Valance “Bravado Max” Smith Backgrounds

Physical Attributes
Contacts ●●
4 Strength ●●●●○ Two major contacts in different areas and a smattering of
minor contacts.
7 >Brawl ●●●○○
Major Contacts:
6 >Might ●●○○○
Node ●●●●●
5 Dexterity ●●●●● 6th Instar: Can spend 20 Quantum/turn.
7 >Athletics ●●○○○ Quantum Recovery: Adds Node Rating to Quantum
Recovery.
7 >Drive ●●○○○
Quantum Detection: Can spend a full turn to concentrate.
8 >Firearms ●●●○○ Rolling Node rating, Range 50 yards. Detects the existence
but not location of Quantum energies.
6 >Legerdemain●○○○○
7 >Pilot ●●○○○
7 >Stealth ●●○○○ Willpower ●●●○○ ○○○○○
4|5 Stamina ●●●●○◙ Quantum ●●●●● ○○○○○
7|8 >Endurance ●●●○○ Initiative ●●●●● ●○○○○
7|8 >Resistance ●●●○○ Movement Walk 7m; Run 17m; Sprint 35m
Mental Attributes Taint ●●●●●○○○○○
1 Perception ●○○○○ Temp Taint ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊
4|7 Intelligence ●●●●○◙◙◙
6|9 >Engineering●●○○○ Qualities
Electronics Athletic (Str) Coordinated (Dex)
Determined (Stm) Clearheaded (Int)
5|8 >Gambling ●○○○○
Persuasive (Man)
6|9 >Linguistics●●○○○
Arabic, Korean
Quantum Pool
1 Wits ●○○○○
◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊
Social ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊
2 Appearance ●●○○○ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊
4 Manipulation ●●●●○ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■
2 Charisma ●●○○○ ■■■■■ □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□
□□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□
□□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□
 almost catatonic, entirely lost in your recollections. You can spend a point of Willpower
Character Information to ignore the effects of this Flaw for one scene.

Taint Resistant [5 point Merit]

Birth Name: Valance Smith
Your body channels quantum energy particularly efficiently, and you are therefore
Nova Name: Bravado Max unusually resistant to the effects of taint. When you botch a roll while maxing a quantum
power, you gain temporary Taint only if you roll two or more 1s. Rolling a single 1 one a
power roll without getting any successes still counts as a botch, but it does not give the
Eruption: character Taint. When rolling for the rapid recovery of quantum, a simple failure accrues
no Taint and even a botch accrues only a single point of temporary Taint.
Nature: Jester Quantum Recovery [3 point Merit]
Gain Willpower whenever you can lighten the mood or ease a You recover expended quantum energy more quickly than most novas. Each point in this
tense situation. merit increases the amount of quantum points you recover by one per hour. So a nova
with three points in this Merit recovers 5 Quantum points per hour (7 if he's sleeping or
meditating)
Allegiance: Independent/Aeon Group
Archetype: Portent
Description: Aberrations
Aberrant Eyes Silver mirror reflective irises
Bad Temper Reacts violently to stressful situations

Chrysalis: ○○○○○ ○○○○○

Temp Chrysalis: ◊◊◊◊◊ ◊◊◊◊◊ Mega-Attributes
●○○○○ Mega-Stamina You can go weeks without sleep, and your
healing rates are tripled. Base Resistance and Endurance ratings of 3 each.
Lifespan 150+ years. Dice pool penalties due to injuries and pain are reduced
by one. The character receives one extra soak against bashing damage and
Health one extra soak against lethal damage.

