Algernon Files 2.0

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BBllaacck k WWyyrrmm GGaammeess 11

TTTHHHEEE A A ALLLGGGEEERRR N N N O O O N N N FFFIIILLLEEE S S S A A A BBBlllaaaccck k k WWW y y yrrrmmm GGGaaammmeeesss PPPrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn

Written By Aaron Sullivan, Dave Mattingly

With Ben Davis, Rob Hall, Ryan Wolfe Layout, Editing Dave Mattingly

Artwork By Derrick Thomas Cover Derrick Thomas, Ryan Wolfe Coloring, Maps Ryan Wolfe

Additional Art Eric Rademaker

BlackWyrm Games Dave Mattingly, Aaron Sullivan,Leigh Sullivan, Derrick Thomas,Ryan Wolfe

Playtesters George Brown, Dwayne Butchino,

Justin Dunnuck, Jon Evans, JoeLinehan, Tom Rafalski, Rodney Ruff,Mike Satran, Jim Snider, MikeSurbrook, Wayne Walls, JasonWalters, Leah Watts

Dedications Aaron – To my friends for inspiringmy weirdness, and myfamily for tolerating it.

Dave – To Jesus for saving me,Linda for loving me, andSeth for playing with me.

Derrick – To Benjamin, my dad andsuperhero, and my friendsfor urging me onward.

Ryan – To Andi, the excuse for

quitting my “real” job anddoing this instead.

The Algernon Files © 2006 BlackWyrmGames. All rights reserved. Printed in theUSA. Character descriptions, characterbackgrounds, and character art are retainedas intellectual property of BlackWyrm

Games, www.blackwyrm.com .

HERO System TM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademarkfor its roleplaying system.

HERO System © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ,Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Champions © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ,Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Fantasy Hero © 2003 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/aHero Games. All rights reserved.

Pulp Hero © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a HeroGames. All rights reserved.

All DOJ trademarks and copyrights usedwith permission.

For further information about Hero Gamesand the HERO System, visit

www.herogames.com .

http://www.blackwyrm.com/http://www.blackwyrm.com/http://www.herogames.com/http://www.herogames.com/http://www.herogames.com/http://www.blackwyrm.com/


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T BLE OFCONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..........3

CHAPTER 2: ALLIES ......................5 P ART I: THE SENTINELS ..........5

Introduction .................... 6 Doc Steel ........................ 8 Algernon ........................13 Staff ..............................15 Sebastian Arcane ............20 Blackheart......................24 Hardcore........................26 Iron Angel ......................28 Onyx..............................30 Speed Demon.................32 Technomancer................34 Troll...............................36

Fortress .........................38 Vehicles & Technology.....44

Reserve Members ...........47 P ART II: THE AERIE..............53

Introduction ...................53 Blackbird........................54 Cyberhawk .....................56 Raptor ...........................58 Roc ...............................60 The Aerie .......................62

P ART III: THE ARSENAL ........65 Introduction ...................65 Support..........................65

Anthem..........................66 Minuteman.....................68 Miss Liberty ....................70 Peacekeeper...................72 US Steel.........................74

P ART IV: THE COVENANT.......76 Introduction ...................76

Support..........................77 Brimstone.......................80 Chronicle........................82 Dr. Rune ........................84 Sabbath .........................86 Templar .........................88 Chapterhouse.................90

P ART V: INDEPENDENTS ........94 The Best Man .................94 Dr. Chiropterus ...............96 Film Noir ........................98 Horus, Son of Ra...........100 Wendy Wildstar ............102 Wraith .........................104

CHAPTER 3: ENEMIES................106 P ART I: THE BLACK K NIGHTS107

Introduction .................107 Carapace......................108 Façade.........................110 Kid Shiva......................112 Prodigal .......................114 Terminal Velocity ..........116 The Hole in the Wall......118

P ART II: HELL’ S BELLES ......119 Introduction .................119 Carrionette...................120 Goth ............................122 Hauntress.....................124 Perdition ......................126 Sanguine......................128

Cathedral .....................130 Baby............................132

P ART III: PROMETHEANS ....135 Introduction .................135 Dr. Prometheus.............136 Bellerophon..................140 Cadmus........................140 Charon.........................143 Damocles .....................143 Geryon.........................146 Perseus........................148 Telemachus..................148 Tiresias ........................151

Guardian Drones...........151 Elysium ........................154

P ART IV: SINISTER CIRCLE..157 Introduction .................157 Bloodstar......................158 Carnelian......................160 Dervish ........................162

Golem..........................163 Lament ........................164 Phalanx........................165 Quantum Mechanic .......170 Seventh Son .................172

P ART V: INDEPENDENTS ......174 Adonis..........................174 The Assembly ...............176 The Crone ....................178

Vehicles..................179 Base ......................182 Followers................184

Crucible........................186 Figment........................188 The Ghoul ....................190 Heartbreaker ................192 Ice Queen ....................194 Krait.............................196 The Lord of Mirrors .......198 Magog..........................200 Mean Machine...............202

Nemesis .......................204 Nergal..........................206

Night Archer .................208 Opaque ........................210 Platinum Blonde............212 Praetorian ....................214

Base ......................217 Vehicles..................218 Followers................219

Sepulchre.....................220 The Serpent Queen.......224

Followers................225 Multiform................227

Singularity....................228 Smog...........................230 Speed Metal .................232 Stiltskin........................234 Surefire........................236

APPENDIX ................................238

TIMELINE ..........................238 W AR IN THE HEAVENS .........251 THE SPEED CHART ..............254


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IntroductionWelcome to Fortress, the home of Earth’s

mightiest superhero team, the Sentinels.My name is Algernon, and I will be your guide. I

am a machine intelligence created and evolved bySolomon Ulysses Steele, commonly known as Doc

Steel. My computer core resides deep within the centerof Fortress, but holographic projectors locatedsurreptitiously about the building allow you to see andhear my iconic form.

On this tour, we shall visit the museum, and thenreturn to the lobby and gift shop. As we pass throughthe various areas of the museum, I shall regale youwith tales of heroism and daring-do, and will entertainquestions at the end of the tour.

Now, if you’ll please follow me… we’re walking…we’re walking…

How to Use This BookPresented is a series of characters – heroes,

villains, and those in between – for use in yourcampaign.

The characters contained herein can bedropped into most existing campaigns aspotential allies, possible obstacles, straightout adversaries, or even just as backgroundcolor. There is a cross-section of charactertypes presented in order to accommodate a

spread of campaign models – but no collection, ofcourse, is perfect as is for every campaign. GMsshould feel free to tweak backgrounds, model fromwrite-ups, or simply cannibalize what they like fortheir own insidious uses. After all, BlackWyrmGames is much too busy to send the gaming policelooking for you. We promise.


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The Character Sheets

1. Name: The character’s “professional” name. Names arealphabetized based on the most common shorthand name.

2. Picture: The characters are all shown at the same scale(except in the extreme cases of Golem and the Serpent Queen),to make for easy size comparisons. 4 in = 6 ft (1:18 scale).

3. Quote: This is something that the character might say, as anindication of his personality and outlook.

4. Visible Information: This indicates how the character appears,not necessarily how he actually is. An immortal, for example, mighthave a listed age of 30, if that’s how he appears. If the real age isvery different, it is listed in parenthesis following the apparent age.

5. Public Knowledge: This is information that someone mightknow about the character. Characters with an applicable skill, suchas KS: The Superhuman World, or KS: High Technology (for high-tech characters), can make a skill check to see how much they knowabout the character. Otherwise, default to a normal INT Roll forinformation already known, or a Streetwise Roll for active research.The information gained is cumulative (i.e. a success by 3 will revealthe information at +3, +0, and -3). If the facts are contradictory, the

more difficult fact is the truth.

6. Description: The character’s origin, personality, powers, andtactics.

7. Write-Up: The character’s Characteristics, Powers, Equipment,Talents, Perks, Skills, and Disadvantages.

The Write-Ups

Some abbreviations and shortcuts have been taken in the write-ups, to conserve space.

Characteristics: Perception bonuses are listed as +X PER,and are already added in. Likewise, bonuses or penalties to DCVhave already been added in unless otherwise stated. Characters withthe Fear-Inspiring Talent already have the bonus added into their

PRE Attacks.Powers: Regeneration is listed simply as BODY per Turn (or

other time period), instead of writing up the detail as a Healingconstruct. Likewise Instant Change as a type of Transform is writtenbriefly, instead of showing the “work behind the answer.”

Talents: Many appropriate new Talents have appeared inDark Champions , Fantasy Hero , Pulp Hero , and other books, and arelisted by name and page reference. Lightning Reflexes, unlessotherwise stated, applies to all actions.

Perks: Perks that come from the team’s membership packageare listed in grey, to indicate that those perks would disappear if themember ever left the team.

Disadvantages: Only 100 points in Disadvantages aregenerally listed, with the rest chalked up to Experience.

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CChhaapptteerr 22:: A AlllliieessPPaarrtt II:: TThhee SSeennttiinneellss

TTHHEE S SEE N NTTII N NEELL S S

The OriginalsThe current team known as The Sentinels is actually the third

team to carry that name. The weight of this legacy is a constant

influence and has repeatedly proven beneficial in terms of bothpublic recognition and goodwill.

The first team was recruited by the US government in the fallof 1940 specifically to act as a public counter to the propagandasuccesses of the Nazi Einsatzegruppen Übersoldaten. At the behestof FDR, a committee of high-ranking officers and politicians pooledinformation and resources to locate a small number of American “mystery men” that they felt were suitable for the part. Eventually,they settled on six men that met the stringent background criteria. All had ties to either the government or law enforcement authorities,none had publicly espoused any views that would make themdifficult to work with from a media perspective, and unfortunately,given the nature of the men doing the choosing and the era, eachwas male and white (or so the committee thought).

