The Rookie—ODST

James doesn't have a last name; the designers of ODST wanted him to fill the roll of the silent protagonist, to further be filled by the player. Our only run in with him is in the Halo 3 standalone ODST, where we get to play as a band soldier among the titular ranks. This time around, we're only looking at the player character, but maybe we'll see Buck sometime.

Name: James
Race: Human
Experience: 90 (Legendary)
Agility d8; Smarts d8; Spirit d8; Strength d8; Vigor d8
Pace 6; Parry 6; Charisma 0; Toughness 12 (6)
Hindrances: Curious, Loyal, Quirk (Doesn't Talk)
Edges: Alertness, Intuition, Quick, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Quick Draw, Nerves of Steel, Alien Weapon Expert, Level Headed, Steady Hands, Alien Vehicle Expert
Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d8, Healing d4, Notice d8, Piloting d6, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Throwing d6
Cybernetics: Neural Interface
Inventory: ODST Armor & Helmet (Armor +5, Negate 4 AP, +4 vs rolls to resist heat, Sealed (15 minutes), Zoom (halves notice penalties at range) Targeting Computer (ignores 1 point of Shooting penalties), Low Light Vision), M7 SMG (2d6, AP 2, 12/24/48, Auto, RoF 3, 60 Shots), M6 Magnum (2d6 +1, AP 4, 15/30/60, Semi-Auto, 12 Shots), M9 Grenade ×2 (3d6, AP 2, Medium Burst, 5/10/20, Heavy Weapon), Ammo.

Not much to be said about the Rookie. Young and new to the corps, he was a soldier that easily could have made the ranks of the Spartan programs if things had been different. Alert, stealthy, and lethal, he navigated the streets of New Mombasa for several hours alone during the battle for Earth, and did a brilliant job of reconstructing the events that had transpired over the course of the battle (with a little bit of help from Vergil, of course). Able to both roll with the hits and take them, and being frighteningly accurate to boot, he is more than a match for a couple of Covenant squads.

What really makes someone like this difficult to convert, being the silent protagonist of a video game, is that not only are his skills dependent on the difficulty of the game, and the skill of the player, but so are his Hindrances. The fact that he is almost religiously silent was an easy quirk to add, but I figured eventually that Loyal was a given considering his goal throughout the game, and (assuming the player searches down the phone booths and weapons caches) he strikes me as rather curious as well. As to the Edges, if you include the targeting computer in his gear, it's simply what enables gameplay as found in ODST: the regenerating health system and gunplay in particular.

Regarding their armor, ODSTs have armor that is a bit stronger than normal UNSC marine or army BDUs, and have particular materials weaved into the armor to help alleviate some of the extreme heat experienced during atmospheric reentry. Their helmets are advanced, with a targeting system, vitals data, a compass heading, data storage, tactical map readouts, and the VISR system, which allows the user to see in darker conditions, and outlining hostiles in red to boot.

Anyways, there's our short blurb on the poster child of ODST. Leave comments and question and such below, and I have a treat being prepared for you folks in the coming weeks.
—DoctorBoson

Hal Jordan—Green Lantern

As it happens, I've been throwing a lot of super heroes together recently, so I figured I'd throw this one up to keep the content flowing. Not to mention that the DC Comics universe only has so many good movies, and we might as well take a look at one of the few force control supers out there. This is based on the 2011 movie.

Name: Hal Jordan
Race: Human
Experience: 60 (Heroic)
Agility d8; Smarts d8; Spirit d10; Strength d8; Vigor d8
Pace 6; Parry 6; Charisma 2; Toughness 19 (6)
Hindrances: Arrogant, Heroic, Quirk (Shies from responsibility), Vow (m, Green Lantern Corps)
Edges: Arcane Background (Super Powers), Attractive, The Best There Is (force control), Brave, Elan, Ace, Dodge
Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d8, K (Planes) d6, Knowledge (Galactic Politics) d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d4, Piloting d10, Shooting d10, Taunt d6
Super Powers:

• Armor +6 (1): Device (–1), Requires Activation.
• Attack, Ranged (13): Range 12/24/48, Damage 3d6, AP 2, Medium Burst, Heavy Weapon, RoF 3. Device (–1).
• Danger Sense (1): Device (–1).
• Doesn't Breathe (1): Device (–1), Requires Activation.
• Flight (19): Mach 2+, Climb 4. Device (–1).
• Force Control (35): Level 12, Strength d12+12. Area Effect (MBT), Force Field, Heavy Weapon. Range 24". Device (–1).
• Resistance (2): Air, Heat, Cold, Radiation. Device (–1), Requires Activation.
• Speak Language (1): Written Word. Device (–1).
• Super Attribute (4): Spirit +2.  
• Super Skill (3): Knowledge (Galactic Politics) +3.
• Toughness +7 (5): Device (–1), Requires Activation.

