|
This week's first COTW is another character from my
mytho-supers Chaos Continuum campaign, and the fourth (and
final) member of the Elementals Elite.
Landslide; "geokinetic" super-villain, amateur
paleontologist
(c) copyright 1984-2001 andi jones
Total Points: 79,427 Points
Age 43; 5'11"; 270 pounds; a thick-set, brawny man with a
square jaw, dark blond hair and blue eyes, and boyish
good-looks that despite his age.
ST 20 [175] - thrust 2d-1, swing 3d+2, Fatigue
30
100 [-] - thrust 11d,
swing 13d
DX 12 [20] - basic speed 8.75*, move 8,
dodge 11/13#
dodge
(boxing) 13/15**#, parry (boxing) 15/17***#
IQ 14 [45] - vision 15, hearing 16
HT 15 [60] - hit points 20, stun 250
WL 16 [80] - fright check 21##
*includes +2 from Running skill
**includes +2 from Boxing against unarmed/thrusting
attacks
***includes +1 from Enhanced Parry
#includes +3/+5 from body-armour PD/stone PD
##includes +5 from Imperturbable
ADVANTAGES: Acute Hearing +2 [4]; Acute Vision +1
[2]; Ally Group (Elementals Elite, 15-)
[150]; Alternate Identity [15]; Appearance
(Handsome) [15]; Contacts (Various) [12];
Costume [15]; Damage Resistance 100 (Ablative, loses
1 per 5 taken, -45%; Regenerates, 1 per turn, +15%; Hardened
x2, +60%; Link, to Passive Defence, +10%; Costs 2 Fatigue,
-10%; Must be on solid ground, -10%; Nuisance Effect, weighs
50 pounds, -10%; Requires activation, -10%) [300];
Doesn't Breathe (Must be buried in earth, -15%)
[17]; Enhanced Move x3 (Matter Surfing, Move 40)
[30]; Enhanced ST +80 (Must be on solid ground,
-10%; No Fatigue Bonus, -25%; Requires Activation, -10%)
[20]; Extra Fatigue +10 (Must be on solid ground,
-10%) [27]; Extra Hit Points +5 [25]; Extra
Stun +170 [340]; Fit [5]; High Pain
Threshold (Must be on solid ground, -10%) [9];
Imperturbable [10]; Invulnerability (Earth/Stone;
Attack Does Not Cause Knockback, +20%; Must be on solid
ground, -10%) [83]; Invulnerability (Knockback; Must
be on solid ground, -10%) [68]; Multimillionaire x4
[100]; Passive Defence +5 (Link, to Damage
Resistance, +10%; Must be on solid ground, -10%; Nuisance
Effect, weighs 50 pounds, -10%; Requires activation, -10%)
[100]; Patron (Shark, 15-) [90];
Regeneration (Regular; Must be buried in earth, -20%)
[20]; Temperature Tolerance x5 [5]; Very Fit
(Must be on solid ground, -10%) [9]; Wealth (Filthy
Rich) [50].
