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

John 117 — The Master Chief

Man, do I have a treat for you guys. Today we get to look at the Master Chief; one of the few characters to push our 400 experience limit. This incarnation of him takes us all the way through the end of Halo 4. This also uses information from my Savage Halo conversion (Player Guide and GM Information).

I will not be listing an explanation for every Edge in his description because he has so goddamn many, but I'll go over the gist of why he has what he does.

Name: John
Race: Spartan II
Experience: 400 (Legendary as f*ck)
Agility d12; Smarts d8; Spirit d10; Strength d12+3; Vigor d10
Pace 10; Parry 7; Charisma –2; Toughness 18 (8) (2)
Hindrances: Young, Loyal, Overconfident, Outsider
Edges: Cyborg, Great Luck, Elan, Brave, Command, Combat Reflexes, Improved Dodge, Light Speed Reflexes, Level Headed, Marksman, Spartan Combat Skill, Martial Artist, Tactician, Steady Hands, Natural Leader, Nerves of Steel, Harder to Kill, Command Presence, Quick Draw, Inspire, Alien Weapons Expert, Shotgun King, Alien Vehicle Expert, Two-Fisted, No Mercy, 
Skills: Climbing d6, Driving d8, Fighting d10, Healing d6, Intimidation d10, Knowledge (Battle) d8, Notice d6, Piloting d6, Shooting d12, Stealth d8, Throwing d10
Cybernetics: Agility +1 step, Strength +2 steps, Dodge, Light Speed Reflexes, Leg Enhancements, Mule, Toughness +2, Vision Enhancement, Spartan Neural Interface
Inventory: MJOLNIR Mk VI (Armor +8, Shields +2, Neural Binding (Pace +2, Agility and Strength +1 step), Radar (Notice +2 vs Stealth), Zoom (Notice +2 at range), Targeting Computer (ignores 1 point of Shooting Penalties), –4 AP, Trauma System), Assault Rifle (2d8+1, AP 3, RoF 3, 24/48/96, 32 Shots), Magnum (2d6+1, AP 4, Semi-Auto, 15/30/60, 12 Shots), Frag Grenade ×2 (3d6, AP 2, Medium Burst, 5/10/20, Heavy Weapon), Cortana.

Boy, do we have a lot to cover. First, I'll go ahead and post the shield rules that I first established in my Arbiter post a couple weeks back.

Energy Shields: Shields provide a flat armor bonus to the wearer (taking priority over any other worn armor and does not stack). The user cannot be Shaken or Wounded by physical damage while the shield is active, and non-Heavy Weapon AP is negated.
When the user would have been Shaken, the shield is Low, and when the user would have taken a Wound, the shield is disabled. When a shield falls, the damage (including armor piercing) is compared against the user's normal Toughness (including worn armor).
Most shields recharge. When a shield is low, and the user isn't hit within a full combat round (regardless of damage), roll a d6. On a 4–6, it goes back to low, then full the next round.

Spartan IIs were picked at a very, very young age and trained extensively. Only about 120 humans in all of UNSC space were selected, being "genetically perfect". To reflect this, all Spartans begin with the Young Hindrance, but also have 3 extra attribute points. They also begin with the Cyborg Edge.

Spartan training pushes them to become perfect warriors; it is intensive and highly comprehensive. They learn tactics on both a small and large scale, melee combat, weapon skills, vehicle operation, and anything else that a soldier might need to not only survive on the battlefield, but to excel. 

At about the age of 14 (60 experience), Spartan IIs received their augmentations and implants. This made them bigger, quicker, stronger, tougher, and all around more terrifying. In addition, the neural interface Spartans are given have an available A.I. slot. It is rare to see a Spartan hit the field with less than 140 experience. Because of this, however, many individuals question exactly how much humanity Spartans have left in them (Outsider).

John, in particular, comes to be known as a "hyper-lethal vector." Cortana attributes this to luck, and looking at the Chief's track record, I'd say that's probably right (Great Luck). He's also said to have an unbreakable spirit (Elan, and later Brave), pushing himself to his limits and beyond on a regular basis.

He is shown to be a highly capable commander, becoming the de facto leader of the Spartan IIs. Intelligent and adaptable, he helped forge not only their physical success, but their tactical capabilities as well (Leadership Edges). Furthermore, the mere presence of a Spartan on the field of battle pushes marines to perform better (Inspire).

The Chief does not like ships, preferring to keep his boots on the ground, but was trained in flight and can make use of ships if he has to. He is also notoriously hard to kill, prompting the Covenant to name him "the Demon." He is accurate with one weapon or two (Two-Fisted and Steady Hands), always seeming to hit the one point that does the most damage (No Mercy).

