This week we introduce Bladesmith, a Classic villain with a taste for equality. What does that mean though?
Bladesmith As A Character
As a person, Bladesmith wants to elevate the standard of living for all people. However, the hardships of her life have shaped her outlook. She is a casual killer, who will not allow others stand in the way of her vision, even if they may be nearly aligned philosophically, the Bladesmith can stand for no obstructions in her path.
Bladesmith As A Concept
Bladesmith is inspired by villains who, in another light, could just as easily be seen as heroes, or have the right answer, but the wrong approach. This often works best in Bronze or Dark Age campaigns, where players are prepared for moral ambiguity and questioning their own beliefs.
Functionally, Bladesmith can work in other ages as well. However, GMs should consider how the character may need to be adapted for Silver Age games. While Bladesmith is fighting for a broader equality, early X-Men stories and how Magneto was portrayed during this time period as an example of how to interpret a character during this Age.
Introducing Bladesmith Into A Campaign
Bladesmith looks at the larger issues of inequity, but takes it very personally when people are forced into bad situations. Gentrification efforts can lead to attacks on local realtors or government agencies. Targeting local law enforcement, or politicians that push legislation that erodes the average person’s quality of life are easy targets. At the same time, Bladesmith is as likely to strike at media outlets that she sees as deceptive or lulling people into passivity over their station in life.
As a mastermind type, Bladesmith will surround herself with those that will not question why she’s doing what she’s doing. This often means mercenaries, or other guns for hire. Ironically, this has included GEO forces, even though if they knew what her goals were the corporation would crush her. More commonly though, she employs local talent, such as Backlash, or the Black Dragon Fitness Club, who don’t tend to ask questions. It is not above Bladesmith to manipulate someone such as Citizen Red to accomplish certain goals as well.
Bladesmith Redeemed
As discussed in the overview, Bladesmith can serve as a dark foil to a hero’s own beliefs. As such, the approach heroes take with the villain can have a tremendous impact. After introducing the character, GMs can arrange stories where Bladesmith and the heroes are more aligned, such as stopping a human trafficking ring that targets the unhomed or other illegal activities that target the less fortunate. Other options include facing a common threat such as the Eisenreich, which Bladesmith would see as an existential threat to her larger plans of equality through conquest.
This allows the heroes to work with her, before Bladesmith inevitably pushes things too far to eliminate the cause of the problem. However, if the heroes are able to enact meaningful and long lasting change regarding the issue that brought them together; Bladesmith is not so dogmatic as to not see their tactics working.
One possible example would be after introducing Bladesmith as a villain, have her assist the heroes in the Re: Generation X storyline, but be willing to kill the children involved. While her aid will be valuable early on, the heroes will need to stop her from harming mind controlled and even indoctrinated children. If the heroes put in the time after the adventure to ensure the children are acclimating to their lives and reformed, Bladesmith can take notice of these events.
This can lead to future stories where she may be able to be talked down, and eventually reformed into more of an antihero. GMs looking for redemption arcs for Bladesmith can draw from sources such as, the aforementioned, Magneto, along with Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Red Hood, Sandman, and Venom.
Bladesmith
Power Level: Classic
- Attributes: Balanced
- Talents: Diverse
Concepts
- Being born with power is not enough, the body and mind must be trained to prove its worth
- The world is content with mediocrity, and have engineered controls that allow this weakness to fester
- Those who wander aimlessly through life need a leader to guide them
- Yet they would burn half the world to ensure they remain listless because that is what they have been taught to do
- Each battle is an opportunity to improve one’s skills
- Hiding one’s face means not having to hide their powers
Secret Origin
Born into poverty, the woman who would become Bladesmith watched as her family and those around her suffered. They accepted their lot in life, unable to move forward, unwilling to fight back against the status quo. She hungered for a means to improve the world, and then, after a particularly bad fight at school, the means presented itself in the form of a telekinetic blade. Unable to deal with the consequences, she ran.
Over the next few years, Bladesmith changed her identity, more than once, moving from state to state. Using forged records to craft a new identity at each school, she completed her education. During those years, Bladesmith developed her skills creating and using her psychic planes of force along with the martial skills to apply them. While not proud of it, she financed these years through, what she defined as, meaningless crime, robbing department and chain stores, large companies that could absorb the loss and avoid harming anyone who stayed out of her way.
