BOOK-DERIVED CHARACTER ADAPTATIONS

ENOCH WALLACE

Val	CHA	Cost	Roll	Notes
15	STR	5	12-	Lift 200 kg; 2d6 HTH Damage
23	DEX	39	14-	OCV:  8/DCV:  8
15	CON	10	12-
15	BODY	10	12-
15	INT	5	12-	PER Roll 12-
12	EGO	4	11-	ECV:  4
12	PRE	2	11-	PRE Attack:  2d6
12	COM	1	11-

6	PD	3		Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
6	ED	3		Total:  6 ED (0 rED)
5	SPD	17		Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
8	REC	4
40	END	5
40	STUN	9		Total Characteristics Cost:  117

Movement:	Running:  6"/12"
		Swimming:  2"/4"

Cost	Powers & Skills
10	Rifle:  RKA 2 1/2d6, Increased STUN Multipler (+1/4); 8 Clips Of Two Shots (-3/4), 
	OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-1/2), Str Min 10 (-1/2), Str Min Can't Add Damage (-1/2)
	Two Handed Weapon (-1/2)
17	Public Trends Anticipation:  Precognitive Clairsentience, Megascale (1" = 1000 km; +1) 
	Reduced Endurance (0 End; +1/2 ); Extra Time (1 Minute; -1 ), OIF Arrangement (3)
	(statistical map; -3/4), Only To Predict General Social Trends (-1/2)
51	Elixir Ointment:  8d6 Simplified Healing, 500 Charges (+1); Extra Time (Up To 5 
	Minutes Depending On The Severity Of The Injury; -1 1/2), OIF (-1/2), 
	Independent (-2), Ointment (Can't Be Applied Through Clothes, and so on; -1/4) plus
	6d6 Healing Vs. Diseases (Transform), 500 Charges (+1); Extra Time (Up To 5 
	Minutes Depending On The Severity Of The Injury; -1 1/2), OIF (-1/2), 
	Independent (-2), Ointment (Can't Be Applied Through Clothes, and so on; -1/4), 
	Linked (-1/2)
10	Thaumaturgy (1):  Summon Up To Four 160-Point (2) Incorporeal Human 
	Creatures (+1/4 ); Concentrate (DCV throughout the thaumaturgical process; -1/2), Extra 
	Time (6 Hours; -3 1/2 ), Requires A Thaumaturgy Skill Roll (-1/2), END 7

	Perks
134	Base:  Way Station number 18327 (535 points)
4	Contact:  Winslow Grant, the postman, 14-
3	Fringe Benefit:  Station Keeper

	Skills
9	Combat Skill Levels:  +3 with Rifle 
5	Combat Skill Levels:  +1 with Ranged Combat
8	Combat Skill Levels:  +1 with All Combat
3	Range Skill Levels:  +2 versus Range Modifers with Rifle

2	Animal Handler (Bovines) 11-
1	Breakfall 8-
1	Bureaucratics 8-
3	Climbing 14-
3	Concealment 12-
3	Conversation 11-
1	High Society 8-
3	KS:  Teleportation Machines 12-
15	KS:  [5 Assorted] 12-
0	Language:  English (native) (4)
5	Language:  Galactic Common (Idiomatic)
1	Language:  Vegan (Basic Conversation)
2	Navigation (Orienteering) 11-
3	Paramedic 12-
2	PS:  Farmer 11-
2	PS:  Soldier 11-
3	PS:  Station Keeper 12-
3	Riding 14-
3	Shadowing 11-
1	Stealth 8-
1	Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 8-
3	SS:  Mizarian Statistics 12-
3	SS:  Thaumaturgy 12-
3	Systems Operation 12-
1	Tactics 8-
1	Tracking 8-
1	Trading 8-
2	WF:  Small Arms
326	Total Powers & Skills Cost
443	Total Character Cost

100+	Disadvantages
10	DNPC:  Lucy Fisher (incompetent, has useful skills) 8-
15	Psychological Limitation:  Feels Inferior Compared To Aliens (Very Common, 
	Moderate)
15	Psychological Limitation:  In Love With Mary (Common, Strong)
15	Psychological Limitation:  Must Acquire Knowledge (Very Common, Moderate)
20	Psychological Limitation:  Predictable Habits (Very Common, Strong
15	Psychological Limitation:  Spilt Loyalty Between Earth/Galactic Center (Common, 
	Strong)
10	Reputation:  Weird; doesn't leave home, doesn't age (14-, limited area)
10	Watched:  CIA (AsPow, NCI, only outside the house) 14-
233	Way Station Bonus
443	Total Disadvantage Points

WAY STATION NUMBER 18327

Val	CHA	Cost	Notes
6	Size	12	Length 16",  Width 8",  Area 128"  DCV -8
30	BODY	28
100	DEF	0	(5)
Total Characteristics Cost:  40

Abilities and Equipment
444	Invulnerable: +98 DEF, Hardened (x2; +1/2) (Modifiers affect Base Characteristic)
23	Teleportation Device (6): Teleportation 10", x8 Increased Mass, MegaScale (1" = 100 
	lightyears; +4); Independent (-2), Extra Time (1 Minute, -1 1/2), OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), 
	Can Only Teleport To Fixed Locations (only to other Way Stations; -1), Not Through 
	Stars Or Any Other Celestial Bodies (i.e. can only operate at certain times; -1/4), Subject 
	Teleported Leaves Physical Remains Behind (-1/4)
1	Galactic Center HQ: Teleportation: Fixed Location (1 Locations)
5	Any Other Way Station: Teleportation: Floating Fixed Location (1 Locations)
5	No Aging: LS  (Longevity: Immortal)
24	Shooting Range: Sight, Hearing and Smell/Taste Groups Images Increased Size 
	(16" radius; +1), -10 to PER Rolls, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Independent (-2), 
	OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), No Range (-1/2), Random Images (-1/4)

