Danny Rand—Iron Fist

The final Defender arrives! I just finished Iron Fist and I wanted to pump this entry out before school picks back up for me again—won't have time to work as much when that happens.

I've also made minor adjustments to Daredevil, given that he's not nearly as talented a fighter as Iron Fist (DD's skillset is more focused around being intimidating, lawyering, and noticing everything).

Name: Daniel Rand
Race: Human
Experience: 65 (Heroic)
Power Level: Street Fighter with Super Karma (Rising Stars; 30 PP)
Agility d10; Smarts d6; Spirit d10; Strength d6; Vigor d8
Pace 6; Parry 10; Charisma –2; Toughness 6
Hindrances: Clueless, Heroic, Loyal, Outsider, Phobia (m, airplane turbulence), Vow (M—sworn enemy of the Hand)
Edges: Arcane Background (Super Powers), Filthy Rich, Combat Sense, Dodge, Level Headed, Nerves of Steel, Martial Artist, Acrobat, Counterattack, Improved Frenzy, Improved First Strike, Block.
Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12+1, Investigation d4, Knowledge (Kun'Lun) d4, Notice d8, Stealth d8.
Inventory: Clothes, iPod.
Powers:

• Animal Control (1): Level 1. Limitation (–1, can only be used to pacify animals). (Zen animal empathy.)
• Armor +8 (3): Heavy Armor. Requires Activation, Limitation (–2, right hand only), Limitation (–2, Benny and Spirit roll to activate; failure disables this for the day. GM may impose penalties for un-zen circumstances), Limitation (–1, Spirit roll to maintain every round). (The Iron Fist is indestructible.)
• Attack, Melee (6): Damage Str+3d6, AP 4, Heavy Weapon, One Arm. Contingent on successful armor. (The Iron Fist.)
• Healing (5): Cure. Contingent on successful armor, Limitation (–1, Cure incurs 2 points of Fatigue, failure Incapacitates). (Channeling the chi from the iron fist to repair the body.)
• Super Attribute (4): Agility +1, Spirit +1. (Exceptional training and zen demeanor.)
• Super Edge (8): Combat Sense, Dodge, Level Headed, Nerves of Steel. (Exceptional training and zen demeanor.)
• Super Skill (3): Fighting +2, Notice +1. (Exceptional training and zen demeanor.)

Danny Rand was born to the billionaire founders of Rand Enterprises. Raised in a sheltered upbringing in New York with his friends Joy and Ward Meachum, Danny was a good-hearted kid, even through Ward's bullying. Unfortunately, on a family trip to China, Danny's plane went down in the Himalayas, killing both of his parents. Danny was found by a group of mysterious monks, who took him back to the mystical city of Kun'Lun.

The monks there trained him, particularly Lei Kung, the Thunderer, in the mystical martial arts. Danny was also taught to keep his emotions in check, though he seemed to have trouble pushing emotions from his heart in times of stress, and his penchant for trouble-making with his best friend Davos resulted in many stories. However, having learned the art of zen combat, Danny was chosen to partake in the Trial of Shou-Lao the Undying, an enormous dragon beast. Danny subdued the beast and plunged his fists into its molten heart—a tattoo of Shou-Lao burned itself onto his chest, and Danny became the Iron Fist, sworn enemy of the Hand.

15 years after his plane went down, the gates of Kun'Lun opened once again, allowing Danny to escape into the world and make his way back to New York. His antics in entering the Rand Enterprises headquarters, however, complicated matters, with Ward branding him as an insane person trying to steal the Rand name and submitting Danny to an asylum. Eventually, though, things were ironed out and Danny was reinstated within the company, and immediately started driving profits down with idealistic and unwise business decisions, much to the chagrin of Ward and Joy.

In this time, Danny met Colleen Wing, a martial artist in Chinatown, and Claire Temple, one of her students, and began to work with them to uncover a heroin manufacturer by the docks. This turned out to be run by Madame Gao and the Hand, who were using it to gain an economic foothold in the city. Danny also found out that Harold Meachum, his father's best friend, was still alive, albeit through poor life decisions and a deal with the Hand. Danny did his best to apprehend the Hand and save as many as he could, but when Colleen was poisoned by a fight with the Hand (and Danny discovered the healing capabilities of the Iron Fist), they ended up in an installation with an imprisoned Gao, only to find out that Colleen was a member of a different faction of the Hand all along.