SUPER-POWERS: Bind (Power 7/LC6; Target must be touching
earth, -25%; Target pinned on 10-, -20%) [24]; Bury
(Power 250/LC6; Link, to Choke, +10%; Link, to Wave of
Earth, +20%; Costs 2 Fatigue, -10%; Requires 19 hexes of
earth/stone, -15%; Takes Extra Time, 2 seconds, -10%; Target
must be within 10' of ground, -15%) [1,200]; Choke
(Link, to Bury, +10%; No Resistance, +50%; Reduced Fatigue,
none, +80%; Duration linked to Bury, +50%) [47];
Matter Surfing (Affects Others, +40%; Area Effect, +50%; Can
reach 500' altitude, +15%; Increased Area +1, +20%;
Selective effect, +50%; Leaves permanent trail of churned-up
earth/stone, -10%) [80]; Mold Earth (Power 250/LC4;
Extended Duration x4, +120%; Increased Area, +100 hexes,
+2000%; Movable Area, +40%; Wall x2, +60%) [23,200];
Mold Stone (Power 50,000/LC4; Cardiac Stress, every minute,
-30%; Costs Fatigue, 10 points, -50%; Weakened Without
Preparation, 10 minutes, -15%) [40,000]; Sand Jet
(Power 5/LC4; Area Effect, +40%; Increased Area +19, +380%;
Requires 1 hex loose dirt/sand per target, -10%)
[102]; Shockwave (Power 25/LC8; Doesn't Harm User,
+20%; Increased Area +95, +1900%; Increased Knockback, 1
hex/4 points, +80%; Selective Effect, +50%) [4,300];
Sonar Vision (Not jammed by noise, +20%; Works 360-degrees,
+50%; Must be on solid ground, -10%; Requires IQ roll, -40%;
Works through earth/stone only, -25%) [24]; Stone
Missile (Power 15/LC6; Continuous Beam, +50%; Impaling,
linked to Reduced Range x2 and Takes Extra Time, 4 sec, +0%;
Increased Knockback, 1 hex/4 points, +80%; Instantaneous,
+20%; Knockback Only, +40%; Rapid Fire x9, +360%; Nuisance
effect, requires 2 hexes earth/stone per attack, -10%)
[576]; Stone to Earth (Affects Metals also, +100%;
Area Effect, +40%; Increased Area +99, +1980%; Reduced
Fatigue, none, +200%; Wall x6, +60%; Takes Extra Time, 4
sec, -20%) [394]; Tunnel (Move 60; Affects Others,
+40%; Area Effect, +50%; Increased Area +1, +20%)
[768]; Walk Through Earth (Extended Duration x6,
+180%; Reduced Fatigue, none, +160%) [212]; Wave of
Earth (Power 1,000/LC6; Area Effect, +40%; Link, to Bury,
+20%; Costs 2 Fatigue, -10%; Requires large volumes of
earth, -15%; Takes Extra Time, 8 seconds, -30%)
[6,300].
DISADVANTAGES: Callous [-6]; Delusion ("I am an
extension of the Earth") [-1]; Enemy (Law
Enforcement worldwide, 6-) [-15]; Enemy (The
Phalanx, 6-) [-15]; Guilt Complex [-5];
Intolerance (Humanity) [-1]; Obsession (Run own
museum) [-10]; Phobia (Being buried) [-1];
Reputation -3 (as ruthless super-villain and terrorist, to
all citizens) [-15]; Secret Identity [-30];
Sense of Duty (the Earth) [-5]; Sense of Duty (the
Elementals Elite) [-5].
QUIRKS: Fascinated by dinosaurs; Still not fond of seafood;
Patient; Seldom lonely, though often alone; Tends to think
scientifically and methodically. [-5]
SKILLS: Administration-12 [.5]; Archaeology-13
[2]; Area Knowledge (Rocky Mountains)-16
[4]; Body Language-13* [1]; Boxing-16
[24]; Climbing-15 [16]; Demolition/TL9-13
[1]; Disguise-12 [.5]; Driving/TL7
(Automobile)-10 [.5]; Ecology/TL7-13 [2];
Electronics Operation/TL12 (Communications)-13 [1];
Electronics Operation/TL12 (Medical)-13 [1];
Electronics Operation/TL12 (Sensors)-13 [1];
Electronics Operation/TL12 (Surveillance)-13 [1];
Engineer/TL7 (Mining)-16 [8]; First Aid/TL12-14
[1]; Geology/TL7-17 [10]; Hiking-16/18**
[4]; History (Prehistoric)-13/19 [4];
Judo-16 [32]; Metallurgy/TL7-11 [.5];
Naturalist-15 [6]; Orienteering-14 [2];
Paleontology (Paleozoology)-16 [8]; Paleontology
(Paleoanthropology)-14*** [0]; Research-15
[4]; Riding (Horse)-12 [2]; Running-16
[8]; Scuba-13 [1]; Skating-12 [4];
Skiing-11 [2]; Stealth-14 [8]; Surfboard-18
[40]; Swimming-13 [2]; Teaching-12
[.5]; Tournament Law (Boxing)-16 [4];
Writing-12 [.5].
*includes +1 from Acute Vision
**includes +2 from Very Fit
***default from Paleontology (Paleozoology)
LANGUAGES: English (native)-15 [1].
