OUBLIETTE 2E: Ja'fari, Bethany Fischer

[Arkrite]

I have it on good authority that I'm a very unlikable person ;~)

[Arthur Eld]

Yay, Doug! He's everything I could have hoped for, which is mostly nothing. But all the Freshmen are like that, and it suits Doug to be incompetent.

The real treat would be seeing his transformation. Maybe if and when one of the Class of '11 (and Emily) gets thrown from whatever floating island Laputa might be constructing, it can be an anthropomorphic qual that does the saving.

[Michuru81]

FENGHUANG (Power Level 10)

Real Name: Zhu Feihu
Height / Weight: 5’6” / 148 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Black / Brown
Place of Birth: Lengshuijiang, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China (January 31, 1957)
First Appearance: Vindicators #421

Physical Appearance: Despite being in his mid-fifties, Feihu appears to be in his late teens—a feat he owes to the Phoenix Amulet. He is seldom seen without this trinket—a sunstone cut to resemble a bird with wings spread and suspended on a thin golden chain—though he usually wears it under his shirt to avoid drawing attention to it.

Biography: For as long as Feihu could remember, he was in love with Lei Sui. The girl came from a wealthy family who had made a fortune from the stibnite mines that littered the land. Amongst the man’s employees was Feihu’s own father, putting him in a class considerably lower than the Lei family.

The night before Sui was to leave for university in Beijing, the young lovers ran away from home. Sui always had a passion for history and the two planned to traverse their homeland and absorb as much of their people’s culture as they could. Their first stop was in the ancient city of Fenghuang.

While exploring the architectural remains left by the Ming and Qing, the couple was attacked by the Huli Jing—the fox spirits who served Daji. In order to maintain her existence, the spirit needed to feast on the souls of young women and Sui was soon counted amongst her victims. In his grief, Feihu found something in his late lover’s grasp: an amulet that he presumed to be a souvenir she picked up from one of the many artistic craftsmen who littered the Hunan providence. Strangely, the gemstone felt warm to the touch. Curious, Feihu put the amulet on and was transformed in an enormous, bird-like being enveloped in flames.

Feihu had become the Fenghuang, the legendary Chinese firebird.

As Fenghuang, Feihu was able to best Daji but he had entered into a realm unlike any he had ever imagined himself existing in. In the phoenix form of Genghuang, Feihu found himself able to fly at amazing speeds, allowing him to respond to threats all over China. Before long he was dealing with Xing Tian, a headless, ax-wielding, shield-bearing mercenary and Yifan Zhang, a mind-reading spy. It was his battle with Xi Wangmu, an Esper who sought to bring peace to the world by putting every into a state of perpetual bliss, that Fenghuang appeared on the radar of Crusader’s team of Vindicators.

Fenghuang next encountered the Vindicators under the leadership of the Aurelius. While helping him to defeat Iphot, a Chinese Neo-Sapien with powers similar to their teammate, Halogen, the Aurelius found himself growing increasingly more interested in the source of their ally’s powers. Ultimately, the master mage determined that only certain people could use the Phoenix Amulet: those born under the sign of the fire rooster in the Chinese Zodiac. Feihu revealed more about the source of his powers: it had revived him from even death and prevented him from aging, although once it was removed, his body began to rapidly catch up with his true age.

Shortly after their departure, Fenghuang met one of his most dangerous rogues… Though Daji would always hold a place as his arch nemesis for snuffing out Sui’s existence, there was no denying that Xiezhi was more dangerous…

Xiezhi was a psychopathic Esper who could detect lies. Taking the name of a legendary monster who gored liars on its horn, Xiezhi became a serial killer who slew only those who uttered lies. When Fenghuang stopped him, Xiezhi asked him who he really was. Seeking to protect his secret identity, Xiezhi gave simply his codename, earning the madman’s ire forever.

Over the years, Fenghuang has encountered the Huli Jing many times and each time followed them to a confrontation with their evil mistress. On one occasion, he saved a young woman from her and slowly began to fall in love again. In the decade since meeting her, however, the two have separated as Mai realized that she was getting older while her boyfriend was not.

Today, Fenghuang continues to defend China from the super-powered threats that threaten her.

