Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks 52 Characters from 52 Sessions of the DCRPG Campaign: Part III

(+) Yeah! (+)

61 is a pretty high placement for Romalthi the Shaper

Stickmitt Stimson?

#61 - Uncle Sam
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/7/0/AAUHRBAAEbBm.png
Or is it
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/4/0/AAQcMAAADiuA.jpg

Sams country needs him, and he needs his country. From its foundation, the incarnation of America has undergone many radical transformations, but he was always as strong as faith in the good ol USofA. Now, however, America has become an institution believed dead, and Sams powers have waned to a breaking point. As such, Sam himself has fragmented into at least three disparate pieces. Sam recently commissioned Rozetta and Jesse Custer to not only help put Sam back together, but his country as well.

According to Sam, his nature changes as the population of America adjusts its thinking, usually conforming to the most popular and dominant schools of thought. When the Puritans arrived in Plymouth, for example, Sam manifested as a peace-loving minister who brought prayer to the first interactions with the natives of America. During the Civil War, Sam revealed that he was divided into two disparate entities - Johnny Reb and Billy Yank. Sams more recognizable and codified form started to develop in the late 1890s, and as belief in Sam itself has become more tangible and notable, his form remains far less varied than it had prior to his popularization.

I know his appearances have been significantly limited, but the opportunity to explore the double-life of Uncle Sam as a living representation of America's legacy has proven to be boundlessly fascinating for me. I've been so excited to dig into what that legacy entails to the individuals living in the United States. There's a broken aspect of a country that could be better on one hand, and there's this massive jingoistic monolithic monster that crushes the aberrations from the manifest destiny on the other. Even though I probably haven't earned it, I'm really enjoying the dissection of the role Native Americans play in this country's heritage so far. I grew up in a family that was very close with another family of those who were descended from Native Americans, so I've always had a voice in my ear that questioned the motives of America. For me, Walt Whitman's works often are conjured to mind when I think about the larger corporate body of the United States - millions of voices homogenized into one superior sentiment. Too often, the idea of a melting pot overlooks the fact that everything placed within it ultimately congeals into one flavor - the most dominant one - and everything else is lost in the process.

The future for Sam, whose entire being is tied inextricably to the American citizenry's faith in it own nation, seems entirely bleak for the moment. But perhaps there is a hope to be had - perhaps Roz'etta, an alien immigrant, just like those tired, huddled masses who braved the fogs of New York and witnessed the rising, cresting crown of Liberty on the horizon, will be able to unite the various states of Sam - and in doing so, resurrect the American Experience once more.

#60 is a longtime OG of the campaign, drafted in the back half of our board!

Sam really is one of my favorite themes of the campaign. He's pure, unrestrained Americana, for good and for bad. I thought his limited screentime would cost him, but I suppose not!

As for this...I'll go with Vostok.

One aspect of Sam is currently in Z'onn Z'orr's medbay, being tended to by Spirit. Spirit has an intense hatred for America because of No Man's Land, but he takes his duties as a doctor seriously and puts that hatred aside for his patient.

okay but we should be clear that Rosetta is the definition of an illegal alien

this is a trick clue, this is Kobra

The story of Sam is interesting - Saoirse shares some distaste for America like Spirit does, but hers is general anti-imperialism. To that end, she holds some great respect for the First Peoples, and since they're tied in a lot, it helps me to feel a little less out of place when helping to put the American icon back together.

Vostok or Kobra are both good guesses.

Has it been revealed how Uncle Sam first manifested, or what exactly he is? Do other countries have similar manifestations of their culture?

Cody11533 posted...

Has it been revealed how Uncle Sam first manifested, or what exactly he is? Do other countries have similar manifestations of their culture?

The First Thanksgiving. It was in the act of union that Uncle Sam first emerged, a figure that was born from the coming together of the native peoples of America with their internal creation-mysticism and the inherent manifest destiny of the newly arrived colonists from across the ocean. This gloaming magic became spiritual, and the act of thanksgiving gave birth to the spirit of a new America, an America built on self-evident truths, that all men were created equal. Uncle Sams first act was to bless the food of the first shared meal - the corns of the natives. The salted meats of the Europeans. And in this one, singular moment, the future was bright for Sam - or Father Samuel, as was his name then. The act of coming together was the first faint stirring of a new nation, though what would come next would change Sam forever, twisting his pure optimism into something bloody and cynical.

