Character: Abe Sapien

[Susano]

The second of four (or three...) adaptions from the comic HELLBOY.

 

Comments, feedback, and suggestions welcome.

 

ABRAHAM SAPIEN

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
15	STR	5	12-	Lift 200 kg; 3d6 HTH Damage
16	DEX	18	12-	OCV: 5 / DCV: 5
20	CON	20	13-
14	BODY	8	12-
13	INT	3	12-	PER Roll 12-
18	EGO	16	13-	ECV: 6
15	PRE	5	12-	PRE Attack: 3d6
8	COM	-1	11-
8	PD	5		Total: 8 PD (1 rPD)
8	ED	4		Total: 8 ED (1 rED)
4	SPD	14		Phases: 6, 12
8	REC	2
40	END	0
32	STUN	0
Total Characteristics Cost: 99

Movement:	Running: 6" / 12"
	Swimming: 9" / 18"

Cost	Powers & Skills
17	Colt .45 Automatic: RKA 2d6-1, Increased Stun Modifier (+1/4); 4 Clips of 7 
Charges (-0), OAF (-1) plus +1 OCV; OAF (-1)
10	Flak Vest: Armor (9 PD / 9 ED); Activation 10- or Locations 10-13 (-1 1/4), OIF (-1/2)
30	Hard To Kill: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 1/2
1	Scaled Skin: Damage Resistance (1 PD / 1 ED)
9	Icthyo Sapien: Life Support (Expanded Breathing: Breathe Underwater, Longevity: 200-
year lifespan [estimated], Safe Environment: High Pressure, Intense Cold)
5	Used To The Strange And Unusual: +10 PRE; Defensive Only (-1)
7	Webbed Fingers And Toes: Swimming +7" (9" Total), END 1
3	Sharp Eyed: +3 PER with Normal Sight
2	Belt Transponder: Transmit For The Radio Sense Group, 
Megascale (1" = 10 km; +1/2); OIF (-1/2)

Perks:
1	Fringe Benefit: Passport
1	Fringe Benefit: Weapon Permit
1	Membership: BPRD Agent

Talents:
3	Icthyo Sapien: Environmental Movement: Aquatic Movement (No penalties while in 
water)

Skills:
4	Combat Skill Levels: +2 with Colt .45 Automatic
10	Combat Skill Levels: +2 with Hand-To-Hand
3	Acrobatics 12-
2	AK: BPRD Grounds 11-
3	Climbing 12-
0	Concealment 8-
0	Conversation 8-
3	Deduction 12-
3	Disguise 12-
0	Language: English (native)
0	Paramedic 8-
0	PS: BPRD Agent 11-
0	Shadowing 8-
3	Stealth 12-
3	Systems Operation 12-
1	TF: Jetpack, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles
3	WF: Grenade, Knife, Pistol
3	Scholar
2	KS: History Of The Occult 12-
2	KS: Magical And Supernatural Artifacts 12-
2	KS: The Occult World 12-
2	KS: Supernatural Beings And Their Habits 12-
139	Total Powers & Skills Cost
238	Total Character Cost

125+	Disadvantages
0	Dependence: Must submerge in water every 24 hours or suffer Weakness (VC)
10	Distinctive Features: Fish Man (C)
10	Hunted: BPRD 11- (Mopow, Watching)
20	Normal Characteristic Maxima
15	Psychological Limitation: Loyal To His Friends (C, S)
10	Psychological Limitation: Romantically Attracted To Liz Sherman (C, M)
5	Unluck: 1d6
43	Experience
238	Total Disadvantage Points

 

Background/History:

In 1978 two plumbers broke through a sealed door in the basement of St. Trinian's hospital in Washington, D.C. and discovered a some sort of laboratory. Inside was a great deal of scientific machinery, including two large life-support tubes. One was broken and empty, the other contained the cross between a man and a fish. Pinned up near the tube was a scrap of paper with the words: "Icthyo Sapien April 14, 1865." As the date was the same as the day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated the plumbers dubbed the creature they found "Abe Sapien."

 

Abe ended up at the BPRD, where he was the subject of a number of tests, tests that went on for sometime, until Hellboy stepped in and stopped them. In fact, Abe was almost dissected, as he was comatose when initially discovered and didn't respond to any form of stimulation until an electrical charge as tried.

 

After being freed, Abe became a BPRD agent, mainly because he had nowhere else to go. He has worked with the BPRD for over twenty years and has seen plenty in that time. He often works with Hellboy and the two make a good team.

 

Personality/Motivation:

Abe is Hellboy's opposite in many ways. He tends to be the quiet one, the one who keeps his temper and cool, and has often lead missions in the field if Hellboy hasn't been around. Simply put, Abe is a decent and kind being. Naturally, this means he doesn't have a lot of psychological hang ups, although he does have to deal with being the only one of his kind in the world (that we know of...).

 

Scenes of Abe's quarters at the BPRD show him to be an avid reader of books, with a large library (relatively speaking). In addition, he seems to be romantically attracted to Elizabeth Sherman, and certainly cares for he a great deal. He also has developed a strong friendship with Roger, if for no other reason than he's much like Abe in many respects.

 

Quote: "I'm starting to think all those legends about the Earth being hollow are true. It's just one big parking garage."

