Wiretap (Marvel)
| Marvel: In the Heat of the Night | |
|---|---|
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| GM | |
| Erik | |
| Characters | |
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Wiretap The Stranger The Engineer The Faceless Hero Zilla | |
| The Game | |
| Rank 2 (Street Level) |
Wiretap (i.e. Alexander Anderson), a private investigator turned superhero after being sent a mysterious and powerful piece of advanced technology. Rank 2 hero in Atlanta, Georgia.
Character Build
Traits
| Name | Description | Notes |
| Tech Reliance | Wiretap relies on technology (his phone) for his powers. When he takes damage that would render him unconscious, he can instead choose to lose all of his technology-related powers and remain conscious with 1 point of Health remaining. He can usually recover the lost powers after battle. | Wiretap is not the inventor/builder of the phone, so is relying on self-repair or recovering the device. |
| Connections | Wiretap knows people with access to knowledge in a particular field. By making an Ego Check, wiretap can call on their contact to provide help in the form of clues, information, or resources. the Narrator determines the TN. | Wiretap has contacts across the Atlanta Legal system, including Police, DA and Private Defender's offices. |
| Interrogation | Wiretap knows how to ask the right questions in the right way. He has an edge on Ego or Logic checks made when asking questions. | |
| Investigation | Wiretap is an expert investigator, trained in the arts of forensic science. He has an edge on Vigilance checks to spot clues and Logic (investigation) checks. If he has access to a forensic lab at the time, he may add +2 to such checks. | |
| Determination | Wiretap never gives up, even when he feels like he's at his worst. While demoralized, he does not gain trouble on all actions, but still cannot maintain concentration or spend Focus. | |
| Legal Eagle | Wiretap knows the laws of the US (and Atlanta in particular) and can help others navigate them. He has an edge on Logic checks when dealing with legalities. | |
| Eidetic Memory | By using the phone, Wiretap can recall almost anything. If the player forgets something, he can ask the Narrator to remind him. | Tech Reliant Trait |
| Font of Information | By using the phone, Wiretap has an edge on Logic checks having to do with Knowledge. | Tech Reliant Trait |
| Scientific Expertise | By using his phone, Wiretap can access extensive scientific training. He has an edge on logic checks made when dealing with scientific research. If he has access to a lab at the time, he gains a second edge. | Tech Reliant Trait |
Tags
| Name | Description | Notes |
| Heroic | Wiretap acts heoricly. He helps people in need and does his best not to kill people, even with people who might deserve it. | |
| Secret Identity | Wiretap makes a point to keep his identity secret from the public and must take precautions to maintain this status. | His wife (Ashley) is one of the few who knows. |
| Dependents | Wiretap has young children who rely on him. He cannot just abandon them and must check on them and help care for them on a regular basis. With his wife's long hours, he is the primary caregiver. | Julia (8) and Jason (6) |
| Authority | Wiretap, as Alex Anderson, has the legal authority of a licensed Private Investigator. | |
| Mysterious | Wiretap does not understand how or why he has been provided the phone. While it leaves him a little concerned, he does his best with it. |
Powers
| Name | Description | Identifiers | Effect | Notes |
| People Scan | Your phone can detect the presence of people | Telepathy, Standard Action, Concentration | Using his phone, Wiretap can scan and sense the presence of others within 1000ft. This tells them the person's location and general status. It can also identify if they have superpowers or not. If the target is attempting to remain undetected, Wiretap must make a logic check and compare it against each target's Vigilance defense. If he succeeds, he can detect the target. On a fantastic success, he also identifies the source of any powers the target has. | |
| Machine Scan | Your phone can detect the presence of machines | Telepathy, Standard Action, Concentration | Using his phone, wiretap can reach out to sense the presence of machines within 100 spaces per rank. This tells them the machine’s location and general status. It can identify common machines such as laptops, desktop computers, phones, etc. If the character has encountered the machine before they can identify it. At the Narrator’s discretion, machines that are similar to the ones that the character has encountered before can be identified. If the character has not encountered the machine before then it will appear as an “unknown machine”.
