Character Background: Mega-Natural Genius

[zenethos]

I prefer to have a background for my characters before I stat them, so that I can tailor everything to match the picture in my mind. I have a new character concept, and would like to know if you fine folks think I need to expand on or add anything to it. Please keep in mind that it is a work in progress, and snarky comments are neither appreciated nor welcome. Constructive criticisms only, please!


Alejandrina Florencia Capodilupo was born with an incredible intellect. She surpassed children her age so quickly that she caught the attention of the Emma Xavier Advanced Computer and Technology Institute. Once placed among others of her intellectual caliber, she blossomed. She devoured knowledge as if it were manna from heaven. She learned such esoteric sciences as nanotechnology and inter-dimensional theory before graduating at 13 with four concurrent PhD's. She used her knowledge and natural business savvy to build a good deal of money by patenting small but useful items. Once she had the capital, she founded C.I.T.A.D.E.L. (Communications, Information Technologies, Automation, Digital Enhancements and Logistics) Enterprises. Although the company started small, her innovative cellular phone technology enhancements and designs soon garnered her company a spot on the Affluence Magazine's '100 Up-and-Comers to Watch' list. It would not be long before C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Enterprises was re-licensed as C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Industries, Multinational. That was the year she turned 20. It was also the year that her parents were kidnapped for a huge ransom. She took the F.I.D.'s (Federal Inquisition Division) advice and refused to pay. Her parents were returned. Over the next month. In several separate packages. Alejandrina flew into a whirlwind of rage and depression. She was on the verge of being ousted out of her own company by the Board of Directors. Then, while drunk and depressed one night, she caught a story on the evening news about a costumed vigilante in Gothic City named the Rat-Man (or something), and a fire ignited in her mind. She threw off her depression and forged her rage into a hardened resolve to thwart crimes that others could not handle, in her own way. She focused back into her company, and used her personal fortune to start an unknown (but ridiculously over-funded) Research and Development company, through which she developed technologies and gear with which she used to fight evil anonymously. She became the vigilante known as Darklight, and her story is just beginning...

[LeeNapier]

You could buck the tired formula of "dead parents" and have her turn superhero a little earlier, and rescue them. Then her parents could become a resource instead of something to brood about.

[The Oh So Amazing Nate]

She's a super duper super genius? Wouldn't she have been able to figure out where her parents were before they were mailed back assembly required?

[PapaMambo]

I think it's a decent background - if a bit derivative. But honestly, what isn't nowadays?? I agree with Lee about the dead parents thing though. That has been done to death. Not that my idea is much better, but maybe she has a little sister who was just a bright as Alejandrina, and she was the one who was kidnapped and murdered. Such a wasted intellect could not go unpunished.

I'd like to see how you stat her out. I think that character has potential - just don't make Darklight follow after the Dark Knight.. Make her go her own way.

One final thing I have to say about the whole thing is please - PLEASE lay off the oddball colors when making your post - it's difficult for old timers like myself to read. I find myself highlighting the sentence so I can actually see the phrase. The red is fine, but the green and yellow colors you used to make Emma Xaviers Institute and Citadel stand out just punish my eyeballs.

[zenethos]

I see your point. The whole parents/family/beloved pet being murdered is a bit overdone. I will try and find something a bit fresher. Sorry about the colors. They came out fine on my black background. I'll try and remember that some folks use different backgrounds. Maybe her sister (twin?) is the mastermind behind whatever turns her to vigilantism. That could open the GM up to a whole slew of plot devices. Something to think about.

[Ranger]

I always like having dead relatives, they can not be used against my character. Of course the GM always tries to bring in the long lost brother that left when I was 2. He never understands why I always geek him first when the poop hits the fan.

[LeeNapier]

Relatives (and friends) tie your character to the world they're in. Yes, at some point they may be "used against you". But if you're looking at your player-GM relationship as adversarial instead of collaborative, then you may have other issues as well.

Relatives and Friends can also serve as valuable assets as well. A friend might be willing to put your character up for a week if his HQ becomes too "hot" (i.e., villains have located it), family and friends might provide other resources as well. Maybe you have an uncle who's in the police force. A friend in the D.A's office? Etc.

So, so tired of seeing every other character be an orphan. we get it, you've read Batman (and Superman and Spider-man and and and etc. etc. etc.).

[zenethos]

Okay. Here is a re-worked back-story. I find I like this better, because it has an implacable adversary with a hidden agenda. It also allows for her to have a few small super-abilities without being too over the top.


