Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by Goldar »

OM! These characters are insane! Insane!

Makes me think of Valkyrie's cellmate, ("Big") Felicia, lol! :o

(I think we need her profile inserted here, lol)
Jabroniville
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Shirley Bellinger

Post by Jabroniville »

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Prisoner 97B642
SHIRLEY BELLINGER
Convicted:
Convicted December 6, 1997 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Death. Sentence commuted in 1999, then commutation of sentence revoked in 2000
Played By: Katherine Erbe
Role: The Seductress, The Smug Snake, The Slut
Deadly Sins: Lust, Wrath
Group Affiliations: None
PL 0 (18), PL 2 (18) Defenses
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Expertise (Religion) 2 (+2)
Insight 4 (+5)
Persuasion 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Vehicles 1 (+1)

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit (Woman in Prison)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +0 (DC 10), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +3

Complications:
Disabled (Insane)- Shirley is totally nuts, as is obvious to the more sane people around her. She appears to authentically believe her daughter was the "Child of Satan".
Obsession (Manipulation & Seduction)- Shirley pretty much tries to seduce EVERY male she meets, including prison guards (it certainly works on Lopresti), Tim McManus, FATHER MUKADA, and most of the prisoners (most of whom never even get to meet her).
Relationship (Richie Hanlon)- Richie (on Death Row for falsely-confessing to the murder of Nazi-victim Alexander Vogel to avoid Aryan reprisal for killing one of their number) and Shirley formed a strange "couple", considering that he was gay. They became very close, and when Richie got off Death Row but was killed anyways (by an inmate who was friends with Vogel and wanted revenge, in a little bit of irony), Shirley was beside herself with grief.

Total: Abilities: 8 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (18)

-Shirley Bellinger was a big part of the middle seasons of Oz, and had a really great storyline. A variant on Susan Smith, a real-life murderer, she drowned her young daughter in a lake, believing her to be the "Child of Satan", and was thus sentenced to die. Since the women's prison had no Death Row, she was sent to Oswald, which of course set every single male in the prison into a tizzy (I mean, a WOMAN in Oz?!?). Adebisi fell almost childishly in love with her, only for her to rebuke him with a racial slur upon discovering his ethnicity (they were passing love letters without seeing each other). She tried to seduce both McManus (the one time he REJECTED such advances) and Father Mukada with her delicate little Southern Girl ways. She made gay inmate Richie Halon show her his penis, and nearly kissed Moses Deyell, rejecting her old racist ways. Of course, her most iconic scene was probably early on, as out of NOWHERE, she casually flashed Timmy Kirk (who was mopping up Death Row) her lower lady-bits, giving us one of the rare instances of FEMALE nudity on Oz.

-She also got railed nightly by Officer Lopresti (in charge of Death Row at the time), and even got PREGNANT while in Oz! This caused a huge scandal (and got her out of Death Row for a while), but she miscarried under unrevealed circumstances and was sent back. An egotistical, slutty, monstrous character (she taunted her ex-husband, saying that their daughter was really the child of a rape committed by the man's father), she finally got her comeuppance (as all Oz villains do)- while being led with a smile down to the hangman's gallows (so her "feet could do a little dance"), she panicked, changing her mind about her method of death. Dragged kicking and screaming up to the noose, she sobbed and said a prayer while they dropped her. And oddly, everyone in Oz felt a little sad (even Adebisi)- writer Tom Fontana is NOT a supporter of the Death Penalty, and brings up that killing mentally ill people is often a rather empty revenge.
greycrusader
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by greycrusader »

Shirley Bellinger seems to be a composite character, based on Susan Smith and Andrea Yates; both women were notorious for murdering their own children (Smith trapped them in her car, which she drove into a lake, Yates smothered and drowned her children). Smith was apparently a racist (she concocted a story about a "thuggish" black man hijacking the car and kidnapping her children), and killed the kids as twisted revenge against her unfaithful husband. Smith was diagnosed with clinical depression (she had been a longtime victim of sexual abuse as child and teenager) and borderline personality disorder, but WAS legally sane.

