N/A Posted March 14, 2015 Posted March 14, 2015 (edited) Player Name: ShaenTheBrainCharacter Name: KingsnakePower Level: 12(10) (180/184PP)Tradeoffs: None (+2 Attack / -2 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness)Power Points Unspent: 4Progress To Gold Status: 4/90 (Silver Status earned with >The Scarab)Bronze Reward: 7PP of Equipment for >The Scarab, 2PP of Equipment for Kingsnake, 6PP of Equipment/Minions/Sidekick unclaimedSilver Reward: Bump PL7/105PP PC to PL12/180PP (Kingsnake) In Brief: Huntress gets Daredevil's powers from Captain America's super-soldier serum. Residence: A modest townhouse in the Southside neighborhood of Freedom City.Base of Operations: The hidden basement of his townhouse.Alternate Identity: Brian Markus BrubakerIdentity: SecretBirthplace: Freedom City, New Jersey, USAOccupation: Freelance Transcription TranslatorAffiliations: Shambala Temple (former student), Freedom City University (former student)Family: Frank Brubaker (Father), Ann Miller-Brubaker (Mother, Deceased), Wade Brubaker (Younger Brother, Deceased), Simona Nocenti (Ex-Girlfriend) Description:Age: 26 (DoB: 1989)Apparent Age: 26Gender: MaleEthnicity: Caucasian (Anglo/Celtic/Germanic mutt)Height: 6ft 2inWeight: 200 lbs.Eyes: None (Grey prosthetics)Hair: Black streaked with Grey His face still bears some scars from being penetrated and lacerated by several pieces of superheated shrapnel. He wears a set of acrylic prosthetic eyes which mimic his original grey eye color. When out in public in his civilian identity, he wears the dark sunglasses and wields the white cane which universally mark him as a blind man. Power Description:All of Brian's non-visual senses absorb information with far greater detail and sensitivity than a normal human. He can hear a person's heartbeat from across the room, or hear a tear sliding down their cheek. He can rest a pretzel on his tongue and count exactly how many grains of salt are embedded into it. He can hold a pistol in his hand and know exactly how many bullets are in it by how heavy it feels. He can run his fingers along a page of text and "read" it by feeling the difference between the ink and the paper, or "view" a picture by feeling the differences between the colors of ink or paint. He can gently carress an object and feel any fingerprints left on it without disturbing them, and he can perceive enough detail to compare them to other prints. His nose mimics the function of a gass chromatograph mass spectrometer, able to distinguish the chemical makeup of a substance by the smell of its molecular components. In essence, his hyperkeen senses turn him into a walking crime laboratory. His enhanced senses of hearing and touch also give him superhuman balance and physical coordination. Brian no longer has eyes, but his brain processes and interprets most of his enhanced sensory input visually. He can hear sound just as a normal human would, but he can also momentarily "see" it, with the waves of different frequencies and different decibel levels of sonic energy appearing to him as differently-colored lines coating and illuminating the space and/or objects around them. Scents appear in his mind's eye as whisps of mist or smoke, some translucent and some opaque, in various colors, leaving trails he can follow. His sense of smell is acute enough to judge the distance between himself and its source, as a normal human would with sound. As he moves closer to the source of the scent, it becomes measurably "louder" to him. The one sense he possesses which is entirely new and not an enhancement of one of his existing senses is his echolocation. His brain has been altered to include a disk similar to a whale or dolphin's melon, which emits waves of ultrasound in all directions, receives the reflected waves after they bounce off of surrounding objects, and interprets the results. This allows him to "see" in all directions at once, though he focuses on one roughly 180-degree field of "view" at a time, with the rest appearing as translucent overlays. He "sees" just as a normal human would see in the visual light spectrum, only in various shades of grey, with the "color" dependent upon the physical surfaces and contours of the objects around him, and their relative distance from him and from each other. For