Alejandrina Florencia Capodilupo was born in 1979, and is the daughter of wealthy Brazilian immigrant parents. As a child, she attained extremely high grades in school, and it was quickly observed that she possessed an extraordinary intelligence. She surpassed children her age so quickly that she caught the attention of the Emma Xavier Advanced Computer and Technology Institute. Once placed among others closer to her own intellectual caliber, she blossomed. She devoured knowledge as if it were manna from heaven. She learned such esoteric sciences as nanotechnology and inter-dimensional theory before graduating at 13 with four concurrent PhD's.

Unbeknownst to her, Alejandrina was the result of an experimental process that had been begun generations past by a secret organization known as The Light in the Darkness. Their goal was to breed perfect operatives to lead their fight against growing global corruption, but at some point, the leadership of the group fell prey to corruption themselves. What their goals are now remains a mystery. Selective breeding, the introduction of genetic enhancements, and the use of physiology-altering chemicals led to subjects such as Alejandrina to be born with natural raw physical ability as well as phenomenal intellect and reasoning skills. Her parents were secretly a part of The Light, and acted as guardians to her as she grew up. What they were unaware of was that they had been secretly implanted with time-released neurotoxins which were designed to mimic the effects of fatal but common hereditary defects. When the organization felt that Alejandrina was ready to face the world, they triggered the release of her parent’s individual neurotoxins, resulting in what appeared to be two unrelated deaths from natural causes. Alejandrina sadly watched first her father, and then her mother, waste away and die within two years of each other, resulting in her being left alone. After her parents' deaths, she inherited their substantial fortune at the young age of 17. She made the decision to give the vast majority of it to charity, so as to be free from the temptations of money (and its often-seen cohort: laziness) and make something of herself on her own, from almost nothing.

Alejandrina used her knowledge, education, and natural business savvy to build a good deal of money by patenting small but useful items. Once she had the capital, she founded C.I.T.A.D.E.L. (Communications, Information Technologies, Automation, Digital Enhancements and Logistics) Enterprises. Although the company started small, her innovative cellular phone technology enhancements and designs soon garnered her company a spot on the Affluence Magazine's '100 Up-and-Comers to Watch' list. It would not be long before C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Enterprises was re-licensed as C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Industries, Multinational. That was the year she turned 20.

Around this same time, Alejandrina finally worked up the courage to start sorting through her parent’s belongings. She began to come across clues and discrepancies in journals, saved newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. She quickly pieced together the puzzle of lies, misdirection and coincidences that lead her to start investigating The Light in the Darkness, whose name she discovered in a cleverly hidden cypher. She eventually found strong evidence to suggest that her parents were indeed murdered by this secret society. This knowledge, and the fact that she had yet to be able to locate anyone or anything tied to this murderous group led Alejandrina to spiral into a whirlwind of rage and depression. She was on the verge of being ousted out of her own company by the Board of Directors.

Then, while drunk and depressed one night, she caught a story on the evening news about a costumed vigilante in Gothic City named the Rat-Man (or something), and a fire ignited in her mind. She threw off her depression and forged her rage into a hardened resolve to thwart The Light in the Darkness, in her own way. She focused back into her company, and used her vast personal fortune to start an unknown (but ridiculously over-funded) Research and Development company, through which she developed technologies and gear with which she used to fight The Light anonymously. She took the name Darklight, part as a mockery of the organization she would now hunt, and part as an acknowledgement of the duality of life and how sometimes that which is hidden from you can still define you. This is her story and it is just now truly beginning...

[SolCannibal]

A little nitpick and a little late to say the least, but as a brazilian i have to point out that the name does not sound brazilian at all.
While the middle and last names one might wave away as italian - and there are a number of families of italian descent in Brazil's middle and high classes, specially in the state of São Paulo - but Alejandrina is too clearly spanish sounding for a brazilian first name, that come mostly from portuguese with some french, italian and of late awfully garbled english.

I might go for Alexandra Florença Capodilupo or Alessandra Flores Capullo, that sounds even more like the kind of name one may hear here, imho.
At least not mentioning the possibility that as immigrants they might go for a "more english sounding" first name as Alexis or Alex.

After almost 3 months might be too late to really matter, but felt the urge to bring it up.

[zenethos]

Sorry for the thread necromancy, but life interrupted... Here is a slight rewrite of the character background. Any thoughts?