Yates, on the other hand, was pretty clearly a psychotic; she was a borderline religious fanatic who murdered her kids because she feared otherwise they would be "corrupted" by the outside world and end up in Hell. She was on several anti-depression and anti-schizophrenia medications, and her psychiatrist warned her husband Rusty that Andrea should NOT be left alone with the children the couple already had, let alone get pregnant again. But the husband was likewise a zealous believer who followed in the "quiverfull" movement (where Christian couples strive to have a dozen offspring or more) and disregarded the advice...with horrific consequences.
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M4C8
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by M4C8 »

I watched Oz back when it was first aired on British TV but didn't remember much about it outside of a few scenes, I don't even remember if I watched the show to it's end. Reading through these build has actually brought back a lot of memories of the various characters and story lines (though thankfully, though I knew it happened, I don't remember any of the rape scenes)

The things I remembered before this set of builds were the Shirley 'flash' and the scene when she and Adebisi finally meet, the guy getting crucified to the gym floor, the eye gouging (which was that done with spoons to a guard IIRC) and someone (Beecher I think) growing his thumbnails long so he could kill someone by stabbing them in the throat, he then bit them off and flushed them.
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Goldar wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:04 am OM! These characters are insane! Insane!

Makes me think of Valkyrie's cellmate, ("Big") Felicia, lol! :o

(I think we need her profile inserted here, lol)
haha, it's a pretty nutty show, yeah. And you sure do find that Felicia and her "gals" fascinating, lol :).
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by Jabroniville »

greycrusader wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:34 am Shirley Bellinger seems to be a composite character, based on Susan Smith and Andrea Yates; both women were notorious for murdering their own children (Smith trapped them in her car, which she drove into a lake, Yates smothered and drowned her children). Smith was apparently a racist (she concocted a story about a "thuggish" black man hijacking the car and kidnapping her children), and killed the kids as twisted revenge against her unfaithful husband. Smith was diagnosed with clinical depression (she had been a longtime victim of sexual abuse as child and teenager) and borderline personality disorder, but WAS legally sane.

Yates, on the other hand, was pretty clearly a psychotic; she was a borderline religious fanatic who murdered her kids because she feared otherwise they would be "corrupted" by the outside world and end up in Hell. She was on several anti-depression and anti-schizophrenia medications, and her psychiatrist warned her husband Rusty that Andrea should NOT be left alone with the children the couple already had, let alone get pregnant again. But the husband was likewise a zealous believer who followed in the "quiverfull" movement (where Christian couples strive to have a dozen offspring or more) and disregarded the advice...with horrific consequences.
Oh yeah, I definitely picked up the Smith connection- that was a really famous case that's still talked about. I'd only heard about Yates much later, so hadn't clued in about that one yet.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by Jabroniville »

M4C8 wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:03 am I watched Oz back when it was first aired on British TV but didn't remember much about it outside of a few scenes, I don't even remember if I watched the show to it's end. Reading through these build has actually brought back a lot of memories of the various characters and story lines (though thankfully, though I knew it happened, I don't remember any of the rape scenes)

The things I remembered before this set of builds were the Shirley 'flash' and the scene when she and Adebisi finally meet, the guy getting crucified to the gym floor, the eye gouging (which was that done with spoons to a guard IIRC) and someone (Beecher I think) growing his thumbnails long so he could kill someone by stabbing them in the throat, he then bit them off and flushed them.
Yeah, Beecher was the guy with the nails- he grew them long, filed them into spikes, then hacked and slashed the Nazi prison guard (Metzger) to death before trimming the nails back down. How he got away with this one, and why it was never a huge deal that the HEAD PRISON GUARD was murdered, was beyond me. But OZ tended to be a bit cartoonish that way.

And with that, I'm finally done re-posting the cast! I'll leave you with this one quote of Hill's that always stuck with me:
When Napoleon died in exile, the doctors cut off his dick. They put his dick in an ornate jar and gave it to his priest; don't ask me why. Over the years, Napoleon's dick was sold and sold again to the highest bidder. To this day, at least three people claim to own Napoleon's dick. But you see, it's not important who owns the real dick. The big question is, well... who the fuck do those other two dicks belong to?
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Rome

Post by Jabroniville »

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ROME:

-Rome is one of the manliest TV shows in history. As an HBO show, it was of course full of tons of boobs and butts, as well as some wangs and blood- it takes a good deal from "I, Claudius" (a BBC historical drama miniseries) in that it's an embellishment of Roman history. It's based around the era of the first two Caesars- Julius & Augustus, and deals with the rise of Julius, and the civil wars that follow (SPOILER ALERT) his death. The main characters are two soldiers- the "good soldier" is dour-faced Lucius Vorenus, and the somewhat-amoral doofus is Titus Pullo. Both are based off of real soldiers Caesar once referred to in a speech (the characters' debut is based off of the incident Caesar described- Pullo broke ranks to kick ass, and Vorenus ran out to drag him back), and are at first Caesar's men, then split off at various times in their civilian lives and military lives (Vorenus goes with Antony, Pullo with Octavian, Caesar's nephew who becomes Augustus). The political power-players of Rome (Caesar, Antony, Octavian, Cicero) were also major characters, as was Octavian's mother Atia (who also doubles as Miss Fanservice).

