pc Adept (PL 10/13)

[Blarghy]

Adept

 

Power Level: 10/13 (179/202PP)
Trade-Offs: None
Unspent Power Points: 23

In Brief: Telekinetic Man in Black

 

Residence: Series of military bases or government-mandated hotel rooms
Base of Operations: The Federal Building, AEGIS headquarters
Catchphrase: Anything punctuated by a cloud of cigarette smoke

Alternate Identity: James Warne (pre-adoption: Kevin Roeser)
Identity: Public
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: AEGIS agent
Affiliations: AEGIS, United States Army, FBI
Family: Parker Psion Jr. (Father, deceased), Laurel Roeser (Mother, deceased), Gwen and Carrie Psion (Sisters, unknown to both Adept and the Psion family)

 

Description:
Age: 36 (DoB: September 29, 1979
Apparent Age: 40s (Bad skin due to smoking)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5’ 11”
Weight: 188 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Salt-and-pepper black

 

Agent Warne (codename: Adept) isn’t a sight most people want to see, this black-suit government agent with rough skin, opaque sunglasses, stern frown, and often a cloud of smoke clinging to him like an aura.  He’s just past the halfway mark of his thirties, yet stress is already bringing out the gray in his hair, and his complexion and teeth show the marks of nearly two decades of smoking.  His guttural voice rarely has anything pleasant to say (although occasionally he spouts dark, deadpan humor).  Dark circles typically line his eyes from nights of more alcohol than sleep.  In those eyes is the thousand-yard-stare of a man who has seen some s---.

 

Less-than-attractive though he may be, Adept has an athletic, muscular build, and moves with grace and confidence.  He does not, keen observers should note, carry a gun, a strange occurrence in his profession.  Then again, he doesn’t need to.

 

Power Descriptions: Adept’s signature trick happens silently and unseen; enemies or objects just move seemingly of their own accord, or lift into the air as if by magic.  Unless he wants to scare someone, Adept usually doesn’t call attention to his ability.  He doesn’t need to wave his hands or any other such activation methods, so he can easily sit at a distance and perform his manipulations without implicating himself to non-psychics. 

 

His protective field, on the other hand, bends the air around him like a heat wave as he “pushes” in all directions with short-range yet firm and continuous force.  By similar technique, Adept can even pick himself up and fly, albeit at slow speeds.

 

History: This story begins in the middle of someone else’s, and near the end of yet a third.  In the late seventies, Parker Psion Jr. came to Washington, D.C. on a family errand.  By his father’s orders, he met with multiple unidentified politicians to blackmail them with information gathered by the Psions.  These favors may’ve had far-reaching consequences, but few people can say, as the congressional representatives (predictably) declined to bring the matter to federal attention.

 

And yet, Parker’s visit did not go unnoticed.  AEGIS was still gathering its momentum, and had more pressing issues toward which to direct its early super-powered agents, but they already cast suspicious glances toward the Psion family.  Parker was under cautious surveillance throughout most of his time in D.C., although the agents had strict orders to not risk engagement without violence on his part.  So they watched, first as he ran his errands, then as he celebrated, savoring his rare independence with a little bar-hopping, which ended in the home of Laurel Roeser, twenty-two-year-old clerical assistant. 

 

AEGIS investigated her after Parker left the city, wondering if perhaps Laurel was connected to the Psions, an informant or follower, but their meeting was eventually noted as random.  Her pregnancy, they watched with greater interest. 

 

The original plan was to entice and monitor this illegitimate Psion by offering Laurel discrete employment (as an unwed mother at such a time, she found her other prospects depressingly limited), nudge her son toward schools of their choice, and eventually groom him for a military career.  Instead, fate simplified matters with a fatal mugging just two years after Kevin Roeser was born.  Army First Lieutenants Miranda and Ronnie Warne quickly adopted him, paperwork shoved through the system so fast that now-named-James barely saw an orphanage, and thus began a lifetime of Army bases and endless psychic testing.

 

He knew early on that something was amiss, even with only other military children to compare his life to.  His parents were attentive yet distant and professional.  And the tests—as soon as James displayed telekinesis, all other aspects of his life became secondary.  He continued to receive a standard education, plus cadet training, but the adults around him clearly rushed toward the talent that none of his peers possessed.  They tried to bring out other psychic abilities, were disappointed when none came, and settled for honing his telekinesis like a knife. 

 

Captain Warne retired his Army commission at age twenty-four, transitioning to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the next decade, and has recently gone onto AEGIS, to best put his power to use.  His career has taken him all across the globe without ever feeling any sense of home.  Now, at his latest post in Freedom City, a rare place he’s never visited, perhaps he’ll discover more about himself than he expects—and more than his government handlers would prefer.
 

