Rudolphus "Rudy" Evander
Power Level: 10; Power Points Spent: 180/180
STR: +5 (20), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +10 (30), INT: +0 (10), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +0 (10)
Tough: +10, Fort: +10, Ref: +10, Will: +7
Skills: Acrobatics 8 (+10), Craft (artistic) 5 (+5), Craft (mechanical) 5 (+5), Diplomacy 5 (+5), Gather Information 5 (+5), Knowledge (arcane Lore) 5 (+5), Knowledge (earth sciences) 5 (+5), Knowledge (history) 10 (+10), Knowledge (theology & philosophy) 5 (+5), Language 7 (+7), Notice 12 (+15), Search 10 (+10), Sense Motive 12 (+15), Stealth 8 (+10), Survival 7 (+10)
Feats: Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Artificer, Attack Focus (melee) 5, Attack Specialization (Unarmed Attack), Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 2 (Mini Rocket (Blast 12)), Improved Critical 2 (Normal Shot (Blast 8)), Power Attack, Precise Shot, Prone Fighting, Quick Draw, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)
Powers:
Exorcism Gun (Device 6) (Easy to lose, Only you can use)
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Cartridges (Array 13) (default power: blast)
. . . .
Explosive (Blast 8) (Array; DC 23; Burst Area (35-80 ft. radius - General); Progression, Decrease Area (-1 ranks), Progression, Increase Area (area x2))
. . . .
Full Gatling (Blast 8) (Array; DC 23; Autofire (interval 2, max +5); Accurate 2 (+4))
. . . .
Laser Beam (Blast 8) (Array; DC 23; Penetrating, Range (perception); Unreliable (5 uses))
. . . .
Mini Rocket (Blast 12) (Array; DC 27, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Mini Rocket (Blast 12)))
. . . .
Normal Shot (Blast 8) (Default; DC 23, Feats: Improved Critical 2 (Normal Shot (Blast 8)); Penetrating [6 ranks only]; Accurate 2 (+4))
Infernal Synthetic Physiology (Container, Passive 5)
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Immunity 8 (aging, disease, enviromental conditions (all), poison)
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Impervious Toughness 10
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Super-Senses 3 (acute: Olfactory, infravision, ultravision)
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Super-Strength 2 (+10 STR carry capacity, heavy load: 1.6k lbs; +2 STR to some checks)
Locking On (Features 2) (Notes: Extra Effort/Hero Point to Aim as Move Action)
Attack Bonus: +8 (Ranged: +8, Melee: +13, Grapple: +18/+20)
Attacks: Explosive (Blast 8) (DC 23), Full Gatling (Blast 8), +12 (DC 23), Laser Beam (Blast 8) (DC 23), Mini Rocket (Blast 12), +8 (DC 27), Normal Shot (Blast 8), +12 (DC 23), Unarmed Attack, +15 (DC 20)
Defense: +10 (Flat-footed: +5), Knockback: -10
Initiative: +2
Languages: Arabic, Aramaic Native, Chinese (Mandarin), English, Greek, Hebrew, Persian, Syriac
Totals: Abilities 40 + Skills 28 (109 ranks) + Feats 19 + Powers 47 + Combat 34 + Saves 12 + Drawbacks 0 = 180
Age (as of Jan 2019): Over 1900 years (chronological) , early 20s (appearance)
Height: 5’ 7”
Weight: 165 lbs (looks 130 lbs)
Ethnicity: Assyrian (visually similar to Turkish, Kurdish, and/or Arabic; appearance), Synthetic Metal Lifeform (underneath)
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Dark Brown
Theme Songs:
Battle vs. Lord Blazer, from Wild Arms 2,
I Know, by Zach Boucher featuring ChewieCatt, and
Breathing In, by Zach Boucher
Background: Asteroth, the vampire wizard, has a lengthy history. He has outlived, so to speak, most of his enemies and massively outpowers the rest. And after the LA Hellgate Event (long story short, he ripped the power out of several demon armies to punish them, rescue an ally’s soul, and resurrect her), even the forces of Hell avoid instigating encounters with him. That, however, is the situation in 2019. It was not in 115. No, a digit is not missing from that year. Not quite a full century after his encounter with the Nazarene carpenter who some call the Messiah and Son of God (people at the time through history to now disagree on who He actually was), he was already causing trouble. The earthquake, however, was not his fault. He was actually clumsily trying to stop it. Which leads us to Rudolphus “Rudy” Evander.
