CASCADE
(Katherine "Katy" Andrews)
Code:
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes
10 STR 0 11- Lift 100 kg; 2d6 HTH Damage
20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7 / DCV: 7
16 CON 12 12-
13 BODY 6 12-
16 INT 6 12- PER Roll 12-
19 EGO 18 13- ECV: 3
15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 2d6
14 COM 2 12-
8 PD 6 Total: 8 PD
6 ED 3 Total: 6 ED
4 SPD 10 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
6 REC 2
40 END 4
30 STUN 4
Total Characteristics Cost: 108
Movement: Running: 7" / 14"
Swimming: 14" / 56"
Cost Powers & Skills
35 Water Control: Multipower, 70-Point Pool, Requires Reasonable Quantities Of
Water, Power Effects May Vary Depending On Available Water (-1)
2 u Water Cannon: EB: 8d6, Double Knockback (+3/4); Reduced By Range (-1/4), Only
Does Half The Damage Rolled On The Dice To A Target (-1/2), END 7
2 u Water Jet: EB: 8d6; Reduced By Range (-1/4), END 4
1 u Control Liquid: Telekinesis (5 STR), Affects Porous, Fine Work, END 2
69 Body of Water: Desolidification (affected by energy attacks), Reduced Endurance
(0 END; +1/2); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Does Not Protect Against
Damage (-1) plus Physical Damage Reduction, 1/2; Linked (-1/2), Only Affects "Crushing
Attacks" (clubs, fists, force beams, etc.; -1/2) plus Physical Damage Reduction,
Resistant, 3/4; Linked (-1/2), Only Affects "Edged" Attacks (arrows, blades, bullets,
etc.; -1/4)
6 At Home In The Water: Life Support (Expanded Breathing [Underwater], Safe
Environment [High Pressure])
5 Altered Physical Form: Life Support (Immune To Aging)
2 Running: +1" (7" Total), END 1
22 Swimming: +12", x4 Noncombat Movement (14" Total), END 3
16 Sharp Senses: +8 with Smell and Taste PER Rolls
18 Body of Water: Invisibility to Sight Group, No Fringe, Reduced Endurance
(0 END; +1/2); Only in Water (-1 1/2)
Talents:
3 At Home In The Water: Environmental Movement (Aquatic)
Skills:
16 Combat Skill Levels: +2 with Combat
3 Acrobatics 13-
0 AK: Sydney, Australia 8-
0 Climbing 8-
3 Concealment 12-
0 Conversation 8-
0 Deduction 8-
3 KS: Dancing 13-
0 Language: English (native)
3 Mechanics 12-
2 Navigation (Marine) 12-
0 Paramedic 8-
2 PS: Fishing 11-
2 PS: Scientist 11-
0 Shadowing 8-
4 SS: Ecology 13-
4 SS: Marine Biology 13-
1 SS: Nuclear Physics 8-
4 SS: Zoology 13-
3 Stealth 13-
2 Survival (Marine) 12-
2 TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles, SCUBA, Small Motorized Boats
242 Total Powers & Skills Cost
350 Total Character Cost
150+ Disadvantages
5 Distinctive Features: White Eyes (EC)
20 Hunted: U.S. Navy (MoPow, NCI) 8-
10 Money: Destitute
10 Psychological Limitation: Alcoholic (C, M)
10 Psychological Limitation: Bad Tempered (C, M)
20 Psychological Limitation: Fanatical Protection Of The Biosphere (VC, S)
10 Psychological Limitation: Seeks To Avenge Her Death (C, M)
10 Reputation: Criminal Eco-terrorist 11-
30 Vulnerability: x2 STUN From Heat And Flame Attacks
75 Experience
350 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History:
Born in 1920, Katherine Andrews was a ecologist long before it became recognized as a viable science. Armed with a doctorate in marine biology, she fought for a number of ecological issues and reforms, eventually turning her attention to the marine testing of nuclear weapons. However, the Unites States paid little attention to a lone Australian scientist and continued their tests. Katherine, however, decided she's make her case known, and managed to sneak ashore a designated test island.
Living off the land for a few weeks, Katherine prepared for the test by building a large bonfire, thus signaling her presence to the American military. One of the scientists responsible for the test attempted to remove her personally, but she hid, forcing him to leave and return with reinforcements. However...