Alessandra Zenóbio was born in 1979, and is the daughter of wealthy Brazilian immigrant parents. As a child, she attained extremely high grades in school, and it was quickly observed that she possessed an extraordinary intelligence. She surpassed children her age so quickly that she caught the attention of the Emma Xavier Advanced Computer and Technology Institute. Once placed among others closer to her own intellectual caliber, she blossomed. She devoured knowledge as if it were manna from heaven. She learned such esoteric sciences as nanotechnology and inter-dimensional theory before graduating at 13 with four concurrent PhD's.

Unbeknownst to her, Alessandra was the result of an experimental process that had been begun generations past by a secret organization known as The Light in the Darkness. Their goal was to breed perfect operatives to lead their fight against growing global corruption, but at some point, the leadership of the group fell prey to corruption themselves. What their goals are now remains a mystery. Selective breeding, the introduction of genetic enhancements, and the use of physiology-altering chemicals led to subjects such as Alessandra to be born with natural raw physical ability as well as phenomenal intellect and reasoning skills. Her parents were secretly a part of The Light, and acted as guardians to her as she grew up. What they were unaware of was that they had been secretly implanted with time-released neurotoxins which were designed to mimic the effects of fatal but common hereditary defects. When the organization felt that Alessandra was ready to face the world, they triggered the release of her parent’s individual neurotoxins, resulting in what appeared to be two unrelated deaths from natural causes. Alessandra sadly watched first her father, and then her mother, waste away and die within two years of each other, resulting in her being left alone. In actuality, the deaths were an elaborate ruse devised to force Alessandra to make her own way in the world. Her parents were relocated and given new faces and identities, and continue to work within the organization. After her parents' apparent deaths, she inherited their substantial fortune at the young age of 17. She made the decision to give the vast majority of it to charity, so as to be free from the temptations of money (and its often-seen cohort: laziness) and make something of herself on her own, from almost nothing.

Alessandra used her knowledge, education, and natural business savvy to build a good deal of money by patenting small but useful items. Once she had the capital, she founded C.I.T.A.D.E.L. (Communications, Information Technologies, Automation, Digital Enhancements and Logistics) Enterprises. Although the company started small, her innovative cellular phone technology enhancements and designs soon garnered her company a spot on the Affluence Magazine's '100 Up-and-Comers to Watch' list. It would not be long before C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Enterprises was re-licensed as C.I.T.A.D.E.L. Industries, Multinational. That was the year she turned 20.

Around this same time, Alessandra finally worked up the courage to start sorting through her parent’s belongings. She began to come across clues and discrepancies in journals, saved newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. She quickly pieced together the puzzle of lies, misdirection and coincidences that lead her to start investigating The Light in the Darkness, whose name she discovered in a cleverly hidden cypher. She eventually found strong evidence to suggest that her parents were never murdered by this secret society, but had hidden themselves away from her. She began to believe that her loving parents had abandoned her out of disgust and spite. Moreover, she was sickened by the atrocities committed by the secret organization. The knowledge she gained, along with the fact that she had yet to be able to locate anyone or anything tied to this corrupt and manipulating group led Alessandra to spiral into a whirlwind of rage and depression. She was on the verge of being ousted out of her own company by the Board of Directors.

Then, while drunk and depressed one night, she caught a story on the evening news about a costumed vigilante in Gothic City named the Rat-Man (or something), and a fire ignited in her mind. She threw off her depression and forged her rage into a hardened resolve to thwart The Light in the Darkness, in her own way, and find her parents, if possible. She focused back into her company, and used her vast personal fortune to start an unknown (but ridiculously over-funded) Research and Development company, through which she developed technologies and gear with which she used to fight The Light anonymously. She took the name Darklight, part as a mockery of the organization she would now hunt, and part as an acknowledgement of the duality of life and how sometimes that which is hidden from you can still define you. This is her story and it is just now truly beginning...

[Tor]

I always like having dead relatives, they can not be used against my character.

No time travel or resurrection in your games?

[Ranger]

I always like having dead relatives, they can not be used against my character.

No time travel or resurrection in your games?

There have been and every time it is used, I roll my eyes and my character begins to search for a way to return things to how they should be. Much to the GM's anguish.

As for relatives being used against him, it happens.

Once had a GM bring in an unknown brother to be used as a story arc since he was kidnapped. My character rescued him but the GM did not understand why my character did not have this unknown brother move in/hang out with. I told him that this person, while saying he is my brother is a stranger, an unknown quantity and lives the life of a drug pusher, why would a Hero with law enforcement powers have anything to do with him other than what is required for his job as a member of the National Metahuman police force.

[SolCannibal]

I always like having dead relatives, they can not be used against my character.

No time travel or resurrection in your games?

