APPROVED: BACKGROUND_1 HISTORY OF GALADOR
* In a distant part of the Milky Way known as 'the Golden Galaxy', a world known as Galador flourished.
- Its inhabitants were of human descent, though whence they had come from none knew.
- But Galador became a beacon of greatness, a world of trade and diplomacy, well known for its merchant and peacekeeping fleets.
- But two centuries ago, the Galadorians sent an expedition to a place called the 'Dark Nebula'.
- There, the fleet was ambushed, attacked without warning, and wiped out.
- Then the malevolent Dire Wraiths, inhabitants of the Nebula, boiled out of their home space, intent on conquering the Golden Galaxy.
- Galador's fleet was in tatters, but not all hope was lost.
- Scientists and technologists proposed a bold plan: bond volunteers with the proper genetic codes to cybernetic suits.
- The armor would give the volunteers the edge they needed against the malevolent Wraiths.
- The downside was the extent of the bonding; the volunteers would be entrapped inside their cyborg armor until such time as their humanity could be restored.
- Though the price weighed heavy on his heart, the first volunteer was a young Rom, and a thousand youths of Galador followed in his footsteps.
- Because of his skill, Rom was selected to carry Galador's most potent weapon: the Neutralizer, a weapon designed to not simply slay Wraiths, but banish them from this reality.
- With Rom at their head, the newly-named Spaceknights met the Wraith fleet above Galador, and a furious battle ensued.
- But this time, the Wraiths were defeated, the Spaceknights smashing their fleet, and Rom slaying a horrid creature conjured to turn the tide, a Deathwing.
- The Wraiths fled in disarray with the Spaceknights in hot pursuit, all the way back to their home planet, Wraithworld.
- As a desperate last ditch attempt to throw off pursuit, they wove a spell of illusion around Rom, distracting him long enough for the Wraiths to flee.
- Knowing that the Wraiths could cause untold harm wherever they wandered, the Spaceknights dispersed, moving throughout the galaxy to purge the Wraith threat wherever it reared its head.
- After 200 years, a single Spaceknight has found his way to Earth, to start a new chapter in his order's history.
APPROVED: BACKGROUND_2 GALADOR AND THE GALAXY
* Galador does not, strictly speaking, reside in another galaxy, but in a separate arm of the Milky Way. Because there is a preponderance of yellow-spectrum suns in their corner of the galaxy, it gave rise to the name.
- Galador's inhabitants are indeed human, with minimal genetic drift from Terran humans. It is not known how they came to Galador, or who might have brought them there. The revelation of humans on the other side of the galaxy would be a great shock to them.
- Galador is still a generally peaceful world, though the reconstruction of its fleet has absorbed much of its time. Approximately one quarter of the Spaceknights have returned home to aid in such work and act as planetary defenders until Galador is secure.
- Galador's technological levels are on a par with the Shi'ar or other spacefaring civilizations, except in cybernetic and augmetic research, where they are actually quite a bit ahead.
- The Spaceknights themselves are not widely known. Both the Green Lantern Corps and the Nova Corps have files on strange robotic entities which sometimes pass by, and sometimes apparently annihilate targets at random. However, there are so few Spaceknights abroad in the galaxy that there are entire sectors which have never seen one. Fortunately, the Wraith population has been so reduced they are not exactly in large supply either.
APPROVED: PSY1 MOTIVATION
Rom is the quintessential Spaceknight, a true paladin in every sense of the word. He is motivated by noble ideals; to protect the innocent, to see justice be done, to support an orderly but compassionate society. He cares nothing for fame, or monetary goods; he sacrificed his humanity to become something that Galador could rally behind. All he desires is to defeat the Dire Wraiths, and to leave every world a better place than he found it.
APPROVED: PSY2 GOALS
Rom has tracked the Dire Wraiths to this sector of space; however, due to the vagaries of transgalactic travel, he cannot easily leave here. And indeed, unless he is certain they are gone, he will NOT leave. While the Dire Wraiths command immediate attention, he is not above other heroic actions, and will gladly assist the heroes of Earth if they are in need.
APPROVED: PSY3 NOBILITY
Arguably, one of Rom's most defining traits is his nobility. His sense of obligation to others, and his refusal to let a harsh universe drag him down is what seems to radiate from him despite his robotic appearance. His body language and kinesics are that of a knight, a protector, not a mechanical marauder. He often refuses to acknowledge being baited or 'trolled', disdaining such cheap wordplay as beneath him. He says what he thinks, and he strives to make sure he is clear in his words.
APPROVED: PSY4 COMPASSION
Rom did not become a Spaceknight lightly. It meant surrendering his humanity, locking himself inside the cold Plandanium armor that could never be removed. But he did it because he had to protect others. He is a remarkably kind man, and his devotion to defending the weak makes him a terrifying foe to those who would prey on the helpless.