As for other spirits of nations, that hasn't been explored yet...

Very interesting stuff. I appreciate you incorporating a character who embodies the best and worst of the American spirit, literally. No wonder poor Sam is in a crisis. Is he from the comics?

scarletspeed7 posted...

As for other spirits of nations, that hasn't been explored yet...

10/10 tease.

Uncle Sam has been in superhero comics since 1940, believe it or not!

Has his comic persona also adjusted with the times?

Not particularly. I'm borrowing a couple themes from the phenomenal two-parter by Alex Ross that isn't an in-continuity comic, and doesn't feature Sam a hero. But a lot of this is just an opportunity to deconstruct Manifest Destiny, jingoism, and a number of other historical interpretations of American philosophy.

scarletspeed7 posted...

But a lot of this is just an opportunity to deconstruct Manifest Destiny, jingoism, and a number of other historical interpretations of American philosophy.

These are topics that are ripe for exploring that's for sure.

#60 - Jack Cross
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/5/2/AAOJ0pAADX-s.jpg
A conscientious objector.

Jack Cross, a pacifist super-agent, only fights so he can breed peace around the world. A high-level freelance spy who has operated for most organizations around the world, Cross was among the first people to encounter the OMAC virus, discovering a STAR Labs counter-measure to kill the dormant nanites in a humans bloodstream. Forced to flee from Denver during A-Day, Cross helped other heroes and refugees set up camp in Mesa Verde, where they remained for several weeks. When OMACs found them, however, Jack was the only survivor to make it to Zonn Zorr with a Checkmate contingent tasked to make a contact or rescue. Cross is now a member of the first expansionary field team in Checkmate, a loudmouth who always brings a healthy dose of skepticism to any situation.

There really isn't a better Checkmate agent than the non-Checkmate agent that is Jack Cross. Actually, it might be fair to say he's anti-Checkmate, and I think that might enhance the nature of Amanda Waller. There's truly no reason that Waller should allow Cross to mouth off at every opportunity, except for the fact that I think Waller sees Cross as a personal challenge for herself. Waller is fighting against a totalitarian world with no opposing points of view, and if she can't stand strong in the face of a single dissenting opinion, what right does she have to lead the fight against Darkseid? Cross is an example of what Waller has been facing for the last year, especially after the fall of President Luthor. Instead of actively butting heads with Cross, I think Waller internalizes his positions as both punishment for a rare bout of foolishness on her part, but also she likely hopes to win him over to her side because Cross is very much a valuable agent. Having already demonstrated his own competence a couple of times in the field, Cross doesn't stand on ceremony. He says what he thinks, and his impulsiveness may make him look less together than the other Checkmate agents, but it's that heart on his sleeve that makes him invaluable. That's something other agents don't possess.

Even though we've shied away from his starring role as of late, Cross has managed to surprise even this late into the campaign with the shocking revelation that he cuts himself for every kill he manages in the field.

#59 was our highest value pick thus far in the draft!

Jack still manages to get a voice in occasionally... he's a great character because he represents a point of view that you have to respect despite it being so irreverent. It's a very important voice to have.

Cross is fun. I remember the Mesa Verde team weren't too fond of him at first, but we've definitely warmed up to him.

As for the hint, highest value so far probably means this is a round 10 pick. I'm hoping for Radio Tuner

Roz'etta went to go see Jack Cross after the finale of Boulder, Colorado to go congratulate him, only to discover his secret of self-farm as a form of penance, and they had a really nice discussion about pacifism during wartime.

Roz'etta and him always had a nice connection, as Jack is an aspiring writer, but that made them so much closer.

...Of course, Roz'etta is also Waller's apprentice, which I'm not sure how Cross will respond to that, and she is keeping the secret of the White Martians from him, which Waller reprimanded her for trying to keep it alone, for Jack would investigate on his own without anyone else running distraction, like her and Thinker.

...But really their bond was made when Roz'etta informed him that Miss Martian was the daughter of Mica'kel and Condoleezza Rice. That's still a campaign highlight scene for me.

