The Borg (Nightbane)

The Borg (Nightbane)

Name: The Borg
True Name: Samuel Borden
Alignment: Unprincipled.[Good / Selfish]
Hit Points: 36 [93 Nightbane Form] S.D.C.(Physical): 91 [273 Nightbane Form]
Horror Factor: 15
Attributes: I.Q.: 15, M.E.: 13, M.A.: 13, P.S.: 18 (+3) [28 (+13) / 32 (+17) Right Arm], P.P.: 22 (+4) [28 (+7)], P.E.:23 (+16%/+4) [33 (+33%/+8)], P.B.: 12 [9], SPD: 24 [34]. Attributes in brackets [] are when in Nightbane form [Physical Strength and Endurance are Supernatural in Nightbane form]
Weight: 210 lbs (95.2 kg) [350 lbs (158.8 kg) in Nightbane Form] Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 meters) [6 ft 6 in (1.98 meters) in Nightbane Form]
Age: 36 years Race: Nightbane (Human) Sex: Male
Disposition:
Samuel or Borg cannot really be considered a leader but more of a survivor. He was raised in a fairly abusive household and joined the military to escape that environment. Somehow, he managed to escape without hating everybody. He is usually calm but does have a temper. As you might expect, Samuel did not really join the military to fight but to learn about electronics and loves playing with various gadgets. That is likely why his Nightbane incorporates so much in the way of electronics. He also grew up on a certain science fiction television series and his costume reflects that as well. In combat, he prefers fighting at range if he can, using either a rifle or using dark blasts.
He can work fairly well with others and can be a good member of any team. As such, he was recommend for retention by the army. After his unit was destroyed and he found out what he was, there was no way he could return to the army or be court marshaled (or worse). He does strongly miss the army life and the camaraderie. It filled in a part which his "family" memories never seemed to be able. As such, others around him have become his surrogate army buddies. As such, he wis extremely loyal to them and will fight by their side through thick and thin. Otherwise, he is a bit loose about following the rules and has authority issues likely resulting from his childhood in foster care. This disdain did almost get him in trouble several times.
Samuel does believe in protecting those who cannot protect themselves although he does not fully trust those he considers "Mortals" anymore. When they get scared, they are as likely to attack him as the true villains as he sees them. Of course, his true hatred is for the Nightlords and their minions who he considers to be destroying the world. Even vampires are not as dangerous as Nightlords.
R.C.C.: Nightbane [Military Training] Experience Level: Third (3)
Combat Skill: Hand to Hand; Expert [Hand to Hand: Martial Arts in Nightbane Form]
Attacks per Melee: Five (5) [Six (6) in Nightbane Form]
Bonuses, Combat: Facade Form: +6 to Strike, +10 to Parry, +10 to Dodge, +3 to Damage, +4 to roll with punch, fall, or impact, +2 to pull punch, +0 to initiative, Knockout on Natural 20, and Critical Strike on Natural 20.
Nightbane Form: +11 to Strike, +15 to Parry, +15 to Dodge, +13 [+17 Right Arm] to Damage, +8 to roll with punch, fall, or impact, +6 to pull punch, +1 to initiative, Knockout on Natural 20, and Critical Strike on Natural 20. Has Karate Type Kick.
Supernatural Punch Damage (Nightbane Form): Regular: Inflicts 2D6+13 S.D.C. on a restrained punch, 4D6+13 on a full strength punch, or 1D4x10+13 on a power punch (counts as two melee attacks). Right Arm: Inflicts 2D6+17 S.D.C. on a restrained punch, 5D6+17 on a full strength punch, or 1D6x10+17 on a power punch (counts as two melee attacks).
Bonus; Save: Facade Form: Lethal Poison [14] +4, Non-Lethal Poison [16] +4, Harmful Drugs [15] +4, Insanity [12] +2, Psionics [15] +0, Magic [12] +6, Horror Factor +1, Nightbane Form: Lethal Poison [14] +8, Non-Lethal Poison [16] +8, Harmful Drugs [15] +8, Insanity [12] +0, Psionics [15] +3, Magic [12] +12, Horror Factor +3.
Nightbane Abilities:
Change to Nightbane Form: Takes one full melee round (Save vs M.E. - 12 or greater to transform in one attack)
Supernatural Senses: Night vision (Facade, 200 feet / 61 meters; Nightbane, 500 feet / 152 meters) / Sense Other Nightbane (300 feet / 91.4 meters with an additional 30 feet / 9.1 meters per level)
Regeneration: 10 S.D.C./ Hit Points each melee round.
Mirror Walk: Cross into Nightlands. Costs 2 P.P.E., takes one round.
Immunities: Immune to all forms of mind control and Transformation
Nightbane Characteristics:
Corpse Like: Skin in greyish green and right eye is sunken in the skull. No real corpse odor. Bonuses / Penalties: Reduce P.B. by 25%, +3D6 S.D.C., +1D4 to Horror Factor
Armorgraft: Skin is covered in areas with what appears to be plate armor. Bonuses: 1D6x10 S.D.C., +2 to Horror Factor.
Mechanical Limbs: Right Arm only is mechanical. Bonuses: Gives +4 to Strength in that arm and +1D4x10 S.D.C., +1D4 to Horror Factor