Recruited first were the brothers, Ulysses and AlexanderSteele. The former, a scientific genius of some repute, had workedon a number of classified projects for the government, and due to arecent lab accident, now possessed superhuman strength anddurability; he had recently started operating under the name DocSteel (page 8), and was immediately amenable to the idea behindthe team. The latter, long a sort of high-powered spysmasherworking for the covert agency that would evolve later into the OSSand the CIA, was ordered into a patriotic costume and given thename Anthem to use while working with the team.

Next came a former policeman named Patrick O’Halloran, anarmy inductee whose routine inoculations had caused a strangereaction, activating apparently latent mutations. Superhumanly fast,O’Halloran took the name Jack B. Quick and jumped at the chanceto serve his country in a way that didn’t involve KP duty.

Recruit number four came directly from the recommendation ofWilliam “Wild Bill” Donovan, an influential player in the country’s

nascent intelligence community. The Silent Knight, whose identitywas known only to Donovan and the president, was a legendary jack-of-all-trades, always seeming to have exactly the skills andabilities he needed for whatever mission the team was facing.Hidden under the all-covering mask and costume was, in actuality,not one man, but an entire squad. Each was trained to carry on thecharade of the Silent Knight identity, an agent who could be manyplaces at once and who seemed to survive even the mostunsurvivable situations (fatalities among the squad were notuncommon, and were quickly and efficiently covered up). Several ofthese agents would not openly have passed the prejudices of theselection committee, so the Knight’s inclusion was also a personaland private swipe against them by Donovan.

Thunderbird was Richard Daniels, a former army pilot andamateur anthropologist who had discovered an ancient medallionwhile on a dig in Nevada. The medallion gave him control over

weather, an ability he had been putting to great use fightingracketeers and fifth columnists throughout the American southwest.Finally, Thomas Burkhalter was an FBI agent who had been

captured by the insane scientist and criminal mastermind Dr. Diabloand used as a test subject for a prototype “shrinking ray.” Insteadof death, which was the intended result of the ray, Burkhaltergained the ability to shrink himself to only six inches tall, gainingmassive strength in the process from his incredible physical densityat that size. Given the nickname Tom Thumb by the newspapers, hehad become a valuable weapon against his country’s enemies.

The last member, the wizard Cagliostro, came to thecommittee after they thought they had made their final choices.How he even knew of the committee’s existence he never revealed,

but his insistence on aiding his adopted country won over FDR andseveral members of the committee, who agreed to give him achance to prove his worth. He would repeatedly make the team verygrateful for this decision, as he showed himself indispensably usefulon numerous occasions.

The team was highly successful and outperformed the highestexpectations of the recruiters. Time and again they were able tofrustrate the plans of not only the wartime menaces they wereformed to combat, but also numerous other homegrown menacesthat appeared on the scene. With the exception of Tom Thumb,who was killed during the war, the members stayed active andtogether for the rest of the decade. During the early 1950s,however, with the war long over, and Korea come and gone, manyof the threats they had stayed together to face were gone. Few oftheir many homegrown enemies had remained at large past the endof the previous decade, and many of the monsters and madmen

that would later terrorize the world were years away from theirinitial appearances. As the decade progressed, the team’s memberswent weeks and sometimes even months without meeting or evenseeing one another. They slowly settled into their own lives, onlygathering on rare occasions. The only member making any sort ofheadlines was Cagliostro, who had made his way onto SenatorMcCarthy’s hit list, and finally had to go into hiding to avoidprosecution. The team probably would have eventually dissolvedthrough lack of interest or need even if their disastrous involvementin the Carnifex affair had never come about. Carnifex was themelding of former S.S. Colonel Reinhardt Steiner and an anciententity that claimed to be the Spirit Of Murder. He was powerful –much more so than anything the team had ever faced before.Stopping him from killing President Eisenhower and seizing controlof the country’s atomic arsenal was the most dangerous and costlyfight of team’s tenure, resulting in the deaths of both Thunderbird

and the last of the men to use the Silent Knight identity. Followingthese losses, and after learning many of the unsavory truths behindhow Steiner had gotten as far as he had, and who in thegovernment had helped him, the team finally disbanded for good.

Take Two A decade later, in 1964, as thousands of people watched

television coverage of a desperate battle where the mighty Horus,Son of Ra (page 100) fought to keep his eternal enemy The SerpentQueen (page 224) from destroying the UN building, a group ofyoung and untested heroes came to his aid. First was the physicistRick Thompson, who had been changed into energy by a terribleaccident and doomed to live out his life contained in an exosuit,without which his form would quickly dissipate, and fought underthe name Dynamo. He was joined by the siblings Mary and MichaelMartin, mutants with control over heat and cold, who were betterknown as Hotshot and Jack Frost. Then came the man whoremained a mystery from his first appearance to his finaldisappearance, the frenetic Killjoy, nimble in body and words as herained down taunts on his enemies. And finally, her father’sdaughter in every way, Patricia O’Halloran had inherited her father’ssuperhuman speed and followed in his footsteps as the lightningfast Blur. They joined forces with Horus the Sunhawk, who claimedto be the incarnation of the Egyptian sun god given physical form.He had been sent to Earth to recapture Apophis the Nightbringer,and to put her back in the timeless prison pit from which she had


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escaped in the form of the terrible Serpent Queen. Together, theteam eventually managed to drive off the Queen’s monstrous “Serpent Manifest” form after a long and difficult fight, saving notonly the UN, but most of downtown Manhattan in the process.

Following the end of that momentous fight, and deciding thatthey were seeing fate in action, these stalwarts decided to bandtogether on a more formal basis. Given the circumstances and thelighthearted way in which they approached the situation, few of the

founding six probably foresaw their union as lasting for very long –certainly not for the next fifteen years and the many, manyadventures their tenure would encompass. Though they took theSentinels’ name at Blur’s suggestion, in many respects they were avery different team than either their predecessors or their eventualsuccessors. The Sentinels of the 1960s and 1970s had few, if any,ties to the government, demonstrated an extremely varied and fluidmembership during its time as an extant group, survived dealingwith often fractious dynamics and tensions between the members(many of whom would never get along), dealt with scandalpractically from their first meeting, and endured an intense andconstantly fluctuating love-hate relationship with both the mediaand the public.

After a number of broad membership changes, ranging fromthe uncanny marksman Troubleshooter to the Atlantean outcast SeaDevil and the fortune-blessed Johnny Karma, the team finallydisbanded in the wake of a battle with the time-traveling despotPraetorian (page 214) in 1979. Dynamo, not only the long timeleader of the group but also its spiritual anchor, gave his life duringthat battle to destroy one of the temporal terror’s dreaded TimeTower weapons before it could be used to devastate Washington.Following his death, the remaining members drifted apart, withHorus and Killjoy eventually formalizing the dissolution in astatement to press.

Despite an ill-fated and quickly abandoned attempt by theheadline-seeking Ace Argent, Man of Action, who long claimedmembership in the second team which he had never actually beengiven, to form his own team and exploit the unused name, itwouldn’t be until the mid-1990s that a new generation rose to claimthe Sentinel’s title properly.

The PresentThe third and current team formed much like the second,following a fortuitous meeting in response to a great threat. In thisinstance, the threat was yet another attempt by the Hierophant andhis minions to open a dimensional gate for their god, the cosmicclockwork consciousness Ex Machina, so he could enter andconsume the Earth. Blackheart, Hardcore, and Speed Demon (pages 24, 26, and 32), were joined by the plant-controlling Wildflower, theversatile force field projector Think Tank, and the energy-wieldingmarksman Sundance, and managed to stave off the Hierophant’sbest efforts.

Staying together after the fight, the group originally used arented brownstone in midtown for their meetings. This ended whenUlysses Steele, Hardcore’s father and an ally of both of the teamsthat followed his own, donated the island and facility the team callsFortress, and established the funding that provides for the facility

and its staff. Over the years since that first meeting, the team hasamassed substantial resources and cultivated a robust network ofcontacts and support, including positive, vital, and well-maintainedrelationships with local, state, and federal authorities.

From an organizational standpoint, the team’s infrastructurefunctions just as designed. The staff sees to the maintenance andupkeep of the island facility, the various patents, grants, andlicensing arrangements that financially support the team’soperations, and all of the medical, legal, and security precautionsthat an entity of the team’s nature requires.

The team’s internal dynamics have changed over the years, forbetter and worse, before settling into the thus far stablearrangement they hold at the moment. The current line-up consistsof Sebastian Arcane, Blackheart, Hardcore, Iron Angel, Onyx, SpeedDemon, Technomancer, and Troll (pages 20 through 36). There isalso a reserve roster including Wildflower, Think Tank, Spoilsport,and Sundance (pages 47-52). Spoilsport’s abilities to temporarilysteal the powers and skills of other metahumans recently caused a

feedback incident from which he barely survived, and resulted inextended medical leave while he decide what he wants his future tobe regarding the team.

Past members include Kismet, a martial artist sent back from ableak future in which The Assembly (page 176) has taken over theEarth. She sacrificed her life to keep that future from coming topass. The shadow-caster Noir left the team to join The Aerie ( page 53) with her fiancé, the hero Cyberhawk (page 56). She now usesthe name Blackbird (page 54). The cyborg Mean Machine (page 202) was dismissed from the team after his growing instability led torepeated breaches of the team’s protocols concerning unnecessaryviolence. He now sells his services to the highest bidder, no longercaring what causes he fights for, so long has he has the opportunityto fight; he also carries a violent grudge against several members ofthe team, especially Technomancer. And the illusionist Spellbinder,after discovering her true interests lie outside the law, wasdismissed following her betrayal of the team during a battle withmercenaries in the hire of the criminal organization The Magi. Shenow operates under the name Façade (page 110) as a member ofthe high-priced and very deadly mercenary team, The Black Knights(page 107). Members of the team who suffered personally duringher betrayal put a high premium on her eventual capture andincarceration. Bigtime, whose control over space and time enableshim to change his size and to summon temporal duplicates ofhimself from the future, continues to undergo psychiatric treatmentfor the nervous breakdown he suffered after one of his duplicateswas killed in a battle in 2004. Brimstone, a mage whose personalitycaused multiple problems in terms of team dynamics was recentlylost to the Covenant. Doc managed to pull strings with the membersof that organization who owed him favors, procuring the services ofSebastian Arcane, formerly of the Covenant’s strike team, TheSeraphim.