Inventory: Lantern Ring.

After his father's death in a terrible accident, Hal Jordan followed in his father's footsteps and becoming an accomplished and highly-talented pilot. An irresponsible ladies man by night, Hal was known for having an incredible (and oftentimes very irritating) force of will. This is why the ring chose him as Earth's newest protector: the Green Lantern.

Intelligent, strong, and brave, Hal's ring grants him incredible powers of flight and incredible resilience, but what really powers him is the ring's capacity to generate nearly anything his mind can dream up. From swords to guns to slingshots to race cars, Hal can construct them and use them as he wishes. The ring also grants him some other powers, including a working knowledge of the Lantern Corps and galactic politics, a universal translator, alerts him when he is needed.

Without the ring, Hal is simply a very strong willed individual; it really wouldn't be a good idea for the average tangle with him, even powerless.

There isn't much more I can say for him, which is the benefit of working off of a one-off movie character: just go watch the movie and you'll see most of this in action. Leave questions, comments, and lantern-love below.
—DoctorBoson

Chris Kyle—American Sniper

I just got back from watching American Sniper, and I felt it was apt to write a statblock for one of the deadliest snipers in US military history.

As a disclaimer, this is only based off of my first viewing of the film. This may not be accurate-to-life because I tried to avoid including items that are implied in SEALs training, such as the climbing skill.

Name: Christopher Scott Kyle
Race: Human
Experience: 120 (Legendary)
Agility d8; Smarts d6; Spirit d8; Strength d10; Vigor d8
Pace 6; Parry 6; Charisma 2; Toughness 10 (4)
Hindrances: Heroic, Combat Shock, Enemy (m)
Edges: Alertness, Charismatic, Martial Artist, Marksman, Command, No Mercy, Dead Shot, Dodge
Skills: Driving d4, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Riding d6, Shooting d12+1, Stealth d6, Swimming d6, Throwing d8
Inventory: TAC-338 (2d8, AP 2. 5 Shots, 50/100/200, Snapfire; Scope & Bipod), Mk. 18 CQB Carbine (M-16 Stats; Suppressor & Foregrip), SIG-Sauer P226 (2d6, AP 1, 15 Shots, 12/24/48, Semi-Auto), Steel Pot Helmet (Armor +4, 50% vs head shot), Kevlar Vest w/Ceramics (Armor +4, negates 4 AP vs ballistics), Backpack, Knife (Str+d4), Canteen ×2, Radio, Mk67 Pineapple Grenade ×2 (5/10/20, MBT).

Chris Kyle was born in west Texas (the greatest state in the nation), and learned how to shoot a rifle as a young boy as his father taught him how to hunt. He and his brother were taught to protect others and stand up for what they believed in, and Chris achieved this outstandingly. After witnessing a terrorist act, he abandoned his dream of being a cowboy to join the US Navy SEALs and was placed in SEAL Team 3, sniper element.

With an incredible eye, Kyle achieved 160 confirmed kills (and over 250 probable kills) over his four tours in Iraq, with his crowning achievement being a headshot at an insurgent more than 2100 meters away. (Including cover, the drop, the scope, and the called shot, this was a Shooting roll at –8: a 31% chance of success.) A bounty was placed on his head by insurgents, naming him the "Devil of Ramadi," which caused him to be pursued by the Olympic sniper Mufasa.

At the time of his discharge, he had achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer, but suffered from PTSD (which he bought off later with an Advance). He was killed on February 2, 2013, by a veteran he was trying to assist.

I've been back and forth on whether or not he should have a d12+1 or d12+2 in Shooting, but eventually settled on d12+1. He was still extremely accurate with his other weapons, but only really shined when sniping. Furthermore, there have been other snipers in history that have made more difficult shots than Kyle's stunning 2,100 meter shot.

His Enemy Hindrance was never bought off; a little research shows that Chris' killer may not have had PTSD. While this may not be the case, it's certainly a hell of a way to play out the Enemy Hindrance.

On a somewhat more somber note, my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Kyle. He was a true hero and it's a damn shame that things unfolded as they did.

Leave questions, comments, and some love for our veterans below.
—DoctorBoson