(Character) Tattooed Man

[SKJAM!]

Tattooed Man

 

Player: NPC

 

Val Char Cost

13 STR 3

13 DEX 9

12 CON 4

10 BODY 0

10 INT 0

10 EGO 0

10 PRE 0

10 COM 0

 

6 PD 3

4 ED 2

3 SPD 7

5 REC 0

25 END 1

25 STUN 2

 

6" RUN 0

3" SWIM 1

2 1/2" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 32

 

Cost Power

128 Tattoos of Doom: Variable Power Pool (Summoning Pool), 100 base + 28 control cost, (150 Active Points); Limited Class Of Powers Available Slightly Limited (Only to summon tattoos already created; -1/4); all slots Lockout (-1/2)

0 1) Boxing Gloves: Energy Blast 8d6, Double Knockback (+3/4) (70 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 47

0 2) Giant Eagle: Summon 75-point Giant eagle, Slavishly Devoted (Mental construct; +1) (30 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 20

0 3) Wings: Flight 12" (24 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 16

0 4) Machine Gun: Killing Attack - Ranged 1d6, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2) (22 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 15

0 5) Speedboat: Summon 75-point speedboat, Slavishly Devoted (mental construct; +1) (30 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 20

0 6) Racecar: Summon 75-point Racecar, Slavishly Devoted (mental construct; +1) (30 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 20

0 7) Mini-Fighter Plane: Summon 75-point miniature fighter plane, Slavishly Devoted (mental construct; +1) (30 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 20

0 8) Fire Wheel: Energy Blast 8d6, Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) (50 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 33

0 9) Bolas: Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF (40 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 27

0 10) Lightbulb: Sight Group Flash 4d6 (20 Active Points); Lockout (-1/2) Real Cost: 13

Powers Cost: 128

 

 

Cost Skill

3 Acting 11-

2 AK: Pacific Ocean 11-

2 CK: Coast City 11-

3 Climbing 12-

9 +3 with tattoo creations

2 CuK: Nautical World 11-

3 Demolitions 11-

3 Hoist 11-

4 KS: Tattoos 13-

2 KS: Treasures of Baron Cranford 11-

3 Lockpicking 12-

2 Navigation (Marine) 11-

2 PS: Burglar 11-

2 PS: Sailor 11-

2 PS: Tattoo Artist 11-

2 SS: Chemistry 11-

3 Security Systems 11-

3 Streetwise 11-

3 TF: Large Motorized Boats, Small Motorized Boats, Small Rowed Boats

Skills Cost: 55

 

 

 

Total Character Cost: 215

 

Pts. Disadvantage

20 Normal Characteristic Maxima

5 Distinctive Features: Heavily Tattooed Arms (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

10 Hunted: Green Lantern 8- (As Pow, Capture)

15 Psychological Limitation: Greedy (Common, Strong)

5 Social Limitation: Convicted criminal (Occasionally, Minor)

Disadvantage Points: 55

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

 

APPEARANCE

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 1.84 m

Weight: 88.00 kg

Description:

Abel Tarrant is a Caucasian male in his late thirties or early forties, with a weathered face. His hair is slightly wavy, but usually concealed beneath a captain's cap. The Tattooed man wears a white turtleneck long-sleeved shirt to conceal his heavily tattooed arms when he isn't using his powers. Abel Tarrant looks vaguely like Humphrey Bogart in some of the panels.

 

BACKGROUND

(This writeup uses primarily the information supplied in Green Lantern #23, "Threat of the Tattooed Man", written by John Broome.)

 

Abel Tarrant's parents were servants in the house of noted billionaire Baron Cranfield. He often saw the fabulous treasures Cranfield owned, and coveted them. But when Baron Cranfield died, they were left with a pittance at best, and Abel ran off to sea to seek his fortune. His greed soon got the better of him, and Abel became a burglar and safecracker to supplement his income.

 

Abel was already an experienced criminal when he accidentally set off the alarm while robbing the safe of an industrial chemical company. To complicate matters, he broke his flashlight, and while flailing around in the dark, caused several unidentified chemicals to mix on the floor. Soon, Abel was out of bullets and feeling panicked. He mistook a blob of chemicals for a cartoonish bomb, and when he concentrated on it, it became a real explosive device. Abel used the bomb to make his escape.

 

Abel returned to the firm the next day, posing as a reporter. Fortunately for him, the chemical spill had not been cleaned up, and he was able to sponge up a large sample. With time, Abel was able to discover that the chemical concoction was psychosensitive--if he drew a picture of something, then concentrated on the desired object, it would appear and be under his mental control. To make it easier to carry around useful pictures, Tarrant tattooed them on his arms. He then resolved to steal for himself the treasures of Baron Cranfield, most of which were still in Coast City.

