DARTH VADER
Role: The Baddest of the Bad, The Black Knight
Group Affiliations: The Empire, The Jedi Knights
PL 12 (236)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 5
Skills:
Close Combat (Lightsaber) 3 (+14)
Deception 2 (+7)
Expertise (Military) 10 (+14)
Insight 5 (+10)
Intimidation 10 (+15)
Investigation 2 (+7)
Perception 8 (+13)
Ranged Combat (Debris) 2 (+14)
Technology 4 (+8)
Vehicles 8 (+13)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 4 (Sith Lord- The Emperor's Apprentice), Daze (Intimidation), Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Armor +3), Extraordinary Effort, Fascinate (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Critical (Lightsaber) 3, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Languages (A Few), Leadership, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown 2
Powers:
"Mastery of The Force"
"Force Senses"
Senses 16 (Detect The Force- Ranged 5, Acute & Analytical; Detect Life- Ranged 5, Danger Sense) [16]
Enhanced Skill 2: Vehicles 2 (+15) [1]
Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) [2]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Defensive Roll, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment) [2]
"Force Choke" Affliction 8 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Accurate, Subtle, Split) (Extras: Sustained +2, Ranged) (Flaws: Distracting) (27) -- [36]
- AE: "Viewscreen Choke" Affliction 8 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Area- Visual Perception, Selective) (Flaws: Distracting) (16)
- AE: "Jedi Laser Deflection" Deflect 14 (Extras: Multiattack, Reflect, Redirection) (Flaws: Limited to Lasers, Lightsaber-Based, Multiattack Requires Multiple Lasers -1/2) (21)
- AE: "Use The Force" Move Object 9 (Feats: Subtle) (19)
- AE: "Force Push" Damage 5 (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cone +1/2) Linked to Affliction 8 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Stunned) (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Extra Condition, Area- 30ft. Cone +1/2) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (20.5)
- AE: "Force Wave" Damage 5 (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) Linked to Affliction 6 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Stunned) (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Extra Condition, Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (24)
- AE: "Force Crush" Blast 6 (Feats: Accurate, Subtle) (Extras: Penetrating) (20)
- AE: "Jedi Mind Trick" Affliction 6 (Will; Dazed/Compelled) (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Area- Audio Perception, Selective) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (13)
- AE: "Stops Lasers LIKE A BOSS" Deflect 14 (14)
- AE: "Force Communication" Communication (Mental) 3 (12)
Strength-Damage +6 (Extras: Penetrating 7) (13 points)
Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Lightsaber +14 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Force Push +5-8 Area (+5 Damage & +8 Affliction, DC 20 & 18)
Force Wave +5-6 Area (+5 Damage & +6 Affliction, DC 20 & 16)
Mind Trick +6 Area (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Force Crush +13 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Force Choke +13 (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +2
Defenses:
Dodge +15 (DC 25), Parry +16 (DC 26), Toughness +4 (+7 Armor, +8 D.Roll), Fortitude +7, Will +10
Complications:
Responsibility (The Empire)- Vader is the loyal Apprentice of Emperor Palpatine. However, when he discovers that the mysterious Jedi boy who confounds him is his own son, he realizes that the old man has been lying to him. Vader's new mission: To take the Empire for himself.
Relationship (Luke Skywalker)- Darth Vader wishes to turn Luke to the Dark Side, training the boy as his own Apprentice. "JOIN ME!- we will rule the galaxy together as father and SON!"
Vulnerable (Magnetic & Electric Attacks)- As a cyborg, Darth Vader is vulnerable to certain kinds of attacks that work on metals.
Vulnerable (Out of Armor)- Vader requires his specialized bodysuit in order to breath, eat, and live. He will quickly die without it.
Total: Abilities: 80 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 37 / Powers: 66 / Defenses: 26 (236)
Darth Vader- The Villain By Which All Others Are Judged:
-DARTH VADER. The first Star Wars movie did such an amazing job at making this guy look like a threat: he calmly walks into a hallway, strangles some poor schmuck, threatens everyone with a voice so deep it can rattle your fillings, and then reveals that he's basically the best fighter in the Universe as well. In less than two minutes, he basically made every villain before him bow their heads in shame, and made every villain AFTER desperately attempt to equal him. Eventually adding The Imperial March, the most bad-ass sounding Leitmotif in history, and combining numerous sources together to create a Black Samurai Cyborg Space Wizard, Lucas successfully created the measuring stick by which all other villains are measured.