After completing college, it was time to remake herself. This took another three years as she molded and reshaped her looks through cosmetic surgeries to become the perfect doppelganger of Victoria Quick, a reclusive trust fund child. Divorced from her parents, and squandering her wealth on nothing more than childhood fancies, she was a perfect target. Studying her mannerisms, eccentricities, and lifestyle, after the eleventh surgery healed, Bladesmith struck. Slipping into the home between a shift change, while Quick herself was at a spa day, Bladesmith waited. For three days she lurked in the home unnoticed, and then, Victoria Quick was gone, and Victoria Quick was born.
As Quick, Bladesmith refined her arts through personal instructors, and her equipment with the power of money. She no longer needs to engage in “meaningless crime,” Bladesmith’s focus is on something much larger. The dismantling of the system of oppression that plagued her family, and blinds the masses to the lives they should lead.
The irony of Bladesmith’s wealth is not lost on her, and yet the life of Victoria Quick has begun to erode the high ideals of her youth. Seeing the corrupting power of riches first hand, Bladesmith believes that the destruction of the current power will never be enough without a guiding force that can dominate all resistance. Greed will only resurrect the structures of servitude, and therefore there must be at least one who sits above all others. Bladesmith sees the road ahead of her as a challenge, but in the end, the world does not need leaders, it needs a single voice that will drive it to prosperity, and if that can only be the voice of a tyrant, then a tyrant she will become.
Appearance
The petite frame of Bladesmith hides the intense ferocity of the woman. Wearing a silk blouse, leather vest, and long red skirt over knee high boots, Bladesmith conceals her head and face with what appears to be a fitted, stylized, medieval closed helm. However, the helm is made from modern materials, and includes a sensor suite and computer uplink to prevent vision and hearing loss along with giving Bladesmith access to her research files.
Power: Force Blades
Bladesmith is a psychic with limited ability. They are able to create paper thin planes of incandescent force. Discovering her abilities at an early age, she has honed this talent to brutal effect, crafting unbreakable blades of force at a whim.
Fighting Style: Unflinching Eye
From her youth, Bladesmith has been an observer. Just as she trained her psychic powers, so too has she trained her body. Every step of her training has been focused on finding and exploiting openings.
Playstyle: Premeditated Aggression
Bladesmith’s strength is on the attack, her power allows her multiple angles of attack, but little in the way of defenses. In battle, she will often target the most well defended hero, allowing other members of her team to focus on the larger battle.
Bladesmith is a smart tactician, this should be reflected in Supporting Actions, and how she applies her Willpower in combat. While Force Blades allows Bladesmith to focus on individual targets, she can leverage her Willpower to overwhelm foes when the time is right. Spending one of two Willpower to increase her Defense to a Full Role, and add Easier Reflection can shock, perhaps even cripple ranged opponents, while creating a halo of swords with a radius attack and bring down a gang with ease.
Attributes
History 10 Strength 7 Dexterity 10 (1 AP) Constitution 7 Sense 10 (1 AP)
Fortune 7 Wisdom 7 Intelligence 7 Mental 12 Expression 5
Backgrounds
Origin: Generational 10
Catalyst: The Inequity of Man 8
Drive: Prove Your Worth 5
Background: Stolen A Life 3
Talents
Acrobatics 8 Discipline 5 Education 7 Etiquette 5 Fashion 1 Fasting 1 Fitness 3 Negotiation 3 Perception 5 Research 7 Stealth 3 Street Smarts 3 Study: Elite Wealth & Lifestyles 4 (1 AP) Subterfuge 12 Tactics 10 Tracking 4 (1 AP) Wealth 10
Drawbacks
Limitation: Social Pariah (- Attribute to all rolls made as the Victoria Quick persona.)