Bruised ______ ______ Adaptability Able to sustain himself indefinitely on residual

energies, so long as he has at least one quantum point in his body. He does
Hurt -0 ______ not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, and can survive indefinitely in conditions as
hostile as Death Valley, Antarctica, or outer space. He is automatically
Injured -0 ______ immune to most poisons, gases, disease and drugs; against particularly
virulent diseases or nova-derived poisons, he gains an extra six soak or
Wounded -1 ______ Resistance dice. Moreover, the character's lifespan is increased by centuries,
if not more.
Maimed -2 ______
Adaptability is normally an automatic enhancement and requires no quantum
Crippled -3 ______ point expenditure (the vacuum of space, the bottom of the Mariana Trench, a
conflagration), the character might need to spend a quantum point per scene,
Incapacitated ______ or even turn, of exposure. The Storyteller makes this decision.

Dead Adaptability does not confer protection against weaponry or nova attacks
such as flame blasts or the like, only against natural environmental
conditions.
Regeneration A nova with this enhancement may spend quantum
points to instantly heal bashing and lethal damage, at the rate of one quantum
Flaws/Merits point per health level healed. Doing so is an automatic action, but the nova
may heal a maximum number of health levels per turn equal to her Mega-
Vengeful [2 point Flaw] Stamina rating. Additionally, this enhancement allows a nova to regrow
You don't forgive or forget. In fact, you tend to get mad and then get even --- in the severed limbs or organs, but doing so takes a very longtime (weeks or
nastiest way possible. You have to make a Willpower roll at +1 difficulty to avoid months, typically). Regeneration does not heal aggravated damage.
repaying an slight, insult or offense against you in equal, if not greater, measure. This
can range from getting in the last jibe to killing someone who tried to kill you (or have ●●●○○ Mega-Intelligence An auditorium full of professors doesn't
you killed). You can spend a Willpower point to ignore a particular offense (although have as much brainpower as you.
you're still likely to carry a grudge about it).
Taint Resistance When calculating permanent Taint from the Node
Combat Paralysis [3 point Flaw] Background, subtract the character's dots in Mega-Intelligence from the Node
"Freezes up" in combat situations due to previous trauma. Roll two dice for initiative level.
and take the lower result. Enhancements to your initiative still apply.
Additionally, when t he nova gains a mental aberration, subtract the nova's
Flashbacks [3 point Flaw] dots in Mega-Intelligence from the character's Taint to determine the severity
of the aberration. This will not eliminate an aberration that is only mild, but
You have some traumatic experience in your past that you sometimes recall with will lessen the effect of higher Taint on mental aberrations, allowing the nova
terrifying clarity. Whenever you are in a situation similar to that experience, you must
make a Willpower roll at +1 difficulty to avoid being overwhelmed by memories of it.
to function with less impairment as his brain reroutes around damaged areas.
You tend to mistake people, places and things for similar things in your memory and This enhancement is permanent and costs no quantum points to use.
may act on those erroneous conclusions. If you botch the Willpower roll, you become
 Quantum Poltergeist
DP: Int+Rating Area: 30m Duration: Maintenance
Combat This wild power creates a quantum chaos field around the nova, weakening
various attributes and powers. Each success on dice pool rolls affects the dice
Soak Bashing (5) Lethal (3) pools of random nova targets within the Quantum Poltergeist field, be they
friend or foe. The effects vary according to the amount of successes, though
Attack Acc Dmg Rof Clip the storyteller distributes the number of successes evenly throughout the
