NeutralNexus

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Eh, I made up a gang as an example to show off Baron's ability, but I'd rather have The Cowl be informed of Baron's primary talents, I'm sure the Baron avoids going whole hog when he can.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

@Vatrou I edited the Cowl post to be more applicable to The Baron. Also to @Hellis I will respond to that war hopefully in Cowl's next post.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

<Snipped quote by NeutralNexus>

You portrayed Barron more violently than he actually operates, he does use a lot of violence, but prefers traditional, bribery and political maneuvering to get his way, money is the route to controlling the world for him. And while he can be excessively violent, it's usually towards those who cross him. Although I can chalk that up to the Rumor mill and misinformation and lack thereof. So when Barron does meet the Cowl he'll be more diplomatic than the Cowl imagined. Which works better for me. And provides some interesting conversations.

Everything looks good though, no need for changes, just letting you know. If you ever have questions I'll respond quickly enough.

@VATROU

I'll go ahead and make a slight edit to what the Cowl said anyway. I don't want to portray Your character incorrectly.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Okay, first Cowl post is up finally! Super late of course, but it's here!

War-Pulse post comming soon!

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

“I still don’t understand sir, the Ironworks was one of our most prominent safe houses. Why are we cutting our losses and not rebuilding it?”

Specter adjusted his weight his small, quaint little chair in the indoor seating of La Rose Solitaire, a Cafe on the edge of town and one of The Cowl’s favorite places to contemplate his next move. The Cowl had purchased it personally through a number of third parties several years ago. It was not a safe house, nor was it a trafficking or smuggling checkpoint, in fact The Cowl had gone through great lengths to make sure that not even the Shroud Syndicate was aware that he even had interest in the establishment. He had purchased this place for one reason and one reason alone; the coffee. He had fallen in love with the smooth, sensual grounds, the care that went into every cup of coffee was unparalleled since the Shroud’s expansion into Europe.

He never told anyone he went here, never hinting that he even knew this place was on the radar, keeping even the closest of the Syndicate affiliates in the dark on his secret hideaway. But whenever he disappeared, La Rose was where he would be. The only other people to even know of La Rose’s existence was Specter and the cafe owner, Louis. He always made room for the Cowl when the kingpin made a reservation, taking great care to let his employees take some time off and close the cafe down for the morning. The place was all but abandoned, the ‘closed’ sign swinging on the cafe’s entrance as the pair of criminals discussed their future in a darkened corner of the small establishment, away from the prying eyes in the windows.

“Specter, it’s been months, we aren’t in a business where we can wallow in despair over every chance we take that does not pan over,” The Cowl said, his face was obscured by a wide-brimmed hat shadowing his face, only allowing to see the warm smile on his face as he brought the elaborately decorated cup to his lips. “We took a risk, and we failed, we did not hide well enough and were were caught woefully unprepared for the assault we fell victim to. In the kind of world we live in, busts of that kind of nature are going to happen, and the best we can do in these situations. The best we can do in these situations is to look at the mistakes that were made and remedy them for the next occurence, and that starts with not making our safe houses and activities so obvious.”

“Sir, you have to know that was not just a simple bust.” Specter said, adjusting the polo shirt he wore as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Neither he nor the Cowl were in their trademark attires. No masks, no suits, no extravagant attires to separate them from the other cafe patrons, only casual attire in the cafe. They were seated in the corner, away from the windows, even with nobody knowing they were here, it was never safe enough for The Cowl to completely let his guard down “The Ironworks was one of our primary hubs for trade here in the city, and metahumans tore straight through it. The underworld is beginning to stir, and it’s other factions are starting beginning attempts to gain traction. Word has it that someone by the name of ‘The Baron’ has begun stepping into our territory, and many Syndicate cells are turning up dead or missing, assumedly by his hand. However, there is another player on the field as well, we’ve got eyes on the streets that some of our own boys have lost faith in our organization, and have been stealing our resources and sending it to an unknown third party.”

“Yes, it only makes sense now that there is metaphorical blood in the water, the sharks are appearing in the water looking for their opportunity to strike.” The Cowl responded, his wide-brimmed hat shadowing the face enough to obscure everything but a charming smile and a strong, tan jawline. “I’ve heard of the Baron before, and this is not the first time he’s taken a swing at Syndicate resources. He rules the West Coast of America through numerous gangs and third party affiliates, placing his group under his name alone rather than unifying under a banner. He's been around as long as I have...maybe longer, and simply managed to keep his name under wraps. Like me, he came out of nowhere, a rising star in the west, only expanding nationally he simply grew his assets exponentially until he had a local goldmine.”

“So we’re dealing with a very powerful man.” Specter said.

The Cowl chuckled, leaning forward and pressing his elbows onto the table. “I should say so. Back when I was expanding our trade in Nevada, I got a first-hand look at his dealings when The Syndicate were hollowing out a bit of recently abandoned territory in Las Vegas. We had recently been come across some abandoned territory, taking advantage of Vegas' lack of business during the great recession by buying up a series of cheaper casinos as safehouses. Sure, we had enemies there, and we tried to deal with them accordingly...but with the Baron? We could never gain the edge.” The Cowl sighed, his eyes glossing over as memory overtook him. "He must have been an incredible dealer. He knew how to outmaneuver my men, anyone I sent to his territory usually ended up dead or on his side. He knew who to bribe, who to smile at, who to intimidate...a criminal most admirable in the ways he undercut out business. We had hard times getting into the gun and trafficking trades, and he had a downright stranglehold on the cocaine business...if I didn't know any better, I'd say I was playing a game of chess against myself in that town.

The Specter’s brow furrowed, he could see the concern in The Cowl’s face, very rarely did he have issue with the dirtier elements of his position, yet he was struggling to explain what happened. It was rare to see the current Kingpin of Lost Haven act anything other than collected. “So what should we do with him?”