SUPER SKILLS: Bind-18 [32]; Choke-15 [0];
Mold Earth-16 [16]; Mold Stone-15 [12]; Sand
Jet-15 [20]; Shockwave-16 [24]; Stone
Missile-18 [32]; Stone to Earth-15 [0]; Walk
Through Earth-15 [0]; Wave of Earth-16
[24].
MARTIAL ARTS STYLE: Professional Boxing (variant)
CINEMATIC SKILLS: Blind Fighting-13* [1]; Immovable
Stance-14 [16]; Mental Strength-17 [6].
*includes +2 from Acute Hearing
MANOEUVERS: Arm Lock-18 [1]; Choke Hold-15
[1]; Feint (Boxing)-19 [4]; Jab-16
[2]; Riposte (Boxing)-15 [4]; Roundhouse
Punch-16 [2]; Slip-9 [2].
CINEMATIC MANOEUVERS: Enhanced Parry (bare hands)
[6].
EQUIPMENT
Landslide's costume is a brown and grey body-suit with rigid
pads on the shoulders, elbows and knees; it also includes a
helmet. The suit is made from ballistic battle-cloth (PD 3,
DR 40) and weighs 20 pounds (including the helmet). (This
armour was not purchased as Damage Resistance and Passive
Defence advantages; it's covered as equipment from his
Patron. The suit is protected as per the Costume advantage,
however.) Built into the helmet is a TL12 voice-controlled
micro-computer, which includes a neutrino communicator and a
multi-scanner. Also, Landslide sometimes carries a compact
medkit (also TL12), on those occasions that the Elementals
are anticipating heavier-than-usual resistance.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1959, Calvin Byrne grew up in western Alberta,
Canada in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about 50
miles northwest of Calgary. His parents managed a modest
dairy farm, and young Cal grew up exploring the countryside.
A bright and inquisitive boy, he did well in school, and
turned his fondness for hiking and exploring into the study
of paleontology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Early in 1981, in his third year of school, Byrne's studies
were cut short by a tragic accident; he was hiking alone on
Mount Columbia, scouting locations for a dig, when a ridge
collapsed and buried him under thousands of tons of mud,
earth and stone. Stunned, he found himself alive and
conscious, yet unable to feel his body. Except for a dull
and distant pain, he felt nothing. Time passed, and Byrne
drifted in and out of consciousness. Then, one night, he
awoke feeling rain on his face, and discovered that he was
on the banks of a river more than five miles from the ridge
where he had been buried. Able to move, he realised his
injuries were gone. And then he was even more startled to
find that the mud and sand of the riverbank obeyed his
commands, almost unconsciously. Somehow, the collapse had
triggered the awakening of powers...
Strangely, Byrne did not think to head for home; intrigued
by the possibilities of his new-found abilities, he went
further into the mountains. For days, he explored in a way
he had never been able, and felt almost like an extension of
the earth itself. But he apparently wasn't immune to
exposure, and eventually collapsed; he woke up a week later
in a hospital in Calgary. Afraid the doctors would discover
his powers, he fled, eager to get back to the mountains. His
"psychic connection" to the land seemed intact, and he spent
several months hiking. Byrne briefly considered contacting
his family, but he feared their reactions to his mutant
powers, and knew they wouldn't understand his bond with the
land.
That autumn, Byrne's new life was shook up... Alberta's
booming oil industry began construction of new drilling
equipment in part of the land he felt was "his". He could
almost taste the taint of the machinery, and took an
immediate dislike to the corporation and its employees.
Through the winter, Byrne committed a few acts of sabotage
against the corporation, but he didn't really know what he
was doing. He wasn't caught, but the authorities correctly
surmised that an unidentified metahuman was responsible for
the crimes. Byrne probably would have been caught, if he
hadn't met the air-controlling mutant called Stratos in
February 1982. Stratos believed Byrne had the kind of
potential the Elementals Elite were looking for. At first,
Byrne protested, claiming that he wasn't a criminal. But
Stratos was prepared for his protests, and talked him into
an attack on the corporation responsible for the drilling,
with Stratos there to contribute his own abilities. Byrne's
ethics were overshadowed by his concern for the earth, and
he just couldn't resist the impulse to ruin the drillers...
