![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
headless_seekerThis is Hellbender's TF:Deadzone app, the version that actually got accepted. Most of the RP goals below were actually achieved through Stage 3: he is now a triple-changer robot-Gillanese mining worm-unique heavy attack aircraft. He kept the name 'Hellbender', though, instead of reverting to Midnight.
Note that for the purposes of Cyberformed, all backstory and journal-fic references to Shockwave should be understood to refer to senior Decepticon weapons designer Starquake.
==============================
Deadzone Character Application
==============================
Please note there are significant changes from the previous version of this app. See 'RP Goals' for the important stuff.
Player Information
==================
Name: Dragoness Eclectic
E-mail: [redacted]
Explain your understanding of the concepts of consensual roleplay and in-character actions = in-character consequences. Players with currently active characters do not need to answer this question.
N/A, have active characters
Character Information (All)
===========================
---------------------------
Pre-Game Midnight (Stage 0)
---------------------------
All later variations will be described where they differ from this one. I.e., his personality, faction, continuity, etc, shouldn't change so I won't re-type those blocks for later versions.
Character Name: Midnight (*but see 'RP Goals')
Character Faction: Decepticon
Which show/comic is this character from?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
G1 comic, Movie (Rodimus Prime) continuity. (Note: this is a change from the original app)
Where was he pulled from in the timeline?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right during Unicron's strike on Cybertron during the comic book adaptation of "Transformers: The Movie", milliseconds from the final blast that killed him. He arrives heavily battle-damaged.
What canon events have already happened?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since this is comic Rodimus Prime's continuity, most of the comics events up to whatever the hell it was that derailed Rodimus Prime's timeline and caused Unicron to wake up early. Between that and 2006, history is unknown--see discussion on the Game Announcements board. Notably, the overthrow of Straxus by Megatron, and the Decepticon Civil War on Earth took place. "City of Fear" is too much fun not to include in history. Megatron disposed of the other Megatron and was back in power--until Starscream pitched him out of the shuttle.
What canon events have yet to happen?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rodimus Prime hasn't gotten back from "Time Wars" to find his history all messed up. He hasn't been possessed by Unicron. If G2 is even a possibility in this timeline, it hasn't happened yet. Shockwave is still alive and hasn't been killed by Cyclonus & Co yet. Unicron hasn't been brewed up yet.
How do you see this character's personality?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Courageous in battle, confident in his strength and toughness, but with a hidden streak of inadequacy about his skill, agility and courage. Since he's so heavily built, even though he has more powerful engines to compensate, he's less maneuverable and noticeably slower than a generic Seeker. He's easily taunted into doing stupid things to 'prove' how good he is, especially when he's angry. ("Betcha can't do this!" is his bane).
He's stoic about pain, injury and bad situations, and disdains people who show fear or weakness or complain about pain. He's not too thrilled by complainers in general, though he does a lot of complaining between his audials, so to speak--he just doesn't let it hit his vocalizer unless he's feeling *really* aggrieved. It's a sign that he's seriously upset about something if he complains.
He's loyal to his commander, absolutely loyal to his creator Shockwave, and loathes traitors and collaborators. He's also deeply ashamed of his cowardice in the face of Unicron, even though no one knows about it. Accusations of cowardice can make him do insanely reckless things to "disprove" the accusation. He's hot-tempered but cools down quickly; sometimes forgets his own strength when he's angry (slight tendency to berserk).
Midnight is not stupid, but he's no genius, and pushing his hot buttons tends to shut down his common sense. This has hindered his development as a leader and tactician, though with his power, he's expected to be at least a squad- or wing-leader. Squad or wing leader is about what he's usually entrusted with. Midnight has great hindsight; after he's pitched himself in the slag, he can usually figure out what he did wrong and kick himself repeatedly. He keeps resolving not to let himself be goaded into doing something stupid, and keeps failing at it.
He believes in dealing directly with things or people that tick him off, usually with a fist in the face if they are friendlies, or more lethal armament if they aren't friendlies. He's not too impressed with those whose forte is subtle intrigue ("So why not just shoot him?"), but can be impressed by the results of intrigue and stealth, if pulled off well. ("You tricked the Autobot garrison in Lower Sumphole into shelling the Bot garrison in Upper Sumphole? AWESOME!")
He makes casual friends/drinking buddies easily, but is very reserved about deep friendships. He doesn't trust easily. Those he considers serious friends, he'll take on the entire Autobot army for.
Midnight speaks with a Southern accent, and frequently acts like a country boy with a shiny new pick-up and a six-pack.
His ethics and morals?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He values loyalty and courage; he is also an elitist, though he'd deny it if you used that word to describe him. ("Listen, punk, when you can take on three Wreckers and walk away, you can talk about how badaft you are. For now, shut the slag up!"). He expects squad-mates to be loyal: you don't abandon a buddy on the battlefield, you don't steal from or screw over your buddies, and you don't scrap them for spare parts when no one is looking.
Enemies are the guys wearing the red badges, who shoot at you; you try to kill them by whatever means. He doesn't believe in toying with his enemies; if the orders are "no prisoners", he kills surrendering enemies; if not, he'll take prisoners--but he doesn't play sadistic games with them, and is contemptuous of mechs who do. (He believes in killing prisoners *before* dumping them into the slag pits).
What scares your character?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unicron. Actually being in danger of death (as tough as he is, mortally injuring him is hard). Being a 'loser'. He hates anything like the Smelting Pools, which may include a fear of falling into molten metal/rock/etc again--but for some reason, this tough Decepticon warrior is sickened by the sounds and smells and sight of living mechs being melted down alive. This aversion generalizes to any situation where living, aware mechs are used up as if they were inanimate resources. Horror is not an emotion he's comfortable with.
How does your character react to fear?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unicron or actual mortal danger: 50-50 of either panicked flight or panicked berserkergang. Takes stupid chances to avoid losing. Doesn't do stupid stunts over pools of molten metal anymore. Tries to get away from assignments that involve smelting down or cannibalizing mechs alive. Will be especially vicious to enemies that he's seen do things like that (i.e., expect him to go postal on Mechcannibals.) See above about horror.
Does your character have any 'attached' characters, such as cassettes, *Master partners, mini-cons, etc.?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though Midnight is not a Seeker, he most closely resembles a heavily-built dark tetrajet Seeker. His transform follows that of a classic Seeker--nose cone folding up on his chest, wings attached to his back, etc. He has very dark blue wings and tail surfaces, black everywhere else except face. Standard gray face/red optics/black cowl. Bulkier than a standard Seeker, with heavier engines.
Alt-mode: oversized black tetrajet with wider-than-usual, very dark blue wings and larger-than-normal engines. Wings are reinforced to mount ordinance.
Why is your character a member of his particular faction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was built a Decepticon and it's never occurred to him to question his loyalties.
RP Roles and Goals
------------------
What do you see as the character's role in the game?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight provides enthusiastic, heavy muscle to whoever is in charge, whom he serves loyally. He's also a counterpoint to the whiners and cowards, whom he can sneer at disdainfully or thump upside the head when they annoy him.
As Hellbender, he provides an unusual avenue of exploration and invasion, burrowing through the underground. He'll also probably be a major assist in excavating bases and mining ores needed for projects.
He also provides the various engineers and cybersurgeons in play an experimental subject to modify and enhance.