Boons
Combo: Assassin’s Brutal Strike: Heavy Blow – Move TY
Combo: Size Up: Bypass Armor – Set Up TY
False Identity TY
Acrobatics Supports Set Up TY
Subterfuge Supports Heavy Blow MA
Tools (Elevator, Escape Clause, Hidden Weapon, Smart Device) MA – MA (Wealth)
Cost: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 6 AP
Fighting Styles
Unflinching Eye 10
- Parent Attribute: Sense
- Primary Role: Defense
Secondary Role: Offense (Full Role) MA2
- (S) Bypass Armor 7
- (S) Set Up 7
- (S) Assassin’s Brutal Strike 4
- (S) Size Up 4
Cost: 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 = 18 AP
Powers
Force Blades 12
- Parent Attribute: Mental
- Primary Role: Offense
Defended By: Psyche MA
Devastating (Boost Devastation) MA2
Secondary Role: Defense MA
Passive Defense TY
Activation Required
Reflection MA
- (S) Heavy Blow 10
Cost: 1 Power + 12 Selections + 3 AP
Stamina 27
Willpower 5 / 10
Action Scene Notes
Initiative: 15 (Sense 10 + Perception 5) Dice 3
Defense
Surprised Defense: 7 (Fortune 7) Dice 2 Armor 1
- Activated Blades Surprised Defense: 13 (Fortune 7 + Secondary: Force Blades 6) Dice 3 Armor 2
Normal Defense: 20 (Sense 10 + Unflinching Eye 10) Dice 3 Armor 2
- Activated Blades Normal Defense: 26 (Sense 10 + Unflinching Eye 10 + Secondary: Force Blades 6) Dice 3 Armor 3
Mental Defense: 22 (Mental 12 + Generational 10) Dice 3 Armor 3 Notes Research Advantage
Defense Notes
Etiquette: Once per session, use Etiquette (5) as a Supporting Characteristics when Defending against Mental Attacks that bypass normal Defenses.
Perception: Once per session, use Perception (5) as a Supporting Characteristic for Normal Defense.
Tracking: Once per session, the character may use their Normal Defense instead of Surprised Defense in any Combat where the character has already seen their Opponent.
Offense
Favored Attack: Size Up 25 (Mental 12 + Force Blades 12 + Unflinching Eye 10 + (S) Bypass Armor 7 + (S) Set Up 7 + (S) Size Up 4 + Secondary: Acrobatics 4 – Maneuver Penalties 20 – Combo 10) Dice 5 Range Close Damage – / 14 (Halved After Armor) Notes Bypass Armor: On a Successful Roll, halve the target’s Defense until they take an active Defense against the character. Set Up: Add +15 to the next Attack Roll.
Secondary Attack: Assassin’s Brutal Strike 24 (Mental 12 + Force Blades 12 + Unflinching Eye 10 + (S) Assassin’s Brutal Strike 4 + (S) Heavy Blow 10 + Secondary: Subterfuge 6 – Maneuver Penalties 20 – Combo 10) Dice 5 Range Close Damage 24 (12 Defended By Psyche) Notes Double Heavy Blow, Move one Range Increment, two on a roll of 40+
Additional Attack: Set Up Assassin’s Brutal Strike 19 (Mental 12 + Force Blades 12 + Unflinching Eye 10 + (S) Assassin’s Brutal Strike 4 + (S) Heavy Blow 10 + Secondary: Subterfuge 6 – Maneuver Penalties 40 – Combo 10 + Set Up Bonus) Dice 5 Range Close Damage 30 (15 Defended By Psyche) Notes Quadruple Heavy Blow, Move one Range Increment, two on a roll of 40+
Additional Attack: Heavy Blow 30 (Mental 12 + Force Blades 12 + Unflinching Eye 10 + (S) Heavy Blow 10 + Secondary: Subterfuge 6 – Maneuver Penalties 20) Dice 5 Range Close Damage 22 (11 Defended By Psyche) Notes Double Heavy Blow
Additional Attack: Set up Heavy Blow 25 (Mental 12 + Force Blades 12 + Unflinching Eye 10 + (S) Heavy Blow 10 + Secondary: Subterfuge 6 – Maneuver Penalties 40 + Set Up Bonus 15) Dice 5 Range Close Damage 28 (14 Defended By Psyche) Notes Quadruple Heavy Blow
Offense Notes
Discipline: Add Discipline (5) to any Strength roll or Physical Attack roll after they have suffered 5 Damage. This lasts for 1 turn and may be used once per session.
Education: Once per session, spend 1 Action to advise an Ally. The ally may use half the character’s Education (4) as a Supporting Characteristic for their next Action.
Stealth: Hide from Opponents in Combat, roll Dexterity 10 + Stealth 3 versus the highest Sense + Perception + Tracking. On a successful roll the combatants lose track of the character If the character follows up with an Attack, they use the Target’s Surprised Defense. This may be done multiple times. However, using a power with a visual component increases the Target by 10, unless the Opponent is first distracted by something else.
Subterfuge:Add 2 additional Damage when attacking a foe using their Surprised Defense.
Tactics: Once per session, the character may spend a turn to lay out a strategy. On the following turn all Allies add 2 additional Damage on any Attack assisted by another character and 2 additional Armor on any Defend Others Action.
