Alternate character: Paladin

Real Name: Stephen Harner
Renegade/Hero/Villain Name: Paladin
Title:
Alignment: NG
Age: 26
Gender: M
Race: Human
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Grey
Height: 5' 10", 6' 8" in his heroic form
Weight: 185 / 260
Blood type: O-

Character Image/Character Costume Image (Or Description): In his mortal form he is a man in his middle twenties, handsome and a little on the rugged side. He stands five feet and ten inches in height and is clearly in better shape than one would expect from an academic. As a civilian he leans towards tweed suits though he usually discards the tie at some point. When on vacation he will slip into jeans and a t-shirt just like anyone else. When adventuring he wears tougher clothing, hiking boots, and a leather jacket. He is almost never seen without his wide-brimmed fedora: It has practically become a feature.

As the Paladin he increases in size and strength to six and a half feet tall. His equipment simply materializes on him, though he can decide otherwise if he needed to for some reason. His armor is a fairly fantastical suit of plate over chain mail trimmed with red and gold and decorated with small runes, with his personal crest--the ankh--prominently displayed on shin guards, shoulder guards, and cloak clasps. His cloak is a sky blue. His helmet is winged and his face becomes entirely black to obscure his features. When this happens his eyes become glowing white slits in the darkness. The ankh also decorates his shield with red and gold trim.

Personality:This version of Stephen is a "truthseeker", a man with a lot of questions and the drive to want answers. Specifically, Stephen has an interest in archaeology and ancient history, bitten by the "ancient treasure and mystery" bug in his second year at Brown University. He is always eager to pick up a new mystery, particularly if it ties in to whatever other cases he is trying to unravel. He loves the excitement of the hunt more than he does the thrill of combat, and prefers puzzle=solving over going toe-to-toe with superhuman foes. When he does go into battle, though, he gets caught up in the spirit of it fairly quickly. Particularly since the armor makes him very difficult to harm.

Hitomi, oddly, is the single biggest source of uncertainty in his life...even above and beyond the complications his circumstances bring down.

History: It didn't take him long to find himself neck-deep in a world of trouble: His mentor was none other than Drew Olsett, a strict, seemingly fearless man who also turned out to be a tomb robber, seeker of magical artifacts for his own personal fortune, and ruthless head of a well-funded smuggling ring...with vague hints at a more sinister motivation. Stephen and a fellow student, a young woman named Hitomi Tanaka, being more honest than was good for them, inevitably ended up in opposition to their instructor.

In the course of crossing swords with his would-be teacher, Stephen found himself separated and on the run in a particularly ancient hidden tomb in the Middle East. It turned out to be the tomb of a Knight Templar, one of the more genuinely noble breed before their infamous fall. The spirit of the Paladin...or something standing in its place, decided that Stephen was in some way "worthy" of the power invested in the armor of the long-dead knight. Therefore when Stephen finally became cornered in the main tomb itself, instead of an empty, dead end he found a large shrine with the armor prominently laid out for him.

Desperate for a weapon, his pistol having long ago run out of ammo, Stephen grabbed the sword that lay at the armors side. There was a flash and suddenly the armor had encased him as well as if it had been tailored for him. The sword had become a large mace that, to his own surprise, he could wield with one hand. When his pursuers caught up they found a mighty armored knight that was undamageable by their firearms and could break bones or send men flying about with single strokes of his mace.

Stephen emerged from the tomb still clad in the seemingly weightless armor to face a small army of thugs and mercenaries hired by his former mentor. He learned a great deal about his new capabilities that day, including the discovery that the mace could be thrown hard enough to stave in the side of a car and return to his hand almost instantly. When he came face-to-face with an armored vehicle, his weapon transformed into a sword that could cut through the metal like butter. His surprise was exceeded by that of the men he fought. When an RPG was fired at him, the shield somehow not only protected him from the explosion but also from the shrapnel and concussion that followed.

When it was over, Stehpen stood victorious over the remains of the unit that had tried so hard to kill him...in the middle of the desert with no way out that he could see.

That was when he got one last surprise. Responding to his peril per the magical contract made by the armors original owner, a winged horse seemed to drop out of the sky and land before him. The creature was armored in the same sort of ultra-lightweight armor that he wore. With wordless prodding the pegasus got the somewhat befuddled man to mount the saddle. In minutes they were aloft, and in less than an hour they were free of the desert.

