COMICS-DERIVED CHARACTER ADAPTATIONS
THE MECHANIC
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 12/50 STR 2 11-/19- Lift: 25 tons, 10d6 HTH Damage 12 DEX 6 11- OCV 4/DCV 4 13 CON 6 12- 10 BODY 0 11- 17 INT 7 12- PER Roll 12- 12 EGO 4 11- ECV: 4 10 PRE 0 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 10 COM 0 11- 2 PD 0 Total: 2 PD 2 ED 0 Total: 2 ED 3 SPD 8 Phases 4, 8, 12 2 REC 0 24 END 0 23 STUN 0 Total characteristics cost: 33 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills 19 Strength Booster Rod: +38 STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); OAF (-1), Does Not Affect Figured Characteristics (-1/2), Only For Lifting Or Throwing Objects (-1/2) 30 Laser Scalpel: RKA 2D6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), OAF (-1) 37 Cryogenic Freezer: Multipower, 75-Point Reserve; OAF (-1) 5 u Ice Blast: 10D6 EB, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) 5 u Ice Block: 5D6 Entangle, 5 DEF, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) 3 u Ice Fields: Change Environment (Create Ice), 8" Radius, -4 To DEX Rolls To Move On, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Only Affects Characters Moving On The Ground (-1/4) Perks 5 Follower: Juan (50 point witless minion, 25 pt base) Skills 0 Acting 8- 2 AK Portland 11- 3 Climbing 11- 5 Computer Programming 13- 3 Concealment 12- 3 Electronics 12- 2 KS: Local Criminals 11- 0 Language: English (Native) 3 Lockpicking 11- 5 Mechanics 13- 0 Paramedic 8- 3 Persuasion 11- 0 PS: Mechanic 11- 3 Streetwise 11- 3 Shadowing 12- 5 Security Systems 13- 3 Stealth 11- 2 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles 2 Weaponsmith (Vehicle-mounted Weapon 12- 3 WF: Small Arms, Vehicle-mounted Weapons (varies) 154 Total Powers & Skills Cost 187 Total Character Cost 100+ Disadvantages 20 Hunted: Police (MoPow, 11-, capture) 5 (10) Hunted: Autobots (MoPow, Limited Area, 8-, capture) 20 Psychological Limitation: Afraid of Police (C, T) 5 Psychological Limitation: Hates being called a thief (U, M) 37 Goggle-wearing Bonus 187 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: Nestor Forbes, alias The Mechanic, was a relatively normal criminal. He stole cars for other criminals, and modified them to suit their needs before reselling them. At some point, he was caught and spent a number of years in jail. Once out, he proceeded to return to the car-stealing business.
One night, while on the run from the law (again!), he stole an ambulance as a getaway car. The ambulance was actually the Autobot medical officer, Ratchet in disguise. The Mechanic took two of Ratchet's surgical tools, a laser scalpel and a cryogenic freezer from Ratchet, and used them to break into the Autobot's headquarters. Once there, he stole a Power Booster Rod, a device that drastically increased his strength. He fled the Ark for various reasons, but that was not the last anyone heard of him.
After lying low for two months, he started up a new operation, this time stealing cars and rebuilding them with a variety of heavy weapons and modifying them for remote control. His plan to supply them to Seattle's various criminal warlords was thwarted by the Police and Autobots. The Mechanic (and his witless minion Juan) fled the base and managed to evade capture. He was never seen again.
Personality/Motivation: The Mechanic is a simple thief. He desires nothing more than getting rich through crime. However, he sees himself as being above a common thief, because of his mechanical skills. In fact, he doesn't like it when people call him a thief; he insists on being called ̉the Mechanic" or "The Boss". He is rather cowardly, however, and is deeply afraid of being captured by the police.
Juan, his ethnically-offensive witless minion seems to be loyal to him for some unknown reason. Juan has no significant skills or abilities beyond driving cars.
Quote: "I'm the Mechanic! The master of machines!"
"A 256 thousand kilobyte Formax computer, the most powerful of its kind! With this my machine shop will have everything it needs!"
Powers/Tactics: The gadgets the Mechanic stole from Ratchet are the Mechanic's sole superpowers (as such). The Power Booster Rod allows him to lift incredible weights with no effort. He has been know to wield cars and trees as weapons with the rod. The rod does not give him any additional abilities beyond super-strength, however. (Yes, I know that even with super strength from the gizmo, his arms would snap if he lifted a car over his head... but humor me here.) The Power Booster is usually used to heist heavy objects, but can be used in combat to throw things at a target.
The Laser Scalpel is fires a laser beam that can cut through most armor and directly attack the inner workings of the target. Due to its original nature as a surgical device for use on complex giant robots, it is very precise. The Cryogenic Freezer can be used to blast targets, encase them in a block of ice or create icy patches on the ground. The Mechanic typically uses these weapons to cover his escape by disabling pursuers; he very rarely enters into combat himself.
Beyond the gizmos, the Mechanic has no real powers or special abilities. He is a relatively normal, if smart and slightly overweight, human.
Appearance: The mechanic appears to be in his mid-thirties. He stands about six feet tall and is slightly overweight with short reddish-brown hair (depending on how colorist Nel Yomtov was feeling that panel). He typically wears a blue jumpsuit, tool belt and ski goggles. Don't ask about the ski goggles. I don't know either.
The Mechanic is the very living embodiment of PRE 10 and COM 10.
Designer's Notes: The weapons were written up as having No END cost as they seemed to have an effectively unlimited power source; he was never seen to recharge them, nor did they ever run out of power. There was no "upper limit" given for the Strength Booster Rod's lifting capabilities, so I based it on what he had effortlessly lifted in the comic. The Mechanic's skills were based largely on assumption and giving him a few skills that would be suitable for a criminal.
He could possibly be adapted to a superheroic campaign. The gadgets could come from typical Superscience sources (Secret labs, Big Big Corporations, Supervillains, etc.) and the Hunted: Autobots could be replaced with the creators of the gadgets.
The Mechanic's return to the comic was always threatened, but he never did. Thank you for small mercies.
(The Mechanic created by Bob Budainsky, character sheet by Alex Fauth)
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