What sort of plots are you hoping to participate in?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to do a staged development of Midnight from his arrival condition (very bad) to finally making him a triple-changer with a mining worm third mode. I envision it as follows:
0. Pre-Game Midnight - won't be seen on Deadzone, but it shapes his character, so it has to be mentioned.
I. Nearly-DOA Midnight - Midnight is taking hits from Unicron as he's snatched away and dropped in Deadzone. He arrives in pieces, literally. Fortunately, his Very High Survivability construction keeps him from dying, but he's not good for much. He's going to need some fairly prompt help, and a complete rebuild before he's good for anything. He's not as touch-and-go as Movie-Jazz was; he can survive for a while in his arrival condition.
II. Actionmaster Hellbender - Midnight's core and critical systems get put in a repaired mining worm body, because that's all the Decepticons have on hand. It's such a drastic change, he's renamed Hellbender. Oh, and he can't transform. Hook hasn't worked out the transform mode yet, or designed a cog for it. So Hellbender is stuck as a sentient tunnelling machine. He can't fly, he can't transform, and he is Not a Happy Camper.
Hellbender, because it's a fugly giant-worm-shaped salamander that lives under rocks.
III. Transformer Hellbender - Hellbender gets a transformation cog. He can resume robot mode now. Yay. He still can't fly on his own wings. He's a Slightly Less Unhappy Camper.
IV. Triple-changer Midnight - Midnight gets his wings and his name back, though it may be a different jet mode than before. A jet mode gets added to his repertoire, and he's a triple-changer: robot, jet, mining worm. Since his design was based off of Blitzwing's in the first place, we'll say that there are software/firmware hooks in his system that make it easier to add a third mode than it would be to add one to J. Random Seeker. Now he's a Happy Camper.
What are YOUR goals for your character?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Develop him with experience so that he overcomes his worst problems, perhaps after some hard lessons. Learn to not turn into a complete idiot when someone calls him "chicken!" (I have the Marty McFly of Decepticons here?) Find a good friend, worth fighting for and beside. Eventually turn him into a triple-changer with a mining worm third mode after much abuse. (See above)
And how flexible are you on those goals?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite flexible, but he must get his wings back eventually. The name change on various rebuilds is not necessary; I just thought it might be some interesting flavor. Also, if others want to involve Midnight/Hellbender in alternate plots along the way where he temporarily gets transplanted into someone else's body as an infiltrator or something, I'm open to the possibility.
There doesn't seem to be any sort of RP happening on the boards! Write a post that shows how you would start up a scene. Be creative with the environment and specific characters present, but do not pose for anyone else. If the post is something that would have to have been worked out with another player ahead of time, put an ooc note in to that effect. This is about how YOU and YOUR CHARACTER would initiate roleplay. We are specifically looking for a sample here that could be used as a thread-starter, rather than something in the middle of another thread. (Please see the Examples page on the Wiki for more information.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellbender drilled through the rock, stopping now and then to allow his cutting heads to cool. The sedimentary rock beneath the river plain was easier going than the volcanic rock of the highlands, but it was still rock. His inertial locater told him that he was somewhere in the area of his target; time to surface and take his bearings.
To his surprise, he quickly broke through into compacted soil--the river sediments ran deep here. Hellbender tore through the ancient mud like one of Wreckage's swords through a Micromaster, sucking down the long-buried sediments and spewing them out his vents as he tunneled through the muck. It tasted foul; none of it was useful ores, so his sensors registered it as something undesirable. It was part of the job to be endured, like having no wings and boring his way through the earth was to be endured.
There was a hiccup and his cutter heads howled as Hellbender broke through into open space. Large, tubular void, his sonar told him--an acqueduct or storm sewer. He shut down the boring heads and crawled into the aqueduct; after a moment's listening, Hellbender picked a direction and slithered along the giant pipe. He just fit into it with his boring heads in their closed position.
Above him, the noises grew louder and louder until he halted; in the dead city, the sound of vehicles and footsteps moving to and fro stood out, abnormal signs of life. Hellbender deployed his cutting heads and began to carve his way into the basement of the Autobot base...
Original Characters
===================
----------------------------
Pre-Game Midnight (Stage 0)
---------------------------
Alt-Mode: "Heavy" Tetrajet; mounts extra ordnance for ground attack. He's the F-4 Phantom of tetrajets
Function: Heavy Armored Air Warrior/Ground Attack
Quote: "Y'all watch this! Seriously."
Tech Spec Text:
CLASSIFIED: NEED TO KNOW -- VERY HIGH SURVIVABILITY PROJECT -- SHOCKWAVE Project specimen 'Midnight'. This nearly indestructible air warrior is Very Hard To Kill, but lacks somewhat in the agility department due to all the heavy armor. He sports 4 wing-mounted missiles, cluster bomb launchers, and two heavy-duty laser cannon. He's hot-tempered, and easily provoked into recklessness by slights to his flying skill or courage.
What is your character's origin and history?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight is an experiment of Shockwave's in creating an indestructible warrior. He's not actually indestructible, but he is immensely strong and tough. Massively redundant vital systems make him very hard to kill. He has survived both decapitation and an accidental plunge into the Smelting Pools in the past. His armor is as heavy as Blitzwing's, and he's built along similar lines to the triple-changer, but without the extra alt-mode. The extra weight of his armor and extra systems, though compensated for by more powerful engines, makes him much less maneuverable and slower than a Seeker. Midnight's armored lasercore is similar to the spark chamber among BW-era Maximals and Predacons.
Since Shockwave designed Midnight as a near-indestructible killing machine, not a support specialist, and did all the maintenance for Midnight in his own test lab, Shockwave didn't bother to program Midnight with a great many skills. Notably missing is any kind of Repair or First Aid skill.
Midnight has been Shockwave's operative ever since Shockwave deemed him ready to leave the test lab. Shockwave is still testing his design, of course, by sending him on missions in the wild, or into combat with other units. He is absolutely loyal to Shockwave, but has been chafing at the restricted duties he was long stuck with. For a time he was assigned to Straxus forces, leading some of the air defense units guarding Polyhex and the Smelting Pools. He grew to loathe duty at the Smelting Pools, a loathing that was only increased by an accidental plunge into the molten slag after an ill-advised, showy maneuver while fighting Autobot raiders. Optionally, the 'raiders' might have been Wreckers. (That fight was also when he got his head removed the first time. Midnight didn't do well that fight and was left for dead by both sides. He was not amused to have to hike back to base on his own, literally half-slagged with his head under one arm.)
In 2006 (comics continuity), Shockwave ordered him to attack Unicron along with all other available units in defense of Cybertron. In the ordinary course of things, Midnight would have been destroyed by Unicron.
What do you perceive as his role within the faction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elite warrior who gets the tough jobs and goes point on attacks; he also leads squadrons on ground attack missions.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
High-penetration version of standard arm lasers. Standard cluster bomb racks, plus a quad of wing-mounted air-to-air missiles. He can be fitted with other ordinance on wing-mounted hardpoints, but isn't currently.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Very heavy armor, comparable to Blitzwing or other heavy tank mech.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internal shielding, armoring and compartmentalization of vital systems; redundant data and power buses, including wireless versions of each. Multiple redundant cognitive processors that can be switched between automatically or at will. Basically, he can be dismembered and still *function* (not just survive)(to a point--if his guns are busted, it doesn't matter where his head is, he still can't shoot), he can take multiple armor-penetrating hits and still function, he's resistant to heat and energy effects, and he's really strong. (Note that cartoon Optimus Prime has similar capabilities, judging from "City of Steel", so Midnight's survivability is not without canon precedent.)
