Melanie "Arachne" Rogers - PL 8
Occupation: YouTuber
Place of Birth: Illinois, USA
Age: 29 |
Inheritance Species: Drider |
Gender: Female
Eyes: Crimson |
Hair: Black |
Skin: Pale White
Height: 7' (213 cm) |
Length: 8' (244 cm) |
Legspan: 41'2" (1255 cm) |
Weight: 485 lb. (220 kg)
Strength 8, Stamina 8, Agility 2, Dexterity 0, Fighting 8, Intellect 2, Awareness 0, Presence 2
Advantages
Attractive*, Benefit - Wealth (well-off), Connected, Fast Grab, Improved Grab**, Improved Hold, Startle
*Advantages granted by power.
**Improved Grab is granted by Extra Limb, as per the power's description.
Skills
Acrobatics 3 (+5), Insight 6 (+6), Intimidation +12 (+16)**, Perception 6 (+6), Persuasion 6 (+8), Stealth +12 (+10)*
*Skill modifier granted by power.
**Skill granted by power. Limited to arachnophobes.
Powers
Arachnid Stealth: Enhanced Trait 4 (Traits: Stealth +12 (+10))
Enhanced Physique (Advantages: Attractive)
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Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Stamina 4 (+4 STA)
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Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Strength 4 (+4 STR)
Feature Can fit in any space as if she was Size rank -2
Regrowth: Regeneration 1 (Every 10 rounds)
Spider Body: Growth 4 (+4 STR, +4 STA, +2 Intimidate, -4 Stealth, -2 active defenses, +1 size rank, +4 mass ranks; Permanent)
Spider Legs
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Feature Can't be tripped
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Elongation: Elongation 2 (Elongation: 60 feet; Limited: Legs only, Permanent)
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Extra Limbs: Extra Limbs 2 (2 extra limbs;
When working in unison, the spider legs function as up to two extra arms)
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Leaping: Leaping 1 (Leap 15 feet at 4 miles/hour)
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Speed: Speed 1 (Speed: 4 miles/hour, 60 feet/round)
Spider Senses: Senses 5 (Accurate Ranged Touch, Darkvision)
Spider Web and Venom
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Create Web: Create 8 (Volume: 125 cft., DC 18; Feature: Can be used as glue or adhesive tape, Impervious, Innate, Stationary, Subtle: look natural, Tether; Distracting, Limited: Can only create spider web and silk, Permanent, Quirk: Reduced Volume, Quirk: Stationary requires anchor)
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Venom: Progressive Affliction 8 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18; Progressive; Grab-based, Slow: 5 minutes between checks)
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Web Trap: Progressive Shapeable Area Affliction 4 (1st degree: Hindered and Vulnerable, 2nd degree: Defenseless and Immobile, Resisted by: Parry, Overcome by Damage, DC 14; Shapeable Area: 30 cft., DC 14, Extra Condition, Progressive, Subtle, Triggered 2: 2 uses - Touch; Custom: Takes one round per cft to set up, Distracting, Limited Degree)
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Web-binding: Cumulative Affliction 8 (1st degree: Hindered and Vulnerable, 2nd degree: Defenseless and Immobile, Resisted by Parry, Overcome by Damage, DC 18; Cumulative, Extra Condition; Grab-based, Limited Degree)
Trigger Arachnophobia: Enhanced Trait 4 (Traits: Intimidation +12 (+16); Limited: to arachnophobes)
Wall-crawling: Movement 2 (Wall-crawling 2: full speed)
Web Sense: Senses 4 (Extended Touch 4: x10k; Limited: Must use web as medium, and only while in physical contact with it)
Offense
Initiative +2
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 18)
Throw, +0 (DC 23)
Unarmed, +8 (DC 23)
Venom: Progressive Affliction 8, +8 (DC Fort 18)
Web Trap: Progressive Shapeable Area Affliction 3 (DC Parry 13)
Web-binding: Cumulative Affliction 8, +8 (DC Parry 18)
Languages
English
Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 8, Toughness 8, Will 8
Power Points
Abilities 28 + Powers 64 + Advantages 3 + Skills 7 (21 ranks) + Defenses 18 = 120
Complications
Famous on the Web: Melanie caught a lucky break in being one of the first in a new wave of YouTubers—Supernatural vloggers. Although she lost her job as a barista due to her transformation, Melanie now has an above average income making videos where she talks about and shows her daily life. Of course, being about the only drider YouTuber probably helps with that. Of course, being internet famous and recognizable can be both positive and negative.
Prejudice: Ever since her transformation, Melanie has been treated
very differently. Typical reactions include head turning, eyebrow raising, and keeping one's distance. Then there's the occasional arachnophobe who straight up freaks out, or "monster chaser" trying to woo her. For the most part, people just seem to be
uncomfortable around her.
Motivation - Acceptance and Recognition: Coming to terms with her transformation was very tough for Melanie. She's since come to accept her new existence and is currently doing her best to own it too. Still, Melanie feels a strong need to be accepted and even validated, which often manifests itself as a need for attention. Nothing makes her feel better than hearing people say good things about her.
Nutritional Requirements: Melanie needs to eat 2.5 times as much as a normal human in order to avoid starvation, and out of this 85% needs to be rich in protein. As such, much of her income is spent on food, usually on meats.
Responsibility - YouTuber: Although she's been lucky to get popular enough to make a living off of YouTube in just one year, having such a young channel also means that she has to make a video at least once every other day in order to keep a steady stream of ad revenue flowing. This kind of job also requires her to be active in social media.
Appearance
Melanie has the body of a massive black spider below her waist. The rest of her body is well-built, pale white, and traditionally attractive. She has shoulder-length black hair and crimson eyes. While her upper body is mostly human-looking, Melanie has a pair of large, retractable fangs in her mouth.
Personal History
Melanie Rogers grew up in the village of Elizabethtown, Illinois. She was an only child in a household that was working class and conservative. Much to her parents' dismay, Melanie showed very tomboyish tendencies at an early age, preferring to play with boys and keeping common house spiders as pets. Her parents did their best to try and guide her into "the right direction" and tolerate what they couldn't "fix."
When Melanie reached puberty, she noticed a lack of attraction to boys, followed by the realization that
she was attracted to girls, and she made sure to keep this secret from her parents. It wasn't until her mid-teens that Melanie got her first, secret, girlfriend, and the two did a pretty good job of hiding their relationship. That is, until prom night in her senior year of high school.
Both she and her girlfriend went to prom without dates, after which they attended a post-prom party that had, unbeknownst to their parents, alcoholic beverages. Melanie accidentally got drunk and proceeded to make out with her girlfriend right in front of several of their classmates, one of whom recorded it on his phone and posted it on facebook. It didn't take long for their parents to find out about it, and they were furious. The argument between Melanie and her parents got so heated that she just decided to pack whatever she could carry and leave. On her way out of Elizabethtown, Melanie asked her girlfriend to come with her, but she didn't want to leave, making Melanie even more upset.
Melanie left for the Mirum Urbem, where she had an online friend, Sarah Williams, who let her sleep at her place and even helped get her a job as a barista at Starbucks.
Over a decade later, Melanie still had the same job but now lived in her own apartment. Spending her free time perusing the web, watching YouTube, and hanging out with Sarah. Her life wasn't really that exciting, but she didn't really mind all that much.
When she caught the Devolution Virus, Melanie was so overcome with hunger that she practically emptied her fridge and freezer, after which she fell into a food coma. When she finally woke up, Melanie was horrified to find her entire lower body to be that of a giant spider. Once the initial shock had passed, she called in sick to work and spent the whole day trying to figure things out and watching the news. Melanie had Sarah come over to bring her groceries and give her emotional support. Unfortunately, Sarah was arachnophobic and as soon as she saw her friend, she dropped everything and fled. Melanie was very distraught by this, but she thought better than to run after her.
Without her usual outlet for her feelings, Melanie decided to use her webcam to record herself saying what she needed to say. Without thinking much of it, she then uploaded that video on YouTube, and it went viral. Over the next few days, while Sarah refused to answer her calls, Melanie found that a lot of the comments her video got helped console her, even though a lot others were downright toxic or creepy.
Eventually, Melanie was contacted by Starbucks' legal team, who wanted to "cut their losses" in regards to some of their transformed employees. They offered her in particular $100,000 to resign, as they believed employing her would hurt sales, but couldn't legally fire her for this obvious reason. Melanie accepted their offer, went out and bought some professional video equipment, and decided to take advantage of her internet fame by making more vlogs under the handle "Arachne."
After almost a year, between the ad revenue, Patreon patrons, and merchandise sales, Melanie now makes enough money to live comfortably. Her distinct appearance and content has made her the center of attention at several conventions, ranging from VidCon to DragonCon. Sadly, Sarah has practically cut off all contact with her, and Melanie is struggling to move on.