Sentinels Package18 Contact: The Superhero Community 11- (Extremely Useful,

Institutions, Contacts, Organization)2 Reputation: Superhero 11- (Worldwide), +2/+2d65 Security Clearance

-25 Hunted: Sentinels’ Rogues Gallery 14- (Mo Pow)


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QUOTE “Seen worse. Beaten better. Isuggest you reconsider.”

RACE SEX HT EYES

Human Male 6’5” GreyGROUP AGE WT HAIR

Sentinels 30(91) 400# Black

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

+3 Famous adventurer+0 Father of Hardcore and

Technomancer-3 Backer of Sentinels team-5 Brilliant and wealthy inventor

-8 Heavy political connections-10

DESCRIPTION

Solomon Ulysses Steele has had a long time to get used to being known better as “DocSteel” – over sixty years, in fact. That’s how long he’s been in the public eye, using his manygifts exactly as he was raised to do.

He was born in early March of 1912, along with his brother, Gabriel Alexander Steele.Thanks to a brutal thunderstorm at the time of their birth, the nurses at the delivery lost track of

exactly which of the brothers was actually born first. Due to this, the brotherswould later adopt the habit of each calling the other “little brother,” a private joke that the men still reflexively share in even today. Their parents, Jamesonand Penelope, raised them to appreciate how each was gifted and the debtthey owed to the world for those gifts, a debt both men have spent almost acentury paying. But the truth of that debt, and the reasons behind their

parents’ philosophy stretch much further back and afield than most will everknow.

Jameson Steele and Penelope Whittier came from very specialfamilies. These families had planned for their union long before either ofthe couple was even born. These families were part of a secret. Theyhad ties to a once grand, albeit clandestine, organization that datedback to the Middle Ages. Following the betrayal of the KnightsTemplar by the pontiff and the French king, many members of thatonce proud order went into hiding. One small and select group ofmen took with them a plan constructed by their then-martyredleader, a plan to build both a better society than the crude and

petty world these men saw around them, and to help create abetter man to benefit from that world than the petty, superstitious,and ignorant masses from whom these knights were forced to hide.Using the vast wealth the men had taken into hiding with them, and

using their leader’s dreams and ideals as a blueprint, they formed apowerful and hidden society to achieve their goals. They hid and

helped thinkers, scientists, and revolutionists, whose ideas wouldadvance the order’s knowledge and scientific resources far beyond thoseof the open world. They worked to weaken the power of the church and

the aristocracy, for in the order’s collective view, these were the cruel masters that worked to keepman small, shackled, and shortsighted. And they initiated a breeding program, carried out overcenturies, with the aim of improving the general condition and ability of future generations.

Sadly, despite all of the successes the order garnered in the shadows, their ultimate aimswould meet with violent failure. Initially embracing the revolution of the people against theBourbon crown, seeing in it the potential culmination of one of the order’s aims, thevariousmembers were horrified with the bloody spiral of degeneration that followed. So appalled were they

that the various factions and power players within the organization split, after much frustratingdebate, into many different smaller groups, but predominantly into two camps. One held that thegreat mission was still valid, that they had misjudged one instance and mistaken the timing. Theother camp, less optimistic in its appraisal of the human condition, had decided that this carnagesimply showed that the plan was not working and could not work from behind the scenes, that theymust emerge from the shadows and lead mankind firmly into their better tomorrow …kicking andscreaming if that was what it would take. The divergent philosophies proved irreconcilable. Unitywas lost and the different parties began a prolonged, bloody, and only mostly covert war forcontrol of the resources they had developed, guarded, and husbanded over the centuries. Privateagendas usurped the primacy of the plan and the members of the various factions quickly learnedan important lesson about the fruits of their labor to improve the “breeding stock,” namely thatsuperior ability carries with it superior ambition and superior determination. Extraordinary men andwomen fought each other across the globe. The advanced technological finds of the order,especially those many wished they could “undiscover” after the fact, were brought into play asterrible weapons: flying machines and submarines, thinking engines and clockwork men, drugs thatstole the will, and baleful amalgamations of men and beasts, all saw the light of day. History

records little of this epic struggle due in part to the hidden nature of it, the participants longengrained as to the virtue of covert action; but, mostly however, because of the fantastical natureof the participants and their tools. Witnesses were dismissed as fools and madmen, their storiesascribed to hysteria or flights of fancy. As writers here and there seized upon these fragmentaryaccounts as inspirations for works of fiction, people became less and less prone to accept the truthof these events, especially after seeing similar incidents in print and labeled as fantasy. By the endof the 19th Century, little remained of the once powerful organization, its resources, or itspersonnel; all had become victims of this ultimately futile conflict.


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Among the survivors were JamesonSteele, an asset of one of the Britishsecret services, and Penelope Whittier, atranslator working for the Americanstate department. Though initiallyreserved toward the idea of marryingpeople they had never met, theychanged their minds upon meeting each

other. Falling in love practically at firstsight, the young couple withdrew fromtheir public lives following their marriageand moved to the Whittier family homein Maine. Shortly thereafter, the twinswere born. Alexander inherited hisfather’s physical abilities. Long beforethe phrase “metahuman” enteredpopular usage, Jameson Steele had demonstrated remarkablestrength, speed, and stamina. Alex shared these traits, but to aneven greater degree; by the time he reached the age of ten, he wasalready as strong as any three grown men, and could outrun thehorses his family kept. Little Ulysses showed different, if equallyimpressive gifts; by the age of five he had mastered calculus and wasconsuming all the reading material his family could gather. He hadcompleted his formal education before he hit puberty and was readyto move on to university. It was then, as the family was preparing torelocate to help Ulysses continue his progress, that tragedy struck.

The boys’ father had made many enemies during his infrequent “favors” to his native government during the war. One of these men,the Kaiser’s handpicked special agent, had not only survived thedefeat of his country, but, after several years, had finally clawed hisway back into a position where he could strike at those that hadearned his wrath. Jameson Steele was the victim of a crude but well-placed explosive. There was no evidence left to implicate those whohad planted the bomb, and it would be years before the brotherswould discover the culprit. Following her husband’s death, PenelopeWhittier Steele suffered a catastrophic breakdown from which shewould never recover. She would spend the rest of her life, a littleover a decade, in an institution.

Ulysses and Alexander went to live with their godfather in

London, an immensely large gentleman who had been a close friendand mentor to their father during his years in the service, and who,himself a perennial and childless bachelor, cared for them as if theywere his own. Upon becoming adults and leaving his care, each ofthe young men followed a different path. Alexander used hisgodfather’s connections to gain entry to his father’s profession,where he began developing his own impressive record andreputation. Ulysses, meanwhile, went into the sciences. He movedfrom university to university, accruing degree after degree, includingan M.D. from Johns Hopkins and a Ph.D. in Physics from theUniversity of Chicago. Ulysses made many friends during this timeand wound up putting his talents to use having a number of smallbut satisfying adventures and escapades with them, notably a littleexploring or inventing here and there. Eventually, his connectionsand skills would lead to him working for the American government,and on the highly classified project that would change his life forever.

Project 23089, or “Project Aladdin” as the people involved likedto call it, centered on analyzing a set of artifacts that Russianaristocrats had smuggled out of their country during the Bolshevikrevolution. The artifacts were obviously technological in nature andhad been recovered from what appeared to be a crash site in theSiberian peninsula, a place called Tunguska. The popularpresumption among the researchers on staff was that the itemswere non-terrestrial in origin, but in the almost twenty years thegovernment had been studying them before Ulysses joined theproject, little if anything had ever been determined of theircomposition or function. In his first month on the project, the youngscientist was able to determine the function of over half of the

dozen or so items. One item he worked oncaught his attention in particular. He hadmanaged to deduce that it was somethingrelating to medical treatment when theaccident occurred. An item being tested byanother staff member apparently activatedsomething within the item being examined byUlysses and his lab partner. Both men were

exposed to a strange silvery and viscous fluidthat induced immediate unconsciousness. Themen were determined to be in a form of comawhile their bodies… changed. Ulysses’ labpartner proved unable to withstand the rigorsof the change and died a week into the coma.Whether by dint of the stamina his breedinghad left him, or through sheer willpower,

Ulysses managed to make it through the change with body andmind intact. When he awoke he found a very different vision in themirror than he expected. During the six months of his coma, theyoung man had grown a foot in height and added over two hundredpounds of mass. His new body possessed strength the likes of whichhe had only ever read about in myth, and was seeminglyinvulnerable. Ulysses would later determine that the fluid he hadbeen exposed to was actually just a medium for an uncountablenumber of microscopic machines that had rebuilt him from thecellular level up (in 1938, the term “nanotechnology” was far fromcommon parlance).

The good doctor was examined at length, and the deviceresponsible for his condition taken apart for closer scrutiny (eventhough the fluid substance reservoirs now seemed exhausted). Itwould be over a year of testing, testing, and more testing beforeUlysses’ superiors in the project even considered allowing him toleave the base where he had been sequestered, and even thatallowance was due in larger part to the young man’s connectionsthan the altruism of scientific and military authorities frustrated intheir desire to duplicate the physical abilities Steele was exhibiting.Finally, a compromise was reached. So long as he submitted toregular examinations, adhered to the secrecy of the project andstayed far away so as to bring absolutely no further attention to

23089, Steele would be allowed his freedom. An elaborate coverstory was concocted involving an incident in a private laboratory welloutside government purview. This was immediately prior to theSecond World War, during a time when men and women withsuperhuman abilities were beginning to appear with alarmingfrequency; one more didn’t make much of a splash in the media,which was, of course, the entire idea. He was stuck with thenickname “Doc Steel,” made a few headlines, and then faded into thebackground of a very colorful crowd.