affected area. That is, no one target can receive the full brunt of the attack
unless he is the only nova in the poltergeist field.
In order of priority, the powers affected are the target's main abilities, then
their last power used and finally the current power in use. The target,
however, can spend one Willpower to negate the effects of the field.
Armor/Protection Rating Bulk
Quantum Poltergeist Effects
Effect Success Requirement per Target
Attacks lose one die One success per die
Stun and bashing defenses lose one One success per soak
soak
Quantum Powers Movement pools lose one die One Success per die
●○○○○ Entropy Control Generic Level 1 powers lose one die or One success per die or dot
dot
Level 3 Quantum Minimum: 4 DP: Int + Rating
Lethal defenses lose one soak Two successes per soak
Can control the forces of entropy the same way other novas control fire or ice
Generic Level 2 powers lose one die or Two successes per die or dot
۞ Bioentropy Storm dot
DP: Dex+Rating Range: 60m Area: 30m Mega-Attributes lose one dot Two Successes per dot
The nova can create a field in which entropic effects pertaining to living Generic Level 3 powers lose one die or Three successes per die or dot
creatures run and riot. The victims age, suffer spontaneous injuries and dot
experience other biological breakdowns. The nova rolls his Dice Pool against
the Victims' Stamina; each net success inflicts one health level of damage Mega-Enhancement lose one die Three successes per die
unless they have the Hard body Mega-Stamina enhancement Mastery and Control (excluding Four successes per die or dot
Breakdown Density Control) level powers lose one
die from the overall dice pool
DP: Int+Rating Range: 60m Should a person's dice pool with one power reach half-strength, he can no
The nova can cause any machine, device or similar object to stop functioning longer use that gift unless he spends a point of Willpower.
as some part of it breaks, wears out or loses power. This power's effects are Bioentropic Vortex
permanent until someone repairs the device, provides it with more power or
the like. To use breakdown, the nova rolls his dice pool in an opposed action DP: Stam+Rating Area: 6m Duration: Instant
against the device's Stamina. The more complex or technologically advanced
a machine is, the lower its Stamina (Its hard to use breakdown on a simple The nova turns herself into a sort of entropic black hole, absorbing the effects
object or one with few moving parts, but the more complicated a device of entropy on other people and objects in the area. Each success lets the nova
becomes, the more opportunities there are for entropy to gain a foothold. transfer one level of damage from another person to herself, or take on one
die's worth of penalty due to mental confusion and the like. The nova may
Entropic Shield choose how to apply each success, gaining a subconscious knowledge of
entropic problems within the area. The nova may use one success to start a
DP: Stam+Rating Range: Self Duration: Maintenance stopped machine, repair on specific break in a mechanical or electronic
The character surrounds himself with a field of entropic energy. This field device and so on; each of these improvements inflicts a level of bashing
heightens the entropic reactions within any incoming attack (especially those damage on the nova. Canceling other novas uses of entropy – and chaos-
based on physical objects, such as bullets), this disrupting and weakening manipulating requires one success at Bioentropic Vortex to negate one
them. Each success achieved on a dice pool grants the character an extra soak success on the canceled power's roll and inflicts o the nova on level of
against bashing and lethal damage. However, this extra soak does not apply bashing damage per success used this way.
to attacks by living matter, such as fists or animals. The nova takes damage that is in some way evocative of the transferred
Probability Corruption entropic harm: Scars that resemble repaired fractures, for instance.

