I'm just posting this up to see how the rest of the forum will react to this particular incarnation of Cobra Commander. Though I should make a warning that there might be facets of the character that some, especially those hard core G.I. Joe fans, would find disagreeable.
Cobra Commander
The internationally infamous terrorist known only as Cobra Commander, this individual has founded and fanatically led the para-military criminal organization christened Cobra Command with the primary goal to unite the world under a single rule: his own. He demands complete loyalty and obedience to those who serve him while he rules with an iron fist and an equally psychopathic to how he even treats his lieutenants which further showcase his lack of scruples. His rise to international infamy began when he festered and ignited revolutions, civil wars, and uprisings in various geopolitical powder keg regions of the world including Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian nations to the point that Cobra Commander is considered the most dangerous man alive, if not all of history.
It is largely unknown as to how Cobra Commander had come about this new obsession in his life, nor of how he was before he had donned the persona of Cobra Commander. What is known, though only to a select few within the higher echelons of Cobra Command, was the source of the organization’s advanced technology though not in full detail.
While the circumstances are debatable and up for scrutiny as to how the individual who would become Cobra Commander had stumbled upon Cobra Command’s core technology, be it as a scientist, an archeologist, or some nobody and/or random civilian, the end result was the same: the discovery of an extrasolar spacecraft that had crashed into Mount St. Hilary, part of the Arvins mountain range and one of the volcanoes that litter the deserts of southeastern Oregon, over four million years ago. The alien spacecraft was populated by gigantic, non-biological lifeforms that were in a type of comatose state to which Cobra Commander had called “Stasus Lock” after further investigations of the craft.
Either alone or with a team, whom either vanished without a trace or formed the initial echelons of Cobra Command years later, Cobra Commander eventually deciphered much of the so-called “Cybertronic” science, technology, and history or in particular the “biomechanicalology” of the Cybertronic beings that could be utilized in what would become the war machine of Cobra Command. One aspect of the Cybertronic biomechanics was a strange ethereal sphere that appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, the soul of a Cybertronic. Even more interesting was the discovery, either accidental or intentional, of an immortal Cybertronic soul.
These studies of these extrasolar souls lead to the man who would become Cobra Commander to make his own spirit immortal and have effectively become immortal himself. His flesh, on the other hand, was just as mortal but that did not detour the future Cobra Commander for he had created numerous clones of himself to ensure that his death would only be temporarily. However the cloning process, which not only accelerated the clone body in question to adulthood rather than have it age naturally but was also effectively brain dead, have had significant side effects upon Cobra Commander’s psyche. Though much of the core personality that was the original Cobra Commander was successfully carried from body to body, all other aspects are subject to change and often radically. He often gains new manias and paranoia with each reincarnation to replace previous thought patterns which, though compromises long term planning, have made Cobra Commander effectively unpredictable to military intelligences and other such analysts. At the same time, each scheme becomes more grandiose and risky with each reincarnation in addition to lost memories that are only recovered again several deaths later, nightmares of previous deaths, and an increased sense of insanity. In the end, it all simply amounts to a man who is no longer what is contemporarily considered “human”.
(18 Points)
DEFENSE: 3
HEALTH: 40
ENDURANCE: 40
TV: 37
Lv-DX[END] - Attack
- 2[0] - “Handgun” (Effective; Ranged. Weapon)
- 4[5] - Broadsword, Custom” (Armor Piercing; Effective. Weapon)
Level - Ability
- +3 - Charismatic
- +6 - Companion “Storm Shadow”
- +4 - Connected
- +3 - Gear “Combat Helmet”
- Armored +3
- +3 - Intimidating
- +1 - Intuitive
- +3 - Knowledge “Foreign Culture, Cybertronic”
- +5 - Minions “Cobra Troopers/Vipers”
- +1 - Performer
- +5 - Position of Power “Cobra Command”
- +4 - Reincarnation “Immortal Soul”
- +2 - Smart
- +4 -Wealthy
Level - Weakness
- -3 - Arrogant
- -1 - Coward
- -2 -Expendable Use “Immortal Soul” (Clone Bodies)
- -1 -Fussy
- -2 -Greedy
- -1 -Impulsive
- -2 -Ineptitude “Marskmanship”
- -3 -Infamous
- -1 -Overconfident
- -2 -Postponed Use “Immortal Soul”
- -2 -Secret “True Face”
- -2 -Short-Tempered
- -1 -Stubborn
- -3 Wanted
I'm sure there are a few of you who are inquiring as to those unknown Abilities and Weaknesses that I used for my interpretation of Cobra Commander. Well, here's the explanation:
Reincarnation – You are just too stubborn to die. No matter how well your enemies think they have destroyed you, there is just a part of you that will be left and that is all that is needed to bring you back to life. Weather that is the essence of your soul, a backup of your memories, an offspring that was born upon your death, the fact of the matter is that you’ll be back and usually with a vengeance against those that have wronged. Add your Reincarnation dice to any dice roll to see if you return to the land of the living, barring any issue that might prevent that of course which is typically through some issue the GM has declared either as background or weaknesses to your character inherit to the form of reincarnation that you have either been blessed, or cursed.
Expendable Use – One or more of your abilities operates on equivalent exchange, i.e. it can only be activated at the expense of a thing or object that is consumed almost immediately afterwards. Whether it is a particular item, an ingredient, or even a person, they must be sacrificed for the ability to be activated, though the only real difference is how difficult it is for one to acquire said object first. At Level 1, the expendable object is easy to find and/or locate. At Level 2, the expendable object is noticeably rare and difficult to find. At Level 3, the item is extremely rare and almost impossible to locate without issues of its own.
Postponed Use – One or more of your abilities does not perform its intended use. In fact, it takes a while before the full effects of your ability takes hold. At Level 1, the ability takes hold at least an entire combat-related scene at the very least and is often the “Finisher” move that puts down the enemy for good (usually). At Level 2, the time between the use and full effect of the ability takes a noticeably measurable amount of time, typically measured in hours or a day or two at most but nowhere close to a full Act and is largely a matter of strategy rather than tactics. At Level 3, it takes a prohibitable amount of time to achieve the full effect of the ability, typically spanning at least an entire Act but no more than an Adventure/Session (that’s a plot hook), though in-game time frame is largely up to the GM with some Player input, and typically is the last ditch effort that requires the entire group to protect you in order to utilize this dramatic game changer.
Prompt Use – One or more of your Abilities takes time to activate before it can be utilized at all. It can be the gathering of mana or focusing concentration to unlock the potential, reloading or correcting any problems that may arise or had arisen from its previous use, or whatever is deemed appropriate, all that matters is that it takes time to utilize the Ability so it would be wise to do so. At Level 1, it can only be utilized once per combat-related scene at best and is often the “Finisher” move that puts down the enemy for good (usually). At Level 2, it takes a noticeably measurable amount of time, typically measured in hours or a day or two at most but nowhere close to a full Act, in order for the ability to function and is largely a matter of strategy rather than tactics. At Level 3, it takes a prohibitable amount of time to prepare and usually spans at least an entire Act to prepare but no more than an Adventure/Session (that’s a plot hook), though in-game time frame is largely up to the GM with some Player input, and typically is the last ditch effort that requires the entire group to protect you in order to utilize this dramatic game changer, or something as mundane as mechanical overhaul.
Anyway, thoughts on the design?
