Starter - Rescuer

[Comic]

[size=2][b]Rescuer[/b] aka [i][b]Jim Adams[/b][/i], Freshman[/size]

[size=2]VAL CTX Cost Notes[/size]
[size=2] 75 STR  65  24-, 800 tons, 15d6 [7][/size]
[size=2] 14 DEX  12  12-, OCV 5 / DCV 5[/size]
[size=2] 33 CON  46  16-[/size]
[size=2] 12 BODY  4  11-[/size]
[size=2] 18 INT   8  13-[/size]
[size=2] 11 EGO   2  11-, ECV 4[/size]
[size=2] 15 PRE   5  12-, 3d6[/size]
[size=2] 14 COM   2  12-[/size]
[size=2] 40  PD   -  40/25r[/size]
[size=2] 32  ED   -  32/25r[/size]
[size=2]  4 SPD  16  Phase: 12, 3, 6, 9[/size]
[size=2] 22 REC   -[/size]
[size=2] 66 END   -[/size]
[size=2] 67 STUN -[/size]
[size=2]---[/size]
[size=2]160 Total Characteristics[/size]

[size=2]6"/30 km Running [1][/size]
[size=2]2"/2 km Swimming [1][/size]
[size=2]15"/2 km Leaping [7][/size]

[size=2][b]Powers[/b][/size]

[size=2][b]Subterran Physique:[/b][/size]

[size=2] 50 [i]Durability[/i]: 25 rPD / 25 rED Armor Side Effect (Cosmetic Transformation, Varies to Match SFX of Attack -1/2) 75 AP [][/size]
[size=2] 36 [i]Physiology[/i]: Life Support (Eating: Character only has to eat once per week; Diminished Sleep 1 Hour/Day; Extended Breathing: 1 END per 5 Minutes; Immunity All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Longevity: 800 Years; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum) 36 AP [][/size]

[size=2][b]Subterran Senses:[/b][/size]

[size=2] 10 [i]Precision[/i]: 100x Microscopic Sight Group 10 AP [][/size]
[size=2] 15 [i]Photosensitivity[/i]: N-Ray Vision Stopped by Heavy Metals, Discriminatory 15 AP [][/size]
[size=2] 10 [i]Synaptic Rate[/i]: 100x Rapid Sight Group 15 AP [][/size]
[size=2]  5 [i]Hearing Accuity[/i]: +10 Telescopic Normal Hearing 5 AP [][/size]
[size=2]  5 [i]Depth of Field[/i]: +10 Telescopic PER Normal Sight 5 AP [][/size]
[size=2]  5 [i]Visual Focus[/i]: +10 Telescopic PER N-Ray Vision 5 AP [][/size]
[size=2]  3 [i]Hearing Range[/i]: Ultrasonic Hearing 3 AP [][/size]

[size=2][b]Subterran Movement:[/b][/size]

[size=2]  3 [i]Leg Strength[/i]: +2" Leaping MegaScale 1"=1 km (+1/4) 3 AP [1][/size]
[size=2]  4 [i]Land Speed[/i]: Naked Advantage MegaScale up to 6 AP Running 1"=10 km (+1/2) Reduced Endurance (+1/2) 4 AP [0][/size]
[size=2]  1 [i]Water Speed[/i]: Naked Advantage MegaScale up to 2 AP Swimming 1"=1 km (+1/4) Reduced Endurance (+1/2) 1 AP [0][/size]
[size=2]---[/size]
[size=2]147 Total Powers[/size]

[size=2][b]Skills[/b][/size]
[size=2]  3 Acting 12-[/size]
[size=2]  - AK: [i]Charles City, Virginia[/i] [EM] 8-[/size]
[size=2]  6 +2 CSLs [i]Disarm, Grab, Punch[/i][/size]
[size=2]  3 Concealment 13-[/size]
[size=2]  1 Electronics 8-[/size]
[size=2]  1 LS: Spanish Basic Conversation[/size]
[size=2]  6 +3 PSLs [i]Disarm, Grab, Pull Punch[/i][/size]
[size=2]  - PS: [i]College Student[/i] [EM] 11-[/size]
[size=2]  3 Security Systems 13-[/size]
[size=2]  3 Shadowing 13-[/size]
[size=2]  3 Stealth 12-[/size]
[size=2]  3 Tracking 13-[/size]
[size=2]---[/size]
[size=2] 32 Total Skills[/size]

