Captain Strange, the Brain Devil! Character sheet for an almost forgotten pulp hero.

[OddHat]

CAPTAIN PHILIP STRANGE, THE BRAIN DEVIL

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

13 STR 3 12- Lift 151.6kg; 2 1/2d6 [1]

18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6

13 CON 6 12-

10 BODY 0 11-

18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13-

18 EGO 16 13- ECV: 6

18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6

14 COM 2 12-

 

3 PD 0 Total: 3/6 PD (3 rPD)

3 ED 0 Total: 3/6 ED (3 rED)

3 SPD 2 Phases: 4, 8, 12

6 REC 0

26 END 0

24 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 69

 

Movement: Running: 6"/12"

Leaping: 2"/4"

Swimming: 2"/4"

 

Cost Powers END

6 Pulp Hero Tough: Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)

The Brain Devil

Notes: Captain Philip Strange's psychic powers earned him the nick-name The Brain Devil. Truth be told, he often didn’t use them when it would have been both useful and practical to do so, but that didn't stop them from making a significant difference in many of his adventures.

1 1) Natural Mentalist: Mental Defense (5 points total)

11 2) Something is going to happen. Something Terrible.: Precognitive Clairsentience (Sight And Hearing Groups) (50 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), Precognition Only (-1), Vague and Unclear (-1/2) 5

12 3) ESP: Mind Scan 6d6 (30 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 1/2) 3

40 Strange Psychic Powers: Multipower, 40-point reserve

Notes: Despite his long list of powers, Captain Strange rarely used them more than a few times in an adventure. I've simulated this by leaving their END costs relatively high.

4u 1) Thought Transference: Telepathy 8d6 (40 Active Points) 4

4u 2) Hypnotic Powers: Mind Control 4d6, Telepathic (+1/4), Cumulative (48 points; +3/4) (40 Active Points) 4

Notes: The Cumulative advantage on the Brain Devil's hypnotic powers reflects the idea that he can't instantly brain-bash someone into obedience; he usually needs a little time to convince his target to do anything they don't want to do.

4u 3) Hypnotic Illusions: Mental Illusions 8d6 (40 Active Points) 4

 

Perks

5 Fringe Benefit: Basic 8- Contact with Military Superiors, Captain

 

Talents

Child Prodigy

5 1) Eidetic Memory

3 2) Lightning Calculator

 

Skills

Aviator

Notes: Captain Strange was a regular feature in Flying Aces magazine, and all of his adventures revolved in some way around his skills as an Air Ace. Philip Strange flew combat missions from WWI until his last appearance in 1939.

3 1) Aerobatics 13-

7 2) Combat Piloting 15-

Notes: free TF is Small Planes

2 3) Navigation (Air) 13-

1 4) Mechanics 8-

1 5) WF: Biplane Weapons

1 6) TF: Balloons & Zeppelins, Small Planes

Military Inteligence Officer

Notes: Philip Strange served as a Military Intelligence Officer and borderline spy in Flying Aces magazine from 1933 to 1939. He did a lot of investigating on the ground in that time, and so I've added detective skills to the list.

3 1) PS: Military Intelligence Officer 13-

3 2) Bureaucratics 13-

3 3) Deduction 13-

2 4) WF: Small Arms

Stage Magician

Notes: Captain Strange is described as having been a stage performer before entering the military, and uses his skills in sleight of hand and illusion often in his adventures. I would assume that he did most of his performing on the classic Vaudeville circuit.

3 1) PS: Stage Magician 13-

3 2) Acting 13-

3 3) Contortionist 13-

3 4) Lockpicking 13-

3 5) Persuasion 13-

5 6) Sleight Of Hand 14-

3 7) Concealment 13-

3 8) Stealth 13-

3 9) Ventriloquism 13-

3 10) Lipreading 13-

3 11) Oratory 13-

5 12) Disguise 14-

Notes: Strange is a master of disguise.

3 13) Mimicry 13-

3 Linguist

Notes: Captain Strange is described as a child prodigy and master of “a dozen languages”. This selection could certainly be expanded.

0 1) Language: English (idiomatic; literate) (5 Active Points)

1 2) Language: French (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)

1 3) Language: German (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)

1 4) Language: Italian (completely fluent) (3 Active Points)

3 Scholar

Notes: Captain Strange was a child prodigy and a master of all sorts of esoteric skills. The following list is on the conservative side.

2 1) KS: Arcane And Occult Lore (3 Active Points) 13-

2 2) KS: Magic Tricks (3 Active Points) 13-

1 3) KS: Military Law And Procedure (2 Active Points) 11-

1 4) KS: The Military World (2 Active Points) 11-

1 5) KS: The Mystic World (2 Active Points) 11-

1 6) KS: The Theatre World (2 Active Points) 11-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 181

Total Cost: 250

 

200+ Disadvantages

15 Psychological Limitation: American Patriot (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: An Officer and a Gentleman (Common, Moderate)

15 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Frequently, Major)

Notes: This seems to be much less of a disadvantage in the world of the pulps.