DP: Rating Range: 30m Duration: Maintenance Entropic Front

This technique allows a nova to cause the forces of entropy to overwhelm a DP: Per+Rating Range: 60m Area: 30m
single target, making it more likely that he will fail disastrously. To use it, the Duration: Maintenance
nova rolls Entropy Control. Each success achieved results in a loss of one die
(or one automatic success) for all rolls made by the target. Additionally, the The nova alters the strength of entropic forces in the target area, which can be
target will botch a roll if he rolls no successes and any die comes up 1 or 2. any shape up to cube (Quantum+Power rating)x5m on a side. In one half of
These negative effects last as long as the nova pays quantum points to keep the area, designated by the nova, entropy increases, while on the other side,
the entropic forces focused on the victim. entropy decreases by the same amount. Each success adds +1 difficulty to all
rolls to resist mechanical or electronic failure, worsening of medical
complications and the like on the high-entropy side and adds one die to all
rolls to resist such things on the low-entropy side.
 Point of Failure
Range: 60m
●○○○○ Spatial Manipulation
The nova can designate one particular part of the target inanimate object as
the point where the next mechanical, electrical or electronic failure will take Level 3 Quantum Minimum: 5
place. If the point the nova wants to select isn't visible or is otherwise
unobvious, at the Storyteller's discretion, the nova must also make a Although novas have already exhibited spatially related powers such as
successful roll against the relevant Ability to properly identify the point of Teleport or Warp, novas with spatial manipulation are rare. Those few,
failure. The nova may spend extra quantum while using Point of Failure; however, control one of the principle foundations of reality itself. With casual
each point spent adds +1 to the roll that will be required to fix the failure effort, they can widen or shorten the gap between two points, create micro-
once it happens. Point of Failure doesn't make the failure happen any sooner pockets of space and alter perception of distance. Some believe that novas of
or any more catastrophically. It just indicates where failure will come. this ilk are capable of much more, like traveling the breadth of galaxies, but
no known nova of this magnitude has manifested yet.
Serial Order
۞ Askew
DP: Wits+Rating Range: 60m
DP: Man+Rating Range: 30m Duration: Maintenance
The nova can affect exactly when in a series of similar events a particular
outcome takes place. A single success on the Serial Order roll lets the nova The nova can alter a target's spatial acuity, attacking his immediate senses
specify the first half or last half of the sequence, and each additional success (hearing, sight and tough). This affects the target's ability to hit, his
doubles the resolution. At two successes, the nova can specify which quarter coordination and perception. The nova must roll dice pool against the target's
of the sequence will have the result he wants, at three successes, in which Willpower. Each success reduces the target's Dexterity or Perception trait by
eighth, and so on. Thus, a nova can say “in this assembly run, there'll be a one. If the Dexterity Trait hits 0, then the target drops to the ground and is
defective unit there” or “the person in this district who votes for candidate X unable to stand or fly. If Perception hits 0, then the target is forced to close
will show up at this time.” Serial order can't make an event more or less his eyes to deal with the nauseating sensation of a skewed world.
probably –- if it takes an average of one thousand units made on the assembly Flatform
line to produce a unit with the defect that nova's interested in, he has to apply
Serial Order to the whole 1,000-unit run. DP: Dex+Rating Range: Self Duration: Maintenance
A nova can only use Serial Order to one series of events at a time, unless his The flatform ability enables the novas to turn two-dimensional or flat like a
Quantum is 6 or above. At Quantum 6, he can keep track of two series sheet of paper. This allows the nova to slip under doors, evade attacks and
simultaneously, at Quantum 8, three series simultaneously, and at Quantum conceal himself more easily. The character does not lose any density or mass
10, four series simultaneously. with this power; his spatial manifestation in the third-dimension is merely
displaced. In this form, the nova gains +1 dice to Stealth and Dodge skill
totals for every dot in Spatial Manipulation, provided she's edge ways
towards his opponent.
Ripple Shield
●●●○○ Luck DP: Wits+Rating Range: Self Duration: Maintenance
Level 1 Quantum Minimum: 1 DP: Rating Unlike a standard Force Field that absorbs damage from incoming attacks,
Range: Self Duration: Permanent Ripple Shield enables the nova to warp reality around himself, altering the
trajectory of attacks. This serves as both partial deflection and partial
A nova with this power is extraordinarily lucky. Somehow his quantum absorption of damage. To determine how much damage is absorbed or
consciousness is able to tap into and manipulate fate, probabilities and redirected, the nova rolls Stamina+Spatial Manipulation. Each success
perhaps even reality itself. Regardless of how it's done, Lady Luck smiles on translates as +4 to soak against bashing and lethal damage. To redirect
the character and looks out for him. against a target in range, half the successes (round down) become successes
in a notional attack roll. Ripple Shield applies solely against missile and
Once per scene, a character may ask to roll his Luck. It is in the Storyteller's ranged energy attacks, not against melee and hand-to-hand attacks.
discretion whether the character may roll Luck: sometimes its better for the
game if the character depends on his own abilities. When the character rolls Spatial Shock Wave
Luck, each success achieved influences the outcome of other events. Exactly
what happens is up to the Storyteller, but here are some guidelines. DP: Dex+Rating Area: 60m Duration: Instant