Metal head & Camera Eye: Left eye only with a long elongated lense sticking from socket. Parts of skull are also covered in metal. Give night vision 2000 feet (610 m), telescopic sight, polarized filters, and ability to project images like a movie projector. Bonuses: Gives +1D4 to Horror Factor
Nightbane Talents: P.P.E.: 134 (Gains 3D6 per level)
First Level Talent: Lightning Rider (Free) [10]
Purchased Talents: Shadow Blast (5) [Varies], Deus Ex Machine (Machine Control) (12) [4+], Piecework (10) [8]
R.C.C. Skills (Military Training): Communication: Radio: Basic (+15%) 70%, Medical: First Aid (+10%) 65%, Physical: Hand to Hand: Expert, Pilot: Automobile (+15%) 79%, Science: Mathematics: Basic (+10%) 65%,Technical: Computer Operation (+15%) 65% Language: English [Native] (+25%) 85%, Literacy: English (+25%) 70%, W.P.; Modern: Automatic Rifle (+3 Aimed/+1 burst)
R.C.C. Related Skills: Communications: Surveillance Systems (+10%) 55%, T.V. / Video (+10%) 44%, Electrical: Electrical Engineer 40%, Espionage: Intelligence [Gained at Third Level] (+5%) 37%, Mechanical: Automobile Mechanic (+5%) 40%, Mechanical Engineer (+5%) 40%, Military: Demolitions [Gained at Third Level] (+5%) 65%, Pilot: Truck (+5%) 53%, Pilot Related: Read Sensory Instruments (+5%) 45%
Secondary Skills: Physical: Athletics, Boxing, Running, Science: Mathematics: Advanced 55%, Technical: Computer Programming 40%, W.P.; Modern: Automatic Pistol (+3 Aimed/+1 burst)
Appearance:
Samuel, in his human or facade form, is quite tall being a fair amount over six feet in height. He is strong but is built more like a runner than a body builder. His age looks like he might be in his late twenties to early thirties. His features are a mixture of different European features with fairly dark skin and dark lips. He keeps his hair cut extremely short, basically military length and is usually clean shaven. It is an extremely dark brown and he has brown eyes as well. He normally wears a t-shirt, sometimes sleeveless, and jeans. He seems to alternate between wearing sneakers and combat boots.
The Borg is even taller than Samuel and his skin is a greyish green which looks like it is decaying. His right eye also looks sunken. Over parts of his chest, parts of his abdomen, parts of his legs, and parts of his left arm, there are metal plates which appear to be grafted into his skin. His right arm appears to be fully mechanical. The left half of his skull is covered with a metal plate and a large lens appears to stick from the eye socket. The lens is blue green and appears to have a shutter inside. All of his components and metal plates are connected together with wires with no discernable purpose. All of the metal appears to be grey and tarnished although not rusting.
Weapons, Normal:
Glock 17 Auotmatic Pistol: Weight: 1.5 lbs (.68 kg)
It is a double action semi automatic sidearm made by Glock. Acquired when dealing with a human minion of a Night Prince. The pistol uses 9 mm Rounds. It has a 17 shot magazine. He has 6 magazines (2 silver) of Hollow Points which he normally carries for the pistol. Caliber: 9 mm (3D6 / 3D6+6 for Hollow Points) Range: 165 ft (50 m) Payload: 17+1 shots. Cost: $620
Kalashnikov AK-47 Automatic Rifle: Weight: 8.8 lbs (4 kg)
The AK-47 is still very commonly used and was copied by most soviet allies. Was originally a semi-automatic civilian version but his weapon has been modified so that it is fully automatic. Acquired when dealing with a human minion of a Night Prince. Caliber: 7.62 Soviet (5D6+3) It uses 30 round magazines. He has 6 magazines (2 silver) used for the AK-47 Payload: 30 +1 shots Range: Range: 1300 feet (400 m)
Uzi Submachine Gun: Weight: 7.5 lbs (3.5 Kg)
It is a Modern Israeli 9mm Submachinegun. Acquired when dealing with a human minion of a Night Prince. The Submachinegun uses 9 mm round. It has a 25 or 30 round magazines He has 6 magazines (2 silver) with 30 rounds of Hollow Points which he normally carries for the weapon. Caliber: 9 mm (3D6 / 3D6+6 for Hollow Points) Range: 660 ft (200 m) Payload: 25 or 30 shots
Other Equipment:
Properties: Small loft apartment
Vehicles: 1999 Ford F-150 Pickup - Grey. Has an AM / FM Radio with a CD Player
Clothing: Blue Jeans, T-Shirts, Polo Shirts, Military Type Fatigues, Work Socks, Combat Boots, Sneakers, Military Type Belt.
Other Items: Electronic Repair Kit, Electronic Monitoring Equipment, Electronic Bugs, Automobile Repair Tools, Small Welder, Old Laptop Computer (about 3 years old), Old Desktop Computers (about 3 years old), DVD Sets of Science Fiction movies, First Aid Kit, Backpack, Soap and Grooming Supplies, Survival Supplies, Camping Gear (Including Tent), Compass, Sleeping Bag, Pocket Knife, Flash Light, Lighter, Gun Cleaning Gear, Five Weeks of Rations (MREs)
Valuables & Properties: 5,000 Dollars