“Give him a warm welcome, send an olive branch and see if he’s willing to do business.” The Cowl said, gesturing freely with his empty hand as he placed the coffee cup back down on the table. “However, I’ve only assumed he has no interest in such a truce if he’s come this far, so we should expect the worse. I’d suggest we poke at his resources, see what kind of operations he is running, possibly delve into what kind of powers we are really dealing with.”

“And what of the mystery third party? The figure who is stealing Syndicate money? Do you think they’re connected?”

“Not in the slightest.” The Cowl said with a scoff, waving Specter’s accusation off with a flick of his wrist. “The Baron's sending a message right now to get my attention, he does not need to steal from me yet. It’s someone else...and I’ve got a fairly good hunch who it is.”

“You do?”

“Yes, but with our current situation, we don’t need to go on a witch hunt. We have eyes on the streets, in the city council, the mayor’s office, and in the police department. If anyone in the Syndicate roots out this mysterious interloper who’s converting our men on the street, we’ll get word one way or another.”

“Of course, sir.” Specter said, scratching at his greying goatee as he sulked back in his chair. Without the mask Specter was really beginning to show his age, the beginnings of wrinkles in his skin revealed as he furrowed his brow as he reached for his own cup.

“Not to mention the problem that we have other, more dire matters at hand.” The Cowl remarked, letting a huff of disappointment escape his lips. “Mainly the fact there has been no progress on the relocation of Racheli. GeneCo has been increasing the pressure on their trade agreements and Jacqueline is on the verge of her patience on the matter.”

“Right, men all over the city heard your call looking for the one you said was named ‘Gabriel’.” The Specter said, his fingers wrapping around a coffee cup of his own to take a brief sip. “However, without a last name or more information, there is little we can really do to follow up. There has been numerous sightings of the metal-clad man, but nothing of substance other than saving the day. The same goes for the one called ‘Evergreen’, though he is far more active in the city, but other than monitoring his abilities from a safe distance, there is little more we can do than observe possible weaknesses.”

“And Racheli? What about her?”

“Much more difficult, she does not wear superhuman attire and does not go out of the way to get herself spotted like the others. Our boys don’t have a lot to go on in this case, so finding her is near-impossible in a city like Lost Haven.”

The Cowl sat in silence for a moment, his eyes locked in the swirling fluid in his coffee cup, occasionally darting to the half-eaten scones in the center of the table.

“In that case, it sounds like traditional methods have failed.” The Cowl eventually respond. “I suppose that is to be expected, the Syndicate has not fully adapted to meta human trafficking yet. No matter, I already have a backup plan in motion.”

“Oh? And what plan would that be?”

“Let’s leave that to me for the time being. It’s still very much in infancy stage and I’d rather not divulge into it if it doesn’t go off the ground. I’ll forward my plan to Jacqueline tomorrow and see if she is on board with it.”

Specter only gave a frown and a glance from over the steam of his coffee, holding the glare for a second before glancing to the window in the front of the establishment. He disliked when The Cowl kept things on a need to know basis, especially when the only other person who is going to be informed was GeneCo’s CEO. He knew that GeneCo had a lot of product the Syndicate could peddle, but they were company that was hard to trust, especially knowing what they know. There was never any guarantee that GeneCo would grab onto a better opportunity and leave the Shroud in the dust.

“Hm...I believe it’s time to leave for now. We have plenty of work to do if everything will continue to run smoothly.” The Cowl started again, motioning to the cafe proprietor. “Louis! I would appreciate the check, please!”

The man the Cowl beckoned, a man somewhere in his 40s judging by the slight hunch in his form. He was short man, well dressed in a clean polo and slacks as he nodded to the criminal kingpin, his French accent coming through as he responded in a nervous tone. “Of course, monsieur Cowl.”

He fiddled with the receipt, scuttling over to the Cowl in a hurried but careful manner, making sure to approach the Cowl in a respectful manner, sliding the check to him. “Your total today is--”

The Cowl raised a hand to Jaque to cut him off, reaching into his coat pocket to pull out a firm stack of bills. “I pay for this place to keep standing, Louis, and I always will. You have the best coffee in all of Lost Haven, combined with the best scones I’ve ever had.”

“T...thank you sir.” The baffled cafe owner stammered out, placing his hand on the money and taking it delicately.

“Oh, and how is your family by the way?”

“O-Oh...well my daughter just got accepted to college on a scholarship for her grades…”

“Ah, so she’s going to school for biology like she wanted?”

“Y...yes sir.”

“You must be so proud.” The Cowl said, giving the man a genuine, borderline kindly smile, as if the simplicity of Louis’ life soothed in some manner. “Please, take a portion of that money and put it to her college. After all, in this day and age, we’re going to need all the scientists we can get.”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

OK! Transferred my Character sheets over from S1, I'll be spending most of tonight catching up with the haps of season 2, then posting.

There will hopefully be posts following that, starting with a Cowl Post, then a War-Pulse Post, then an Umbraxis Post.

Also, hello new people! My name is Nexus, or NN, and I caused 75% of the major events of last game.

Looking forward to meeting all of you!

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Umbraxis the Destroyer

Character you have created: Umbraxis
Aliases: Count Gloomveil(Occasionally In Avatar Form), Umbraxis the Destroyer, The Great Void, The Endless Darkness, The Dark One

Speech Color: Indigo

Character Alignment: Villain

Identity: Known

Character Personality: For a being of cosmic darkness, the being itself is actually quite polite. Its charming demeanor and dry wit make it actually quite a pleasure to speak to, were not so terrifying to simply be within its presence. Despite what it does, it possesses a curious streak about lesser beings. It is inquisitive and insightful, and spends most of its time wandering planets in its avatar form, taking different guises and shapes in an attempt to entertain itself in the affairs of civilization. It even goes so far as to integrate itself in a planet’s affairs and systems, taking part in their politics and inner workings as if playing one big game. Perhaps it is trying to weaken defenses of those it is intending to devour, but more than likely these pursuits are merely for its own entertainment.