example, he would perceive the bricks and grout of a wall as different shades of grey, with no correlation to their actual color in the visual light spectrum, and he would not perceive chalk drawings or spraypaint at all, unless the paint was thick enough to form a layer visible to the naked eye. The echolocation is far more advanced than that of any existing animals or technological devices, granting him acuity roughly on par with human vision in the visible light spectrum. He can turn his echolocation "off," in a manner similar to how a human closes their eyes. While it is active, anyone capable of perceiving ultra-sound can detect the waves emanating from his brain and the echoes returning to it. Brian's weapon of choice is a custom double kusari-gama called "The Fangs of The Serpent." A length of fine chain links two batons, similar to escrima sticks. The batons each house two retractable folding scythe blades. Switches on both batons allow one or both blades on either baton to be deployed or retracted by radio signal. The blades can also be pulled out or pushed back in manually if the remote controls fail. When deployed, a single blade folds out at a 90-degree angle, turning the baton into a kama. When both blades on a baton are deployed, it resembles a pick-axe, which Brian uses as a grappling hook. One blade can also fold out at a 180-degree angle, turning the baton into a knife or short spear. History:Brian Brubaker didn't see things clearly until he lost his eyes. "You can have anything you want, but you have to want it enough. With hard work, anything is possible. People get what they deserve." Frank Brubaker made sure his sons lived by those words. He was a self-described "city college kid" who "pulled myself up from nothing." Ann Miller was a minimum-wage kid who hitched a ride out of the trailer park as soon as she could pass for 18. They were young and hungry, willing to do whatever it took to get ahead. By the time their first child was born, Brubaker Imports was one of Freedom City's most prominent shipping empires, moving just about anything that needed moving to just about anywhere in the world. Their kids grew up in a penthouse and went to private schools. But Frank always stressed the importance of hard work. His kids weren't going to have a free ride. They were going to work for everything they had, just like he had. Brian idolized his father, and spent every waking moment striving to earn his pride. He got near perfect grades, tried out for every sport, auditioned for every play, took after-school jobs and summer internships. Brian was 20, home from his sophomore year of university, the day he saw his family for the last time. His mother and little brother were already waiting in the limo. Brian was running down the driveway when the driver turned the key. They were going to pick up Brian's father on the way. They didn't make it. The ignition switch set off the car bomb. Ann and David were blown to pieces. Shrapnel shredded Brian's eyes and left deep cuts in his face. Brian woke up in the hospital to his father's voice, telling him that he was going to fix everything. He'd only been there a couple of days when his father told him he was being moved to a "private clinic." Brian didn't know why the new nurse sedated him. He was kept in an induced coma for months, but he could still hear the people around him. As the "treatments" progressed, he could hear them louder, more clearly, from further away. He heard things he was never meant to hear. Frank Brubaker's life was a lie. If he had told his sons the truth, then their words to live by would have been "In devastation, there is opportunity. When there is blood in the streets, buy property." The car bomb was meant for Frank, a "gift" from one of his "business rivals." The Brubaker fortune didn't come from moving freight. It came from human trafficking, on an industrial scale. Frank and Ann's operation was built during the tail end of the Franklin Moore era and the aftermath of the Terminus Invasion. With a period of low superhero presence in town, and the sudden death and destruction of so many Freedom City citizens and their properties (legitimate businesses and mob fronts alike), they were able to quietly build up and then quickly fill a niche. These days, Brubaker