STR 14 [18] (+4), DEX 14 [20] (+5), CON 14 [16] (+3), INT 15 (+2), WIS 18 (+4), CHA 15 (+2)

SKILLS: Craft (artistic) 6 (+8), Gather Information 8 (+10), Investigate 8 (+10), Intimidate 4 (+6), Knowledge (arcane lore) 5 (+7), Knowledge (history) 4 (+6), Knowledge (streetwise) 6 (+8), Languages 2 (English, Mandarin Chinese, Xiang Chinese [base]), Notice 4 (+6), Profession (craftsman) 5 (+7), Search 4 (+6), Sense Motive 8 (+10)

FEATS: Accurate Attack, Contacts, Defensive Roll 4, Equipment 2, Evasion 1, Favored Environment 4 (in the air), Improved Initiative 1, Well-Informed

POWERS: Device 19 (Phoenix Amulet [hard to lose; Power Feats: Indestructible, Restricted {Fire Rooster}])

Phoenix Amulet: Container 18 (Energy Aura 5 [fire], Enhanced Dexterity 6, Fire Control 10 [Alternate Powers: Blast 10, Blast 6 {“Fireball”; Extras: Explosion <+1>} Create Object 6 {Power Feats: Precise; Extras: Damaging <+1>, Movable <+1>; Flaws: Insubstantial <-1>}, Dazzle 10 {“Fireflash”; Visual}, Obscure 10 {“Smoke Cloud”; visual}, Suffocate 6 {Extras: Area <Burst, +1>}], Flight 6 (500 MPH; Drawbacks: Power Loss [when wings are bound, -1 point]), Growth 2 [Power Feats: Innate; Extras: Duration {Continuous, +1}; Flaws: Permanent {-1}], Immunity 10 [fire effects], Regeneration 10 {Resurrection 10 <no action>; Flaws: Source <fire, -1>}, Strike 1 [Power Feats: Improved Critical, Mighty], Super-Senses 2 (Enhanced Senses: Extended Vision; Additional Senses: Ultravision), Immunity 1 (aging)—4 free points

Equipment: cell phone—9 free equipment points

COMBAT: Attack +4, Grapple +6 (+8 phoenix form), Damage +2 (+5 strike), Defense +4 (+2 flat-footed), Knockback -3 (-1 flat-footed, -4 phoenix form [-2 flat-footed]), Initiative +6 (+9 phoenix form)

SAVES: Toughness +6 (+2 flat-footed, +8 phoenix form [+4 flat-footed]), Fortitude +6 (+7 phoenix form), Reflex +6 (+9 phoenix form), Will +12

DRAWBACKS: Normal Identity (Uncommon, major drawback worth 3 points), Weakness (The Phoenix Amulet keeps Zhu young but if it is removed, time begins to catch up to him. Every hour that goes by without the amulet ages him a year. This is a major weakness worth 3 points)

COMPLICATIONS: Enemy (Rogue’s Gallery), Secret (Identity)

Abilities 30 + Skills 16 (64 ranks) + Feats 15 + Powers 78 + Combat 16 + Saves 16 – Drawbacks 6 = 165 points

I'm going to be trying something new for the foreseeable future: expanding the Oubliverse. For a while, we've been talking about the heroes who stand alone in the task of protecting their corners of the world. I thought I'd start with China, where Fenghuang reigns.

Fenghuang is a little bit of Darkhawk with a smidge of Batman tossed in for good measure. Basically, we've got a guy who turns into an anthropomorphic phoenix who's a pyrokinetic--and the Oubliverse has a serious deficiency in that department.

[Michuru81]

XIEZHI (Power Level 6)

Real Name: Unrevealed
Height / Weight: 5’5” / 136 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Black / Brown
Place of Birth: Unknown
First Appearance: Vindicators #597

Physical Appearance: Little stands out about Xiezhi physically.

Biography: Xiezhi was always taught that honesty was the best policy. As a child, his parents would lessen the punishment if he told them the truth: if he broke a lamp, he told them; if he stole a candy bar from a grocery store, he told them—when he landed himself in trouble, the punishment was lessened if he simply confessed.

Xiezhi was always honest but those around him were not. Though he can’t remember when it began, the young man found himself able to see through the lies others told. It was when his girlfriend told him that he was the only man for her—and his ears registered it as a lie—that he snapped.

The young man took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her thirty-seven times in the face.

When the police questioned him, he confessed openly confessed to the crime. He put up no resistance. When he overheard the police talking to each other—and he heard them lie—he took one of their pistols and used it to kill both me.

