"Good evening, London. This is The Voice Of Fate broadcasting on 275 and 285 in the medium wave..."
COMICS-DERIVED CHARACTER ADAPTATIONS
V
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH Damage [2] 21 DEX 36 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7 18 CON 16 13- 13 BODY 6 12- 18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13- 18 EGO 16 13- ECV: 6 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 10 COM 0 11- 8 PD 4 Total: 8 PD (0 rPD) 8 ED 4 Total: 8 ED (0 rED) 4 SPD 9 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 8 REC 0 36 END 0 32 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 119 Movement: Running: 7"/14" Leaping: 4"/8" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills 14 Knife: HKA 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); OAF (-1) plus Ranged (+1/2); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-1/4) for up to 22 Active Points of HKA, [1 rc] 10 Two More Knives 15 Finger Strike: HKA 1d6 (2d6 w/STR), END 1 2 Fast On His Feet: Running +1" (7" total), END 1 10 Even Faster On His Feet: Running 7", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Only To Make A Half-Move (-1) 30 No One Ever Hears Him Come In: Invisibility to Hearing Group , No Fringe, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) 5 Can Virtually See In The Dark: Nightvision Perks 40 The Shadow Gallery: Base Skills 20 +4 with HTH Combat 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Acting 13- 3 CK: London 13- 3 CK: The London Underground 13- 3 Climbing 13- 4 Computer Programming (Personal Computers, Mainframes and Supercomputers) 13- 0 Concealment 8- 3 Demolitions 13- 3 Electronics 13- 3 Interrogation 13- 3 Inventor 13- 3 KS: Literature 13- 3 KS: Movies 13- 3 KS: Music 13- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 3 Lockpicking 13- 3 Mimicry 13- 3 Oratory 13- 3 Paramedics 13- 3 PS: Gardening 13- 3 PS: Play Piano 13- 5 Rapid Attack (HTH) 3 Security Systems 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Sleight Of Hand 13- 3 SS: Chemistry 13- 3 SS: Psychology 13- 3 SS: Toxicology 13- 3 Stealth 13- 2 Systems Operation (Communications Systems) 13- 10 Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) 1 WF: Knives 3 Weaponsmith (Chemical Weapons, Incendiary Weapons) 13- 246 Total Powers & Skills Cost 365 Total Character Cost 200+ Disadvantages 10 Distinctive Features: Echoey Voice (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 DNPC: Evie Hammond 11- (Normal) 20 Hunted: Fate/Eric Finch 14- (As Pow, Capture) 20 Normal Characteristic Maxima 15 Psychological Limitation: Dedicated To The Overthrow Of Fate (Very Common, Moderate) 15 Psychological Limitation: Ruthless In His Methods (Common, Strong) 20 Reputation: terrorist and psychopathic killer, 14- (Extreme) 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Frequently, Major) 35 Experience 365 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: It is 1997 and England is struggling to survive after the horror of the Third World War. The current government is a fascist one, with the motto of "Strength through purity, purity through faith." They got their start sometime after the war, when a group called "Norsefire" decided it was time to get things back in order—first by taking away anyone who wasn't like them (i.e. white), and then by taking away the radicals, homosexuals, Communists, and so on.
A large number of these people were sent to a place called "Larkhill Resettlement Camp," which was Nazi-era concentration camp in all but name. There, 48 people were injected with a mixture of pituarin/pinearin extract. After two weeks, all but five of them had died, usually in a horrible fashion. The five survivors were placed in five cells in the medical ward. V was the man placed in Room Five.
Unlike everyone else, V didn't seem to be affected by the injections. He remained a physically normal human being (although he was thought to be utterly insane), untouched by the physical alterations that affected all the other subjects. He simply sat in his cell and did nothing. Or so everyone thought.
In fact, V was carefully planning his escape from Larkhill, and quite possibly his revenge on "Fate," the government who had put him there. And once he did escape (in a highly dramatic fashion), he then put a plan into motion that would result in the overthrow of Fate and the return of freedom to the people of England.