As the show goes on, Pullo & Vorenus survive countless disasters and try to eke out lives in Rome, but circumstances often bring them together. Pullo is sentenced to death, falls in love with a slave of Vorenus, and more, while Vorenus deals with his wife's affair while he was thought-dead, the misbehavior of his eldest daughter, and starts losing himself to darkness and blasphemy. Meanwhile, Caesar rises in Rome, engages in a civil war with Pompey Magnus, meets the manipulative Cleopatra, and is murdered in the senate by a conspiracy committed by his ex and her son, Brutus. Then ANOTHER civil war happens, as Marc Antony and the rapidly-aged Octavian take opposing sides, the two soldiers forced between them, while still being allies and kind of just doing their own thing. The series ends with Octavian becoming the first Emperor of Rome, finally killing the Republic once and for all.

It was expensive as all hell to produce, and so I think HBO didn't make a ton of money off of it, and it often cut corners (great battles were often described after the fact), but it's one of my favourite TV shows, especially since I'm a nerd for the Classics. Two seasons' worth of brotherly love and awesomeness, one Crowning Moment of Awesome after another (a dude pulls out another guy's tongue WITH HIS TEETH, then chucks and ax into another dude's chest), historical fiction, dramatizations of history (Atia of the Julii was nowhere near the nympo uber-MILF she was portrayed here), chopping heads and hands off, and all kinds of intercourse. It's sort of a precursor to Game of Thrones in a way, given it's subject matter. It really should have made stars of most of its cast, like GoT did, but alas, there was no "Emilia Clarke Push" for Polly Walker, who was far superior in every way.
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Titus Pullo

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

"THIRTEEN!!! THIRTEEN!!! THIRTEEN!!!"
-YOU WILL CRY MANLY TEARS!!!


TITUS PULLO
Played By:
Ray Stevenson
Role: Tough Guy, Bad-Boy Soldier
Status: Poor Plebian (freed son of two slaves), Former Legionnaire, Minor Slave-Owner, Young Octavian's Trainer, Co-Leader of the Roman Underworld, Soldier of Adult Octavian
PL 7 (93)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Streetwise) 7 (+7)
Expertise (Bodyguard) 6 (+6)
Expertise (Farmer) 2 (+2)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Perception 5 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Close Combat, Diehard, Great Endurance, Equipment 2, Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Critical (Short Sword), Improved Initiative, Luck, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Startle, Taunt, Takedown

Equipment:
"Legionnaire's Spear" Strength-Damage +2, Reach 2 (4) -- (5)
  • AE: "Short Sword" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
"Plate Armour" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Spear/Short Sword +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+6 Armour), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Reputation (Scoundrel)- Pullo has the "morality of a pirate", and is willing to lie, cheat and steal his way through life. He gambles frequently (and isn't any good at it), whores around, and has a bad temper.
Responsibility (Bromance with Vorenus)- The two have been connected for years, and despite occasionally being angry with each other, they are merely friendly rivals. Both would risk life and limb to defend the other, and shed manly tears for each other.
Relationship (Eirene the Slave-Girl)- Pullo fell in love with the innocent peasant girl who was captured by The Thirteenth Legion as a slave (she was bought by Vorenus), and eventually was allowed to marry her.
Responsibility (The Thirteenth Legion)- If you mock the Thirteenth Legion, you might just have your ****ing neck chopped off with a shield. Just saying.
Responsibility (Son, Caesarion)- Pullo fathered a child with the amorous Cleopatra, and is aware of the boy's lineage, despite Cleo claiming the boy is Caesar's.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (93)

