Duke
| Strength 7d |
Agility 5d |
Intellect 5c |
Willpower 8c |
| Hand Size: Edge: |
5 (30) 3 |
Powers:
(none)
Equipment:
9mm Pistol (a): in the event that whatever additional hardware he's packing has failed, Conrad always has at least one 9mm sidearm on his person. He can use this firearm in battle to inflict damage per a +4 weapon in a single shot, or damage per a +5 weapon in a clip-burning, semi-automatic burst.
Grenade(s) (i): Conrad's always got at least one grenade on his person while 'on the job', helping him to blow up heavy opposition (such as vehicles) that gets in his way. These explosive devices can be thrown to inflict intensity 10 physical (fragmentary) damage to all within striking (near missile) distance.
Helmet (s): Conrad always supplements his field uniform with a helmet, though he doesn't always wear it, per se. Either green or tan in color (to best accentuate his uniform du jour), this item gives him +2 protection vs head-based physical attacks that don't strike him in the face.
Knife (s): Conrad always carries a knife on him while on a mission, usually housed in a boot sheath. This blade, made from strength 12 metals, can be used to cut through materials of like strength, and allows Conrad to inflict +2 melee damage. Sometimes, this is instead a machete (same damage).
Quick-launch Missile Cannon (i): Conrad sometimes carries a golden-hued rocket launcher on missions, depending on what kind of opposition he's facing. This laser-guided (for a +1 to hit) launcher fires missiles that inflict intensity 10 damage to all within striking (near missile) distance.
Submachine Gun (a): Conrad always carries one of these weapons while on a mission. This gun can be fired at an opponent to inflict damage per a +4 weapon in a single shot, +5 damage in a small burst of ammo, and +6 damage in a full auto spread of lead.
Hindrances:
(none)
Skills:
Boxing (s): quite the combatant, Conrad is a veritable master of conventional (non-mystical) hand to hand combat. As such, he can divide his pre-cardplay action score between two unarmed melee attacks (whatever form they happen to take), the latter of which will occur as a contingent action.
Espionage (i): having worked with the Special Forces back in the 'Nam, and then doing work for an unspecified intelligence agency (if not multiple agencies), Conrad naturally has this skill. He should receive a reduction in the difficulty level of actions applicable to information gathering / mystery solving.
Languages / English, French, German, Han Chinese, and Vietnamese (i): Conrad had the ability to speak several languages before he joined the Army, though their Special Languages School granted him the skill to speak many more. He can speak, and presumably write, in all these tongues.
Leadership (w): in addition to his skills as a military strategist, Conrad has demonstrated time and time again that he has what it takes to lead men - during battle or otherwise. Whenever Conrad is a member of a team, it may add a +1 to any actions it attempts while it follows his direction.
Marksmanship (a): a skill learned in Army basic, then honed to the point that he is an expert small-arms artillerist, Conrad uses most any guns with ease. Whether they be standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifles or pistols, or even advanced energy weapons, he uses them at a reduced difficulty level.
Military / United States (w): as a long-standing member of the United States Army, much less the G.I. Joe team, Conrad has this skill as a general matter of course. Serving as a convenient origin for his other skills for the most part, this talent also describes Conrad's inherent knowledge of military procedures.
Calling:
Protector, with a secondary calling of Soldier: Conrad has been served his country for a very long time. When the Army no longer suited his purposes, he joined up with at least one government agency, shrouded in secrecy, that would allow him to continue to protect his country from threats to its freedom.
Costume:
Conrad's third uniform was different than his first two. It consists of a tan pair of trousers with a reddish camo pattern on them, a tan vest with a red T-shirt beneath it, tan leather boots with red shin guards, a red leather belt with red pouches tied to it, brown leather boots, and brown webbing to hold some gear.
Personality:
Conrad is the ultimate go-getter, and an incredible leader of men. He believes in doing everything within his power to fight against the forces of evil and tyranny. He also believes in sharing the danger that he puts his subordinates in, and isn't willing to sit back and let them hog all the firefight.
Real Name: Hauser, Sergeant Conrad S., grade E-8 (later E-9 for a short time)
Occupation: Gi Joe operative
Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: Gi Joe
Height: 6' 2"
Hair: blonde
Eyes: blue
Weight: 175 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none
Story:
Already fluent in English, French, and German upon enlisting, Conrad joined the Army's Special Language School after his basic training and Airborne School was complete, specializing in Han Chinese and South Asian dialects. With all this training, Conrad was a natural addition to the Army's Special Forces.