Escaping with Davos, who only recently found him in New York, they retreated for Danny to recharge his chi and destroy this rogue faction of the Hand with the assistance of Colleen, but not before Ward and Joy were put into serious danger at the hand of Bakuto, this Hand faction's leader. After dealing with this threat, Danny discovered that Harold Meachum might have engineered the plane accident to kill his parents, and worked with Ward and Joy (newly on his side in light of the revelation) to defeat Harold (with the killing blow attributed to Ward's gun).

Danny offered to bring Colleen back to Kun'Lun, but at the gates, they discovered that an attack had occured and the gates were shut. They will likely pick up here in the Defenders later this year.

Power Stunts:

• Deflection (4): –6 to hit with ranged attacks. Contingent on a successful armor. Danny uses the Iron Fist to deflect a bullet against Harold in the series' climax.
• Explode (5): Damage 4d8, Large Burst Template. Contingent on a successful armor. Danny uses the Iron Fist to slam into the ground, causing massive amounts of damage to the rooms and security officers around him.
• Parry +4 (4): During Danny's tournament against the Hand, he goes full zen and effortlessly blocks hits from his opponent.

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So, it was a quick and dirty Savaging, and boy I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a Persuasion that low (d4–4 with his Outsider modifiers). The Iron Fist, however, is quite powerful, and will only grow moreso as he gains Experience, and his status as a Rising Star allows him to gain even more uses of his chi as time goes on. Personally, I'm thorouhgly interested to see what he ends up with in the future.

Leave your questions, comments, and complaints about the show's weak writing and choreography below. Don't be too harsh, though; it was mediocre, not total garbage.
—DoctorBoson

Jessica Jones—Private Eye

In the essence of continuing to put out content on this blog, as opposed to letting it die, I'll go ahead and put out a mainstay super heroine, who should be one of the heroes present in the upcoming Defenders show on Netflix.

Name: Jessica Jones
Race: Human
Experience: 60 (Heroic)
Power Level: Street Fighter with Super Karma (35 PP)
Agility d8; Smarts d8; Spirit d8; Strength d12+4; Vigor d8
Pace 8; Parry 6; Charisma 0; Toughness 9
Hindrances: Habit (M—Alcohol), Heroic, Mean, Night Terrors, Poverty, Short Temper
Edges: Arcane Background (Super Powers), Attractive, The Best There Is (super strength), Luck, Fleet-Footed, Investigator, Elan, Counterattack, Nerves of Steel, Dodge.
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Investigation d8, Persuasion d6, Notice d8, Shooting d4, Stealth d6, Streetwise d10, Taunt d4, Throwing d4.
Inventory: Camera, Cell Phone, Hip Flask.
Powers:

• Attack, Melee (4): Damage Str+d6, Heavy Weapon, Lethal, Multiple Attacks.
• Leaping (4): Level 5. Leaps 32" vertically and 64" horizontally. Limitation (–1, leaping is an action above Level 1. Level 2 requires a Spirit roll, Level 3 requires a Spirit roll at –2, Level 4 requires a Spirit roll at –4, Level 5 at –6).
• Regeneration (5): Level 2, rolls to heal every hour. Recovery.
• Resistance (1): Complete immunity to Kilgrave's control.
• Super Attribute (16): Strength +7, Vigor +1.
• Super Edge (2): Fleet-Footed.
• Toughness +3 (3): Enhanced physiology.

Jessica Jones was in an accident at a young age, which killed her brother and parents. While recovering in a hospital, Jessica was joined by her friend Trish Walker and her mother, who adopted her because it would be good for the public image. While living with Trish, though, Jessica discovered that she had developed superhuman powers in her crash.

Years later, after Jessica quit a lousy day job, she started to become more and more comfortable with her powers, and was almost convinced by Trish to actually put her talents towards the super hero business. Unfortunately, tragedy befell her when she was found by Kilgrave, who mind controlled her and forced her to effectively be his "girlfriend," where he raped her and used her abilities to make her his personal muscle. Jessica was finally able to break free after Kilgrave forced her to murder an innocent woman. Kilgrave appeared to have been killed in a bus crash moments later. Jessica developed a drinking problem and started suffering from PTSD due to the abuse she suffered.

