Baron Alderman
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Baron Alderman | |
| Player: @FredrikSvanberg | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Mastermind |
| Threat Level: | 26 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Baron Alderman |
| Known Aliases: | Confidential |
| Species: | Presumed Human |
| Age: | Confidential |
| Height: | 5' 10" |
| Weight: | 150 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Silver |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | British |
| Occupation: | Pirate |
| Place of Birth: | Confidential |
| Base of Operations: | Port Oakes |
| Marital Status: | Unknown, probably single |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Shadow manipulation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Extremely wealthy | |
| Equipment | |
| Pistols, submarine | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Affiliations
Personality
There is something about him that makes him seem taller than he really is, more imposing. He moves and acts like a natural leader, like someone who expects obedience and loyalty. Rarely the one to raise his voice, he seems to be able to command his crew even without words. A simple raised eyebrow or a quick glance can cause unexpected amounts of activity in his underlings. He is quite reserved and won't brag or make any blatant displays of power to try to impress anyone.
Powers
Pirates
The crew of The Shadow is fiercely loyal, possibly as a result of strange mental domination or another unknown power. For his excursions on the less dangerous islands of the Rogue Isles Baron will usually bring along just two or three pirates, leaving the heavy artillery to watch the sub. These pirates carry heavy handguns and possess itchy trigger fingers.
Recently some of his crew have started using various incendiary devices, despite what can only be described as Baron's extreme discomfort. Perhaps he doesn't trust them with high explosives.
Very few surviving witnesses have reported that there may be a lot more crew members around than first meets the eye. Apparently as many as a dozen pirates can emerge from the shadows to attack and beat down an enemy in a savage fashion. How these pirates can remain undetected might be explained by Baron's mastery over shadows and darkness.
Shadow Manipulation
Survivors have witnessed how Baron seemingly can cause shadows to attack their owners, clouding their vision and weigh them down with semi-solid, sticky darkness. He is also rumored to be able to eat a person's shadow, healing himself in the process. How Baron gained power over shadows and exactly how the power works remains a mystery.
Baron will often surround himself with semi-solid darkness to hide and protect not only him but also his pirate crew.
Abilities
Drunken crew-members have talked about Baron in terms that indicate that he might not be entirely human. Among the various abilities that have been mentioned, some are more outrageous than others and all of them are at best to be considered the witless ramblings of drunken pirates. These abilities include:
- Baron doesn't seem to bleed when cut or shot. Wounds heal nearly instantly without leaving scars or blood behind.
- Baron doesn't need to breathe. Nobody has seen him eat or drink.
- Baron is much stronger than he looks. Depending on who you ask, he can lift or even throw anything from a grown man to a car with one hand, or punch through anything from brick walls to a steel vault door.
- Baron doesn't show up on photographs. At best he's a just a dark silhouette, usually he just shows up as a faint smudge.
- Baron hasn't aged a day since he became captain of The Shadow. The ship might be keeping him alive. It's probably cursed.
- Baron is incredibly wealthy, the ill-gotten gains of decades of piracy. Some say he was always rich, even before he became the captain of The Shadow.
- Baron speaks seven languages fluently and can get by in many more. Exactly which languages he knows is still up for debate.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Unknown, but some people have theories, gleaned from information gained by drunken pirates and gibbering madmen in various bars around Port Oakes.
- Baron can't be seen in mirrors.
- He rarely ventures outside during the day, and if he must he always stays out of direct sunlight.
- Baron smokes nasty French cigarettes. Nobody can understand why. He also seems to have an endless supply of them.
Equipment
Automatic pistols. Standard US Marine issue, marked with the name of the previous owner, the former captain of The Shadow.
The Shadow
An old submarine, almost a legend among sea-faring folks in the area. There are rumors going around that it's a cursed ship crewed by the dead. Who knows what strange and dark secrets it may have uncovered in the waters of the Rogue Isles?
Character History
It is unknown when he became the captain of The Shadow. The ship and its accursed crew has roamed the waters around the Rogue Isles ever since the second World War. The submarine is believed to be an old german sub, captured by a crew of allied marines who later deserted and took the sub as their own, but it has been rebuilt and repaired often enough to make identification quite difficult, if possible at all.
The story goes that Baron won the ship in a game of cards in New Orleans. Another story says that he joined the crew and challenged the old captain to a duel for his position. The same crewmen have told both these stories as well as other, even more far-fetched ones, in different places at different times. This would give us reason to suspect that the truth might be something different altogether.
Further Adventures
Baron has been suspected of treason and conspiracy against Arachnos at least twice. Both times he managed to clear his reputation, once by Ghost Widow's testimony and once by capturing a Longbow agent that had escaped from an Arachnos base just as he was about to be interrogated. Since the surveillance cameras couldn't detect anyone helping the agent escape, Arachnos naturally suspected Baron. As he brought back the agent to the arbiters he assured them that it must have been someone else who can't be photographed or caught on video. Baron was in the company of twelve of his closest friends at the time so the arbiters accepted that answer and let him go with a warning.
He has spent a lot of time talking to marshall Brass in Aeon City, perhaps as a part of the deal he struck with the arbiters. Obviously Arachnos are keeping an eye on him... or is he working for them, in a completely deniable fashion?
There was nothing deniable about the way he helped bust out three dangerous super-powered criminals from the Zig. As a da capo he helped defend a ship carrying escaped prisoners en route to Mercy Island from a highly illegal boarding action by Longbow forces. Obviously Baron doesn't want competition in the pirate business, especially not from hypocritical do-gooders like Longbow.
Trivia
- Baron is his name, not a title - or if it is his title he seems to use it as a name.
- If your villain has ever entered a submarine to be shipped off to Paragon City or wherever, you may have been hitching a ride with The Shadow. Feel free to use this as a reason to come up and talk to him.
