Help with a character name

Dr. Anomaly · May 31, 2004

I need some help to put the finishing touches on a character. In specific, I need a name and another 50 points of Disads.Originally, this wasn't actually going to be a full-fledged character. Earlier this evening I was talking with my co-GM about how a brick with Shrinking and Stretching could be very abusive, so I decided to do a quick write-up to demonstrate my point...just Powers, forget everything else, this was just an excercise in doing the points & Powers. Somewhere along the way, though, an actual character and background sort of worked his way in, and now here I am...with a mostly finished character I didn't intend to write, without a name for his costumed identity, and still lacking 50 points in Disads.Edit: Okay, I've edited this to make use of some of the suggestions made. If you'd like to lift him for your own campaign, feel free! Dwarf StarSecret Identity: Roderick Steele / Robert Jones

Val	Char	Cost
75	STR	65
21	DEX	33
30	CON	40
12	BODY	4
10	INT	0
10	EGO	0
13	PRE	3
18	COM	4

20	PD	5
30	ED	24
5	SPD	19
17	REC	-8
60	END	0
65	STUN	0

6" RUN02" SWIM015" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 189

Cost	Power	END
20	*Tough:* Damage Resistance (20 PD/20 ED)	0
40	*Compact Form:* Shrinking (0.0148 m tall, 4.435E-5 kg mass, -14 PER Rolls to perceive character, +14 DCV, takes +21" KB); 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 5 Minutes (-1/2), IIF (Alien Ring; -1/4)	[1 cc]
35	*Dimensional Reach:* Stretching 10", Does Not Cross Intervening Space (+1/4); 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 5 Minutes (-1/2), IIF (Alien Ring; -1/4)	[1 cc]
20	*Gravitic Propulsion:* Flight 15", Position Shift; 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 5 Minutes (-1/2), IIF (Alien Ring; -1/4)	[1 cc]
14	*Psionic Shield:* Mental Defense (20 points total); IIF (Alien Ring; -1/4)	0

Powers Cost: 129

Cost	Skill
0	AK: Millennium City 11-
0	Acting 8-
0	Climbing 13-
0	Concealment 8-
0	Conversation 12-
0	Deduction 11-
3	High Society 12-
5	KS: The Swashbuckling Age 14-
0	Language: English (Idiomatic, native accent)
3	Language: Spanish (completely fluent)
2	Language: French (completely fluent)
0	Paramedics 11-
0	Persuasion 12-
3	Power: Brick Tricks 24-
3	PS: Romance Novelist 14-
3	Seduction 12-
0	Shadowing 8-
0	Stealth 8-
0	TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles

Skills Cost: 22

Cost	Perk
5	Money: Well Off
4	Contact: Benjamin "Benny" Parker, Literary Agent (Contact has useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity, Good relationship with Contact) 12-
1	Reputation: Moderately popular romance novelist (A small to medium sized group) 8-, +1/+1d6

Perks Cost: 10

Val	Disadvantages
35	DNPC: Current batch of girlfriends 11- (Incompetent; Unaware of character's villain ID; Group DNPC: x4 DNPCs)
15	Hunted: Law Officers 11- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)
5	Hunted: IRS 8- (Less Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)
15	Hunted: Alien makers of the ring 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish)
15	Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major)
10	Psychological Limitation: Closet Thrillseeker (Common, Moderate)
15	Psychological Limitation: Guilt-ridden (Very Common, Moderate)
15	Psychological Limitation: Overcompensates to cover fear (Common, Strong)
15	Psychological Limitation: Spendthrift (Very Common, Moderate)
10	Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Dimensional-manipulating powers (Uncommon)

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200Experience Required: 0Total Experience Available: 0Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 350

