Jasper Chipmunk
The pictures, of course, are of George Leach, a Native American blues musician and actor.
Jasper Chipmunk
Theme: Spirit Walker:
Jasper
has embarked on a sort of apprenticeship under the ancient spirit known
as Coyote. He already has some spirit-like abilities (airwalking,
seeing and talking with spirits), and he is slowly gaining the ability
to do other things such as becoming intangible, and affecting things
from a (short) distance (with the TK shield).
Qualities:
Motivation: Prankster +2 (in the pursuit of freedom)
What
Jasper wants is the freedom which flying represents to him, but to keep
that, he has to do a trick more brilliant than any that Coyote has
done. He’s building up to it.
Spirit Walker +3
Limitation: Powers always glow with particularly bright psi-light
Grab and throw
Float like a feather (aerial evasion)
Shield (TK plane wielded like a shield)
Ghost dance (slipping out of phase)
Rock your world (tipping or slippery TK shield under opponent’s feet)
Gravity Hammer (attack from above)
Gets advice from beyond! (from Coyote at least)
Dancing (a jig or sailor’s horpipe type of dance)
Flute Playing
Useful
psi-light. His light phases from psi-space to normal space and so can
illuminate things on the physical plane, at least for psionics.
Phasing (through solid objects, or just to be intangible)
Spirit sight
Creative
airwalking -- includes recreational sliding and midair rescuing
(catching those who are falling, which he DID figure out how to do, and
he practiced it!)
Mental defense
Cherokee +3
Wilderness Survival
Herbology
Hunting, tracking, skinning
Languages:
Cherokee and Spanish (since many Native Americans have Spanish as
their native tongue these days, he learned it to fully participate in
Native culture)
Mercy Darts (blowgun ace)
Farmboy +1
Operating farm equipment
Fixing things -- fences, farm equipment, barns, etc.
Herding cattle
Steer wrestling
Lassoing things
Riding things (horses, cows, bulls, a large pig)
Hunting & tracking
Construction Worker +1
Building and fixing things
A little bit of plumbing and electrical knowledge
Welding & riveting (he’s not allowed to do this stuff on the job yet, but Ellwood has shown him how)
Extremely intelligent +1
Quick learner
Chemistry
Physics
Electronics
Higher math
Self defense for psi-kids +1
Martial arts training -- spetznav style, and capoeira
Protector +1
For the people he cares about, he fights extra hard.
Can drive lots of stuff +1
He can do motorcycle stunts even without using his power!
He can also drive cars or pickup trucks.
Specializations (Techniques):
Location/Situation: In Midair (use with spirit walker, 1 pt)
Tool or Weapon: Blowgun (use with Cherokee, 1 pt)
Maneuver: Fooled Ya (use with spirit walker, 1 pt) This is his ability to pull off a trick.
Location/Situation: Counting coup (use with spirit walker, 1 pt)
With his hair blowing in the wind (use with spirit walker, 1 pt)
Mind shield (use with spirit walker, 1 pt)
Weaknesses (Foibles):
Precious freedom! He hates to owe anyone, or to be under anyone’s control. (1 pt)
Adrenaline junkie (1 pt)
Jasper’s powers
I
have always envisioned Jasper's airwalking power as two distinct
powers, actually: A TK-based ability to create planes of resistance
that appear under any part of his body that he wants supported, and a
limited ability to switch off gravity on himself and things he is
touching. More recently we added the movable force shield, about the
size of a garbage can lid, which can be used to stop a bullet or a blow,
created under an opponent’s feet to unbalance them, or can be presented
for another person to stand or sit on. The planes he creates under
himself can be textured according to his wish -- nubby for good
traction, slick for sliding, cushy for sitting. More recently, I am
assuming he can do the same thing with his separate shield. The shield
is extremely short range -- next hex, maximum.
Any
power that he uses creates a conspicuous blue-green light, visible only
to psionics. Unlike the light produced by other psionics, this can
actually be used to see the surrounding area. Its strength is that of a
40-watt bulb. He can't turn it off when he's using his powers. Hey! I
just had a thought about why psionics can see the environment by his
light, but not by anybody else’s light. It has to do with his
dual-phase nature. Maybe his light has already been phasing from
psi-space to normal space?
Per
AK, he flies (airwalks) about 50 miles per hour (60 kph). His flight is
silent, and he can go at any speed below that, or stand still in the
air. The reason he can go so fast is that he's weightless or nearly so,
and the surface is absolutely perfect for running. Hence, zero END
traveling, although we've agreed that it's not actually zero, just not
significant in the time-span of a fight or something.
When
using his power, he can negate gravity on himself and anything he
carries (up to that which can be carried by a 33 STR). This is actually a
separate power from the forward motion. This is why he can lift things
up to that STR limit. He can carry things up into the air and drop them,
or he can throw them... but... these objects still have their normal
mass, so anything very massive -- like his motorcycle -- he could not
throw very far. The instant it left his hands, it would start curving
downward rapidly. I know that in the Creme Lounge scene when he threw
Eric Stives, he threw the guy a few yards. But Eric didn't weigh as much
as a motorcycle, and Jasper was enraged and had adrenaline-fueled
strength. Plus, Eric struck the dance floor at an angle and slid for a
few feet. AK says that using his power, he can bench-press up to 1200
pounds although that is pushing it, and that he can readily throw about
400 pounds without hurting himself (in a fight, for example).
I
think this concept of his powers has some internal consistency. I like
it. I don't think it's well described on his character sheet, and that's
a problem with the Hero system I guess. Or with my lack of skill at
using it.
Oh,
and we also added the ability to see spirits. I note that it's at 13-
(in the old system), the same as his intelligence-based perception. I
hope this means that it works as a sense, so it's not so much a power
that he has to consciously switch on, but more a matter of paying
attention.
Soon,
he will be gaining an ability taught to him by Kokopelli, which he is
figuring out how to use on Earth: The ability to dance in and out of
phase, thus avoiding attacks. At first he’ll have to do this while
playing his flute; later he will learn to keep the music in his mind.
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