Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

[Darren Watts]

Hey all! It's Tuesday, so time for another sneak peek at Golden Age Champions! This week, the battling Brawler! He's a co-founder of the illustrious Justice Squadron, who are the sample beginning heroes in the book, all built on approximately 300 points with just a few experience. (The shtick of the JS is that they're homefront defenders who are all variously draft-ineligible; Brawler's too old, Tomahawk's too young, Skygirl's too, umm, female, Vita-Man is 4-F in his secret ID, and Drifter's, well, legally dead.) Let me know what you think, and if you have requests for future installments! dw

 

 

[cs] BRAWLER I

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

20 STR 10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH damage [2]

18 DEX 16 13-

20 CON 10 13-

16 INT 6 12- PER Roll 14-

15 EGO 5 12-

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

 

8 OCV 25

8 DCV 25

3 OMCV 0

4 DMCV 3

5 SPD 30 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

 

11 PD 9 Total: 17 PD (6 rPD)

8 ED 6 Total: 14 ED (6 rED)

10 REC 6

50 END 6

14 BODY 4

40 STUN 10 Total Characteristics Cost: 181

 

Movement: Running: 16m/32m

 

Cost Powers END

6 Padded Costume: Resistant Protection (3 PD/ 3 ED); OIF (-1/2)

4 Meaty Fists: HA +1d6; Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4)

4 Light On His Feet: Running +4m [1]

6 Coming Through: Area of Effect (16m Line) on 20 STR+ 1d6 HA (+1/4) [3]

6 Pays Attention: +2 PER with all Sense Groups

 

Perks

6 Contact: Los Angeles Police Department (Access to major institutions, useful Skills and resources, limited by identity; Organization Contact) 8-

 

Talents

6 Combat Luck (3 PD/ 3 ED)

 

Skills

24 +3 With All HTH Combat

3 Acting 13-

3 Breakfall 13-

5 Climbing 14-

3 Combat Driving 13-

3 Gambling 12-

3 Knowledge (City): Los Angeles 12-

2 Knowledge: Los Angeles Underworld 11-

2 Knowledge: The Sports World 11-

2 Languages: French (Basic), German (Basic)

3 Mechanics 12-

3 Stealth 13-

3 Streetwise 13-

1 Tactics 8-

3 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles, Wheeled Military Vehicles

2 WF: Small Arms

 

Martial Art: Brawling

Maneuver OCV DCV Damage/Effect

4 Chin Block +2 +2 Block/Abort

4 Punch +0 +2 9d6 Strike

3 Tackle +2 +1 8.5d6 Strike, You Fall, Target Falls

5 Saturday Night Special-2 +1 11d6 Strike

4 Windpipe Crush -2 +0 Grab One Limb (Head), 3d6 NND

3 Wrestle -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, 40 STR Grab

8 +2 Damage Classes

 

Total Powers & Skills Cost: 134

Total Cost: 315

 

300 Matching Complications (60)

10 Hunted: The Los Angeles Mobs (Less Pow, NCI)

10 Physical Complication: Losing His Hearing (Infrequent, Slight)

20 Psychological Complication: Defends The Poor and Helpless (VC, Strong)

10 Psychological Complication: Hides His Intelligence And Acts Tough (Com, Mod)

10 Social Complication: Secret ID (Walter Ashmore, Infrequent, Major)

 

Total Complications Points: 60

Experience Points: 15

 

Background/History: Walter Ashmore was born in 1905 in a small oil town near Los Angeles. Escaping the boring life of farming, he did odd jobs in Los Angeles, where a strong back guaranteed steady if not lucrative employ. Several of his childhood friends fell in among the mob, and a few tried very hard to recruit “Big Wally” to their various criminal organizations. But he had seen how poor workers and shopkeepers had struggled to make their protection payments, seen families suffer when their fathers turned to booze or gambling. The mob didn’t need any more enforcers. The poor needed an enforcer of their own, something to make the people a little less scared.