[size=2][b]Talents[/b][/size]
[size=2]  5 Eidetic Memory[/size]
[size=2]  3 Perfect Pitch[/size]
[size=2]  3 Lightning Calculator[/size]
[size=2]---[/size]
[size=2] 11 Total Talents[/size]
[size=2]---[/size]
[size=2]190 Total Powers, Skills, Perks & Talents[/size]

[size=2]200+ [b]Disadvantages[/b][/size]
[size=2] 10 Dependent NPC: parents George & Mary Adams 8- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Group of 2)[/size]
[size=2] 30 Dependent NPC: peers & professors 8- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID; Group of 16)[/size]
[size=2] 10 Hunted: Rogue's Gallery 8- (As Powerful, Harshly Punish)[/size]
[size=2] 25 Hunted: VIPER 8- (More Powerful, NCI, Capture)[/size]
[size=2] 20 Psychological Limitation: CvK/Values Life (Common, Total)[/size]
[size=2] 20 Psychological Limitation: Secretive (Common, Total)[/size]
[size=2] 10 Psychological Limitation: Alpha Male Mindset (Uncommon, Strong)[/size]
[size=2]  5 Physical Limitation: Subterran Physiology Requires Special Medical Care (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)[/size]
[size=2] 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity: Jim Adams, College Student (Frequently, Major)[/size]
[size=2]  5 Social Limitation: Obligation to Uphold Scholarship Standing (Occasional, Minor)[/size]
[size=2]---[/size]
[size=2]350 Total Rescuer[/size]

 

Description

 

Rescuer appears to be a musclebound figure clad in impenetrable black. Tall, with a proud stance and stentorian voice, Rescuer lends confidence to those around him.

 

Jim Adams seems nice enough. He slouches a bit, and dresses a bit dowdy. No one would mistake him for an athlete, given his bookish, quiet demeanor.

 

Background

 

 

“What are our watchwords, Jim? Secret. Careful. Selfish. These words will keep you alive, Jim. You need these words. You need to live them with every beat of your heart. Secret. Careful. Selfish.”

 

George Adams took no pleasure having to teach these lessons to his son. The former Army Ranger turned stunt man normally loved to teach. He and Mary both loved to teach, which is how they came to run their Stunt School in remote Charles City. Virginia was a hub of these camps, where hopeful young actors and stunt people came to learn their craft. This was where George and Mary Adams found the infant, near a strange tubular cradle on a remote country road as they were driving to home soon after they learned they would never be able to bear a child of their own.

 

In secret, they took Jim for their own. It was not long before they realized their adopted baby was different from other children. Brighter, bursting with energy, indescribably happy and immeasurably strong. Though they prayed long and hard, they resolved for the boy's safety that they must do all they could to protect him from the sort of exploitation and freak show that would crash down on him if knowledge of what he was were ever revealed. Even their Episcopal pastor never suspected the truth.

 

Mary taught acting skills at the Stunt School, and her son Jim was her star pupil. It would have been lovely if she could have taught him everything she knew or dreamed of the stage – all the dance, make up, music, repertoire, song and hundred other skills of a showman. Jim's life must never grow too exposed, though, she knew. So he would learn to act naturally, to hide and deceive with every breath and word and deed, instead.

 

George would've loved to see his son follow him into the Rangers, or to become an acrobatic stunt professional, or even just learn to box or hunt. But Jim Adams could tear a tree trunk in half with his bare hands by age eight, and everything George could do to teach Jim to escape notice and hold back his terrible power so he would evade detection went into his lessons for the boy.