Being a comics character, he does not have robot-mode flight except by using his boot thrusters, and that's really awkward. He's not balanced for flying off his boot jets, so practically he can use them for jump assist, but not for prolonged flight in robot mode.
Outside of special abilities, does your alternate mode have the real-world abilities of an item of the same type? If not, what are the differences?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight is slower and much less maneuverable than a Seeker. (He flies like a heavy bomber, not a fighter jet).
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's a fuel hog, and he's a PITA to repair because of all the heavy-duty, non-standard, redundant systems.
List their skills and rank them from Pinnacle, Excellent, Good, Average, Amateur.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leadership: Good (Shockwave assigns him as the point & lead of special strikeforces)
Tactics: Amateur (see note on Leadership, but his hot-headedness holds him back here)
Strategy: Amateur (He got many an audial-full of Shockwave's monologues on Shocky's incredibly logical, clever plans)
Gambling: Amateur (How many soldiers DON'T gamble?)
Interrogation: Amateur (Sometimes you have to pry information out of a captured enemy and you don't have time to send for one of the specialists)
Height in robot-mode?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeker size.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Leader/Dinobot*
Endurance: Easily Winded (he's a fuel hog)
Toughness: Unbreakable*
Agility: Average**
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: High
Ranged: Steady Hands
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike***
* (see above in 'Special Abilities')
** (Fumble-fingered for flight maneuverability only.)
*** (see above in 'Armor' & 'Special Abilities')
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Fast (500mph)
----------------------------
Nearly-DOA Midnight (Stage 1)
----------------------------
Alt mode: Can't transform
Quote: "I'm not dead. I'm not a zombie. Seriously. Now get me a freaking repair tech! Uh, please?"
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's in robot mode, and he's been decapitated *again*. Once he gets on his feet, however unsteadily, he'll be carrying his head wedged in the crook of his mangled left arm. One optic is cracked and dark. He's got some big, ugly smoking holes in his armor. Left arm is blasted down to the struts, and the gun is missing. Both wings are torn off; only twisted, shredded bits of metal remain. Right arm cannon is loose, and has to be smacked to make the connection so Midnight can shoot. Cockpit and a chunk of the left side of his torso plating is missing, exposing the circuits beneath. One boot thruster is crushed and the leg struts half-sheared; Midnight walks with a dragging limp. The other one is a bit scorched looking.
In short, he looks like a zombie.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's got one high-penetration arm laser left. That he has to smack into place to fire. There are some cluster bombs left on the right side, but the launcher is fused.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Big chunks of armor are missing or have holes.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The high survivability mods of the Pre-Game version are what's keeping him alive. Miraculously, his radio still works (because it's a lot more fun to actually get in touch with people in-game). In his current condition, 'walking' and 'has a radio' are special abiilities.
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He has big holes in his body, only one functional gripping appendage, he limps, his insides are hanging out, he's got monocular vision, his ability to turn his head is limited, weapon problems have already been mentioned, he can't transform, he can't fly. Also, his head isn't attached. All Stage 0 weaknesses still apply. He's lost most of his fuel supply, too. (Wing tanks are gone, leaving only compartmentalized reserve tank in body, and it's half-trashed.)
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Strong*
Endurance: Easily Winded (he's STILL a fuel hog--and he's out of fuel)
Toughness: Tough Guy**
Agility: Fumble-fingered*
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: Average***
Ranged: Aimless#
Melee: Average
Armor: Fragile##
* Missing too many parts, cables and struts for full strength or agility
** His redundant, hardened systems have taken a hell of a beating.
*** Down to one laser. It's a hard-hitting laser, but he doesn't have the barrage he used to have.
# gun mount wobbly and has to be smacked everytime.
## Armor? That's that stuff strewn over half of Cybertron? Has too many gaping giant holes to be considered armored right now.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: N/A
---------------------------------
Actionmaster Hellbender (Stage 2)
---------------------------------
Alt mode: Can't transform
Quote: "Hook, when can you install a transformation cog? Seriously. This sucks."
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rogue mining worm used to rebuild Midnight into Hellbender was original encountered by the Decepticon ground party in the swamp [1]:
"Metal screamed as the mining worm erupted from underground, its massive bores rending road-metal and swamp alike. Metal, including Hook, was tossed into the air around it.
It reared up in the air, twice, thrice as tall as a Transformer, with more of its enormous body still hidden in the earth. The sharp, heavy teeth of its boring heads whirled in the sunlight. The yawning maws on either side of its borer sucked ravenously at the falling metal.
Hook had an extremely good view of the initial set of grinders inside those intakes."
He's a giant robotic worm, about 100' long, with multiple metal-boride cuttings heads; said cutting heads have been described as looking like "a metal pinecone"[2] or "an evil toothbrush"[3]. Between the cutting heads are intakes lined with crushers and grinders that suck the dirt and cracked rock in for preliminary processing. Ore is retained in bins for delivery to the smelter, waste rock and dirt is spewed out vents in the tail. The worm body is smooth, articulated, and heavily armored to withstand the pressure of drillng through the earth without external supports. All access panels are flush and tightly sealed.
"Massive boride cutting heads bite into rock and earth; flanking intakes suck up the cracked rock and earth and spew it out the rear of the mining robot. It moves through the ground like a gigantic, drill-headed worm."[4]
Hellbender is painted blue-black all over, with a large purple Decepti-sigil on his 'upper' front, behind the cutting heads and intakes. Being radially symmetrical, 'upper' is arbitrary.
[1] http://tfdeadzone.proboards81.com/index.cgi?board=mysteryplanet&action=display&thread=1181528074&page=2#1182202997
[2] http://www.boudillion.com/hoosac/HT07.jpg
[3] http://www.saskmining.ca/image/photoLib/potash/potash01.jpg
[4] http://tfdeadzone.proboards81.com/index.cgi?board=mysteryplanet&action=display&thread=1181528074&page=2#1182012842
What do you perceive as his role within the faction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Deadzone, he's going to get a lot more support jobs than he's used to, because of the mining worm mode: excavation, mining, tunnelling past Autobot defenses...
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He has cutting heads that can cut through hard rock or not-so-hard armor. Small mechs can get sucked right into the intakes and ground up. Hellbender can also deal out considerable crushing damage; he's quite large and heavy. Additional armament may have been installed in deployable mounts; details will depend on what's available in game at the time.
*For Actionmaster Hellbender, the admin do not want him to have any ranged weapons.*
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Heavily armored and pressure-resistant as noted above.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He can burrow through earth and rock, sense metallic or other ores that he has a sample or program for, and harvest said ores. (Note: the ore sensors register substances as scents and tastes to Hellbender.) He has earth-penetrating radar (very short-range), and both active and passive sonar that double as seismic sensors and really, really sensitive audio pickups. He has a radio receiver/direction finder that lets him home in on the frequencies used by the natives to control their mining robots.
He has access spaces that could carry a small character or two, such as Beast Wars characters, *Masters, or mini-cons or cassettes. Refitting some of his ore bins as passenger or cargo compartments would allow him to carry more (small) people or stuff if the plot calls for doing that via the underground.