. . Rudy was not born. He was created by a man he knew only as Grandfather (in Aramaic, but still). He created him for a specific purpose. To kill demons, devils, and monsters. There were a lot of those in 2nd Century Syria. Grandfather gave him his Exorcism Gun, taught him how to make new Cartridges for when he ran short, and sent him off to work. He was Antioch’s protector from the shadows. This was one of the reasons the Roman Emperor Trajan was in town that fateful day. Rumors had gotten all the way to Rome, and well two birds with one stone, right? Well, no, because that saying hadn’t been coined yet, but still. For some reason, Grandfather insisted on hiding. It was okay. Rudy had something to do anyway. At the time, Antioch had a relatively extensive cave system outside the city. It is long gone in 2019, mind. He had a evil plot to destroy the city to foil. December 13, that was. Classic thing. Evil sorcerer mad at the Empire. Emperor was in town, let’s kill him dramatically blah blah blah. Rudy did not actually care. He was a bad person who was trying to kill basically everbody Rudy knew, so he had to die. Asteroth had similar ideas. Antioch was his town. He lived there. It’d be mighty inconvenient for some asshole with a grudge to level the place. Unfortunately, since the vampire had begun his training as a wizard at this point, Rudy mistook him and the evil sorcerer for allies and attacked both. It was a shitshow. The earthquake happened more or less on schedule, if stripped of some of its power. And Antioch was devastated. Ironically, Trajan and his successor in two years, Hadrian, were totally unharmed. Grandfather was not. His house fell on him. This was the first (but not the last) time Rudy would know the pain of loss.
. . Rudy continued being Antioch’s protector in the shadows until 526. May of that year, to be specific. It was a vampiric plot, this time. A more skilled Asteroth had returned to town specifically to thwart the schemes of his “brother” Amon. The two did not fight this time, casually teaming up in the same cavern where they’d first met. And their actions arguably saved the Byzantine Empire from being shattered by a chain of earthquakes that would theoretically have left the vampires of the area to feast without consequence. Rudy had even brought a swordsman friend to help fight. But while their overall actions were a success, this meant little to Antioch, which was again devastated. Rudy helped with the search and rescue, his centuries of experience with the city pinpointing where buildings had fallen on people. However, the fires were simply too much for one set of hands to deal with. The destruction broke his heart. The swordsman’s entire family had been killed, and he fell on his sword before Rudy could do more than twitch. 250k people had been killed, according to records. Rudy’s entire social circle was a pile of corpses. When the fires were out at last, he left the city. He would never return.
. . Rudy pursued the surviving Amons relentlessly, all the way to Persia, thwarting their schemes on many occasions. Alone, however, he could not stop their plans from partially succeeding one last time. December 22, 856. Near modern day Damghan, Iran. Persia itself wasn’t shattered, but the province of Qumis certainly was. He did, however, finally finish exterminating that particular sect of vampires. The over three centuries saw him pick up many allies in his valiant quest against evil. But humans are fragile, mortal creatures. They break so easily. They age. He buried many friends killed too young, and held too many aged hands at too many deathbeds. With a heart full of grief, he returned (slowly) to Syria. Slowly because he couldn’t stop being a hero and monster hunter any more than he could stop being alive. He settled in Aleppo just in time for the First Crusade to come sweeping into what they called the Holy Land.
