Cobra Officers

* Cobra Officers will generally have either Boxing or Martial Arts as a skill, but not both unless they are exceptional fellows. If an Officer goes with Boxing, he will have a d code for both Strength and Agility; this is the standard Officer choice for the most part. On the other hand, if he goes with Martial Arts, a Cobra Officer will have an x code for Strength and a c code for Agility.

Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

AK-47 Assault Rifle (a): this Russian-built, semi or fully automatic rifle is built to last, being readily adapted for almost any duty imaginable. The gun itself fires a small burst of shells, acting as a +5 weapon when doing so, or a full-auto spread, acting as a +6 weapon in such a mode. The latter tends to burn clips, but Python Patrol Officers carry several on hand...

Helmet (s): all Cobra Officers wear a helmet, in order to increase relative safety on the field and to protect from the ever-deadly head shot. Made of material strength 10 metals, this helmet offers its wearer +2 protection from any non-frontal head attacks. This may not be enough to deflect all damage in a given instance, but it nonetheless helps to save lives...

Knife (s): though they'd rather not do so, all Cobra Officers are equipped to fight hand to hand in the event that they completely run out of ammunition (and they usually carry several spare clips to prevent this). These blades are of material strength 12, and in a Cobra Officer's hands, they can be used as +2 weapons with each deadly strike.

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Boxing (s): all Cobra Officers are trained in at least one form of unarmed combat once they hook up with the group, if they don't already have one under their belt. A majority learn the fine art of boxing, allowing them to divide their pre-cardplay action score between two unarmed melee attacks per exchange, the last of which will occur as a contingent action. *

Espionage (i): one of the skills that give Cobra Officers an edge over their subordinates is their ability to worm their way into a facility and then pose as an ordinary staff member, whether it be a nuclear power plant, defense contractor, or even a television station. Cobra Officers perform all infiltration attempts, and any other detective action, at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.

Marksmanship (a): a given prerequisite, all Cobra operatives must have the ability to use a gun in combat; if they don't have it upon joining Cobra, they are trained - and quickly. Any Cobra Officer can use a regular, semi-automatic, or fully automatic gun or rifle with proficiency, doing so at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.

Martial Arts (a): a rare few Cobra Officers transform their unarmed fighting style into an art form. Those who have managed to do so will be able to resolve unarmed attacks with either their Strength or Agility score (whichever is most convenient), and may reduce the difficulty of actions intended to catch thrown objects or to lower falling damage. *

Military (w): a quasi-military organization, Cobra encourages an easily recognizable (to those within, at least) command structure. As such, those not bringing experience in such matters tend to pick it up quickly, in order to rise through the ranks; those who don't typically don't get this far. This skill gives Cobra Officers an edge concerning military protocols and regulations.

* Remember: Cobra Officers will usually either Boxing or Martial Arts, but not both. Were some to indeed have both they'd probably be promoted out of this rank into something more flashy and/or better paying.

Calling:

Various Callings: the vast, vast majority of Cobra operatives have joined up for their own, evil purposes, so choose a villainous calling and go with it! Nominally, Cobra Officers are motivated by Greed or aspirations of World Domination, but anything else can really apply. For instance, Storm Shadow hooked up with Cobra to gain Vengeance, etc...

Costume:

The standard Cobra Officer uniform consists of a blue jumpsuit, accompanied with a blue helmet and bears the Cobra sigil, in silver, on the front upper torso. The uniform is then complemented by black gloves, black boots, black knee-pads, a black strap-on knife sheath, a black, pouch-riddled belt, black webbing with pockets for extra clips, and a black face mask.

Notes:

For years, being a Cobra Officer was a high point in the career of an aspiring terrorist, in that they got their own command and quite a lot of cash, to boot. Furthermore, the opportunities for advancement were quite good, and usually involved getting to be in charge of high tech equipment, like F.A.N.G. helicopters or H.I.S.S. tanks. Of course, an Officer could always become a Crimson Guardsman...

Extra Goodies:

Cobra directories featuring a version of the Cobra Officer: