Quincy Dent (258 points) by Steven J. Owens Description: Quincy Dent is a quiet, unprepossessing man who looks like a college professor or accountant or possibly both. He's slightly disheveled, wearing normal clothing and possibly an overcoat if the weather or climate warrants it. Caucasian a bit past than 30-something but not by much. Eyes that can look deranged, normal, distracted, or jaded as necessary. In short, he looks like most people do. What'd you expect him to do, wear a sign saying "Superhero here!"? OCV 4 PD 10 ED 10 Combat levels: +3 Overall DCV 4 rPD -- rED -- Defenses: 1/2 rPD/rED Damage ECV 5 Total 10 Total 10 Reduction 13 Str 3 Secret Agent Skills Package Deal (3 pts) 13 Dex 9 -- PS: Intelligence Operations 18 Con 16 2 KS: Occult World 10 Bod 3 Criminology (Int/5) 13- 16- 18 Int 8 3 Forensics (Int/5) 13- 16- 15 Ego 10 3 Shadowing (Pre/5) 14- 17- 23 Pre 13 3 Streetwise (Pre/5) 14- 17- 12 Com 1 1 FAM w/Air Transports 10 PD 7 3 Well Connected 10 ED 6 3 Contact: Occult Spec. 14- 4 Spd 17 3 Contact: Federal Dbase 14- 36 End 2 Contact: Agency 12- 25 Stn .5 Favor: 14- 90 .5 Favor: 14- Dex Roll: 12- 24 (27-3) Int Roll: 13- 6 +2 All Perception Per Roll: 15- 6 Mental Defense Ego Roll: 12- 30 Overall Levels +3 71 7 Elemental Control "Luck" (Act 14-, Jammed) 15 "Rolling with the punches" 1/2 PD fr. Damage Reduction 15 "Rolling with the punches" 1/2 ED fr. Damage Reduction 15 "Luck" 6d6 luck 25 "Lucky Guesses", Clarisentience, Precognition 45 "Jinx" 8d6 Energy Blast, Variable SFX 15 "Somebody Else's Problem", Mental Illusion, No Range, No End, Area Effect Radius, 7d6 30 Variable Power Pool, No Skill Roll (+1), Transport Only (-1), 20 pool Disadvantages 5 Age Forty 20 Normal Characteristic Maxima 15 Watched 14- by Agency 20 Hunted, Less Powerful, Extensive NCI, Very Frequently, "AVONic cultists" and/or the "Righteous Right" 20 Hunted (random), More Powerful, Very Frequently, Hunter(s) desire to mildly punish the character (-5), "Weird Things" 20 DNPC, Senile Uncle Ex-Champion, Incompetent, Occasional 20 Psych Lim: Code Against Killing 10 Psych Lim: Prankster 10 Psych Lim: Law-Abiding 10 Reputation, Sometimes, Extreme (known to some law enforcement & spooks as one of "the guys who handle the weird stuff.") 8 Experience --- ----- 158 Total Background: ========== When Dent's uncle passed on the mantle of the champion, he failed to realize that he was, in fact, reawakening the decades-slumbering conflagration between the Defenders Ultimatum Hominum and the AVONic order. Although their ringleaders were gone, their organization destroyed, the remaining members of the AVONic order were still sensitive enough to recognize the manipulation of the planet's aetheric field and the use of the Champion's powers. They began to reunite, activating the various hundreds of "sleeper" agents and calling them together. Unfortunately, the AVONic order is not what it used to be. Not only are the brilliant leaders of yesteryear gone, the stunningly powerful giant technology of the 1950's destroyed, and the power of the organization dispersed, but the agents are aging men in their 60s and 70s, their bodies long grown unused to practicing these arts and most of their skills long since atrophied from disuse. As a result, while potentially deadly, they are for the most part incompetent. The best thing they have going for them is that people tend to underestimate them. The Righteous Right is another matter. This is an organization of young fundamentalist christians who have decided that they are the ones to administer God's Law to the heathens and satanic demons masquerading as super-heroes and super-villains. Unfortunately, they're not too good at it yet... but they're learning. Explanation of Powers ===================== As explained below, Quincy's powers are semi-mystical. They stem from the fact that he's the champion of humanity and the universe tends to arrange things in his favor when possible. Or to put it another way, besides his own luck, he's got access to the latent luck of humanity. Both the elemental and the variable power pool are expressions of that luck. Transport Variable Power Pool The variable power pool is defined as the way things tend to work out to smooth his path as much as possible. The more common use of this power is the way he always seems to find transportation as he needs it (a slight bending of the vehicle perk, but since the vehicles used are largely normal and under control of the GM there is little potential for abuse). Luck Elemental Control "Everybody's luck runs out sooner or later." The powers in the Elemental Control have the limitations activation roll 14- and jammed. When the roll is failed that power "jams" and is unusuable for the rest of the adventure or until