. . Ironically, Aleppo itself was not taken over as part of the Crusader states. Rudy was honestly a little befuddled. When he left Syria in the 5th Century, it had still been Roman Christian. When he finally returned in the 11th, it was very Arabic Muslim. Religious faith in general baffled him. So the Byzantines being kicked out (he heard rumors after it happened) was shocking. Killing in the name of God. Well. Maybe it was just the Muslims that were like that. Except no. The First Crusaders weren’t any better. Once again, he was befuddled. Still, they were new to the region. They didn’t understand it like he did. So he helped. Not with the actual warfare, but there are things that haunt battlefields looking to pick the wounded or merely unaware. Yes, even in 2019, though modern electrical lighting makes that much more difficult. As a lovely reward, the Crusaders generally tried to kill him. Religious fervor+his advanced weapon they couldn’t possibly understand+looking like a native=gotta be evil, so we gotta chop and bash. Whatever, said Rudy. They couldn’t, as a rule, actually hurt him. So he’d just beat them up and deal with the actual supernatural monster. Which brings up to Asteroth. Or rather, Kasi’n, since the Romani had decided to restore his soul which unbeknownst to them, was that of a sadistic psychopath. Oops. Kasi’n spent most of that period in Europe, but he got a little bored with torturing and murdering Crusader families and decided to get some Crusaders himself. Or rather, steal an old plan made by someone else. A little practice on the Jazira plain (in 1137), and he was ready to go. What Kasi’n was not ready for was for Rudy to catch wind of his plot and show up with a full team of warriors and mages. Like basically all of his plots, it fell to pieces and he had to fling around the hard earned power of Asteroth’s wizardry to carry the day. Or in this case, not get his ass kicked. He may have been a shitty planner, but he was one hell of a killer. He was also an idiot who almost got buried unalive as his busted plan triggered a massive earthquake that devastated Aleppo and many places in the surrounding countryside. October 11, 1138 was a hell of a day in Syria. Two beings crawled out of the broken and shattered earth. Kasi’n. And Rudy. While the villain escaped, Rudy pulled out who he could. This was not everyone. Those too badly injured to recover in a day or two were left behind. This was hot pursuit.
. . Hot pursuit, in fact, all that way to the city of Ganja in modern day Azerbaijan. At the time it was part of the Great Seljuk Empire. There was a little ally recruitment, and several dramatic clashes in the area grabbed imperial attention. This was uh, really bad, as it garned the attention of the White Court of Wizards who were and are notoriously vehement about destroying magic users who don’t adhere to their rules. A three front battle ensued on September 30, 1139…which triggered yet another earthquake that severely damaged Ganja and the surrounding countryside. To the degree that the neighboring Kingdom of Georgia was able to casually steal the city and many of its valuables from the Seljuks. It…broke something in Rudy. The poor guy felt cursed. 1000 years, and earthquakes still destroyed cities he fought to save. He did not return with his surviving allies to Syria. He went east. And then north, because the friggin’ Caspian Sea was in the way. He went north specifically because Persia was to the south and he didn’t want to go back there.
. . There are many stories from many places in what is now Kazakhstan and northwestern China. The foreigner with the strange weapon. The monster killer. A demigod. But aside from such legends, from Sept 30 1139 to Sept 25 1303 his location is not even vaguely known. It is on that second date that he once again appears in recorded history. The reason he wasn’t recorded in Kazakhstan was because of the Mongols invading after he’d passed through. By the time he’d entered China, he was actively avoiding their armies. War. Again. No, thank you. There was a severe (entirely natural) earthquake in what is now Shanxi Province on that September day. 100k people were killed outright, the primary cause of death being their loess cave homes collapsing on them. Over a century and a half of relative solitude had healed some of Rudy’s heart, and he pulled many people out of the broken wreckage of their homes. He also blasted holes in the strange (to him) creatures that came to feed on the carnage and chaos. Unsurprisingly, the Yuan Dynasty had trouble finding him afterward, but he didn’t leave China. He only returned to the neighboring province of Shaanxi. No, that’s not a typo. Extra a=different province. He returned specifically to Xiyue Temple, where he’d apparently been living for a little while. Xiyue was and is a temple dedicated to the practice of Taoism. In the modern People’s Republic of China Taoism is permitted if not accepted as a religious, cultural, and philosophical practice. Anything further is frowned on to persecuted as “silly superstitions”. Unless, of course, it is under the government’s direct control. But during the Yuan and following Ming Dynasties? Alchemy. Chi. Magic. Martial Arts. The age of what is now called Wuxia after the media genre that dramatizes it.
