Pontifex Rubrum (PL 10) - Glass Clown

[Glass Clown]

Pietro "Pontifex Rubrum" Croce. 

Power Level: 10 (150/150PP).
Unspent Power Points: 0.
Trade-Offs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness 
In Brief: A reincarnated boy, torn between two lives by eldritch intervention.                                                                                                            

Catchphrase: "It's time to count your sins!"

Theme: Ashes of Dreams (New)

 

Alternate Identity: Secret.
Birthplace: Somewhere in Italy.

Residence:  Freedom City.
Base of Operations: Claremont Academy.
Occupation: Student.
Affiliations: None, at the moment.
Family: None.

 

Description:
Age: 25 (22/08/92 in his Reality)
Apparent Age: 16.
Gender: Male.
Ethnicity: Caucasian, of Italian heritage.
Height: 177cm
Weight: 73kg
Eyes: Crimson.
Hair: Golden and black.

A young boy with too gentle, delicate features for the sour expression he always seems to wear on his face.
He is not too tall, or apparently athletic, though his angelic face has proven a fairly useful card when it comes to the ladies.
His hair and eyes have peculiar colors, the former being bicolored (golden blonde facing forward, jet black near he back of his head) and the latter being deep crimson.
He generally wears sharp clothing, even when he should wear something more casual, and prefers deep, dark shades. 
He wears no costume, since he knows a spell to make his identity impossible to rememeber or discern when he switches into his other self.
 

History:
The boy who is now known as Pietro Croce was born with a very similar name in a parallel earth devoid of any and all supernatural phenomena. 
His family wasn't rich or powerful, and he wasn't really good at any particular thing, always being lost in his constant fancies of great heroes and horrible monsters, from myths ancient and modern.
His father and mother always tried to look out for him like good parents, and to push him towards his future, helping him discover his talents and predispositions. He didn't have any. Just one thing stood out about him: he could write on and on about his fancies, and people listened when he told them, enticed by the pathos that had been given form by his words.
And so, armed with his trusty pen, at the age of sixteen Pietro managed to publish his first novel: a modern superhero story.
Few people read it when it came out, but after a few years, after a thorough translation job into English, his works became sleeper hits on the net, granting him some fame... and seemingly some sort of direction for his life.

While his work was popular enough though, he was not, he was plagued with problems from his early life under his authoritarian father's thumb, and his soul still ached for something more, making him forget about most of life's simple pleasures in hope of reaching what didn't, for all intents and purposes, exist anywhere in the world.
Hanging on to his half-brother, who was about twelve years older than him, the boy, now a young man, managed to overcome the pitch black sea of depression where he was about to drown, and kept on living his life... It wasn't meant to last.

He was a passenger on his brother's motorcycle, speeding towards a presentation for his new book, when something went terribly wrong, both of their lives struck down by an incautious driver.
Or so it would have been, if It didn't have better plans for the young Pietro. 
An immense, horrifying being almost drove the young man insane when his soul was carried into Its many mouths to be transformed and born anew.
A simple human no more, the Thing probed his hopes and dreams, and took interest at his spirit.
Outside the bindings of time and space as we know it, something was done to transmogrify Pietro's soul into a perfect vessel for the Being's power and knowledge was poured into his still forming mind.

He was to become an emissary, an apostle of the grave, bloated God who sat in the middle of everywhere and nowhere and, in exchange for spreading Its influence, he would be given great power.
Driven almost insane, with his memories fragmented and his identity on the brink of annihilation, Pietro accepted the Being's offer.
He was indeed reborn, with no name, no memories, a clouded heart: a literal blank slate ready to be given orders... but even that did not last.

The first and only other universe the Being could have sent him to was Its plan's undoing, because the knowledge of that world's many marvels and great heroes managed to rouse at least part of Pietro's old self into awakening. 
Into the chaotic sea of information, Pietro was reborn with a few scraps of memory, blasted back into an apparent age and mindset of a sixteen years old, and plagued with a feeling of not knowing himself fully: but the Beings control was broken for good.

Crashing out of a portal, he was later taken in custody by the City's authorities at first and the Claremont Academy later, when he was confirmed to be a benign powered individual.
What does this new life have in store for the boy, will he manage to uphold his ideals despite his dark origins?


 

Personality & Motivation:
Pietro always wears a preoccupied and grump looking expression on his face, like some sort of protective mask against other people trying to probe into his feelings.
Actually though, even in his constant state of worrying, he manages to be altruistic and earnest in his efforts to help people, believing others to be the only path to redemption and the rehabilitation of his lost former self. 
He generally carries himself confidently, knowing the extent of his power, but he tries not to look TOO arrogant or intimidating, believing that, while keeping a certain distance from others helps, nothing good can be achieved by isolating oneself from people: a remnant of his past experiences in his past life.
The weird mix of memories from his older self and the brain chemistry of a younger body can make for an interesting combination, making him prone to approaching problems in a timid way at first, and then charging with everything he's got afterwards. 
His new body is pretty attractive, but his dodgy personality makes it hard for himself and others to get too intimate with him.
In brief, he his a kind hearted boy who absolutely despises injustice and abuse of the weak, and who is dealing with deep seat self esteem and identity issues.
 