	Perks
5	Location:  Suburb

	Skills
35	Base Appears As Normal House:  Disguise 25-
542	Total Abilities and Equipment Cost
582	Total Base Cost

Value	Disadvantages
15	Hunted:  CIA 14- (As Pow, NCI, Watching)
10	Reputation:  Weird, inaccessible house, 14- (Known Only To A Small Group)
10	Social Limitation:  Secret ID, Way Station number (Frequently, Major, Not Limiting In 
	Some Cultures)
35	Total Disadvantage Points
109	Total Cost (547/5)

Notes:

  1. All the creatures created by Thaumaturgy are incorporeal. They can not touch anything or be touched by any way. I have no idea what they might be vulnerable to and I am completely open to suggestions. Being incorporeal is defined the following way: Desolidification, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Inherent (+1/4), Always On (-1/2). The real cost is 60 points.
  2. 160 point creatures means that Enoch can create creatures that are Competent Normals (50 points + 50 points from disadvantages, for a total of 100) that are incorporeal (60 points).
  3. The map itself is an OAF, but Enoch keeps it in a drawer in his desk, which is in his house. The house is practically impenetrable, so the map is somewhat inaccessible, which makes it an OIF.
  4. Galactic Common is difficult to learn at first, so I decided it isn't similar at all to any other language, and therefore cost +1 point to learn. However, once learned, it is supposed to be similar enough to any other language in the galaxy to allow Enoch to learn Vegan without any penalties. Thus, the total number of points Enoch paid for languages is 4 for the Galactic Common, plus 1 penalty for it being alien, plus one for the Vegan which brings him to a total of 4+1+1=6 points.
  5. Yes, I know 100 DEF sounds like an awful lot. However, you have to remember that Enoch himself states that the only thing that could harm the station was a nuclear explosion, and even that is doubtful.
  6. The teleportation device in Enoch's station should, in theory, be able to teleport someone over an unlimited distance. Since this isn't possible under HERO System mechanics, I figured that teleporting someone from one end of the galaxy to the other should be enough. It's tempting to represent this by Megascaling up to the size of a galaxy (a +6 advantage), but megascale inhibits the use of teleportation for distances less than 1", which would make it pretty useless. Instead, I assumed the smallest possible distance someone would want to teleport to is 1 AU (the distance between the Earth and the sun). The Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light years in diameter, which is approximately 6,324,100,000 AUs. 233 is 8,589,934,592, which is the smallest possible power of 2 that would cover the entire galaxy.

Background/History: Enoch Wallace is the main character in Clifford D. Simak's classic science fiction novel Way Station.

In the book, most of the galaxy is united in a single organization, which is made possible by the Way Stations. These are stations that can teleport any living being from one station to another, over any distance in practically a spilt second. The only problem is that stars, planets, hydrogen clouds and other celestial bodies in the way may interfere with the teleportation, so a great number of such stations is needed.

Earth, although not part of this union is a strategic point in which a Way Station is needed. So although the station exists, and hundreds of aliens pass through it every year, no one on Earth knows about its existence except the station keeper, Enoch Wallace.

Personality/Motivation: Enoch has an acute inferiority complex, always deeming himself inferior to the aliens he comes in daily contact with. He seems possessed with a will to learn as much as he can, both in order to better himself and perhaps also to become more like the aliens he so admires.

Enoch is also a torn person. He tries to be both the galaxy's ambassador on Earth and Earth's ambassador to the galaxy. As a result, in his own words, he is no longer a citizen of Earth nor a citizen of the galaxy. Instead of being both, he feels that he has become neither.

His other disadvantages are pretty straight-forward. Mary is his fantasy woman he created by Thaumaturgy, and Lucy Fisher is his deaf neighbor's daughter (she's deaf, not her father).

Powers/Tactics: Enoch doesn't really have any powers per se, except perhaps being an extraordinary marksman. He was a soldier in the American Civil War, and if we assume he enlisted when he was in his twenties then he should have about 100 years of practice. The rest of his powers derive either from his control over advanced alien sciences or from the Way Station's alien technology. Most of the powers are pretty self explanatory in my opinion, but if it is not clear enough, feel free to e-mail me and I'll redo this section.

Enoch's most obvious power is the fact that he's already 124 and still looks young. Actually, this is no power of his own, but of the Way Station. As long as he remains inside it, he won't age. Whenever he leaves it, he ages at a normal age. Since his daily walk takes about an hour and he doesn't leave the station for any other reason, he could expect a life span of about 24 times the common human, perhaps even longer, considering the advanced alien medical technology he can access.

Appearance: Although Enoch is 124 (yes, this isn't a typo - a hundred and twenty four) years old, he looks as if he is in his early thirties, possibly less. The book doesn't really describe his looks, or at least I don't remember that it does - so if anyone wants to jump in here, be my guest.

Designer Notes: Unfortunately, I have read this wonderful peace of fiction in Hebrew, which is my native tongue. Due to that fact, Ive probably got some of the names and terms used in the book wrong, having to re-translate them back to English.

If you have the right terms, or if you have any other comments or criticism, feel free to e-mail me at: webmaster@ogmiosproject.org

Disclaimer: The name HERO System is © and TM to HERO Games. The name is used without their permission. This document is for recreational use only, and may not be used commercially without explicit permission from HERO Games, Clifford D. Simak and the author of this article, Allon Mureinik.

The book Way Station and all characters within it are © to Clifford D. Simak and are used here without his permission.

All contents of this article are copyright © to Allon Mureinik.


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