|
Membership |
|
|
Full Time:
Neuro,
Harrier,
Seizure,
Prefab |
|
Auxillary: Powderkeg, Murk, Chatterbox |
|
Background / History |
|
The influential San Diego based corporation
Aesir suffered from a string of industrial
sabotage attacks perpetrated by the Violators. Convential
security and law enforcement repeatedly
proved to be insufficient to deter these
attacks, and with no resident super team
in San Diego to stop them the Violators
had Aesir and other local industries at
their mercy.
|
|
Rather than continue to be plagued by this
sort of assault, Aesir announced plans to
hold tryouts for a new corporate subsidized
team called Aegis. Nineteen applicants applied,
eight passed screening and were permitted
to try out, and at the end Neuro, Harrier,
Seizure, and Prefab formed the founding
line up.
|
|
The more powerful and experienced heroes
Makeshift, Apex, and Triage that also participated
in the trials were inexplicably not offered
membership which was something of an upset
and an unpopular outcome for many in the
public who watched the video footage of
the trials and other exploits of those heroes
and felt they had been unfairly treated.
Despite this controversy the four chosen
heroes gamely put the best face they could
on it and soldiered on.
|
|
After a few early training sessions and
encounters with minor threats where it was
perceived that the team was a bit short
on manpower two of the original applicants
that had been turned away from the trials
(Chatterbox, Powderkeg) and one that had
been disqualified due to injuries sustained
in the first trial (Murk) were called back
individually on a probationary status as
auxillary members. Only one of them at a
time typically is tapped to bolster the
four core members.
|
|
Powderkeg is a useful "brick" in her own
right, but is outmatched by Seizure in every
practical measure, and her total lack of
intelligence and decision making capablity
are a detriment. Chatterbox has proven to
be useful enough in limited engagements,
but the core membership don't care for her
personally, and her tendency to accidentally
temporarily deafen her teammates (and everyone
else nearby) when really cutting loose with
her powers is unfortunate to say the least.
So far Murk has been the most useful since
he has distinct powers that are not overlapped
by any of the core membership. However,
his lack of full control and the risk he
takes when using his powers are a serious
flaw.
|
|
Group Relations |
|
The group is very new and as of yet untested
by serious engagements. However, some interpersonal
dynamics have already started to develop.
The quiet, serious, polite Neuro privately
dislikes the loud boisterous Seizure. Neuro
respects Prefab's abilities and can respect
his disinterest in social matters, but is
put off by his abruptness; however Neuro
recognizes that when the action is going
down or the group is presenting a public
face, Prefab falls into character and almost
seems to become another person -- a true
hero. As far as Harrier is concerned...well,
Neuro might be a wee bit smitten with her,
but does a decent job of concealing it.
|
|
Harrier is still riding on the buzz of being
a real honest to goodness superhero, with
a base and everything! She's so bouyed up
by it that she barely even notices or minds
Seizure's constant hitting on her, or Prefab's
total detachment, or Neuro's long silences.
However, as time passes reality may settle
in a bit differently upon her outlook.
|
|
Out of combat Seizure hits on Harrier every
chance he gets, but its a kind of clumsy
jockish "you're standing here so you must
want me to harass you" kind of way. Seizure
has little real respect for the obese toy
using Prefab, but is smart enough to realize
it would be unwise to antagonize him --
he's seen what that gun can do! Neuro gets
a kind of grudging respect, but all of Seizure's
best attempts to be buddy buddy have met
with failure.
|
|
Prefab considers the other three idiots,
with only Harrier showing the faintest inkling
of being not totally worthless intellectually
due to her leadership decisions usually
not totally sucking...usually. Suprisingly
however Prefab seems to like the company
of Powderkeg which seems to be returned;
the two complete opposites (the obese genius
and the bodybuilding featherhead) are oftentimes
seen together outside of team activities.
|
|
Powderkeg has been known to sit for hours
in Prefab's lab quietly pumping iron on
a complex but nearly silent workout machine
he built for her, while he tinkers away.
Powderkeg also has Prefab on a new diet
she makes for him herself that she claims
is guaranteed to melt the fat off of him.