A second scientist, one Harvey Banks, informed the military the island was now clear and the test could proceed. Katherine was atomized instantly, her molecular structure scattered across the land,water, and high into the air.
After several decades enough of Katherine had reformed to allow her to regain consciousness. A few years after that, and she was fairly solid, with the ability to assume a pure water form at will. She looked as she had in 1952, and could once again interact with human society. Her first act was to attempt to kill the man who had tried to remove her from the island. She found him, but her attacked proved fruitless. Like herself, he had been changed by the blast and was far more powerful than she was. However, he was amused by her unexpected appeared and informed her of Harvey Banks whereabouts. Cascade (as she now called herself) failed on that mission as well, but refuses to give up, no matter what.
Currently, Cascade has turned her attention to the environment and those who pollute it. She attacks just about anyone, from litterbugs to those who operate factories and refineries, and has no compunctions about killing those who defile the environment.
Personality/Motivation:
Her time spent as so much scattered atoms has permanently altered Cascade beyond her physical form and powers. She doesn't fully recall her former life, and portions of her personality have been altered. This has left her bad-tempered, irritable, and bitter. Simply put, Cascade is not a happy woman. She can't find Harvey Banks to exact her revenge for her death, she can't change the world's attitude on how it uses (or misuses) the oceans, and she can't keep any of her houseplants alive. She prefers to work alone, but realizes she's not powerful to do so effectively, so she usually cooperates long enough to accomplish a single objective, then leaves.
Powers/Tactics:
Her time spent in the ocean rebuilding her body now allows Cascade total command and control of water. She can transform herself into a human-sized mass of water at will, and if she's currently in a body of water when she does so, she will effectively become invisible. In addition, she can swim a great speeds, breathe water with ease, and can survive at any depth. Cascade can also control water, forming it into powerful blasts, strong jets, or even into a pliable limb that can pick up small objects.
In battle, Cascade will move to a body of water and use that to to fuel her powers (she cannot create water, only manipulate what is present). If needed she will try and open a fire hydrant or activate a sprinkler system if there is no open body of water available. Her favorite tactic is to fight from within a large body of water, as she can use her Body of Water ability to best effect there.
Cascade tries to avoid fighting on land, and if forced to do so, will try and remain near any large bodies of water, so she can use her Swimming to escape. She tends to use her Water Cannon in combat, as it does the most damage, although she will use her Water Jet if she feels the increased knockback will enable her to better eliminate her foes (or if she needs to buy time to escape).
Appearance:
Cascade is 82 years old, but looks to be in her early 30s. She stands 5'9" in height and weighs 120 lbs, with a lithe and athletic figure. Her hair is platinum blonde and cut short, while her eyes are pure white, with no visible pupils. Cascade's costume is a one-piece swimsuit that covers her torso's front, but leaves most of her upper back bare. She also wears a thigh-high left leg and a long glove on her right arm. The fabric of her costume looks to be a fine scale mesh.
Designer's Notes:
Cascade comes from "GURPS Super Scum", and isn't a bad character for the most part (especially when compared to *most* of the characters in the book). At 350 points she makes an excellent starting superhero (or villain), although most GMs will probably want to alter her origin a bit. Due to the nature of the GURPS engine, she has some major design flaws when compared to the average HERO System character. A few recommendations are as follows:
Up Cascade's CON to 20. Increase the TK STR of her Control Liquid power. Make her Damage Reduction independent of her Body of Water power. Naturally, some of these changes will result in Cascade costing more than 350 points, but as a NPC she will probably get a large "villain bonus."
As a final note, Cascade perfectly illustrates several of the problems of converting from GURPS Supers to HERO. The first is DEX. Few GURPS Supers characters have high DEXes, and ([DEX x 2] - 10) equals some odd numbers. The second is CON. Very few GURPS characters have a HT (health) score of over 14, and using the same formula as DEX results in CONS of 14-18 -- usually far too low for the average Champions character (on the flip side, few GURPS characters pay END for their powers). Then comes powers. Often, a single power (in this case "Body of Water") translates to multiple HERO System powers all linked together. In some cases, the GURPS power gives an absolute (for example: power X totally prevents event Y from happening), which is nearly impossible to simulate in HERO.
(Cascade created by Mark Johnson, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
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