 

Powers/Tactics:

Fishlike characteristics aside, Abe is pretty much a fairly normal from a physical standpoint. he is in excellent physical shape and hasn't aged appreciably (or even at all) in the twenty years since he was released from his tube. He's fairly strong and fit, and Hellboy has commented on how hard it is to kill Abe (Three shots to the chest from a .38 didn't do it and nether did Ogopogo tossing him 800 feet onto some rocks!). Abe can also breathe water with ease, swim faster than any human, dive to great depths, and is apparently unaffected by the cold (he goes out into a snowstorm in "Hollow Earth" dressed in just shorts and a flack vest.

 

Abe carries a .45 Colt automatic on most missions. He has been known to add a knife to the mix and recently has started wearing a heavy kevlar vest (see the part about getting shot three times with a .38). He also carries grenades from time to time, but only on the more dangerous missions.

 

Appearance:

Abe stands around 6'1" in height with a lean build. His skin is is blue-green in color, while his eyes are bright blue, and there are black stripes along the top of his head. He has fins along his arms and legs and more fins (or gills) along his neck. Abe normally dresses in long shorts that come to just above his knee and an equipment belt.

 

Designer's Notes:

Abe's origins are a complete and total mystery. He has no idea where he is from and so far Mignola hasn't touched on them one bit. Abe powers are also a bit of a mystery. He's pretty much a normal human, albeit one who can breathe water. However, he's also dived around 40-50 feet from an open window into water, swam to the bottom of the ocean at one point (the depth is never stated, but it could be miles), and lives through everything thrown at him. So, at the very least, he's pretty tough.

 

The Dependency listed under Disadvantages is based on guess work and the presence of a water-filled tank in Abe's room. Abe's Unluck usually results in harm being directed at him. If (for example) there is a choice of targets between Abe and someone else, he's the one!

 

(Abe Sapien created by Mike Mignola, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)

[Mephron]

I haven't been able to actually track down any Hellboy comics around here - I mean, not even the big NYC stores have the trades in stock any more! - but in the movie trailer (I know, I know), Abe touches a door, then says, "Behind this door... ancient evil!". In the comic, does he show any kind of psi talents or psychometry?

 

(Incidentally, the response to taht moment is great: Hellboy cocking his pistol and saying, "Well, guess I better go say hi.")

[Redmenace]

It is up to your usual standards.

 

1.) In Hellboy's absence, Abe seems to be in charge suggesting some seniority as a field commander.

 

2.) I don't know how inclusive you wish to get. There have been a few non Mignola written stories and recently a potential Psych lim has come up.

 

Abe is reacted to badly by the parents of a missing child. (This in strong contrast to the almost blind acceptance we've normally seen to BPRD agents by the general public). Abe himself reacts to this with resentment and one of the fellow BPRD makes a remark that Abe might be jealous of the Bureau's absent, yet still considered foremost agent, Hellboy.

 

This could translate as a 5 point increase to his distinctive looks, social limitation or rivalry of very low point total and intensity. This doesn't seem to happen in Mignola's stories but it comes up semi regularly, and only to Abe, in the BPRD one shots.

[Speedball]

Excellent as ever.

 

One suggestions per your observation that Abe reads a lot.

 

KS: well read (general knowledge) 11- This would be the intellectual version of Jack of all trades, I guess. I know people who just seem to know a little bit about everything, but not to an extent that they could be consulted as an expert. Just an item of curiousity, really.

[Susano]

Originally posted by Mephron

I haven't been able to actually track down any Hellboy comics around here - I mean, not even the big NYC stores have the trades in stock any more! - but in the movie trailer (I know, I know), Abe touches a door, then says, "Behind this door... ancient evil!". In the comic, does he show any kind of psi talents or psychometry?

 

(Incidentally, the response to taht moment is great: Hellboy cocking his pistol and saying, "Well, guess I better go say hi.")

 

No -- Abe's psychic powers in the film seem to be adapted from several other characters in the comics. My guess is the film makers (and Mignola is one of them) decided to give Abe more to do and cut down on extra agents.

[Susano]

Originally posted by Redmenace

It is up to your usual standards.

 

I'll take that as a good thing.

 

1.) In Hellboy's absence, Abe seems to be in charge suggesting some seniority as a field commander.

 

I'm not sure it's a perk, just the way things work out. Also, I have only read "Hollow earth" of the post-Hellboy BPRD stories, so that's what I'm going on.

 

2.) I don't know how inclusive you wish to get. There have been a few non Mignola written stories and recently a potential Psych lim has come up.

 

Abe is reacted to badly by the parents of a missing child. (This in strong contrast to the almost blind acceptance we've normally seen to BPRD agents by the general public). Abe himself reacts to this with resentment and one of the fellow BPRD makes a remark that Abe might be jealous of the Bureau's absent, yet still considered foremost agent, Hellboy.

 

This could translate as a 5 point increase to his distinctive looks, social limitation or rivalry of very low point total and intensity. This doesn't seem to happen in Mignola's stories but it comes up semi regularly, and only to Abe, in the BPRD one shots.

 

This is something I haven't see (yet) so I'll leave it off until I get to that story.

[Susano]

Originally posted by Speedball

Excellent as ever.

 

One suggestions per your observation that Abe reads a lot.

 

KS: well read (general knowledge) 11- This would be the intellectual version of Jack of all trades, I guess. I know people who just seem to know a little bit about everything, but not to an extent that they could be consulted as an expert. Just an item of curiousity, really.

 

Oh, I like this. I'll put it in. And Abe does seem to know bits of this and that...