Imports is a subsidiary of Delphic Industries, which is in turn owned and operated by Constantine Urallos, part of the inner circle of Taurus. Most of the trafficked victims are sold to sweatshops or into domestic slavery. Some are given to The Labyrinth to become test subjects for the DNAscent process. When Brian lost his eyes, Frank called in a favor. He didn't want Brian to become a brainwashed super-thug. He just wanted to give his only surviving son his eyes back. He didn't bother to get Brian's consent before submitting him to the DNAscent process. As far as the Labyrinth scientists were aware, the treatment failed. Brian's body was enhanced to near peak physical condition for a non-powered human, but his eyes failed to regenerate. Brian had heard enough to know he should keep the unintended side-effects to himself. He didn't tell anyone about how all his other senses had been enhanced, or how he now possessed a natural sonar that would be the envy of every navy on Earth. He knew that he would need to keep his cards close to his chest if he were ever going to be able to use his new gifts to dismantle the horrific empire his father had built on a foundation of blood and human misery. He was quiet and distant after his "recovery." His father didn't press the issue. Frank was consumed with guilt, a foreign sensation to him. When Brian decided to "study abroad," Frank didn't try to stop him. The school in Spain returned Brian's tuition cheque. He had never shown up. Brian eluded the bodyguards Frank had secretly sent after him before they made it out of the airport. His trust fund sat untouched. Brian Brubaker vanished off the face of the Earth. He wandered through Europe and Asia for a time, before he found himself chasing the legend of Shambala Vale, scaling the mountain peaks, and finding refuge among the ancient order of monks. They taught him how to focus his new senses. They instructed him in the original martial art from which all others descended. They helped to temper his rage. Five years later, Brian Brubaker quietly returned to Freedom City. His father employed coyotes and snakeheads, who preyed upon the innocent and the desperate, as vipers prey upon the smaller, weaker animals in their path. But there is a snake who hunts the vipers...the Kingsnake. Personality:Brian grew up idolizing his father, and now that idol has fallen farther than he ever thought possible. The revelation of his father's true nature forced Brian to re-examine everything he ever thought he knew about himself and the world around him. Good things didn't always come to those who worked hard for them like he was always taught. In fact, more often than not, the worst things happened to the best people, while the worst people took advantage of them and laughed all the way to the bank. Even if you never give up, you can still lose. Those revelations, and the trauma of his injuries, lost family members, and subsequent transformation, left him bitter, cynical, and full of rage. Gaining the ability to know when most people are lying showed him just how often people lie, which eroded his faith in human nature even further. His time with the Shambala monks helped to soften that edge, but he still believes that justice only happens in the world when you force it to. The monks showed him that the world can be a better place than it is, without vipers like his father poisoning it. But they will, unless a kingsnake comes along to eat them first. So much of the world he thought he knew is a dirty lie, he's not even sure it's worth saving. But he'll die before he stops trying. These days, Brian enjoys solitude, partially as a result of his disillusionment and partially as a practical matter of his enhanced senses amplifying every outside stimulus. Just as everyone a speedster meets is the annoyingly slow customer in front of them in the ATM or checkout line, every person Brian meets is the neighbor who blasts his TV or stereo at all hours of the night. He rarely engages in conversation at all, and even when he does engage, he remains laconic and withholding. He does have a sense of humor, but it leans toward the dry, the morbid, and the self-depricating. He is reluctant to volunteer information, and his reaction to those he meets defaults to suspicion (though his powers make clearing that suspicion and earning some measure of trust a faster process than it would be otherwise). Everyone is guilty (of something) until proven innocent. Powers & Tactics:Brian is an expert martial artist, and a world-class detective, and inflitrator. The DNAscent process left him at peak physical condition, just shy of superhuman. His enhanced senses make it almost impossible to lie to him or to catch him off-guard. He prefers to strike from stealth, ending a fight in one decisive blow before it begins. When facing a foe directly, his fighting style is primarily defensive, focused on avoiding or parrying incoming attacks until the enemy leaves an opening for one finishing blow or series of rapid strikes, or until he can lure the enemy into overextending themselves and creating that opening. He will remain in constant but relaxed motion, saving his strength, circling back and forth around his target while moving closer and/or farther from them. When he finally does lash out, he does so almost faster than the eye can follow. Above all, his fighting style is rooted remaining unpredictable. He often moves or strikes in unexpected directions, such as 45-degree angles relative to his opponent. His favored weapon, a custom kusari-gama called "The Fangs of The Serpent," allows him to strike foes at a distance from a variety of angles and directions, either by swinging one of the batons in an arc toward them or by launching it directly at them. He can confuse and intimidate opponents by spinning the chain or whipping it back and forth. Shifting his grip on the chain allows him to vary the length, making his strikes unpredictable. The chain can wrap around an opponent's limb or weapon, allowing him to pull the weapon free from their grasp or pull them down to the ground. He can strike with the hard surface of the batons, or he can slash or stab with the retractable blades, which can be deployed in an instant, even mid-swing. While keeping the foe at a distance, he will have one hand on a baton and the other on the chain. While in close quarters, he will most likely have one hand on each baton, with the chain either coiled up in one or both hands, wrapped around his opponent, or left to dangle on the ground below, to be jerked up at an opportune moment. Complications:Disability (Blindness): Brian's enhanced touch can feel the difference between ink and paper, and even between different pigments, which allows him to perceive color by touch. His echolocation, on the other hand, can perceive distance, size, shape, and texture, but not color. This limits his ability to read text or view pictures to touch-range. The screens of television sets, computer monitors, tablets, and smartphones may as well be blank to him, even to his touch, unless they are versions of those devices specifically made for blind users. He cannot perceive the level of light in the local area directly. At best, he can guess if he is in close enough proximity to a light source to feel the heat from it, if it emits heat at all. Anything in his surroundings which depends on light, text, or color is invisible to him once it is physically out of reach. His echolocation allows him to "see" a person's face, but their eyes just look like ping-pong balls. And legally, it would be impossible for him to obtain a license to operate any vehicle or heavy machinery.Enemies (Frank Brubaker, The Labyrinth, Katanarchists): Neither Brian nor his father understand the full scope of The Labyrinth. Brian's father is a very small piece in a vast game. On the last leg of his trek home, Brian also ran afoul of a splinter sect of Katanarchists who have been corrupted by the Schattenwelt, and they now count him among their targets.Lost Love: Brian had a girlfriend in college, Simona Nocenti. When he vanished from her life without warning, she came looking for him. When she asked too many questions, Frank Brubaker panicked and overreacted. He had her kidnapped and subjected to the DNAscent process, turning her into his brainwashed bodyguard and enforcer. The woman Brian loved now stands at his hated father's side.Noticeable (Echolocation): Anyone with Super-Senses (Ultra-Hearing), or any other applicable Super-Senses, can hear the waves of ultrasound being broadcast and