Which forces, exactly, have yet to be revealed, but it is known that he spent time training native South Vietnamese tribesmen in the fine art of war so they could oppose the communists to the north. He also did time running no less than four Special Forces schools himself after his time abroad.
It has also been rumored - if not confirmed - that Conrad was a member of the original Gi Joe team, you know, the one that Joe Colton founded under the orders of then-President Kennedy himself. Nobody but Conrad - and perhaps 'Gi Joe' Colton - knows the truth of this, and neither of them are talking.
Regardless, what he did after the end of the Vietnam conflict has yet to be revealed, but either then (or before) Conrad worked with two men who would later become the Joes known as Roadblock and Flint - they were likely recruited into the Joe team by Conrad, in fact, who was well aware of their capabilities.
Conrad himself was brought into the Gi Joe team by Hawk, who felt the group needed a good dose of mean in its leaders; Conrad expects more from the Joes than Hawk himself. The very first time he saw action as a Joe was during the funeral of the team's former commander, General Flagg.
While the rest of the team was in full dress for the occasion, they were targeted by a prototype Cobra Rattler, which Conrad (along with Roadblock) shot down. Immediately after this, Conrad and Roadblock were sent to Switzerland to surveil Major Bludd, who had taken the Baroness there for plastic surgery.
She'd been horribly burned in a Cobra operation recently, you see, and Bludd wanted her well since he had sort of fallen for her. Regardless of this, Conrad, Roadblock, and the other Joes sent to assist him (Clutch, Cover Girl, and Snow Job) sprung into action against when Cobra Commander himself showed up.
While Major Bludd, the Baroness, and even Storm Shadow escaped this debacle, his men managed to capture the Commander, who Conrad was then put in charge of guarding. He did so by setting up one of the Joe team's prefabricated bases on a remote mountain top, one nobody could sneak up on.
Storm Shadow managed that in a C.L.A.W. jet pack, though, and secured the Commander's escape - at the cost of his own freedom. He regained this freedom after the Joes transferred him to the abandoned Alcatraz penitentiary for safe keeping; they underestimated his abilities, though, and he got away easily.
Soon enough, Conrad was put into action again, this time on an assault on Zartan's Florida hideout. He joined Cutter, Roadblock, and Deep Six on the team's new Killer W.H.A.L.E. hovercraft, all of whom were shot up by Destro in a Cobra Rattler during that mess - though the hideout was demolished in the process.
After Deep Six was extracted for medical treatment, Conrad and Roadblock helped Cutter dock the W.H.A.L.E. for repairs at a nearby village, though they lost the W.H.A.L.E. to Destro and Firefly right after Cutter finished fixing the ship's engine, and were forced to find creative means of getting it back.
While Cutter and Roadblock went back to the Gi Jane for reinforcements, Conrad hitched a ride with Wild Bill on his Dragonfly to chase the W.H.A.L.E. in the air. Though Destro shot the helicopter out of the sky with his wrist-rockets, the Joes ultimately got their new hovercraft back - even if their Cobra foes escaped.
They hid in the cans of the W.H.A.L.E.'s depth charges, you see.
Taking some time to heal up from his wounds after this mission, Conrad next saw action against Cobra when he, along with Lady Jaye, Flint, Blowtorch, Cover Girl, Mutt, and Junkyard assaulted a home near the Pit that was possibly a Cobra hideout - it was in fact the staging base for a Crimson Guard operation!
While the Cobras got away, the Joes uncovered documents that indicated that something big was up in the Gulf of Mexico. These plans were intentionally left behind by Tomax, Xamot, and Professor Appel, a Crimson Guard scientist, in order to trick the Gi Joe team into doing their dirty work for them.
You see, Cobra planted a dummy base on the Gulf floor that was emitting sonic waves that killed any fish in their range. This base sat on a fault line, however, and when the Joes dropped enough ordinance to blast it into smithereens, they managed to upset said fault line - and how!
The result of this was the creation of Cobra Island, which Cobra's army of lawyers worked to get recognized as a sovereign nation while the Joes tried to dislodge the Cobra forces upon it. Conrad led this force, but as he was on the verge of beating Cobra Commander and Zartan directly, he was ordered to leave.
A minute shy of ultimate victory, Cobra's lawyers succeeded in their task, and as such the Joes were forced to leave the new nation. Conrad would return to the island some time later, though, during the Cobra Island Civil War, which the Joe team was coerced into participating in by Doctor Mindbender.