Steele’s history over the following decades is a matter of publicrecord, his membership in the original Sentinels for the duration oftheir existence, his founding of Steele Omnitech as an outlet for hismany inventions and technological advancements, and, of course, hislong and sometimes very personal conflict with the criminalmastermind known as Dr. Prometheus (page 136).

In the mid-1960s, Ulysses met Samantha Reilly, who, operating

under the name Troubleshooter, was a member of the second groupof adventurers calling themselves The Sentinels. Doc onlyencountered this group infrequently, but it was time enough that hisand Reilly’s respect for one another became affection, and then love.They were married in 1966, and the following year she gave birth toa son, Jacob Hannibal Steele. These were the happiest years ofSteele’s life. He worked to be a good father and husband, devotingmore time to Omnitech than his “hobby” (as his wife jokingly calledhis heroing activities). Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last. When his oldenemy Dr. Prometheus decided to take his own geneticallyengineered “children” (The Prometheans, page 135) and leave theEarth, he also decided to make one last strike against the Steele

WAR IN THE HEAVENS

Where did the artifacts come from? Whywas Steele changed? Long ago, there was a warbetween the immensely powerful and godlikestar-spanning race known as the Acathii and theextradimensional terrors the Rha’Zha’Keth. The Acathii eventually won, in no small part due tothe strength of their bioengineered warrior

caste. The device responsible for Steele’schanges was part of the process the Acathiiused, and the crashsite in Siberia the impactpoint of one of their ships. Doc didn’t discoverthe truth until an adventure in space in theearly sixties, and he has only shared theinformation with his brother.


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family. Knowing that Samantha Steele was about to give birth to thecouple’s second child, Prometheus arranged for Doc to be calledaway from the hospital to deal with a carefully planned emergency.In his absence, several of the Prometheans entered the hospitalintending to induce labor and steal the baby, to take with them totheir father for him to raise. Much to Prometheus’ dismay, the child’suncle was there to watch over his family in their father’s absence. Alexander Steele, long since having dropped his Anthem identity from

his time with the original Sentinels, was able to defeat thePrometheans at the hospital, driving them away. During the battle,however, considerable damage was done to the hospital, and thedoctors, working in what amounted to a war zone, were unable tokeep complications from setting in. Samantha Steele died giving birthto her second son, Isaac Augustus Steele. Ulysses blamed himself fornot being at his wife’s side to help her. After hunting for Prometheus,only to find that the diminutive genius had left the Earth and seemedforever outside his grasp, Steele retired from public life almostcompletely, and buried himself in running his company and raising hischildren. Though occasionally drawn into adventure unintentionallyover the years, Doc has maintained his retirement. Even today, heoperates only as a patron and influential ally to various active heroes,but never, never , as an active participant in what his brother refers toas “the game.”

Ulysses Steele is brilliant beyond measure, and one of the mostintelligent men on a world where superhuman achievement hasbecome accepted by society. He strongly believes that he and hisfamily have been blessed by their abilities and accomplishments, andthat they should help mankind wherever and whenever possible tomake up for that debt. Though he has adapted over the years tochanges in culture and beliefs, he still frequently demonstrates theold-fashioned sense of manners and morals that one might expectfrom a man raised in the first half of the 20 th Century. He loves hisfamily, and though he had been initially opposed to both of his sons’ambitions to follow in his footsteps, their subsequent actions andexploits have made him inordinately proud. To the majority of thecurrent Sentinels, he is considered a valuable ally, his advice andsupport appreciated and respected. To the world at large, he has thegravitas of decades worth of celebrity and no small amount of heroworship. His contacts throughout government and industry, built upover half a century, are as extensive as they are intimidating. Despitediverting most of his wealth and income from Omnitech’s staggeringsuccess through charitable foundations and the non-profit fund thatprovides for much of the Sentinels’ operating resources, Ulysses isstill quite well off. He seldom uses any of this influence, however,since most of his time is spent running Omnitech, advising hisnumerous charities, or isolating himself in his lab for extendedexperiments.

Doc Steel is immensely strong and resilient. He heals woundswith such speed that most disappear so fast witnesses can’t tell thathe was hurt in the first place. His senses are preternaturally acute,and he’s proven immune to any environmental dangers he’s everencountered. Unlike his brother, who appears to be aging slowlyenough that he looks about half his actual age, Doc doesn’t appear toage at all, looking today exactly the same as he did when Rooseveltwas president. On those few occasions in recent years when he’s

been forced into some semblance of action, he’s demonstrated thatthe fighting skills honed over decades of experience have diminishedonly a little during his long years of inactivity.

When he was active as an adventuring type, Ulysses alwayswore the leather aviators’ style jacket he received as a gift fromCagliostro, a friend from the original Sentinels. The jacket wasenchanted to mend and repair itself from all the battle damage Doc’sclothing always suffered. Today, he either dresses casually when inhis lab, or in fashionable suits when he must make publicappearances. The jacket he gave to his older son when Jake startedhis career (Hardcore, page 26).

STEELE OMNITECH

Better known simply as Omnitech, Steele Omnitech was foundedin 1958 as a think tank for government consultation work and also asa commercial outlet for many of Ulysses Steele’s ideas andinventions. Today, it is a sprawling multinational corporation,involved in every manner of conceivable scientific expertise – rangingfrom experimental farming techniques in Southeast Asian markets tolongstanding defense contracts with Uncle Sam.

The Steele family owns a controlling 64% of existing shares,with Ulysses Steele acting as CEO and Chairman of the Board ofDirectors. Steele Omnitech’s World headquarters is located amidstthe multidiscipline laboratories of Omnitech’s primary North Americanfacility, a gargantuan spread of structures in Long Island, NY.

Typical OmniTech Facility Val CHA Cost Notes

12 SIZE 24 2000”10 BODY 88 DEF 18

Total Characteristics Cost: 50

C ost Attributes0 Location: City 03 Temperature Control: Life Support (Safe in Cold, Heat);

Costs END (-½) 1

Equipment27 Communications: High Range Radio Perception,

MegaScale Range (Worldwide, +1¼) 08 Fire Prevention: Drain RKA 1d6, Trigger; 1 Fuel Charge

Lasting 5 Minutes (-½), Only vs. Fire (-1) [1]10 Power Supply: Endurance Reserve (150 END, 10 REC);

OIF (Immobile, -1½) 038 Security: Lockpicking 17-, Security Systems 17- 011 Sensors: Clairsentience (Sight, Hearing, and Radio); No

Range (Base Grounds Only, -½), OAF (Immobile, -2) 4

Labs30 High-Tech Facility: +6 with Lab Skills

33 Science Labs: 11 Labs of ChoiceTotal Skills & Powers: 160

Total Cost: 210

175+ Disadvantages35 DNPC: Personnel (Less Pow, Useful, 32x DNPCs)

Total Disadvantages: 245

Total Cost: 175/5 = 35


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Doc Steel Val CHA Cost Roll Notes

60 STR 50 21- Lift 100 tons; 12d6 HTH [0]18 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 630 CON 40 15-25 BODY 30 14-45 INT 35 18- PER Roll: 18-

20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 720 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d614 COM 2 12-25 PD 14 Total: 31 PD (21 rPD)25 ED 19 Total: 31 ED (21 rED)5 SPD 22 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

20 REC 470 END 570 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 275

Movement: Running: 10”/20”Leaping: 20”/80”Swimming: 5”/10”

Cost Powers END60 Brick Tricks: Multipower, 60-point Reserve –

3u 1) Shockwave: HA 4d6 (8d6 with STR), Area Of Effect(12” Cone, +1), Double Knockback (+¾), Indirect (fromGround, +¼); HA (-½), Only versus Targets on Ground(-¼), Reduced by Range (-¼) 6

2u 2) Knockdown: HA 4d6 (8d6 with STR), Area Of Effect(12” Cone, +1), Double Knockback (+¾), Indirect (fromGround, +¼); Only versus Targets on Ground (-¼), HA(-½), Only to Knock Over (-1), Reduced by Range (-¼) 6

6u 3) Thunderclap: Flash Hearing 6d6, Area Of Effect (12”Cone, +1), Does Knockback (+¼), Double Knockback(+¾) 6

3u 4) Miscellaneous Tricks: HA 4d6 (8d6 with STR), +1 Variable Advantage (+2); HA (-½), Requires a Brick TricksRoll (-¼), -½ Variable Limitation (-¼) 6

3u 5) Miscellaneous Tricks: HA 6d6 (12d6 with STR), +½ Variable Advantage (+1); HA (-½), Requires a Brick Tricks

Roll (-¼), -½ Variable Limitation (-¼) 64u 6) Miscellaneous Tricks: +1 Variable Advantage (+1) on20 STR; Requires a Brick Tricks Roll (-¼), -½ VariableLimitation (-¼) 6

2u 7) Deflect: Missile Deflection (All Attacks) 03u 8) Tough It Out: Physical and Energy Damage Reduction,

50%, Resistant; Requires a Brick Tricks Roll (-¼), STUNOnly (-½) 0

2u 9) Immovable: Knockback Resistance -12”; Must Be Aware of Attack (-¼) 0

50 Insulated: Full Life Support (including Immortality) 019 Tough: Damage Resistance (15 PD/15 ED), Hardened

(+¼) 05 Tough: Power Defense (5 points) 08 Tough: Lack of Weakness -4 for Normal and Resistant

Defense 01 Psionic Training: Mental Defense (5 points Total);Requires EGO Roll (-¼) 0