Oh, and the Mica'kel/Condi talk to Jack scene opened with Jack saying he didn't need to send an awkward e-mail to Roz'etta to get her to talk to him after he was suspicious of the Martians and didn't know why we should trust them, and Roz'etta saying she didn't need to get an obviously fake apology that she'd feel required to accept, which immediately ended any tension between them.

hombad46 posted...

Cross is fun. I remember the Mesa Verde team weren't too fond of him at first, but we've definitely warmed up to him.

As for the hint, highest value so far probably means this is a round 10 pick. I'm hoping for Radio Tuner

Pretty sure I had Lush just throw out "Let's kill this guy and take the cubes." Things have changed a lot since then!

Also yeah, I think Radio Tuner is a solid pick here. Maybe Aria.

#59 - Squire
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/0/0/AAOJ0pAADXxY.jpg
Squirerank!

Squire is the second of her title, following the originals ascent into the role of Knight. The Robin to Knights Batman, Squire is a gung-ho and devil-may-care adventurer who loves few things more than fighting for whats right and protecting her home country. Squire was first encountered in London, where Checkmate agents successfully convinced Squire that they werent robbing the Old Bailey. Later, they convinced Squire that it was okay for them to break curfew in order to protect London. Squire has been pulling double shifts in order to cover for the Knight.

Ultimately, however, the London crew would realize that the Knight, who was left in a broken, drunken stupor, harangued by the ghost of his dear old dad, was on the shelf for a reason. It would take the near-death of someone he truly cared about to jolt the Knight of his funk - and once the time was ripe, he would return to the field alongside Squire, desperate to make right his wrongs and defend his people with the same wholesale genuine earnestness that Squire had been demonstrating for weeks before.

If you asked me which character I would most like to play as a my PC in this campaign, it would be none other than the unflappable, delightfully spunky young hero of London, Squire. Squire line break! What I love about Squire is her earnestness and her trusting nature, which stands in frighteningly stark contrast to the rest of the more mature, darker tone of London. Squire doesn't carry the heavy burdens of London's seedier nature, but rather wears her jingoism and nationalism like badges of honor, proud but not prideful. It's that tightrope walk that keeps her young without making her childishness, giving her a certain maturity without being mature. Squire is just the perfect dose of positivity that the campaign needs, and I think, if I was to move one character into Z'onn Z'orr, it would be Squire. Squire post!

#58 went undrafted, and I was left quite aghast by that.

Squire was my guess last night for who this would be

She's a lot of fun. It's hard to say too much more because you explained her so well. Unflappable positivity is right, and that sort of legit helps to balance the bleakness we see in the campaign

Oh, totally guessing Oracle here. In retrospect, I don't know why I thought Aria was such a good last round pick, and I regret not taking Oracle - she feels right for this spot. She's definitely established herself with to earn a spot like this

Spirit hasn't met Squire, but she's great, yeah.

I could easily see this next one being Oracle.

I debated taking Oracle a lot. Not sure why I didn't...

Watch this not even end up being Oracle lol

The draft gets brought up a lot, so for the sake of the readers here it is:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/9/1/AAUKKbAAEbLT.jpg

Also for the sake of our readers:

One list is going to go 10/10
One list is going to go 7/10 but get 3 HMs
One list is going to go 6/10

#58 - Jon Valor, the Black Pirate
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/7/2/AAOJ0pAADXfw.jpg
Arr, but let the funeral dirges of Jon Valor not be the end of the terror of seven seas, but instead the beginning.

I arrived at a tavern later than arranged. The landlord bade me to a private room. There, I saw my first mate for the last time. He was already dead, stabbed. As I fell to my knees beside him, the towns guard entered. It all seems so rehearsed. They awaited my entrance and then acted upon it. It all seems so timed, but in my grief I saw none of this. The trial was swift. I was a pirate. Someone crept onto my boat and stole away documentation. I had no proof of my own privateer purpose. My crew - my crew was implicated as well on the night of my arrest. No doubt fearful of the crimes in their own past, they believed silence would suit them. So I was alone.
Added to this was the fact that the dagger in my mate was my own. From a hilt I keep hidden in the back of my tunic. I had not noted its absence. There was only one man who had gotten close enough to take it that day. And thus the savage pantomime began, a dance with the dwarven governor of the Port O Souls that ended with a gallows built. I said my last words. I swore my return.
There was the drop. There was the sound of the crowd - some cheered, some gasped, some silent. There was everything told before; the choking pain, my lungs on fire as the air departed, and my life along with it.
That was the end of me.
~Jon Valor