He's still got his armored lasercore and redundant cognitive processors. Up to in-game decisions how much of the rest of his hardening and system redundancy carry over to the mining worm body.
Outside of special abilities, does your alternate mode have the real-world abilities of an item of the same type? If not, what are the differences?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not sure there are real-world items of this type. However, most of his "special abilities" are extrapolated from what I imagine a mining robot might have if you then wired an AI into it.
List their skills and rank them from Pinnacle, Excellent, Good, Average, Amateur.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add to his base list, after he's been at it for a while:
Mining/Geology: Amateur
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He has no optical sensors, no manipulatory appendages, and he can't transform. All three items to be corrected next stage. He can, however, be repaired with local spare parts, since his body is a native robotic machine.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Strong*
Endurance: Average**
Toughness: Stalwart##
Agility: Fumble-fingered***
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: None
Ranged: Steady Hands#
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike
* He'd be stronger, but lacks the means to apply strength (i.e., hands or tentacles)
** Unless Hook finds a reactor to stuff in him.
*** Giant worm with no feet and no hands that CAN'T turn on a dime
# Has no guns to do ranged with, but if he did...Subject to someone installing his one
surviving laser somewhere.
## There's a lot of space devoted to ore bins, and his mining systems are redundant (multiple smaller radially-spaced boring heads, intakes, grinders, vents, etc, instead of a large one of each)
Speed in Robot-Mode: N/A, can't transform
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Slow
---------------------------------
Transformer Hellbender (Stage 3)
---------------------------------
Alt mode: Robotic mining worm
Quote: "Hook, you can't imagine how incredibly thrilled I am that I can finally transform. Now can you put my wings back on? Seriously."
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worm mode looks much the same as per Stage 2.
Robot mode: Head, same as before, but instead of cockpit and nosecone and wings and tail hanging off him, he's got curvy wormshell bits. The more rigid head of the mining worm splits into two wing-like shells arching off his back (He's a shell-former). The boring heads adorn the outer edges of his arms, making for nasty melee weapons if needs be. Most of the articulated hull collapses on itself and forms curvaceous, overlapping V-plates on Hellbender's body. Which is to say, he's smooth and curvy and heavily armored, with evil toothbrush heads on his elbows.
Coloration suggests his original colors: very dark blue on the shell wings, black everywhere else. Decepti-sigil on his chest, and the big one split over his shell-wings.
Admin Note:
For Transformer Hellbender and subsequent forms that use the
worm-mode, we would like to cut down the size of the worm so that it's
not about a hundred feet long. It's been suggested that he retains the
ability to function in pieces, and sometime during his Actionmaster
phase he gets ripped in half. The important half digs home, and this
would be one of the thing to galvanize Hook into giving Hellbender a
robot-mode.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robot mode: cutters on his elbows and outer arm edges; shoulder-mounted high-penetration laser (Yes, he still has it!) Wrist-mounted rocket launchers, or whatever was handy in-game when this mode was put together. He can spin up the cutting heads on his elbows for a really mean elbow smash.
Alt mode: Add to armament of Stage 2 worm deployable/pop-up guns/missiles (whatever was handy in-game when Hook was modifying Hellbender) Basically, he's got more ranged firepower than before.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Alt mode: As per Stage 2.
Robot mode: Like Astrotrain or Blitzwing, packing all that alt-mode body into a robot-sized form makes for a very dense, tough body.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As per Stage 2, plus he can use the sonar and enhanced audio reception in robot mode.
Different from Real-world abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No change from Stage 2
Skills
~~~~~~
No change from Stage 2
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changes from Stage 2: he can transform, and has optical sensors in worm mode. These optical sensors are normally hidden behind protective armor panels that slide back and retract when Hellbender wants to see things. Underground, they're normally covered for protection and because eyes aren't useful when your face is shoved in the dirt in a dark tunnel. He still can't manipulate things in worm mode, but he can transform to robot mode, which has hands.
He's gotten trickier to repair: he is a unique Transformer and requires a very skilled technician to repair, or an average skill technician that is familiar with Gillanan technology.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Leader/Dinobot*
Endurance: Average**
Toughness: Stalwart
Agility: Average***
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: Well-armed
Ranged: Steady Hands
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike
* Strong in worm mode, due to lack of arms/hands/legs to apply leverage with, as per Stage 2
** Unless Hook finds a reactor to stuff in him.
*** Fumble-fingered in worm mode, as per Stage 2.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Slow
---------------------------------
Triple-changer Midnight (Stage 4)
---------------------------------
Alt mode: Robotic mining worm
Alt mode: Unique jet
Quote: "I got wings! WHAAA-HOOO!"
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worm mode looks much the same as per Stage 2.
Robot mode: He's still got the spiffy curves from Stage 3, but the Shell-wings have additional joints where they fold into Real Wings. In general, the changes are almost invisible, extra seams where curved worm armor folds into stabilizers and v-tails and such-like.
Jet mode: this jet is a unique design created by the talents of the foremost Decepticon aerospace designers on Gillanan III, and whatever raw materials they had available. Since it has to accomodate the worm transform, the surfaces tend to be very smooth and curvy, including the V-tail, horizontal stabilizers, and wings (which have a dihedral like a Corsair's, only smoothly curved. His fuselage looks like it is made of interlocking v-scales. (The worm articulation, again). All weapons retract into the fuselage when not in use. Nose of the jet is actually the tail of the worm; worm cloacal vents become air intakes.
Colors follow Midnight's original colors again.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robot mode: As per stage 3
Worm alt mode: As per Stage 3
Jet alt mode: Same laser, deployable under nose. Possbily missile launchers deployable under wings.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Worm Alt mode: As per Stage 2.
Jet Alt mode: Still fairly heavily armored, as he's using the worm hull as his fuselage and wings. Lacks the pressure resistance in this form, though.
Robot mode: Like Astrotrain or Blitzwing, packing all that alt-mode body into a robot-sized form makes for a very dense, tough body.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As per Stage 3. Sonar isn't too useful for a jet.
Different from Real-world abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No change from Stage 3
Skills
~~~~~~
No change from Stage 2
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changes from Stage 3: some of his mining productivity was sacrificed for jet engines and the jet transform. A pair of intakes and associated grinder/crushers had to be removed to fit the jet engines, and some ore bins were replaced with jet transform mechanism and additional fuel tankage for the fuel-hungry jet engines. The net result is that Midnight is not as productive and efficient a miner as Hellbender was--say 20-40% less productive. Not that this bothers Midnight in the slightest, but someone else might care.
He's really new to this triple-changer thing, and sometimes gets his modes screwed up if he's hurrying. If he doesn't hurry, he gets it right, but it's not a fast change.
He's gotten even trickier to repair: he is a unique Transformer and requires an extremely skilled technician to repair, or a very skilled technician that is familiar with Gillanan technology. Or the guy(s) who re-built him; they can always fix him.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Leader/Dinobot*
Endurance: Average**
Toughness: Stalwart
Agility: Average***
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: Well-armed
Ranged: Steady Hands
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike
* Strong in worm mode, due to lack of arms/hands/legs to apply leverage with, as per Stage 2
** Easily Winded in jet mode, as per Stage 0.
*** Fumble-fingered in worm mode, as per Stage 2, and jet mode, as per Stage 0.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Worm-Mode: Slow
Speed in Jet-Mode: Fast
Note that for the purposes of Cyberformed, all backstory and journal-fic references to Shockwave should be understood to refer to senior Decepticon weapons designer Starquake.