Personality & Motivation: Cynical and suspicious, Adept is the career agent stereotype.  He knows from firsthand experience that his “side” can do some very un-democratic things in the name of democracy, and freedom can look a lot different when the world’s most powerful military thinks you’re standing in the way of it.  Having said that, he’s not entirely unpatriotic, and remains loyal to his country and agencies.  This is a man who’s seen real chaos and corruption, the kind that make senator sex scandals, white-collar crimes, and America’s street gangs seem childishly quaint by comparison.  He, quietly, enjoys some measure of pride in preventing such turmoil in his home territory.

 

A lifetime on one side of the law does give Adept a very dim view of criminals; he exploits them freely for information and feels no sympathy if they suffer in the process.  “Reformed” convicts can expect nothing but mistrust, and let’s be honest, everyone’s guilty of something.  Adept considers it just a matter of discovering the details in most cases.  Still, there’s wrong and wrong.  He’s often willing to ignore lesser transgressions in exchange for tips on whatever big fish he’s chasing down this week…until he comes back in the future, to keep cashing in more favors.  It can’t be blackmail if the government does it, right?

 

Adept does have lines he won’t cross, murder being the foremost among them, no matter how convenient it often might be.  He’s a very rare case among his profession; this refusal puzzles and occasionally frustrates his superiors.  But he can feel something dark, deep in his soul, and privately worries that ending a life, rightly or not, will bring it bubbling up.  It already feels so good to grab criminals with his mind and just squeeze…
 

Powers & Tactics: On a good day, Adept tries to get by with his impressive skills.  He’d rather talk his way through most situations if he can.  On a great day, he can direct other agents under his command, with further backup just a phone call away.  On the bad days, though, special lobes in his brain light up like Christmas trees, and then the screaming starts.

 

He can crush cars like aluminum cans, toss people casually into walls, protect himself with a telekinetic field impervious to almost everything the average gangster might have, lift an incredible amount of weight, and in moments of desperation, “push” at everything around him, the aftermath resembling a bomb detonating on his position.  Unlike most psychics, however, he has only one trick at his disposal, even if he’s very good at it.

 

Complications:

“Eff You, Cop!”: Adept is clearly a government agent, even before he introduces himself as such.  Most people feel nervous talking to him, and many refuse to do so at all without…encouragement.

 

“GET OUTTA MY HEAD!”: Adept’s training, from early childhood until recently, often included other psychics.  They’d infiltrate his mind attempting to unlock other abilities, or to strengthen his resistance to such attacks, or to assess his honesty and loyalty.  He absolutely hates it; with very few exceptions, mind-reading (that he’s aware of) elicits immediate violence, whether or not it’s appropriate.

 

“How High, Sir?!”: Technically Adept doesn’t have to take orders from his old Army commanders, though those connections can still come into play.  AEGIS, however, signs his checks, gives his assignments, even arranges his hotel rooms, and of course, says when to jump.

 

In the Family: Only a few of Adept’s superiors and handlers know about his lineage, and they aren’t keen on sharing it with him.  He’s constantly being evaluated for any signs that he might follow the Psion path.  Furthermore, in light of the (apparently-deceased) Parker Psion Sr.’s schemes for his offspring, it’s considered of the utmost importance that none of the remaining Psions learn about their wayward relative.

 

Smoke Break: He’s a two-pack-a-day man.  Someday this is going to kill him, exercise regiment or no, but for now, GMs can level penalties to just about any rolls if Adept has to go more than an hour or two without a cigarette.

 

Trustless: As a career agent, sometimes bordering on a full spy, Adept accepts suspicion as a fact of life.  He’s well aware that his superiors don’t fully trust him (although he doesn’t know the real reason why), and he treats other people similarly, in and out of his organization.  Even long-term partners aren’t above scrutiny.  Combined with his talent for intimidation, Adept usually approaches witnesses, suspects, and “innocent” bystanders the same way.  When all you have is a hammer…
 

 

Abilities: 6+6+6+6+6+6=36PP
Strength: 16 (+3) 
Dexterity: 16 (+3) 
Constitution: 16 (+3) 
Intelligence: 16 (+3) 
Wisdom: 16 (+3) 
Charisma: 16 (+3) 

Combat: 6+8=14PP
Initiative: +11
Attack: +3

Grapple: +6 (+20 Psychokinesis)
Defense:  +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus, +2 Flat-Footed)
Knockback: -5 (-1 w/out Force Field)

Saving Throws: 7+7+7=21
Toughness: +10 (+3 Base, +7 Force Field)
Fortitude: +10 (+3 Base, +7)
Reflex: +10 (+3 Base, +7)
Will: +10 (+3 Base, +7)
 

Skills: 35PP=140R

Bluff 7 (+10)

Diplomacy 2 (+5)

Disable Device 7 (+10)

Drive 2 (+5)

