We've got new addition to our Gotham Villains line and this one is a definite J-Mart Favorite Item!
So you chose to ignore me upon your return...detective. But it is a gift to have you back, a rebirth of our mutual respect and enmity. Now that you know the euphoria of immortality... now, truly, completely, you will be a worthy match to... Ra's al Ghul! - Ra's Al Ghul
RA'S AL GHUL
PL12
OPL: 12;
SPL: 12;
DPL: 11;
FWPL: 9;
HP: 1
Real Name: Ra's Al Ghul
Age: Unknown
Height: 6-5
Weight: 215
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black/Grey
Skin: Olive
Race: Human
Identity: Public
Alignment: Villain
Status: Active
Occupation: The Demon's Head
Base of Operations: Mobile
Team Affiliations: The League of Shadows; The League of Assassins
ABILITIES: STRENGTH 4, STAMINA 5, AGILITY 5, DEXTERITY 5, FIGHTING 14, INTELLECT 9, AWARENESS 7, PRESENCE 7
SKILLS: Acrobatics 2 (+7), Athletics 6 (+10), Close Combat [Swords] 1 (+17), Deception 8 (+15) [
Daze, Durable Lie, Taunt], Expertise [Business] 7 (+16), Expertise [Criminal] 11 (+20), Expertise [History] 6 (+15), Expertise [Military] 4 (+13), Expertise [Theology and Philosophy] 4 (+13), Insight 8 (+15) [
Assessment], Intimidation 8 (+15) [
Startle], Investigation 9 (+18) [
Contacts, Well-Informed], Perception 6 (+13), Persuasion 8 (+15) [
Connected], Sleight of Hand 4 (+9), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 4 (+13), Treatment 4 (+13), Vehicles 4 (+9)
ADVANTAGES: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Benefit (9) (Status, Resources, Wealth 8 – The Demon’s Head, Knowledge of Locations of Lazarus Pits), Clean* (2), Close Attack (2), Connected, Contacts, Daze (1) (Deception), Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll (2), Durable Lie*, Equipment (1), Favored Foe (The Bat Family), Improved Critical (2) (Unarmed, Swords), Improved Disarm, Improvised Tools, Inspire (1), Inventor, Jack-of-all-Trades, Languages (3) (English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Mandarin, 4 others, Base: Arabic), Leadership, Power Attack (1) (Sword), Precise Attack (1) (Close, Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack (7), Set-Up (1), Speed of Thought*, Startle, Takedown (1), Taunt, Weapon Bind, Well-Informed
POWERS:
NONE
EQUIPMENT:
(5 pts)
Sword: Slashing Strength-Based Damage 3, Dangerous; 4 pts
OFFENSE:
Initiative +9
Close Attack +16 [Unarmed +4, Critical 19-20]
Swords +17 [Sword +7, Critical 18-20]
Ranged Attack +12
DEFENSES:
Dodge +13 [DC23] Parry +15 [DC25]
Toughness +7 (+5 without Defensive Roll), Fortitude +8, Will +10
COMPLICATIONS:
Arrogance: Ra’s believes he knows what is best for everyone and the world, and that he alone has the will to do what must be done to save it.
Enemy: The Batman family, in particular Batman and Damian.
Obsession: Ra’s is obsessed with his own mortality and the legacy he must leave to a worthy successor.
Abilities 112 + Skills 55 (110 ranks) + Advantages 53 + Powers 0 + Defenses 15 = 235 / 235
Build Comments: I was almost OK with using the DCA Ra’s for my setting, but I couldn’t help myself, I thought he was just a tad overpowered, plus, I wanted to refine a couple of things that were not done in the core build. My Ra’s has his cash noted, and a limit on his equipment, just for giggles, since he can afford whatever the hell he wants. But he’s still a scary swordsman and a manipulator of the highest order that can be a major pain for the Bat Family or even a group like the Justice League, given the right usage of resources.
Secret Origins: Ra's al Ghul's early life and exact age are somewhat difficult to recount, but it is believed that he was born over six hundred years before his first encounter with Batman. He was born into a tribe of desert nomads somewhere in Arabia, near a city whose inhabitants' ancestors have journeyed to the Arabian Peninsula from China. Ra's was interested in science from an early age, and abandoned his tribe to live in the city, where he could conduct his scientific research. He became a physician and married a woman named Sora, the love of his life.
Ra's discovered the secret of the Lazarus Pit and saved a dying prince by lowering him into it. The prince, who was sadistic to begin with, was driven completely insane by the Lazarus Pit. He proceeded to strangle Sora, on whom he already had his eye for some time. The ruler of the city, unwilling to admit to himself his son's culpability, declared Ra's guilty of the crime and sentenced him to a slow, tortured death in a cage with Sora's corpse.