it is unjammed, at the GM's discretion. Possible ways the power might unjam is if the player makes an extremely lucky roll (for example, rolling sixes on his luck roll, rolling a 3 on an attack roll, rolling maximum damage or maximum dice with a luck power) or is extremely fortunate in play (the villain rolls an 18 for an attack against Quincy, or an attack that hits rolls minimum damage, or circumstances more subject to GM interpretation). Rolling with the punches By numerous coincidences and strokes of luck, Quincy tends to not get hit a lot in combat, or to only be struck glancing blows or be slightly singed by energy blasts. This power might be traded in for a No END Cost forcefield or augmented by armor or a forcefield in an upgraded version of Quincy. Luck Self-explanatory. A talent in an Elemental Control is not normally allowed, but considering how dependent Luck is upon the GM's judgement in deciding when to roll and what happens according to the roll, GM permission is quite reasonable for this power. Lucky Guesses Quincy is quite often able to make guesses about subjects or events that he has no direct knowledge of, a version of precognition. The power is more oriented towards knowing things that have happened or are in the process of happening, but which he hasn't been informed of yet by normal means. While precognition is a stop sign power, Quincy's ability to make lucky guesses is less powerful than out-right precognition is, and more subject to GM control. It is not limited enough to warrant a No Conscious Control Limitation, however. Jinx Quincy's energy blast is defined as "combat unluck." In other words, he makes bad things happen to people. The exact effects of the energy blast are variable, but the general special effect is unlucky coincidences or simple bad luck causing damage to the target. He "jinxes" someone and bad things happen to them. Player and/or GM should be creative in figuring out precisely what happens. A more powerful version of this power might include the advantage Indirect, or a variable advantage. An extremely powerful version might be a limited variable power pool with the exact attack decided by the GM, for example: an Armor Drain defined as the target being unlucky enough that attacks hit the weak points; an Energy Blast Drain defined as attacks only barely hitting and having less effect; Missile Reflection against the target's teammates defined as the target missing Quincy and accidentally hitting a teammate; Entangle defined as the target accidentally tripping and falling or stumbling into a mess of loose cables; etc. Somebody Else's Problem Somehow, when Quincy doesn't want attention people don't seem to notice him. The mental illusion power's SFX is defined as "somebody else's problem," meaning that whatever that odd occurrence is over there, it's Somebody Else's Problem and you don't want to get involved... readers of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series (specifically The Restaraunt At the End of the Universe) should recognize the SEP. Note that the Mental Illusions are not restricted in any way, and could be used to create other illusions or effects if they are in concept. In general, such uses of the illusion should not be able to cause any sort of damage and should be oriented towards misdirection and concealment. Possible upgrades: ================== Gremlins (in the Luck Elemental Control) 15 "Gremlins" (jinxing gadgets), 1d6 RKA, Penetrating, Armor Piercing, Area Effect 1 Hex, only vs. inanimate materials (-1) The "gremlins" in this power are not literal gremlins (although that's not so unlikely, given this character...) but are instead the tendency for equipment, foci, gadgets, etc, to become disfunctional or break down. Drunken Fist Kung Fu The "Drunken Fist" martial arts style incorporates staggering, drunken behavior designed to make the martial artist's maneuvers unpredictable and possibly even disguise the fact that the artist is fighting at all, leaving his or her opponents quite confused and unsure of themselves. In this particular version, the style would not represent so much a deliberately learned martial art as it would a tendency for Quincy to stumble aside just as his opponent attacks (martial dodge), or bend down to pick up something just as his opponent tries to take him out with a flying crescent kick (martial throw), etc. See the Ninja Hero rules for more information on this. Background ========== Quincy Dent was a quiet, dedicated, patriotic man, spending his life in the pursuit of Evil and the defense of his country as an agent of [CLASSIFIED]. His speciality was urban "field work," hitting the streets and talking to people and finding out information. In the vernacular of his profession he became known as a top-notch "pavement artist." It was not until relatively late in his life that he was approached by his uncle, an ancient man nearing (so he said) death of old age, and asked to take an extended leave. The reasons for his retirement from active field work were much deeper than it would appear, however, because his uncle had asked Quincy to set aside his law enforcement work and take up the mantle of the champion of an ancient society that called itself only "The Ultimate Defenders of Humanity." This society, of which Quincy's uncle was the last living member and previous champion during the Second World War and Korean war, devoted its energies to stopping the Evil and Insidious Plots of the Ancient and Venerable Order of Nihilists (AVON), a cult of demon and devil worshipers intent on no less than the summoning up of Rashmaphtooie, a grand demon of inhuman and preternatural origins who would destroy the world. For centuries, perhaps millenia, the Defenders Ultimatum Hominum (as their latin name read) had stopped AVON's evil plots, aided chiefly by their powerful magical champion. Then several decades ago, the champion, in truth Quincy's uncle, smashed the core of ringleaders of the AVONic cult and forever eliminate the threat of Rashmaphtooie. Or so they thought. Of late, Quincy's uncle had begun to felt disturbances through the magickal senses of the ether, changes in the warp and weft of the world. He knew that it was time once again for the Champion to rise. Using Quincy as an NPC ====================== In terms of personality Quincy Dent really isn't suitable for use as a villain, but the power structure and skills could easily be used for a character with a different personality. The use of Luck based powers can be especially annoying to the players if Quincy seems to use their own powers against them. Quincy could be used as an inadvertant villain - not so much working against the heroes as working at cross purposes to them - or as an NPC "guide" in adventures that involve more of the occult or the truly weird than the characters are set up to handle. Quincy tends to wander on to the scene and wander off without much fanfare. If he becomes involved with the heroes it will likely be because they wonder who he is and what he thinks he's doing with that Tibetan idol or because he approaches them and introduces himself as an investigator of the occult or possibly simply as an "interested observer" and advises them for/against a certain course of action "As an interested observer I just wanted to suggest that you might think about returning that amerindian medicine pouch to the Sioux before anybody else gets transformed into a large owl by mistake..." If the players embark on a journey into the supernatural, they might encounter Quincy quite by accident. If so, he'll feel somewhat obligated to advise them if possible. AVONic Demons: deep ruddy skinned beings with four large, strong arms (two in place of the legs), no head (just a smooth spot where the neck should be), mouths (and gnashing teeth) in the palms of their hands and eyes in their chests. One favorite tactic of the AVONic demons is to grab and crush a victim with all four arms, at the same time using their teeth to dig in and bite gouts of flesh out of the target. Identifying quote: "Hmmm.... Did you know that your aunt's brass aardvark is really a Tibetan demoning summoning idol? Better not drop any bean dip in front of it or we'll be... oops!" Sample Encounter: "Hey, let's take this car here. The owner left the engine running. We can catch them before they hit the expressway," said Quincy. (VPP: Standard car, see Champ III p.X for description). "But that's not legal!" she objected. "And kidnapping my poor uncle is?" he replied as she climbed in. He gunned the car (Combat driving) and dodged septegenarian shoppers who shuffled their grocery carts across the parking lot. "I have a hunch that they turned right... Look! Up ahead! They rear-ended a police car!", he chortled. (Luck 7d6 rolled, with three 6's). "I hope that cop doesn't open the trunk. Uncle is bound to be a bit feisty..." ========================================================================= "Copyright Steven J. Owens, 1991. Permission is granted to the editors of the Net.Champions Compendium to edit and include this work in the Compendium and distribute it electronically and to users of the Net.Champions Compendium to distribute this electronically and print it for personal use, as long as this copyright notice is included. Permission is granted to the editors of the Net.Champions Compendium to use this work in future versions of the Compendium and to publish this work in printed versions of the Compendium. All other rights reserved."