In exchange for their aid, he'd return a special black box he had stolen days before. Assisting Hawk in planning and executing the Joes' part in this debacle, Conrad led the force for a time when Hawk was captured by the Dreadnoks - though Conrad ultimately rescued Hawk from those thugs' tender mercies.
This whole operation was for naught, however, for their side lost.
They were supporting Serpentor against a second, impostor Cobra Commander, you see. When their side was defeated (thanks to Zartan assassinating the Cobra emperor), the Joe team was suspended and remanded into custody by the Jugglers, a group of generals operating outside the law.
This scheme was ultimately thwarted by several Joes that weren't present on Cobra Island for the fighting, thanks to Destro revealing the part one of the Jugglers played in this whole mess. Conrad changed roles after this mess somewhat, becoming the chief drill instructor for those taking the Joe entry exam.
He was the harshest of taskmasters in this course, and only the hardest of the hard, the most skilled of the skilled, could make it into the Gi Joe team on his watch. Conrad served this role for quite some time, until he was called into direct action again, in the harsh deserts of Trucial Abysmia.
There, on a supposed 'milk-run' mission, Conrad lost several of the Joes under his command when they were captured, and then executed by one of Cobra's S.A.W.-Vipers. Several more died during their subsequent escape attempt, leaving only Conrad, Cross-Country, and Lt. Falcon to avenge them.
A few years later, Conrad saw additional (documented) action when Cobra assaulted the third Pit complex in Utah. Conrad led a successful defense of the facility - and all of its incredibly expensive equipment - when Cobra hit the place with almost everything they had. Again, though, this was a trick.
Cobra didn't actually want to destroy the Pit - that wasn't their primary goal, at any rate - they were just testing their newest radar suppression technology... an advance of the Python technology they used a few years ago, really. Conrad wasn't having this, though, and decided to strike back.
He led a force of hard core Joes, including Roadblock, Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, and Stalker to Cobra Island, where the team took apart a large portion of Cobra's remaining hardware on the island; not too difficult, since most non-robotic (B.A.T.) operatives were currently off the island, anyway.
Soon enough, though, the team was deactivated by budget cuts, and Conrad was one of many Joes suddenly with a whole lot of spare time on his hands. What exactly he did with his time has yet to be revealed, but it wasn't spent in the Army. You see, Conrad went into shady work for the government.
The exact agency that he belongs to has yet to be detailed, but for several years Conrad worked for a mystery U.S. government spook show that sent him into action all over the world, dealing with threats to national security in some form or another. An encounter with Major Bludd changed this, though.
Learning that Cobra was on the verge of making a huge comeback, Conrad enlisted the aid of Snake-Eyes - or his student, Kamakura - to investigate some leads he had acquired. This young man's work proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cobra had returned - and in a big, big way!
With this knowledge, Conrad managed to get the Gi Joe team reinstated, with General Hawk's assistance. With several of the team's veterans, along with a larger crew of new recruits, Conrad and the Joes have moved to halt Cobra's latest scheme, a diabolical plot involving nano-tech robots.
Once this threat was dealt with, the Joes proved that they were needed - and effective - against the forces of a renewed Cobra... to the chagrin of the Jugglers. As such, Conrad stayed on to lead the team in battle against Cobra and any other terrorists that threatened America (or freedom in general).
Even if his fellow Joes were slowly growing to distrust him. You see, his time as a 'black ops' man had given Conrad a few secretive habits, and many of his missions involved layers of trickery to confound Cobra. Conrad seems to have stopped this practice of late, as some of said tricks have backfired.
And while most of the Joes still respect him, a few - such as Rip Cord - have issues with Duke these days. However, the Joes are still a team, and they know the stakes if they were to let Cobra achieve their goals. That's why all of them joined the call when Cobra instigated World War III.
Even those disgruntled Joes like Rip Cord. They all answered the call when Conrad asked everyone to assemble and fight off Cobra's goons, and with a whole lot of luck, the Gi Joe team prevailed, finally capturing Cobra Commander himself, and scattering his forces to the four winds.
With the primary threat defused, it falls onto Conrad and his fellow Joes to mop up the stragglers in the Cobra Command, not to mention all the terrorists under them who managed to escape when their leader was nabbed. Of course, he's more than ready to answer this challenge with the Joes!
Extra Goodies:
Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Duke:
| 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1997 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| 2005 | 2008 |
* Note: 1993 saw two versions of Duke (Versions 4 and 5), while 2002 saw three (Versions 9, 10 and 11), 2003 saw two (Versions 12 and 13), 2004 saw six (Versions 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19), and 2005 saw four (Versions 20, 21, 22, and 23).