Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 13 STR 3 12- Lift 150 kg; 2 1/2d6 HTH Damage 15 DEX 15 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5 13 CON 6 12- 11 BODY 2 11- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 15 EGO 10 12- ECV: 5 18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6 16 COM 3 12- 5 PD 2 Total: 10 PD (5 rPD) 5 ED 2 Total: 10 ED (5 rED) 3 SPD 5 Phases: 4, 8, 12 6 REC 0 30 END 2 25 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 58 Movement: Flight: 22"/704" Running: 6"/12" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills 160 Flight: 22", x32 Noncombat Movement, Noncombat Acceleration/Deceleration (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) 55 Sonic Boom: Energy Blast 10d6, Area Of Effect (10" Cone; +1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2 ); Linked To Flight, Only At Full NCM Velocity (-3/4) No Range/Follows Flight Path (-1/2), 10 Force Field: (5 PD/5 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Linked To Flight (-1/2) 6 Force Field: Life Support (Expanded Breathing/Thin Atmosphere, Extreme Cold, Low Pressure); Linked To Flight (-1/2) 4 Sharp Eyes: Enhanced Perception: +2 with Sight PER Rolls Perks 8 Contact: Adolf Hitler, 11- (extremely useful, access to major institutions, has Contacts of his own, good relationship) 3 Fringe Benefit: SS Officer (Obersturmbannfuhrer) 9 Reputation: "World's First Super-man" 14- (worldwide) +3/+3d6 Skills 2 Combat Skill Levels: +1 OCV with knife 10 Combat Skill Levels: +2 with Ranged Combat 6 Movement Skill Levels: +3 with Flight 0 AK: Hamburg 8- 2 Language: English (Fluent) 0 Language: German (native) 4 Navigation (air) 12- 0 PS: Soldier 8- 3 Oratory 13- 1 Survival (temperate) 8- 1 Systems Operation 8- 3 Tactics 11- 4 WF: Small Arms, Blades,. Machineguns 277 Total Powers & Skills Cost 335 Total Character Cost 150+ Disadvantages 5 Distinctive Features: Uniform (EC) 20 Hunted: Enemy governments, 11- (MP, NCI, limited area) 20 Psychological Limitation: Overconfident (VC, S) 20 Psychological Limitation: Fanatic Nazi (C, T) 15 Reputation: Nazi (extreme, 11-) 20 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (VF, M) 85 Experience 335 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: In a parallel universe, the first superhuman was a Nazi. Konrad Rahn was born in Hamburg June 1st, 1916. In 1923, Rahn's father, a veteran of the Great War and a follower of Hitler, died in the Nazi's failed "Beer Hall Putsch" in Bavaria. Konrad followed his sainted father's example. When Hitler came to power as Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Rahn joined the Hitler Youth movement with a fanatical fervor.
On April 30, 1936 (before he was even 20) Rahn somehow developed his power of flight. After demonstrating his power to the German authorities, he quickly became a favorite of Hitler. The Nazis immediately set to testing Rahn's abilities, and on the eve of the 1936 Berlin Olympics rumors of thunderous booms over the city and sightings of a flying human quickly spread. On June 8, Rahn made his dramatic appearance at the Games' opening ceremony, circling the stadium three times before floating down to the podium to light the torch. He stood next to Hitler as the dictator delivered the opening speech, in which Hitler praised Der Flieger (The Airman) as the first example of how Germany would make Man "one with the Gods." At the end of the speech, Der Flieger gave the fascist salute and levitated out of the stadium, and then flew off to the southwest with a sharp clap of thunder.
Presumably Rahn continued to develop his powers in the next three years as the German military rearmed for war. When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, starting World War II, he gave Rahn direct rights on the Polish Air Force. It was at this point that Rahn first demonstrated the full extent of his power. Attaining supersonic speeds, Der Flieger could actually knock aircraft out of the sky in his wake, confirming at least 81 kills single-handed. He went on to act in a ground support role, swooping down and routing entire regiments of Polish cavalry and earning the name Piorun ('Thunderbolt') from the Polish troops. In 1940, during the Battle of Britain (Operation Sea Lion) Rahn downed more than 35 Allied fighters, and destroyed 15 British bombers during the Allied attacks on Berlin, leading to the British nickname "Mr. Messerschmitt."