==============================
Deadzone Character Application
==============================
Please note there are significant changes from the previous version of this app. See 'RP Goals' for the important stuff.
Player Information
==================
Name: Dragoness Eclectic
E-mail: [redacted]
Explain your understanding of the concepts of consensual roleplay and in-character actions = in-character consequences. Players with currently active characters do not need to answer this question.
N/A, have active characters
Character Information (All)
===========================
---------------------------
Pre-Game Midnight (Stage 0)
---------------------------
All later variations will be described where they differ from this one. I.e., his personality, faction, continuity, etc, shouldn't change so I won't re-type those blocks for later versions.
Character Name: Midnight (*but see 'RP Goals')
Character Faction: Decepticon
Which show/comic is this character from?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
G1 comic, Movie (Rodimus Prime) continuity. (Note: this is a change from the original app)
Where was he pulled from in the timeline?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right during Unicron's strike on Cybertron during the comic book adaptation of "Transformers: The Movie", milliseconds from the final blast that killed him. He arrives heavily battle-damaged.
What canon events have already happened?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since this is comic Rodimus Prime's continuity, most of the comics events up to whatever the hell it was that derailed Rodimus Prime's timeline and caused Unicron to wake up early. Between that and 2006, history is unknown--see discussion on the Game Announcements board. Notably, the overthrow of Straxus by Megatron, and the Decepticon Civil War on Earth took place. "City of Fear" is too much fun not to include in history. Megatron disposed of the other Megatron and was back in power--until Starscream pitched him out of the shuttle.
What canon events have yet to happen?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rodimus Prime hasn't gotten back from "Time Wars" to find his history all messed up. He hasn't been possessed by Unicron. If G2 is even a possibility in this timeline, it hasn't happened yet. Shockwave is still alive and hasn't been killed by Cyclonus & Co yet. Unicron hasn't been brewed up yet.
How do you see this character's personality?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Courageous in battle, confident in his strength and toughness, but with a hidden streak of inadequacy about his skill, agility and courage. Since he's so heavily built, even though he has more powerful engines to compensate, he's less maneuverable and noticeably slower than a generic Seeker. He's easily taunted into doing stupid things to 'prove' how good he is, especially when he's angry. ("Betcha can't do this!" is his bane).
He's stoic about pain, injury and bad situations, and disdains people who show fear or weakness or complain about pain. He's not too thrilled by complainers in general, though he does a lot of complaining between his audials, so to speak--he just doesn't let it hit his vocalizer unless he's feeling *really* aggrieved. It's a sign that he's seriously upset about something if he complains.
He's loyal to his commander, absolutely loyal to his creator Shockwave, and loathes traitors and collaborators. He's also deeply ashamed of his cowardice in the face of Unicron, even though no one knows about it. Accusations of cowardice can make him do insanely reckless things to "disprove" the accusation. He's hot-tempered but cools down quickly; sometimes forgets his own strength when he's angry (slight tendency to berserk).
Midnight is not stupid, but he's no genius, and pushing his hot buttons tends to shut down his common sense. This has hindered his development as a leader and tactician, though with his power, he's expected to be at least a squad- or wing-leader. Squad or wing leader is about what he's usually entrusted with. Midnight has great hindsight; after he's pitched himself in the slag, he can usually figure out what he did wrong and kick himself repeatedly. He keeps resolving not to let himself be goaded into doing something stupid, and keeps failing at it.
He believes in dealing directly with things or people that tick him off, usually with a fist in the face if they are friendlies, or more lethal armament if they aren't friendlies. He's not too impressed with those whose forte is subtle intrigue ("So why not just shoot him?"), but can be impressed by the results of intrigue and stealth, if pulled off well. ("You tricked the Autobot garrison in Lower Sumphole into shelling the Bot garrison in Upper Sumphole? AWESOME!")
He makes casual friends/drinking buddies easily, but is very reserved about deep friendships. He doesn't trust easily. Those he considers serious friends, he'll take on the entire Autobot army for.
Midnight speaks with a Southern accent, and frequently acts like a country boy with a shiny new pick-up and a six-pack.
His ethics and morals?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He values loyalty and courage; he is also an elitist, though he'd deny it if you used that word to describe him. ("Listen, punk, when you can take on three Wreckers and walk away, you can talk about how badaft you are. For now, shut the slag up!"). He expects squad-mates to be loyal: you don't abandon a buddy on the battlefield, you don't steal from or screw over your buddies, and you don't scrap them for spare parts when no one is looking.
Enemies are the guys wearing the red badges, who shoot at you; you try to kill them by whatever means. He doesn't believe in toying with his enemies; if the orders are "no prisoners", he kills surrendering enemies; if not, he'll take prisoners--but he doesn't play sadistic games with them, and is contemptuous of mechs who do. (He believes in killing prisoners *before* dumping them into the slag pits).
What scares your character?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unicron. Actually being in danger of death (as tough as he is, mortally injuring him is hard). Being a 'loser'. He hates anything like the Smelting Pools, which may include a fear of falling into molten metal/rock/etc again--but for some reason, this tough Decepticon warrior is sickened by the sounds and smells and sight of living mechs being melted down alive. This aversion generalizes to any situation where living, aware mechs are used up as if they were inanimate resources. Horror is not an emotion he's comfortable with.
How does your character react to fear?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unicron or actual mortal danger: 50-50 of either panicked flight or panicked berserkergang. Takes stupid chances to avoid losing. Doesn't do stupid stunts over pools of molten metal anymore. Tries to get away from assignments that involve smelting down or cannibalizing mechs alive. Will be especially vicious to enemies that he's seen do things like that (i.e., expect him to go postal on Mechcannibals.) See above about horror.
Does your character have any 'attached' characters, such as cassettes, *Master partners, mini-cons, etc.?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though Midnight is not a Seeker, he most closely resembles a heavily-built dark tetrajet Seeker. His transform follows that of a classic Seeker--nose cone folding up on his chest, wings attached to his back, etc. He has very dark blue wings and tail surfaces, black everywhere else except face. Standard gray face/red optics/black cowl. Bulkier than a standard Seeker, with heavier engines.
Alt-mode: oversized black tetrajet with wider-than-usual, very dark blue wings and larger-than-normal engines. Wings are reinforced to mount ordinance.
Why is your character a member of his particular faction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was built a Decepticon and it's never occurred to him to question his loyalties.
RP Roles and Goals
------------------
What do you see as the character's role in the game?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight provides enthusiastic, heavy muscle to whoever is in charge, whom he serves loyally. He's also a counterpoint to the whiners and cowards, whom he can sneer at disdainfully or thump upside the head when they annoy him.
As Hellbender, he provides an unusual avenue of exploration and invasion, burrowing through the underground. He'll also probably be a major assist in excavating bases and mining ores needed for projects.
He also provides the various engineers and cybersurgeons in play an experimental subject to modify and enhance.
