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The Stranger (PL12/10)

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My next planned PC. Durf beat me to the punch of making a dream-themed PC, but I think this character has a good niche nonetheless with his Cthulhu-ish overtones. As always, PEACH and enjoy.


Player Name: Raveled
Character Name: The Stranger
Power Level: 12 (180/180PP)
Trade-Offs: None
Unspent Power Points: 0
Progress To Platinum Status: 0/30

In Brief: An inhuman creature bonded to a human shell. A protector of the dreamscape.

Alternate Identity

Identity: Seth Machan (Secret)
Birthplace: The Dreamspace/Atlantis
Occupation: Life Emergency Counselor
Affiliations: Project Freedom, Freedom City Medical Center
Family: None, and innumerable.

Age: ~16,000 years old (Incarnated during the Pleistocene)
Apparent Age: Mid-thirties
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian by default
Height: 5’ 8”
Weight: 140 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black


Seth Machan is not a man who stands out in a crowd. He’s of average height and skinny, with unlined skin and dark hair that grows straight and smooth and thick to the nape of his neck. He favors black Oxford shirts, dark sport coats, slacks and dark brogues. He’s almost never seen in anything more casual. He often wears a silver lapel pin depicting what looks like a leaf or frond.


When on patrol, the Stranger does not wear a cape or bright colors. He still wears a black shirt, a black sportcoat, and black slacks. His feet are bare, though, and his hair is wild and tangled. His hair isn’t just black anymore either; it almost looks absent, like it absorbs all light that touches it. His skin becomes pale as china, and his face becomes a smooth expanse of flesh from his brow to his chin with mere slits for his black-on-black eyes. The frond-symbol moves to his forehead and has the same not-quite-there coloration as his hair.


In the dream realm, the Stranger looks even less human. Superficially he still appears to be a man in pale skin with messy hair and dark clothes, but his face is a stylized noh mask and he rarely takes his hands out of his pockets. Instead, his sport jacket bulges like there are great, tunneling creature moving underneath it, and either the hems of his slacks cover his feet or his feet meld into the dream terrain.


Power Descriptions: The Stranger’s powers come from his otherworldly lineage. His body is not something that grew around him; it’s a thing he constructed. As such he has incredible control over his biological processes, rendering him immune to virtually all the natural toxins that plague humans. In addition he can tap into his eldritch nature to empower himself, either to supercharge his physical body or attack his enemies’ minds in different ways. If he’s injured , he can reach out and absorb the power within a particular person or object to heal himself. Finally, as a creature native to the mindscape, he can enter the minds of sleeping creatures and travel via dreams to any other dreaming creature in this universe.


In the realm of dreams, he is much more powerful and much stranger. He can reshape the dreamscape to his will and uses that to create walls and other structures to defend himself or tie up enemies, or to create attacks to overwhelm his enemies. He can even attack the very nature of the dream dimension itself to remove enemies


History: The history of the creature most often known as the Stranger goes back to ancient Atlantis. A mage, his name forgotten to all, became aware of the strange beings that prowled on the edges of the dream realms. He enticed one in and captured it, forcing the creature to manifest physically. At first the creature was a formless mass, but as it spent more time around humans the spirit took on a more human form. Eventually the mage created a body for it, for the dream entity to move around the city and see its wonders.


The creature survived the mage and was inherited by his family, but it was never regarded as anything but a monster to be studied and contained. The spirit’s body did not age or die, however, and it was around to see the city sink. The spirit escaped to Mesopotamia, settling among the proto-Sumerians in the region and tried to live as just a man. However, there was a suffering that he couldn’t ignore. The dreams and minds of Atlanteans and mages were protected, but out in the wilds there were monsters and demons and worse to prey on people. The spirit had the knowledge of thousands of years of observing the greatest mages in history, and his own nature allowed him to travel to the dreamworld and do battle directly with the predators there.


Time passed, and the creature traveled the world. Every place that he found evil preying on innocents he fought against it, often triumphing, sometimes dying, always returning. He’s spent tens of thousands of years this way, observing humanity’s slow climb up it its current state. He settled in Freedom City a few decades ago and eventually found a job with the Freedom Medical Center, helping those who had recently gone through a traumatic life change. He remains a defender of the dreamscape, though, a terror to nightmares and an eerie defender of the waking world.