So he adopted the name Landslide, and he and Stratos
executed a brutal attack on the corporate offices,
completely ruining them. As Stratos anticipated, the obvious
moral issues didn't even phase Landslide; even the deaths of
the employees were irrelevant when he reflected on his
powers, and his new-found devotion to Nature.
Landslide joined the Elementals Elite, and decided that the
life of a super-criminal was good for him. While not as
violent or predatory as his team-mates, Landslide felt that
his powers entitled him to do as he pleased, and it wasn't
long before he was entirely comfortable with the thefts,
murders and destruction of property that were the
Elementals' modus operandi. Shortly after joining the team,
Landslide was living in Atlantis - a fabulous alien
space-craft Shark had discovered in the South Pacific. The
craft's "brain" was an artificially-intelligent computer
programmed with extensive skills and databases, and
Landslide took advantage of them. In his spare time, he
continued the study of paleozoology he had begun at the
University of Alberta. He also studied related fields such
as archaeology, geology and even metallurgy. And he learned
enough about robotics to guide the computer's design and
construction of the S.C.U.B.A. that would become the
Elementals' signature agents and troops.
Meanwhile, Landslide and his team-mates continued what was
shaping up into the most brutal and extensive crime-wave in
world history. Between 1982 and 1988, the Elementals
committed thousands of murders, stole billions of dollars in
money and property, and became wanted criminals in dozens of
countries around the world. They clashed with police, world
militaries and metahuman heroes and super-soldiers from
every corner of the globe. They dispatched all enemies with
equal zeal, with no regards for who they were or their
reasons for being there. No one was able to stop them, and
the Elementals Elite earned a well-deserved reputation as
the most powerful, most wanted, most feared and most
despised super-villains in the world.
Unlike his team-mates, Landslide also pursued something of a
"career" on the side. Using the resources on Atlantis, he
had completed (to his own satisfaction, anyway) his studies
in paleontology. And using some of his share of the
Elementals' loot, he not only financed his own personal digs
- finding and excavating fossils extremely quickly with his
earth-controlling powers - but he anonymously funded
programs and digs at universities all around the world,
especially in western Canada and the American north-west. He
spent tens of millions of dollars on his paleontological
pursuits, living virtually every fossil-hunter's dream...
But his greatest aspiration was to one day found and direct
a museum of his own, and establish the world's foremost
department in some cutting-edge discipline in paleontology.
The Elementals' crime-wave finally wound down in 1988, when
the weary villains finally decided to stop pushing their
luck and retreat for a while (if only to catch their
breath). During the Elementals' "hiatus", Landslide moved to
Montana and spent two years searching for fossils, and
reconstructing dinosaurs in his barn. Initially he was
happy, content to be digging in the dirt like he had when he
was a child. But as time wore on, he realised that he'd
spent too much time living on Atlantis, and that his "bond"
with the land had suffered. Feeling disconnected, he walked
into the mountains resolved to find what he'd lost. On his
walkabout, Landslide reaffirmed his link to the land, and
could once again taste the taint of developers, machines and
pollution. He felt as though he had reclaimed a lost
purpose, and shared his experience with the other
Elementals. Knowing that Shark possessed a similar affinity
for the oceans, Stratos approached his team-mates about a
new avenue for their aggressions...
The Elementals planned to strike a blow for the environment,
an uncharacteristically noble attitude approached in a
predictably brutal and murderous manner. In March 1992,
Shark got underway by seizing the USS Maine, a nuclear
attack submarine. In June, he appeared at the Earth Day
celebration in Rio and delivered the Environmental Manifesto
- an ultimatum to the world's industrial nations, demanding
that they curtail pollution or face retaliation from the
Elementals. Shark's demands created quite a stir, but no
reforms were made. So, true to their word, the Elementals
retaliated six months later by destroying Sao Paulo, Brazil
with some of the warheads stolen from the US Navy. The world
reacted with outrage and horror at the deaths of 12 million
people, but the Elementals responded only by calmly
extending the deadline one year. In 1993, progress on the
ultimatum stalled in the United Nations and legislatures
around the world. Despite growing fear of further
retaliation, many world governments pinned their hopes on
C.H.E.S.S., the international NATO-sponsored super-agency
that had pursued the Elementals for most of the 1980s.
