Name: THE GRAND VAMPIRE Val Char Cost 18 STR 8 18 DEX 24 13 CON 6 10 BODY 15 INT 5 14 EGO 8 18 PRE 8 16 COM 3 6 PD 2 3 ED 3 SPD 2 7 REC 26 END 26 STUN Characteristic Rolls: STR: 13-, DEX: 13-, CON: 12-, INT: 12-, EGO: 12-, PER: 12- Run: 10", Swim: 2", Jump: 3 1/2", Lift: 300 kg Cost Powers END/Roll 8 +4" Running (10" total) Cost Skills, Talents, Perks Roll Street Fighting Maneuvers 4 Punch (Martial Strike), +2 DCV, STR+2D6,Strike 5 Choke (Choke Hold), -2 OCV, Grab, 2D6 NND 3 Grab (Martial Grab), -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab, +10 STR for hold only (not damage) 4 Escape (Martial Escape), +15 STR vs. Grabs 3 Acrobatics 13- 3 Acting 13- 3 Breakfall13- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Concealment 12- 3 Contortionist 13- 3 Conversation 13- 9 Disguise 14- 3 High Society 13- 2 CK: Paris 11- 2 AK: France 11- 3 Lockpicking 13- 0 LS: French, native 2 LS: English, fluent 9 Mimicry 14- 3 Persuasion 13- 3 Security Systems12- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 13- 3 Tactics 12- 2 Familiar with Firearms 2 Familiar with Common Melee Weapons 50+ Disadvantages 10 Professional Rival 11-: Jose Juan Moreno, burglar 20 Hunted 11-: The Police 15 Hunted 11-: Phillipe Guerande, newspaper reporter 15 Secret Identity: Multiple 10 DNPC 11-: Irma Vep, slightly less powerful, useful skills 20 Ruthless 15 Sneaky 5 1D6 Unluck OCV: 6; DCV: 6; ECV: 5; Mental Def.: 0; Phases: 4, 8, 12 PD/rPD: 6/0; ED/rED: 3/0 Costs: Char.: 66 Disad.: 110 Powers: + 94 Base: + 50 Exp.: + Total: = 160 Total: = 160 Source: "Les Vampires," The Gaumont Co., Ltd., 1916, 10-chapter serial Background: On the eve of the Great War, France was horrified by a series of audacious crimes committed by a mysterious gang called The Vampires. No corner of the nation was safe. An American millionaire was robbed at her chateau, then strangled while in protective custody. A bank courier vanished from a moving train along with an envelope containing 300,000 francs. At the Paris Opera, a ballerina who dared to stage a production called "The Vampires" was poisoned in the middle of her performance. A ballroom full of aristocrats were gassed and awoke to find their wallets and jewelry gone. A special investigator was murdered and his severed head delivered in a box to local magistrates. Victims who were allowed to live reported seeing spidery figures garbed in black leotards and cowls. Police were helpless. The criminals left few clues. Their outrages were committed with military precision after months of preparation. Detectives and reporters who persisted in investigating after being warned off by the gang simply disappeared. A raid of one of the gang's safe houses yielded evidence that the The Vampires' guiding Black Committee included members at the highest echelons of French society. At the center of this conspiracy lurked an elusive being who styled himself the Grand Vampire. Powers and Abilities: The Grand Vampire is a master actor, burglar and escape artist. Able to disguise himself as almost anybody, he maintains a dozen secret identities -- a beloved country doctor, a prosperous real estate agent, a popular society playboy, the proprietor of a notorious Paris nightclub -- all for the purpose of scoping out and developing lucrative criminal opportunities. Lithe and wiry, he can slither through chimneys, glide down drainpipes, and traverse the rooftops of Paris as if they were its sidewalks. He is a skillful leader. Although he demands absolute obedience from his minions, he's careful to ensure that they share the rewards as well as the risks of his well-calculated schemes. This even-handed treatment is key to maintaining the gang's loyalty and cohesiveness; it's why the police haven't been able to cultivate informants and spies to use against The Vampires. While it is uncertain what the Black Committee's ultimate goal is, his motives are simple: the Grand Vampire wants cash and lots of it. He'll try almost anything (except honest work) to get it. Disadvantages: The Grand Vampire's most effective opponents aren't the authorities; they're the press and the rest of the criminal community. The Vampires' plots have more than once been exposed by articles published daily by "Paris Chronicle" reporter Phillipe Guerande. And their success has won them the enmity of a rival burglary ring overseen by Spanish thief and con man Jose Juan Moreno. The Grand Vampire has also grown protective of his slinky spy and second-story girl, Irma Vep, although their relationship is strictly professional. Height: cm (6' 2"), Weight: kg (163 lbs), Sex: Male, Race: Caucasian Appearance: When he's not covered in forty pounds of makeup and false hair, the Grand Vampire appears as a slim, wiry man in his early to mid thirties. He has nondescript brown hair and a pleasant, squarish face that serves as a good foundation for his disguises. He's handsome enough to encourage his victims' trust but not so notable that they'll remember him later. He adapts his costume to his surroundings. In Society he slicks back his hair and dons evening clothes. At The Howling Cat, a jazz club that serves as a hideout, he sports a cheap suit, a thick moustache, and a derby hat. As the Grand Vampire, he's encased in a tight black bodysuit and full mask, which accentuates his thinness and makes him look like a human spider. Campaign Notes: The Vampires are comprised of several levels of personnel. The Black Committee calls the shots from the exclusive clubs and salons of Paris but its members rarely, if ever, are directly involved in the gang's crimes. The Grand Vampire oversees the gang's daily activities and pulls off it's most spectacular crimes with the aid of a small (three to five people) core of vetran thieves who know his face if not his real name. This inner circle includes: Irma Vep, the gang's master infiltrator; Venemous, the chemist who concocts the its poisons and drugs; the deaf kidnapper Father Silence; Madame Alba, medium and hypnotist; the Grand Inquisitor, who interrogates captives; and Satamas, also known as the Bishop. The rank and file of the gang -- 15 to 20 individuals -- are ne'er-do-wells and thugs who know the Grand Vampire only by reputation or as a shadowy figure. They obey orders in return for a spiffy black costume and a share of the loot. Oscar-Cloud Mazamette, Phillipe Guerande's sidekick, is a former Vampire hanger-on of this last category. ============================= Hero System write-up by Kevin Scrivner