The skylight splintered as Blaine rolled with the landing, two crooks felled with well-aimed blows before he touched the floor. Two more joined them as he spun before standing, fists upraised, facing the syndicate. A voice growled from the shadows at the back of the warehouse. “Take him.”
A hero isn’t defined by the colour of their spandex, but by the colour of their deeds. Five years ago Blaine Matthews was one more face on the cover of Time magazine, the major investor and CEO of an up-and-coming pharmaceutical company. That all changed when his flight crashed deep in the Amazonian rain forest, and after an extensive search he was reported missing, presumed dead.
Four years later, he walked out of the jungle a changed man. Leaner, fitter, tougher, a man of raw cunning willing to face danger head first. Back as billionaire head of Imperial Chemicals, Blaine spends his days fighting in the boardroom and his nights fighting on the streets and back alleys, a two-fisted action hero – and not an inch of spandex in sight.
Dirty little secret: What caused the plane crash? How did Blaine survive? For that matter – is this really Blaine, or an imposter? Perhaps even a biological android sent to this world for who knows what reason and endowed with Blaine’s DNA? Only Blaine himself knows the answer to these, and more, questions. Or does he?
Notes: Not a super-power or utility belt in sight! Blaine is a hero in the best Doc Savage tradition, a pulp action hero as at home among Skyscrapers as he is in the jungle. With extensive resources (Wealth 32) he owns numerous homes including a penthouse apartment and has 24/7 access to the corporate jet.
His Strike represents his punches, bites, kicks and headbutts – Blaine fights with a savage two-fisted style unlike any formalized martial art.
Blaine, PL 10 150pp
STR 14, DEX 18, CON 16, INT 16, WIS 14, CHA 13
Tough +3/+6, Fort +6, Ref +12, Will +7
Attack +10, Grapple +14, Defense +14, Init +8Acrobatics +12, Bluff +7, Climb +6, Computers +5, Concentration +8, Diplomacy +6, Drive +7, Escape Artist +8, Gather Info +5, Investigate +6, KS:Business +8, Medicine +4, Notice +8, Pilot +6, Sense Motive +8, Stealth +8, Survival +12
Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Specialization 2 (Unarmed attacks), Attracive 1, Benefit 6 (Wealth 32), Blind-fight, Connected, Contacts, Defensive attack, Defensive roll 3, Dodge focus 4, Elusive target, Evasion 2, Fearless, Grappling finesse, Hide in plain sight, Improved disarm 1, Improved grab, Improved grapple, Improved initiative, Power attack, Redirect, Stunning attack, Takedown attack 1, Track, Uncanny Dodge 1 (visual)
Unarmed attacks: Strike 4 (Mighty), +14 (DC 21)
This is a character all about his Feats and options in combat, so let’s break them down a little………..
First, let’s split out the non-combat ones.
Attracive 1, Benefit 6 (Wealth 32), Connected, Contacts, Fearless, Hide in plain sight, Track
These help define who Blaine is – a fearless, rugged-looking, fabulously rich well connected guy with jungle training. They provide bonuses and open up skill use in certain situations (interacting with members of the opposite sex, Gathering Information, etc)
Next, there’s the Feats which provide static bonuses or advantages in combat (already figured in the stats).
Attack Specialization 2 (Unarmed attacks), Defensive roll 3, Dodge focus 4,Grappling finesse, Improved initiative
They are the fire-and-forget Feats; once they’ve been added to the sheet and the bonus factored in, you don’t need to worry about them.
Finally, there’s the ones that are used directly in combat, either by providing combat choices or adding abilities to the character. For a Feat-heavy character like Blaine it’s worth jotting down what each one does as a reminder in the heat of battle. Something like this…….
Accurate Attack Reduce Save DC to boost Attack Bonus. Max +/-5
Acrobatic Bluff Use Acrobatics skill to feint or trick
Blind-fight Half usual miss chance due to concealment
Defensive attack Reduce Attack Bonus to boost Defense. Max +/-5
Elusive target -8 to target with ranged attacks when in combat
Evasion 2 No damage on Ref save, half damage on fail
Improved disarm 1 +2 to disarm attempt; no chance to be disarmed back
Improved grab Start grapple as free action on successful hit
Improved grapple Can grapple with one hand
Power attack Reduce Attack Bonus to boost Save DC. Max +/-5
Redirect On successful trick, can redirect a foe’s missed attack to hit another foe
Stunning attack Choose to stun foe instead of damage. Fort save DC 16
Takedown attack 1 Immediate extra attack on knock out
Uncanny Dodge 1 (visual) Retain dodge bonus when flat-footed
There’s a lot of synergies in there. Accurate Attack + Defensive Attack + Power Attack means Blaine has a lot of options. Does he put a lot of strength into a wild punch (Power Attack), use Accurate jabs or concentrate on fighting defensively? He’s got the skill to react and change round-by-round. He’s also a grappling master – in a single round he could knock out one foe, hit another (Takedown attack) then follow with a grapple ready for the next takedown. Nice.
In all, Blaine’s Feats aren’t that frightening, but they add a lot of flavour and style to the way that the character fights.