-HOW much of a boss is Vader? Look at what happened in Cloud City- he not only threatens Lando into doing his bidding, but when Han Solo spots him? Han unloads IMMEDIATELY with a precision Laser Blast... and Vader just stops it WITH HIS FREAKING HAND, then casually disarms Solo- removing the entire threat. In less than a round, he up-ended one of the best fighters of the entire Rebellion. It's made clear that Vader could basically whup everyone in the Alliance- he only fails in the FIRST film because of a surprise attack from Han Solo, and he's also the only named survivor amongst all of the villains. THEN, in The Empire Strikes Back, he coldly executes the incompetent who f*cked up the Hoth invasion by giving them away too quickly (again, even the Empire's failures are made to never be Vader's fault), and near-effortlessly defeats a Yoda-trained Luke Skywalker: Vader tosses huge pieces of scenery at the youngster, casually avoids all of his best Lightsaber strikes, then ruins his weapon and SLICES OFF HIS HAND. The only thing that prevents the whole story from ending right there is a) pure luck (Luke survives falling down the giant pit), and b) Vader's attempts to turn Luke to the Dark Side. Even in Return of the Jedi, when Vader finally loses to Luke? Dude then REDEEMS HIMSELF, sacrificing his life to kill The Emperor, the Big Bad of the whole thing.
Why Vader Rules:
-All of this adds up to make him the most-unforgettable part of the franchise- in his full glory, none can touch him. It's easy to forget how intimidating he can be, as we're pretty used to seeing Cosplay and little kids in costumes like his- his omnipresence in pop culture can kind of leave him without any mystery. You don't really realize it until you see someone height-appropriate in the gear that you go "Oh my GOD!"- during that one touring show of the costumes from the films, looking at the 6'7" David Prowse's costume made it clear just how MONSTROUS he would look in real life. At one Comic Expo, I saw a guy in the full regalia who was at LEAST 6'5", and he looked like an absolute monster. Height matters for the bad guys.
-But yeah, the Original Trilogy is amazing with the guy. None of the failures of the Empire in the movies are his fault, and he even redeems himself in the end (though some have noted that murdering thousands of people, executing children, and undoing the entire Republic is PROBABLY not made up for by killing one old man. And The Force STILL LETS HIM BE A FORCE GHOST- the damn thing is like an abused housewife or girlfriend- "Oh he does all those awful things, but then he did that ONE NICE THING. That PROVES he's a good guy after all!"). And the whole "NO... *I* AM YOUR FATHER!" bit? Easy to forget now that it's become a Pop Cultural Standard known to everyone, but it was CRAZY out of nowhere back in the day, and a massive revelation. I remember seeing it as a kid with some others who'd never seen it before, and they were AMAZED by it. Suddenly this whole "White Hats (vs) Black Hats" mythological picture gains an entire NEW level when Luke ends up facing his own bloodline in combat.
Vader's Might:
-Vader is a behemoth in combat- fighting more like a Comic Book Super-Villain than a simple Sci-Fi baddie. He's MUCH stronger than your typical Force User, owing to his cybernetic body, meaning he hits with +10 force with his Lightsaber (and can Power Attack hard enough to tear through anyone). He can throw things larger than any Jedi at a lower level can, Choke people using The Force (his most-iconic move, typically only used on subordinates who fail him), toss people around, do normal Jedi stuff, AND he can stop Laser Blasts with his HAND. At PL 12, he would walk through Han Solo, Chewbacca & Princess Leia all at once (he can deflect anything they could throw at him, and does way more damage), and be a match for any Jedi Master. In Star Wars: Rebels, Vader walks through every bit of their offense like he's Godzilla attacking Tokyo- a good reflection of how dangerous a Sith Lord would be to Low-Level PCs in the setting. It's unclear as to who's the top dog between Vader, Yoda, Windu & Palpatine (Vader is likely superior to his younger self, despite the cybernetic parts), but they're all around this level. Luke can only equal Vader by tapping the Dark Side (though his later self, in the EU, has surpassed that point).
-Vader fights a lot differently than most Jedi we see, thanks largely to the fact that most others are limber, athletic, flippy-floppy types, and the rest can shoot Force Lightning. Vader instead is fairly slow and direct, wielding his Lightsaber two-handed in a style derived from Kendo- while he doesn't flip around like an Indie Wrestler on bath-salts, he fights with sheer force and precision, with different Advantages than many Jedi have. And his Force Pushes and other techniques are extremely high-powered (he's one of the only Jedi who can throw stuff around while remaining immobile, implying a great deal of power), not to mention is ability to choke someone to death THROUGH A VIEW-SCREEN. All in all, Darth Vader would CRUSH most other Jedi seen in the series, including guys like Darth Maul, who is faster, but not as tough or versatile.