What sort of plots are you hoping to participate in?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to do a staged development of Midnight from his arrival condition (very bad) to finally making him a triple-changer with a mining worm third mode. I envision it as follows:
0. Pre-Game Midnight - won't be seen on Deadzone, but it shapes his character, so it has to be mentioned.
I. Nearly-DOA Midnight - Midnight is taking hits from Unicron as he's snatched away and dropped in Deadzone. He arrives in pieces, literally. Fortunately, his Very High Survivability construction keeps him from dying, but he's not good for much. He's going to need some fairly prompt help, and a complete rebuild before he's good for anything. He's not as touch-and-go as Movie-Jazz was; he can survive for a while in his arrival condition.
II. Actionmaster Hellbender - Midnight's core and critical systems get put in a repaired mining worm body, because that's all the Decepticons have on hand. It's such a drastic change, he's renamed Hellbender. Oh, and he can't transform. Hook hasn't worked out the transform mode yet, or designed a cog for it. So Hellbender is stuck as a sentient tunnelling machine. He can't fly, he can't transform, and he is Not a Happy Camper.
Hellbender, because it's a fugly giant-worm-shaped salamander that lives under rocks.
III. Transformer Hellbender - Hellbender gets a transformation cog. He can resume robot mode now. Yay. He still can't fly on his own wings. He's a Slightly Less Unhappy Camper.
IV. Triple-changer Midnight - Midnight gets his wings and his name back, though it may be a different jet mode than before. A jet mode gets added to his repertoire, and he's a triple-changer: robot, jet, mining worm. Since his design was based off of Blitzwing's in the first place, we'll say that there are software/firmware hooks in his system that make it easier to add a third mode than it would be to add one to J. Random Seeker. Now he's a Happy Camper.
What are YOUR goals for your character?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Develop him with experience so that he overcomes his worst problems, perhaps after some hard lessons. Learn to not turn into a complete idiot when someone calls him "chicken!" (I have the Marty McFly of Decepticons here?) Find a good friend, worth fighting for and beside. Eventually turn him into a triple-changer with a mining worm third mode after much abuse. (See above)
And how flexible are you on those goals?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite flexible, but he must get his wings back eventually. The name change on various rebuilds is not necessary; I just thought it might be some interesting flavor. Also, if others want to involve Midnight/Hellbender in alternate plots along the way where he temporarily gets transplanted into someone else's body as an infiltrator or something, I'm open to the possibility.
There doesn't seem to be any sort of RP happening on the boards! Write a post that shows how you would start up a scene. Be creative with the environment and specific characters present, but do not pose for anyone else. If the post is something that would have to have been worked out with another player ahead of time, put an ooc note in to that effect. This is about how YOU and YOUR CHARACTER would initiate roleplay. We are specifically looking for a sample here that could be used as a thread-starter, rather than something in the middle of another thread. (Please see the Examples page on the Wiki for more information.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellbender drilled through the rock, stopping now and then to allow his cutting heads to cool. The sedimentary rock beneath the river plain was easier going than the volcanic rock of the highlands, but it was still rock. His inertial locater told him that he was somewhere in the area of his target; time to surface and take his bearings.
To his surprise, he quickly broke through into compacted soil--the river sediments ran deep here. Hellbender tore through the ancient mud like one of Wreckage's swords through a Micromaster, sucking down the long-buried sediments and spewing them out his vents as he tunneled through the muck. It tasted foul; none of it was useful ores, so his sensors registered it as something undesirable. It was part of the job to be endured, like having no wings and boring his way through the earth was to be endured.
There was a hiccup and his cutter heads howled as Hellbender broke through into open space. Large, tubular void, his sonar told him--an acqueduct or storm sewer. He shut down the boring heads and crawled into the aqueduct; after a moment's listening, Hellbender picked a direction and slithered along the giant pipe. He just fit into it with his boring heads in their closed position.
Above him, the noises grew louder and louder until he halted; in the dead city, the sound of vehicles and footsteps moving to and fro stood out, abnormal signs of life. Hellbender deployed his cutting heads and began to carve his way into the basement of the Autobot base...
Original Characters
===================
----------------------------
Pre-Game Midnight (Stage 0)
---------------------------
Alt-Mode: "Heavy" Tetrajet; mounts extra ordnance for ground attack. He's the F-4 Phantom of tetrajets
Function: Heavy Armored Air Warrior/Ground Attack
Quote: "Y'all watch this! Seriously."
Tech Spec Text:
CLASSIFIED: NEED TO KNOW -- VERY HIGH SURVIVABILITY PROJECT -- SHOCKWAVE Project specimen 'Midnight'. This nearly indestructible air warrior is Very Hard To Kill, but lacks somewhat in the agility department due to all the heavy armor. He sports 4 wing-mounted missiles, cluster bomb launchers, and two heavy-duty laser cannon. He's hot-tempered, and easily provoked into recklessness by slights to his flying skill or courage.
What is your character's origin and history?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight is an experiment of Shockwave's in creating an indestructible warrior. He's not actually indestructible, but he is immensely strong and tough. Massively redundant vital systems make him very hard to kill. He has survived both decapitation and an accidental plunge into the Smelting Pools in the past. His armor is as heavy as Blitzwing's, and he's built along similar lines to the triple-changer, but without the extra alt-mode. The extra weight of his armor and extra systems, though compensated for by more powerful engines, makes him much less maneuverable and slower than a Seeker. Midnight's armored lasercore is similar to the spark chamber among BW-era Maximals and Predacons.
Since Shockwave designed Midnight as a near-indestructible killing machine, not a support specialist, and did all the maintenance for Midnight in his own test lab, Shockwave didn't bother to program Midnight with a great many skills. Notably missing is any kind of Repair or First Aid skill.
Midnight has been Shockwave's operative ever since Shockwave deemed him ready to leave the test lab. Shockwave is still testing his design, of course, by sending him on missions in the wild, or into combat with other units. He is absolutely loyal to Shockwave, but has been chafing at the restricted duties he was long stuck with. For a time he was assigned to Straxus forces, leading some of the air defense units guarding Polyhex and the Smelting Pools. He grew to loathe duty at the Smelting Pools, a loathing that was only increased by an accidental plunge into the molten slag after an ill-advised, showy maneuver while fighting Autobot raiders. Optionally, the 'raiders' might have been Wreckers. (That fight was also when he got his head removed the first time. Midnight didn't do well that fight and was left for dead by both sides. He was not amused to have to hike back to base on his own, literally half-slagged with his head under one arm.)
In 2006 (comics continuity), Shockwave ordered him to attack Unicron along with all other available units in defense of Cybertron. In the ordinary course of things, Midnight would have been destroyed by Unicron.
What do you perceive as his role within the faction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elite warrior who gets the tough jobs and goes point on attacks; he also leads squadrons on ground attack missions.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
High-penetration version of standard arm lasers. Standard cluster bomb racks, plus a quad of wing-mounted air-to-air missiles. He can be fitted with other ordinance on wing-mounted hardpoints, but isn't currently.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Very heavy armor, comparable to Blitzwing or other heavy tank mech.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internal shielding, armoring and compartmentalization of vital systems; redundant data and power buses, including wireless versions of each. Multiple redundant cognitive processors that can be switched between automatically or at will. Basically, he can be dismembered and still *function* (not just survive)(to a point--if his guns are busted, it doesn't matter where his head is, he still can't shoot), he can take multiple armor-penetrating hits and still function, he's resistant to heat and energy effects, and he's really strong. (Note that cartoon Optimus Prime has similar capabilities, judging from "City of Steel", so Midnight's survivability is not without canon precedent.)