The Borg's History:

Samuel first memories are of being shuffled from one foster home to another in the Dallas area, a ward of the Texas Child Protective Service. Like basically all Nightbane, he has no idea who his parents were. Some foster parents tried their best while others just simply did not care. Money given for the children was converted into money for alcohol or drugs. Some were even worse where the foster parents were downright abusive. He ran away several times but was brought back to that foster home or another.

In many ways, the final home was the worst. There was little in the way of physical abuse but the foster father. One of his few escapes was watching science fiction television series. It was something he carried through even into his adult life and has collected several series on DVD disks. This became important because when he transformed for the first time, he mimicked a series of alien cyborgs from one of those series.

Somehow me managed to scrape his way through high school. His grades were good in areas but pretty mediocre in others. As much to escape the abuse which had plagued his childhood as anything, he decided to join the army. He went into the fields of electronics and communications. Even though he had authority issues, he was somehow able to get through boot camp and was able to keep himself from getting into too much trouble. He had always had some skill with repairing cars and found he was quite skilled in mechanical areas as well.

He had joined just a bit before Desert Storm and was sent to Saudi Arabia during the final phases of the campaign. There he had his first taste of true death and combat. It was in many ways extremely sobering. He had a buddy from boot camp die right next to him. At the end of his enlistment, he considered retiring but eventually decided to stay in. For the next few years, he continued in the army, making it almost a surrogate family. He advanced slowly in rank, his trouble with authority holding him back.

As Dark Day approached, there were various stories. These stories included various strange monsters including soldiers transforming into these strange creatures. In some cases, troops ended up shooting their own teammates. Samuel never put much merit in the stories although they did create a trickle of worry.

Dark Day arrived and the world went mad. To some extent, Samuel was insulated in his unit but even he heard the incredible stories and there was no way to not believe them. His unit was sent down south to Panama, officially for peace keeping roles. Other units had been sent to similar places since Dark Day and never returned. Samuel's unit was ordered into the jungle with no explanation. It was not even one day out when they were ambushed by strange black creatures which were almost skeletal.

Most Nightbane transformed for the first time on dark day but Samuel was a "Late Bloomer" for some reason. He did not transform into a Nightbane for the first time until his unit was ambushed. He transformed into a human cyborg with metal wires everywhere and a robot arm. It mimicked one of the group of villains in his favorite science fiction series. Every other member of his unit had been cut down but somehow he won. He had somehow fought and won against a pack of hounds.

He just sat where the fight had been, not knowing how to transform back. A second unit had been sent to investigate what had happened to Samuel's unit after they had not reported back. Who knows what would have happened to them if he had not killed the hounds. Still, they saw him and attacked him and he was forced to flee so that he did not have to fight them. It was at that time that he realized that he could never come back to his adopted home.

Slowly, he headed northwards back towards the United States. Through trial and error, he was able to find out how to transform back to his human form. His travels were hampered by the fact that he never learned Spanish but eventually he was able to find his way back across the Rio Grand. He was lucky that one of the first groups he encountered was another group of Nightbane who were able to teach him about himself and about how the world had changed.

[Beyond the Supernatural, Nightbane, and Nightspawn ® are registered trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).