10 Hunted: US Military 11- (Mo Pow, Watching)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 250

 

Background/History: A child prodigy, Philip Strange was forced by his greedy uncle to master stage magic and mentalism by his early teens. Working in Vaudeville, Philip’s natural genius allowed him to make the leap from simple trickery and stage hypnosis to true psychic power. When the Great War rolled around, Philip Strange fled the stage to join the fight. Philip became an Air Ace and Military Intelligence Officer, using his stage magic, flying skills and mental might to force back the Hun. He faced mad scientists, seemingly supernatural threats, madmen like the Skull and strange criminals like Monsieur le Diable. To the allies he was the phantom ace of G-2; to the Germans he was the Brain Devil. After the war he continued to serve his country, flying his last strange mission in 1939.

 

Real History: Donald E. Keyhoe wrote the Captain Strange stories for Flying Aces magazine from, as far as I can tell, 1933 to 1939. If anyone has better dates, please let me know. If there is any connection between this Donald Keyhoe and Donald Keyhoe the UFOlogist, I haven’t found it.

 

Captain Philip Strange himself was a sort of combination of Mandrake, Operator #5, and G-8, though considering publication dates he wasn’t just a copy. While some of his adventures were as wild as those of better known pulp heroes, by the late 1930s he had become little more than a flyboy detective, and the psychic powers he displayed in earlier stories were rarely used. His adventures always had a comic element, and became lighter fare towards the end of his run.

 

Wold Newton History: For Wold Newton speculators, I would suggest that Captain Philip Strange, the Brain Devil, was the father of Stephen Strange. Perhaps Stephen’s early materialism and skeptical nature can be explained by anger over the loss of his father, and a rejection of the man’s fantastic tales. Later in life, when Stephen lost his ability to perform surgery, his memories of his father doubtless lead him down the path ending with Doctor Stephen Strange assuming the mantle of Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme.

 

Personality/Motivation: Captain Philip Strange is a true blue American patriot and flyboy, quick witted and more inclined to think and talk his way out of a situation than to throw a punch. He enjoys jokes and performing pointless magic tricks. However, when the situation is grim, he can be relied on to fly in with pistol at the ready.

 

Quote: “So that’s why Jordan was afraid of having his pants stolen!”

 

Powers/Tactics: A genius polymath, competent detective and skilled pilot, Strange will try to out-think rather than out-fight foes on the ground. In the air, he’s inclined to try to use aerobatics to outmaneuver the enemy. In the stories where he does use his psychic powers, he benefits most from flashes of clairvoyance or precognitive insight, but he is an able hypnotist and (sometimes) mind reader.

 

The above write up shows Philip Strange at his most powerful; in the later stories, his psychic powers were much more rarely used.

 

Campaign Use: Philip Strange makes a good pilot, big brother style mentor, or ally for the players. To greatly increase his power, give him a 50 point Variable Power Pool, Pulp Psychic Powers Only (-1/4) and a Psychic Powers Skill to shift the powers as a full phase action. To decrease his power, drop all the psychic powers except possibly “Something is coming”. Captain Strange should be a very good pilot in any campaign, but probably not the best. It would make sense to sink more points into Combat Skill Levels when flying, an extra point of speed when flying, and similar Top Pilot abilities.

 

Appearance: Tall and slim, light brown hair and eyes, looking much younger than his actual years. Usually in uniform.

 

Captain Philip Strange by Donald E. Keyhoe. Character sheet an Wold Newton speculation by Robert Dorf.

[pinecone]

Re: Captain Strange, the Brain Devil! Character sheet for an almost forgotten pulp hero.

 

Looks real cool...didn't his grandson become a doctor?

[OddHat]

Re: Captain Strange, the Brain Devil! Character sheet for an almost forgotten pulp he

 

Looks real cool...didn't his grandson become a doctor?

Wold Newton History: For Wold Newton speculators, I would suggest that Captain Philip Strange, the Brain Devil, was the father of Stephen Strange. Perhaps Stephen’s early materialism and skeptical nature can be explained by anger over the loss of his father, and a rejection of the man’s fantastic tales. Later in life, when Stephen lost his ability to perform surgery, his memories of his father doubtless lead him down the path ending with Doctor Stephen Strange assuming the mantle of Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme.

 

Yup.

 

Doctor Strange himself was a spiced up version of Doctor Droom / Doctor Druid, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone at Marvel had been a fan of the Captain Strange stories about the time that Doctor Droom was getting re-imagined.