After disappearing into the shadows, Xiezhi would emerge only to kill those who lied. Typically, his targets are high profile individuals who appear on the news, spouting falsehood. Often, Xiezhi’s actions put him into direct conflict with Fenghuang. Upon their initial meeting, the insane Xiezhi asked for the hero’s name and his ear’s registered “Fenghuang” as a lie. As the first liar to escape Xiezhi’s brand of justice, the serial killer is obsessed with bringing an end to the phoenix’s life—unaware of his immortality.

STR 12 (+1), DEX 11, CON 14 (+2), INT 17 (+3), WIS 8 (-1), CHA 10

SKILLS: Climb 4 (+5), Drive 4, Intimidate 10, Knowledge (current events) 5 (+8), Language 0 (Mandarin Chinese [base]), Notice 4 (+3), Sense Motive 4 (+3), Stealth 5

FEATS: All-out Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Diehard, Equipment 1, Fearless, Fearsome Presence 5, Improved Critical 2 (knife), Improved Initiative 1, Sneak Attack 5, Startle

POWERS: Super-Senses 3 (Enhanced Senses: Extended Detect, Ranged Detect; Additional Senses: Detect Lies [Hearing])

Equipment: knife; 1 free equipment point

COMBAT: Attack +4, Grapple +5, Damage +1 (+2 knife, +7 sneak attack with knife), Defense +4 (+2 flat-footed), Knockback -3 (-1 flat-footed), Initiative +0

SAVES: Toughness +6 (+2 flat-footed), Fortitude +4, Reflex +2, Will +11

COMPLICATIONS: Honor (Xiezhi always tells the truth, only kills liars), Obsession (Unmasking Fenghuang)

Abilities 12 + Skills 9 (36 ranks) + Feats 21 + Powers 3 + Combat 16 + Saves 13 = 75 points

[Arthur Eld]

Nice stuff, Mich! Can't wait to see more of Fenghuang's enemies.

Minor thing about Xiezhi (who is really cool, by the way), the first rank of Sneak Attack increases damage by 2, and all the rest by one, so with 5 ranks, his Sneak Attack damage with a knife is actually +8. Still keeps him in caps, though.

[Arkrite]

A Darkhawk like character? I'm amused.
Of course I always liked Darkhawk back in the day ;~)

It does make me wonder how many other solo "heroes" there are out there.

[Horsenhero]

I gotta say, I'm with AE and Arkrite here....these are cool characters and they do open up that can o' worms which is...outside the influence of the various New Vindicator Academies, and "mainstream" organizations, how many SPB's are running around the Oubliette Universe and how do they relate (or not) with one another?

[Arkrite]

Like PMCs, bodyguard groups, blackops groups, criminal groups who's primary methods arn't smash and grab enough to attract the notice of the Vindicators...
Also leads to the question of if there are other official groups besides the Vindicators. I'd assume most countries would want their own Neo troops just in case.

[Michuru81]

Nice stuff, Mich! Can't wait to see more of Fenghuang's enemies.

Minor thing about Xiezhi (who is really cool, by the way), the first rank of Sneak Attack increases damage by 2, and all the rest by one, so with 5 ranks, his Sneak Attack damage with a knife is actually +8. Still keeps him in caps, though.

First and foremost, thank you for improving Xiezhi's ability to kill more effectively. I'm tempted to show my appreciation by having him take a trip to Vienna (not really)...

The goal is to spend this week touching on those characters in Fenghuang's life--his allies and enemies... More likely his enemies...

A Darkhawk like character? I'm amused.
Of course I always liked Darkhawk back in the day ;~)

It does make me wonder how many other solo "heroes" there are out there.

Have you ever read Marvel's Runaways? One of their story archs deals with a support group for former teenage superheroes--Darkhawk amongst them. Excelsior is awesome in their initial appearance but kind of lame when they gave them their own mini series.

In any case, the plan is to spend the next few weeks expanding the heroes not affiliated with the Vindicators or the New Vindicators Academy and the rogues they deal with. This week, I want to tackle Fenghuang's rogues and next month, I'll move on to another solo hero and the challenges that hero faces...

I gotta say, I'm with AE and Arkrite here....these are cool characters and they do open up that can o' worms which is...outside the influence of the various New Vindicator Academies, and "mainstream" organizations, how many SPB's are running around the Oubliette Universe and how do they relate (or not) with one another?

Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be tackling the heroes who protect regions all around the world: Hammer and Sickle (a Russian Batman and Robin), Duiwel (a Nephilim who resides in Cape Town, South Africa), Ciclone (Brazil), Volchitsa (a female werewolf and doctor in Chechnya), Fata Morgana (Australian wizard who excels in illusion)... At times, I may even touch on the heroes who operate in America, such as the Nightstalker, Momentum and even Detective and Gumshoe.

Like PMCs, bodyguard groups, blackops groups, criminal groups who's primary methods arn't smash and grab enough to attract the notice of the Vindicators...
Also leads to the question of if there are other official groups besides the Vindicators. I'd assume most countries would want their own Neo troops just in case.

It's not that they're elitist snobs who can't be bothered to handle the small stuff but the Vindicators tend to be up to their eyeballs in saving the world. On occasion, they have handled minor stuff (such as when Godai and Bio took down Numb, a super-powered rapist) but these sort of villains tend to slip by them.

As for teams in other countries... the way it works is the Vindicators are superheroes employed by the Department of SPB Affairs, a division of the United Nations' Security Counsel. As of December of 2007, the Department has kept three teams of Vindicators--one at each school. Presently in the campaign world, this has Tierra leading the Aurelia, Boson, the Curler, Hourglass, Mirage, Portal and Wilt in America ("IN AMERICA!"); Crusader leads Backlash, Hubris, Kiln, Pict, the Rhino (can you say "boy's club"?) in Europe; and Hikari leads the Asian continent's Vindicators: Imperial, Arthropod, Iris, Mutt, Saya and Split.

Basically, if there's a situation in Russia, Hikari's team will respond. Canada? Tierra's team. Italy? Crusader's team. They serve to protect all UN member nations from super-powered threats. Fun part? The Vatican isn't a member--they're an observer with member benefits. While the UN would dispatch Crusader's team to respond to any hypothetical threat to the Holy See, they keep their own team: the Seven Virtues. One member has already been posted and the others will hopefully be going up soon.

[Arkrite]

So basically the Vindicators are used in lue of a country having their own superpowered team on hand?

[Michuru81]

So basically the Vindicators are used in lue of a country having their own superpowered team on hand?

Yup.

[Michuru81]

XING TIAN (Power Level 7)

Real Name: Unknown
Height / Weight: 8’ / 500 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: LOL
Place of Birth: Unknown (26th Century BC)
First Appearance: Vindicators #585

Physical Description: Xingtian appears as a very large, headless man who is clad only by a loincloth. He carries an axe and a shield.

Biography: The first battle recorded in Chinese history was the Battle of Banquan. Waged in the twenty-sixth century BC, the nomadic tribes of Ancient China clashed with other expanding tribes. Ultimately, the Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, unified many of the tribes under him and was victorious over his enemies. When Shennong went into exile, several of his followers went with him—amongst them one of his strongest warriors and a craft sorcerer.

The warrior voiced his intention of challenging the Yellow Emperor and the mage offered his services. First, he cast a spell that increased the warrior’s size. Believing that would be enough, the warrior made his way to the Southern Gate of the Celestial Court and demanded a duel with the Yellow Emperor.

The two fought and but size was not enough to overcome Di. Ferociously, the ruler decapitated the axe man and watched his head roll across the ground.

Determined not to lose again, Shennong commanded his wizard to animate the giant’s headless corpse. After hours of meditation, the ritual animated the giant’s remains, creating a powerful, undead warrior for Shennong.

The men again went after Di but the man was too skilled. With his sword, he ended Shennong and the mage’s lives and command over the eternal beast was lost. Di subdued the creature and buried him under the Western Hills, where it was sealed until only a few decades ago…

Beijing proved to be the site for one of Eclipse’s bases. One of their operatives, Yĭng Xì, was a master of shadow play—a form of puppetry involving shadows. During a battle with the Vindicators, Yĭng Xì stumbled upon Xing Tian’s body and released him once more. Xing Tian proved too difficult to control, however: rampaging out of control and attacking whoever the headless figure senses was closest to it.

The Aurelius' team of Vindicators—with Tianlong and Fenghuang’s help—managed to subdue the beastly figure and kept it restrained where Yifan Zhang eventually found it. The Esper discovered that the headless man was susceptible to mental commands and proceeded to control him, however when Fenghuang defeated her, Xing Tian again went on a rampage—one that cost Fenghuang his life as well as the life of his associate, Zhongshu Mao.

