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[Character] Vibro-Man

Dr Archeville

By Dr Archeville
in Champions

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Dr Archeville Rising Star

Dr Archeville

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Another char I've played in a few games, converted to Standard (350 point) Champions format. This time I did work to convert his background to fit into the Champions universe! (Still need some more Drawbacks, though.)

 

Background/History: Virgil Blackwell was a bright kid growing up in the ghettos of Harlem, NY, and had fairly stable, compassionate parents. He graduated at an early age with Master’s Degrees in mechanical engineering and physics, and did some of his own studies in cybernetics. His family and friends were unsurprised when he was offered a job at one of Harmon Industries research labs. 
Virgil had heard of the exploits of Defender, and one of the reason’s he joined the HI team was to get closer to the Defender, since that hero was often seen with Harmon and at HI facilities.  Also, HI did have some of the best facilities of any corporation in America. Blackwell was a diligent worker, and was quite pleased with the non-prejudiced attitude of his co-workers. He was able to make enough within a year to get his parents and siblings out of the ghetto and into a much nicer apartment complex, and sent them a small sum every month to help out.
Blackwell was slightly surprised when James Harmon IV himself asked him to spearhead a project on power generation and transmission.  He worked diligently at it for several months, but found that he kept falling behind on deadlines and relied on others to help him through things which proved too advanced for him.  So, he began to spend every spare moment in secret to a new project: a revolutionary new type of cybernetic brain interface, one that would greatly increase the power of a human mind.
Unfortunately, the new bit of cyberware could not implant itself, and Virgil couldn’t go to any “respectable” doctor to do it, so he had to look to underworld surgeons.  After some searching he found one… he just cannot remember who.  Whoever it was also erased all memory of their meeting as they installed the implant.  Virgil simply awoke in his bed one morning, with a note saying “You’re welcome” taped to his dresser mirror.  Excitement over the efficiency of his newly enhanced brain pushed all worry over his memory loss out of the way.
In his first week back at work after getting the implant installed, Virgil not only got caught up on all his own work, he got ahead on a few sub-projects, and helped point out a few flaws in work done by his support staff.  At nights his overactive brain churned out idea after idea, and slowly the design for a new suit of power armor began to form, one based on harmonics and vibrations that would give both potent offensive and defensive capabilities.  Bit by bit he constructed the suit at Harmon Industries, then smuggled the pieces out to his apartment and assembled them there.  After over a year of work, he finally had all the pieces, and was ready to test…
And that’s when disaster struck.  For some reason, the Vibro-Blasters went into overload and began generating wide pulses that tore the superstructure of the apartment to bits.  As the multi-story building began to collapse, unchecked vibrations in the suit interfered with the cybernetic brain implant, making it short out and sending him into a rage.  When the Champions appeared (they had fortunately been near by), Virgil attacked in a berserk fury, hindering the search & rescue efforts.  Witchcraft was able to knock him out with a lucky shot, and when his identity was revealed, the rest of his life came crashing down.
Harmon (as both Harmon and as Defender) intervened on his behalf, though, and while Virgil lost his supervisory position, he was allowed to remain on at one of Harmon Industries subsidiaries in a lesser capacity, in part so his family would not need to suffer for his mistakes, and in part so Harmon could keep a close eye on him.  Though Nighthawk immediately distrusted him, Defender talked him into investigating things further, and found that the malfunction was due not to an error on his part, but rather was an act of sabotage.  Who would have done so remains a mystery, but Virgil cannot help but wonder if it may have been someone linked to the unknown underworld surgeon he had had work on him.
Personality/Motivation: After having come so far and lost so much, Virgil is a changed man.  He’s still as driven as ever, if not moreso, but his family can tell a change has come over him, as Virgil has taken on a more serious, less carefree edge.  With Harmon’s help, and some input from Mark Whitaker, Virgil was able to repair his damaged armor, which he uses to help stop criminals and those who would misuse technology.  Neither could help with his cybernetic brain implant, though, and unfortunately the damage is sustained both rendered it less functional than it originally was, and makes it subject to the occasional malfunction (seemingly tied to stress levels), which causes the release of hormones that lead to schizophrenia and send him into a blind rage.  Both Harmon and Whitaker have tried contacting top neurosurgeons, but the cyberware is so advanced and so deeply implanted that they cannot get it out without serious risk to Virgil’s health.
Quote: 
Powers/Tactics: Vibro-Man's suit allows him to vibrate his body at super-fast speeds, which gives him many powers. He can shoot blasts of “vibro-energy,” punch someone a hundred times in the blink of an eye, slice through objects or people the same way a sonic saw cuts through wood, or shake someone so quickly and thoroughly that dizziness and nausea cause the victim to pass out. He can also run at high speeds, “vibro-phase” his body through solid objects, or dodge so rapidly it’s virtually impossible to hit him.
Vibro-Man prefers to keep moving during a battle, rarely standing still for more than one Phase.  His Vibro-Blasts and Vibro-Assault are favorite attacks; he’ll save his HKA for times when nothing else works, or he needs to damage a nonliving object. He uses his Vibro-Punch in combination with Move Bys mostly. He’ll gladly Abort a Phase to Dodge or Dive For Cover if he can avoid getting hurt.
Appearance: Out of his armor, Blackwell is a fairly athletic black man with piercing gray eyes. He favors simple clothing that is non-constricting and easy to move around in, and often wears a silver neck chain (his only jewelry). His V-Man armor is a full-body power armor suit, blue-grey with grey-green helmet, breastplate, belt/trunks, gauntlets, and boots; save for the color scheme, the suit is very reminiscent of Defender's armor.