APPROVED: PSY5 BODY HORROR
A small part of Rom loathes his cyborg form. It's the only real personality flaw he truly possesses, one which could be leveraged against him. He has never reveled in the power it gave him, the ability to take the fight to the Wraiths. While this humility is certainly a good thing, his self-loathing and fear that the armor has made him less of a man could become a problem if the right person pushes his buttons.
APPROVED: PSY6 CODE AGAINST KILLING
Rom was never a violent man, and even now he prefers only to resort to violence when it is the last option. Even Dire Wraiths, he advises against killing; better to banish them, as Galador believed the creatures did not fear death and could somehow return from it. As a result, Rom prefers to utilize nonlethal forms of attack, though he is quite capable of rising to a physical challenge.
APPROVED: POW1 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: OVERVIEW
Rom, like a thousand of his fellow Galadorians, is a Spaceknight. He is cybernetically meshed with the armor, a pinnacle of transhuman engineering. While he is incapable of removing it, the armor grants him many abilities, letting him take the battle to Dire Wraiths and any who would menace the innocent.
APPROVED: POW2 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: DURABILITY
The armor of the Galadorian Spaceknights is made from Plandanium. This curious alloy is extraordinarily durable, and can be forged in such a way to be rigid or flexible. It is capable of shrugging off immense impacts, dispersing such blows throughout its molecular lattice. Rom can still feel such impacts (and they do hurt — a necessary safeguard to prevent Spaceknights from ignoring critical damage), and inertia still takes its toll (meaning he can be knocked off his feet or be thrown). The armor also protects Rom from extremes of heat and cold — ranging from atmospheric reentry to the depths of space.
APPROVED: POW3 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: STRENGTH
Rom's strength is augmented tremendously by his Spaceknight armor. He can lift up to 70 tons, although he typically forgoes melee combat in favor of his Neutralizer.
APPROVED: POW4 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: ABSORPTION
Rom's Spaceknight armor is laced with an energy absorption/conversion lattice, which serves to help power the armor's vast abilities. It naturally sops up ambient radiation in all forms, and also reduces the effects of energy attacks considerably. However, sustained barrages can overwhelm the lattice and start to take their toll on Rom.
APPROVED: POW5 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: SENSES
Rom possesses the full range of sight and hearing that he did as a purely organic creature, as well as an only slightly limited sense of touch. He lacks any olfactory sense at all. Rom can see in full darkness without any restriction, and is capable of detecting wireless and radio broadcasts. His armor contains a built in transmitter system which he can use to contact others at will.
APPROVED: POW6 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: AUTO-REPAIR
Blurring the line between man and machine, Rom's Spaceknight armor possesses the ability to automatically repair damage done to it. While this repair system is not much faster than a normal man's capacity to heal, the fact his cyborg body can self-repair at all is impressive enough.
APPROVED: POW7 SPACEKNIGHT ARMOR: FLIGHT
Rom is a creature of deep space. His armor incorporates micro-thrusters, gravitic flight-pods, and particulate shielding that allow him to traverse the cosmos unaided. While in atmosphere, he typically restricts his speed to under the sound barrier (sonic booms are really impolite). He is, however, capable of generating sufficient acceleration and speed to reach escape velocity. Once clear of atmospheric conditions, he is capable of acceleration sufficient that he can travel within the solar system within a reasonable time frame (dependent on orbital positions and current solar conditions).
Interstellar travel is a bit trickier. Rom's sensor system possesses the capability to lock onto naturally occurring eddies and distortions in the surrounding fabric of spacetime. He can use these distortions to warp between points in space, like a wormhole. However, such distortions are not regular; it's comparable to a sailing ship getting a good wind at its sails. Sometimes hundreds of light years can be traversed in a heartbeat; and sometimes you have to walk.
APPROVED: POW8 SPACEKNIGHT GEAR: ANALYZER AND TRANSLATOR
Rom lacks the sophisticated sensory gear that later Spaceknights were equipped with, so he 'makes do' with his analyzer and translator systems. These are not integrated into his armor, and are stored in his subspace 'pocket' and summoned just like his Neutralizer.
The analyzer is a multi-spectrum scanner which augments Rom's sensor suite, feeding him extensive information on targeted individuals or objects. It also detects Dire Wraiths infallibly, and can be used to track them over interstellar distances.
Rom's translator is a somewhat clumsy device, but it serves as a secondary 'brain' devoted solely to analyzing languages and linguistic patterns, then uploading such information to Rom. It has the same radio and wireless detection systems that Rom's armor does, though its software and hardware are custom built for analyzing and decoding language structure. It's also extremely effective at breaking cryptographic sequences.
APPROVED: POW9 SPACEKNIGHT GEAR: NEUTRALIZER
The Neutralizer is arguably the greatest scientific marvel of Galador. It acts primarily to negate energy; any energy, whether mundane or mystic. It has variable power settings and beam dispersion (from a narrow beam to a conical effect), with considerable range; however, Rom is loathe to fire except at short to medium range to minimize the chances of accidentally hitting the wrong target.