 

“Secret Jim. Remember. What I teach you about tracking, someone else will use that and more to track you one day. Someone better than me. What I teach you about following game, someone will use that and more to hunt you one day. Someone more dangerous than me. What you learn about security cameras and motion sensors and trip wires and tracers, you learn so you won't get caught by them. Remember your watchwords, Jim. Secret. Keep your secrets like you keep the blood in your veins.

 

“Careful, Jim. You're not like others. You could do terrible harm to anyone who loves you as easy as sneezing. As easy as losing your temper. You have to always be in control, Jim. And you have to be careful of others, too. You can't trust, you can't let your guard down. Live every minute protecting their lives and your secret.

 

“Selfish, Jim. Your life will go away and vanish if the paparazzi or worse get hold of who you really are. Always preserve a barrier around your true self. No matter what matters to anyone else, what matters to you comes first. If you ever give up your secret, if you ever stop being careful, no matter who for, then you will end up hurting them more, and you will lose parts of yourself and your life you can never get back, and will always regret letting go.

 

So what does Jim Adams do the first time he leaves home for college in the big city? Influenced by his new college friends and professors, Jim goes off and starts rescuing people. Sure, he hides his identity and covers his tracks, but it's not like carrying a bus full of injured people to a major city hospital at the speed of sound would exactly go unnoticed.

 

Called 'Rescuer' by the media, Jim has employed his Subterran abilities to appear as if out of nowhere to effect rescues and fight crime tirelessly. Nothing escapes his attention for long, and he knows no fear of any human agency.

 

Which puts a significant kink in VIPER's plans in the city. VIPER's standard response to obstacles is being deployed against Rescuer, making his life much more interesting than he expected.

 

His attentions have also been like poking every hornet's nest of rogues and villains in the area. While they're mostly busy with other issues, from time to time random individuals or small gangs will take a run at Rescuer, too.

 

In his secret identity, Jim Adams is making friends, and working hard to maintain his scholarship standing at college. His good looks, obvious intelligence and easygoing facade stand him in excellent stead, although he is clearly younger and less sophisticated than they are. With a triple focus in civil engineering, public communications and anthropology, Jim both impresses and concerns the faculty.

 

Powers

 

Jim Adams is the last of an ancient line of Subterran royalty. Civilization evolved underground for millennia, as some cave men delved deeper into the Earth's tunnels and caverns while their sun-loving cousins remained above. Separated in the fullness of time from surface-dwellers, the Subterrans grew more durable, stronger, more sensitive and more twisted through mutation and survival of the fittest in the deep darkness.

 

At its peak, Subterran society exceeded the population of all other humans by far, and its technology advanced far more rapidly than sea and surface-dwellers. Subterran genetic experiments may have created the Atlanteans. The later wars between merfolk and the tunnel people sealed off the Subterran empire from the surface before the primitive people aboveground invented the wheel, much less writing.

 

Time passes. Civil wars and revolutions happen. A Subterran princess places her infant son into a drilling probe, and sends it away to escape an insurrection. The robotic device can sense no safe haven in the empire's caverns, and turns instead up, up and away to the surface, where no Subterran has visited in a hundred long lifetimes.

 

Adopted by a childless couple, the prince's Subterran physiology thrives in the plentiful surface air and sunlight. Already advantaged over normal Subterrans by his royal lineage, Jim becomes far faster, stronger and tougher than any of his kind before, raised as he is on the surface all his life.

 

He retains, but little knows the power of, the mental abilities of his ancient and advanced culture. His thoughts are a hundred times faster than ordinary men's. His memory is flawless. His fine muscle control gives him perfect pitch and allows him to see and hear with great precision and at great distances clearly, even in bands of the spectrum his darkness-dwelling ancestors evolved to sense that their surface-dwelling cousins never needed.

 

Jim's strength is phenomenal, and perhaps has no limit – to date, his efforts have been in limiting how much strength he uses, so as not to break the fragile world and its people around him. He is conversely extremely durable, possibly invulnerable, and needs little sleep, food or air to thrive vigorously in any environment.

 

Jim can leap over a mile in a single bound, outrun the speed of sound many times, and swim at great speeds when he doesn't hold back. He'll invariably only exploit these speeds when he sees no chance of harming others.