Height: 1.90 m	Hair: Raven's-wing black
Weight: 93.00 kg	Eyes: Meltring Brown

Appearance: Bobby is tall, muscular, and strikingly handsome with glossy black hair down to his shoulders and deep, warm brown eyes. He isn't Spanish, but his swarthy skin and affected accent make most people believe he is. Bobby has a fine eye for the ladies, and most of them regard him as some very nice 'eye candy' as well.Personality: Bobby puts on an air of unshakable confidence and gentlemanly charm as Roderick Steele, the novelist. He loves the spotlight, parties, and beautiful women, though he hasn't had much time for those since obtaining the alien ring...even if he has the time, he doesn't feel in a 'party' mood. As a costumed villain, Bobby tends to take things and his reactions to extremes in an unconscious attempt to mask his fear and nervousness. He laughs too loudly and harshly, makes sweeping gestures and grand statements even during the most simple of tasks...in short, he comes across like a blowhard instead of a dashing villain. Bobby very much wants to be a dashing, romantic figure like the heroes of his books, and can't quite figure out how he got into the situation he's in. He'd very much like to get out of it, but currently lacks the resolve. How things will develop in the future is anyone's guess.Quote: "You may as well surrender now...there's no way you can defeat me!"Background: Robert Jones was always a sickly child, rather on the short and scrawny side. He was constantly picked on by the bigger kids, and spent a lot of time in bed due to one ailment after another. Too physically frail to join in sports or other physical activites, Bobby turned to books. Alas, he did not excel academically, either, because the books he devoured were works of fiction...tales of pirates and daring-do. After he'd read all the books he currently had checked out from the library, Bobby used to tell himself exciting pirate adventure stories; in these he was the dashing Robin Hood-esque hero who always wound up with the beautiful daughter of the governor. He even went so far as to learn Spanish and French just so he could speak with the accent of a dashing 'gentleman' pirate.

During his senior year, Bobby's fortunes began to take a turn for the better. He seemingly threw off his nearly-constant illness, and began to grow and build a robust body at an astonishing rate. By the time of graduation, Bobby was a 6'3" tall, muscular, handsome man with his pick of girls to date. He made the most of this, and enjoyed himself immensely. In fact, he paid so much attention to girls instead of books that his grades, never stellar, took a plunge and he barely passed. Needless to say, college was out of the question.

Out of high school with no skills to speak of and few prospects, Bobby packed his bags and moved to Florida. He hoped to find not only a job (though he didn't know at what) but also lots of beautiful, tanned beach-going girls to date; he managed to do both. The day job he found was as office help at a small publishing firm, and his nights were spent in a whirl of beach parties and womanizing. Bobby wasn't Spanish, but his swarthy skin, black hair, and affected Spanish accent won over many ladies. He lived this life for nearly five months before he had a revelation that changed his life.

One day when he was all caught up on his assigned tasks, Bobby idly flipped through the unpublished manuscript of an upcoming romance novel by Patricia Sutherland, one of the firm's star writers. It was a romance novel, and Bobby (who'd never read a romance novel before) could not believe the amount of money Ms. Sutherland got in royalties for what seemed to him to be a formulaic, insipid bit of junk with two-dimensional characters. When he made a comment along these lines to his boss, he was told "That's what people want, Robert. If you think you can do better, give it a try. It's not as easy as it looks to get published and make a living as a writer." Remembering the pirate stories that had fascinated him during his early years, and the rousing stories he'd told himself, Bobby resolved to do just that.

He created the pseudonym of "Roderick Steele" for himself because it sounded more dashing and exciting. He nearly abandoned the nightlife and devoted himself to drafting his first novel, Raider of Hearts. It took him almost six months of continuous work to finish it. Not long after it was finished, Bobby began to learn the 'joys' of rejection letters as publisher after publisher turned down his work. Finally, after several months of this and being near to giving up, Bobby decided to follow the advice in the writer's "How-to" guide he'd bought and find a literary agent to present his manuscript for him. Since he didn't have any money for an up-front retainer, that meant he had to find one willing to work on a contingency basis. Luck was with him, and he found Benny Parker. Not long after, with Benny's help, Bobby sold his novel.

Raider of Hearts was unexpectedly popular, and when the publisher approached Bobby about further novels, he agreed immediately...though with Benny advising him on how to keep from getting locked into slave-labor "exclusive contracts". Bobby has since had two more novels published, and they continue to grow in popularity. While not as well-known as a TV or movie star, Bobby began to get recognized on the street by people (mostly women) who read his books...and he discovered he liked the spotlight, the recognition. For a time he toyed with the idea of moving to Hollywood, but the prohibitive costs of living there, as well as the thought of competing with those TV and movie stars for fame, made him give up on the idea. What he needed, he realized, was someplace often in the news, someplace glamorous, but not filled to the brim with media stars. He settled on Millennium City as meeting these criteria.