C.H.E.S.S., however, had little success in tracking down
Shark and his warheads. And in December 1993, the Elementals
destroyed Helsinki, Finland and added another two million
deaths to their cause. The Elementals - primarily Shark and
Stratos - used their mutant powers to hinder radioactive
contamination in the aftermath of their attacks. Even so,
Landslide was a little surprised (and disappointed) by the
lack of official response to their demands.
By the start of 1994, the failure of the United Nations to
deal with the Elementals' eco-terrorism was plainly evident,
and the public was desperate for protection. The closest
thing anyone would get to rescue came in the form of the
Phalanx, a team of powerful super-heroes with corporate
sponsorship. With great cunning, the Phalanx began zealously
hunting the Elementals, and nearly captured them on several
occasions. Undaunted, the Elementals pressed on, hoping to
keep the pressure on the United Nations. No further progress
was made there, however, and in December the Elementals
prepared for another nuclear attack, this time in Seattle,
Washington. But the Phalanx interfered, preventing the
destruction of the city and ambushing the Elementals in a
near-perfect trap. Landslide and his team-mates barely
escaped, only to find themselves lured into a clash with a
group of Navy warships. Shark - already in a state of frenzy
- whipped up a category-five hurricane and sent more than
10,000 sailors to the bottom of the Pacific. The Elementals
were lucky to escape with their lives.
Realising their campaign of political pressure was not
working, the Elementals chose to take matters more directly
into their own hands. By the start of 1995, they'd switched
gears completely, and began attacking mills, factories,
drilling platforms, fishing fleets, power plants and other
environmentally-damaging industries... They destroyed
facilities, killed workers, sank ships and ruined massive
corporate infrastructures in a dizzying series of brutal,
savage attacks reminiscent of their crime-wave ten years
earlier. The Phalanx continued to dog their movements, but
the Elementals were on the offencive again, and managed to
evade the super-heroes. For more than a year and a half, the
Elementals continued their attacks, putting a significant
dent in the economy in the process.
But by the middle of 1996, the global economy was being hit
harder by the weather than it was by the Elementals. A year
earlier, the planet's atmosphere had become corrupted by an
Abyssal phenomenon known as the Demon Winds, a super-natural
super-storm brought to Earth by Set, the ancient Egyptian
god of evil. All around the world, the weather became
violent and severe, and each year the length of winter grew
by a couple months. Doom-sayers and media worldwide reported
that the heavy weather was the Fimbulvetr, the three-year
winter prophesied to precede Ragnarok. Others saw the
reckoning coming as well, and people all around the world
began to brace themselves for the Apocalypse, or Judgement
Day, or Revelations... Fears of Y2K only heightened
anxieties. By 1999 - a year of uninterrupted winter
world-wide - Shark had begun lending his weather-controlling
powers to a group of super-heroes known as the
Storm-Chasers, who travelled the world trying to protect as
many people as possible from the effects of the Demon Winds.
Stratos actively aided in that effort, but Landslide and
Flamethrower were involved only in a supporting capacity.
(Needless to say, Shark's cooperation with the Storm-Chasers
was controversial, and his motives were typically
self-serving. Shark knew that the extra-planar nature of the
Demon Winds had the potential to alter Earth's ecology
permanently and disastrously, and didn't want to see that
happen.)
When not watching Shark's back on a mission with the
Storm-Chasers, Landslide was spending his time at his ranch
in Montana, trying to continue his work and plan the
construction of his museum. Publicly (with regards to his
team-mates, that is), he was fine. But privately, he was
not. Much of the apocalyptic talk in the media centered on
the philosophical causes of the impending Judgement Day, and
a common theme was that Mankind was at the tail end of an
age of loose morals and lawlessness. Landslide - never a
religious man - thought about his spiritual connection to
the Earth, and wondered if there wasn't more he could or
should have done...