Ra's was set free by the son of a dying elderly woman, whom Ra's had earlier examined. The son felt that he owed Ra's a debt for easing his mother's suffering during her last few hours. Ra's and the son headed into the desert to seek the tribe of Ra's birth. Ra's convinced the head of his tribe, his uncle, to follow Ra's in his quest for revenge by promising the downfall of the king of the city. By understanding the germ theory of disease hundreds of years before anyone else, Ra's was able to infect the prince with a deadly virus by sending him contaminated fabrics. When the ruler of the city came to ask Ra's to cure the prince again, Ra's killed both him and his son. Ra's then leads his tribe to raze the city to the ground and kill all of its inhabitants. Subsequently, Ra's declares himself the "Demon's Head."
The Story so Far: Ra's spent the next several centuries journeying the world. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution and became a formidable warrior. During this time, Ra's, his uncle, and the boy are all using the Lazarus Pits to prolong their lives until an incident in London. Ra's catches the boy writing his own memoirs in their original language, of which Ra's has forbidden all records. During a battle, Ra's killed the boy and fled to a Lazarus Pit, which he used. When he returned to their home in London, his uncle had vanished with the remnants of their historical records.
Over time, he becomes a master of many forms of combat, notably fencing. He also built up vast wealth and created The Demon, a vast international organization. According to Batman’s research, "It has been whispered in the darkest places for 500 years that a cartel of criminals has slowly sucked its way into the rich veins of the Earth. Many are its names spit from the mouths of men, but most often it is cursed only as ...The Demon. It has a leader ... a Head." The League of Assassins, one of the many smaller organizations making up The Demon, is thus sometimes called "The Demon's Fang" or "Demonfang".
Ra's returned to prominence and came dangerously close to realizing his dream of worldwide genocide in his first encounter with Batman. His organization unleashed a deadly virus known as Ebola Gulf A (a.k.a "The Clench") in Gotham City, putting Batman in conflict with a force he seemingly cannot defeat. A cure is eventually located by Batman and his allies, though the mastermind behind the outbreak is not discovered immediately. After learning that the Demon's Head still lives, Batman and his team circled the globe, preventing further outbreaks of the virus.
Ra's allied himself with Bane, the man who once crippled and nearly killed Batman. Ra's considers Bane a potential heir to his empire, despite his daughter Talia's distaste for the criminal mastermind. Eventually, Batman deduces a way to eliminate the Clench virus from an ancient "Wheel of Plagues" artifact whose knowledge has aided Ra's in the creation of the disease. The immortal madman again eludes justice, however.
Later, Ra's discovered Batman's contingency plans for stopping the other members of the Justice League, should they turn or be turned evil, and used them to try to destroy the group. Meanwhile, Ra's stole the bodies of Batman's parents. This theft prevented Batman from realizing Ra's was using his traps until it is too late, as he was distracted by the search for the corpses of his parents.
Though defeated, Ra's does cause the exit of Batman from the League, who then distrusted the Caped Crusader. Though some of the Leaguers resented Batman's plans, they agreed that the plans were created for the right reasons.
One of Ra’s other children, Nyssa Raatko, furious at her father for abandoning her in a concentration camp during World War II, began plotting to destroy him. Nyssa befriended Talia and then kidnapped and brainwashed her. Nyssa plots to destroy all hope and optimism in the world by assassinating Superman with Kryptonite bullets she stole from the Batcave. While Batman stops Nyssa from killing Superman, he is unable to stop her from mortally injuring her father. A dying Ra's reveals that this is all part of his greater plan to ensure that his daughters will realize that he is correct in his perceptions about the world and what needs to be done to it, and that they would come to accept their destinies as his heirs. Ra's' plan works: both Nyssa and Talia become the heads of The Demon and the League of Assassins. Talia disavows her love for Bruce Wayne, and both sisters declare Batman their enemy. However, it is too late for Ra's, as Nyssa stabbed her father through the heart, seemingly killing him for good. To ensure Ra's will not return, Batman oversees his nemesis’ cremation.
Later, Talia is prompted to read the history of Ra's al Ghul to her son Damian by a mysterious figure from Ra's past: the White Ghost. Unbeknownst to her, the White Ghost plans to use Damian as a vessel for Ra's return. However, mother and son escape before the plan is completed. After the escape, Batman confronts the White Ghost; he fights Batman, but accidentally falls into a Lazarus pit.
Afterwards, Ra's al Ghul has returns, having evaded death by transferring his consciousness into the body of another. Because his host body is decaying from radiation poisoning, he needs to transfer his mind into another host body. His first choice is that of his grandson Damian Wayne, but Damian escaped to alert his father.