There have been and every time it is used, I roll my eyes and my character begins to search for a way to return things to how they should be. Much to the GM's anguish.

As for relatives being used against him, it happens.

Once had a GM bring in an unknown brother to be used as a story arc since he was kidnapped. My character rescued him but the GM did not understand why my character did not have this unknown brother move in/hang out with. I told him that this person, while saying he is my brother is a stranger, an unknown quantity and lives the life of a drug pusher, why would a Hero with law enforcement powers have anything to do with him other than what is required for his job as a member of the National Metahuman police force.

I can see your point. While devising a supporting cast and NPCs can be fun and add much to a game, sometimes GMs seem to get "roleplaying potential" quite mixed up with "NPCs i can turn into extra hostages or a secret backstabber". Some are more prone than others but it is a temptation/phase each of us can run into.

That's why i try to explore the PC's background as a whole - is it a costumed vigilante 24/7 or does (s)he have a civilian identity/life, be it secret or not? How low- or high-maintenance is one's normal life, who are one's co-workers, how is its relationship with them, is there anyone you are or were close or intimate with? As a vigilante what allies, friends, contacts (amicable or disgruntled), rivals and such does the character have? If one's parents are dead, did your parents have relatives of their own (because uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins exist sometimes, duh), where you adult at the time of their death or did you spend a number of years living with other relatives or legal guardians? What were your parents in life, how did they die and does it have any relation to either the PC's powers or what motivated it to one day be a costumed vigilante? Is there some attaction, sexual tension or bad blood with another vigilante (PC or NPC)? A villain? Any combination of both (attracted to a villain, bad blood with another hero, vice versa, attraction AND bad blood with either or both or no such thing)? Where does one's powers or equipment come from? What if everything you thought you knew were a lie (how might the character react, and what might be a possible truth, then?

Find what the player might be interested into toying or not, individually or in group, if you have some excuse to use part of one's ideas or background to fill the blanks in another, even better - maybe make something of a round robin with the whole group and maybe develop them beforehand as a group among other stuff. Having fluff to tinker with and add to one's game can be pretty helpful in developing story hooks, help easing the PCs themselves into character and having fun with good old genre tropes or twisting them.

Also, have NPCs that actually do something useful or helpful, like covering some weak spot of occasion of the group or to serve as tool of exposition to present a problem, hook or clue to some problem is nice, very nice too. Mentors or the guy/gal that helps with repairing one's equipment and such types can be good to add to the fun.


Now back to the topic of Alessandra's background and past, because we have derailed enough - me, oh so much me, included - as is.

Overall, she seems to follow a "female Batman" concept - money, smarts, lots of skills - but with a clear complication in the evil organization connected to her talents and a less obvious but quite as relevant one in her intellectual giftedness and goods and ills it might have caused in her life.

First things first - did the The Light in the Darkness kill her parents or not? The background seems to say both things in different parts. Were they really her parents or a pair of agents chosen to play such a role for more than a decade for the sake of hiding her origin as some sort of lab creation? I find the idea of them willing abandoning lives of confort & wealth - and their daughter - for the sake of a mysterious experiment they might not even know that much about questionable. But even more so the organization basically cutting off their only tie and restraint in a super-intelligent young woman with access to all of her parents' wealth. The concept of such an organization per se i like, but the details of its objectives, connection and influence in her life need some tweaking and rethinking maybe.

The other subject is her super-intelligence. The way you describe it we have someone not only incredibly smart, but insanely focused. Most people who do get a PhD do that somewhere between their early 30s to 40s, she acquired several while barely into her teens. In that context the matter of who were those "others closer to her own intellectual caliber" becomes much more of an issue - was she an only child part kid mascot, part colleague, part study subject amongst dozens of adults, pampered and isolated at the same time, with perharps some awkward (and probably unhappy) kiddie crush on a 20-something graduate or post-graduate? Or were those years spent in a "white tower of mega-intelligence" among a class of other gifted youths of similar age, some of whom are among her few friends, colleagues and rivals, but all equally distant of life for common people?

Also, high-intelligence and problem-solving skills is not the same as life experience or social & emotional maturity. Teenagers are already prone to drama as a part of their experimentation, socialization and growth processes, now what kind of messes can a young lady of 13-14 years old get herself into when she has money to burn and little to really challenge or motivate her? She could all too easily get herself into some of the pitfalls heiress-turned-celebrity-wannabes get themselves into or worse.

On the matter of how all is not flowers in the life of the gifted, one can get some reference to certain of the potential issues here.