However, one would always feel uncomfortable around it, as the polite tones it takes and clever banter it delivers belies its true purpose. While it does have an interest in societies, the interest only goes so far as a hobby, where destruction is its profession. To The Void, people are playthings to observe and interact with until it is hungry enough to consume them. Make no mistake, it takes extreme joy in eradication, gleefully stomping out a planet without a second thought. It shows no empathy for the countless societies it has snuffed out since the beginning of time, though it will always remember them fondly.

While its means for sustenance does not seem aimless, and it seems to view its targets as both its meal and its purpose. It seems to believe that with the potential for life, there must come the potential of overindulgence. It believes that in the same vein of Civilizations that would spread, Empires would be born across galaxies, and with those Empires would come destruction, the potential to snuff out other potential races and species in an attempt to sustain their own populations. The potential for one race to rule them all would always loom over the Universe, and forces the Universe to create its own governing equalizer, an Apex Predator with the potential to eradicate all others in the belief of Universal balance. In its mind, Umbraxis is that Predator.

Uniform/costume: True Form

True Form

Avatar Form

Avatar Form

Origin Info/Details: In the time before time, before the Universe even existed, there was nothing. From that nothing, came the Singularity, and from that Singularity came the Universe. A singular, ever expanding spread of stars, galaxies, and nebulas. All manner of life and sentience was created, evolution took place, civilizations were born and spread.

However, that was not all that was created at the beginning of time.

In the farthest corners of the Universe, in the blackest holes of space, something had formed unlike anything else in the universe. Between the newly formed stars and nebulas, between the spaces between the newly forming galaxies, something was stirring in the black. Dark Matter and Dark Energy, whirling together around a core of Antimatter, swirling and changing in unison, moving as one amidst the emptiness. It thought and processed as a single entity, calculating its formation as it acquired more mass. Every day it grew in size, each year it became something more and more. For millennia upon millennia, eon upon eon, it drifted aimlessly, siphoning countless asteroids, planets, and other forms of matter into it’s body, the resulting gamma emissions fueling its ever growing mind and power.

And then its first encounter came to pass, an early space-faring race came across this entity within the depths of endless darkness. They were curious, inquisitive, their scanners came in close to explore this massive, sentient darkness. They saw unlimited potential for such an entity, the possibility for power to be harnessed at a scale they couldn’t even comprehend.

However, the creature they deemed “Umbraxis” did not see the same in them. It barely even noticed them at first, letting their scanners and drones study it as they pleased. For a while, they even entertained it, letting it observe their way of life, politics, and culture. However, this did not last long, as it saw something else in this space faring race. It saw materials and matter, molecules and particles, it saw the one thing that it slowly came to realize that it would need if it was going to continue to grow in strength and power.

It saw this race as sustenance.

With barely a thought, Umbraxis wiped out the scouting party, devouring their forms into itself without warning or hesitation, accumulating their matter into its nebulous form. With this attack, came knowledge, knowledge of a planet not too many light years away, filled with matter and particles that could strengthen the creature, who now gained a taste for such bloodlust. The Massive Void began to travel, consuming whatever got in its path as it neared the first Civilization, the formless black travelling at an alarming rate to the planet.

The Civlization fought back, ships and resources sacrificed to destroy the coming cosmic force, but it only delayed the inevitable. Before long, Umbraxis had consumed the planet and its people, leaving empty space in place of what was a growing Empire. However, that was only the first, as Umbraxis had found itself relishing in the destruction while it sustained itself. Before long, Umbraxis found itself destroying another Space-faring people, then another, and another, again and again dominating any who opposed its unyielding hunger.

However, there were survivors to its attacks, beings who were able to escape the entity by leaving its path of cosmic destruction. They began to spread the tale of a Void, capable of wiping out entire worlds within days, destroying Galactic Empires as if they were nothing to its might. The people of the Universe began to hear tales of such a being, before long all who heard of it began to acknowledge that this was no myth or rumor, but a true, unparalleled threat, one that could not be stopped, only hindered and avoided. Some tried to harness its power, some tried to hunt it down and kill it, none survived. It bore a name in many languages and given many titles. It was a king to some, a force of nature to others, some even built churches in its name and called it a god. Its mere mention brought shivers to even the most powerful of galactic empires. But above all else, in any nation in the galaxy, it is known by one name.

Umbraxis the Destroyer.

Hero Type:
Supernatural(Cosmic Horror)

Power Level:
Cosmic Level

Powers:
Cosmic Being- Umbraxis is a creature of pure dark matter, bigger than any planet and comparable to some stars in the galaxy depending on the amount of matter it has consumed. As such, it has no solid body in its true form, nor does it have the needs of breathing or sleeping, as most creatures do. Also, not being of solid form unless it wishes to, it is highly resistant to conventional weaponry. As such a being, mental manipulation from another being is nigh-impossible due to its lack of a solid neural structure, a conglomeration of matter held together by an abstract sentience has very little chance of being altered. Even mind reading is not recommended as such a being would have thoughts hard to comprehend by other beings, which could result in insanity.

Dark Matter Manipulation-As a being of dark matter, Umbraxis has the ability to manifest and control dark matter at will, with no known limit. He can shift it from a murky, choking cloud into durable, adamantine matter. While the dark matter can take any shape, Umbraxis typically manipulates it into such things as barriers, tendrils, spikes, blades, claws, and fields to pick up and toss large objects as a form of telekinesis. Using dark matter, it has even managed to pull a small planet out of orbit by encapsulating it.