Personality & Motivation: Seth appears rather distant to most people, even cold. Even when he claims to have strong feelings on a subject, he’ll often explain himself in a detached, logical fashion. This can be unsettling when he acts calm and collected in a stressful situation, even carrying on casual conversation in the middle of dangerous fights.


The truth is that Seth views humanity as a fascinating mystery, full of questions and inconsistencies. He’s spent tens of thousands of years in and among them, and yet every day there is something that surprises him. He will protect humanity until he can unravel their mysteries.


Powers & Tactics: There’s a marked difference between how the Stranger fights in the physical world and how he fights in the dreamworld. In the physical world he’s more or less a straight-up brawler, mixing bone-shattering blows with the occasional psychic dagger. If he’s too injured he can reach out and eat the energies that sustain a certain thing, dissolving it to dust and repairing himself. As a last resort he can drop the illusion of normality that covers him and subject everyone who can see him to his true, unnatural, mind-shattering shape.


In the dreamworld fighting the Stranger is like fighting the land itself. He can use the mutable landscape to cause mountains to crash onto an opponent, freeze them solid one moment and boil them alive the next. He’s much less restrained in these fights, since all the damage is metaphorical; it takes a concerted effort to kill someone in the dreamscape, allowing him to fight with much less restraint.

Not Meant to Be Seth is a creature not of this dimension, and his very nature is against the rules of this dimension. This means that animals react negatively to his presence, either becoming angry or running away from him.
Staring into the Abyss Seth’s magical and psychic nature is a stain on the world. Anyone observing him with Magic Awareness or Mental Awareness will immediately know that he is something weird and dangerous.
Constant Observer Seth is fascinated with the actions of humanity and its reasons for such. In the heat of the moment he may stop acting to simply observe, or even to interrogate someone engaged in delicate work.
Never Forget In his very first incarnation Seth was essentially a slave of an Atlantean wizard. While that family is long dead, he still doesn’t trust any Atlantean or anyone of Atlantean descent (including Ulti-men and the inhabitants of Ultima Thule).

Abilities: 0 + 4 + 0 + 2 + 10 + 6 = 22PP
Strength: 30/10 (+10/+0)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 10 (+0)
Intelligence: 12 (+1)
Wisdom: 20 (+5)
Charisma: 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24PP
Initiative: +2
Attack: +6 Melee, +6 Ranged, +10 Pseudonatural Dreams
Grapple: +6/+20
Knockback: -10/-5

Saving Throws: 8 + 4 + 5 = 17PP
Toughness: +10 (+0 Con, +10 Protection, 10 Impervious)
Fortitude: +8 (+0 Con, +8)
Reflex: +6 (+2 Dex, +4)
Will: +10 (+5 Wis, +5)

Skills: 100R = 25PP
Diplomacy 7 (+10)
Intimidate 17 (+20)Skill Mastery
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 14 (+15)Skill Mastery
Knowledge (Behavioral Sciences) 14 (+15)Skill Mastery
Knowledge (Civics) 9 (+10)
Knowledge (Current Events) 9 (+10)
Knowledge (History) 9 (+10)
Medicine 5 (+10)
Notice 10 (+15)
Sense Motive 6 (+11)Skill Mastery

Feats: 10PP
Dodge Focus 4
Challenge (Fast Startle)
Second Chance (Will save vs. Mind Control)
Skill Mastery (Intimidate, Knowledge [Arcane Lore, Behavioral Sciences], Sense Motive)

Powers: 4 + 6 + 1 + 28 + 37 + 7 + 1 = 84PP

All powers have the pseudonatural and magic descriptors


Flight 2 (25 MPH) (Forsake the Earth) [4PP]


Morph 2 (Any humanoid, +10 Disguise, Feats: Metamorph, Quick Change 2) (Shape this Shell) [6PP]


Morph 0 (+0 Disguise, Feat: Metamorph) (Dream Self) [1PP]


Pseudonatural Biology Container

  • Immunity 30 (Fortitude, Feat: Trance, Flaw: Half Effect) (Constructed Body) [16PP]
  • Protection 10 [10PP]
  • Immunity 2 (Ageing, Sleep) [2PP]