23 Swift: Running +4” (10” Total), Reduced Endurance (0END, +½), Usable as Swimming (+¼) 0

28 Prodigious Leaper: Leap +8” (20” Total), Accurate, 4xNoncombat Multiplier, Reduced Endurance (0 END, +½) 0

5 Adapted Senses: Nightvision 012 Long-Range Senses: Telescopic +4 for Sight and Hearing 030 Tireless: Reduced Endurance (0 END, +½) on STR 058 Unstoppable: Regeneration (4 BODY per Turn),

Resurrection, Can Heal Limbs 0

15 Makes the Best of Any Situtation: Luck 3d6 0

Equipment 5 Multi-Tool: HKA 1 pip; OAF (-1) plus +2 versus Improper

Tool Penalties; OAF (-1) 013 GPS Unit: Bump of Direction; OAF (-1), Affected as Sight

(-½) plus Detect Location, Discriminatory, Analyze,Sense; OAF (-1), Affected as Sight (-½) plus AK: Earth

18-; OAF (-1), Affected as Sight (-½) 030 64 More GPS Units 040 Commlink: High Range Radio Perception (Radio),

Concealed (-10 to Intercept Transmission); OIF (-½), Affected as Sight and Hearing (-½) plus Scrambler: Cryptography 18- for HRRP; OIF (-½) plus HomingBeacon: Targeting, Telescopic +40 [No Penalty up to5000 Miles], and Tracking for HRRP; OIF (-½), TargetMust Have Identical Commlink (-½), Affected as Sightand Hearing (-½) 0

30 64 More Commlinks 0

Talents3 Absolute Range Sense3 Absolute Time Sense

12 Combat Luck (x2)

15 Combat Sense17 Danger Sense (Out of Combat, Sense, Intuitional)5 Eidetic Memory3 EM: Aquatic Training4 EM: Zero-G Training7 Fearless (FH111)

11 Inspire (FH106)3 Lightning Calculator6 Speed Reading (100x)

Perks280 Base: Fortress65 Base: 64 OmniTech Facilities8 CEO of OmniTech

10 Computer Link5 Computer: PDA

175 Follower: Algernon1 Medical License

15 Money: Filthy Rich2 Reputation: Businessman 14- (the Corporate World), +2/2d64 Reputation: Doctor 14- (Medical Community), +4/4d68 Reputation: Genius 14- (Worldwide), +4/4d68 Reputation: Superhero 14- (Worldwide), +4/4d62 Several PhDs and an M.D.

10 Sponsor: The Sentinels10 Top Secret Security Clearance70 Vehicles: 32 Destriers

100 Vehicles: 4 Kestrels3 Well-Connected

26 Contact: The Industrial World 14- (Very Useful, Institutions,Contacts, Organization)

14 Contact: The Philanthropic World 11- (Useful, Institutions,

Contacts, Organization)26 Contact: The Political World 14- (Very Useful, Institutions,Contacts, Organization)

20 Contact: The Saeduun Empire 11- (Extremely Useful,Contacts, Good Relationship, Organization)

35 Contact: The Scientific Community 14- (Extremely Useful,Institutions, Contacts, Great Relationship, Organization)

35 Contact: The Superhuman Community 14- (Extremely Useful,Institutions, Contacts, Great Relationship, Organization)


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SkillsMartial Arts: Brick TricksManeuver OCV DCV Notes

4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort4 Dodge — +5 Dodge, Abort5 Offensive Strike -2 +0 +4d64 Strike +0 +2 +2d6

3 Throw +0 +1 +v/5, Target Falls50 +5 Overall Levels15 +5 with Computers, Cryptography, and Security Systems15 +5 versus Time Penalties with Intellect Skills15 +5 with All Science Skills10 +5 versus Penalties with All Science Skills

3 Acting 13-3 Analyze Technology 18-3 Analyze Combat Tactics 18-3 Bureaucratics 13-3 Climbing 13-3 Combat Driving 13-3 Lipreading 18-3 Combat Piloting 13-3 Computer Programming 18-

3 Concealment 18-3 Conversation 13-5 Cramming3 Criminology 18-3 Cryptography 18-3 Deduction 18-3 Demolitions 18-3 Electronics 18-3 Forensic Medicine 18-3 High Society 13-3 Inventor 18-3 Mechanics 18-3 Oratory 13-5 Navigation (Air, Lane, Marine, Space) 18-

14 Survival (Arctic, Deserts, Marine, Mountains, Temperate,Tropical, Urban) 18-

3 Power (Intelligence) 18-3 Power (Strength) 18-3 Tactics 18-3 Paramedics 18-3 Persuasion 13-3 PS: Businessman 18-2 PS: Scientist 18-3 Security Systems 18-3 Streetwise 13-3 Systems Operation 18-3 Teamwork 13-7 Weaponsmith (Biological, Chemical, Energy, Firearms,

Incendiary, Missiles & Rockets) 18-8 WF: Common Melee, Common Missile, Emplaced Weapons,

Small Arms, Vehicle Weapons

3 Linguist3 Language: Arabic, Atlantean, French, German, Greek,

Japanese, Latin, Russian, Saeduun (Native)2 Language: Sign Language (Fluent)

3 Scholar20 KS: Business, KS: Current Events, Government, KS: History,

The Industrial World, KS: Law, Philosophy, KS: Religion, TheScientific Community, KS: The Sentinels, Technology 18-

4 KS: The Superhuman World 20-

3 Scientist52 SS: Aeronautics, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Biology,

Biophysics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Cybernetics,Engineering, Genetics, Geology, Inorganic Chemistry,Mathematics, Medicine, Metallurgy, Microbiology, NuclearPhysics, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, QuantumMechanics, Robotics, Sociology, Speculative Sciences,Subatomic Physics, Xenobiology 18-

11 SS: Anthropology, Archaeology, Bacteriology, Botany,Cryptozoology, Ecology, Exobiology, Marine Biology,Oceanography, Pharmacology, Toxicology 11-

3 Traveler18 AK: Antarctica, Asia, Atlantis, Australia, Europe, North America,

Saeduun Space, Sol System, South America, The United States18-

2 CK: New York City 18-

Total Skills & Powers: 1889

Total Cost: 2164

200+ Disadvantages30 DNPC: Thousands of Employees 8-10 Hunted: Dr. Prometheus 8- (As Pow, NCI)

10 Hunted: US Government 11- (As Pow, NCI, Watching)15 Psychological Limitation: Old-Fashioned Manners and Morals(Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: Retired, Stays out of “The Game”(Uncommon, Strong)

20 Psychological Limitation: Scientific Curiosity (Very Common,Strong)

5 Reputation: Exploitable Honest Streak a Mile Wide, 8-1864 Experience Points


Doc’s PDA Val CHA Cost Roll Notes

10 INT 0 11- PER Roll: 11-10 DEX 0 11- OCV: 3/DCV: 32 SPD 0 Phases: 6, 12


Cost Talents3 Absolute Time Sense3 Lightning Calculator3 Lightsleep

Skills2 AK: Earth 11-2 AK: America 11-2 CK: New York City 11-2 KS: Contact Information 11-2 KS: Superhumans 11-

2 PS: Personal Assistant 11-3 Systems Operation 11-

Programs1 Search Reference Material for Information on a Specific Topic


Total Cost: 25 / 5 = 5


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DESCRIPTION

The Steele Omnitech Series 5-A15 ALGorithmic ElectR onic Neural Operations Network is asophisticated artificial intelligence with a central processing core the relative size of a nuclearsubmarine. It prefers to be called Algernon and absolutely hates being called “it.” The fifth andmost successful of a series of experimental computer constructs developed by Dr. Ulysses Steele, Algernon subsumed the operation processing of all of i ts predecessors. He (his favored pronoun)has an official inception date of 1972, and in the intervening years has grown to the point wherehe is used to control all of the primary computer and related systems for Steele Omnitech, and

similarly keeps watch over the systems in the Sentinels’ base, Fortress. Algernon’s personality matrix has developed over the course of decades, and includes not

only his original parameters, but also an incalculable amount of cultural and informationalresources gleaned through his obsessive observation and cataloguing of human behavior andsocieties. Based on what he sees as his primary function, Algernon predominantly presentshimself as a crusty butler or major domo in the grand Edwardian tradition. He views the Steelesas his family, a feeling they reciprocate, and is very protective of the brothers Isaac and Jacob,whom he helped raise. He has also grown quite fond of various members of the Sentinels,several of Fortress’ operating staff, and an executive or two working for Steele Omnitech. Wereharm to come to any of these individuals, the perpetrators would quickly discover the limits of Algernon’s safety and restraint programming, and that he has become very inventive incircumventing some of these protocols.

The true extent of Algernon’s capabilities is known to only a few. The ease with which hecould penetrate and seize control of most computer systems anywhere in the world, includingthose of the U.S. government, is not something that his inventor and patrons want to advertise.This is the most important of many reasons that neither Doc Steel nor Omnitech has ever pushedtoo hard in various legal cases seeking to gain Algernon recognition as a sentient being andworthy of U.S. citizenship – fear of what a full-blown investigation would expose. Algernonunderstands and accepts this, albeit grudgingly at times.

NOTES

Algernon’s primary (enormous) processing core is in a classified location, believed to beunderneath one of Steele Omnitech’s facilities (possibly even the Long Island site). As he isactually part of Omnitech’s network, Algernon “exists” wherever the network does. He canbroadcast his default holo-image at any location with the necessary projectors; barring that, hecan send his image to any video equipment, or even override radio and satellite communicationsif necessary for audio projection. Destroying the network, disrupting his images, or smashing thereceiving equipment is insufficient to “kill” Algernon – that would take destroying his centralprocessor core. Even then, he has program caches hidden in reserve where his program and “memories” are stored and updated regularly and from which he could easily be recompiled. Algernon’s knowbots are incredibly sophisticated semi-autonomous programs that are constantly

scouring the internet and open networks for information.

QUOTE

“How may I help you?”