Dark Energy Projection- Similar to dark matter, Umbraxis can manipulate and expel dark energy with a thought with no known limit on its use. Typically this explosive energy is used as concussive energy beams, waves, and blasts.

Cosmic Awareness- While not necessarily omnipotent, Umbraxis does have a certain level of spatial awareness considering its size. In the depths of space, Umbraxis can pinpoint life from across galaxies and seek it out on energy traces alone. This awareness transcends reality, as it views time and space at a level we cannot comprehend, making any time manipulation relatively insubstantial against it.

Matter Consumption/Conversion- Upon touch, Umbraxis can de-construct matter on a subatomic level, converting material into its own dark matter. While the time it takes to convert matter depends on mass and density, all can be converted. With mundane inanimate objects, this is instantaneous, if it touches it, it can deconstruct it, assembling small its and peices to its overall mass. Magical or enhanced materials can take a little longer, and if used against it there can be no matter transferal until Umbraxis locks it in place. Living beings take the longest, as they have will over their own bodies, but this time-lapse is still fairly swift, albeit extremely painful. This can also be dependent on a target’s strength and power, resiliency, and superhuman components, as well as how many targets Umbraxis is trying to consume at once. Regardless, prolonged exposure to Umbraxis’ touch or grasp will result in deconstruction by Umbraxis. Notably, this is why Umbraxis tends to kill prey before consumption, as the target can no longer resist.

Acquired Memory- When consuming a living being, it's mind is inherited into the amalgamation that is Umbraxis. While this does not change Umbraxis’ personality or emotional state, it does allow the entity to tap into knowledge instantaneously, learning languages, techniques, history, and cultures by assimilation alone.

Telepathy- With no real mouth to speak of, Umbraxis typically communicates with widespread telepathy.

Regeneration- While Umbraxis to this point is considered invulnerable, there is always the chance such an entity can take damage. However, Umbraxis’ consumption powers simply allow him to convert surrounding matter into Dark Matter, replenishing its own lost materials.

Immortality- Umbraxis does not show any sign of aging, nor does it succumb to toxins or afflictions of organic life. There is no evidence as to whether Umbraxis can actually be killed, as no one who has attempted has ever come close.

Space Travel- Umbraxis is typically an aimless wanderer, with no age to speak of it has no need to rush unless it finds itself starving for matter. However, Umbraxis is a space-farer, so it can tap into its antimatter core to cause a mass reaction capable of FTL travel. This is not a reactionary power, nor is it instantaneous. FTL travel takes considerable warmup time and can be interrupted, but only with a sizeable event.

Avatar Form

Avatar Form- As a planetary-sized entity of Dark Matter and Energy, Umbraxis cannot interact on a personal level. However, it has developed an avatar form, functioning as a portion of Umbraxis’ full consciousness. This Avatar form is shaped and sized to Umbraxis’ will, be it human, alien, or any other form Umbraxis desires. This form possesses a fraction of Umbraxis’ full power, but also gains the ability to shapeshift. This form retains a measure of its true form’s immense durability and regnerative capabilities, but can be temporarily destroyed, until Umbraxis decides to reform it.

Strength Level: 100+ Tons(By tendril)

Speed/Reaction Timing Level: 50 MPH, though its true limit is unknown as such a relatively unknown entity.

Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: Unlimited

Agility: At least 15X Human level, if not more.

Intelligence: Super-Genius

Fighting Skill: Untrained

Resources: None

Shapeshifting- Avatar Form Umbraxis, aside from being able to use the already stated powers at mere fractions of Umbraxis’ full might, can change in size, shape, and form to its wildest desire. While this primarily functions as a form of disguise, Umbraxis can use this as a form of intimidation, changing into any form of nightmare that organic life can desire.

Dark Matter Constructs: A sub-power of both Dark Matter Manipulation and its Avatar Form. While these creatures are produced by Umbraxis and given purpose by its will, they are single-minded and self-reliant. Other than simple, direct commands given at creation, these creations do not think or rationalize on their own. They are given a single shape, as opposed to free forming, and follow their specific purpose until obstructed or destroyed. These shapes may occasionally resemble creatures or people it has consumed over its ageless existence

Attributes:

Strength Level: Incalculable

Speed/Reaction Timing Level: Over 100+MPH, no Limit Known

Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: Nearly Unlimited

Agility: At least 20X Human level if not more.

Intelligence: Super-Genius

Fighting Skill: Untrained

Resources: None

Weaknesses: Despite its highly evolved intelligence, Umbraxis does not utilize its impressive intellect as often as it should. It is arrogant, fully-believing there is no entity that can match it. While this is true, this does present a plethora of opportunities to outwit and outmaneuver the lifeform. Also, while Umbraxis is incredibly powerful, its power is slightly dependant on how well it has fed recently, FTL travel and energy use can cause it to weaken slightly, possibly enough to exploit some hidden weakness of the mighty entity.

Supporting Characters:
The First Civilization- This long-dead civilization bears no known name, nor do many of its carvings or memories exist anymore. It was deemed the First Civilization not because this was the first civilization to exist, but merely the First to come across Umbraxis. While they were wiped out, they were given the most time to study and observe The Void. They were the closest to finding a weakness in the lifeform, and may have left something behind vital to stopping it...

Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:


Sample Post:

Somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy, in a system far from our own, spaceships designed for war converged in front of a single, massive planet, forming a blockade in the stratosphere above their beloved terrestrial home. The race of people, tall and slender, their red scaly skin covered in golden, glowing power armor, clearly telling of their status These were no farmers, nor were they merchants or pirates; these were conquerors. This race, whose name could not be pronounced in our tongue, is one of the most feared Galactic Empire in their sector. In an astounding rate of time, this race had conquered their system, and the systems surrounding it. One by one, planet by planet, they had established themselves as one of the most dominating and powerful Empires this side of the galaxy had ever seen.

