MOVIE-DERIVED CHARACTER ADAPTATIONS
DAVID DUNN
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH Damage [1] 13 DEX 9 12- OCV: 4/DCV: 4 15 CON 10 12- 11 BODY 2 11- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 12 EGO 4 11- ECV: 4 13 PRE 3 12- PRE Attack: 2 1/2d6 12 COM 1 11- 8/38 PD 4 Total: 8/38 PD (0/30 rPD) 8/38 ED 5 Total: 8/38 ED (0/30 rED) 3 SPD 7 Phases: 4, 8, 12 7 REC 0 30 END 0 35 STUN 6 Total Characteristic Cost: 61 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Leaping: 5"/10" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills Martial Arts: Security Restraint Techniques Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Choke Hold -2 +0 Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND 3 Joint Lock -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, 35 STR for holding on 2 How Much Weight Is That?: +5 STR; Only To Lift Objects (-1), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), END 2 5 Never Seems To Tire: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) for up to 20 Active Points of STR 17 The Evil That Men Do: Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight Group, Normal Hearing And Detect), +3 to PER Roll, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); No Conscious Control (Only Effects cannot be controlled; -1), Retrocognition Only (-1), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2), No Range (-1/2), Restrainable (-1/2), Power Only Works When Character Touches "The Evil Doer" (-1/4) 60 Unbreakable: Armor (30 PD/30 ED); Stops BODY Damage Only (-1/2) 10 Never Been Ill: LS (Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents) 5 Comic Book Luck: Luck 1d6 Perks 1 Fringe Benefit: Franklin State University Security Pass 1 Reputation: only survivor of a deadly train crash (A small to medium sized group) 8-, +1/+1d6 Skills 2 AK: Franklin State University 11- 2 CK: Philadelphia 11- 0 Climbing 8- 7 Concealment 13- 1 KS: Football 8- 1 KS: Law and Legal Procedure 8- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 0 PS: Play Football 8- 2 PS: Security Guard 11- 0 TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles 127 Total Powers & Skills Cost 188 Total Character Cost 150+ Disadvantages 20 DNPC: Joseph Dunn (Incomp) 11- 15 DNPC: Joseph Dunn 8- (Incompetent) 0 Hunted: Elijah Price/Mr. Glass 14- (Less Pow, Limited Geographical Area, Watching) 5 Psychological Limitation: Dislike/Fear of Water (Uncommon, Moderate) 15 Psychological Limitation: Feels Compelled To Be A "Hero" (Common, Strong) 15 Social Limitation: Secret ID (David Dunn possess superhuman/supernatural powers) (Frequently, Major) 200 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: David Dunn has never been sick. He has never been injured either, despite a college football career, surviving an auto accident on an icy road, and a being in a train wreck that killed 170 people. David's only real brush with death was when he stayed at the bottom of a swimming pool for five minutes, and ended up in the hospital for a week with pneumonia.
A star football player in college, David brought his career to a close after an auto accident on an icy road. He said he was injured (when in reality he was unharmed), in order to remain close to Audrey, the woman he would eventually marry.
After college, David took a job as a security guard,working at Franklin State University. He married Audrey and fathered a son—Joseph. Unfortunately, his marriage proved to have problems, and David decided to look for work in New York City. Returning from New York via train, he was the sole survivor of a derailment which killed all the other passengers.
Soon after this accident, David was approached by Elijah Price, a man suffering from Osteogenesis Imperfecta—a rare disease which renders the victim's bones extremely brittle. Elijah believed David to be his opposite, to be an unbreakable man in counter to his own very fragile self. Elijah also felt that David was a true "superhero" placed on this world to right wrongs, perform heroic deeds, and give people hope.
Personality/Motivation: Deep down, David wants to be a hero, even if he doesn't know it. As Elijah points out, of all the occupations David could have gotten into, he chose security—protecting people. David himself talks about waking up feeling something isn't right, a feeling that goes away after rescuing two children who were being held captive in their own home by a man who had murdered their parents.
It seems likely David will not stop being a "hero" and will continue to venture out into the night to try and protect people. Now that he knows he has superhuman/supernatural powers, and what they do, he is more than willing to put them to use. However, due to his experiences with a swimming pool at a young age, David has no liking for large bodies of water, and tries to avoid such things.
Quote: "No cold, no fever, no headache, isn't that a little weird? What do you think it means?"
Powers/Tactics: David is, to put it simply, unbreakable. He cannot be injured. He can, however, be stunned and knocked out, although physically he will be unharmed. He does not get sick, and cannot recall ever having had a cold, or the flu, or any form of illness. Please note, 30 DEF Armor is only an approximation of this power. Game Masters should alter it according to the needs of the campaign. Hardened seems a likely advantage for example.
In addition to being effectively invulnerable, David is also strong. Very strong. While weight lifting, he manages to bench press upwards of 350 pounds, but the sequence in which he does so gives the viewer (or me, at least) the impression he could lift more. Sure, he seemed to strain and it required some effort to lift the weights he did, be he did it, each and every time. This observation is borne out by viewing the deleted scenes from the Unbreakable DVD. There David is shown bench pressing 500 lbs in the football locker room! Using The Ultimate Brick, in which it is stated that one can benchpress 75% of their total lift, we can peg David's STR at a minimum of 18 (18 STR = 300 kg = 660 lbs. 660 x .75 = 495 lbs.). I rounded it up to 20 for simplicities sake. I also gave him an extra 5 points of Lifting STR.
David's more important power, however, is his ability to see what crimes someone has committed. By coming into physical contact with a person, he will get a flash of a past criminal action. Some sample actions he witnessed include a theft, a rape, an two assaults. The flashes come as visions, with sight and sound, but don't have such details as when and where. He may see someone break into a house, but doesn't know where the house is.
His martial arts aren't demonstrated in the film, but were added in as a logical part of the character—David is a security guard, after all.
Appearance: David is fairly normal looking, with extremely close-cropped hair surrounding a sizable bald spot. He is in excellent physical shape for a man his age (which is around 40). As "Hero" he wears his green FSU security rain poncho and baseball cap over his regular clothing.
Designer's Notes: Unbreakable is an interesting look at how super powers might look and work in "the real world." David Dunn is a super hero, in that he has a desire to be a hero (well, to protect people), and has superhuman/natural powers to assist him in his quest. Although David is "unbreakable," he is not totally invulnerable or immortal. He still has to breathe, and can be affected by gas, smoke or water just like anyone else. He also ages normally, as can be seen by his face and hair.
People may wonder at the "Watched by Mr. Glass" disad. I originally wasn't going to include it, until I realized Elijah Price lives in a comic book word, and like an comic book villain placed in a mental institution, he will try and escape to continue his combats with David (that, and there is no way that Elijah will something as trivial as being institutionalized get in the way of his obsession with David).
As written, David Dunn has 12 points to spend. Suggestions include Hardened for his Armor, Lack of Weakness, Hand-To-Hand Levels, and +1" of Running.
A final bit of trivia: David Dunn's initial are "DD." Double initials are a common comic book convention, for example: Bruce Banner, J. Jonah Jameson, J'Onn J'Onzz, Lana Lang, Lena Luthor, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Matt Murdock, Otto Octavius, Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Scott Summers, Susan Storm, and Wally West.
David Dunn's Hero Designer File
(David Dunn created by M. Night Shyamalan, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
Return to Movie-Derived Character Adaptations.