ENCOUNTERED
More so than any of his fellow Elementals, Landslide is -
for the most part - a quiet man, stable and reliable, and
above all consistent. Like his team-mates, his personality
is in many ways a reflection of the element under his
control. His approach is scientific, analytical, ruled less
by emotion and more by rationality. He favours logical
choices, dislikes taking unnecessary risks, and hates
feeling hurried. He would rather measure twice and cut only
once.
Landslide's attitude towards the world, and towards
Humanity, is one of callous detachment. As a child, he
always felt more at home exploring the foothills of the
Rockies than he did with his family, or classmates at
school. In 1981, when he was buried in the rock-slide in the
mountains, he really felt as though he had died and been
reborn under all that earth and stone. (Although a critical
turning point in his life, he still remembers the terror of
the event itself, which is why he still becomes mildly
anxious when he has to bury himself to regenerate...) And
once he was re-born, any link he had to other humans was
severed. It was just him and the Earth. When he met the
Elementals Elite, he identified with their "mutant
supremacy" ideology enough to join their ranks, though he
was never as passionate about it as the others. He was
content to think of himself as an expression of nature
superior to normal humans, the way a large tree might tower
over smaller shrubs; he doesn't necessarily hate humans, he
just doesn't care about them.
And even the guilt he now wrestles with is more about the
health of the Earth, and not her human inhabitants.
Landslide doesn't feel guilty for the 15 million deaths he's
contributed to. Rather, he fears that he is somehow
partially responsible for the planet's current afflictions,
or that he could (or should) have done more, or done
differently. While not religious in the traditional sense,
Landslide would like to believe he possesses a kind of
spirituality, that his bond of kinship with the Earth is
genuine, and not imagined. But at the same time, the scope
of the Demon Winds and the possibilities of events like
Ragnarok and the Apocalypse have left him bewildered...
Should he have felt this coming? When he restored his bond
with the Earth on walkabout in 1991, did he miss something?
Has he been fooling himself? Landslide feels like he ought
to be doing something, but he has no idea what it would
be...
LANDSLIDE'S POWERS
Landslide can control earth, and in some sense he is
controlled by it in return. He has several abilities that
only function when he is in physical contact with the
ground; these include Enhanced ST, Extra Fatigue, High Pain
Threshold, Invulnerability and Very Fit. (Note that he also
has the Fit advantage, which is why the Very Fit advantage
costs 5 points less than it should.) And in the case of
Regeneration, he must actually be buried in earth or dirt.
In general, the GM has discretion as to what constitutes
"contact" with the ground. Standing at ground level
qualifies, even if the ground is covered with asphalt, wood,
astroturf, etc.. Being indoors definitely counts on the
ground floor or in any basement, and if the building's
construction features a lot of stone or brick, the GM may
rule that is sufficient. Large amounts of metal can maintain
contact, provided they are rooted into the earth - as in the
steel skeleton of a skyscraper. But the metal hull of an
airplane or submarine does not count. And any time Landslide
is riding a wave of earth (as per Matter Surfing) it counts
as contact, even at his maximum altitude.
Among Landslide's contact-dependent powers are his defencive
abilities... He has two forms of Invulnerability, to
Earth/Stone and Knockback. This means that earth and stone
will never injure him. No fall onto solid ground will hurt
him. It cannot crush him, nor suffocate him. No attack made
of earth or stone - his or anyone else's - can harm him. And
as long as he's standing on terra firma, he cannot be moved
or knocked down by any attack, even those that cause
injuries. (Note that Landslide can be lifted off the ground,
but it must be done intentionally, and without dealing
damage.) While these Invulnerabilities function
automatically, his armour must be formed - protecting him in
a 100-pound sheath of stone plates and scales providing PD
5, DR 100. The armour is ablative, losing 1 point for every
5 points of damage it takes; it automatically reforms at a
rate of 1 point per turn. (A faster method to repair the
armour would be to dissolve it, and then spend a turn
re-forming it fresh; the Fatigue cost should discourage
abuse of this.) And any time Landslide is completely covered
in earth, he Regenerates at a rate of 1 hit point per
hour.