And yet, this was the first time they truly knew fear.

Their enemy had attacked the other planets of their mighty Empire, assaulted their people. They originally paid it no mind, thinking it was rebellion of a lesser race, or marauders coming to collect on the outskirt colonies. That was before they noticed that the planets themselves were disappearing. One by one, something was carving its way up the Empire, connections being cut off, hunting parties disappearing into the blackness of space. No trace, no record, just gone. Each day passed by, and their connection to the outside systems were dwindling, they were cut off from everything.

And now, whatever was destroying them was here, to finish them once and for all.

In the flagship, the Commander of the Fleet, a male creature of what would be considered handsome for their race, adorned in the most decorated, expensive armor, stood at the helm, looking into the blackness of space. He bore a stern face, what remains of his Army hovering over what remained of their once great empire. Their weapons powered, their shields at the ready, silence among their crew as they waited for their Commander’s commands. However, on close inspection, behind the grim determination plastered on the Commander’s face, a bead of sweat trickled from his brow, his breath shaky and haggard. There was no enemy like this to his knowledge, but there was a myth among his people, a name being passed around of a Cosmic Force which only knew of one thing; destruction. He turned to his ensign, a man half his age, also bearing a stern, orderly manner as his hands waved over the scanners of the stalwart vessel. His eyes scanning the multiple screens for any sign of their invader, his shaking, sweaty hands being the only telltale sign that he shared in his Commander’s fear, a fear that only heightened as the scanners began to whirr and whistle with readings, feeding into his visual scans a being most terrifying.

It was no ship, and it was no fleet, but something much more ancient. From the blackness of space, a cloud of dust began to roll into the Fleet’s visual sensors. At first, they believed it to be a smokescreen, to hide the real enemy. However, the cloud began to shape and swirl, its starlit mantle swayed and billowed as it came into view, two glowing orbs alighting in the endless darkness. The dark cloud began to stretch and expand, widening upon its arrival, until it dwarfed the impressive, golden fleet, covering its vision in darkness. Only then did they know what they were facing, and only then were they aware of their fate.

Umbraxis the Destroyer had come to devour them. The Great Void had come to deliver their final judgement.

Upon his horrid enlightenment, the Commander screamed in his elegant tongue to open fire, pointing at the darkness as a child would terrifyingly point at his closet at night. In an instant, the sky lit up with glowing, neon lasers, beams of every color pouring out from the cannons of the warship, penetrating the darkness with firework flares, continent-sized impacts bursting inside the horrendous cloud.

And yet, Umbraxis simply advanced as if nothing was happening. A dark, murky tendril descended from space, from the stygian core the ripple began, whipping the extension in a massive, powerful wave to impact with a Warship, cracking open its hull as if it was tissue paper. With each passing second, more and more tendrils extended across the fleet, snapping and ripping at the battle cruisers as if they were mere playthings, nothing more than an obstacle in the Destroyer’s way. The Commander ordered sustained fire across all ships, there was nowhere for them to run to, they must take the manifestation down with them if they had to.

The fool, he didn’t realize that Umbraxis could hear him thorugh the emptiness of space. In front of the flagship, a single, white orb began to manifest in front of the ship. At first, the Commander thought it was a blast of energy, or an explosion triggered from one of their photon blasts. It was when the orb fixated on them that it became clear this was some form of eye on the entity. The ship began to creak and shake, the mighty Flagship being ripped from its orbit by a colossal shadowy hand, shifting the craft for Umbraxis to get a better look at them.

This was it? This was what dared to get in its way? This was paltry, for everything it heard and experienced, it figured this race would be more formidable. A wasted opportunity, wasted potential, and overall, a boring experience. With no more interest in toying with its prey, the claw clamped down on the Flagship, imploding the metallic frame in dramatic fashion, the ship’s resulting explosion visible to the terrified folk below. The fleet had failed, in a blast of Dark Energy, the remaining ships were wiped out in all but an instant, the black ichor that was Umbraxis now blocking out the twin suns this planet was prided on.

Slowly, onimously, the darkness descended upon the planet, enveloping the exalted city in a impenetrable darkness, its people seperated by murky death.

And upon its descent, Umbraxis began to feed. Slowly beginning to decay and fall apart, the planet and its people began to suffer their slow, painful death as they were what could only be described as ‘disgested’ by this great destroyer.

The process took days, possibly years of envelopment, the land frozen in time as they silently endured their destruction. Umbraxis, while feeling the rush of adding to its strength, still felt relatively underwhelmed by this experience. Where was the planning? Where was the fun? This prey did not fulfill its endless desire for destruction.

However, as it assimilated the people of this planet, a word began to pop into its mind. This was not a word that was familiar in these people’s tongues, nor was it a word uttered by the public. No, as it acquired the memories of this Galactic Civilization, this word began to poke into its mind, mostly from this Civilization’s intelligence division. It could hear this word being uttered, again and again, each time with more importance, almost as if they felt threatened by this word.

Eaf…no, that was not it...Earh...Eath...Arth….

And then it came, all as one word. Earth. The word it was hearing over and over was Earth. What was this word? Was it another entitiy? With more time, Umbraxis continued to acquire more and more information about this ‘Earth’. A planet it was, in a far off, rather uninhabited sector of the Galaxy.

And yet this Empire considered it important enough to keep tabs on. More than that, they considered the inhabitants of Earth a threat. Why? What did Earth have that this Empire did not?

More came to Umbraxis’ mind as it probed further into the memories of these people. They were bipedal and walked upright, just as this race, but what else did they have? They barely even knew space travel.