For her part Powderkeg seems to find it
comforting to have someone who accepts her
for who she is, doesn't find her passion
for bodybuilding freakish, and is willing
to guide her through the tougher conundrums
that confront her limited intellect daily,
and Prefab seems to like having a female
companion who doesn't talk much and doesn't
nag him when he's working; he also respects
the devotion with which she pursues her
hobby of body building. It may not be true
love or even intimate (they aint saying),
but they seem happy with whatever budding
relationship they have going.
|
|
Tactics |
|
Seizure thinks he's the obvious choice for
leadership and gives orders in curt tones,
but no one really heads them unless they
happen to coincide with what they want to
do anyway. Thus far Neuro seems to be the
most levelheaded, but he tends more towards
setting a good example rather than giving
directions. In combat Prefab is brilliant
at supporting his teammates with unpredictable
applications of his modular rifle, but the
fact that he never gives orders or guidance
to others (they wouldn't understand it anyway,
to his way of thinking) combined with his
total lack of social interest make him a
poor choice for leadership as well.
|
|
Harrier is not a leader by inclination,
being somewhat shy and generally not very
decisive. However she was raised a military
brat and her father was of the disciplined,
decisive field commander sort. Calling on
her father's example she has stepped forward
to fill the vacuum and be responsible for
making the tough calls and giving some guidance
to her comrades if it seems needed. She
is not very invested or established yet
and could be supplanted by a newcomer, but
for now she's the closest thing to a leader
that Aegis has.
|
|
Harrier uses her ability to grant limited
flight to others to get the team where they
need to be. Once engaged in combat Harrier
hovers overhead using her powers to best
advantage while Neuro and Seizure get up
close where they are most effective. Seizure
fills the role of both Martial Artist and
Brick for the group and gets into close
melee, preferably focusing attention on
one target and neutralizing it before moving
on. Neural usually stays near to Seizure,
but stays mobile, darting in and out to
use his damage shield, and suprising opponents
with a ranged blast when he can.
|
|
Prefab follows no set pattern other than
keeping his distance and tending to take
up good sniping positions when they offer
themselves. He is the trumph that pushes
the group to another level and makes them
a greater threat than their power level
and experience suggest. He is the groups
center of gravity, so to speak, both the
most capable and the most vulnerable. Thus
far none of the foes Aegis have faced have
realized this and moved to neutralize the
funny looking little fat man with the strange
gun, but it's only a matter of time before
someone more savvy illustrates this weakness.
|
|
The current roster of Aegis is very top
heavy with offensive, aggresive power sets.
With what amounts to three blasters and
a scrappy brick they lack a well balanced
approach to supercrime fighting. Basically
if success via pummeling and blasting isn't
possible the group is just out of luck;
only Prefab really offsets this, and even
he relies on some kind of attack for his
unusual solutions.
|
|
Campaign Use |
|
Aegis is intended to be an "ally" group
for a somewhat more capable "PC" group,
either individually or collectively. They
are designed on fewer realized points than
the typical starting superhero. However
each one has a fairly narrow area of expertise
and they are competent within it and fully
capable of giving a standard super a good
fight of it. Ultimately however while thye
should have some measure of success and
be reasonably competent, they should not
upstage PCs as a matter of course. Part
of the role they fufill is to give the PC's
a measuring stick to compare themselves
agaisnt to cement an understanding of their
own power relevent to the setting, and thus
in direct comparisons with PC's in the same
"space", Aegis should come up short in the
end and cede the PC's their rightful place
as the main attraction.
|
|
Public Relations |
|
As noted, Makeshift and Apex were popularly
expected to make the team easily based upon
their accomplishments and superior capabilities,
and there was a bit of backlash in the press
and among fans when this didn't occur. Some
of this backlash polluted public opinion
of Aegis, and a rumor that Apex and Makeshift
chose not to join because they did not believe
in being paid to be a superhero has lead
to a perception that Aegis members are "heroes
for hire" or represent the interests of
Aesir over that of the public.
|
|
Some critics also ding the group for being
green and very narrow in scope. There is
also even a segment of onlinr supers-afficianados
that tend to mock Prefab's addition to the
roster mercilously; Preflab is the nicest
of the epiteths that have been attached
to him on some message boards. It does not
help that none of Aegis seem to have any
star power or a media-friendly personality
except Seizure, and not so coincidentally
he's the only member of the group that is
generally not discounted and even liked
in some quarters.
|
|
However, as the team has opportunities to
prove themselves, success will improve their
image and find them more supported by the
population of the city.
|
- The PC's are investigating a crime that
leads them to San Diego...where they [meet
up with | mistakenly run afoul of] AEGIS!
- The Violators attack a facility
in the PC's city. Investigating the crime
in the aftermath, the PC's discover via
PRIMUS files that Aegis has some experience
vs. the Violators. The PC's seek out Aegis
for more information on the Violators.
- An inexperienced solo hero needs some allies
on occasion to fight tougher foes, or just
to get noticed. They move to San Diego and
approach the team for membership. Made an
auxillary member, the PC hero has time for
solo adventures, and on occasion will accompany
one or more of the Aegis team on various
missions and investigations.
|