-Titus Pullo is one of the co-leads of the ensemble cast, paired off primarily with his former commander Lucius Vorenus for a class bromance throughout the ages of Rome's most tumultuous era. A scoundrel and boorish soldier, the poor plebian is imprisoned by his own fellow soldiers until fate brings him some fame. He ends up being integral to several huge moments in history (an old enemy attacks him during a parade, leading to a brawl that allows Caesar to take power in Rome; he fathers Caesarion to Cleopatra, which she passes off as Caesar's heir; he's a soldier in several major battles), all the while acting as comic relief and some much-needed down-to-earth advice to his buddy, Vorenus. His conversing with other characters is always classic, as Atia pokes fun at his plebian nature, Octavian respects him as a warrior but is actually much more bloodthirsty, etc. He's also part of the series' greatest moment in my (and many others') opinion, where he's trapped in the Arena to die to a bunch of gladiators, and is resigned to his fate, until they insult his beloved "Thirteenth" Legion. He proceeds to fly into a berserker rage and kill three men single-handedly, SCREAMING the name of his Thirteenth and winning over the entire crowd with his sincerity, loyalty and courage. When he's overwhelmed and about to die, his enemy/ally Vorenus is SO MOVED by his plight that he ALSO begins screaming "Thirteen! Thirteen!", running into the ring and kicking almighty ass. You, too, will be shedding tears of manliness at the Bromance of Ass-Kickery, when they unload on the gladiators and win the adoration of the masses.

-Things went bad for poor Pullo in a lot of ways too, though. He fell in love with a slave girl, Eirene, and bought her freedom, though tragically she was killed by the jealous Gaia, who then hooked up with the grieving Titus. Upon discovering Gaia's treachery on her deathbed, he finished the job himself and dumped her coldly in the lake (the look of torment on his face was EPIC). Titus Pullo was not one to screw with.

-Pullo and Vorenus are unquestionably the elite powerhouses of "Rome"- the only major 'poor folk' of the series, and thus were trained soldiers. PL 7 is pretty good, and he's got enough Skills & Advantages to make a PL 6's points value. Odd to see a pretty foolish character like Pullo score 19 ranks in Skills, but he had a good Plebian upbringing with a bunch of professions, was a consummate B.S.-er, and was good at the street-wise behavior. In combat, he's the power to Vorenus' precision, flying off the handle and punching straight through guys with his Short Sword while screaming bloody murder.
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M4C8
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by M4C8 »

greycrusader wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:34 am Shirley Bellinger seems to be a composite character, based on Susan Smith and Andrea Yates; both women were notorious for murdering their own children (Smith trapped them in her car, which she drove into a lake, Yates smothered and drowned her children). Smith was apparently a racist (she concocted a story about a "thuggish" black man hijacking the car and kidnapping her children), and killed the kids as twisted revenge against her unfaithful husband. Smith was diagnosed with clinical depression (she had been a longtime victim of sexual abuse as child and teenager) and borderline personality disorder, but WAS legally sane.

Yates, on the other hand, was pretty clearly a psychotic; she was a borderline religious fanatic who murdered her kids because she feared otherwise they would be "corrupted" by the outside world and end up in Hell. She was on several anti-depression and anti-schizophrenia medications, and her psychiatrist warned her husband Rusty that Andrea should NOT be left alone with the children the couple already had, let alone get pregnant again. But the husband was likewise a zealous believer who followed in the "quiverfull" movement (where Christian couples strive to have a dozen offspring or more) and disregarded the advice...with horrific consequences.
I actually just saw a TV show featuring the Smith story, it wasn't revenge against her husband, she was the one who had been unfaithful but the man she loved didn't want be with someone who had kids.
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hippodrome! Mutant Fighter! HBO's OZ!)

Post by Goldar »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:25 am
Goldar wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:04 am OM! These characters are insane! Insane!

Makes me think of Valkyrie's cellmate, ("Big") Felicia, lol! :o

(I think we need her profile inserted here, lol)
haha, it's a pretty nutty show, yeah. And you sure do find that Felicia and her "gals" fascinating, lol :).
Ahahahahah, yeah, so true, Jab, lol. I thought they would make a great finale to those other crazy characters.
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Lucius Vorenus

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

"I AM A SON OF HADES!! I... f*ck CONCORD... up her ARSE!!"

LUCIUS VORENUS
Played By:
Kevin McKidd
Role: The Smart Guy, Mr. Serious, The Grieving Widower
Status: Roman Middle Class (slave-owner, but must still borrow money), Legionnaire General, Co-Leader of the Roman Underworld, Soldier of Marc Antony
PL 7 (93)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Current Events) 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Tactics) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Soldier) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 8 (+7)
Investigation 5 (+5)
Perception 7 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Benefit (Slave Owner, General), Close Attack, Defensive Attack, Defensive Strike, Equipment 2, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Short Sword) 2, Improved Critical (Spear), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Seize Initiative, Takedown