Personality/Motivation: V is an interesting figure. His experiences at Larkhill brought about a great change in him (read V for Vendetta to understand how), causing him to dedicate himself to being a one-man revolution against Fate and a fighter for freedom. But at the same time, he is utterly ruthless and a cold-blooded killer. He willingly kills anyone who gets in his way, and in the years before the story even begins, he kills everyone who ever worked at Larkhill—either out of vengeance, or to eliminate anyone who might know who he really is.
Interestingly, although V is utterly devoted to overthrowing Fate, he's not a slave to his ideas. Rather, he understands that things need to be done properly, and is willing to wait years before bringing events to their final conclusion. And although he is utterly ruthless and kills without a second thought, he isn't some random psychopath. He kills when he needs to and who he needs to, not just anyone who gets in his way.
Quote: "I'm the king of the twentieth century. I'm the bogeyman. The villain. ...the black sheep of the family."
Powers/Tactics: Did the hormone injections do anything to V? I think they did. I think they altered him in some way. Made him stronger, faster, and maybe even smarter than the people around him. His physical abilities are quite impressive. He can kill a man simply by punching his fingers into his chest, he can leap from an overpass onto a subway train, run up on (and kill) two (or more) guards armed with hand guns—while he is armed with knives. One survivor mentions how fast he is, while Evie Hammond states "I didn't hear you come in." to which V replies "No one ever does." He kills a man (several men, in fact) in the dark without making a sound.
V is also quite intelligent. He created mustard gas and napalm out of simple household cleaners and fertilizers. He knows a great deal about psychology and how to manipulate people. He is able to tap into Fate's computers and disable the monitoring systems. V is no one's fool...
Due to his physical abilities, V's tactics are pretty simple. Rush up on his target and kill him with a single knife thrust. He always puts his STR into the blow and usually strikes a vital spot (if you don't use Hit Locations, give him a level of Deadly Blow with his Knives and up his Finger Strike to 2d6 base to represent this). He will often hit two targets at one, and can fight off four trained guards with ease.
Appearance: V is never described. We have no idea who he is or what he looks like (other than that "V" is a man). V is probably Caucasian, but one can't be sure. In her diary, Delia Surridge (the doctor behind the project that created V) describes him as "very ugly." Later, before she dies, she asks V to remove his mask. He does and she calls him beautiful. When he is heard on a radio speaker, his voice echoes, a possible side effect of the treatments.
All that can be said about V is that he's a fairly tall man (around 6' in height) with a powerful build (if scattered silhouettes are anything to go on). His costume consists of knee-high black leather boots in the "cavalier" style, gray (or black) trousers, a gray jacket with a wide black belt worn over it, black gloves, an ankle-length black cloak, and a tall, wide-brimmed hat reminiscent of the hats worn during the English Civil war era. On his face he wears a Guy Fawkes mask, with a brown wig of shoulder-length hair.
Designer's Notes: I left some things off of V's character sheet that you might want to include, or at least think about. In his first appearance, he uses an explosive device hidden in a fake hand and tear gas to kill several Fingermen (Fate's secret police). He then renders a large man unconscious for an hour simply by touching his neck and delivering a mild electric shock (I presume this is some sort of taser.) Thus, you could give him a gadget pool (to go along with his Inventing skill.) I chose not to, as side from these initial examples, he never uses such gadgets again. Another power you could give him is the "Vanishing Teleport" ability, which is X inches of teleport with the Limitations of No Noncombat Movement (-1/4), Only To "Vanish" When No One Is Looking (-1/2), Only To Places The Character Can Normally Reach (-1/2) (see Dark Champions for more). He manages to disappear rather effectively several times, although this might just be a side effect of his ability to move silently.
Finally, Evie Hammond is listed as a DNPC only because I felt the need to fit her in somehow. She's not V's follower, although he does train her to take his place, and I honestly do think he's looking out for her after he sets her free the first time.
(V created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
"England Prevails."
Return to Comic-Derived Character Adaptations