 

Powers & Tactics:
He generally approaches foes first and from above when possible, using the mobility of his flight and teleportals to get in position and skewer enemies with his summoned swords.
When dealing in a less lethal way, he deals with the foes directly, using his hands or swords in a nonlethal way or trying to trap criminals and dangerous elements inside his pocket dimension to apprehend them and carry them in custody. All in all he is not a very clever or tactical fighter, preferring to use his enhanced weapons and abilities in the most direct way possible in a fight.
 

Power Descriptions:
His powers all come from the Thing which reshaped his soul: a Being who dealt with other dimensions and their twisting, and as such are somewhat disconcerting to witness, because they alter space and its geometry in very peculiar fashions. Most of his visible effects appear as a very noticeable, greenish-black distortion in space, filled with straight lines and accompanies by a very faint sound, similar to the one emitted by a static-filled tv screen.
His portals are vortex shaped, of the same greenish-black tint, and, like all of his other discernible effects, leave behind a sickly, faint green trail when moved about. 
When dissipating most of himself into another dimension, becoming intangible, Pietro appears completely normal, even to the trained eye, barring special senses.

 

Complications:
Who am I really?: Since his memories were scrambled when he was remade, and again when he regained some of them, Pietro is constantly plagued by identity issues born of the contrasting elements of his old life with the new.

Hunted by an Eldritch Power: Pietro defied a being far beyond humanity, stealing the key to its power and its way to effectively reach into other worlds. The boy doesn't know why, but the Thing has yet to reclaim its lost power... could It be scheming something?

Voices in my head: Sometimes, when he stresses his powers to the limit, Pietro can hear the voice of... something, beyond the veil of this world: something that isn't his former master.

Abilities: 3 + 6+ 4 + 2 + 4 + 2 = 21PP
Strength: 13 (+1)
Dexterity: 16 (+3)
Constitution: 14 (+2)
Intelligence: 12 (+1)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 12 (+1)


Combat: 16 + 12= 28PP
Initiative: +3
Attack: +8 Melee, +8 Ranged, +8 Base.
Defense: +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Grapple: +0
Knockback: -0


Saving Throws: 6 + 5 + 6 = 17PP
Toughness: +8 (+2 Con, +6 [Defensive Roll])
Fortitude: +8 (+3 Con, +6)
Reflex: +8 (+3 Dex, +5)
Will: +8 (+2 Wis, +6)


Skills: 40R = 10PP

Acrobatics 8 (+11)

Languages (Italian [Native], English)

Knowledge: Arcane Lore 6 (+7)

Knowledge: Cosmology 9 (+10)

Sense Motive 4 (+6)

Bluff 4 (+5)

Diplomacy 4 (+5)

Intimidation 4 (+5)

Feats: 15PP

Acrobatic Bluff

Improved Critical 2 (18-20) (Swords)
Power Attack

Defensive Roll 3

Dodge Focus 6

Attractive 

Favored Foe (Extradimensional Beings)

Powers: 58 + 1= 59PP

 

Dimensional Anomaly Array 20 (50PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 4, Dynamic 4) [58PP] (dimensional, eldritch)

• Base Power:  Dimensional Pocket 10 (Hungry Shadow Realm; Extras: Area, Selective Attack, Ranged; Feats: Progression 3 [Capacity: 2.5 million lbs]) {53/60} (eldritch, shadow, dimensional)
• Alternate Power: Damage 10 (Many Angled Fangs; Extras: Penetrating, Ranged, Affects Insubstantial) (eldritch, dimensional, summons device [Swords]) {40/60}
• Alternate Power: Teleport 10 (Ripping the Veil of Lies; Extras: Portal, Accurate; Feats: Easy, Change Direction, Progression 3 ) {55/60} (eldritch, vortex, dimensional)
• Alternate Power: Flight 10 (Throne of Angles; Flaws: Platform) {5/60} (dimensional, eldritch, summons platform)
• Alternate Power: Insubstantial 4 (Of Shadow and Dreams; Features: Subtle 2; Vulnerable to Magic effects) {22PP}

Feature (Costumeless Secret Identity) [1PP].

DC Block

ATTACK                                   RANGE                     SAVE                                                  EFFECT
Unarmed                                  Touch                      DC 16 Toughness                            Damage
Many Angled Fangs               Ranged      DC 27 Toughness                            Damage
Hungry Shadow Realm          Ranged/Burst Area         DC 20 Reflex (Will to Escape)        Dimensional Movement  

 

Totals: Abilities (21) + Combat (28) + Saving Throws (17) + Skills (10) + Feats (15) + Powers (59) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points

Edited August 4, 2017 by Glass Clown