[Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2]

Dr. Hartwell Vandermeer Ph.D does not think of himself as a superhuman. In fact, he does his best not to think of his ... medical condition ... if he can avoid it. But others are desperately seeking him, because he is Patient Zero.

Dr Vandermeer is a Tenured Profesor of Prehistoric Archaeology at a local university. He is considered one of the leading lights in his field and his courses are eagerly sought by budding young archaeologists.

It was in an ancient clay pot that he found the Contaminant. He had a paper cut when he touched it, and it eagerly entered his bloodstream. How a fifty-thousand-year-old clay pot came to contain advanced nanotechnology is a mystery. Equally mysterious is how it remained active so long. But it was certainly active as it spread through the Professor's body, transforming him into a humanoid android.

Outwardly the Professor is perfectly normal. He eats, drinks, goes to the bathroom (breathing is optional). But his body is mechanical in nature - he can eat almost anything, is immune to poisions and disease, doesn't bleed or feel pain, and his nervous system is more like a computer than anything organic.

Dr Vandermeer does everything he can to keep up his pretense of a normal life - he buys groceries, teaches classes, picks up hookers. The notion that he is infecting the prostitutes he uses with nanotech and transforms them into mechanical beings never enters his mind. In fact, the notion that he is not a flesh-and-blood person often slips from his mind, even though he has killed to protect that secret more than once.

And the National Government, having discovered several of his victims, is trying to quietly locate the being they've dubbed "Patient Zero".

So Dr. Vandermeer continues to teach his classes and go about his mundane business. Teacher, scholar ... and destroyer of the human race.

Patient Zero
Dr. Hartwell Vandermeer Ph.D
250 points


Attributes: ST 10 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 13 [60]; HT 10 [0]
Dmg. 1d-2 Th/1d sw, 2d electrical; BL 20; HP 15; Will 13; Per 15; FP 13
Basic Speed 5; Basic Move 5

Advantages: Academic Rank 3 (Tenured Professor) [6]
Nano-Plague Victim [231]
Patron (University, 9 or less; Minimal Intervention -50%) [5]

Disadvantages: Absent-Minded [-15]
Bad-Sight (Mitigator: Glasses -60%) [-10]
Delusion (Still Human) [-10]
Enemy (National Government, Hunter, 6 or less) [-20]
Loner (9 or less) [-5]
Odious Personal Habit (Wet Blanket) [-5]
Secret (Patronizes Hookers) [-5]
Secret (Patient Zero) [-30]

Skills: Acting (A) IQ-1 (1)-12
Administration (H) IQ [4]-13
Boxing [A] DX+2 [8]-12
Anthropology (H) IQ [4]-13
Archaeology (H) IQ [4]-13
Astronomy (H) IQ-2 [1]-11
Chemistry (H) IQ-2 [1]-11
Computer Operation (E) IQ+2 [4]-15
Computer Programming (H) IQ+2 [8]-15
Expert Skill (Prehistoric Archaeology) (H) IQ [4]-13
Geology (H) IQ-2 [1]-11
Housekeeping (E) IQ [1]-13
Linguistics (H) IQ [4]-13
Public Speaking (A) IQ-1 [1]-12
Research (A) IQ [2]-13
Savoir-Faire (Academic) (E)-IQ+1 [2]-14
Teaching (A) IQ-1 [1]-12
Writing (A) IQ [2]-13

Quirk: Disciplined [-1]
Easily Winded [-1]
Methodical [-1]
Nervous Stomach [-1]
Stereotype Professor [-1]

=======================================
Nano-Plague Victim Template
231 points

Attributes: HP+5 [10]; FP+3 [9]; Per +2 [10]

Advantages: Absolute Timing [2]
Digital Mind [5]
Doesn’t Breathe [20]
Doesn’t Sleep [20]
High Pain Threshold [10]
Intuitive Mathematician [5]
Modular Abilities (Computer Brain: 8 points) [38]
Not Subject to Aging [0]
Photographic Memory [10]
Signals (Electrical Pulses) [15]
Single-Minded [5]
Telecommunication (Cable Jack) [5]
Unfazeable [15]
Universal Digestion [5]
Vibration Sense (Active Electroreception) [10]

Advantages/Offensive: Claws (Talons) [8]
Electric Touch: Burning Attack 2 (Side Effect, Stunning, +50%; Surge, +20%; Costs 2 fatigue -10%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%) [13]

Advantages/Defensive: Damage Resistance 9 (Flexible -20%) [36]
Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30]
Injury Tolerance (No Blood; Unliving) [25]

Perks: Generator [1]

Disadvantages: Compulsive Behavior (Disease-Spreading Behaviors) [-10]
Electrical [-20]
Infectious Attack (Claws) [-5]
No Skull DR [-2]
Reprogrammable [‑10]
Social Disease [-5]
Unhealing (Partial: Requires contact with metal/electronics) [‑20]

Quirk: Affected by Magnetism [-1]
Congenial [-1]
Dull [-1]
Oblivious [-1]
Staid [-1]

(A victim of the Nano-Plague can be reprogrammed and can interface with computers via USB cable. They can accept 8 points of skills this way. Note that Dr Vandermeer has Computer Programming skill of 15, adequate to create his own skill programs.)

(NOTE: Without the Nano-Plague and the related mental and social Disadvantages, Dr Vandermeer would be an 80-point character, suitable for use as an Expert NPC.)