. . Rudy was directly involved in the Ch'ing-yang event of 1490. History doesn’t have that one quite right, either. It wasn’t a meteor shower or an air burst. It was the fragments of a 1000 foot asteroid Rudy blew up with one potent shot from his Exorcism Gun. There was a divination from the priests at Xiyue, so he was in the right place at the right time to pull the trigger and basically save all of China. And no, 10k people weren’t killed. That many were injured, some severely, but there were few fatalities. The straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, was 1556. February 2, to be precise. The 12th day of the 12 month of the year Jiajing 34, locally. Rudy couldn’t help but make new friends and allies in his monster hunting ways, with two legitimate True Companions in Zhang Wei the master swordsman and Wu Yuying the Taoist wizardess. On that day struck what was probably the strongest earthquake in Chinese history, killing over 100k people and displacing or starving over 700k more. Rudy knew nothing about it, because he was indirectly one of the casualties. Rumor had it that the infamous Asteroth had blown into Shaanxi province with his current traveling companion Dhana. Rudy recruited his two friends and several other allies, and set out to rid the world of the vampire wizard once and for all.
. . They engaged in battle in an underground cave. Asteroth, more or less as capable then as he is now, wiped the floor with them effortlessly. Dhana had to work harder, being only a young vampire and no spellcaster. Asteroth overwhelmed even Rudy’s best shot; the same one that shattered that asteroid. That spell slammed him into a cave wall with enough force to kill anyone human. For Rudy, it broke his Exorcism Gun and severed his arm at the elbow. The vampires could have killed everyone there, but Asteroth showed uncharacteristic (in those days) mercy. He just…walked away, with Dhana following behind. And then the earthquake hit. It was all Zhang Wei and Wu Yuying could do to get Rudy out of the caves. They brought his broken weapon, and for reasons they couldn’t adequately explain even to themselves, his arm. He was unconscious for several days, and when he finally woke, more about him was broken than his arm and weapon. His monster hunting days were over. Another failure and another devastating earthquake had broken his will to continue. The damage to his weapon and loss of his arm just piled more onto the despair. It was a loss of his very identity.
. . In the end, he married Wu Yuying, had a family, and stayed out of things. She and Wei proved themselves true friends in pulling him out of his funk. However. They were mortals. They aged. He did not. It is a unique kind of agony, to outlive one’s own grandchildren, let alone one’s beloved wife and best friend. There were heroes in his lineage, to be sure, but he was out. With each successive generation, he became more and more removed from society. Haunted by a thousand thousand ghosts he lived at Xiyue in a small room. He helped the priests with menial tasks in return for sharing their food supply. And he spoke to no one. This is how it stayed until 2016, when the Strength Revolution’s Special Tactics Group was being expanded. A very drunk and perhaps a little melancholy fox man mentioned Asteroth and his loose ends to Valine. Valine spoke to Methion, and the Grand Wizard visited a certain former hotel in Los Angeles. Asteroth showed Methion the caves under Shaanxi, and let him figure out how to trace a being gone from that spot for over 450 years. A little chronomantic postcognition lead the two to Xiyue and one emotionally and physically broken monster hunter. Asteroth took one look at the pathetic figure, and departed. Methion, however, remained. He offered Rudy a chance to be healed and resuming his monster hunting activities. Rudy could no more refuse that spontaneously drop dead. So he’s a member is good standing on STG Squad D, The Outsiders. It has just as much meaning to him as living at Xiyue.
Powers & Tactics: Rudy is not a human being. He’s not even organic. He’s that rarest kind of synthetic being, an infernal android. He’s probably the only one left. The knowledge of how to make them was lost centuries ago. His body is made of steel shaped by blacksmithing and alchemy. Normally a demon is installed to run it with Hellfire. Hence them being called “infernal” However, any kind of animating spirit can do it. And somehow, the man Rudy called Grandfather got his hands on a brand new, unused human soul. It does beg the question of exactly who Grandfather was. And how he knew how to smelt and work steel to modern quality levels in the middle of the Iron Age, let alone how he had the alchemy skills to reshape it into Rudy’s body and internal structures.
