Switch Gears
| Strength 9d |
Agility 4b |
Intellect 3d |
Willpower 8d |
| Hand Size: Edge: |
4 (25) 2 |
Powers:
(none)
Equipment:
Helmet (s): a must for most standard arenas of battle, this headgear has saved Jerome's life more than once. It provides him +2 protection from physical attacks that strike him in the head - assuming that they do not hit him in the face, of course; this is no Viper helmet...!
the Joe-Com (i): this is a new device given to all Joes since the group's reactivation. This high-tech wristband functions as an audio/video transceiver with various other goodies built in to help a soldier on the go, and is described in greater detail in its own equipment entry.
Knife (s): in the event that he needs to cut something in the field, Jerome carries a blade on him at all times. Made from material strength 12 metals, this serrated metal blade can be used to cut through items of like m.s., and allows Jerome to inflict +2 damage in melee.
Machine Gun / Grenade Launcher Combo (a): Jerome can fire this handy automatic machine gun to inflict his Agility +5 damage in a short burst, +6 in a full-auto spread. It can also launch fragmentary grenades that inflict intensity 10 damage with a scatter effect (striking distance) around their target.
Semi-Automatic Pistol (a): a backup for his main gun, this one-handed firearm is nonetheless just as valuable as his main gun. Jerome can fire this hand cannon to inflict his Agility +4 damage in a single shot, or raise this to +5 in a semi-auto, clip-burning hail of leaden pain.
Spy Troops Disguise (a): arguably the part of his job Jerome likes the most, this disguise allows him to play 'dress up' and impersonate Overkill, Cobra's Battle Android Trooper commander. It even includes a hand attachment that duplicates the function of his semi-auto pistol, too!
Hindrances:
(none)
Skills:
Artillery (a): supplementing his tank driving talents, this skill represents Jerome's ability to effectively target and obliterate an opponent with a tank's main gun. Whether using automated systems or calculating trajectories manually, Jerome should do so at a reduced difficulty.
Boxing (s): while he's more than adept in the use of tanks and machine guns to tear enemy forces apart, Jerome truly prefers to rough his opponents up with his bare hands. He can divide his pre-cardplay action score between two unarmed attacks, the last of which occurs as a contingent action.
Driving (a): his primary military specialty, Jerome is a tank jockey, and can drive most any tank the Army has put together with ease. He should make actions required while piloting any treaded vehicle at a reduced difficulty, except for cannon attacks (that's what his artillery skill is for).
Espionage (i): his secondary military specialty, Jerome works as a field op to collect information on enemy forces. As such, he should make any action required in regards to the collection of information - or to determine if someone is spying on him - at one difficulty level lower than is normally required.
Marksmanship (a): since he is prone to leaving his tank to gather intelligence on Cobra's activities, this skill comes in very handy. Jerome can fire any standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, or even a shotgun, at one difficulty level lower than is usually necessary.
Military / United States (w): the source of all his training (except maybe his martial arts b), Jerome has been well trained by the Army in the fine art of combat. Furthermore, he knows military protocols like the back of his hand, and can lead fighting men and women into battle when he must.
Calling:
Soldier: Jerome truly believes in doing what is right, which naturally causes him to loathe Cobra and what it stands for. He enjoys using his skills and abilities in the fight for freedom, and has no problem doing whatever he is ordered to in order to stop those villains from taking over the world.
Costume:
Jerome's field uniform is a curious one. It includes tan trousers, an off-white T-shirt beneath a green vest, steel knee pads, steel thigh pads, steel shoulder pads, steel wrist guards, black leather boots, a black leather belt, and of course his life-saving, Army green battle helmet.
All the steel plates make sense when he dons his Spy Troops disguise, however. This adds a different, red helmet on, not to mention various false robotic parts that allow him to pose as the evil Overkill, Cobra's strange cybernetic Battle Android Trooper commander - it even has a built in hand-cannon!
Personality:
Jerome is a surprisingly straight-forward fellow for a guy who worked with Army intelligence. Whether he's using the Patriot tank or his fists, Jerome is an incredibly tenacious combatant who doesn't know the meaning of 'surrender' or 'give up'. He just believes in toughing life out, for better or worse.
Real Name: Jerome T. Jivoin, grade E-5
Occupation: Gi Joe tank jockey
Legal Status: citizen of the United States (though born in Columbia) with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: Overkill (Jerome poses as him with special Spy Troops gear now and then)
Group Affiliation: G. I. Joe
Height: 6' 1"
Hair: brown
Eyes: brown
Weight: 200 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none
Story:
Jerome got where he is in life thanks to his incredibly tenacious nature. Thanks to both his innate stubbornness and an incredibly high pain threshold, the man has proven the better of many would-be enemies throughout his life. Of course, being exceptionally strong helped him out in that regard.
Large and solid, Jerome was seen as an ideal tank jockey upon joining the Army; sometimes it takes considerable strength to repair a slipped tank tread out in the rain and mud while the Bad Guys are dropping mortar shells on you, after all. Naturally, this suited Jerome just fine.
Trained to operate all the tanks the Army has in service (and several that have been retired), Jerome can drive anything with treads and bogey wheels if he puts his mind to it. He's also competent in the use of all heavy machine guns, though he truly prefers to fight not with tanks or guns, but with his bare hands.
This is how he's dealt with troublemakers his whole life, you know. Seeing a special potential in him, Jerome's superiors had him put through intelligence training, and when he had finished this, the man was carted off to work with the Gi Joe team, where his indomitability would serve his country well.
Having an opportunity to use his skills constantly with the Joes, Jerome has found the team to be to his liking. He tends to think in an unorthodox fashion, though, and will occasionally pose as an Cobra courier with written orders to retreat; when this works, he often ends a battle before it can begin.
The man usually poses as Overkill, though. As this Cobra operative gives most of his fellows the creeps, they are unlikely to give Jerome serious scrutiny as he walks through their ranks in his Overkill get-up. Should this villain meet him while he's at work, though, Jerome could be in for the fight of his life...!
Extra Goodies:
Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Switch Gears:
| 2003 | 2004 |