 

It was while trying to steal a statuette that the Tattooed Man first encountered Green Lantern (who was at the museum for the unveiling of a painting of himself.) Due to a peculiarity of the chemicals the Tattooed Man was using, they registered as yellow to Green Lantern's power ring energy, and a giant eagle the criminal summoned was able to overcome the hero.

 

After several more robberies, Green Lantern realized that it was Baron Cranfield's treasures that the Tattooed Man was after, and set a power ring alarm/tracer on the last major unstolen piece. With this, he was able to track the Tattooed Man to his lair. The Tattooed Man put up a good fight, but GL had figured out the criminal's weak point and overcame him.

 

Abel quickly hid his tattoos to avoid anyone else figuring out how they worked, so that he could one day return.

 

PERSONALITY

Abel Tarrant was motivated by greed and envy of other men's wealth. Other than that, he seems to have had a fairly easy-going disposition, and the sort of fellow who'd stand drinks for his buddies.

 

QUOTE

"Duck your freight, you lubbers! Give me room to chart a course out of here!" The Tattooed Man uses a lot of nautical slang (and in a more "realistic" setting, would probably use even saltier language.)

 

POWERS/TACTICS

Abel Tarrant was an experienced sailor and criminal, with a touch of artistic talent that he put into learning how to make tattoos. Once he had access to his unique chemicals, the Tattooed Man could draw a picture and then concentrate to make the depicted object physical and under his control. At this point in his career, while the Tattooed Man could have several tattooes "out" at once, he can only control one at a time, and the others just sort of hang there until he concentrates on them. In addition, despite their apparent coloration, they register as yellow to Green Lantern power ring energy. He can make his tattoos invisible, but then cannot use them.

 

Tattooed Man's tactics were basically smash and grab. He'd grab his intended loot, ward off any pursuers with an attack tattoo, then summon some form of transportation to get away. He seemed more interested in trying out new tattoos than in planning the most effective attacks.

 

CAMPAIGN_USE

The Tattooed Man is another glorified thief, who is really only a threat in the story because of his powers' immunity to Green Lantern's. He'd make a good villain group member, able to fill a utility role with varied attacks. To make him more powerful, give his power pool reduced endurance cost, and remove the Lockout limitation.

 

The Tattooed Man will only hunt someone who has something he wants.

 

 

Comments, questions?

SKJAM!

[Twilight]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

Interesting character, but how would you write up The Illustrated Man from Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes?

[SKJAM!]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

Images to Sight and Sound Group, O END, No Conscious Control, only to show stories of the bizarre and improbable.

[Twilight]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

Images to Sight and Sound Group' date=' O END, No Conscious Control, only to show stories of the bizarre and improbable.[/quote']

 

But is that the same guy as Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes? One was a drifter after all, the other a straight up villain.

[transmetahuman]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

So this guy can turn pictures of anything he can draw into real objects... why would he become a thief? I'd be drawing big magical mansions or gigantic piles of gold and jewelry or something.

 

I guess the lockout helps to explain it, and I'm sure there's some kind of time limit or something, but jeez, sometimes that whole "hero or villain, no in-between" thing gets even more silly.

[SKJAM!]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

But is that the same guy as Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes? One was a drifter after all' date=' the other a straight up villain.[/quote']

 

In the book, at least, Mr. Dark didn't have the "look at my tattoos and see a Ray Bradbury short story" power.

[SKJAM!]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

So this guy can turn pictures of anything he can draw into real objects... why would he become a thief? I'd be drawing big magical mansions or gigantic piles of gold and jewelry or something.

 

I guess the lockout helps to explain it, and I'm sure there's some kind of time limit or something, but jeez, sometimes that whole "hero or villain, no in-between" thing gets even more silly.

 

Physical objects, anyway. If I recall correctly, they're all monochrome (but hard to tell in a black and white reprint.

 

And he didn't become a thief, he already was one and just decided to go for flashier targets. A failure of the imagination that probably explains why he became a thief when he could have had a decent career as a sailor.

 

Later on, the Tattooed Man did attempt to go straight several times, including a rather creepy story where he used the tattoos to whip up a substitute family. He also got killed a few times. And in a particularly odd twist, he stole a time machine to go back and try to convince his younger self not to take to a life of crime. Didn't work.

[Twilight]

Re: (Character) Tattooed Man

 

In the book' date=' at least, Mr. Dark didn't have the "look at my tattoos and see a Ray Bradbury short story" power.[/quote']

 

True, though he did seem to have an ability to cause pain to people whose faces were tattooed upon his body. At least that was the implication I got from the story. He'd also have to pay points for that carosuel, unless I'm mistaken.