Equipment:
"Legionnaire's Spear" Strength-Damage +2, Reach 2 (4) -- (5)
  • AE: "Short Sword" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
"Plate Armour" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Spear/Short Sword +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3 (+5 Armour), Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Relationship (Bromance with Pullo)- Vorenus loves and respects Pullo enough to entrust his family with him, and to go on roaring rampages of revenge with him.
Responsibility (The Thirteenth Legion)- "THIRTEEN!! THIRTEEN!! THIRTEEN!"
Relationship (Wife, Niobe)- Vorenus worshipped his beloved wife (though she was usually just polite with him), and was heartbroken by her death.
Relationship (Two Daughters & Son By Another Man)- Despite his son's origin, Vorenus was close to the boy.
Responsibility (Duty as a Roman & Soldier)- As Antony points out, Vorenus is a good enough soldier that he asks PERMISSION before abandoning the front.
Reputation (Dour Downer)- Vorenus is as grim as hell, and has pretty much never smiled, ever. His people skills are not quite up to snuff, and people are frequently stunned that his wife is so hot (Indira Varma, dammit!) because he has so little charisma.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 12 (93)

-Fate REALLY had it in for Lucius Vorenus, the other "Main" character of Rome, during the course of the show. First, he comes back from EIGHT YEARS in the field to a family that thought him dead thanks to a clerical error. Then he loses his entire business to a gangster, who then tries to hunt him down. Then he finds out that his "grandson" really his wife's son with her sister's husband (since Vorenus was thought dead and all). Then his wife kills herself rather than face his vengeance, breaking his heart. Then his children are killed (actually kidnapped and sold into slavery, as we'd learn) by said gangster (whose life after that was preciously short- I loved that bit where he calls for his bodyguard, and Vorenus just walks up covered in blood and says "... he's not coming."). He spends the next several years bouncing between Marc Antony's service and ruling the Roman underworld with his Heterosexual Life Partner Titus Pullo. Then once he gets his children back, his daughter betrays him because she hates him for the death of her mother. And then by series end, it's likely he's going to die of infected wounds from another battle. Life sucks for him.

-Vorenus is a dour, harsh man, devoted to the "proper Roman life", and it kicks him in the ass whenever it can. Unfunny and incapable with people, he's nonetheless the best overall fighter seen in the show: a deadly fighter who effortlessly beat the living crap out of a bunch of gladiators when they had Pullo dead to rights (after a rousing rendition of "Thirteen!" from Pullo), including the series' goriest death, where he shoves the bladed hilt of a guy's axe STRAIGHT THROUGH HIS TORSO via the collarbone/neck valley. Normally calm and unemotional, if enraged (like say, if you kidnap his children), he will absolutely kill every single person in the entire room in a cold rage. Or, if challenged for doing something unlucky to the Goddess Concord, the always-unlucky-anyways Vorenus will smash her statue to pieces, challenge her luck, and provide the quote above. Pullo is stronger and often more dangerous, but an angered Vorenus is unquestionably scarier.

-Vorenus is much like Pullo, especially in 3e stats, which don't have a lot of variance for human fighters at the same Power Level. He's a bit weaker and easier to hurt, but is more athletic and quick to make up for it. He's more of a precision fighter than Pullo, having Disarming, Defensive & Accurate Attack, Quick Draw, etc. as Advantages, and has a slightly altered set of Skills. He's a bit smarter, but has less ability to read people (ie. Awareness).
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Caesar

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

"Our men must win or die. Pompey's men have... other options."
(Evaluating his chances against Pompey's more numerous legions)


GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR
Played By:
Ciaran Hinds
Role: The Glorious Leader
Status: Roman Elite, Leader of the entire Thirteenth Legion, Illegal Ruler of the City of Rome
PL 4 (97), PL 5 (97) Tactician
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 3 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 6

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+2)
Deception 5 (+11)
Expertise (Art) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Civics) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Current Events) 4 (+8)
Expertise (History) 6 (+10)
Expertise (Tactics) 11 (+15)
Expertise (Theology & Philosophy) 5 (+9)
Expertise (Oratory) 8 (+14)
Insight 5 (+10)
Intimidation 3 (+9)
Investigation 4 (+9)
Perception 2 (+7)
Persuasion 5 (+11)

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (Wealthy Patrician, Leader of the 13th Legion), Equipment 2, Fascinate (Oratory), Inspire, Leadership, Luck, Rallying Cry, Ranged Attack 2, Skill Mastery 3 (Deception, Oratory, Tactics), Ultimate Tactics Skill, Ultimate Oratory Skill, Ultimate Inspire Skill