Living in Millennium City, surrounded by the best modern technology could offer, may not have been as expensive as living in Hollywood, but Bobby discovered all too quickly just how expensive it can be, when one buys the best of everything...and though he was an author growing in popularity, his income was no where near enough to support that kind of lifestyle. His financial troubles mounting, Bobby took a long, solo vacation to go hiking in the Rockies to try and relax and clear his mind. Late one evening, he saw a shooting star...and felt the ground tremble when it landed close by! It took him over an hour to find the impact sight, but when he did, he could hardly believe his eyes...a few scattered scraps of metal, a crater, and a very dead alien! The alien was a large catlike biped, and apart from a badly-scorched leather-like harness, the only thing on his body was a glittering gold ring. Curiosity getting the better of him, Bobby took the ring from the alien's finger and tried it on.

Instantly, to his horror, he felt like he was being sucked right out of the universe! He screamed, clawing madly at the ring...only to have the sensation stop before he could get it off. It took him a moment to realize how things had changed, and then it came to him...he was only a few inches tall! Frantically he finished pulling the ring off, and immediately returned to his normal size -- much to his relief! Bobby left the crash site before anyone else showed up (in the movies, the government always arrived quickly) and returned to his camp. He packed and left immediately, though it was still nighttime.

Over the next several days, Bobby discovered that not only would the ring shrink him at will, but it would also allow him to fly. The 'sucking' sensation when he activated the ring still bothered him, but he began to get used to it. After thinking about it a lot, and realizing he didn't seem to get any heavier when he was small, Bobby decided the ring must be sucking part of his mass into another dimension or something...wasn't that how people in the comic books changed size?...and he also learned that when he was shrunken, he could "reach through" that other dimension (or whatever it was) to affect things in the real world a bit of distance away from himself. To his disappointment, the ring seemed run out of "juice" fairly quickly, though it soon became apparent that it recharged itself after about 26 hours. Bobby also found to his astonishment that his strength had been magnified to unbelievable levels, as had his durability, stamina, and reflexes...and that these changes remained even with the ring removed from his finger!

Returning from his hiking trip, Bobby was careful to conceal the ring and his new abilities. He pondered for a long time what, if anything, to do with his new abilities. "I'd be able to think about this a lot more clearly if these money problems would go away," Bobby grumbled. Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning...banks were insured, right? So it wouldn't really be hurting anyone to steal from them. Besides, his gentlemen pirate heroes robbed the rich and gave to those in need, like Robin Hood had done. He'd just take enough to fix his money problems, and then he'd never do such a thing again!

Well, designing a costume for himself and speaking with a French accent to conceal his true identity, Bobby robbed three banks over the course of four months. He 'fixed' his money problems, but didn't do so carefully...and got audited by the IRS. It was a scary time, but he managed to put them off and cover his tracks sufficiently to avoid any jail time, though they did hit him with penalties for unreported income. He was audited last year, too, and is sure the IRS is will be watching him closely for several more years, waiting for him to slip up and 'reveal' something. That's a problem, because with all the stress and distractions, Bobby hasn't been able to finish his latest book, so money problems are looming again. Now he's torn...if he robs another bank, he's sure he won't be able to cover up the money enough to avoid another IRS audit, but if he doesn't come up with the money, he'll lose the lifestyle he's come to enjoy. Further, Bobby's guilt is working on him as well. He knows that robbing banks, insured or not, is not right...and what if he hurts someone during a robbbery? Plus, he doesn't feel like the dashing hero he imagines himself to be -- he feels miserable, trapped, and restless. He's considered creating a new costume and a new identity and taking up the life of a superhero -- after all, they get lots of attention and adoration, right? -- but he's also scared. He's scared his dark secret will come out, and despite his fantasies of being a dashing swashbuckler, Bobby is very much afraid to face a super-powered villain.

What's he going to do?!?

Powers/Tactics: When and where possible, Bobby likes to use the inherent stealthiness of his tiny size to sneak into a bank vault, return to normal size, stuff his pockets with as much large-bill cash as possible, then shrink again and make his getaway...ideally completely unseen. When that doesn't work though, he will fight. Since he's afraid of getting hit, knocked out, and unmasked, he fights at range as much as possible. He knows that as a small, flying target he's difficult to hit, and his ability to reach around normal space and apply his fantastic strength at a distance gives him a distinct advantage. He will fight only as much as is necessary to escape, and will not strike a good-looking woman unless it's absolutely unavoidable.Campaign Use: Bobby is currently a villain, though one stricken with self-doubt and guilt. It might not take much to turn him around and put him on the track to the superhero life instead. Also, Bobby is actually a very talented writer, though none of the major publishers have 'discovered' him yet. His promising career as an author may crumble, though, if he keeps up his current very stressful activities and lifestyle.

Sociotard · May 31, 2004