. . At any rate, for the time he was made, Rudy was virtually indestructible. It took potent magic or a really burly man with a really big weapon to actually harm him. Immune to the ravages of age, disease, poison, and the environment, he still has to eat, drink, and breathe. He can see into the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums. His sense of smell is quite keen. He’s even a bit stronger than even the mightiest unpowered human ever could be. His existence does, however, have downsides. His physical abilities are fixed, and have been since his creation. Improving himself mentally is challenging at best. And unlike humans, he cannot decide who and what he is. He is a monster hunter. An implacable foe of any creatures that would harm humans. The end. It literally cannot occur to him to be anything else.
. . His Exorcism Gun is a work of art. It, like Rudy, was constructed of steel and alchemy. It is magically keyed to him with the equivalent of a biometric lock. If it is not his finger on the trigger and his hand on the stock, the Gun will not fire. The Cartridges also feature the use of steel and alchemy. They, without exception, do damage. It’s how they do it that sets them apart from one another. The standard use is, obviously, Normal Shot. It’s basically an oversized armor piercing gunshot. Full Gatling exchanges the armor piercing for a barrage of shots. Explosive, obviously, spreads the damage over an area. It is the final two that are a little different. Laser Beam is a literal laser beam. Completely undodgable and goes right through armor. They’re difficult to make, however, and so he only has about five of them with him at a given time. Mini Rocket does not have this problem. It is, as the name says, a miniature rocket that hits with the force of a cruise missile.
. . He has one last special ability that is rather unusual. Aiming is something that takes time to do properly. The kind of aiming where one takes their time and makes doubly sure they’re on target. The kind of thing sharpshooters who have the time invariably do well. Rudy, naturally, can do this. However, in a pinch he’s shown the ability to do it
faster. The whole principle behind taking time to aim is that
it takes time. But Rudy, when he genuinely needs to, can carefully aim and then fire in less than half the time it takes virtually everyone else in the world to do it. It is not clear if this is part of his design or something he learned to do along the way. If it is the latter, then his physical abilities may not be as fixed as once believed…
. . Tactically, Rudy is extremely straightforward. He does not feint. He does not demoralize. He fires a suitable Cartridge from his Exorcism Gun at the enemy target, preferably from cover. Normal Shot is, obviously, the standard attack. Explosive can decimate groups. Full Gatling is an acceptable substitute for Normal Shot, especially for enemies that can’t dodge well. However, if they have very high Toughness, Mini Rocket is probably better. Laser Beam is reserved specifically for enemies he’s having or knows he would have serious trouble hitting. With Accurate and All Out Attack to help him hit, that means something. There’s also Power Attack for when high damage is needed. Don’t forget he meets offensive caps with his fists, too. The Gun is for monsters and demons, not people. Normally. There’s always exceptions. He never power stunts.
Personality: Rudy is, in a very real sense, nothing more than a robot. This does not mean that he does not have feelings, and it does not mean that he cannot make his own decisions. What it means is that he is not free to be anything other than what he is. A monster hunter. An implacable foe of any creatures that would harm humans. And a warm and caring heart so that he would never in the normal course of events question this drive. It should go without saying that the normal course of events did not occur. Whatever Grandfather’s plans for Rudy were died with the man. It has been left to Rudy to make his own way, and it has left him deeply melancholic. 19 centuries of loss, failure, and grief have frozen that warm heart and stripped him of his ability to genuinely care about anyone. He’s just kind of going through the motions.
. . A thousand thousand ghosts. He doesn’t remember all their names. He should remember all their names. In Antioch. In Qumis. In Aleppo. In Ganja. Faces flit through his memory. Grandfather. The swordsman in 526. The team in Aleppo and Ganja. Zhang Wei. Wu Yuying. By the gods, Yuying. She lived to 105. It was not nearly long enough. The world should stop when people die. It certainly feels that way. Why doesn’t it stop? How many holes can be punched into a world before it isn’t one anymore? How many pieces of one’s heart can one lose before there’s nothing left of it? Rudy has no answers. He’s not even sure he cares anymore. One thing in the world remains, however. There are monsters. He hunts them. Whether that’s enough or not doesn’t matter. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t quite remember how, after centuries of silence. And he doesn’t, as a rule, emote. He has his normal everyday face, and his serious face. That’s it.