Combat: When the character is in combat, the player may divide the This raw manifestation of Spatial Manipulation is a shock wave originating
successes he gets for Luck in any given turn between his attack and his from the nova. It throws space into turmoil for a microsecond by contracting
defense. Successes added to an attack grant one die per success to make the it tightly around the nova, then snapping it back like a rubber band. This
attack and determine its effects. Successes added to an attack grant one die creates a spatial distortion that fans out in a blast radius. Both friend and foe
per success to make the attack and determine its effects. Successes added to within range are susceptible to the effects of this attack. Spatial Shock Wave
defense provide one success (not one die) to all dodge, parry or block rolls inflicts [Quantum x2] levels + (power rating x 3) dice of lethal damage to a
(or similar rolls to avoid other effects, such as Willpower rolls to counteract single target at a range of (Quantum+power rating) x 15m
Domination) Warp Body
Abilities: Each Luck success adds one success (not one die) to any use of DP: Wits+Rating Range: Self Duration: Maintenance
Abilities out of combat. If a character makes two or more Ability checks
during the same time frame (turn, minute, or whatever else the Storyteller Warp Body allows a nova to become a twisting, rubbery, spiraling mass just
decides is appropriate), he must divide his Luck successes among the by manipulating the three-dimensional physics of his body. Although the
different rolls. process looks like extreme stretching and pliancy (not to mention horribly
painful), the nova feels no discomfort. In this manner, the nova can evade
Backgrounds: Luck affects rolls associated with Backgrounds just as it does attacks more easily –- since dodging is now a matter of mental agility rather
with Abilities. than physical restrictions –- and he can slip out of grapples more readily.
Remember though, that Fate is a fickle Bitch. If a character botches a Luck Characters with this technique active automatically gain the Flexibility
roll, he suddenly becomes really unlucky for a scene. An unlucky character enhancement. When fighting, the character may add the successes from dice
botches if he rolls no successes and any die comes up 1 or 2. pool to his Dodge/Grapple pool. Furthermore , at the Storyteller's discretion,
this power may make escaping from shackles, squeezing through tight spaces
and stretching to reach items at a distance much easier, reducing the standard established, the effect lasts as long as the character pays quantum points to
difficulty of such actions by up to 3. maintain it.
Delayed Blow
DP: Int+Rating Range: Touch Duration: Instant
With Delayed Blow, a nova can offset the effects of hand-to-hand and melee
●○○○○ Temporal Manipulation attacks so that an opponent feels the damage later. When employing this
attack, the player must first succeed in a standard Ability contest (if the attack
Level 3 Quantum Minimum: 5 is opposed). While damage and soak is determined immediately, the attacker
This exceedingly rare power gives a nova control over that most basic, yet may then roll his dice pool against the target's Stamina to determine the
mysterious, of phenomena –- time itself. He can alter or reverse time to damage delay. Each success offsets the attack effect by one turn.
achieve a number of effects, but he cannot actually travel through time. That Delay Damage
has proved beyond the abilities of even the most powerful novas.
DP: Stam+Rating Range: Self Duration: Maintenance
Internal Clock
Akin to Delayed Blow, a nova can offset the effects of damage on himself.
This technique is known automatically by all time-manipulators and does not When rolling dice pool, each success becomes two effective levels of “soak”
use up a dot in the power. A character with Temporal Manipulation possesses that the nova can temporarily ignore from the next attack. The damage is not
a highly accurate internal clock. He always knows exactly how much time gone, however, merely offset. After a number of turns equal to the net
has passed between two events, and he can mentally time events as if using successes, the damage and its effects manifest fully. This includes
an extremely precise stopwatch. This ability requires no roll and costs no incapacitation and death blows.
quantum points; it functions automatically.
Age Alteration