Equipment:
"Legionnaire's Spear" Strength-Damage +2, Reach 2 (4) -- (5)
  • AE: "Short Sword" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
"Plate Armour" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Spear/Short Sword +3 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +1 (+3 Armour), Fortitude +2, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (The Thirteenth Legion)
Relationship (Lover, Servilia)- Caesar loves Servilia more than his own wife, and is greatly pained when their affair is made public (by Atia, OF COURSE) and has to break it off. It pains him more later.
Responsibility (The Julians)
Obsession (Power)- When told by Pompey Magnus to avoid bringing his army any closer to the city, Caesar Crosses the Rubicon, and all for power- he senses the chance to seize glory and power over all of Rome.
Reputation (Dictator)- The Romans exiled their last King centuries ago, and founded a Republic. A huge portion of the city's denizens would reject any attempts at becoming a dictator for any length of time, fearing the end of the Republic.
Relationship (Brutus)- Caesar is very close with his lover's son, and treats him like his own child (and actually, he just might have been that).
Relationship (Pompey Magnus)- Despite their rivalry over the leadership of Rome, Caesar respects Magnus deeply, and the two were once close friends- Caesar's sister was Magnus' wife before she died in childbirth. When Egyptians execute Magnus and deliver his head to Caesar, Julius freaks the living **** out, curses out all of Egypt, and weeps for his lost friend.
Disabled (Epileptic)- Caesar has a condition we would now likely diagnose as epilepsy. He has had seizures in the past, and would be unable to defend himself. He keeps this secret carefully hidden from others- his personal slave Posca and nephew Octavian are among the few who know.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 6 (97)

-How much of a walking Crowning Moment of Awesome was Julius Caesar? Behold: http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t01.htm. He bossed around his captors, demanded a ransom far greater than they'd asked for him, then executed the lot of them when he was freed.
-Caesar is of course a primary mover-and-shaker of the first season, spending the first episodes illegally continuing his war into the Gallic Provinces (ie. France & Germany when they were full of Pagan Barbarians) as a power play, then returning and seizing Rome when his old friend Magnus Pompey dies as a result of his war with Caesar. Caesar himself is such a fascinating character to history- a lusty gentleman, a grand public speaker, a brilliant general, a man of the people, yet a power-hungry despot all at the same time. He makes for the most fascinating type of Big Bad, in that he curries so much favour and has such great power, despite being an epileptic man in the twilight of his years.

-And of course, things go bad for the guy in the end. In Rome, the women have power equal to the men, just a different kind (ie. influence and guile using their wits and their privates), and so when he spurns his mistress Servilia, she manipulates her son Brutus and others in the Senate to their murder plot, while publically discrediting Atia ("Atia Fellatus" needs little translation as graffiti goes), and makes sure Caesar's bodyguard Vorenus runs home at the opportune time after knowing of the parentage of "his" son (it's complicated). So Julius ends up stabbed to death in the Senate, looking a guilt-ridden Brutus in the eyes during his last moments. His death sets off all the events of the next season.

-Caesar, with glorious charisma and status as a war hero, despite his age, is a tough role to play, and Ciaran Hinds does a great job. He gets a ton of good lines, and is successfully portrayed as brilliant in almost all things. When Pullo & Vorenus get up to all kinds of nonsense and Caesar's inquired as to what he's going to do about it, the man simply points out all the impossible shit they've done (simultaneously re-capturing his lost Standard and rescuing his nephew, fighting their way out of a public execution in the arena, and surviving a shipwreck that killed everyone else on board) and suggests that if the Gods want them to live so badly, then he'd be a fool to oppose them (translation: "They're the main characters"). When they're outnumbered against Pompey's legion and everyone suspects doom, Caesar says that's the POINT; if his men surrender, they'll be massacred or executed. So with the right words, he turns them into an implacable horde, knowing that Pompey's men have the option of defeat and escape on the table. And when he names the inexperienced Vorenus a Senator, and suggests he stick close to Caesar himself can train him, his Greek slave/assistant Posca is all "WTF?" until Caesar points out the brilliance: there are numerous threats against his life... but who's gonna attack him when LUCIUS VORENUS is beside him?

-Also, Hinds plays Grandpabbie, leader of the Rock Trolls in Frozen and Frozen II, so he rules.