The answer came in an unusual phenomenon that Umbraxis had only experienced very rarely in a species. Mutation. There were members of the primary species known as ‘humans’, that had transcended their normal limitations. Strength, durability, manipulation of the elements, these ‘humans’ had an unusual habit of coming across power…

Unusual, Umbraxis thought to itself. Were these mutations really to be feared? Could they even pose a threat?

Perhaps this ‘Earth’ would be the next place for Umbraxis the Destroyer to visit...

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

The Cowl

Character you have created: The Cowl
Alias: Unknown

Speech Color: This part still isn't working, but if it was, black.

Character Alignment: Villain

Identity: Secret

Character Personality: At a glance, The Cowl seems to be focused on one thing and one thing only; profit. His entire platform seems to be getting the richest he possibly can, and sharing said wealth amongst his massive network of thieves, crooks, and criminals. His sole drive seems to be how he can get the most out of any deal, from a robbery, to arson, to insurance fraud, to kidnapping and ransoms, everything he does seems to be guided by his overwhelming sense of greed. However, that is merely on the surface of how he built his criminal empire, but in person he could be described as a philosopher, his criminal cunning seemingly offset by his reasoning. Every act of greed and selfishness is counteracted by his humility, logic, and cynicism, balancing out his ruthless and cutthroat plans with a dry wit and a calm demeanor. All the wealth he seems to amass and the empire he creates is simply the means to an end of an even greater scheme, whatever that may be.

Just be wary if you are to ever catch him on his bad side, his wrath is the stuff legends are made of.

Uniform/costume:

Origin Info/Details: The Cowl is an eternal enigma, to the law, the press, and even to his own subordinates. He appeared a few years ago out of the blue in Lost Haven, where he took over a small unnamed gang by killing their leader in cold blood. Almost immediately he set to work on increasing the gang’s territory and reputation, having his thugs commit a string of daring and well-planned heists on nearby banks, and using the wealth gathered as olive branches to nearby gangs, showing other gangs in Lost Haven that working with him would be more lucrative than working against him. Many gangs immediately allied with the newly dubbed “Shroud Syndicate” but those who did not found themselves under fire from nearby police forces who were “anonymously tipped” about certain crimes, while others still were simply wiped out or bought out. Through careful strategy and planning, the man now known as “The Cowl” assimilated gang after gang, until his influence and power was amongst the biggest in the streets of Lost Haven.

And yet, he did not flaunt his power to create total anarchy in the city, as most criminals would in his state, instead keeping his operations in a low-key state, with the amount of kickbacks he was getting from drug deals, shake downs, blackmail, and enforcement, doing any of the high-risk actions he did when he was just starting out would be tantamount to placing a target on his back. He kept this secretive spree of crime going, eluding the many police raids done on his compounds, carefully planning the structure little by little to keep his thugs swearing allegiance to him and the local law enforcement woefully unaware of his location or his activities. He created a set of rules for his men, a careful ruling for how wealth was shared and how law enforcement was handled, when to resort to violence and when murder was appropriate, he had no desire for his operations to be blown asunder by unnecessary slaughter, and took a great many steps to avoid such travesty.

And when the operation was a well-oiled machine, working smoothly within the confines of Lost Haven, The Cowl simply left the island, moving to the Eastern part of the world, intending to increase the Shroud Syndicate’s influence to a global standpoint, making him one of the most influential and notorious criminals on the planet. Up until now he’s still been operating under the shadows in China, subtly carving out territory for the Syndicate in Hong Kong, but arrival of metahumans will surely change his plans...

Hero Type (Select one):

Trickster(Other)

Power Level (Select one below):

City Level(In terms of Physical Power)
World Level(In terms of influence)

Powers:

Gadgetry: The Cowl is never without a clever device or sneaky machine near him, keeping with him a plethora of lethal and underhanded gadgets up his sleeve. These devices are as listed but are not limited to: Tactical Nano-suit, grappling gun, smoke bombs, explosives, cloaking device, flashbangs, virtual decoy makers, arm-blades, shoe-knives, bolos, caltrops, web grenades, force field generators, and many other weapons.

Master Strategist/Tactical Analyst: The Cowl is a master of tactical planning, and has already formed a powerful gang under his control by the name of the Shroud Syndicate.

Information Guru: The Cowl is abnormally well-informed on current events and incidents around the world, giving him very profitable gains where others are unaware.

Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: The Cowl is a master at the martial arts, having a lot of free time due to him being a powerful crime lord. He is capable of effortlessly fending himself from multiple attackers, as well as matching the moves of trained experts. He has displayed skill in arts such as Krav Maga, Aikido, Taekwondo, Ninjutsu, Karate, Muai Thai, Boxing, and Kickboxing.

Firearms Expert: Of Course, the Cowl is not one to play fair, and will more often than not end conflicts with gunfire. He is trained in multiple firearms and ballistic weapons.

“Foresight”: Whether this is a gadget, pure human conditioning, or an actual superpower is to be debated, as no one has been able to pinpoint how The Cowl can predict a person’s movements the way he does. The Cowl seems to be able to think three steps ahead, being able to react to attacks at a much quicker pace than any human can, to the point of being able to avoid a small amount of gunfire. It is rumored that due to his incredible focus, he can “see” what a person is about to do by reading their muscle movements, but most still seem to think the ability is “inhuman”.

Peak Human Condition: While primarily relying on his mind, The Cowl is no slouch when it comes to the body. He is as strong and fast as an olympic athlete, combined with the acrobatic skill of an olympic gymnast.

Indomidible Will: The Cowl's mental fortitude is extremely focused, making it hard(but not impossible) for him to be influenced by telepathy or mind control.

Attributes (Select one at each category):

Strength Level:Peak Human

Speed/Reaction Timing Level:[Peak Human, but his Reaction time is remarkably faster.

Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort:Peak Human

Agility: 15X Human level.

Intelligence: Super-Genius

Fighting Skill: Mastered

Resources: Extreme

Weaknesses: For all his tricks, gadgets, and charisma, The Cowl is still just a human being. Get a sword or bullet into him and he will die like anyone else.

Supporting Characters:

The Shroud Syndicate - One of the largest and most influential criminal gangs in Lost Haven, and has considerable reach across the globe. They were originally a small time gang that went by another name a few years back, but when The Cowl entered the scene, the Syndicate grew almost overnight to a massive threat.

Specter - The Cowl's metahuman right hand man and confidant. Powers have yet to be displayed. He tends to oversee all of the Shroud's operations within Lost Haven.

The Talons - A biker gang within Little Sicily, follows the Shroud.

The Dread Men - Another Street Gang, located in Chinatown, under the Shroud's tutelage

The Brothers in Blood - A cult-like street gang in some reigons of Little Paris. They run drugs for the Shroud Syndicate to Lost Haven's rich and famous.

Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:

Sample Post:
A quick splash of water, and the man was awake, gasping and writhing in the tiny cell provided for him, an old war fort on the coast, judging by the sound of the waves, but where on the Earth that was, the man had no idea. As his eyes came into focus from his groggy slumber from starvation and isolation, he noticed three men standing in his cell. Immediately recognizing the leader by his trademark mask and hood, the man began to shout and struggle, only to find his hands and legs bound to the wall.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” The hooded man said, moving closer to the imprisoned man. “I was hoping my men hadn’t killed you…”

“What...what do you want?” The imprisoned man said, wincing from the bruises that he now felt from the beating he received earlier.

“Well...information for one thing.” The hooded man said, pulling a dagger from his belt as he moved closer, he dragged the dagger along the imprisoned man’s skin, moving aside his bloodied shirt at the collar to reveal a tattoo on the chest, a lotus blossom with a grey coloring. “I can tell that you’re part of the Steel Lotus, for one, so you don’t have to tell me who sent you.” He then moved away from the man and towards a small set of burning coals. “However, last I checked, we were on good terms with the Lotus, I even sent the Empress a list of names with a list of undercover cops in her ranks...why would she betray my trust by having you infiltrate my thugs?”

The man tightened his jaw, avoiding eye contact with the hooded man as he placed the dagger inside the hot coals, the blade beginning to turn orange and glowing as the heat kissed the steel.

“Ah, silence...the Lotus was always good at keeping their members from speaking...I admire that.” He said, moving back to the man with the heated dagger in hand. “However, that’s not what I need right now, right now I want to know if the Empress has interest in my territory…” He aimed the knife right at the Lotus tattoo, much to the panic of the imprisoned Lotus member. “So I ask once more before I peel that tattoo off of your skin and mail it to your boss, what is she planning?”

The man again held his tongue, remaining silent to the faceless mask of The Cowl. Of course, the Cowl sighed, raising the dagger a bit. “Oh, I was so wishing to do this the easy way…”

“Sir! We’ve got some news!” A thug shouted from the hall, rushing into the cell, much to the chagrin of The Cowl.

“Chang….can’t you see I’m a little busy?” The Cowl responded, his tone a gentle annoyance as he held the dagger poised to jam into the rat’s flesh.

“It...it’s from home, sir. Back in Lost Haven...” The thug named Change managed to stammer out. “It’s new you really, really need to hear for yourself, if it came from me it would just sound crazy…”

A brief silence, then enough sigh erupted from the Cowl’s lungs. “This better be good, Chang. I’m not really in the mood for anything less than fantastical.” He handed the heated dagger to another one of the men in the cell before leaving.

“Believe me….you have no idea…”

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

War-Pulse

Character you have created: War-Pulse
Alias: Trenton Hurst

Speech Color: Light Blue

Character Alignment: Walking the Line

Identity:Known

Character Personality: At first impressions, one would define War-Pulse as nothing more than a superpowered brute. He talks trash, acts tough, and revels in throwing himself into the first brawl that comes his way. For the most part, these actions are genuine, very few would read him has anything more than a cocky powerhouse who's first action to any situation is to blast it to smithereens. However, underlying the rough and tough attitude of War-Pulse lies a surprisingly friendly and charismatic individual with a sincere side. He is not without certain morals, ethics, or a code of honor, nor will he shy away from delivering a firm fist to whomever he thinks deserve it. Direct, blunt, and unafraid of reprisal, this lovable mercenary is one who wouldn’t mind sharing a drink with anyone.

Uniform/costume: War-Pulse stands at about 6'3'', with a very muscular appearance. His jet black hair is an unkempt, medium length, just hanging over the ears. Typically he is dressed in battle attire, wearing a stolen silver and black suit that is a prototype nano-weave armor from STIKE Facilities, providing decent protection with superior flexibility. The mask that covers the lower half of his face serves as both a filter for gases and loose debris that may hit him during an altercation, though leaving his steel blue eyes free of any cumbersome goggles or visors that would obscure his vision.

Origin Info/Details: Trenton is end result of a procedure funded by a defense corporation known as VIGIL Industries, a retrofitted weapons project to create a soldier with unlimited ammo. During his infancy, he was suffering from his body degrading much quicker than it should, a condition that would render him dead before he even could begin to crawl.

Not to be concerned with fate, his mother Valerie Hurst, the head scientist of the weapons division was already working on a nanobot project called the “War-Pulse” project. The project was meant to give any soldier unlimited ammo through energy converters to deliver powerful kinetic bursts. Quickly working on a genetic variation of the project, she had an experiment done on Trent in secret to save his life. Genetically enhancing his body, she forced him to grow new organs to deliver the same type of energy absorption technology, which would empower his cells and keep them from degrading.