DP: Man+Rating Range: 30m Duration: Instant ●○○○○ Warp
This ability allows a nova to make another person age rapidly or regress back Level 3 Quantum Minimum: 3 Range: 6m
to his youth. For each success achieved on his dice pool roll, the nova may
add or subtract up to two years from the target's age; the target may resist Warp is similar to Teleport in many ways –- it involves the same method of
with a Stamina roll. For reasons as yet unknown to science, this ability has nomoving without passing through intervening space. However, whereas
effect on the size of another nova's Mazarin-Rashoud node. It also does not Teleportation normally work on one person only (the nova who possesses it),
affect the victim's mind or memories. A victim of Age Alteration will simply Warp creates a “gate” that anyone can use.
have to live with the effects after unless he can get another time-manipulator
to reverse them. It takes an entire turn to create a warp; the nova may take no other actions
during this turn. Warps are typically three meters square; the nova may alter
Age Alteration can also be used on objects. Decreasing their age will repair the shape by one meter (either dimension) per dot. Anything that cannot fit
minor damage (wear and tear) and make them look newer and shinier. Every through the warp cannot use it. Warps are usually opened up at ground level,
two years added to an object inflicts one health level of damage on it, but a nova may create a warp anywhere within his range.
possibly causing it to crumble into ruin.
To use Warp, a nova simply spends the required quantum points. In combat
Accelerate Time or other situations, a warp can teleport anyone who passes through it up to
100m per success; if the nova has a full turn to concentrate, Warp can teleport
DP: Wits+Rating Range: 60m Duration: Maintenance persons a variable distance, as shown on the accompanying table. In either
This ability allows a nova to put himself or another person inside a bubble of case, each point of Quantum she has counts as an additional automatic
“fast time.” Doing so makes the character move and act much more quickly success. Passing through a warp an additional automatic success. Passing
than a person in a normal time frame. Each success on a Temporal through a warp voluntarily counts as one of a character's actions for a turn.
Manipulation roll allows the character to take one additional action per turn.
These actions are not multiple actions; they are extra actions. However, they Warp Distance
may be used only to take additional physical actions (punching, running, or Successes Distance
dodging, for example, but not using more Temporal Manipulation powers).
The nova's power rating dictates the maximum number of extra actions that One 2km
may be gained. Two 20km
Three 200km
Dilate Time Four 2000km
DP: Wits+Rating Range: 60m Duration: Maintenance Five 20000km
Dilate Time is the reverse of Accelerate Time; it allows a nova to slow down Six+ x10
another character by slowing the flow of time around him. Each success on a
A nova may use Warp as an attack by opening it up in front of a target. A
dice pool roll reduces the victim's Initiative rating by one. If Initiative falls
moving target may dodge to avoid passing through it; this dodge takes no
below 1, the victim is treated as having an Initiative rating of 1, but he may
time. A non-moving target may be “enveloped” by the warp if the nova's
act only once every other turn.
player succeeds with a Dexterity+Warp roll; the target resists that roll with an
۞ Stop Time Athletics roll. Doing so is always a “Combat” warp; a nova could not, for
example, warp a foe into the vacuum of space unless she had a full turn to
DP: Int+Rating Range: 6mDuration: Maintenance concentrate and the victim was helpless to dodge the warp.
This power is perhaps the most potent one in the Temporal Manipulator's Characters can see through the warp (unless conditions on one “side” of it
arsenal. It allows him literally to stop time around a specific person or object. prevent sight) and will know where they are going before they pass through
That person cannot move or use any powers or Abilities, he does not age and it.
cannot be affected by (and is unaware of) any outside force, phenomenon or
attack while in suspension. Stop Time is very difficult to set up –- the nova
player must achieve a success on a dice pool roll at a difficulty penalty of
two, and a living victim may make a Willpower roll to resist. Once