Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 15 STR 5 12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 HTH Damage [1] 13 DEX 6 12- 18 CON 8 13- 18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13- 11 EGO 1 11- 15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 4 OCV 5 4 DCV 5 3 OMCV 0 4 DMCV 3 3 SPD 10 Phases: 4, 8, 12 5 PD 3 Total: 5 PD (0 rPD) 5 ED 3 Total: 5 ED (0 rED) 7 REC 3 36 END 4 10 BODY 0 27 STUN 4 Total Characteristics Cost: 72 Movement: Running: 12m/24m Flight: 12m/24m Leaping: 4m/8m Swimming: 4m/8m Cost Powers & Skills 90 Gaseous Form: Desolidification (affected by by fire and wind attacks); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-½) plus Blast 2d6, Area Of Effect (2m Radius; +¼), Personal Immunity (+¼), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Constant (+½), Attack Versus Alternate Defense (Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing); target holds his breath; All Or Nothing; +1), Affects Physical World (+2); No Range (-½), Linked (Desolidification; -¼) plus Flight 12m, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Linked (Desolidification; -½), END 4 Martial Arts: Boxing Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Cross +0 +2 5d6 Strike 5 Jab +1 +3 3d6 Strike Perks 1 Fringe Benefit: Doctor of Science Talents 3 Handsome: +1/+1d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters) Skills 3 Bureaucratics 12- 0 CK: Los Angeles 8- 3 Electronics 13- 2 KS: Boxing 11- 3 KS: Chemistry 13- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 1 Language: Latin (basic conversation; literate) 3 Mechanics 13- 3 Paramedics 13- 2 PS: Research Chemist 11- 2 TF: SCUBA, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles, Small Rowed Boats 2 WF: Small Arms 3 Scientist 2 1) SS: Biochemistry 13- 2 2) SS: Biology 13- 2 3) SS: Chemistry 13- Total Powers & Skill Cost: 141 Total Cost: 212 175+ Matching Complications (50) 10 DNPC: The Required Lab Assistant (usually a pretty blonde) 11- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills) 15 Psychological Complication: Scientific Curiosity—Eager To Investigate The Unknown (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Complication: Science Is The Savior Of Mankind (i.e. idealistic) (Common; Moderate) 15 Social Complication: Secret Identity [William has not yet made his powers public] (Frequently; Major) Total Complications Points: 50 Experience Points: 37
Background/History: Ever since he was a young boy, William knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up. He was going to become a scientist. Science was the wave of the future and as anyone could plainly see, science was going to do cure all of man's ills and make the world a better place. All though high school and college, William applied himself, studying chemistry in an effort to be the next Firestone or Edison, and churn out discoveries by the score!
Graduating, William was pleased to be hired on as a research assistant by a major chemical and pharmaceutical company. Here was the job he was looking for! Being paid to conduct experiments on, well, nearly anything! He threw himself into his studies with enthusiasm, working long hours in an effort to find something, anything, that would Change The World As We Know It.
Unfortunately for William, he was a little too enthusiastic, and one of his experiments literally blew up in his face. For a while he seemed okay... and then came the day he collapsed into a cloud of hazy gas. Fortunately, William reformed into his normal, solid, body shortly afterwards, and eventually discovered he could switch forms at will. Uncertain what to do with such an unusual power, he has bided his time, keeping his unique talent a secret until he can fully determine how to best use it.
Personality/Motivation: His accident has not tempered William's enthusiasm for science one bit. He still pushes the boundaries of man's scientific knowledge as far as he can, and has not let up on his studies and research. Often, he lets his scientific curiosity get the best of him, and is almost certain to the first to arrive at the sight of any strange or unknown phenomena. William also feels (and at times rightly so), science can resolve any issue, not matter how complex. If presented with a problem he will immediately try and find the "proper" scientific method for resolving it. Of course, he tries to apply this methodology to such things as social ills and personal relationships, with predictably mixed results.
Currently, William is unsure what to do about his unusual abilities. Although a patriotic American (isn't everyone?), he feels uncomfortable about donning a mask and "fighting crime" (Especially since his mask would fall off the first time he used his powers.). So he keeps his power under wraps, and tries to live his life normally, confident a solution will present itself, it just requires the proper application of scientific principles....
Quote: "Of course I can solve this problem, I am an scientist after all!"
Powers/Tactics: An accomplished scientist in the field of biology and chemistry, William can back up his mental capabilities with his fists is need be. A trained boxer, William is not afraid to get physical if the situation requires it (He feels that one should train both the body and the mind for proper development.). Of course, his greatest power is his ability to transform into a cloud of misty gas.
The composition of this gas is unknown, although best guess makes it one of the "noble" gases (argon, neon,and so on.), as his Gaseous Form is fairly inert and non-reactive. While in this form, William can fly (albeit slowly), and by settling around a target, deprive them of oxygen (Although William's NND cannot do BODY to a target, GMs might want to treat anyone rendered unconscious by the attack as if they were suffocating and have them take BODY damage.).
Appearance: William Dixon is 28 years-old, and stands 6'1" with a lean build. He has short black hair and dark eyes, and tends to dress in suits when not in the lab. In the lab he takes off his suit jacket and tie, and adds a lab coat. When William assumes Gaseous Form, his clothing drops away, which can lead to an embarrassing situation when he resumes his solid body.
Designer's Notes: William was built as part of a two-part experiment. Part one was to build a "normal" on a 50 point base (and a total of 75 points). This I did, electing to go with a 1950s-styled movie scientist (tall, athletic, handsome, knowledgeable). Part two was to add 75 points of super powers to the character (just powers, no other disadvantages were required), which I did, going with the tried-and-true "lab accident" origin.
William is meant to evoke the style and spirit of 1950s movie scientists, specifically the ones that appeared in various giant monster movies and the like. If you remove his Gaseous Form, he makes the perfect stereotypical movie scientist. I was highly tempted to do so, as I realized his Gaseous Form power adds little to the character and is really out of place. However, I decided to keep him "as is" since this is how he looked after the initial design experiment was over.
William is meant to evoke the style and spirit of 1950s movie scientists, specifically the ones that appeared in various giant monster movies and the like. If you remove his Gaseous Form, he makes the perfect stereotypical movie scientist. If you did remove his Gaseous Form power, I recommend adding one skill to replace it. That would be the Science Skill Science! (adapted from GURPS Atomic Horror). Basically, Science! allows a character to know a little bit about everything in the science world, provided it has been published somewhere. The character can't use it to make new discoveries, but he can use it to replicate previously demonstrated theories and experiments.
William Dixon—as written—could be used in a superhero game taking place in at anytime during the Golden Age. He could be used as a low-powered super in more modern games as well, but his personality and motivations are a bit out of place. The non-powered version could be dropped into any number of campaigns (Horror, Atomic Horror [i.e. giant monsters], Pulp, and Superheroes) set in the mid-1930s to the very early 1960s.