If a target machine(s) wishes to remain undetected, the character must make a Logic check and compare it against the target’s Vigilance defense. If they succeed, they sense the target. On a Fantastic success, they can also identify the machine as well, if encountered before. |
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| Machine Telepathy | Your phone can connect with any device. | Telepathy, Standard Action, Concentration | Using his phone, Wiretap can communicate directly with machines. He may communicate with one machine at a time, and he must have seen/connected to the machine before, and it must be in the same dimension. Simple machines are generally compliant. Complex machines are often compliant, but if secured they refuse to communicate unless the character can pass a Logic check. The TN is set by the narrator according to the strength of the security. When attempting to communicate telepathically with a machine that you have sensed using the Machine Scan Power but have never met or seen before, any Logic check needed to push past its security will be made with trouble. | |
| Command | Your phone acts as a universal remote control. | Telepathy, Standard Action, Concentration, 5 Focus | Using his phone, Wiretap can give an order to a Machine with whom he's already established a Telepathic Link. The character makes a Logic check against the target's Logic defense. On a success, the target complies with the order. On a Fantastic success, the character gains an edge the next time they use this power against this same target. The command must be something that can be completed in a single action. If it involves harming someone, the character has trouble on the check. If it would cause the target to harm themselves, the character has double trouble on the check. | |
| The Matrix | Your phone warns you of impending danger. | Telepathy, Permanent | The character has an edge on initiative checks and on Vigilance checks to perceive danger. You may begin an encounter hidden (out of line of sight) as long as there is cover within 10 squares (50 feet). | |
| Early Edition | Your phone receives digest articles from the future. | Telpathy, Free-Action | The character periodically receives information about a future event in the form of a condensed article with a future publication date. This information foretells what will (most likely) occur if he does not intervene. | This power cannot be triggered by the player. |
Gear
- Mysterious Smartphone
- Disguise Kit / Outfits
- Nondiscript Vehicle (2017 Toyoda Corolla)
- Automatic Pistol (10 Spaces, +1 bonus)
- Kevlar Vest
Background
Early History
Although born and raised out in the more distant suburbs, Alexander moved to Atlanta proper as a college student to pursue a pre-law/criminal justice degree. After graduation, he found work as an investigator for the DA's office and rapidly made a name for himself among his peers. After a few years, he met and fell in love with a lawyer in the Public Defender's office, whom he married a year later. This led him to transition to Private Investigations to avoid any apparent conflict of interest, as well as give him additional flexibility to care for their kids as they came.
The Mysterious Device
Alex was beginning to feel settled into his life as a PI and father to two when the fateful package arrived. Inside, packaged in a designer box, was not the new phone he'd ordered, but an unbranded and unknown design of the smartphone. It unlocked when he held it, as though it already had his face on file, displaying a push alert. "House fire on Peach Street kills 2, arson suspected." Putting the strange message aside, he completed his day. As he was driving home a fire engine screamed past him. Turning on the emergency band he heard the fire call - a Peach Street residence. He reread the alert and opened the article. It was dated for an hour in the future when the blaze would be out and an investigation started. Alex rushed to the fire, but it was too far along, too hot for anyone to do anything. He drove home terrified.
Two days later, another alert was pushed. "Hydra Agents kill scientist, steal research on deadly disease." He opened it up and read the story, dated for tomorrow. The article was short but contained essential facts, it even listed the time of the attack. Alex couldn't sleep that night. Early in the morning he traveled to the office listed and talked his way in. Even after he found the scientist listed and convinced him to make an early coffee run, even after he found the data in a binder on the scientist's desk, he remained skeptical of the situation. Then his phone rang and the digital assistant told him that two agents had walked in. He spotted them in a moment. Then there was hiding, running, and eventually climbing out a window.
He went to return the binder the next day only to be questioned at length by both the scientist and security. He was barely able to blather his way out without giving up how or even that he knew what was going on. The police followed up later at his home. He quickly realized how dangerous the situation was, and knew he would have to adopt an anonymous cover if he were to act again. With that, Wiretap was born.
By any other Name
Night & Day
Although his investigator's job has always led him to split his time between day and night operations, Alex's schedule has become even more extreme since taking up the Superhero's mantle. Alex's day starts, so to speak, by waking up about noon to two, often depending on how bad the night before had been. He then leaves the house for a coffee shop (Often San Franciso Coffee Co.) to do email, write reports, and reach out to contacts during normal daytime hours. As necessary, he'll head out to do investigations with similar timeframes (usually ones involving companies or contractors). He breaks off at about 4 to pick up the kids from school and get them home. Family life takes over save for a few snatches of time on the phone until the kids are in bed, though he occasionally has to head out early. Once out for the night, he begins his 'patrols' along with his more clandestine investigations. The early night is busy with both investigations and heroic interventions, though they calm down as the night approaches the witching hour. The closure of the bars from two to three marks another rise of activity. He usually heads in the direction of his home after and catches a couple of hours of sleep on the couch before the alarm goes off and he needs to see the kids up and ready for school. He drops the kids off in the morning before returning home to get his best single block of sleep. Then the day repeats.
Connections & Obligations
- Alex has a wife (Ashley Anderson) and two kids (Julia Anderson (8) and Jason Anderson (6)). His wife knows about the device and his taking up the hero's mantle. His kids have not been told.
- Has worked with The Stranger before, both as Alex Anderson and as Wiretap.
- They live in a suburban home in Sandy Springs. Wiretap does most of his patroling in the Virginia Highland region.