After resurrecting, Fenghuang was outraged to learn that Mao’s life had been forfeited in the battle and abandoned his morals in seeking to end the creature’s existence before it could hurt anyone else. Though he succeeded in doing so, Xing Tian was raised by a necromancer, Dao Feng and sent to seek out and kill Xiezhi, forcing Fenghuang to protect a man who wants nothing more than to bring about his eternal death. Ultimately, when it was revealed that Feng had lied to Tianlong to turn him against Fenghuang, Xiezhi put his attempts on Fenghuang’s life on hold to slay Dao Feng. By killing Xing Tian’s controller, Xiezhi turned the zombie into a destructive agent of chaos once again…

STR 18 [26] (+8), DEX 10, CON N/A, INT 8 (-1), WIS 10, CHA 10

SKILLS: Intimidate 12 (+14), Languages 0 (Ancient Chinese), Stealth 0 (-4)

FEATS: All-out Attack, Diehard, Equipment 2, Fearless, Fearsome Presence 5, Power Attack, Takedown Attack 2

POWERS: Growth 4 (Power Feats: Innate; Extras: Duration [Continuous, +1]; Flaws: Permanent [-1]), Immunity 35 (interaction skills, Fortitude effects), Protection 10 (Extras: Impervious [+1]), Super-Senses 3 (Additional Senses: Tremorsense)

Equipment: battleaxe (+3 damage), shield (medium, +2 dodge and block); 2 free equipment points

COMBAT: Attack +3 (includes -1 due to size), Grapple +16, Damage +11, Defense +4 (+1 flat-footed, includes -1 due to size), Knockback -5, Initiative +0

SAVES: Toughness +10 (+10 Impervious), Fortitude N/A, Reflex +5, Will +2

DRAWBACKS: Disabled (No Head [includes blindness as uncommon drawbacks; deafness mute], -12 points)

Abilities -4 + Skills 3 (12 ranks) + Feats 13 + Powers 71 + Combat 12 + Saves 7 – Drawbacks 12 = 90 points

One of the reasons Rurouni Kenshin is my absolute, all-time, favorite anime is Watsuki Nobuhiro's uncanny talent for taking things that actually happened and putting a slight spin on them. Almost from the moment the Kyoto arc begins, Watsuki says, "I know this is what history said but... that's just because they didn't know about Seta Soujiro..." I try to do much the same thing on several occasions... such as this one...

Xing Tian comes from Chinese mythology, just like Fenghuang and Xiezhi do. There's going to come a day when a culture issues a cease and desist order that forever prevents me from raping their mythology for character concepts. Until that day comes, I'll continue doing things like this--making characters based on mythological figures minus nipples for eyeballs (seriously, China: what up with that?).

X.T. gets the Oubliette twist: his story begins in ancient history so there's no making him a Neo-Sapien and Aesir are out of the question so... we go to the old stand by: a wizard did it. Badda bing, badda boom, the Oubliverse has their very own Solomon Grundy ("Xing Tian wants pants too!").

The dangerous part about this little exercise is that... the more I work on the background for these characters, the deeper I want to explore this region. I knew what I began poking around in China that I would have to incorporate Cabal and Drake's families (hence Tianlong, who needs to be statted out now). I didn't want to hand-wave X.T. and give him immortality, making him revive after being defeated. I instead settled on the idea that he's basically a zombie who someone else could revive and like that Fenghuang had a magical villain to fight. Why would someone want to revive X.T. though? Practice! Dao Feng only delved into the arcane world because he wanted to resurrect his wife. From there, it was a simple connection of making her a victim of Xiezhi and suddenly, Fenghuang's world seems like something more than the Vindicators visited every other year or so...

[Horsenhero]

Awesome, though in what I think is a rare mistake, you transposed Shennong and Huang Di, and gave Di and the sorcerer death, and Shennong rulership of China. I am liking this more and more though.

[Michuru81]

Awesome, though in what I think is a rare mistake, you transposed Shennong and Huang Di, and gave Di and the sorcerer death, and Shennong rulership of China. I am liking this more and more though.

You are correct, sir! Error fixed.

[Arthur Eld]

Hmm...a monster that is invulnerable to most mundane forms of attack, and can be revived and controlled by necromancers? I know what someone just added to his Christmas list.

Plus should Xiezhi ever make his way to Vienna, I think Jay might actually be able to dissuade him with words alone, playing on his own insanity. Which would easily be one of, if not the coolest thing Jay's ever done. But like most of his plans of that sort, I doubt it would go well.