 

Rescuer made his thin Buckyfelt costume out of carbon nanotubes he compressed into shape using his phenomenal strength, forcing the nanofibers into a slightly stretchy cloth five hundred times stronger than steel. It rolls into a black belt when not in use, locked into form by the electronics of Jim's belt buckle. Rescuer in costume looks like a tall, muscular man in normal clothes all covered in impenetrable shadow. Out of costume, Jim's muscle control relaxes his massive musculature, slouches his tall frame, and alters his voice to be distinct from his alter ego's.

 

Notes

 

This is my favorite superhero build. He's a brick that can keep going and going. A bit light on combat agility, not as intimidating in personality, and closely connected to everyone's favorite Kryptonian in style.

 

The character is a reworking of the recent adaptation I did of Hyperman's 'Starting Superman', and takes starting more to heart. His skills and values are what a starter never meant for superheroism would be taught: how to hide that he's different, and how to fit in. He's going to get creamed in combat against more efficient 350 pt builds, and is so limited in his powerset he could be considered a 'one trick mutant'.

 

Some day I'll have to flesh out the Subterran Empire background more, but it is essentially Krypton Under Earth, with more of a Chinese bureaucracy meets Machiavelli to its social order.

 

I wanted to adapt current real world events, so made use of a variant of Buckypaper in the concept.

 

Jim Adams is decidedly a tribute, too, to the Presidency: the names and locations of his story are all based on presidents past, and I stole a bit of Lincoln and Roosevelt too for his upbringing, where I could make it fit.

[Haven Walkur]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

Brilliant twist on the familiar Superman story. Well done! I especially like the "hyper-muscular" control being used to alter his voice and his posture/apparent physique.

 

You must spread some Rep around...could someone please zap Comic for me? I really like Rescuer of the Subterranean Emoire.

[csyphrett]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

Repped for Haven Walkur

CES

[Haven Walkur]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

Thanks for your generosity, csyphrett. Now you I CAN rep.

 

*--z-zzz-zzZZZAP!--*

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

I like the idea of Superman done as a straight brick.

[RadeFox]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

My only quibble with the write up is allowing the Always On power mod to his armor. This is not a drawback, and would not be worth any points in most campaigns Ive been in, imo. But fun read, even if krypton is ringing in your ears as you read it.

[Comic]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

I agree about the Always On, somewhat, and for other reasons too find it the wrong limitation.

 

Always On for Armor is chiefly a disadvantage that makes hiding the character's identity harder. It's the GM's job to see to it that limitations get used just as often as there's a chance to use a character's powers and skills. No matter how much Acting this guy gets, he's never going to be up to the challenge of hiding 75 APs of a power. Which means the character's practically designed to turn a GM into a jerk.

 

As a limitation worth zero points, Always On doesn't get points, so a GM can in fairness not take irrefutable runs against the SID, while at the same time part of the nature of the Subterran powerset that I see in my mind's eye is retained.

 

Which comes to the real reason I'm not sure of the Always On: I have something else in mind that _is_ a -1/2 limitation, but I'm always hesitant to use as it's a bit complicated. I want Subterran powers to have a bit of realism to them. Subterran society was created to avoid the implicit need for FTL travel and to highlight the integration of science (geology, in this case) with the fiction. The disadvantage I do want is a Side Effect to show the principle of conservation of energy. When Rescuer gets hit by a force, the energy doesn't just vanish. If it's kinetic energy, it converts to heat and lingers on his body before dissipating -- if heat, likewise Rescuer heats up -- flammable objects nearby are scorched or catch fire; if cold energy, he ices up and nearby vulnerable objects freeze or shatter; if light he glows brightly; if electricity he sparks; if radiation, he irradiates until the attack 'wears off'. This is Side Effect, Cosmetic Transformation, Varies Based on SFX of Attack (-1/2).

 

In past iterations of the character design, I've used the limitation on some parts of Life Support as well. It just seems to overcomplicate the presentation when I do, so, I waffle.

 

Thanks for prompting me toward the vision I have of the character.