Being a comics character, he does not have robot-mode flight except by using his boot thrusters, and that's really awkward. He's not balanced for flying off his boot jets, so practically he can use them for jump assist, but not for prolonged flight in robot mode.
Outside of special abilities, does your alternate mode have the real-world abilities of an item of the same type? If not, what are the differences?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight is slower and much less maneuverable than a Seeker. (He flies like a heavy bomber, not a fighter jet).
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's a fuel hog, and he's a PITA to repair because of all the heavy-duty, non-standard, redundant systems.
List their skills and rank them from Pinnacle, Excellent, Good, Average, Amateur.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leadership: Good (Shockwave assigns him as the point & lead of special strikeforces)
Tactics: Amateur (see note on Leadership, but his hot-headedness holds him back here)
Strategy: Amateur (He got many an audial-full of Shockwave's monologues on Shocky's incredibly logical, clever plans)
Gambling: Amateur (How many soldiers DON'T gamble?)
Interrogation: Amateur (Sometimes you have to pry information out of a captured enemy and you don't have time to send for one of the specialists)
Height in robot-mode?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeker size.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Leader/Dinobot*
Endurance: Easily Winded (he's a fuel hog)
Toughness: Unbreakable*
Agility: Average**
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: High
Ranged: Steady Hands
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike***
* (see above in 'Special Abilities')
** (Fumble-fingered for flight maneuverability only.)
*** (see above in 'Armor' & 'Special Abilities')
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Fast (500mph)
----------------------------
Nearly-DOA Midnight (Stage 1)
----------------------------
Alt mode: Can't transform
Quote: "I'm not dead. I'm not a zombie. Seriously. Now get me a freaking repair tech! Uh, please?"
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's in robot mode, and he's been decapitated *again*. Once he gets on his feet, however unsteadily, he'll be carrying his head wedged in the crook of his mangled left arm. One optic is cracked and dark. He's got some big, ugly smoking holes in his armor. Left arm is blasted down to the struts, and the gun is missing. Both wings are torn off; only twisted, shredded bits of metal remain. Right arm cannon is loose, and has to be smacked to make the connection so Midnight can shoot. Cockpit and a chunk of the left side of his torso plating is missing, exposing the circuits beneath. One boot thruster is crushed and the leg struts half-sheared; Midnight walks with a dragging limp. The other one is a bit scorched looking.
In short, he looks like a zombie.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's got one high-penetration arm laser left. That he has to smack into place to fire. There are some cluster bombs left on the right side, but the launcher is fused.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Big chunks of armor are missing or have holes.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The high survivability mods of the Pre-Game version are what's keeping him alive. Miraculously, his radio still works (because it's a lot more fun to actually get in touch with people in-game). In his current condition, 'walking' and 'has a radio' are special abiilities.
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He has big holes in his body, only one functional gripping appendage, he limps, his insides are hanging out, he's got monocular vision, his ability to turn his head is limited, weapon problems have already been mentioned, he can't transform, he can't fly. Also, his head isn't attached. All Stage 0 weaknesses still apply. He's lost most of his fuel supply, too. (Wing tanks are gone, leaving only compartmentalized reserve tank in body, and it's half-trashed.)
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Strong*
Endurance: Easily Winded (he's STILL a fuel hog--and he's out of fuel)
Toughness: Tough Guy**
Agility: Fumble-fingered*
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: Average***
Ranged: Aimless#
Melee: Average
Armor: Fragile##
* Missing too many parts, cables and struts for full strength or agility
** His redundant, hardened systems have taken a hell of a beating.
*** Down to one laser. It's a hard-hitting laser, but he doesn't have the barrage he used to have.
# gun mount wobbly and has to be smacked everytime.
## Armor? That's that stuff strewn over half of Cybertron? Has too many gaping giant holes to be considered armored right now.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: N/A
---------------------------------
Actionmaster Hellbender (Stage 2)
---------------------------------
Alt mode: Can't transform
Quote: "Hook, when can you install a transformation cog? Seriously. This sucks."
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rogue mining worm used to rebuild Midnight into Hellbender was original encountered by the Decepticon ground party in the swamp [1]:
"Metal screamed as the mining worm erupted from underground, its massive bores rending road-metal and swamp alike. Metal, including Hook, was tossed into the air around it.
It reared up in the air, twice, thrice as tall as a Transformer, with more of its enormous body still hidden in the earth. The sharp, heavy teeth of its boring heads whirled in the sunlight. The yawning maws on either side of its borer sucked ravenously at the falling metal.
Hook had an extremely good view of the initial set of grinders inside those intakes."
He's a giant robotic worm, about 100' long, with multiple metal-boride cuttings heads; said cutting heads have been described as looking like "a metal pinecone"[2] or "an evil toothbrush"[3]. Between the cutting heads are intakes lined with crushers and grinders that suck the dirt and cracked rock in for preliminary processing. Ore is retained in bins for delivery to the smelter, waste rock and dirt is spewed out vents in the tail. The worm body is smooth, articulated, and heavily armored to withstand the pressure of drillng through the earth without external supports. All access panels are flush and tightly sealed.
"Massive boride cutting heads bite into rock and earth; flanking intakes suck up the cracked rock and earth and spew it out the rear of the mining robot. It moves through the ground like a gigantic, drill-headed worm."[4]
Hellbender is painted blue-black all over, with a large purple Decepti-sigil on his 'upper' front, behind the cutting heads and intakes. Being radially symmetrical, 'upper' is arbitrary.
[1] http://tfdeadzone.proboards81.com/index.cgi?board=mysteryplanet&action=display&thread=1181528074&page=2#1182202997
[2] http://www.boudillion.com/hoosac/HT07.jpg
[3] http://www.saskmining.ca/image/photoLib/potash/potash01.jpg
[4] http://tfdeadzone.proboards81.com/index.cgi?board=mysteryplanet&action=display&thread=1181528074&page=2#1182012842
What do you perceive as his role within the faction?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Deadzone, he's going to get a lot more support jobs than he's used to, because of the mining worm mode: excavation, mining, tunnelling past Autobot defenses...
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He has cutting heads that can cut through hard rock or not-so-hard armor. Small mechs can get sucked right into the intakes and ground up. Hellbender can also deal out considerable crushing damage; he's quite large and heavy. Additional armament may have been installed in deployable mounts; details will depend on what's available in game at the time.
*For Actionmaster Hellbender, the admin do not want him to have any ranged weapons.*
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Heavily armored and pressure-resistant as noted above.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He can burrow through earth and rock, sense metallic or other ores that he has a sample or program for, and harvest said ores. (Note: the ore sensors register substances as scents and tastes to Hellbender.) He has earth-penetrating radar (very short-range), and both active and passive sonar that double as seismic sensors and really, really sensitive audio pickups. He has a radio receiver/direction finder that lets him home in on the frequencies used by the natives to control their mining robots.
He has access spaces that could carry a small character or two, such as Beast Wars characters, *Masters, or mini-cons or cassettes. Refitting some of his ore bins as passenger or cargo compartments would allow him to carry more (small) people or stuff if the plot calls for doing that via the underground.
He's still got his armored lasercore and redundant cognitive processors. Up to in-game decisions how much of the rest of his hardening and system redundancy carry over to the mining worm body.