On top of all of this, the MJOLNIR Mk. VI armor is the most advanced personal armor system in the UNSC. It further augments the Spartan's already impressive capabilities, and provides both shields and a trauma system to take care of any injuries the Spartan might sustain in combat.

Now, we have quite a few custom Edges and abilities here. Spartan Combat Skill is an Edge that allows the Spartan to take an additional action every round with no penalty, though he still may not repeat actions or exceed his weapon's Rate of Fire. Alien Weapons Expert and Alien Vehicle Expert both allow characters to utilize Covenant technology without penalty. Shotgun King allows the user to use shotguns as though they were semi-automatic, letting them Double Tap or Rapid Fire.

As for the cybernetics, Mule has been modified to also increase Size by 1, while Vision Enhancement has been nerfed to only allow for Low Light vision and a +2 to appropriate Notice rolls. Toughness represents the carbide-reinforced skeletal structure of the Spartans, making their bones nearly unbreakable. Lastly, Light Speed Reflexes is a Legendary Edge that allows the user to redraw any initiative cards lower than an 8 in combat.

There you have him: the guardian of humanity! As always, leave questions, comments, and lore rage below.
—DoctorBoson

Thel 'Vadam — The Arbiter

One of my favorite games come from the Halo universe, so it's only reasonable that I finally give a character from Halo a go. And with Halo 2 Anniversary right around the corner, who better to look at than the Arbiter? This uses information from my Halo setting: the player's guide and GM information.

Name: Thel 'Vadam
Race: Sangheili
Experience: 280 (Legendary)
Agility d10; Smarts d10; Spirit d10; Strength d12+2; Vigor d10
Pace 8; Parry 9; Charisma 0; Toughness 15 (6)(2)
Hindrances: Code of Honor, Vow (Defend the Covenant), Vengeful (M), Outsider, Wanted (m)
Edges: Size+2, High-G Worlder, Noble, Quick, Martial Artist, Level Headed, Combat Reflexes, Command, Block, Combat Sense, Improved Dodge, Fervor, Quick Draw, Counterattack, Steady Hands, Nerves of Steel, Alien Weapons Expert
Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d12, Healing d6, Intimidation d8, Knowledge (Astrogation) d8, Knowledge (Battle) d10, Notice d8, Piloting d8, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Throwing d8
Inventory: Armor of the Arbiter (Armor +6), Personal Energy Shield (Armor +2, absorbs 1 wound, recharge), Active Camouflage (Invisibility, 2 rounds, 2 round recharge), Carbine (2d8+2, 25/50/100, RoF 1, 18 Shots, AP 2, Semi-Auto, Scope), Plasma Rifle (3d10, 12/24/48, RoF 3, 30 Shots, Plasma), Energy Sword (Str+2d10, AP 10), Plasma Grenade (3d10, 5/10/20, Medium Burst).

So, I suppose before I can really explain the awesomeness that is the Arbiter, I have to explain a couple of gear notes.

Plasma: This weapon uses an infinite energy pack. However, after firing the indicated number of times, the weapon must cool down for one round before it can continue to operate. These are considered Heavy Weapons.

Energy Shields: Shields provide a flat armor bonus to the wearer (taking priority over any other worn armor and does not stack). The user cannot be Shaken or Wounded by physical damage while the shield is active, and non-Heavy Weapon AP is negated.

When the user would have been Shaken, the shield is Low, and when the user would have taken a Wound, the shield is disabled. When a shield falls, the damage (including armor piercing) is compared against the user's normal Toughness (including worn armor).

Most shields recharge. When a shield is low, and the user isn't hit within a full combat round (regardless of damage), roll a d6. On a 4–6, it goes back to low, then full the next round.

With this established, let's examine him. Elites begin with a Code of Honor, High-G Worlder, Size +2, and all Attributes at a d6. The Arbiter in particular begins with Quick and Noble, as he a member of the ruling 'Vadam family. He was trained from a young age in the art of combat, and eventually was able to take a four on one fight and come out on top (Combat Sense). After he began his military service, he was granted a fleet commander position, becoming skilled in both flight and command over a vessel.

Alien Weapons Expert allows the character to utilize alien weapons with no penalty. I'm a bit back and forth on this Edge, but I have it to provide incentive for players to utilize their weapons over the infinite ammo, high damage plasma weapons of the Covenant.

Overall, the Arbiter is a highly skilled, intelligent, and deadly military asset, even with an older class of armor.