As the first of the "Ubermensch," Der Flieger was an important symbol of the Nazi regime and remained so as more German parahumans spontaneously developed. However, the Allies started finding parahuman "Talents" of their own, especially after 1941, at the point when the war started to turn against Germany. Der Flieger's star began to fall in early 1942, when he argued with Hitler over the cancellation of Operation Sea Lion. Rahn was subsequently reassigned to patrol duty over the coasts of occupied France. When the Allies invaded Normandy on June 6, 1944, Rahn assisted the German counterattack, using his sonic boom to attack British troops. However, one of the Allied officers was a Polish telekinetic code-named Cien (The Shadow), and when Der Flieger flew too low, Cien made a blind swipe with his telekinetic fist, knocking Der Flieger out of the air. The German escaped with a leg and two ribs broken.
Nevertheless, Hitler reassigned Der Flieger as soon as possible. On August 21, Der Flieger and fourteen other flying Ubermensch were sent on a propaganda mission over London to drop leaflets over the bombed city. As the unit moved to fly back to Germany, they were targeted by guns using the Americans' new proximity fuse. Rahn had previously proven too fast for antiaircraft guns to track, but these new proximity rounds went off whenever they detected an object in their explosive range. Rahn, along with all but two of his comrades, was blown to pieces over London. Bits of his body were recovered by British authorities and preserved for science.
Personality/Motivation:
Der Flieger's prime motivations were to crush Bolshevism and serve the Fuhrer. Not much is known of his personality traits, except that he was a fanatical Nazi. He could be said to be idealistic (in a perverse way), knowing that he embodied the Nazi goal of "purifying" the German people to produce a truly superhuman race. It is unknown whether Rahn knew of or participated in Nazi atrocities against their subject peoples, although there is certainly no evidence that he objected to Nazi race policies.
Powers/Tactics:
Der Flieger had only one power—flight—but developed it to devastating effect. By attaining supersonic speeds, Der Flieger could produce a sonic boom capable of shattering glass, which in air combat could smash pilot canopies and rip open control panels of aircraft. The turbulence produced was also capable of sending planes into a potentially fatal tailspin. In CHAMPIONS terms, Der Flieger is essentially a flying speedster; his combat effectiveness is entirely based on the force of his motion. He could also use his supersonic attack to "dive-bomb" ground targets, and had a 6d6 Move-By and 10d6 Move-Through (rounding up all fractions), but this left him open to counterattack, as in the melee in Normandy. See also Designer's Notes.
Appearance:
As depicted in at least one propaganda poster, Rahn was a perfect Aryan ideal, with wavy blond hair, high forehead and aristocratic features. He was tall and well-built (6'1", 205 lbs.). The closest thing he had to a costume was a black flight suit with a large swastika on the right breast and SS insignia on the collar.
Designer's Notes:
Der Flieger is a character from the role-playing game GODLIKE, published by Pagan Publishing/Hobgoblynn Press. The game depicts "the beginning of the Super-Age" after Der Flieger's spontaneous development of powers in 1936, and the ever-increasing use of parahumans (or 'Talents') by the world's militaries as World War II exploded. The tone is that of a gritty war story (Dennis Detweiler listed "Saving Private Ryan" as a major influence) and the game's depiction of superpowers reflects this; even though Der Flieger is built on many more points (in GODLIKE) than a starting player character, he still has only one real power, without which he is completely normal.
The GODLIKE rules system (which uses d10s and a stat+skill dice pool like White Wolf games) is very intriguing and worth trying in its own right, but HERO fans will certainly prefer to convert the background to their favorite rules. Der Flieger's traits also give us a chance to explore how certain things would work in the new 5th Edition rules (like, how much IS Hitler worth as a Contact, anyway?).
