KODIAK
(Power Level 10)
Real Name: Matthew “Matt” Kowalski
Height / Weight: 6’0” / 194 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Brown / Blue
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Solaris, Virginia / February 1, 1961
Place of Death / Date of Death: Vienna, Austria / June 19, 2009
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #12
Tags: #moksha, #neosapien, #usa
Physical Description: Matt comes across as intimidating: even outside of his bear form, he is physical imposing. He seldom smiles, further augmenting this aspect. He has untidy brown hair and an affinity for wearing black shirts that are a size too-small (showing off more of that intimidating physique) with cargo pants and combat boots.
Relationships: Eugene Kowalski (father; deceased), Carol White (mother), Logan White (step-father), Heather Dahler (sister), Dwight Kowalski (brother), Shana Frederick (step-sister), Paul Dahler (brother-in-law), P.J. Dahler (nephew), Abigail Dahler (niece), Sofia Dahler (niece), Robert Kowalski (nephew), Corey Kowalski (great-nephew), Linda Yavorshak (wife; deceased) Stephanie Yavorshak / Flechette (step-daughter), Anna Karell (lover; deceased), Otso Karell / Ursa (son), Joseph Cahan (friend; presumed deceased), Russell Dhaese (friend; deceased), Sean Kircher (friend; deceased), Jerry Meyers (friend; deceased), Mustafa Rauf (friend; deceased), Philip Sonnemaker (friend; deceased)
Biography: Matt Kowalski was born the middle child to Eugene and Carol Kowalski, a middleclass family living in a small town in Virginia. Eugene was a Neo-Sapien capable of transforming into a bear. It was a talent he never used, fearing the social stigma that would accompany his being outted, and a talent he demanded his children never evoked either.
As 1978 began to conclude, 17-year-old Matt saw David of Moksha’s announcement that he was building a sovereign nation where Neo-Sapiens could be free of fear and oppression. Matt urged his father to take the family, but the man refused. Ultimately, Matt ran away from home, sojourned to New York, and left for Moksha.
There, he met Linda Yavorshak and her daughter Stephanie. A romance blossomed, and the two quickly married. Not long after, however, the world’s nations turned on Moksha and threatened the utopia they had worked to construct. In order to save its denizens, Walkabout displaced them around the globe. Matt found himself in Finland, with no idea where his wife and step-daughter were.
For years he tried to find them, aided all the way by Anna Karell. Eventually, Matt and Anna began a relationship—one that resulted in a son, Otso. For years, they lived as a loving family, but news of a former Mokshan’s fate drove Matt to leave another home and another family.
Rallying others from Moksha, Matt led them into the heart of Africa to bring down the warlord and his army, the Ugandan Unity Brigade. A small war began between the guerrillas Matt led and the super-powered mercenaries who captained General Basenji’s forces—one that ended when the UUB learned of Otso’s existence.
NVAE—Faustian Society Arc: Matt was reunited with his estranged son when Otso arrived in Uganda, accompanied by the UUB. Having seen Otso on the news, the group realized he could be manipulated into helping them find the guerilla’s camp. The moment he realized he had been helping the villains, Otso joined his father in fighting back. Along with Joseph Cahan, the pair had been tricked into charging through one of Skew’s portals, only to find themselves in Rwanda.
Following his extraction from Africa, Matt began campaigning to raise awareness of the UUB’s activities and imploring the United Nations to take action against them and dispatch the Vindicators. During one of his rallies, Ironside appeared with a few soldiers from the UUB. They began to open fire on the gathering before being swiftly brought down by a handful of New Vindicators who were nearby.
With the UN now believing the UUB to be moving out of Africa against Europe, UN officials began to listen more carefully to what Matt was saying, making it seem as though Matt’s war with General Basenji may be eminent.
- STR 14 [32] (+11), DEX 14 (+2), CON 14 [30] (+10), INT 12 (+1), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 12 (+1)
SKILLS: Climb 0 (+19) Craft (structural) 4, Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (civics) 3, Knowledge (current events) 5, Knowledge (tactics) 4, Languages 2 (English [base], Finnish, German), Medicine 4, Notice 4 (+10), Profession (carpenter) 6, Sense Motive 4, Survival 4
FEATS: Endurance 1, Improved Initiative 1, Interpose, Leadership
POWERS: Container 9 (Bear Form; Enhanced Constitution 14, Enhanced Skills 3 [Climb 8, Notice 4], Enhanced Strength 14, Growth 2 [Extras: Duration {Continuous, +1}; Flaws: Permanent {-1}], Protection 2, Super-Senses 2 [Additional Senses: Low-Light Vision, Scent], Super-Strength 1; 2 free points)
COMBAT: Attack +4, Grapple +16, Damage +11, Defense +4 (+2 flat-footed), Knockback -6, Initiative +6
SAVES: Toughness +12, Fortitude +15, Reflex +6, Will +6
COMPLICATIONS: Enemy (Basenji, Bluster, Ironside, Skew, Sossus Vlei, Udall), Honor (Matt is a pacifist at heart, and only raises a fist when a life needs to be protected), Obsession (UUB), Prejudice (Neo-Sapien), Responsibility (Stephanie, Otso)
Abilities 20 + Skills 12 (48 ranks) + Feats 4 + Powers 45 + Combat 16 + Saves 13 = 110 points
Michuru wrote:There's one in every family: that guy who's weirdly obsessed with genealogy. I'm that guy. I'm the guy who bought genealogy software and trucks his laptop over to the more aged family member's homes to hound them for more information about those who've had the audacity to kick their nasty oxygen habit. On my computer, I keep several family trees. One is mine, another is the Aurelius family tree; one is for the Aesir, and one charts the descendants of the Fallen.
I'm mildly obsessive when it comes to my campaign world.
Anyway, a couple of weeks back, I got the itch to expand on Matt. I started filling in the family that had been previously referenced, and started deciding what's happened to them over the years since Matt ran away from home: his dad died, mom remarried, his sister met someone and started a family; so did his brother. The idea of there being a kid about Otso's age at the NVA in the States is way too tempting, and will probably happen now. Ironically, not long after I did this, McGuffin steered the in-game conversation to Matt's family, letting me start making use of all of this useless information.
With regards to Matt's actual build, it's pretty straight forward: I don't want him to be someone who really knows how to fight, and I couldn't really see him hitting ceilings of +15 damage/Toughness because holy crap. I also wanted to avoid the standard bruiser feat package (All-out Attack, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack 2) and just went with this sort of sentinel suite of feats. He's undercosted, but he should be. His background (17 during Moksha) suggests he wouldn't have been on the frontlines, and he didn't do a whole lot of fighting in Finland. Most of his experience would be in Uganda, where he just sort of hit the ground running, so hopefully the build will reflect his relative inexperience.
On a sidenote, thanks to McGuffin for conceiving a great PC that inspires this build. Otso provided the basic structure, as well as laid out the character and background. I'm still floored someone thought to incorporate Moksha into their PC's background--I never would have considered that, man. I'm quite blessed with a group of awesome players, and you guys never cease to surprise me.