Stephen landed outside one of the smaller towns and wondered how the hell he was going to talk his way out of the country in the armor. A second later the armor simply vanished and he resumed his normal size. With a nod of its head, the pegasus took off into the sky and disappeared. His return to civilization was relatively effortless.

Stephen continues with his interest in archaeology, still preferring to indulge in his field of study over random adventuring. Somehow, though, he seems to have developed a knack for crossing paths with trouble regardless of his best efforts. Frequently he finds himself squaring off against supernatural predators and other foes, but trouble of all sorts tend to land in his lap. Hitomi has come back into his life as well, just as spirited as he is despite the lack of super-powers. The two regard one another as allies, at least publicly. In private...he's still working himself up to progress to something more. It's a coin toss whether Hitomi shares his interest.

Power(s): The Paladin is a high-powered tank. His armor renders him virtually immune to almost any conventional attacks. At rest his armor aids in his ability to heal and recover from injury. His helmet protects his hearing from loud noises and resistance to mental attacks.

His primary weapon is capable of shifting from a sword form, a mace form, and a spear form. The sword is typically used against heavily armored opponents or foes that cannot be harmed any other way. His mace form is used both in close combat and as a hurled weapon and is its most common form. The spear form is a ranged version of the sword: Used against heavily armored or otherwise extremely durable foes. When thrown, his weapon returns almost instantly to his hand after the attack hits or misses. He wields a shield with four functions: Typically it us used as a conventional shield. It can deflect ranged attacks such as gunfire or blasts of energy. It can also "turtle down", creating a protective magical wall to protect both himself and others nearby him. It can also be used as an alternative attack when thrown, immediately returning to him just like his shifting weapon.

He has entered into a magical contract with a herd of pegasi...or rather his predecessor had. The contract takes the form of an amulet that he can use to summon a member of the herd to his side. He must specifically call out "Pegasus" to bring them to him. They typically will carry him into battle or allow him to ride long trips. If forced to dismount while still airborne, his cloak will land him gently on the ground while the winged horse circles about to pick him back up, or escapes if it cannot. Their attitude towards him at the moment is more or less neutral since he is not the original pact-maker. This will likely change and improve in the future.

In his normal identity he typically will arm himself with a proper weapons belt including a pistol, knife, and, yes, a whip. His whip is for combat, use for a short swing line, or to grab objects or knock them over or even disarm someone. That and he rather liked the whole "whip-wielding adventurer" look.

He is a skilled close-combat fighter when barehanded in both forms. He knows how to move in combat to keep enemies from getting a shot at his back, and is capable of using improvised weapons. This is in addition to being a skilled archaeologist and...let's face it...tomb robber. And we haven't even touched on his uncanny luck.

Tactically the Paladin will lead the way into battle, shield up and leading with a hammer throw, reverting to hand to hand combat the moment he closes. As a rule he tries to keep his attacks no more powerful than they need to be to disable an opponent. If his enemy is heavily armored or otherwise durable, he will switch over to his sword or spear. He usually uses his Pegasus as a means of transport to battle, at least for now. He is reluctant to risk them in combat, though that reluctance should fade as the trust between the Pegasi and himself grows. He will often leap from the back of his mount and use his magical cloak to land him safely into the battle zone.

All these tactics are subject to being thrown out the window if Hitomi is in danger.

Grid:
Intelligence/Occult: 3
Strength: 5
Speed: 3
Durability: 7
Ability: 6
Fighting Skills: 5
Flight: 1
Wealth: 1

The Paladin's Allies: https://www.superhero-rpg.com/t6105-allies-of-the-paladin#71713

Your various weapons will need an app of their own. Is the armor an item or the reason for the high Durability? If it is then it would stay here. The pegasus will have to have its own grid as well. It will cost you 2 points of flight for it to fly you around.

The armor is part of the durability. If somehow he became the Paladin and the armor was not present for some reason he'd probably be around a 5.

I used the "Ability" stat as a stand-in for his weapon. Was that inaccurate? Should I switch the points in it to something else?

He doesn't fly himself: He just drifts to the ground without injury, usually after a dismount of the pegasus.

The Pegasus grid...should I include it here as well?

If the weapon is the source of its own power it would need its own app and you would need higher INT/OCC(Whichever you're going with). If it's just in conjunction with the character's actual powers than it would be ability.

The pegasus would need its own app.

The weapon is in conjunction with the other powers. I'll cancel my Item App and come up with a grid for the Pegasus then.

Hello?