Der Flieger's point totals and powers are higher than those of a starting character, and the 85 point difference can reflect the 3 year period between 1936 and 1939, in which he continued to develop his abilities. Likewise, some of his Disadvantages (Uniform, Subject to Orders, and the negative Reputation of Nazism) would apply more after the invasion of Poland in 1939. Most of his points go to the singular flight power. The GODLIKE system designed it as Flight with two 'Hard Dice' (allowing it to activate automatically) with an Attached power of Super Speed at 10d. 10d in the system is 785 miles an hour, enough to pierce the sound barrier. Der Flieger's maximum speed was measured at 805 miles an hour, which turns out to be the sum of the 2d Flight (20 MPH) and the 10d SuperSpeed. After much calculation, I figured that 22" Flight with x32 noncombat multiple times a 3 SPD produced a noncombat rate of 2112" per Turn, luckily converting to 785 MPH and change. ( I had considered x16 multiple with a 6 SPD, but Rahn has no exceptional SPD outside of Flight, and the GODLIKE system states that the SuperSpeed power is only to boost a character's movement—to do more things in a turn requires the power of Multiple Actions.)
The GODLIKE Flight power was also listed with the Advantage of 'No Gs', meaning that Der Flieger can do otherwise impossible pinpoint turns and accelerate or decelerate with no inertia. The turn mode is reduced with Specific Movement Levels (Hero 5th, p. 242), but HERO is fairly strict about the use of Movement Powers to accelerate to full noncombat speed- it takes 5" per hex moved, only up to regular Combat Velocity. Fortunately, the new rules include the +1 Advantage Noncombat Acceleration/Deceleration, which will allow Der Flieger to reach full speed after only one hex of Movement, which accounts for why the Power is so expensive. Note also that the GODLIKE powers of Flight and SuperSpeed assume protection from environmental problems like friction and lack of air at high speeds, but I nevertheless decided to be complete and add the Life Support Linked to the Flight. I also included a small amount of speed-based defense (Force Field) which the original game doesn't mention, but Der Flieger would otherwise be defenseless against any attack that somehow hit him.
The Linked attack corresponds to the GODLIKE Attached power Harm, defined as a 'Shockwave' attack over an area. It requires full noncombat (supersonic) velocity, thus the HERO version takes an additional -1/4 bonus on the Linked Limitation, as the secondary attack can only be used with the first Power (Flight) at full strength. Using the Flight at full combat velocity with no noncombat multiple is not enough. 10d6 Normal is not enough to destroy an airplane outright, but it will cause significant damage, since most vehicles have only a DEF of 3 (see also the Vehicle Damage Table, HERO System p. 322, and the Vehicle Impact rule on p. 300). Furthermore, Knockback from this attack can upset the craft, possibly causing propeller craft to suffer fatal spins.
The attempt of this design was to simulate the tactics described for Der Flieger in the GODLIKE rulebook. He still requires a Full Move to reach a desired speed, but can do so at any point in his move. He can thus position himself within range of enemy targets and then (on a subsequent Phase) launch at full noncombat velocity to put them in the wake of his supersonic attack. This is an attack made at 0 OCV (HERO System p. 237), but counterbalanced by using an Area Attack on an adjacent hex. Enemies counterattacking Der Flieger will have to hit his Velocity-Based DCV, which at 2112" per Turn becomes DCV 15 - before Range Modifiers. This accounts for how Der Flieger could be so effective as a one-man military weapon in the game background despite being rather unbalanced by CHAMPIONS standards.
There are some aspects of the GODLIKE game system that are not converted here. The background assumes that parahumans do not gain powers from alien biology, mutant genes or radiation accidents, but spontaneously, as a form of "mind over matter." As such, the game allows a Contest of Wills in which opponents bid Will Points with the loser's powers being canceled—a potentially fatal result, if the victim is a strongman lifting a tank. I left this out because I'm still not sure how to simulate it. Talents also have an automatic sense which allows them to know when another person is a Talent, but only when the subject is actually using powers. Since this ability is itself a power, it causes the subject to also know that his detector is a Talent. Powers which are Persistent or Always On in HERO terms would count as active for this purpose. The ability isn't an Enhanced Sense, as it requires no roll and works automatically if the subject Talent is seen (which means Invisibility and other Sense-Affecting Powers work normally). This can be bought as a Disadvantage - Talent: Distinctive Features, Not Concealable (Always Noticed, Detected Only by Small Group and Major Effort), equals 10 points.
[GODLIKE RPG by Dennis Detweiler and Greg Stolze, 2002 Pagan Publishing, HERO System conversion by James Gillen]
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