Upon taking Ra's to a "Fountain of Essence," which contains the qualities of a Lazarus Pit, Batman is confronted with the sight of Sensei, who is revealed to be Ra's father. After defeating Ra's, Sensei fights and impales Batman with a cane. Determined to win, Batman drags the Sensei into the Fountain, where he is killed for not being a pure soul. Ra's, meanwhile, has taken over the body of a Nanda Parbat monk and departs. Healed by the Fountain, Batman emerges and yells for Ra's.
Ra's attempts to make amends with Batman after his resurrection, but Batman responded by crushing his decaying fingers. Ra's accepted this latest rebuke and, with the help of his men, overpower Batman and capture Damian, who has arrived to try and help his father. Ra's attempted to take over Damian, but Batman breaks free just as Robin, Talia, Alfred Pennyworth and Nightwing arrive to save him. While the battle ensues at Nanda Parbat, the White Ghost takes Ra's to a secluded place, where the terrorist appears to accept the fact that his death is inevitable. However, the White Ghost, revealed to be Ra's estranged, albino son Dusan al Ghul, offers up his own body instead. Ra's performs the transfer of souls, but the White Ghost dies soon afterward. Ra's resumes the battle and attempts to kill Batman, but is stopped by the monks at Nanda Parbat, who instead banish him from the temple.
Ra's, in his new body, moves his base of operations to Gotham City where it is revealed that a remnant of his son Dusan's consciousness still remains within him. This arrogance attributes to the brazen move to Gotham and a subsequent ninja attack on Batman, which indirectly leads to the discovery of a map of all the known Lazarus Pit locations across the globe. Batman then infiltrates Ra's new Gotham penthouse headquarters and easily defeats his horde of ninjas and Ra's himself.
Ra's later shows interest in the Red Robin's journey for the then-deceased Batman, assisting Red Robin in his search to prove that Batman was still alive.
When word comes out that Vicki Vale had deduced the identities of virtually every "Bat" in Gotham, Ra's spread the word out through Gotham's underground. This lead to every possible criminal attempting to kill the reporter. When that fails, he sends some of his best assassins, the Seven Men of Death, to take care of her. When they're stopped by a back-up Birds of Prey team, Ra's confronts Vicki himself. However, before he could kill her, the mysterious new vigilante "Insider" arrives and reveals himself to be the returned Bruce Wayne. He is able to dissuade Ra's from acting and the mastermind departs.
Characterization: Ra's al Ghul is an international terrorist and assassin whose ultimate goal is a world in perfect environmental balance. He believes that the best method by which this can be achieved is to eliminate most of humanity. Ra's usually tries to assault the world's human populace with a biological weapon, such as a genetically-engineered virus. He is aided in this quest by the Lazarus Pits, reservoirs of rejuvenating chemicals that restore the dying to life; these pits have granted him a lifespan of several hundred years.
Friends and Foes: He considers Batman his worthiest opponent, and has frequently sought to make the Dark Knight his successor. He is one of the few criminals in Batman's rogues’ gallery to have deduced his secret identity as Bruce Wayne. Ra's usually refers to Batman as 'Detective', possibly in recognition of his formidable mental prowess, and the intellectual battles in which they engage, as opposed to Batman's traditional physical conflict. For his own part, Batman's opposition to Ra's is complicated by his love for the villain's daughter, Talia.
Ra's is often accompanied by a loyal manservant, Ubu.
UBU
PL8
OPL: 8; DPL: 8; HP: 0
ABILITIES: STRENGTH 5, STAMINA 5, AGILITY 2, DEXTERITY 3, FIGHTING 9, INTELLECT 0, AWARENESS 2, PRESENCE 0
SKILLS: Athletics 4 (+9), Close Combat [Unarmed] 2 (+11), Insight (+2), Intimidation 7 (+7), Perception 2 (+4), Ranged Combat [Firearms] 5 (+8), Stealth (+2), Vehicles 2 (+5), Variable
ADVANTAGES: All-Out Attack, Close Attack (1), Equipment (1), Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Interpose, Languages (1) (English, 1 other, Base: Arabic), Power Attack (2) (Scimitar, Unarmed), Takedown (1), Tough* (2)
POWERS:
NONE
EQUIPMENT:
(5 pts)
Scimitar: Slashing Strength-Based Damage 2, Dangerous 2; 4 pts
OFFENSE:
Initiative +2
Close Attack +9 [Scimitar +7, Critical 18-20]
Unarmed +11 [Unarmed +5]
Ranged Attack +3
Firearms +8
DEFENSES:
Dodge +8 [DC18] Parry +9 [DC19]
Toughness +7, Fortitude +9, Will +5
COMPLICATIONS:
Responsibility: To serve The Demon's Head at all costs.
Abilities 52 + Skills 11 (22 ranks) + Advantages 11 + Powers 0 + Defenses 13 = 87 / 87
Me fail English? That's unpossible. - Ralph Wiggum
