Soundwave

F Un 100

A Pr 4

S Rm 30

E Rm 30

R Mn 75

I Un 100

P Ex 20

Res Rm 30

Pop Gd -10 *

Health: Karma:

164 195

* Amongst humans, at least. Am +50 to fellow Decepticons, Am -50 where Autobots are concerned.

Origin:

Like all of his fellow Decepticons, not counting a few oddities from Nebulos, Soundwave is an inorganic entity hailing from Cybertron. A highly versatile spy, he has numerous abilities that even his fellow Transformers would consider downright fantastic in nature.

Known Powers:

Cybertronian Physique: one of the Transformers, Soundwave is a shape changing mechanoid from the planet of Cybertron. Thanks to his origins on this strange alien world, Soundwave possesses a wide array of abilities one can only call super-human, including:

* Body Armor: formed or forged from primarily metallic materials, Soundwave is considerably durable. His sturdy, inorganic composition affords Soundwave Excellent (20) protection from attack, enough to help him ignore most human assaults. Soundwave's armor breaks down like so:

Ex 20 / Ty 6 / Fe 2 / Sh 0 / Sh 0

Growth and Shrinking: Transformers come in all manner of sizes, the species generally scoffing at the idea of a conventional volume. Standing at twenty-four feet tall in his humanoid configuration, Soundwave benefits from Good (10) ranked growth.

This communications officer thus has a +2 size factor. He suffers a -2 CS when targeting human-sized foes, but gain a +2 CS on any damage they inflict upon them. Conversely, human-sized foes assaulting Soundwave in his humanoid form invert those modifiers.

While this assumes a static volume, many Transformers have demonstated that their size can be highly variable. This reflexive, dynamic size manipulation is an emergent property of Transformers overall, though such mass displacement must surely consume vast amounts of power.

Soundwave is a prime example of this. When wielded by others, Soundwave cannot grow any larger, but can shrink until his size factor is equal to his wielder's - minus three. He would thus have a size factor of -2 when held by Reflector, for example.

* Microscopic / Telescopic Vision: as do most Transformers, Soundwave possesses the power to manipulate his visual acuity one way or the other. This grants him these powers at Feeble (2) rank, allowing him to read microfiche and see items several miles away with ease.

* Radio Transceiver: as are most Transformers, Soundwave is equipped with an audio / video transmission system. This communications rig allows him instant contact with any other Cybertronian within a wide radius of his person, having Incredible (40) range (1,000 miles).

The thing about Soundwave, though, is that he can detect radio signals much weaker than those his fellow Transformers can perceive. While he can only effectively transmit with Incredible (40) ability, Soundwave can actually receive radio waves with Unearthly (100) skill.

* Resistance / Invulnerability to Disease and Poison: as an inorganic life form, Soundwave possesses complete immunity to poisons and organic diseases. He also possesses Unearthly (100) resistance to more chemically creative forms of disease and toxin.

Auscultation: one of his more insidious abilities involves Soundwave reading the surface thoughts of others, doing so by decoding electrical impulses within the brain - whether organic or otherwise. This villain may eavesdrop on others' minds with Unearthly (100) skill.

Eidetic Memory: thanks to the considerable amount of excess data storage space he contains within his body, Soundwave effectively has this power at Unearthly (100) rank. There are few facts that Soundwave, once he is exposed to them, cannot recall at a later date.

Internal Universe: more than many Transformers, Soundwave seems to have far more storage within his body than physics ought to allow. Soundwave's signature chest compartment seems able to hold as many cassette warriors as he wishes, ready and waiting to do his bidding.

Rocket Launcher: in his humanoid configuration, Soundwave has a multi-barrel rocket launcher mounted on his right shoulder. This weapon can be used to launch one miniature projectile at a time, though Soundwave carries many, each of which have these characteristics:

C Gd 10

S Un 100

B Ex 20

Damage Remarkable (30) Edged Attack (fragmentary)

Shape Change: like all other Cybertronians, aside from some bizarre exceptions, Soundwave has the ability to transform! He can reconfigure his body between his humanoid mode and his mini-cassette player mode at will, doing so often to maximize his information gathering ability.

Sound Generation: on top of his many other skills, not to mention his considerable armament, Soundwave can generate a distressing amount of sound at will. He may play back any sound he or his cassette minions has previously recorded, doing so at up to Incredible (40) intensity.

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Concussion Blaster: stored within his body while not in use (in either mode), Soundwave may deploy this device at will to assault his enemies. This one-handed weapon can be fired to inflict Excellent (20) Force damage with each concussive blast, enough to send most foes flying.

Quirks:

Bully: sometimes Soundwave blackmails other Decepticons to secure his place within that faction, but other times he does so simply because he can. Should he wish to play nice with his fellows, Soundwave must first pass a Psyche ACTION roll at a -2 CS.

Heightened Sense / Hearing: in addition to his astounding skill at parsing even the faintest radio signals, Soundwave also excels in the reception of ambient sound. He may do this at Shift X (150) rank, adding another +1 CS when using a directional microphone he can deploy.

Talents:

Detective / Espionage: his stock in trade, Soundwave is a master of intelligence gathering. Between proper management of his cassette flunkies and judicious use of his own alternative mode, Soundwave can find out just about anything about just about anyone.

Contacts:

As one of Megatron's most loyal lieutenants, one would think that Soundwave could rely upon his fellow Decepticons - but you'd be wrong. Save for his cassette minions, Soundwave has made enemies of almost all his erstwhile allies, who would happily dispose of him if they could.

Likeness:

When posing as a mini-cassette player, Soundwave looks like a large blue model of such devices. Upon transforming, however, Soundwave swells in size to take on the appearance of a twenty-four foot tall blue and chrome robot, one with a red visor for eyes, and yellow trim.

Personality:

Listening to him talk, one might think Soundwave something of a bore. His monotone verbal exchanges with others rarely exhibit even a small hint of emotion, and it would be easy to mistake Soundwave for an unfeeling automaton, one simply around to house his cassette warriors.

But that's a mistake one won't make for long. This is because, more than anything else, Soundwave likes the position he has earned for himself as one of Megatron's chief lieutenants, and will lie, cheat, and steal to keep it - not to mention blackmail his fellow Decepticons.

There are few Decepticons besides Megatron who haven't been burned by Soundwave's sadistic bullying over the millennia, and they despise him with a passion as a result. While his cassette warriors are loyal, one never knows what secrets Soundwave holds over their heads.

In fact, no one knows why they do his bidding in the first place!

Real Name: Soundwave
Occupation: communications officer
Legal Status: citizen of Cybertron wanted both there and on earth for any number of crimes
Marital Status: inapplicable
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: the Decepticons

Height: 24'
Hair: inapplicable
Eyes: red
Weight: several tons
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: regardless of what form he currently possesses, Soundwave appears to be built from a strong metal of deep blue and stainless steel hue, with bits of yellow and red trim in places.

Design Notes:

I tried to keep Soundwave as close as was possible to the character description method detailed in Transcribing Transformers. While mini-cassettes have been rectonned into Mini-Cons, I'm not sure how to address that, unless their boosts are already built-in to Soundwave?

Extra Goodies:

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