 

Stats are basically the same as Vibron (from CKC), but with everything in an OIF (powersuit), and a "vibro-sense" power. Eerily, those are almost exactly the same powers he had in other gaming systems.

 

I wouldn't mind suggestions on a new name for him, either.

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Vestnik Mentor

Vestnik

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Re: [Character] Vibro-Man

 

The Unstoppable Power of Vibro-Man: 14d6 Mind Control, 0 END (+1/2) (105 Active Points), One Emotion (Intense Feeling of Satisfaction; -1), Only vs. Women (-1), No Range (-1/2), Requires a DEX Roll (-1/2), Gestures (Throughout Use of Power; -1/2), Extra Time (One Turn; -1 1/4), No Mental Awareness (-1/4) (Total Real Cost: 16 Points)

 

Only 2 points as an Ultra slot! Awesome.

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Dr Archeville Rising Star

Dr Archeville

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Re: [Character] Vibro-Man

 

The Unstoppable Power of Vibro-Man: 20d6 Mind Control, 0 END (+1/2) (105 Active Points), One Emotion (Intense Feeling of Satisfaction; -1), Only vs. Women (-1), No Range (-1/2), Requires a DEX Roll (-1/2), Gestures (Throughout Use of Power; -1/2), Extra Time (One Turn; -1 1/4), No Mental Awareness (-1/4) (Total Real Cost: 16 Points)

 

Only 2 points as an Ultra slot! Awesome.

Shouldn't that instead be done as a BOECV, Takes No Damage, Works Against EGO not STR Entangle? ;)

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Darkfire Contributor

Darkfire

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Re: [Character] Vibro-Man

 

I agree at one turn... that leads to the kind of names no hero wants. minute man jokes would be bad enough but with an name like Splitsecond my mind boggles at the possible puns/jokes.

 

with apologies to Justice league "fastest man alive!"

"hmm maybe thats why your dateless."

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Guest Major Tom

Guest Major Tom

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Re: [Character] Vibro-Man

 

I agree at one turn... that leads to the kind of names no hero wants. minute man jokes would be bad enough but with an name like Splitsecond my mind boggles at the possible puns/jokes.

 

with apologies to Justice league "fastest man alive!"

"hmm maybe thats why your dateless."

 

 

Reminds me of a Superman skit that was done on The Tonight Show with

Johnny Carson. In the skit, Clark Kent and Lois Lane get married, and on

their honeymoon night, he tells her that he's Superman. They hop into bed, the

lights go out, then come back on after a couple of seconds to reveal them each

smoking a cigarette. Lois then comes out with the line "It's true...you really are

faster than a speeding bullet."

 

 

Major Tom :D

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Dr Archeville Rising Star

Dr Archeville

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Re: [Character] Vibro-Man

 

Reminds me of a Superman skit that was done on The Tonight Show with

Johnny Carson. In the skit, Clark Kent and Lois Lane get married, and on

their honeymoon night, he tells her that he's Superman. They hop into bed, the

lights go out, then come back on after a couple of seconds to reveal them each

smoking a cigarette. Lois then comes out with the line "It's true...you really are

faster than a speeding bullet."

 

 

Major Tom :D

I take it they ignored Larry Niven's thoughts on the matter, then ;)

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