RACE SEX HT EYES

Computer “Male” Varies Varies

GROUP AGE WT HAIRSentinels 50(31) N/A Varies

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

+3+0 Sentinels’ major domo-3 A.I. (Artificial Intelligence)-5 Primary systems located at

OmniTech HQ-8

-10


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Algernon Val CHA Cost Roll Notes

60 INT 50 21- PER Roll: 21-35 EGO 50 17- ECV: 1218 DEX 24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 66 SPD 26 Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12


Cost Powers END20 Datalink: Elemental Control, 60-point Powers; Requires

a Computer Programming Roll (-½) –20 1) Interface: Telepathy 8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END,

+½); Requires a Computer Programming Roll (-½) 027 2) Override: Mind Control 8d6, Telepathic (+¼),

Reduced Endurance (0 END, +½); Requires a ComputerProgramming Roll (-½) 0

17 3) Reprogram: Mental Illusions 8d6, ReducedEndurance (0 END, +½); Requires a ComputerProgramming Roll (-½), Cannot Cause Harm (-¼) 0

20 4) Trace: Mind Scan 8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END,+½); Requires a Computer Programming Roll (-½) 0

20 5) Holography: Images (Sight and Radio Groups), -4

PER, 8” Radius (+¾), Reduced Endurance (0 END,+½); Requires a Computer Programming Roll (-½) 012 6) Monitor: Clairsentience (Sight and Radio Groups), 4x

Range, Reduced Endurance (0 END, +½); Requires aComputer Programming Roll (-½), Only through theSenses of Machines (-1) 0

19 7) Nullify: Dispel 5d6, All Electronic Device PowersSimultaneously (+2), Area Of Effect (5” Radius,Selective, +2), Cumulative (8x, +1), ReducedEndurance (0 END, +½); Requires a ComputerProgramming Roll (-½), Only at Fortress and OmnitechHQ (-2) 0

13 Encrypted Interface: Mental Defense (20 points Total) 032 Remotes: Mind Link (Radio Group) with 1024 Minds

[Machine Class]; Must Have Mind Link (-1) 03 Psion Interface: Mental Awareness [Machine Class] 0

49 Broadcast: High Range Radio Perception (RadioGroup), Concealed (-10), Megascale Range (Worldwide,+1¼) 0

60 Visual Sensors: Sight (5ER161,459) plus InfraredPerception (Sight Group) plus Nightvision (Sight Group)plus Ultraviolet Perception (Sight Group) plus Analyze,Discriminatory, Microscopic, Rapid (100x), andTelescopic +20 for Sight Group 0

65 Audio Sensors: Hearing (5ER161,459) plus Spatial Awareness (Hearing Group) plus Ultrasonic Perception(Hearing Group) plus Discriminatory and Analyze forHearing Group 0

15 Radar: Radar, Discriminatory, Analyze 036 Sensory Shielding: Flash Defense (Sight, Hearing, and

Radio Groups), 12 points 025 Sensory Redundancies: Increased Arc of Perception

(360o) for All Senses 0

Talents3 Absolute Range Sense3 Absolute Time Sense3 Bump of Direction5 Eidetic Memory3 Lightning Calculator3 Perfect Pitch

10 Speed Reading (10000x)20 Universal Translator

Perks10 Computer Link

Skills7 Acting 11-

10 AK: Earth 28-3 AK: Fortress 21-3 AK: Omnitech 21-

10 AK: The Internet 28-3 Analyze Combat Tactics 21-3 Analyze Computer 21-3 Bugging 21-7 Bureaucratics 11-3 Combat Driving 13-3 Combat Piloting 13-

17 Computer Programming 28-7 Conversation 11-3 Criminology 21-

17 Cryptography 28-3 Deduction 21-3 Demolitions 21-3 Electronics 21-3 Forensic Medicine 21-2 Forgery (Documents) 21-

1 Gambling (Chess) 21-7 High Society 11-3 KS: Omnitech 21-3 KS: The Superhuman World 21-3 Lipreading 21-3 Lockpicking 13-3 Mechanics 21-3 Mimicry 21-5 Navigation (Air, Land, Marine, Space) 21-3 Paramedics 21-1 Persuasion 8-2 PS: Computer 21-2 PS: Majordomo 11-

17 Security Systems 28-3 SS: Computer Science 21-3 SS: Holography 21-

17 Streetwise 16-17 Systems Operation 28-3 Tactics 21-2 WF: Fortress Defense System, Vehicle Weapons

Programs1 Attack Intruders1 Converse with Guests1 Interface with Other Computer1 Monitor Sentinels’ Status1 Operate Danger Room1 Playback Audio/Visual1 Record Audio/Visual1 Run Tactical Simulation1 Search Databanks

20 Other Programs


Total Cost: 905

875+ Disadvantages10 Hunted: Doc Steel 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)20 Psychological Limitation: Must Obey Commands from Doc

Steel and Other Authorized Personnel (Common, Total)


Total Cost: 875 / 5 = 175


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The Fortress Staff As Director of Operations, Caldwell is the highest ranking staff

member. Immediately beneath him, and answering only to him, arethe other Directors (Facilities, Personnel, Security, and TechnicalServices). Director of Facilities Stan Kirby is responsible for allmaintenance and upkeep, including custodial work. Director ofPersonnel Rosalyn Berkowitz is in charge of all staffing concerns, and

both Public Relations head Emily DeCosta and Chief Legal CounselDarren Long report to her office (though they are most often simplyrubberstamped on up to Caldwell). Matthew Trasker is Director ofSecurity and sees to anything that might even remotely fall underkeeping a tight security zone around the island. The Director ofTechnical Services is Nobel Prize winning Physicist Dr. RammohanShakar, who, though normally sequestered in a lab somewhere in anOmnitech facility, remains in an on-call status to investigate scientificand technical problems that may fall outside the expertise of theteam members. His immediate staff, including staff psychologist Dr.Ellen Li, have a considerable degree of freedom and latitude in hisabsence. However, Caldwell and Algernon are never very far away,so most of these lab-coated iconoclasts know where the lines aredrawn.

Jasper Caldwell (Director of Operations)Jasper Caldwell most likely came from a

stellar career, full of potential and opportunities.Judging from his frighteningly efficient andintimidatingly competent performance of his dutiesas Operations Director for the current Sentinels,there could be no other conclusion. Of course, thiswould be the only thing people would have tobase their conclusion on, as no other record existsof him. Anywhere. Jasper Caldwell did not existbefore 1995. That is where any paper trail for him stops. Whoeverhe was before that left few clues when he became who he is today.It is known that he came into the employ of Ulysses Steele via arecommendation from his brother, Alexander Steele, who has hadalmost seventy years of working with the government meeting anynumber of “interesting” people. Given the skills and extensivenetwork of contacts he’s displayed, and their backgrounds, it’sassumed he came from somewhere in the U.S. intelligencecommunity. Of course, even what is assumed about him is merelyconjecture. No evidence exists to support any of it. Which, of course,is exactly as Mr. Caldwell prefers things.

Caldwell has the uncanny ability to see through practically anydeception or subterfuge. He’s proven almost impossible to lie to,even by Brimstone. He always seems to know exactly what isactually going on, who’s been involved, and why they did it. He hasyet to see fit to share with the team how he does this. He is alwaysin control, never loses his temper or even his composure, and hisclothes are always immaculate, no matter the situation. He is utterly,and sometimes disturbingly, professional. Caldwell appears to bemiddle aged, with thinning blonde hair. He dresses professionallyand expensively, and has never been seen without a tie.

Jasper Caldwell 15 STR 18 DEX 15 CON 10 BODY 18 INT18 EGO 18 PRE 10 COM 3 PD 3 ED3 SPD 6 REC 30 END 26 STUN

Abilities: Detect Lie (Hearing, Common), +2 PER, Luck 1d6;Combat Luck (x3), Lightning Reflexes: +4 with All Actions,Resistance +5, Sneak Attack (Deadly Blow, FH105); Anonymity,

Contact: The Espionage World 13- (Very Useful, Contacts,Institutions, Organization), Contact: The Military/Mercenary World11- (Very Useful, Contacts, Institutions, Organization), Contact: ThePolitical World 13- (Very Useful, Contacts, Institutions, Organization),Contact: The Superhuman World 11- (Extremely Useful, Contacts,Good Relationship, Organization), Member: Fortress Staff,Reputation: The Sentinels’ Director of Operations 11- (Superhumanand Governmental Worlds) +6/+6d6, Secret Security Clearance,Well-Connected; Martial Arts: Judo (Block, Disarm, Escape, Grab,Strike, Throw), +3 with All Combat, +2 with Small Arms, +2 withInteraction Skills, +4 with KS: Current Events, KS: The SuperhumanWorld, and Streetwise, Acting 13- AK: Fortress 13- Analyze Lie 13-,Breakfall 8-, Bribery 13-, Bugging 8-, Bureaucratics 13-, CK: New York City 13-, CK: Washington DC 13-, Combat Driving 13-,Concealment 13-, Conversation 13-, Criminology 8-, Deduction 13-,Demolitions 13-, Fast Draw 8-, High Society 13-, Interrogation 13-,

KS: Current Events 13-, KS: The Espionage World 13-, KS:Government 13-, KS: History 13-, KS: Law 13-, KS: TheMilitary/Mercenary World 13-, KS: The Mystic World 11-, KS: ThePolitical World 13-, KS: The Sentinels 13-, KS: The SuperhumanWorld 13-, KS: What’s Really Going On 13-, Lipreading 8-,Lockpicking 8-, Oratory 13-, Paramedics 13-, Persuasion 13-, PS: Administrator 13-, PS: Spy 13-, Security Systems 8-, Shadowing 13-,Stealth 13-, Streetwise 13-, Systems Operation 8-, Tactics 8-,Teamwork 13-, WF: Blades, Small Arms

Equipment: Pistol, Commlink, Clipboard

75+ Disadvantages: Distinctive Features: Always Wears a Tie(Easily Concealable, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures), Hunted: DocSteel 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching), Hunted: Enemies of the Sentinels8- (Mo Pow), Normal Characteristic Maxima, Psychological

Limitation: Imperturbable, Plays Close to the Vest (Common,Moderate), Psychological Limitation: Trustworthy, Keeps His MouthShut (Common, Moderate), Reputation: Trustworthy, Keeps HisMouth Shut 14- (The Sentinels), Social Limitation: Subject to Orders(Very Frequently, Major), 300 Experience Points


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Rosalyn Berkowitz (Director of Personnel) The fourth of seven children in a large and

boisterous Jewish family square in the middle of theBronx, Rosalyn grew up learning how to throw herweight around and be heard. Her acid wit is asfeared as Kirby’s tirades, but her “everybody needsa mother” personality keeps her people loyal andconscientious. The Harvard MBA gave her the skillsto keep everybody else happy, too. When not in heroffice barreling through paperwork at breakneck

speed, she can often be found in the commissary sharing recipesand helping the head cook Cesar “Romeo” Perez cook and gossip,both done very loudly and with much gusto.