-Caesar is more expensive than the other characters, but is lower in PL, being older and less of a fighter. But as a General? None better. His tactical skill (he INVENTED "Divide & Conquer"!) is second to none, and he commands the entire Thirteenth Legion, an ultra-loyal retainer of a thousand soldiers, as well as his personal slave Posca (who shares Caesar's brilliance and sarcastic sense of humor). This is the guy who, when completely surrounded by Pompey's HUGE armies on one side, and the Mediterranean on the other, merely pointed out to his troops that they'd surely be executed if they gave up or lost, whereas Pompey's men could flee if they so chose. And so, in one of the show's many classic "explain the battle after it happens to save budget" events, Caesar's flank holds up against a Cavalry charge, and wipes Pompey's army out, forcing him to flee.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Atia of the Julii

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Die screaming you pigspawn trollop." (to Cleopatra)

"You f*cked your sister, you LITTLE PERVERT!!" (to her son Octavian)

"You are swearing now that some day you will destroy me. Remember: far better women than you have sworn to do the same. Go and look for them now." (to Livia, her son's wife, referring to the deceased Cleopatra & Servilia)

-Atia had a LOT of good lines.


ATIA OF THE JULII
Played By:
*sigh*... Polly Walker
Role: Ms. Fanservice, The Whore of Rome (show & city), The Master Manipulator
Status: Elite Patrician (Family Member of Caesar), Mother of Octavian, True Political Powerhouse of the Family
PL 3 (45)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 1 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 6 (+10, +12 Attractive)
Expertise (Roman Elite) 5 (+8)
Expertise (History) 3 (+6)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 4 (+8, +10 Attractive)

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit 3 (Wealthy Patrician), Connected

Offense:
Unarmed +1 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +1 (DC 11), Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Will +5

Complications:
Reputation (Laviscious Promiscuity, aka "Sluttiness")- There's some Roman graffiti that reads "Atia Fellati".
Obsession (Social Standing & Power)- Atia is constantly manipulating others for her own gain.
Relationship (Marc Antony)- Atia truly loves Antony, though she will never admit it to herself or anyone else. When he rejects her publically (for her daughter, or for Cleopatra), it hurts her deeply.
Secret (Discredited Servilia to Caesar, Which Led to His Death)- Caesar's death is ultimately on Atia's hands, as she convinced him to dump his mistress.

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (45)

-Atia of the Julii was a FANTASTIC character on Rome taking part in the "rich people" side of the show's cast. An unknown to history, she was the mother of Octavian, and a close cousin of Julius Caesar. A political power player in the show, used sex as a weapon of control, manipulated people into opposing her rivals, and fought for every scrap of power she could find. She ended up setting Caesar against his old ally Pompey Magnus, broke him up with his mistress Servilia (which led to her convincing her son Brutus- yes, THAT Brutus- to lead the plot to kill him), then set her son on the stage to take over Caesar's new Empire once her affair with Marc Antony soured. As such, she is a dominant force on the show, despite being a "mere woman" in a time when they lacked the ability to vote, wage war, or lead anyone. As the show says- "Rome was ruled by THESE men... THESE men were ruled by THESE women."

-Played by the gorgeously-hot older lady Polly Walker (though she got a bit heavier as the show went on, likely to denote her aging ten-fifteen years... she was still good-looking, but first-season Atia holds up against just about any woman, ever), Atia was the EPITOME of "Magnificent Bastard" in female form, a Femme Fatale who seduced, lied, cheated and stole her way through the series (she's basically this show's version of Livia from I, Claudius, now that I've seen the latter series. Livia is EPIC in that). Hell, she MADE HER DEBUT in a full-frontal nude scene, banging a mercenary/slave into doing her bidding (in front of her own servants, no less!), then appeared nude before her own son- both scenes that showcased her utter shamelessness. Nearly every episode of the first season had some kind of Mandatory Nude Scene featuring her- she was Rome's own version of the Daughter of Dragons in that regard. In the end, she was slightly worse for all her manipulating and screwing around- she'd lost the love of her life when Marc Antony fell in with Cleopatra, her daughter Octavia hated her, and her son was now well into a relationship with his own wife. But she gave us the top quote above to Livia when she taunted her openly, and pretty much announced that she had won after all- she was the most powerful woman in all of Rome.