[Comic]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

Confidential VIPER report, Subject R for “Rescuer”

 

Here's what we know about the first appearance of Subject R. It didn't happen. He didn't appear. Not on any camera – cell phones, shutterbugs, security footage; no fingerprints, either; not even meaningful tracks that weren't blurred beyond use. No DNA. The whole deal came up blank.

 

The weather pattern was typical for the fall season and the area, but this time the fog was forming nasty clumps. One minute you think it's just a slightly gray day, the next you can't see a foot in front of your face, and headlights are useless.

 

There was suspicion early on that Subject R caused it to start. What with R being right on the spot, it wasn't too big a leap. But then, we've learned about subject that distance isn't a barrier for R, and we suspect fog isn't, either.

 

We were curious about his tactics and choices. It took weeks to piece the order of events together. A tour bus swerved to avoid brake lights that the driver saw too late in the sudden fog bank, clipped an SUV and flipped, causing an oil tanker to jack-knife. This was early morning rush hour and that's about when Subject R came into play.

 

Drivers report, about twenty of them, impacts that bumped their vehicles toward the side of the road into the gravel or the drainage ditches beyond. Bodywork analyses suggest slaps with the back of his hands to the front quarter panel. Targeting on these vehicles seemed selective, apparently an effort to reduce loss of life. We conclude that Subject R ran headlong through the fog sweeping oncoming traffic aside to avert crashing into the pile-up ahead.

 

Evidence at the scene shows a furrow plowed in the asphalt by what may have been bare feet, where Subject R grasped two large diesel rigs by their frames and brought them to a stop at the outer edge of the thick fog. One contained fertilizer; the other, industrial acid. Our chemists calculate the crater would have been fifty feet deep if these components came together explosively with the oil tanker.

 

Subject R then dismantled the pile-up, we believe in order of largest number of lives in danger to smallest. He at one point shielded two motorists from the bulk of the blast with his body; there's an unverified report that he himself began to glow and his feet scorched the ground where he stepped. Sadly, the fire destroyed that evidence.

 

We estimate he covered the distance between the crash and the nearest hospital – five miles away – in something under two seconds, based on comparison of 911 recordings while carrying a bus load of the injured.

 

Significantly, although the bus was clearly seen in hospital security video, the image of Subject R was not present. Although people remember seeing glimpses of him in the fog, his face was never clearly visible, and he vanished with no trace once his objectives were gained.

 

Our own contacts suggest Subject R is refining his approach. He's taken to wearing a black mask and gloves, for instance. His voice appears to be distorted by some unknown technology. And he's targeted us.

[Comic]

Re: Starter - Rescuer

 

Rescuer Or Menace?

 

Since his appearance that fateful – and almost fatal – foggy fall day, he's been heralded as 'Rescuer' in splashy headlines and television news reports.

 

But what do we know of this mysterious figure, who no one has yet to take a picture of? He's said to dress in black, to hide his face, to speak little if at all. He's given no name, and left no trace even the police can use to identify him. Just what is he hiding?

 

Defense lawyers are having a heyday shooting holes in charges against the alleged bad guys Rescuer – so called – brings in, with only the evidence of shots from disposable cameras in many cases (if even that) of their crimes.

 

Pretty suspicious, isn't it, that a man who avoids cameras with a perfect track record manages to take pictures of others, to always seem to know where crime is about to happen. Is he a mind reader? Or something more insidious?

 

Sure, he may have saved dozens from fiery death on the freeway. Or, for all we know, he may have triggered the pile-up to gain instant fame and glory. How can we believe the police version?

 

Sure, purse-snatchings have been foiled countless times in recent weeks, and one or two lives likely have been saved from burning buildings – though what is with the wave of fires that seems to be suddenly on the rise?

 

Sure, he might have some valid reason to keep the truth from us. But is he really the one to be the judge of that?

 

He's mucking in the wheels of justice, in police investigations he may know nothing about, in the very American way of life.

 

You the public have the right to know who this masked menace really is. Where did he come from? What is the source of his power? What other secrets does he harbor?