 

Inspired by the legends of the Black Mask and other costumed vigilantes of the “pulp era,” Wally put on a simple wrestling-style hood and began battling gangsters. A crime reporter for the Times gave him his sobriquet in an article in 1923, describing the exploits of a “Masked Brawler” who delivered some beaten thugs to the local precinct house, and the name stuck, though the “Masked” portion was dropped over the next couple of years to make for easier fit in headlines.

 

From 1923 until 1938, Brawler kept the streets of Los Angeles safe. In October of 1938, his life changed again when he encountered a strange Edomic monster in Exposition Park, which he was able to defeat with the aid of the mysterious Drifter. The Drifter, impressed by his strength of character, would call on him for aid several more times over the succeeding year, and a strange sort of friendship developed between the two. In 1940 the pair rescued the Chippewa teen who would be known as Tomahawk from the nefarious criminal gang run by Mr. Brimstone, and Brawler agreed to train the boy (the first of several costumed heroes he would mentor.) During that same year, he finally settled down and married his long-time girlfriend, actress Lily Durham, and the two had a son named Ronald in early 1941.

 

In 1942 the Drifter assembled several draft-ineligible superheroes to protect the West Coast from assaults by first the Japanese sorcerer known only as the Iron Dragon, and then against invasion by opportunistic Lemurians. This team became known as the Justice Squadron, and Brawler reluctantly became their leader by dint of his experience despite feeling “out of his depth” against superhumans. Though never as famous as the Defenders of Justice, the Squadron bravely defended the American homefront throughout the war.

 

 

Personality/Motivation: “Big Wally” fights crime and injustice for the very simple reason that it’s the right thing to do. He can’t abide bullies or anyone who’d force their will on others simply by being more powerful. Though he always concentrates first on the welfare of “the little guy,” he’s perfectly aware that little guys also can suffer at the hands of monsters, demons and armies, and if that’s where he’s needed most that’s where he’ll be. He’s darkly amused by the idea that younger heroes turn to him as the voice of experience; as he puts it, “with problems like these, nobody’s got experience. Do the best you can!”

 

Quote: “Listen, dopes, I ain’t here for exercise! What goes?”

 

Powers/Tactics: Brawler is a straightforward bruiser. He’s surprisingly crafty when he needs to be, but he’s not long on sneakiness- when in doubt, he prefers to settle things with his fists. He’s notable even among superheroes for his never-say-die courage and determination. He’s fond of using the environment to his advantage, such as knocking over large objects like shelves to take out several thugs at once. He’s also very fond of the “Coming Through” maneuver, where he smashes into an entire line of thugs and scatters them like tenpins.

 

Campaign Use: Brawler is a sterling example of the “former pulp hero” archetype, an older mentor to the flashy young heroes with powers and bright costumes. He’s older, with a bit more perspective on life and a family back home.

 

After The War: Brawler retired from active heroing shortly after the war, settling down with his wife and son. When Vanguard reorganized the Justice Squadron with Drifter in 1962, Ronald joined as the new Brawler, and Walter served as a sort of “senior adviser” to the team until his death in 1972 from a heart attack.

 

Appearance: Brawler wears a wrestler-style cowl that’s black with red highlights around the eyes and jaw, a black bodysuit with a deep “v” cut to show off his impressive chest, and a red cape with matching gloves and boots.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Sweet, Darren! A bit of history on the original!

[Hermit]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

I like him. He's got a good 'street wisdom' feel to him.

[Beast]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Looks good

[assault]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Nice.

 

I've been thinking about the draft ineligibility thing. The bigger question is actually why characters don't volunteer, rather than why they can't be drafted. Golden Age heroes are pretty much all super-patriots by definition. The exceptions are odd-bods like Namor, whose was basically an Atlantean super-patriot. Even the Spectre was an American patriot, despite his ostensibly higher loyalties.

 

This includes female characters, who while they might be immune to the draft, are still capable of volunteering. Why don't they? (Don't they know there's a war on?)

 

One useful category is people whose jobs are essential to the war effort. (In the real world, both my grandfathers were barred from enlisting due to this - one was a rail worker, the other a metal worker.) In a superhero world, scientists and engineers are particularly likely to fall into this category.

 

I'm not sure that Brawler is old enough to not be able to enlist. I've seen the ages on the graves in various war cemeteries, and there are a lot of people a great deal older than Brawler buried there. The hearing thing might cut him out, but is more likely to get him assigned to something really pointless, where he can replace a "real soldier".

 

So the question is: why doesn't he enlist?

[Zen Archer]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

So the question is: why doesn't he enlist?

 

I think the usual answer these days involves somebody in the government (often FDR himself these days) deciding the characters work in costume is too important for morale and the home front and all that. A lot of them end up doing commando/ranger work even if they don't have military rank (like the Invaders). Many enlist, even if only temporarily (like the JSA and I think Superman).

 

 

I think you might be right about The Brawler's age. One the war started for the US, I believe men in their early '40s at least were eligible.

[Darren Watts]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Brawler certainly could have enlisted, except that he got involved with the JS and instead was defending the homefront from Lemurians. The age thing was only the explanation for why he wasn't drafted, not why he didn't serve. And yeah, my maternal grandfather was also kept out of the draft because of his essential job status (he was a civil engineer building the interstate highways in New England.) dw

[assault]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Of course, one of the benefits of a US oriented game is that it's easier for characters to be recognised and established heroes before the US enters the war. To do that with, say, British, Canadian or Australian heroes would probably require the game to start in early 1939, at the latest.

 

Unless they've got a bit of a reputation, they probably won't be asked to stay out of the war.

 

Then again, I suppose the amount of lead time that is required would also be influenced by how big a role the GM wants the war to play. If you started a US based game in 1939, you could play for ages before you get to Pearl Harbor.

 

The draft is, of course, a potential problem for characters that are asked not to enlist, unless they are prepared to reveal their secret identities.

 

Inspirational material on the Real World Special Operations Australia.

[Darren Watts]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Two of my three long-term GA games started in 1938 (since that's when Superman debuts.) I like have plenty of time before I really have to worry about the war interfering in my early heroics. dw

[Matt the Bruins]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Very cool! I particularly like the Coming Through Naked Advantage.

 

I am curious as to how one builds The Drifter on 300 points. As I recall, the inspiration character was virtually omnipotent pretty quickly out of the gate in 1940.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

I am curious as to how one builds The Drifter on 300 points. As I recall, the inspiration character was virtually omnipotent pretty quickly out of the gate in 1940.

 

Well, the impression I got from Drifter's background in Champions Universe: News Of The World is that he started out without much more than his space- and dimension-"drifting" abilities and precognitive senses, accumulating his great spell-casting skills over time: "He studied more and more of the secrets of the arcane, becoming an accomplished thaumaturge and traveling extensively throughout the dimensions." (CU: NOTW p. 76) In the beginning he fought organized crime, and once even had to dodge to avoid a knife-wielding attacker.

[Zen Archer]

Re: Darren's GAC Sneak Peeks #2: The Brawler

 

Well' date=' the impression I got from Drifter's background in [i']Champions Universe: News Of The World[/i] is that he started out without much more than his space- and dimension-"drifting" abilities and precognitive senses, accumulating his great spell-casting skills over time:

 

I'd add a bunch of mystic knowledge based on the origin but I think this is basically correct. His Body's a 15 and his PD and ED are 8 (I just looked him up) so it's easy to assume that other powers (like his Damage Reduction) came later.

 

Also forgot to mention that I do like The Brawler writeup a lot. Some of my favorite Golden Agers are of the "Two-Fisted American" template.