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Name: Steven J. Owens
Address: 3605 Pary Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15227, USA
Phone Number: 412-885-2532

Character Name:  Blue Streak              (304 points) by Steve Owens

OCV: 8       PD   12       ED    8        Levels: +1 Overall Level
DCV: 8      rPD   10      rED   10      Defenses: 1/2 Red. vs. movement damage
ECV: 3      Total 22      Total 18                Life Support, Flash Def 5
                                                  
Description:  Two constants of Blue Streak's costume are his helmet and
Impact Suit , but the full-body suit he wears over the impact suit
tends to vary depending on what the boys from Adidas sent over this
week.  All of his costumes feature his trademark, a blue "racing stripe"
going up his right leg and chest, over his shoulder and down his back.
He tends to favor a spotless white suit for official displays, public
ceremonies, etc.  Other colors include a glossy black suit, and a royal
blue suit (with a white racing stripe). Blue Streak's helmet looks like
your typical crash helmet worn by varying heroes, villains, pilots and
cyclists everywhere.

Physically Blue Streak appears to be a young man, in his late teens or
early twenties.   His physique is developed, but very lean, more like
an olympic gymnast or pentathalon champion than a weightlifter or
bodybuilder.  His hair is a deep blue-black, cut in a traditional 
short "boy next door" style, his skin is very pale and resists attempts
at suntanning.

40  Str 30	 9 (13) Life Support (vs High/Low pressure & vaccuum (OIF Suit)
23  Dex 39			self-contained breathing (OIF Helmet)
20  Con 20	19 (24) Armor 10 PD / 10 ED (IIF - suit (-1/2))
15  Bod 10	 3 ( 5) Flash Defense (5 pts vs Sight) (OIF - visor (-1/2))
10  Int  	 2 (10) Clinging, Costs End, X10 End (1), Linked to Running
10  Ego		60	Multipower Pool (60 points)
18  Pre	 8	 9	 m Running +15" (22"), x16 Non Combat Speed
14  Com	 2	 2	 u Swimming, +15", X8 Non Combat Speed
12  PD   4	 4	 u Desolid (affected by sonics, vibratory, molecular)
 8  ED   4	 4	 u HKA, NND (+1), 2.5d6 (with str) (not vs hardened
 6  Spd 27		   or vibratory defenses)
12  Rec 	 2	 u Damage Reduction 1/2 fr (collision damage only -1/2)
40  End 	 1	 u Flight 5"
45  Stn 	
    Tot 144	10	Agents (15 points still owing)
		10	Overall Level +1
		 5	1d6 Luck
		 3	Breakfall
		 3	Acrobatics
		 3	Stealth
		 3	Scientist
		 8	Sciences:  Comp Sci, ME, EE, Cybernetics, Physics,
				Subatomic Physics, Artificial Intelligence,
				Biomechanics

Disadvantages:
==============
10	DNPC, competent, frequent (14-), Police Lieutenant Irving Deveraux
10	DNPC, normal, infrequent (8-), girlfriend-of-the-week
10	Public ID
10	Reputation as a superhero (11-)
10	Reputation as convicted killer of Punk Rock (a supervillain) (11-)
 5	Watched by the Media on an 11-
20	Hunted, more powerful, occasionally (11-), supervillain team
20	Hunted, more powerful, occasionally (11-), supervillain team
15	Psych Lim:  Overconfident
15	Psych Lim:  Show-Off
15	Psych Lim:  Hates those who try to control him (esp. mind controllers)
10	Mystery Hunted
 	-----
150	Total

Char (144) + Powers (82) + Gadgets (33) + Skills & Perks (45) = 304
Base (100) + Disadvantages (150) + Experience (54) = 304

Surprisingly, Blue Streak's powers are basically psionic in nature - he has limited dimension travelling powers. So far the only dimension he's acquired a great deal of experience in manipulating is the time dimension. He can control his own personal time dimension, accelerating himself to move faster, accelerating the motion of his hand to punch faster, etc. He becomes desolid by slipping a little bit ahead in time. Blue Streak has yet to learn how to deccelerate things productively, aside from the instinctive decceleration he subconsciously and automatically exerts to protect himself from spills (his multipower defaults to running and the damage shield).

Because his time manipulation powers alter the metabolism of his own body he developed a genetic transformation virus which altered his physical abilities. Besides preventing him from "burning out" they improved his physical ability to take damage and (in conjunction with careful manipulation of the acceleration of different objects) allow him to exert great strength.

Gadgets:

Blue Streak's helmet looks like your typical crash helmet worn by varying heroes, villains, pilots and cyclists everywhere. The visor covers the full face, and is mirrored to protect against flash attacks. The helmet itself is air tight and has an airtight seal with the Impact Suit. The suit provides life support vs. high and low pressure and vaccum. The helmet provides air recycling for self-contained breathing.

The Impact Suit has the appearance and thickness of Saran Wrap (tm) [note, he has yet to finish negotiating the product rep deal with the makers of Saran Wrap]. Both the helmet and suit can be caused to change color as necessary to match the oversuit Blue Streak happens to be wearing, and the visor can be made clear for publicity purposes. The helmet also has a cellular phone and a mini-camcorder for publicity photos (0 point gadgets).

Background:

If you've ever read the comic book series Booster Gold, then you have a rough idea of what Blue Streak is like. Blue Streak is a professional superhero - believes that what he is doing is right, defending the public good and protecting the innocent, but he's nobody's fool. He is essentially an ordinary young man in his twenties who was given "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men" and promptly set about using them in "the American Way." He went into marketing. He's now a corporate rep for Adidas, Ferrari, and a few other name-brand companies. He does commercials and there's talk of a movie deal with him doing his own special effects.