Pseudonatural Dreams Array 15 (30PP, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 5) [37PP]

  • BE: Enhanced Strength 20 (Extra: Linked [+0] [Impervious]) + Impervious Protection 10 (Extra: Linked [+0] [Enhanced Strength]) (Inhuman Might) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Stun 10 (Extras: Range/Ranged, Sedation) (Psychic) (You Sleep) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Damage 10 (Extras: Range/Ranged, Alternate Save [Will]) (Psychic) (Visit Your Nightmares) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Action/Free, Area/Perception, Feats: Mind Blank, Flaws: Limited [Fear], Range/Personal, Sense Dependant [Visual]) (Unveil Myself) [21/30PP]
  • AP: Damage 10 (Extras: Range/Ranged, Vampiric) (I Hunger!) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Dreamwalking [14/30PP]
    • Super-Movement 1 (Dimensional 1 [Dream dimension]) [2PP]
    • Teleport 20 (Anywhere in the universe, Feats: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Flaws: Limited [Long-Range Only], Medium [Dreams]) [12PP]


Super Senses 5 (Mental sense, +Accurate, +Acute, +Radius, +Ranged, Feat: Extended [100 ft], Uncanny Dodge) (Spatial Awareness) [7PP]


Regeneration 1 (Resurrection, 1 week) [1PP]

Drawbacks: (-0) = -0PP

DC Block

ATTACK                    RANGE                               SAVE                            EFFECT
Inhuman Might             Touch                               DC 15/25 Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Physical)
You Sleep                 Ranged                              DC 20 Will (Staged)             Sleep
Visit Your Nightmares     Ranged                              DC 25 Will (Staged)             Damage (Psychic)
Unveil Myself             Melee/Area [Perception, Visual]     DC 20 Will                      Fear
I Hunger!                 Ranged                              DC 25 Toughness (Staged)        Damage (Pseudonatural)


Totals: Abilities (22) + Combat (22) + Saving Throws (17) + Skills (25) + Feats (10) + Powers (84) - Drawbacks (0) = 180/180 Power Points


Powers: 7 + 41 + 37 + 7 = 92PP

All powers have the pseudonatural and magic descriptors


Morph 2 (Any humanoid, +10 Disguise, Feats: Metamorph, Quick Change 2) (Dream Self) [7PP]


Pseudonatural Biology Container

  • Immunity 30 (Fortitude, Feat: Trance) (Constructed Body) [31PP]
  • Protection 10 [10PP]



  • BE: Create Object 10 (Extra: Moveable) (Modeling the Dreamscape) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Damage (Extra: Autofire, Range/Ranged) (Dream Barrage) [30/30PP]
  • AP: ESP 10 (200 000 miles; All senses, Flaw: Feedback) (Spy on Dreams) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Concealment 10 (All senses, Extra: Linked [+0] [Insubstantial]) + Insubstantial 2 (Gaseous, Extra: Linked [+0] [Concealment]) (Fade Into Dreams) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Dimensional Pocket 10 (Extra: Range/Ranged) (Into My Dreams) [30/30PP]
  • AP: Snare 10 (Extra: Contagious) (Dream Quicksand) [30/30PP]


Super Senses 5 (Mental sense, +Accurate, +Acute, +Radius, +Ranged, Feat: Extended [100 ft], Uncanny Dodge) (Dream Awareness) [7PP]

Drawbacks: (-0) = -0PP

DC Block

ATTACK              RANGE      SAVE                                  EFFECT
Dream Barrage       Ranged     DC 25+Autofire Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Physical)
Into My Dreams      Ranged     DC 20 Reflex                          Trapped
Dream Quicksand     Ranged     DC 20 Reflex (Staged)                 Snare
Edited by Raveled

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So to answer a question right off: Life Emergency Counselor (not Emergency Life Counselor) is a job I made up. Seth works with people who have just gone through a dramatic and/or traumatic life change, helping them to keep their sh-- in order and shepherding them through until they can achieve a new normal. Within the hospital he works with people who have a terminal diagnosis, have just lost a loved one/guardian, or have been diagnosed with a major illness like diabetes or a treatable cancer. He also works with recently released convicts, especially those with superpowers, to integrate into society.

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