Here's another PC of mine from the Global Guardians campaign world.
The cool art is from another player in the campaign named Zen Fairborn.
La Cucaracha
Real Name: Inez Escobar
Hair/Eye Color: None/Black
Height/Mass: 2.15 Meters/136.08 Kilograms
Nationality: Mexican
Place of Birth: Acapulco, Mexico
Date of Birth: June 3, 1980
Background/History: Born among Acapulco’s poorest families, Inez Escobar was luckier than most. Her parents ran a small street business, her mother knitting colorful blankets for the touristas and her father selling them. Her mother was particularly skillful, so the Escobars were able to scrape by, but with the pesos spread across eight children, a bad day meant that someone went hungry. As she and her siblings grew older and became able to help out more, other problems arose: Their father developed lung cancer and their mother developed arthritis. Inez, the oldest child, was fortunate enough to find a job as a maid in a run-down, roach-filled hotel. The money helped her family a great deal and, after their parents’ health worsened, Inez became the primary breadwinner.
She was working on the fourth story of the hotel when the earthquake hit Acapulco. Many buildings withstood the damage, but the poorly constructed hotel collapsed. Inez fell nearly twenty feet as the floor beneath her crumbled, then found herself pinned against a reinforced support beam while rubble and debris fell around her. With several ribs crushed and a lung punctured, she stared around at the ruin. She saw a bed on its side; a fat man with a bathroom mirror protruding from his pale, white back; and a large suitcase burst open, colorful vacation clothing pluming out like a bouquet. She noticed the wall beside her trembling and dozens of cockroaches scuttling out through the wallpaper. Inez had never read about irony, but she understood it, and, certain that she was going to die, she found a certain wry amusement in the fact that the cockroaches she so often squashed as part of her cleaning were going to escape the building while she did not.
Thinking about those cockroaches, she felt a strange rush in her skin. It began to grow thicker, and harder, and the rubble began to be pushed off of her. Trembling with fright, she started to squirm, barely noticing that the pain had stopped. She jumped again when she saw a pale, dapper man enter the room, dressed in crimson finery of a style she didn’t recognize. He seemed as surprised at the sight of her as she was of him, and raised his hand as if to point at her, then lowered it, a bemused smile on his face. “How lovely,” he said in a soft voice, and turned and walked into another room. Shortly afterward, Inez heard a woman’s scream. It was followed quickly by her own. Looking down, she saw what had become of her. She looked almost exactly like the cockroaches she had seen crawling out of the wall, only much larger. She had undergone a metamorphosis.
After a few terrible days of being chased in the streets by terrified people already reeling from the earthquake disaster and the appearance of someone called the Blood Red King, Inez was approached by Saul and Chloe Numen of the New Men, in town to assist with disaster relief. They calmed her and helped her find her way back to her family, all thankfully still alive, and she found herself accepted by the resilient Escobars with little reservation. With her hotel destroyed, she was out of a job, but the Numens noted the tenderness with which the giant cockroach treated their youngest child. And certainly here was someone who could protect the child and remain relatively safe herself. They offered her a job as their nanny. She gratefully accepted. Studying English and learning to use her new abilities, she became La Cucaracha of the New Men.
Unbeknownst to her, Inez has had the misfortune of having drawn the attention of two powerful “villains,” the Blood Red King (who remains fascinated by her transformation, but has not yet expressed any other motives for his interest) and Swarm, who believes that she can somehow control or subvert Inez with her powers.
Personality/Motivation: A sweet-natured nurturer, Inez has found, much to most people’s surprise, that she likes being a walking cockroach. Although many people find themselves uncomfortable around her because of her appearance, she is proud of the fact that she can use her abilities for good and that she can help to support her family with her salary as a nanny and a member of the New Men. Fully aware that she is not the brightest superhero, she tends to follow others’ lead, somewhat timid to offer her own suggestions, however good. As she grows in confidence and experience, she will likely become more forthright. Inez is honest to a fault and very protective of those around her, especially her young charge. Probably as a result of her new form and people’s general impression of cockroaches as filthy creatures, she is meticulous—some would say obsessive—about keeping her body, her quarters, and the base in general clean. Because of her powerful defenses, she considers herself nearly invulnerable to harm, and occasionally takes extra risks because of that.
Quote: “La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no quiere caminar...”
Quote About Her: “So pretty.”—The Blood Red King
Powers/Tactics: Dr. Saul Numen is of two minds about Inez’s transformation. At times, he thinks that her change, triggered by the activation of her metagene under stress, was permanent. But part of him suspects that she is a true metamorph, and could shift back to human form if she only knew how. He has sworn to find a “cure” for her. For her part, she humors him in his attempts, but in truth she is unconcerned and has no particular desire to change back.
