Shockwave

F
In 40
A
Mn 75
S
Am 50
E
In 40
R
Un 100
I
Mn 75
P
Mn 75
Res
In 40
Pop
Gd -10 *

Health:
Karma:
205
250

* Amongst humans, at least. Mn +75 to fellow Decepticons, Mn -75 where Autobots are concerned.

Origin:

As are most of his fellow Transformers, Shockwave is a native of the planet Cybertron. Having come into being on this metal-heavy rogue world, Shockwave is comprised of numerous inorganic materials, substances that provide both his inherent powers and his special abilities!

Known Powers:

Cybertronian Physique: a life form hailing from the planet Cybertron, Shockwave is an inorganic, electromechanical entity. As he lacks conventional biological processes to speak of, Shockwave has numerous special abilities that reflect his existence, including:

* Body Armor: he may have been made or he may have been born, but either way Shockwave's Cybertronian origins mean his body consists of durable inorganic materials. His inherent protection from injury funtions at Excellent (20) rank, which is expressed as follows:

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

* Growth / Shrinking: even more than most Decepticons, Shockwave is tall! He stands at approximately twenty-four feet tall, which can be demonstrated with an always-on, Good (10) ranked growth power, and gives him an effective size factor of +2.

This size factor inflicts a -2 CS penalty on Shockwave during efforts to hit human-sized foes, though his blows that do connect are in turn bolstered in damage by +2 CS. Human-sized enemies targeting Shockwave do so as if they were subject to the inverse of these modifiers.

When he transforms, Shockwave rarely shrinks, maintaining his usual volume as he hovers over others in his menacing ray gun mode. However, he can modify his size so others can wield him as a deadly weapon. When doing so, his effective size factor is three less than his carrier's.

* Microscopic / Telescopic Vision: despite only having one optic, Shockwave benefits from the possession of both these visual powers. He has both microscopic and telescopic vision at Feeble (2) rank, allowing him to see incredibly small and distant objects around him.

* Radio Transceiver: more than most Decepticons, Shockwave needs to get in touch with his fellows remotely, usually from a central control center. His inherent radio system operates at Excellent (20) rank, giving him an ideal maximum transcpetion range of one hundred miles.

* Resistance / Invulnerability to Disease and Poison: in addition to giving him resistance to injury, Shockwave's composition makes him immune to carbon-based poison and plague, reduced to just Unearthly (100) where other forms of disease and toxins are concerned.

Energy Generation: vastly powerful, Shockwave has the power to generate any photonic energy form, from radio waves to gamma rays. He can simply inflict damage of the proper type with each, or may wield advanced applications of these electromagnetic waves as he sees fit.

In his humanoid configuration, Shockwave can cast this power out of his left arm blaster with Monstrous (75) ability. When he transforms into his ray gun mode, Shockwave's damage output is increased by +1 CS, allowing him to wreak havoc with the more exotic energies he can generate.

If Shockwave shrinks, however, this damage output is muted somewhat. Lower it by 1 CS for every point of size factor Shockwave loses when reducing his volume to fit in the hand of another, whether they're of like size (-3 CS output) or even human-sized (-5 CS output).

Flight / Levitation: armed with powerful jet thrusters in his feet (as a humanoid) or the bottom of his handle (as a ray gun), Shockwave can hover in place or fly at up to three hundred miles per hour, having both of these abilities at Incredible (40) rank.

Shape Change: like almost every Transformer, Shockwave can alter his form between at least two different modes at will. The first of these is a one-eyed humanoid configuration, one with a blaster for its lower left arm, and the other is a large, energy-casting ray gun!

Limitations / Enhancements:

Enervation: Shockwave is powerful, but he exhausts his fuel reserves quickly. He is subject to the fatigue rules whether or not they are in use during play for others, and if they are they are twice as debilitating to Shockwave. As such, he attempts to end combat quickly.

However, Shockwave has an alternative power source in the form of a compact nuclear reactor housed within his torso. When atomic fuel is available, Shockwave can continue to fire as if he lacked this weak character limitation. Sadly, such fuel isn't so easy to acquire.

Equipment:

Laser Vulcan: curiously, Shockwave occasionally makes use of a miniature version of his own ray gun mode, one he can wield in his one limb with a manipulator. This weapon has the same energy generation powers as Shockwave's ray gun mode, functioning at -2 CS effectiveness.

Quirks:

(none)

Talents:

History / Cybertron: having lived millions of years on the planet, not to mention having made a study of its origins and mythologies, Shockwave knows Cybertronian history far better than most. His Reason rank should be considered +1 CS on applicable ACTIONs.

Military: the lead tactician of the Decepticon armies, Shockwave naturally knows military procedures like the back of his hand. His Reason rank should be considered +1 CS for the purposes of ACTIONs related to martial history, tactics, and doctrine.

Contacts:

One of the most highly placed Decepticons, Shockwave can naturally consider that Cybertronian faction and all its members reliable contacts. His word is usually second to only Megatron's, after all, so Shockwave's underlings will do what he says for fear of the boss' wrath.

Likeness:

Shockwave is an immense purple electomechanical entity! He adds gray here and there depending on his current configuration, namely as his gun barrel in his ray gun mode, and as his feet, upper legs, and antennae as a humanoid. When humanoid, he possesses a singular golden eye.

Personality:

An indefatigable adherent to cold, unfeeling logic above all else, Shockwave acts as most folks might imagine a purely mechanical villain would. He approaches everything from a detached, scientific standpoint, whether he's waging total war or conversing with other Decepticons.

Though undeniably brilliant, the unfortunate end point of Shockwave's logic is unbridled ambition. After all, the violently emotional reign of Megatron hasn't won the war after millions of years of stalemate, so perhaps a more surgical leadership method would do the job better.

As much as he derides them, however, naked emotion are Shockwave's weak points. Completely irrational displays of emotion are often incomprehensible to Shockwave, and he simply cannot cope with an oponent demonstrating them and the resultant, upredictable behavior.

Real Name: Shockwave
Occupation: military commander
Legal Status: citizen of Cybertron wanted both there and on earth for a variety of war crimes
Marital Status: inapplicable
Alias(es), if any: Shockblast, Laserwave
Group Affiliation: the Decepticons

Height: 24'
Hair: inapplicable
Eye: golden, glowing
Weight: several tons
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Shockwave is an imposing figure in either mode, hulking over humans and even many Transformers. He's built from primarily purple inorganic substances, with gray trim and accents, and possesses a single glowing golden eye.

Design Notes:

I deviated from the usual process laid out in Transcribing Transformers when writing my description of Shockwave. I amped up his power by +2 CS, because he's a ray gun (as I did with Megatron), and I swapped his Fighting and Agility scores to better match how he's portrayed.

Extra Goodies:

Shockwave Costumed Adventurer Simulation Engine Text File Download

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