Shortly afterwards, Jessica became a private investigator under her own company: Alias Investigations. Jessica cooperated with lawyer Jeri Hogarth taking odd jobs that no one else was able to deliver on, and her exceptional talent kept the bills paid and the lights on. On another job, Jessica found and befriended (and later became more than friends with) a bartender named Luke Cage. Shortly afterward, however, she began to uncover evidence that Kilgrave had actually survived the crash, and was currently out for vengeance. 

Jessica took it upon herself to stop Kilgrave, saving cop Will Simpson, who attempted to help her capture Kilgrave. Unfortunately, their leads went south, and Jessica was forced to stay with Kilgrave at her old house for a few days. Simpson was severely wounded in an attempt to save Jessica, but Jessica was able to knock out and escape with Kilgrave, trapping him in a hermetically sealed room.

Through a variety of means, Jessica was able to lure Kilgrave's parents to her in an attempt to reason with him: they had performed horrible experiments on him, granting him his powers, and unfortunately, he killed his mother and kidnapped his father, escaping from the room but revealing that Jessica was no longer subject to his control. In attempting to track Kilgrave down again, Kilgrave killed the girl that led Jessica to him and escaped as she bled out.

Jessica was then lured into an unrelated trap by Simpson, who was amped up on some kind of enhancement drug. She, along with Trish (also on Simpson's pills) managed to beat him into submission, though Trish was hospitalized through what effectively amounts to an overdose. Soon after, Jessica bore witness to an explosion at Luke's Bar, and Luke begins helping her track Kilgrave back down. Upon finding him, however, it's revealed that Kilgrave still had control over Luke, forcing him to fight and try to kill Jessica. Jessica incapacitated him via shotgun to the head and brought him to Claire Temple for treatment while she went to finish dealing with Kilgrave, ultimately snapping his neck.

Jessica still suffers from PTSD, but her status as a powered person is now more or less public knowledge, and her business appears to be booming. Only time will tell if she's still able to do her job or if she's drowning her sorrows in booze.

JJ's leaping has its limitation on it because she only truly leaps once, when she was bringing Kilgrave away from the house he acquired. This makes it something more of a last-ditch ability than something that's incorporated into her usual transportation.

Anyways, I've finally started making some waves in this little pond again; it's been too long. Leave questions, comments, and suggestions below.
—DoctorBoson

Patch Notes—Luke Cage

This is our second set of patch notes, and while it's a bit late (and it's certainly been a while since we've gotten to posting anything here). While there's not all too much being patched in here, I did Luke quite some time ago and I figured it was worth drawing attention to his changes.

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Luke Cage
Advance Changes:

• Experience increased from 35 to 55.
• Luke has clearly had much more experience during his time in Seagate then we were led to believe in Jessica Jones. Most of the following changes are made in light of the new show.
• Driving lowered from d6 to d4.
• Fighting increased from d6 to d8.
• Shooting d4 added.
• Streetwise lowered from d8 to d6.
• Swimming d8 added.
• Taunt d4 added.
• Poverty, Vengeful (minor) and Wanted (major) Hindrances added.
• Brawler, Counterattack, Level Headed, and Sweep added.
• Hard to Kill removed.
• This has instead been moved to one of Luke's Powers.

Power Changes:

• Ageless added.
• Armor reduced from +14 to +12.
• Heavy Armor added. Limitation (–1, Heavy Armor ignored by blunt damage) added.
• Limitation (–2, Armor +6 vs blunt weapons) removed from armor.
• Luke's unbreakable skin has been shown to be vulnerable to blunt damage, and even more resistant to "small-arms" fire, never even being Shaken by it. Having his Heavy Armor bypassed by blunt damage seemed to be an appropriate compromise.
• Regeneration increased from Level 1 to Level 2.
• Recovery removed.
• Limitation (–1, regeneration is negated if shrapnel is stuck inside).
• Resistance (Cold) removed.
• Luke was wearing a jacket as the winter months approached; clearly he isn't resistant to low temperatures.
• Super Strength decreased from +7 to +6. Heavy Weapon added.
• Super Edge: Hard to Kill added.
• Toughness +1 added.

Luke Cage Season 1 Advances:

• 60 Experience: Sweep.
• 65 Experience: Tracking d4.
• 70 Experience: Nerves of Steel.

This makes Luke far more durable and puts him better in line with what we see over the course of his show. I'm hoping to at least keep up with main characters right now as I work to update the other heroes to a new standard. Jessica Jones should be coming soon!