The Neutralizer can be used to snuff out most forms of active energy; this covers fires, radioactive material and irradiated objects, electrical systems, force fields, energy blasts, and so on. This can also be used to cure an organic target suffering from radiation poisoning.
The Neutralizer can also be used to temporarily deactivate metahuman powers for up to 12 hours. The neutralizing beam also cancels out magical effects, though it does not prevent recasting. On a slightly different setting the Neutralizer can 'stun' a target into unconsciousness (by tagging key neuronic structures); this typically lasts for a few hours.
The most dramatic use of the Neutralizer is its banishment effect. Because Galadorian scientists believe Dire Wraiths do not 'die' as normal creatures do, it is much more effective to shunt them somewhere where they can no longer prey upon the universe. The Neutralizer's beam acts as a direct portal to the Phantom Zone, which Galadorians call Limbo. Rom reserves this use of the Neutralizer solely for Dire Wraiths, and would be EXTREMELY unwilling to use it on any non-Wraith target.
Finally, it should be noted that if the Neutralizer is tuned to deactivate ATP/ADP synthesis as well as neural-impulse propagation, it could kill a target stone dead. Rom would sooner destroy the Neutralizer than use this function.
The Neutralizer, like all of Rom's gear, resides in a subspace pocket, and can be summoned with a single thought. It is neuro-encoded to Rom only, and delivers a brutal feedback to anyone else who tries to use the weapon. This makes taking the Neutralizer from Rom somewhat tricky; Rom can mentally command the Neutralizer to drop into its pocket, and then return, effectively summoning it to his hand from anywhere.
APPROVED: ADV1 GALADORIAN HERO
While unlikely, should Rom ever come across other Galadorians (especially Spaceknights) he would be immediately recognized. Many Spaceknights have striven to follow Rom's example, and as a result he is something of a living legend; he is to Galador what Captain America is to the United States.
APPROVED: SKILL1 STARFLIGHT
Rom has spent a great deal of time in deep space, and has exceptional skills and experience in all manners of intrasystem and interstellar travel. He is also highly competent at zero-gravity maneuvering, orbital mechanics, and basic astrophysics.
APPROVED: SKILL2 COMBAT
Rom is an extremely skilled combatant, from 200 years of hunting and battling Dire Wraiths. He is a very good shot with the Neutralizer, and prefers to manage combats at a distance. He is less skilled in close-quarters fighting, though his prodigious strength and durability make him a tough target for those who engage him in melee.
APPROVED: SKILL3 TRACKING
Specifically, Dire Wraiths. Rom is highly experienced in tracking Wraiths, through both overt means (analyzer patterns) and subtler clues such as unusual behavior. He is quick to pick up on cues that might indicate a person is not who they seem to be or is not acting in their usual manner.
APPROVED: SKILL4 DIPLOMACY
Despite his ominous appearance and occasionally dour demeanour, Rom is surprisingly good at making enemies into friends and allies. Only the Wraiths hold his eternal ire, and in all other cases he has proven far more forgiving than people might expect.
APPROVED: FLAW1 HONOR
Rom's intense sense of honor and integrity can be a hindrance. There have been other Spaceknights and heroes that handle the shifting world around them better, but Rom stubbornly sticks to his ideals. Unscrupulous villains can use this to stymie Rom; the most common being the use of hostages. However, this only buys time; Rom is notoriously unforgiving when it comes to hiding behind innocents, and it certainly wouldn't offend his sense of honor if such a villain suffered some bruising when being brought to justice.
APPROVED: FLAW2 APPEARANCE
Rom stands out in a crowd. Heck, he stands out among superheroes, and that's impressive. Seven feet tall, with gleaming silver armor, he's extremely hard to miss.
APPROVED: FLAW3 MENTAL ASSAULTS
Rom has great willpower, but he is not warded against mental interference. He is most vulnerable to illusionary effects, as his brain will interpret them even through the filters of his cybernetic armor. However, a strong enough jolt (psychological) can help Rom break free of such delusions.
APPROVED: FLAW4 DIRE WRAITHS
The Dire Wraiths are Galador's most hated foe, and of the Spaceknights Rom is the most hated by the Dire Wraiths. Rom is very much of a 'banish first, ask no questions' mentality when it comes to the Wraiths, and they hate and fear him in kind — more than willing to try and turn bystanders against the Spaceknight, since they know he will be loathe to raise his hand in defense against those who he truly has no quarrel with.
APPROVED: FLAW5 SEALED AWAY
Rom cannot remove his armor; indeed, Rom -is- his armor, and cannot be extricated from it. How much organic material remains within is open to question, but a generally true answer might be 'not much'. Until he can return home and submit to the doctors and scientists of Galador, he is permanently a Spaceknight.
A place to install your character's public reputation