Landslide's contact-dependent powers also include several of
general utility. When touching the ground, he can "see" into
solid earth; this is modelled as Sonar Vision, even though
it really represents him "feeling" through the earth -
detecting objects based on their shape, size, density, etc.
- at a distance up to a half-mile. His Matter Surfing power
allows him to create a roughly-circular platform of earth
with an area of 7 hexes - room enough for up to 20 standing
people - at speeds of up to 80 mph, and at altitudes as high
as 500 feet. Below the ground, his Tunnel power can cover
the same area and accommodate an equal number of travellers,
and moves at 120 mph through earth or 60 mph through hard
stone and rock. Subterranean travel (at normal ground Move)
can also be accomplished with Walk Through Earth.
The rest of Landslide's powers are primarily offencive
(though not entirely without utilitarian uses). If grit,
sand or dirt is available, his Sand Jet can blind targets in
an area 40 yards across. His Stone Missile can make up to 10
attacks per turn, provided sufficient stone is available.
Each 15d missile can be fired without concentration, either
individually or combined into larger attacks. They can do
extra knockback, or only knockback. And at the sacrifice of
range and speed, they can be made impaling. And if greater
area is necessary, he can create a Shockwave that emanates
100 yards from its epicenter, doing 25d to desired targets
within that area. Against a target standing on solid ground,
Landslide can pull earth and stone up to bury part of the
victim's body, possibly pinning them, and holding them with
an effective ST 21. A more powerful version of this - called
Bury, but using the Bind skill - opens a gaping hole in the
ground and swallows the target; linked to Choke, it
suffocates while holding the victim with effective ST 750.
And when really pressed, and given time to concentrate,
Landslide can create a massive Wave of Earth in an area as
great as 400 yards across, doing as much as 6dx167 crushing
damage to all within. This is primarily for use against
structures and vehicles, but is obviously devastating when
used against individuals. The power is linked to Bury; the
two powers may be used individually, or as one. Less hostile
earth-control includes Mold Earth, which allows Landslide to
shape and form 67,000 hexes of earth (equalling 2.8 million
cubic feet, weighing more than 70,000 tons); the manipulated
earth will hold its new form for more than an hour before
collapsing. He can also Mold Stone, but not nearly so
easily; he can shape a mere 1,000 cubic feet (50 tons'
worth) of solid stone or brick at a time - but it takes
longer, tires him, and use for more than a minute risks
cardiac arrest. With Stone to Earth, however, he can crush
29,700 hexes of stone (equalling 1.25 million cubic feet,
weighing 62,300 tons) into easily-shaped earth.
(Author's Note: An excellent illustration of powers like
Landslide's can be found in the comic-book villain Terrax
the Tamer, whose battle with the FF in "Fantastic Four" #260
[November 1983] is well worth checking out, and was
a significant source of inspiration for this character.)
THE ELEMENTALS ELITE
Shark: The first time Landslide met Shark, he was
frightened, and some small part of that fear has never worn
off. He trusts Shark, and they share strong sentiments about
the environment - but for Landslide, that underlying fear is
always there. It isn't enough to affect his performance, but
it weighs on him in minor ways.
Flamethrower: Of his three team-mates, Landslide gets along
with Flamethrower best, since they share some mundane
interests, such as attending sporting events, or spending a
night in a pub. Landslide has gotten accustomed to
Flamethrower's tempestuous personality, and has learned not
to take his team-mate's capricious behaviour personally. He
enjoys Flamethrower's company, though usually in relative
small doses.
Stratos: Landslide trusts Stratos because he knows Shark
does, but he nevertheless finds the man's air of mystery
bothersome. (Not because he fears Stratos is hiding anything
important, but because any unsolved puzzle irritates his
scientific sensibilities.) Beyond that, he appreciates
Stratos' intellect, and enjoys talking about science with
him, especially when one of Stratos' enigmatic insights is
exactly the breakthrough Landslide is looking for...