Rosalyn Berkowitz 10 STR 10 DEX 13 CON 10 BODY 15 INT20 EGO 15 PRE 10 COM 3 PD 3 ED2 SPD 5 REC 25 END 25 STUN

Abilities: Fascination (FH105); Contact: The Business World 11-(Very Useful, Contacts, Institutions, Organization), Contact: TheJewish World 8- (Contacts, Institutions, Organization), Member:Fortress Staff; Acting 12-, Bureaucratics 8-, CK: New York City 12-,

Conversation 12-, Forgery (Art Objects) 8-, High Society 12-, KS: Art12-, KS: The Business World 11-, KS: Current Events 11-, KS: History11-, KS: Judaism 8-, KS: Juicy Gossip 11-, KS: Law 11-, KS: Politics11-, Persuasion 12-, PS: Cook 12-, PS: Personnel 12-, Streetwise 12-, Trading 12-

Equipment: Commlink

75+ Disadvantages: Distinctive Features: Brooklyn Accent (EasilyConcealable, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures), Hunted: Doc Steel8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching), Hunted: Enemies of the Sentinels 8-(Mo Pow), Normal Characteristic Maxima, Psychological Limitation:Everyone’s Mother (Common, Moderate), Psychological Limitation: Yenta (Uncommon, Moderate), Social Limitation: Subject to Orders(Frequently, Minor)

Emily DeCosta (Public Relations)DeCosta came over to the Sentinels Foundation

(the funding and administrative body thattechnically runs Fortress and for whom all of thestaff work) from Steele Omnitech’s North AmericanHQ in Long Island. While working for Omnitech sheacted as liaison to both the corporation’s militaryand congressional interests. She has a reputationfor being relentlessly upbeat and persuasive, and it’s

rumored by her co-workers that she doesn’t need sleep – since she’salways on the job. A perky and petite blonde, hearts beat a littlefaster and unfinished paperwork gets hidden the moment she’s seencoming.

Emily DeCosta 8 STR 14 DEX 12 CON 10 BODY 15 INT

15 EGO 18 PRE 18 COM 2 PD 2 ED2 SPD 4 REC 30 END 20 STUN

Abilities: Fascination (FH105), Lightsleep; Contact: TheMilitary/Mercenary World 11- (Very Useful, Contacts, Institutions,Good Relationship, Organization), Contact: The Political World 11-(Very Useful, Contacts, Institutions, Good Relationship,

Organization), Contact: The Press 11- (Very Useful, Contacts,Institutions, Organization), Member: Fortress Staff, Reputation: TheSentinels’ Press Liaison 14- (General Populace) +2/+2d6, SecurityClearance, +2 with Conversation, Oratory, and Persuasion, Acting13-, Bureaucratics 13-, CK: New York City 11-, CK: Washington DC12-, Conversation 13-, High Society 13-, KS: Current Events 11-, KS:Law 11-, KS: The Military/Mercenary World 11-, KS: The PoliticalWorld 11-, KS: Politics 12-, KS: Pop Culture 11-, Oratory 13-,Persuasion 13-, PS: Public Relations 12-, Seduction 13-, Streetwise12-

Equipment: Commlink

75+ Disadvantages: Distinctive Features: Perky Blonde (EasilyConcealable, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures), Hunted: Doc Steel8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching), Enemies of the Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow),Normal Characteristic Maxima, Psychological Limitation: Upbeat,

Outgoing, and Optimistic (Very Common, Moderate), SocialLimitation: Subject to Orders (Frequently, Minor), 50 ExperiencePoints


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Stan Kirby (Director of Facilities) A legendary grouch and opinionated

loudmouth, Kirby is also a genius with pretty muchanything that has moving or electronic parts, largeor small. A long time fixture at Omnitech Aeronautics Division, Kirby fol lowed his preciousKestrels to Fortress. During his tenure, he’s also

managed to work the bugs out of a dozen othercomplex systems on site. His staff pretty muchmanages themselves, as he’s almost always buried in an engine orventilation shaft, or maintenance panel somewhere. Given histemper and vocal range, they keep a tight ship rather than have toactually see him coming with his ever-present cigar (never lit, butwell-chewed).

Stan Kirby 15 STR 14 DEX 13 CON 10 BODY 18 INT13 EGO 15 PRE 10 COM 3 PD 3 ED2 SPD 6 REC 25 END 25 STUN

Abilities: Member: Fortress Staff, Reputation: Genius Inventor 14-(Fortress Staff, Steele OmniTech) +2/+2d6, Security Clearance; +2with Noncombat Skills, +3 with Electronics, Inventor, and Mechanics,+2 versus Improper Tools Penalties, Analyze Technology 13-,Bureaucratics 8-, Computer Programming 13-, Demolitions 13-,Electronics 13-, Inventor 13-, KS: The Scientific World 11-, KS:Technology 13-, Mechanics 13-, PS: Inventor 13-, Security Systems13-, Systems Operation 13-, Scientist, SS: Aeronautics 13-, SS:Engineering 13-, SS: Geothermal Energy 11-, SS: Holography 11-,SS: Mathematics 13-, SS: Metallurgy 13-, SS: Physics 13-, SS:Robotics 11-

Equipment: Commlink, Cigar

75+ Disadvantages: Distinctive Features: Loudmouth (EasilyConcealable, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures), Hunted: Doc Steel8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching), Hunted: Enemies of the Sentinels 8-(Mo Pow), Normal Characteristic Maxima, Psychological Limitation:Grouchy (Common, Moderate), Social Limitation: Subject to Orders

(Very Frequently, Minor)

Dr. Ellen Li (Staff Psychologist)The daughter of hardworking Chinese

immigrants, Dr. Li was driven to achieve from anearly age. She only managed to finally get away fromher childhood piano lessons, for example, byredoubling the amount of time she “needed” to spendstudying – she plays well, but grew to hate it becauseof the intensity of the lessons; only recently has shestarted to learn how to enjoy her playing again. During medicalschool, Dr. Li met Ulysses Steele while he was giving a lecture. Shewas fascinated by his discourse on the effect superhuman abilitiessometimes had on very human minds. Years later, after specializingin treating metahumans and even publishing the famous Masks andMarvels: Inside the Metahuman Mind , she was approached byCaldwell when the need for a staff psychologist was stressed by theteam’s insurance carrier. She accepted immediately and hasn’tregretted it.

Dr. Ellen Li 10 STR 14 DEX 12 CON 10 BODY 18 INT18 EGO 15 PRE 18 COM 2 PD 2 ED2 SPD 5 REC 25 END 25 STUN

Abilities: Fascination (FH105), Perfect Pitch, Resistance; Access:The Sentinels’ Private Thoughts, Contact: The Psychological World13- (Useful, Contacts, Organization), Contact: The SuperhumanWorld 8- (Extremely Useful, Contacts, Organization), Member:Fortress Staff, Licensed Psychiatrist, Reputation: Author 11-(Scientific and Superhuman World) +2/+2d6, Secret SecurityClearance; +2 with Analyze Psyche, SS: Psychology, and SS:Superhuman Psychology, Acting 12-, Analyze Psyche 13-,Conversation 12-, Interrogation 12-, KS: Hypnotherapy 13-, KS: ThePsychological World 13-, KS: The Superhuman World 13-, Language:English (Fluent, Chinese is Native), Paramedics 13-, Persuasion 12-,PS: Piano Playing 11-, PS: Psychologist 13-, SS: Biochemistry 11-,SS: Biology 11-, SS: Chemistry 11-, SS: Medicine 11-, SS:Pharmacology 13-, SS: Psychology 13-, SS: Superhuman Psychology13-

Equipment: Commlink

75+ Disadvantages: Hunted: Doc Steel 8- (Mo Pow, NCI,Watching), Hunted: Enemies of the Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow), NormalCharacteristic Maxima, Psychological Limitation: Overachiever(Common, Moderate), Reputation: Knows the Sentinel’s Secrets,Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Frequently, Minor), 50Experience Points


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Darren Long (Chief Legal Counsel) The wunderkind of New York’s bar before he

was lured to work for the Sentinels Foundation, Longfinished college at 19 and Law School at 21. He wasracking up a stellar reputation working for theDistrict Attorney’s office when approached byCaldwell. One of the foremost legal minds on theplanet, Long still does a bit of pro bono representation when his schedule allows, but isnormally kept quite busy by all of the legalcomplications arising from the Sentinels’ work.