Outside of special abilities, does your alternate mode have the real-world abilities of an item of the same type? If not, what are the differences?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not sure there are real-world items of this type. However, most of his "special abilities" are extrapolated from what I imagine a mining robot might have if you then wired an AI into it.
List their skills and rank them from Pinnacle, Excellent, Good, Average, Amateur.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Add to his base list, after he's been at it for a while:
Mining/Geology: Amateur
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He has no optical sensors, no manipulatory appendages, and he can't transform. All three items to be corrected next stage. He can, however, be repaired with local spare parts, since his body is a native robotic machine.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Strong*
Endurance: Average**
Toughness: Stalwart##
Agility: Fumble-fingered***
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: None
Ranged: Steady Hands#
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike
* He'd be stronger, but lacks the means to apply strength (i.e., hands or tentacles)
** Unless Hook finds a reactor to stuff in him.
*** Giant worm with no feet and no hands that CAN'T turn on a dime
# Has no guns to do ranged with, but if he did...Subject to someone installing his one
surviving laser somewhere.
## There's a lot of space devoted to ore bins, and his mining systems are redundant (multiple smaller radially-spaced boring heads, intakes, grinders, vents, etc, instead of a large one of each)
Speed in Robot-Mode: N/A, can't transform
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Slow
---------------------------------
Transformer Hellbender (Stage 3)
---------------------------------
Alt mode: Robotic mining worm
Quote: "Hook, you can't imagine how incredibly thrilled I am that I can finally transform. Now can you put my wings back on? Seriously."
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worm mode looks much the same as per Stage 2.
Robot mode: Head, same as before, but instead of cockpit and nosecone and wings and tail hanging off him, he's got curvy wormshell bits. The more rigid head of the mining worm splits into two wing-like shells arching off his back (He's a shell-former). The boring heads adorn the outer edges of his arms, making for nasty melee weapons if needs be. Most of the articulated hull collapses on itself and forms curvaceous, overlapping V-plates on Hellbender's body. Which is to say, he's smooth and curvy and heavily armored, with evil toothbrush heads on his elbows.
Coloration suggests his original colors: very dark blue on the shell wings, black everywhere else. Decepti-sigil on his chest, and the big one split over his shell-wings.
Admin Note:
For Transformer Hellbender and subsequent forms that use the
worm-mode, we would like to cut down the size of the worm so that it's
not about a hundred feet long. It's been suggested that he retains the
ability to function in pieces, and sometime during his Actionmaster
phase he gets ripped in half. The important half digs home, and this
would be one of the thing to galvanize Hook into giving Hellbender a
robot-mode.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robot mode: cutters on his elbows and outer arm edges; shoulder-mounted high-penetration laser (Yes, he still has it!) Wrist-mounted rocket launchers, or whatever was handy in-game when this mode was put together. He can spin up the cutting heads on his elbows for a really mean elbow smash.
Alt mode: Add to armament of Stage 2 worm deployable/pop-up guns/missiles (whatever was handy in-game when Hook was modifying Hellbender) Basically, he's got more ranged firepower than before.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Alt mode: As per Stage 2.
Robot mode: Like Astrotrain or Blitzwing, packing all that alt-mode body into a robot-sized form makes for a very dense, tough body.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As per Stage 2, plus he can use the sonar and enhanced audio reception in robot mode.
Different from Real-world abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No change from Stage 2
Skills
~~~~~~
No change from Stage 2
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changes from Stage 2: he can transform, and has optical sensors in worm mode. These optical sensors are normally hidden behind protective armor panels that slide back and retract when Hellbender wants to see things. Underground, they're normally covered for protection and because eyes aren't useful when your face is shoved in the dirt in a dark tunnel. He still can't manipulate things in worm mode, but he can transform to robot mode, which has hands.
He's gotten trickier to repair: he is a unique Transformer and requires a very skilled technician to repair, or an average skill technician that is familiar with Gillanan technology.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Leader/Dinobot*
Endurance: Average**
Toughness: Stalwart
Agility: Average***
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: Well-armed
Ranged: Steady Hands
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike
* Strong in worm mode, due to lack of arms/hands/legs to apply leverage with, as per Stage 2
** Unless Hook finds a reactor to stuff in him.
*** Fumble-fingered in worm mode, as per Stage 2.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Slow
---------------------------------
Triple-changer Midnight (Stage 4)
---------------------------------
Alt mode: Robotic mining worm
Alt mode: Unique jet
Quote: "I got wings! WHAAA-HOOO!"
What does your character look like in each of his modes?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worm mode looks much the same as per Stage 2.
Robot mode: He's still got the spiffy curves from Stage 3, but the Shell-wings have additional joints where they fold into Real Wings. In general, the changes are almost invisible, extra seams where curved worm armor folds into stabilizers and v-tails and such-like.
Jet mode: this jet is a unique design created by the talents of the foremost Decepticon aerospace designers on Gillanan III, and whatever raw materials they had available. Since it has to accomodate the worm transform, the surfaces tend to be very smooth and curvy, including the V-tail, horizontal stabilizers, and wings (which have a dihedral like a Corsair's, only smoothly curved. His fuselage looks like it is made of interlocking v-scales. (The worm articulation, again). All weapons retract into the fuselage when not in use. Nose of the jet is actually the tail of the worm; worm cloacal vents become air intakes.
Colors follow Midnight's original colors again.
How is your character armed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robot mode: As per stage 3
Worm alt mode: As per Stage 3
Jet alt mode: Same laser, deployable under nose. Possbily missile launchers deployable under wings.
Armored?
~~~~~~~~
Worm Alt mode: As per Stage 2.
Jet Alt mode: Still fairly heavily armored, as he's using the worm hull as his fuselage and wings. Lacks the pressure resistance in this form, though.
Robot mode: Like Astrotrain or Blitzwing, packing all that alt-mode body into a robot-sized form makes for a very dense, tough body.
Does he have any special abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As per Stage 3. Sonar isn't too useful for a jet.
Different from Real-world abilities?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No change from Stage 3
Skills
~~~~~~
No change from Stage 2
What are your character's physical weaknesses?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changes from Stage 3: some of his mining productivity was sacrificed for jet engines and the jet transform. A pair of intakes and associated grinder/crushers had to be removed to fit the jet engines, and some ore bins were replaced with jet transform mechanism and additional fuel tankage for the fuel-hungry jet engines. The net result is that Midnight is not as productive and efficient a miner as Hellbender was--say 20-40% less productive. Not that this bothers Midnight in the slightest, but someone else might care.
He's really new to this triple-changer thing, and sometimes gets his modes screwed up if he's hurrying. If he doesn't hurry, he gets it right, but it's not a fast change.
He's gotten even trickier to repair: he is a unique Transformer and requires an extremely skilled technician to repair, or a very skilled technician that is familiar with Gillanan technology. Or the guy(s) who re-built him; they can always fix him.
Stats
~~~~~
Strength: Leader/Dinobot*
Endurance: Average**
Toughness: Stalwart
Agility: Average***
Intelligence: Average
Firepower: Well-armed
Ranged: Steady Hands
Melee: Average
Armor: Tanklike
* Strong in worm mode, due to lack of arms/hands/legs to apply leverage with, as per Stage 2
** Easily Winded in jet mode, as per Stage 0.
*** Fumble-fingered in worm mode, as per Stage 2, and jet mode, as per Stage 0.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Worm-Mode: Slow
Speed in Jet-Mode: Fast
Tags: