will often go into rants and detailed explanations if they don't. While always eager to go out and fight whatever the enemy of the day/week is, he often likes to relax in his apartment, fire up his game console, and unwind by the end of day.

In review, Adam is intelligent, but also a rather fun-loving young adult who's just as likely to hunker down for some Call of Duty as he is to answer it. When the chips are down, this young man is ready to serve for not only his country, but the world at large.

Powers & Tactics:

Adam's preferred tactic in battle is to usually use his armor's systems to keep his enemies at bay, closing the distance when he sees an opportunity to strike down his opponent in melee combat. While not above getting dirty as the need sees it, he prefers to try to give a clean fight if he can get away with it. His favorite tactic in a heated battle is to attempt to flank his opponent and go for a back shot with his palm blasters, then hammering down with his fists to bring the enemy down to his level.

---

Complications:

Phobia: Hydrophobia

Physical Disability: Paraplegic When Out of Suit

Secret: Identity

Abilities: 40pp

Strength: 30/18(+10/4)

Dexterity: 20 (+5)

Constitution: 18 (+4)

Intelligence: 16 (+3)

Wisdom: 14 (+2)

Charisma: 14 (+2)

Combat: 24 pp

Initiative: +5

Attack: +6 (+8 Blast/+10 Melee)

Grapple: +14/+26

Defense: +10, +3 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -0

Saving Throws: 13PP

Toughness: +10 (+4 Con, +6 Protection)

Fortitude: +8 (+4 Con, +4)

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

Will: +8 (+2 Wis, +6)

Skills: 60R = 15PP

Craft (Electronic) 7 (+10, Skill Mastery)

Craft (Mechanical) 7 (+10, Skill Mastery)

Diplomacy 8 (+10)

Intimidate 8 (+10)

Knowledge (Tactics) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (Technology) 7 (+10, Skill Mastery)

Notice 3 (+5)

Sense Motive 8 (+10, Skill Mastery)

Survival 5 (+7)

Feats: 15PP

Attack Focus: Melee 4

Benefit (Security Clearance)

Dodge Focus 4

Evasion

Leadership

Master Plan 2

Power Attack

Skill Mastery (Craft [electronic], Craft [mechanical], Knowledge [technology], Sense Motive])

Takedown Attack

Powers: 45PP

Device 11 (Power Armor, 55 points; Flaw: Hard to Lose; PF: Restricted [voiceprint]) [45 pp]

Flight 3 (50 MPH / 500 feet per Move action) [6dp]

Immunity 5 (disease, environmental radiation, poison, suffocation) [5 pp]

Protection 6 (Extra: Impervious) [12dp]

Super-Senses 5 (Accurate Extended Radio Sense, Uncanny Dodge [radio]) [5dp]

Weapons Systems 12.5 (25 points: PFs: Alternate Power 2) [27dp]

BE: Blast 12 ( Feats: Accurate) {25/25} (Electromagnetic Energy) "Lasers"

AP: Damage 10 ( Extras: Selective Attack, Targeted Area [Cone]; Flaw: Action [Full]; Feats: Accurate 2, Indirect 3) {25/25} (Ballistics) "Guided Missile Salvo"

AP: Enhanced STR 12 (to 30/+10) {12} + Super-Strength 6 (effective STR 60; Heavy Load: 48 tons; PF: Groundstrike) {13} {12+13=25/25}

Drawbacks: -4PP

Normal ID (full round action -4 pp)

DC Block

    ATTACK             RANGE          SAVE                       EFFECT

    Unarmed            Touch          DC19 Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

    Unarmed (Armor)    Touch          DC25 Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

    Blast              Ranged         DC27 Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Energy)

    Damage             Touch               Toughness             Damage (Physical)

    

Totals: Abilities (40) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (15/60) + Feats (16) + Powers (45) - Drawbacks (4) = 150 Pts

[Cubist]

The word "disabled" covers a lot of territory. It would be good to put in something to explain how come the military types recruited Adam Nelon, rather than, say, an otherwise-healthy veteran whose legs were blown off by an landmine. Adam has two strikes against him; one, he's a civilian, and two, his body is seriously messed up even without the injuries from the plane crash. If all the Project needs is any old warm body, a legless vet is a lot better option than an asthmatic Cerebral Palsy victim, yes?

One obvious answer is, maybe the Project doesn't just need any old warm body. Suggest that the Project Mithril hardware have a track record of burning out its users' brains and/or bodies; that the project leaders have a theory that a user with a particular set of biochemical quirks can avoid the burnout side-effect; and that Adam is one of the very small percentage of humans who actually possess that particular set of biochemical quirks. That way, the Project can be in serious danger of losing its funding, and going for Adam is the Project's last, best hope of getting any results before it's shut down. If you go this route, you'll need an explanation for how the Project learned that Adam has the right set of biochemical quirks -- maybe he was treated by a military hospital, it being the closest available house of healing? Maybe the Project had sent word to various hospitals, saying "if you get any patients who fit thus-and-so biochemical profile, please let us know" ?

[AdamTheAstute]

Edits made.

[Dr Archeville]

If the armor's actually made of mithril, that implies (to me, at least) more a magical suit, not a technological one. (He was chosen due to some mystical bloodline? He's the sixth son of a seventh son?) At the very least, one would question where the American military got enough mithril to make (and presumably do repairs on) a full suit of armor, and if they had enough to plan on mass-producing the suits.

Also, if I remember correctly from Agents of Freedom, UNISON typically doesn't have the ultra-tech stuff AEGIS (the S.H.I.E.L.D. expy) does.

EDIT: Nevermind, I see the suit was made by the American Military, and after he tested it he was sent to work with UNISON.

Also also, I went ahead and made some formatting changes for his powers.

[Raveled]

The background has a sense of things piled on other things. He was a preemie baby, he had CP, he had asthma, he had a crappy home life AND he was run over by a plane? That's a lot of stuff to drop on a guy and still keep him basically "calm and laid-back."

How exactly was he in position to be run over by a plane? Even if it was a situation where the passengers had to go out on the tarmac and climb one of those step-ladder things to get on-board, the plane will be parked long before the passengers are out there. Maybe have him getting hit by a truck, that's a bit more plausible and can still mess a person up.

Oh, and liking Sex and the City isn't much of a Complication, all told.

[Azuth65]

Oh, and liking Sex and the City isn't much of a Complication, all told.

As told by Brent Black, Lindsay Ellis, and Doug Walker.

[Dr Archeville]

As told by Brent Black, Lindsay Ellis, and Doug Walker.

Rav & Az are right. Complications are a setback, ones severe enough that, when the GM activates it, you get a Hero Point in return. Secret Identity is a prime example -- if someone threatens to expose your identity, that's a serious problem! (Having your secret love of 90210 is not really in the same league.) Having a severe phobia is also a good example, as they make fine obstacles for the hero to overcome; courage isn't not being afraid, it's acting despite being afraid.

If he's unable to walk without the suit (or if the suit's severely damaged/depowered), that would also make for a decent Complication. "Physical Disability" is listed as a potential Drawback, but in this case, with the armor providing mobility, he'll be able to get around just fine in combat situations (when he'd be wearing the suit anyway!), and any situations where he'd need to walk but doesn't have the suit will be rare. Besides, it's often better to take Complications rather than Drawbacks: due to the Hero Point-generating nature of Complications, they are the gift that keeps on giving, as opposed to Drawbacks which just give a one-time bonus of extra power points.

[AdamTheAstute]

Edits made, as per your advice.

[Dr Archeville]

The only edit I can make out is a change to his Complications. Did you change anything else, answer any of the questions we've posed? (It's a bit more useful if you tell us what you're editing, not just that you've made edits.)

You should flesh out the Paraplegic complication, to specify that he's only paraplegic when not in his suit.

[AdamTheAstute]

In accordance to the many suggestions that have been posed, I changed the conditions in which the character was injured for greater plausibility (he was hit by a transport shuttle rather than the landing gear of a plane), added further explanation as to why he in particular was picked as part of the Mithril Project (His mind has a different biochemical makeup that is less likely to suffer from neurological burnouts while in the suit, making him a more ideal candidate in a last-ditch effort to prove the practicality of powered armor for even the less able-bodied), and altered his personality a tad from being simply calm and laid back to having it be a way of masking and evening out the stoicism the character legitimately carries from being a young solider.

[Dr Archeville]

Have you addressed any of the points I mentioned? (I.e., how the American military got their hands on so much mithril, why they're using it for this armor, et cetera; I'm not even sure mithril exists in the Freedom City setting, orichalcum is the go-to mystical metal for the setting.)

[AdamTheAstute]

Edited the power description to explain the origin of the Mithril; It was originally discovered by gold miners in Alaska, and it's strange properties (resembling silver, being incredibly light weight for a metal, yet also incredibly strong) caught the eye of military arms manufacturers.

[Raveled]

So is the mithril supernatural, or alien in origin? Your character doesn't need to know this in-universe, you understand, but you the player should know these things.

[AdamTheAstute]

I'd imagine it'd be the former.

[Someone]

As a suggestion, if you want to get rid of the new metal altogether you may consider something on the line of: “The suit was largely made of layers of composites and a microscopic monocrystalline titanium mesh. It's unusual refractive properties gave it a silvery white, gleaming appearance, and given the material was light, flexible and unusually strong, they codenamed the prototype “mithril man†after the legendary metal.â€

[Ecalsneerg]

Gotta say, I much like Someone's suggestion more than putting mithril into the setting, especially seeing as the military don't seem to be the sort to have mystic materials rather than super-science.

[AdamTheAstute]

Edits made; The mithril is now merely an alloy that resembles the metal.