Centuries ago, in the early days of the Port O Souls, Jon Valor was killed by a politically powerful dwarf who ruled the budding colony, hanged from a gallows cobbled together from his own ship. But his story was just beginning - for when the Port O Souls (Opal City) was suffering its darkest days, the dredged ship Donna Bonita returned, its crew undead, captained by the ghastly form of Jon Valor, the valiant Black Pirate. Valor, who spent his younger days fighting against the wealthy and greedy colonial expansion in the Americas and the Caribbean, now turned his fight for freedom into a captaincy of the last human resistances mystical phantom ship. Valor, ever the adventurer, yearns to experience one last, valiant war of desperation before he shuffles off of the mortal coil for good, to find eternal rest with his wife and son who died centuries ago.

Jon Valor has such a depth to him, such a lingering sadness that overflowed his mortal life and hung around for centuries thereafter. I think that makes him the greatest hero in this campaign, because hundreds of years after his duties were fulfilled, Valor remained anchored to his last port of call, a port of souls. With his curse abated, Valor has every right to take his eternal rest. After all, his wife, his son... we all know that they have left him far behind. Travel to the great beyond, Jon Valor, and you can see them again. But Valor, I tell you, Valor chose not to take the easy way out. With a world in peril, the Black Pirate raised anchor one last time and willed his crew to sail once more. So, I stand by "Jon Valor is the greatest hero of the campaign", because no one likely has sacrificed more. I know that as we travel the seven seas, Valor will have to worm his way into your hearts. There's just too much there for him to be denied.

#57 will see a top-halfer fall, but it won't push its drafter over the centenary mark.

Oh wow! I never would have guessed Valor.

Especially since he's not even the best pirate on his ship...

Lol it wasn't Oracle, we should've considered the word aghast more.

I didn't expect Valor up here since we don't use his ship that often, but whenever we do it's a fun time.

I... really have to argue that his ship has been used quite a bit!

Maybe I just feel that way since I haven't been on any Atlantis centered missions, which are probably a decent chunk of the ones we use a ship for

The last time Spirit saw Valor may have been Tokyo?

We still get him for times and it's always a good trip. The ghost ship is just a perfect way to travel around for the resistance - it's a little wonky but so are we.

There is a lot of humanity to Valor - convincing him to stay and help I thought might be difficult in Opal, but they've been mainstays of helping preserve humanity, despite being dead. There is a lot of poetry there.

Oh and I'm guessing... Roulette?

Guessing SHA or Lono

#57 - Roulette
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/8/2/AAblU3AADvt6.png
Roulette is the house, this is Las Vegas, and the always, always wins. Except when it doesn't. Let's play our game.

For a few years, Metabrawl had risen to prominence as the preeminent underground fighting organization in the world, thanks to the no holds barred approach to metahuman combat. So enamored was the Society with Roulettes work that they allowed Metabrawl to serve as the crown jewel in their vacation destination, Las Vegas. But Roulette soon found herself contending with various Society vacations around the city, and in order to gain an edge, she sent a group of disguised Checkmate agents after a weapon in Excalibur that could place power solely in her hands. However, plans went awry, and Metabrawl was burned to the ground. Losing control of her city to an outside visitor in Zazzala, Roulette was forced to concede her position of prominence, having not made too many friends with her distaste for Libra. Returning to Zonn Zorr, Roulette wasted no time in putting together a new Metabrawl once more, this time so that Checkmates forces could hone their craft in secret.

Roulette is this little pet project that began with humble beginnings in campaign 1, blossoming between campaigns and returning as my favorite sort of character in Campaign 2. Villainous, but calculating. Angling for a better deal at every stage, manipulating just enough to stay a step ahead of disaster. Roulette has it all together - she's hypercompetent, but she's not perfect any means. She lives in a perpetual state of frustration, and her obsession with perfection means that she sometimes lets her rage hang out. And we all know she's a bitch of a boss if you let her down. She's really a gamble in terms of alliance, and that's why Vegas is what it is. It's almost impossible not to be enticed by the idea of a risking the biscuit with some with such an attention to detail, such a sense of looseness and improvisation. Both in the short run and the long term, Roulette knows how to play the game. Hair coifed to perfection, outfit snug in exactly the right places, Roulette is just a well-designed bitch. I love her to death, and I could spend an entire campaign propelling her to the top of the pile. Forget Darkseid - this should be Roulette's world. Why not roll the dice with her?