received by Brian's brain when he uses his echolocation. This includes animals such as dogs, bats, dolphins and whales.Obligation (Shambala Temple): The monks of the Shambala Vale took Brian in and trained him. One or more of their number may call upon him for aid in the future.Power Loss (Echolocation): Sensory power effects, such as Dazzle or Obscure, which interfere with auditory senses, or specifically with Ultra-Hearing, may also interfere with Brian's Echolocation, if they absorb, obscure, misdirect, or otherwise interfere with the travel of the ultrasound waves, or his ability to receive them. Sonar countermeasures can similarly ruin his day. "Sound-proof" objects may reduce the effective range of the echolocation, or block it entirely.Secret (Identity): Brian may be superhuman, but he's not invincible. One sniper bullet could be the end for him. And if Brian's father finds out who's targeting him, then he'll make Brian wish for a bullet to the head.Vulnerability (Sensory Overload): A GM can inflict a penalty, or a degree of automatic failure, upon Brian's ability to save against any power effect which overwhelms non-Visual type senses, such as an Auditory Dazzle due to loud noise, or a Nauseate due to a noxious gas. Brian may also suffer Damage or another attack effect just by being in close proximity to the source, target, or area of any power with a relevant sensory descriptor, such as "Sonic" Abilities: [8 + 12 + 12 + 6 + 6 + 4 = 48PP]Strength: 18 (+4) (Heavy Load: 300 lbs.)Dexterity: 30/22 (+10/+6)Constitution: 22 (+6)Intelligence: 16 (+3)Wisdom: 16 (+3)Charisma: 14 (+2) Combat: [8 + 8 = 16PP]Initiative: +10/+6 (+10/+6 Dex)Attack: +4 Base, +10 Melee, +12 Kusari-GamaGrapple: +20/+16 (+10 Attack, +10/+6 Dex)Defense: +12 (+4 Base, +8 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-FootedUncanny DodgeKnockback: 4, 3 Flat-Footed Saving Throws: [0 + 0 + 7 = 7PP]Toughness: +8 (+6 Con, +2 Defensive Roll), +6 Flat-FootedFortitude: +6 (+6 Con, +0PP)Reflex: +12/+6 (+10/+6 Dex, +0PP, +2 Enhanced Reflex)EvasionWill: +10 (+3 Wis, +7PP)Ultimate Save Skills: 108R [27PP]Acrobatics 5 (+15/+11)Skill MasteryClimb 5 (+15/+11)Skill MasteryDisable Device 8 (+15/+11)Escape 0 (+10/+6)Ultimate SkillGather Information 13 (+15)Intimidation 13 (+15)Investigation 12 (+15)Knowledge (Streetwise) 7 (+10)Languages 7 (Braille, English [Native], Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Morse Code, Russian, Spanish)Notice 9 (+20/+12)Skill MasterySearch 9 (+20/+12)Sense Motive 9 (+20/+12)Skill MasteryStealth 5 (+15/+11)Swim 6 (+10) Feats: [26PP]Acrobatic BluffAgile ClimberAttack Focus (Melee) 6Attack Specialization (Kusari-Gama)Defensive Roll (+2 Toughness)Dodge Focus 8Equipment 2 (10EP) (Veteran Reward)EvasionGrapple FinesseHide In Plain SightQuick Change (Costume)Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Climb, Notice, Sense Motive)Sneak AttackTakedown AttackUltimate Effort 2 (Escape Skill, Will Save)Well-Informed Equipment: 1 + 1 + 7 = 9/10EP = 2PP Digital Audio Recorder [1EP] Smoke Pellets [1EP]Obscure 2 (Visual-Type Senses, 10ft radius, Extras: Independent, Total Fade, Flaws: Limited [Normal Vision], Unreliable [5 Uses], Feats: Subtle, Slow Fade [1 minute], Drawbacks: Full Power, Reduced Range 2 [2 20ft Range Increments / 40ft Max Range]) [1EP] Townhouse with Secret Basement (PL12 HQ) [7EP]Size: Tiny [-1EP]Toughness: +10 [1EP] (Bulletproof Windows, Earthquake-Proofing)Features: Concealed (+10DC), Fire Prevention System, Gym, Laboratory, Living Space, Power System, Security System (DC20) [7EP] Powers: [6 + 50 = 56PP] Device 2 (10PP Container [Passive, Permanent], Flaws: Easy-To-Lose) [6PP] (The Fangs of The Serpent) Kusarigamajutsu 4 (8PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2) [10PP] Base Power: [8PP]Damage 2 (Feats: Extended Reach 2 [+10ft], Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Mighty, Variable Descriptor [bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing Damage]) [8PP] Alternate Power: [0PP]Snare 6 (Flaws: Range [Touch], Feats: Extended Reach [+5ft], Tether) [8PP] Alternate Power: [2 + 6 = 8PP]Speed 2 (25MPH / 250ft per Move Action, Extras: Linked [super-Movement]) [2PP]Super-Movement 3 (Slow Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling [1/2 Speed], Extras: Linked [speed]) [6PP]Enhanced Senses 10 (50PP Container [Passive, Permanent]) [50PP] [8 + 2 + 2 + 7 + 3 + 6 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 1 + 7 = 50PP] Enhanced Dexterity 8 [8PP] Enhanced Feats 2 (Evasion, Skill Mastery [Acrobatics, Climb, Notice, Sense Motive) [2PP] Enhanced Reflex 2 [2PP] Enhanced Skills 28 (Disable Device 4, Notice 8, Search 8, Sense Motive 8) [7PP] Immunity 6 (Fear, Interaction Skills, Flaws: Limited [1/2 Effect]) [3PP] Super-Senses 6 (Danger Sense 3 [Types: Auditory, Olfactory, Tactile], Uncanny Dodge 3 [Types: Auditory, Olfactory, Tactile) [6PP] Super-Senses 5 (Normal Hearing [Type: Auditory, Default Extras: Acute, Radius, Ranged], Extras: Accurate, Analytical, Extended 2 [1,000ft Notice Increments]) [5PP] Super-Senses 5 (Ultra-Hearing [Type: Auditory, Default Extras: Acute, Radius, Ranged], Extras: Accurate, Analytical, Extended [100ft Notice Increments]) [5PP] Super-Senses 4 (Normal Smell/Taste [Type: Olfactory, Default Extras: Radius, Ranged], Extras: Acute, Analytical, Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Tracking [1/2 Speed]) [4PP] Super-Senses 1 (Normal Touch [Type: Tactile, Default Extras: Accurate, Acute, Radius], Extras: Analytical) [1PP] Super-Senses 7 (Sonar [Type: Tactile, Default Extras: Accurate, Acute, Radius], Extras: Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Penetrates Concealment, Ranged) [7PP] (Echolocation) Totals: Abilities (48) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (7) + Skills (27) + Feats (26) + Powers (56) - Drawbacks (0) = 180/184 Power Points Combat Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC19(21*) Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Fangs of The Serpent Damage Touch+10ft DC21(23*) Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)** Snare Touch+05ft DC16(18*) Reflex (Staged) Entangled/Bound *Sneak Attack **Variable Descriptor (Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing) Edited May 9, 2015 by HG Morrison +1 pp for April 2015
N/A Posted March 14, 2015 Author Posted March 14, 2015 For the time being, go ahead and archive all my other characters. I have two veteran rewards. I'll use one to bump one of my PL10/150PP slots up to PL12/180PP, and my other one for 15PP of Equipment/Sidekick, only 3PP being used here.
Brown Dynamite Posted March 15, 2015 Posted March 15, 2015 Letsee, I like the Daredevil writers as references. Math all adds up. I personally would have called the Ultra Hearing the Sonar, and the Tactile Sense something else. Maybe Seismic Awareness as it could mimic how snakes sort of Tremorsense the ground. But, that's just my take and I don't have a problem with how you went about it. So... APPROVED
N/A Posted March 15, 2015 Author Posted March 15, 2015 The logic with making the Sonar a tactile-type sense with a complication that it might be vulnerable to some auditory-type sensory effects is that, since it's literaly bouncing sound waves off of and into physical objects and pinpointing them by receiving the ricochet, someone with auditory-type concealment because they're quiet shouldn't necessarily be invisible to it, but someone insubstantial shouldn't show up to it, no matter how much noise they make. Does that make sense?
N/A Posted March 15, 2015 Author Posted March 15, 2015 Apologies to the previous approver. I dropped one point worth of Swim skill and added one Equipment rank, dropped the smoke bombs and trimmed back the HQ, so he could afford the Equipment without cashing in my other veteran reward.
Brown Dynamite Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Before I give it another look. I have to point out only one of your two pending characters can get the Silver Reward bump to PL12. Bronze doesn't bump to PL12.
N/A Posted March 16, 2015 Author Posted March 16, 2015 *head/desk*Kingsnake gets the Silver reward bump from PL10/150PP to PL12/180PP. Newt stays archived for now. Apologies.
N/A Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 I'll edit the Equipment back in later tonight. That'll be my Bronze reward.
Fox Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 Looks good to me; APPROVED.I'll let HG come back and give the changes a once-over, just in case, rather than tossing it in the hero bin immediately.
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