Darren Long 15 STR 12 DEX 13 CON 10 BODY 20 INT18 EGO 18 PRE 12 COM 3 PD 3 ED2 SPD 6 REC 25 END 25 STUN

Abilities: Eidetic Memory, Fascination (FH105), Resistance;Contact: High Society 11- (Very Useful, Contacts, Institutions,Organization), Contact: The Business World 11- (Very Useful,Contacts, Institutions, Organization), Contact: The Legal World 13-(Useful, Contacts, Institutions, Great Relationship, Organization),Contact: The Political World 13- (Extremely Useful, Contacts,

Institutions, Organization), Contact: The Superhuman World 11-(Extremely Useful, Contacts, Institutions, Organization), Favors: 40Previous Clients, Legal License, Member: Fortress Staff, Reputation:Wunderkind 11- (Legal World) +2/+2d6, Secret Security Clearance,Well-Connected; +1 with All Noncombat Skills, +5 with Analyze Law,Deduction, and KS: Law, Acting 13-, Analyze Law 13-, Bribery 13-,Bureaucratics 13-, Conversation 13-, Criminology 13-, Deduction 13-,Forensic Medicine 8-, Forgery (Documents) 13-, High Society 13-,Interrogation 13-, KS: The Business World 13-, KS: Law 13-, KS: TheLaw Enforcement World 13-, KS: The Legal World 13-, KS: ThePolitical World 13-, KS: Politics 13-, KS: The Superhuman World 13-,Language: Legalese, Oratory 13-, Persuasion 13-, PS: Lawyer 13-,Research 13-, Streetwise 13-

Equipment: Commlink

75+ Disadvantages: Hunted: Doc Steel 8- (Mo Pow, NCI,

Watching), Hunted: Enemies of the Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow), NormalCharacteristic Maxima, Psychological Limitation: Overachiever(Common, Moderate), Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (VeryFrequently, Minor), 50 Experience Points

Dr. Rammohan Shakar(Director of Technical Services)

As the former Director of Special Projectsbased out of the Chicago office of Steel Omnitech,Shakar has been involved with a number ofgroundbreaking discoveries. His work on thethermodynamic absorption properties of Omnium

Steel and its implications for Quantum Theory wonhim the Nobel Prize five years ago. When he wasgiven the opportunity to work with all of theinteresting discoveries made by the Sentinels (non-

terrestrial technology, walking dimensional wormholes, the list goeson), he jumped at it. He’s happiest when focused in a lab on any ofhis projects, assigned or just matters of interests. He’s been knownto leave a lab not being quite sure how long he’s even spent there(the record: six and a half days with catnaps and food ordered in –his co-workers finally forced him to go home for hygiene reasons).

Dr. Rammohan Shakar 10 STR 10 DEX 10 CON 10 BODY 30 INT15 EGO 15 PRE 10 COM 2 PD 2 ED2 SPD 4 REC 30 END 20 STUN

Abilities: Life Support (Reduced Need for Sleep: 2 Hours perNight); Eidetic Memory; Medical License, Member: Fortress Staff,Nobel Prize, Reputation: Scientific Marvel 11- (Scientific World)+2/+2d6, Security Clearance; +2 with Sciences, AnalyzeBiochemistry 15-, Analyze Technology 15-, Computer Programming15-, Criminology 15-, Deduction 15-, Forensic Medicine 15-, Inventor15-, KS: Technology 15-, Paramedics 15-, PS: Scientist 15-, Scientist,SS: Bacteriology 15-, SS: Biochemistry 15-, SS: Biology 15-, SS:Biophysics 15-, SS: Botany 15-, SS: Chemistry 15-, SS: ComputerScience 15-, SS: Cryptozoology 11-, SS: Cybernetics 11-, SS: Ecology11-, SS: Genetics 15-, SS: Geology 11-, SS: Inorganic Chemistry 15-,SS: Marine Biology 15-, SS: Mathematics 15-, SS: Medicine 15-, SS:Metallurgy 15-, SS: Microbiology 15-, SS: Nuclear Physics 11-, SS:Oceanography 11-, SS: Organic Chemistry 15-, SS: Pharmacology15-, SS: Physics 15-, SS: Quantum Mechanics 15-, SS: Robotics 11-,SS: Sociology 11-, SS: Speculative Sciences 11-, SS: Subatomic

Physics 11-, SS: Toxicology 15-, SS: Xenobiology 11-

Equipment: Commlink

75+ Disadvantages: Distinctive Features: Indian Heritage and Accent (Easily Concealable, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures) ,Hunted: Doc Steel 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching), Hunted: Enemiesof the Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow), Normal Characteristic Maxima,Psychological Limitation: Loses Himself in His Work (Very Common,Moderate), Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Frequently, Minor),25 Experience Points


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Matthew Trasker (Director of Security)Trasker came with Caldwell’s

recommendation and very little other paperwork.Given his bearing, it’s assumed he’s ex-military,and was probably very good at it. But he nevertalks about it. Ever. No one familiar with Caldwellis surprised by this trait. He takes his job very

seriously, living on the island and treating hissecurity personnel on a daily basis as if they weremarines holding the line at Inchon against theChinese beachhead. He takes no guff fromanybody, and has held his own in arguments against Hardcore andTroll at the same time. The only person that seems to be able tointimidate him is Caldwell, which makes Troll both curious and a little jealous.

Matthew Trasker 18 STR 18 DEX 18 CON 10 BODY 15 INT18 EGO 18 PRE 10 COM 5 PD 5 ED4 SPD 8 REC 40 END 30 STUN

Abilities: Swimming +2” (4” Total), +2 PER, Reduced Endurance(½ END, +¼) on STR; Pistol, Club, Body Armor, Commlink; CombatLuck, Danger Sense (Out of Combat, Sense, Intuitional), Evasive,Fearless, Inspire, Lightning Reflexes +4, Sneak Attack; Contact: TheMilitary/Mercenary World 14- (Extremely Useful, Contacts,Institutions, Good Relationship, Organization), Member: FortressStaff, Reputation: Scientific Marvel 11- (Scientific World) +2/+2d6,Secret Security Clearance; Martial Arts: Commando Training, DirtyInfighting, and Gun Fu (Accurate Shot, Aikido Throw, Basic Shot,Boxing Cross, Choke, Dodge, Escape, Eye Gouge, Far Shot, FlyingTackle, Hoist ’n’ Heave, Hold, Judo Disarm, Karate Chop, Kung FuBlock, Low Blow, Offensive Shot, Ranged Disarm, Roundhouse, Use Art with Clubs and Knives), +4 with All Combat, +2 with Martial Arts, Acting 13-, AK: Fortress 12-, AK: The Middle East 8-, AK: South America 8-, Analyze Combat Technique 12-, Breakfall 13-,Bureaucratics 13-, Climbing 13-, Concealment 12-, Conversation 13-,Criminology 12-, Demolitions 12-, Interrogation 13-, KS: TheMilitary/Mercenary World 14-, KS: Military History 11-, Lockpicking13-, PS: Security 12-, PS: Soldier 12-, Security Systems 12-, Stealth13-, Streetwise 13-, Survival (Desert, Temperate, Tropical) 12-,Tactics 12-, Teamwork 13-, WF: Blades, Small Arms

Equipment: Commlink

75+ Disadvantages: Distinctive Features: Ex-Military Bearing(Easily Concealable, Not Distinctive in Some Cultures), Hunted: DocSteel 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching), Hunted: Enemies of the Sentinels8- (Mo Pow), Normal Characteristic Maxima, PsychologicalLimitation: Military Mindset (Common, Moderate), Social Limitation:Subject to Orders (Frequently, Major), 325 Experience Points


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QUOTE

“It’s called a computer. Wemay have started in the darkages, but we don’t have tostay there.”

RACE SEX HT EYES

Human Male 5’9” BlueGROUP AGE WT HAIR

Covenant 27 160# Blonde

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

+3+0-3-5

-8 Sorceror from famous family-10 Associated with the Covenant

DESCRIPTION

Sebastian Arcane is the grandson of the man who would eventually become the occultworld-beater known as Sepulchre (page 220). His grandfather was once the favorite son of theCovenant, and a longtime Seraphim member before he chose to walk the lightless path. Arcanetook his own duties to the Covenant very seriously, using his natural and highly developedsorcerous gifts to prove again and again that his grandfather was the exception, not the rule.Given that his associates in the Order of Simon had never been comfortable with either hisbackground or his modern proclivities, Arcane was less surprised than he could have been whenhe was ordered to join the Sentinels to replace Brimstone (see The Covenant, pg 43).

Sebastian is a highly accomplished sorcerer with a lifetime of training, first from his family,and then from the best teachers the Order of Simon had to offer. Though a few of his personaleccentricities raised eyebrows among his teachers, such as keeping all of his grimoires onenchanted PDAs, or summoning spirits through his computer (complete with binding circlesshowing on the monitor screen), they dismissed them as the price of modernity in the arts. Hisfamiliar, a young dragon named Nicodemus that prefers to appear about the size of a cat, is lessforgiving of his master’s newfangled gizmos.

In combat, Sebastian is relearning his role, now that he is part of a new team. Initiallydisconcerted with his diminished part (The Sentinels possess much more firepower than theSeraphim), he is adapting to magical support quickly. His acclimation to the press is proving moredifficult – Nicodemus is enjoying the coverage, however (and the little rascal is milking thebenefits of Fortress for all their worth as well, especially the cafeteria). Arcane looks quite young,no more than his early twenties, but carries himself as if much older. He wears a voluminous coatcontaining many PDA grimoires, various spell foci, materials, useful little magic items, and the

butterscotch candies he’s always feeding his familiar.Nicodemus normally looks like a black dragon about the size of a small cat. Nicodemususually stays parked on Arcane’s shoulder, occasionally hitting hostile targets with

a well-aimed bit of fire breathing. Should anyone get close enough toactually harm his master, Nicodemus lunges to Arcane’s defense, quickly

showing that his adorable little frame isn’t a size he’s locked into; whenthe situation warrants it, he can grow up to his true size, which isslightly larger than the average van. Nicodemus normally looks like ablack dragon about the size of a small cat; when the situation warrantsit, he can grow up to his true size, which is slightly larger than the

average van.


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CChhaapptteerr 22:: A Alllliieess PPaarrtt II:: TThhee