Gather Information 17 (+20)

Intimidate 17 (+20)

Investigate 7 (+10)

Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (Civics) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (Current Events) 2 (+5)

Knowledge (Streetwise) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (Tactics) 17 (+20)

Knowledge (Technology) 2 (+5)

Language 4 (Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish)

Medicine 2 (+5)

Notice 7 (+10)

Search 7 (+10)

Sense Motive 12 (+15)

Stealth 7 (+10)

 

Feats: 20PP

Benefit 6 (AEGIS Agent, Knowledge (Tactics) 3, Security Clearance, Wealth)

Connected

Contacts

Dodge Focus 6

Improved Initiative 2

Luck 2

Master Plan

Well-Informed

Powers: 2 + 7 + 44  = 53PP

 

Flight 1 (10 MPH/100FPM) [2PP]

 

Force Field 7 [7PP]

 

Telekinesis Array 20.2 (42PP, PFs: Alternate Powers 2) [44PP]

• BP: Move Object 10 (Effective STR 50, Heavy Load 12 tons, Extras: Damaging, Range [Perception], PF: Precise, Subtle) {42/42}
• AP: Strike 10 (Extras: Area [Burst], Selective, PF: Knockback 10, Progression (100' Range), Subtle) {42/42} 
• AP: Move Object 20 (Effective STR 100, Heavy Load 12.5K tons, PF: Precise, Subtle) {42/42} 

 

Drawbacks: 0PP

 

DC Block  

ATTACK            RANGE          SAVE                EFFECT

Unarmed           Touch          Toughness DC 18     Damage (Physical)

Psychokinesis     Perception     Toughness DC 25     Damage (Energy)

 

 

Totals: Abilities (36) + Combat (14) + Saving Throws (21) + Skills (35) + Feats (20) + Powers (53) - Drawbacks (0) = 179/202 Power Points

 

 

Telekinesis Lifting Capacity:             Light          Medium         Heavy

Psychokinesis (Effective Strength 50)     4 Tons         8 Tons         12 Tons

Move Object (Effective Strength 100)      4,000 Tons     8,000 Tons     12,500 Tons

Edited May 16, 2018 by Fox
+1pp for March/April 2018

[Avenger Assembled]

I took the liberty of making some edits to your sheet - look them over and let me know what you think. (It's now closer to our template and a little more efficient - and your character is much, much better in combat, at the price of being a slower flier) 

 

Love the backstory! 

 

His base attack is a little low for an AEGIS agent - but not crazy low. Just something to think about. 

 

Let me know what you think! 

[Blarghy]

I grudgingly paid for even that much of an attack bonus, since he'll only ever use it if his telekinesis gets negated; I based it on the stock government agent minion.  I really started to run out of points by the end (his saves were originally better, before I started cannibalizing them for skill ranks), as often happens.

 

The new setup (I think that you mostly just nixed the Extras and Flaws on the Force Field, and split up that array?) does look more efficient, much as I liked having Impervious.  I thought that leaving in a vulnerability to energy attacks would give GMs something to exploit, but it might've turned out to be frustrating instead.  So, this works.  I'll go in and change some of the bits that're no longer accurate in light of these edits.

 

Concerning your changes to the telekinesis array, I'm not willing to give up Precise.  It may not come up mechanically very often, but the character isn't just full of brute strength; his extensive practice focused on finesse as well.  When he's not keeping the ability under wraps (say, alone in his string of hotel rooms), he'll use telekinesis as much or more than his own hands.  I'll trade a rank of Improved Initiative for it, since I can't find much else I'm willing to let go of (his Reflex and Fortitude saves already make me a little nervous; I'll have to boost those posthaste). 

 

Edit: Oh, and a change I was thinking about earlier at work: there's not much reason to have his area attack be Move Object instead of a regular Blast, as far as I can figure, so if I changed that, can you think of another useful Extra I could tack on for such an attack, to replace Damaging?

Edited March 4, 2016 by Blarghy

[Avenger Assembled]

Selective is always a handy extra. 

[Blarghy]

That's a good point, for an area attack.  Changed!  I also don't see a need for Precise on that particular AP, so I exchanged it for Progression, which I think fully doubles the range in this case?  Moving the base increment from 5' per rank to 10'. 

 

Anything else you can see that needs fixing?

[Avenger Assembled]

APPROVED

[Blarghy]

Made a change!  Based on advice in the chat.  People pointed out that the area blast wouldn't center on Adept, like I wanted, and suggested that I change it to Strike instead.  I spent the leftover points on many ranks of Knockback, up to the PL cap, so now it has a better chance of tossing enemies.  Trip was also suggested for just throwing power, but I'd like to deal damage too.

 

Does that affect the Approval?

[Avenger Assembled]

Nope!

[Brown Dynamite]

APPROVED