Like many insects, Inez can lift much more than her own weight. She’s not as strong as some superheroes, but her strength is impressive, and she’s learned a number of different attack techniques that take advantage of her toughened cockroach form, from slicing through armor to bashing opponents and even cutting them with her chitin spines. Like a cockroach, she can easily walk on walls and ceilings, and she is extraordinarily resilient.
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
35 STR 25 16- Lift 3200.0kg; 7d6 [3]
20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7
23 CON 26 14-
12 BODY 4 11-
13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-
10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3
15 PRE 5 12- PRE Attack: 3d6
0 COM -5 9-
13+14 PD 6 Total: 13/27 PD (0/14 rPD)
13+13 ED 8 Total: 13/26 ED (0/13 rED)
4 SPD 10 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
12 REC 0
50 END 2
41 STUN -1 Total Characteristic Cost: 113
Movement: Running: 9"/18"
Leaping: 9"/18"
Swimming: 2"/4"
Tunneling: 5"/10"
Cost Powers END
15 Cockroach Body: Elemental Control, 30-point powers
36 1) Cockroach Shell I: Armor (14 PD/13 ED), Hardened (+¼) (51 Active Points) 0
15 2) Cockroach Shell II: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points) 0
15 3) Cockroach Shell III: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points) 0
21 4) Digging: Tunneling 5" through 9 DEF material, Fill In Hole (47 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -½) 10
9 5) Gets in Any Crack or Crevice: Desolidification (40 Active Points); Does Not Protect Against Damage (-1), Only to Simulate Skill At Escaping from Bonds and Slipping into Tight Spaces (-½), Requires a Contortionist Skill Roll (-¼) 4
9 Cockroach Fighting: Multipower, 15-point reserve, (15 Active Points); all slots Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -½), Requires A Power Skill: Cockroach Tricks Roll (-¼)
1u 1) Clubbing Strike: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6 (15 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 2
1u 2) Piercing Strike: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6 (2d6 w/STR) (vs. PD) (15 Active Points) 2
20 Versatile Fighter: Variable Advantage (+½ Advantages; +1) for up to 35 Active Points of 35 STR (35 Active Points); Lockout (Cannot Use with Cockroach Fighting Multipower; -½), Requires a Cockroach Tricks Skill Roll (-¼) 3
Notes: Frequent manuevers include Sharpened Spines (Armor Piercing), Four-Legged Sweep (Area of Effect: One Hex), and Effortless Strike (Reduced END: 0).
10 Insect Walking: Clinging (normal STR) 0
6 Quick Runner: Running +3" (9" total) 1
2 Cockroach Leaper: Leaping +2" (9" forward, 4 ½" upward) 1
5 Six-Legged Cockroach: Extra Limbs 0
9 Cockroach Resilience: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum) 0
Skills
3 Climbing 13-
3 Concealment 12-
3 Contortionist 13-
0 Everyman Skills
0 1) AK: Acapulco, Mexico (Everyman) 11-
0 2) Climbing 8-
0 3) Computer Programming 8-
0 4) Concealment 8-
0 5) Deduction 8-
0 6) Language: Spanish (native)
0 7) Paramedics 8-
0 8) PS: Maid 11-
0 9) Shadowing 8-
0 10) Stealth 8-
0 11) TF: Small Ground Vehicles (Everyman)
2 Language: English (fluent conversation)
0 The New Men Package (Cost: 1)
1 1) Fringe Benefit: Passport
2 2) KS: The Superhuman World 11-
6 3) Money: Wealthy ($1,000,000 Annually)
3 4) Reputation: International Goodwill Ambassadors 14-
20 5) Team Base Donation
9 6) Team Communicator
-20 7) Hunted by the Fatal Four 8-
-10 8) Monitored by the World Press 8-
-10 9) Social Limitation (Celebrity)
7 Power: Cockroach Tricks (DEX-based) 15-
4 PS: Cook 13-
4 PS: Tutor 13-
3 Stealth 13-
3 Streetwise 12-
2 Survival (Urban) 12-
3 Tracking 12-
Total Powers & Skill Cost: 212
Total Cost: 325
175+ Disadvantages
15 Dependent NPC: Escobar Family Members 11- (Normal)
25 Distinctive Features: Obvious Superhuman: A Giant Cockroach (Not Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)
20 Hunted: Swarm 8- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish)
15 Physical Limitation: Weird Biochemistry, Requires Special Medical Care (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
20 Psychological Limitation: Code Vs. Killing (Common, Total)
15 Psychological Limitation: Protective of Children (Common, Strong)
1 Quirk: Deep Down, Doesn't Mind Being a Cockroach
1 Quirk: Grooms Herself Meticulously
1 Quirk: Leaves Mints on the Numens' Pillows at Night
1 Quirk: Often Sings "La Cucaracha" Song While Entering Battle
1 Quirk: Tends to Baby the Numens
20 Social Limitation: Permanent Identity: Inez Escobar, La Cucaracha (Very Frequently, Major)
15 Watched: The Blood Red King 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)