-Atia's got some impressive points-value for such a low Power Level Bystander-type, but it's all well worth it. She's one of the supreme manipulators around (and is better at it than anyone else on the show), though not quite as smart as she thinks- the set of Dominoes that got Caesar murdered was entirely unintentional on her part. She has impressive interpersonal Skills, is pretty damn hot early on (her boobs make a pretty set appearance in nearly every single first-season episode up to a point- most spectacularly in the very first episode- "Rome" was VERY good with fan-service... it's an HBO show, after all, and even the "high art" station of television knows when to give the fans what they want), is wealthy as hell, and has a legion of Slaves to do her bidding. Atia rules, everyone else drools.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Aug 01, 2022 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Marc Antony

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Just a warning, Cicero... If you ever betray me again- I will nail your hands to the senate door."
(AND HE DOES!)


MARCUS ANTONIUS (aka Marc Antony)
Played By:
James Purefoy
Role: The Heir Apparent, Snide Power-Player
Status: Roman Elite, Second-in-Command of the Thirteenth Legion, One of Triumvirate of Rulers of Roman Empire
PL 7 (105)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 4 (+9)
Persuasion 4 (+9)
Expertise (Civics) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Current Events) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Tactics) 7 (+9)
Expertise (Oratory) 6 (+11)
Expertise (Soldier) 8 (+10)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+8)
Investigation 3 (+8)
Perception 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Wealthy Patrician, Leader of Various Armies), Close Attack, Equipment 2, Improved Initiative, Improved Critical (Dagger) 2, Improved Critical (Sword), Inspire, Leadership, Ranged Attack 2, Skill Mastery 3 (Deception, Oratory, Tactics), Taunt

Equipment:
"Legionnaire's Spear" Strength-Damage +2, Reach 2 (4) -- (6)
  • AE: "Short Sword" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
  • AE: "Dagger" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)
"Plate Armour" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Dagger +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Spear/Short Sword +9 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+5 Armour), Fortitude +4, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Lover, Atia)- The two have been together for years, but neither is terribly faithful (Atia boinks her slaves for favours, and Antony once held the army on it's march so he could rape a shepherd girl). Despite this, they are quite fond of one another.
Relationship (Lover, Cleopatra)- Antony rejects Atia for the sexy Queen of Egypt, and his ties to her are what turns Rome against him. It would end badly for him.
Obsession (Power)- Antony is Caesar's Second in more ways than one- they share many of the same interests.
Rivalry (Octavian)- Though the lover of Octavian's mother, Antony shares no appreciation for the boy, and never truly trusts him as a man. Their power struggles would send Rome into another civil war.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (105)

-Marc Antony was obviously important to Rome as well, being little more than Caesar's flunky and top general at first, and the lover of Atia, then shifting into a major force in the second season. They set up the civil war strongly- Antony, with his life in danger as the recently-murdered Caesar's top guy, met with Caesar's murderers to pledge allegiance. But then he appears and Caeasar's funeral, and gives the famous public speech, tearing into the killers- we hear about it after the fact, with a teary-eyed man marking out over how awesome Antony's speech was, culminating with him showing the audience Caesar's bloodied robes. And NOW, there was no way Caesar's killers could take out Antony without completely losing what little public favor they had left- everyone in Rome was touched by Antony's speech. Thereafter, Antony engages in a years-long civil war alongside his lover's son Octavian, and they rule Rome as a Triumvirate (with another dude who never matters in the show). But stuff happens, the two rivals never quite square it all away, and Antony ends up fleeing to Egypt, into the arms of Cleopatra, who herself is the mother of Caesar's "Son" Caesarion, who will undoubtedly become a major contender to the throne in the future.

-But everything goes wrong. He loses his army in a massive naval battle, and ultimately takes his own life before Octavian's army storms the castle. Cleopatra planned to betray him, but ultimately follows him into death when she realizes the depths of Octavian's character.

-Antony is a tough character to get right, but they pulled it off here. A rogueish, lusty pervert of a man, he's nonetheless capable of love and regret, as he feels terrible for abandoning Atia to more politically-powerful marriages. He respected his mentor Caesar, but is canny enough to seize power on his own after the former's death. And unlike Caesar, he's a bit of a bad-ass as well- witness the "apology accepted" handshake with a man who tried to kill him, where he draws his hand out, then strikes with the other, slashing the man's throat open with a hidden dagger.

-Marc Antony would probably lose to either Pullo or Vorenus in battle, being weaker than Pullo and less accurate than Vorenus, but as a general, he's quite devastating. He won't fold in combat, is still very quick, and has Legions at his command as well. And despite the fact that he doesn't have a mind for politics or law, don't underestimate his powers of leadership or Oratory. With one speech, he altered the course of human history and turned Caesar's killers into villains.
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