CANONICALITY
As with the other Elementals, Landslide is written to be
used with a selection of optional and house rules. He uses
the "Will as fifth attribute" option, with the addition that
WL is bought from 10, and at same cost as all other
attributes. He uses the QuadST rules; ST is used normally
for all combat, but for purposes of lifting and encumbrance,
use ST^2/10. (At ST 20, Landslide's maximum lift is 1,000
pounds. At ST 100, that amount increases to 12.5 tons.)
Landslide also uses a house variant of the Stun rules from
"GURPS Supers", available online at the address below. His
Ally Group advantage has a base cost of 50 points (for
allies built on more than 100 points); the individual
Elementals are designed on (much) more than 100 points, but
it's probably unnecessary to increase the price of the
advantage. Landslide's Contacts advantage is left open,
allowing the GM to assign them as necessary; they are mostly
criminal contacts that provide illicit financial and legal
services. Landslide's Patron models the benefits of Shark's
space-craft Atlantis. His super-powers include many custom
enhancements and limitations, most of which are "official"
(see LANDSLIDE'S POWERS, above). His DR, however, uses house
rules for its ablative and hardening modifications; see
links below. A couple of his powers are modelled as Knacks;
these are based on spells, but represent metahuman powers.
(The Knacks' base point costs - before modification for
enhancements and limitations - were doubled, to make up for
a lack of Magery and pre-requisites.)
Variant
Stun Rules
Variant
Ablative DR Rules
Variant
Armour-Piercing and Hardening
Rules
WHAT IF?
Landslide is one of a group of villains from a high-powered
supers setting, my mytho-supers Chaos Continuum campaign.
Setting him up as an adversary would require unusually
powerful PC heroes. But ideally, Landslide can be used in
other ways, providing adventures even for PCs unable to
stand toe-to-toe with the Elementals Elite, especially in
Landslide's case, given his fondness for his personal
scientific pursuits. Between his own interests and the
business of the Elementals, Landslide has a lot to do, and
could easily be the patron (or simply employer) of a group
of villains, who could be used as enemies for the heroes.
These "villains" could include metahumans, super-soldiers,
para-military types, robots or anything else the GM finds a
match for the PCs. And if not used as an adversary or
criminal mastermind, Landslide can be used as a background
element in the campaign - he can create an apocalyptic mood,
be used to explore political or social themes through
eco-terrorism, etc.. (Truth be told, the Elementals Elite
are a background element in the Chaos Continuum campaign; in
this case, the PCs have too many more important things to
worry about. For further ideas on using Landslide or the
Elementals, see the WHAT IF? section on Shark's character,
in COTW #34.)
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Cretaceous Park: On his own private tropical island, a
brilliant mad scientist (and criminal mastermind) has
figured out to clone dinosaurs. He is preparing to bombard
them with radiation to coax mutations out of their
prehistoric DNA, so he can sell them to his criminal
cohorts. The PCs are super-heroes, and catch wind of this
plan. They set out for the island, intent on destroying the
dinosaurs, and the labs that created them. But Landslide has
also gotten the word, and he want to preserve the dinosaurs
for study, and will happily kill the PCs to do it. Of
course, the PCs only learn this once they're on the island,
with no way off. Landslide is able to rip up the countryside
looking for them, so they decide that the "safest" place is
in the bush with the dinos - they know he won't
indiscriminately threaten the animals. So it's into the
jungle they go, dodging velociraptors and triceratops,
because that's where it's safest... Now what?
Journey to the Center of the Earth: Last night, the
Elementals stormed through the city, wreaking havoc and
battling police. This morning, there's not much left but a
bone-chilling drizzle and a bunch of torn-ups streets. And
in the middle of one such street, the PCs discover a
tunnel... One of Landslide's, from the night before, and it
hasn't collapsed. The PCs are local vigilantes, or cops, or
curious wannabes - and their curiosity gets the best of
them. They want to follow the tunnel, to see how far it
goes, to see where it leads. It may lead nowhere; it might
collapse a few miles from here, where it passes under the
river. But then, perhaps it's stable, and leads to something
important. Landslide's secret base? Or to a junction of
other secret tunnels? Who knows what kind of adventures are
to be had in this subterranean world, and what the heroes
might find down there...
- written and formatted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
- more thanks to jack and jeff for C.H.E.S.S.
|