With that project Trent’s life was saved, but two unforeseen circumstances came from this procedure. VIGIL quickly found out what their head scientist had done, and demanded the boy back under their custody. Valerie was able to talk them down to keeping him for ten years, but that was borrowed time. In that time, Trent’s body evolved and developed the organs put in his body, becoming much more powerful than the project originally intended, and developed powers that VIGIL had not even considered.. By age 8, Trent was physically capable of punching straight through steel with a kinetic punch.

Trent’s father Owen, however, was mortified by the whole project, his son now a mutated monster and his wife seemingly willing to give the boy over. He threatened to deliver the whole story to the CIA, in which he was a high ranking agent in, not willing to have VIGIL mutilate their child any more. That night, Owen was shot dead in his home by Valerie, and unfortunately Trent was witness to this event. Before she could even speak to him he ran from his home without ever turning back.

With the death of his father and no real home to go back to, Trent ended up growing up as a superpowered street rat, stealing and fighting to get what he wanted when not huddling up in the local orphanage. He learned very quickly that his superpowers made it very easy to do whatever he liked, and that perhaps he could make a living off of them. Quickly he became acquainted with mercenary work, by age 17 he was already a full-fledged and successful mercenary overseas in third world countries. He performed countless sieges, assassinations, and sabotage for whoever paid him enough. That is, until one incident in Syria, where he was hired to assassinate a dignitary. Something happened on that mission that changed the way he did business, he shortened his client list, took less pay, even began attacking certain groups unprovoked. What happened in Syria is unclear, but it changed the man he was, what that means for him in the future is unknown.

Hero Type:Energy(Kinetic)

Power Level:
World Level

Powers:

Kinetic Absorption- War-Pulse has a secondary set of organs synthetically grown in his body to gather and store kinetic energy, and as such War-Pulse's power comes from him acting as a very large energy battery. On contact with a source War-Pulse can absorb any and all energies and his body will break it down to the purest possible level of potential energy. This can range from Thermal, Kinetic, Nuclear, Ionic, Radiant, Magnetic, Chemical, Electric, and Mechanical. In recent years, his powers have even evolved and encapsulated supernatural and magical energies, allowing him to store to control and expel at will. However, once the energy is broken down, it can only be used as Kinetic energy. He always has enough energy in his system to be on par to be at a certain baseline.

Kinetic Blasts- With energy coursing through his system, War-Pulse is able to concentrate the stored energy in Kinetic bursts from the pores of his skin. Along with the default beams, explosives, and area-of-effect bursts, War-Pulse has developed a special attack where he has originated his name from. War-Pulse will refract a burst of energy with a close range shotgun burst by building up too much energy in his hand, turning what would be a normal punch or push into a Kinetic explosion, or ‘Pulse’ from his hand, which is where his namesake comes from.

Enhanced Strength- War-Pulse is able to kinetically empower his musculature to go far beyond even the superhuman limit his genetically enhanced body’s limitations. Depending on his energy intake, he can lift around 10 tons to well over 100 tons effortlessly. War-Pulse is also capable of firing kinetic energy from his elbow to increase the momentum of his punches.

Enhanced Durability- War-Pulse is constantly enveloped in a Kinetic sheath around his body, rendering him invulnerable to conventional attacks and weaponry. He can expand this barrier to surrounding allies, however the expansion requires more concentration and lacks the integrity of the original sheath.

Enhanced Speed- By expelling Kinetic Bursts behind him along with supercharging his feet, he can push himself to supersonic speeds.

Enhanced Reflexes- War-Pulse already has a heightened sense of awareness due to his connection to the energies around him, along with metahuman enhancements. However, he can add to the speed of his movements by releasing kinetic energy from his body in careful bursts.

Fight- By continuously expelling energy from his feet, War-Pulse is able to achieve flight at supersonic speeds.

Hand-to-Hand Combat Skills- Trent has gone out of his way to make sure that even if he is met with his match in terms of power, he can best them on skill alone, and has trained his body in multiple martial arts.

Attributes (Select one at each category):

Strength Level:100+ tons(Depending on Energy Intake)

Speed/Reaction Timing Level: 100+ MPH(Depending on Energy Intake)

Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: 5 hours, can go longer with use of his energy reserves.

Agility: 20X

Intelligence: Average(With exceptions to battle situations and basic knowledge of his own powers, in which he registers as Genius)

Fighting Skill: Mastered

Resources: Large(For a mercenary, he is very well paid)

Weaknesses: War-Pulse’s energy capacity is limitless, but that does not mean it is recommended. The more Pulse stores in his body, the less likely he is to control it, to the point where he could possibly cause irreparable damage to himself and others in its use. That being said, if Pulse were also to exhaust all energy reserves, he would simply die as his body can no longer support itself without any energy flowing through it. He is also susceptible to mental attacks, as his mind has no real means of defense from such strikes.

Supporting Characters:
Valerie Hurst- Trent's Mother/creator, she is single-handedly the most necessary and hated person in Trent's life, even when he has not spoken to her since he was 8 years old.

Owen Hurst- Trent's father, and an influencial figure in the CIA. He was killed by Valerie when he threatened to give information to the authorities on War-Pulse.

Rose Prescot - An old friend from the orphanage Trent grew up in, now currently residing in New Haven.

Reggie Samuels - An old friend from the orphanage Trent grew up in, also currently residing in New Haven.

"Warden"- Another secret project, claiming to be created by U.S. government to be a living data bank, a man who's brain allows him to think three steps ahead of everyone else. He quickly met War-Pulse and forged a partnership as War-Pulse's agent, getting him contracts around the world.

Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

Alright, well I'll get into works on a post for all three of my characters, hopefully they will all show up within next week(this week is a bit...hectic)