Blue Streak has some contacts at various corporations, some friends in high places (Longfellow, the long-suffering FBI special agent assigned as liason with the superhero team Blue Streak belongs to) and in low places (his agent, Saul), as well as acquaintances with various superhuman and supernatural beings. He recently hired a team of agents to act as backup and handle some of the tasks that require a more delicate touch, and is still paying for them (i.e., his next 10 or 15 points are ear-marked to pay for them - don't ask for the agent characters, I don't have 'em, the GM does).

His attitudes are a mix of police officer, boy scout, and movie star. He tends to be overconfident ("Let's see, you're letting people SHOOT at you with REAL GUNS... I'd say that's pretty overconfident..."), a bit of a show-off, and a prima donna at times (he HATES people who try to control him). He tends to be impatient and to "play the part" that some people expect of superheroes (assured, confident, deep voice and jutting chin, the works).

He's had some bad past experiences with his powers (the accidental manslaughter of a psychotic superkiller named Punk Rock) which tends to make him VERY careful about using all-out speed against opponents. The time he was martial-thrown at something like 350"+ in the sahara desert has also left its mark on his personality (and his spine, in the form of a plastic replacement designed by a mastermind supervillain for odd reasons). On the other hand, he also tends to think a bit better on his feet these days. For example the time he flipped a car containing two Viper agents, smashed the window, opened the door, and hauled them out - claiming he'd seen the car crash (nobody besides the agents saw him flip it) and was going to their rescue (and saying "Here, hold this guy, he's obviously in shock, confused and dazed, and he might wander off.")

Blue Streak still associates with (and often helps) his old friend, Irving Deveraux. The two got to know each other in Blue Streak's very early days as a superhero, and now that Irving is a police lieutenant and Blue Streak is a member of a major hero team, they both remember each other and help out when they can. Although Blue Streak tends to go from one relationship with a member of the opposite sex to the next rather quickly, he doesn't see it as a problem, but rather an aspect of his career - movie stars and the like are SUPPOSED to date lots of beautiful starlets, right? Fortunately they rarely get involved with him nor with his superheroing.

Identifying Quote:

"Give it up, you can never outrace the swift pace of justice!" (also, in less public moments, "Hey, this is FUN!", "I feel the NEED for SPEED!")

Tactics:

You might think that Blue Streak's high speed makes aborts and held actions unnecessary, but it's precisely because of his high speed that he can use them a lot, and use them VERY effectively. You really have to learn how they work and when to use them. Unless he has had experience with an opponent or has a very good guess at his opponent's speed, he tend to fight conservatively in the first few rounds, then starts to match his tactics to his opponent's speed - for example, starting a haymaker when he KNOWS his opponent has committed to an action and won't have another move until after it lands.

Because of his high mobility, even if he doesn't hold an action, Blue Streak can wait until his opponent moves during a phase when they both have actions, and then catch up to him.

Naturally, move-throughs and move-bys are a favorite with Blue Streak, but precisely because of this (and the villains' tendency to start holding martial throws) he varies his tactics. His NND often doesn't work because the defenses are so common, but can be devastating at the right time. Desolid is a power that has come in handy quite often, and has improved his effectiveness and flexibility in combat and in general (abort to Desolid has saved his neck any number of times).

General brick-like tactics also work, although he's learned to stop throwing manhole covers at people since the city started suing him for it. His one weak area is in ranged attacks. A haymaker can be truly devastating, and he does get a chance to use it now and then, because of his high speed.

If being played as a misguided heroic character, keep in mind that he will often make tactically dangerous moves because they are more showy or more heroic - at one point, for example, he held up a collapsing church wall, sacrificing his most important powers, speed and mobility, and leaving the other players to handle the villains and get the innocent bystanders out.

Sample Encounter:

[None provided by author.]

Campaign Use:

If used by the GM in a campaign, Blue Streak can serve any number of purposes while not being a "pure" supervillain. As an NPC he could be a mentor or advisor for new superheroes, particularly in the area of use of excessive force. He could backslide and become something of a vigilante, using his powers irresponsibly and dangerously. He could become a dilettante superhero, more concerned with his PR and movie deals than with being heroic. He could be a dupe of a villain, believing the player-characters to be villains or irresponsible heroes.

Some notes on Power Levels:

1) Keep in mind that Blue Streak has been played steadily once a week for the past two years solid and is thus a somewhat experienced character. 2) Also keep in mind that the character was twisted around a bit by the GM to suit the campaign needs and the GM's particular tastes with regards to powers and limitations. 3) The power levels for the campaign Blue Streak was designed for and grew up in are 8 dice of attack, 20-25 points per defense, for the players. In other campaigns the powers might be boosted a bit, or lowered according to the GM's desires.

Possible Extensions:

The two major areas are multipower acquisitions (generally cheap) and refining his gadgets. Better gadgets might include radio listening and hearing (the cellular phone has extreme limitations), a HUD and datalink to a base AI (mindlink and a base AI with some useful information skills), enahnced senses (IR or UV, or better yet some limited sense for navigating through solid objects while desolid), and reducing the bulkiness and weight of his helmet (making the life support IIF), possibly armoring the helmet (armor, act 8- or whatever).

Additions to his multipower are easy to see - area effect strength to represent zipping over an area and bopping the people in it, duplication (for those times when he wants to move REALLY fast), regeneration (accelerated healing), energy blast (stun only, based on strength, no end cost, OIF thrown superballs), autofire hand attack, time travel and precognition (no conscious control - GM plot devices essentially). And naturally, the pool of the multipower can always use increasing...

Other minor additions might include life support: immortality, more skills, perks with law enforcement and other superheroes (although the present GM doesn't allow perks to be bought, only earned), vehicles, bases, etc.

Steven J. Owens
scratch@hpb.cis.pitt.edu