Roulette stands at the head of a list of most underserved NPCs in the campaign. Savvy, so perfectly in control of every facet of herself, there is a certain magic in seeing a frustrated Roulette. You can tell that she has labored and toiled for such a long, long time to micromanage every facet of the person she presents herself as. And thus, this meticulous preening and primping and performing manages to underlay an organization that is, for lack of a better phrase, a cult of personality. In fact, all of Las Vegas revolved around the fight scene, the marquee title fights and the take at the tills on the nights of big bouts. Then four people and a dog came in and the world erupted. The idea of Metabrawl remains, however, transposed to the icy wastes of ZZ, presented with a new coat of paint. Maybe, even, a fresher one. And despite the fact that Roulette was an integral part of the morale department in the Society, she shifts easily to Checkmate, in that she is a businesswoman, and more than that, she is a survivor. Roulette reads the tea leaves, and sees that it isn't a craps shoot to make that move. I enjoy the contemplative, thoughtful Roulette, a manipulator of crowds and cities, and not just one or two individuals. She plays with the sway of crowds and the shifting of movements. It's macropsychology, and you don't get that anywhere else in the campaign - at least not in as satisfying a way.

#56 is a high-value pick for a late-stage round.

Squire! Fits the eternal theme of Batman needing his Robin, no matter the Batman, so well, and she's such an addictive personality that despite being a Robin, she's completely unlike any Robin we've ever met. Even Stephanie Robin, excited to be Robin, didn't have half the pure energy of Squire.

And Jon Valor!

Jon Valor and his crew played a key role in getting Lesbos on the board for Roz'etta, that of getting A.J. Curry as far as they could before having to dump him in the water to avoid Society fleets.

When they came back, Roz'etta told him to give her thanks to his crew, which he responded to by saying Roz'etta should join them to celebrate a successful mission and thank them herself. It's sometimes the little things that make a character for me, and that little thing may just have made the old captain that I already liked a lot before then.

Haha I'm guessing dog I'm guessing dog

I think what's interesting for me in this campaign is that - with Metabrawl, Fields is absolutely fighting in the pit. He'd love it.

Saoirse is the strict opposite. It's nonsense to her.

But also I like how put-toget'er Roulette is, and as I explore this more business-like side of Saoirse, I see there being room for engagement there. Which is why I tried to slide in on the card making side of things.

It'll be curious to see how Roulette reacts after the event. I think that Saoirse had room to operate as a manager in Metabrawl - and maybe that gives Roulette more of an in?

Next rank is definitely Thom Kallor

I haven't really interacted with Roulette much since Spirit naturally has no interest in Metabrawl, especially since it actually has measures to stop him from getting new patients out of it.

I'm looking forward to when we get Obrov to Z'onn Z'orr, he was one of Roulette's favorites in campaign 1.

Roulette, with her willingness to make Metabrawl, Z'onn Z'orr edition far less violent, does a good job of making you forget that she is a very twisted person, something Mr. Terrific is sure to remind people. Terrific doesn't really get mad often, but, like Tomorrow Woman, Roulette pulling that side out of him enhances both characters.

hombad46 posted...

I haven't really interacted with Roulette much since Spirit naturally has no interest in Metabrawl, especially since it actually has measures to stop him from getting new patients out of it.

I'm looking forward to when we get Obrov to Z'onn Z'orr, he was one of Roulette's favorites in campaign 1.

I'm looking forward to finding Obrov. I want to say he's the next PC we get - since he's with the Room Patrol and we.have two canvasses that supposedly go to where they went

#56 - Thom Kallor
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/5/0/AAOJ0pAADZyS.jpg
Opal Cityzens really do well in these.

His origins a mystery, the Starman Thom Kallor came into the lives of Checkmates field agents in a bizarre, unexpected way, and it hasnt changed since. Thom Kallow, bearer of a strange metal rod and a ring with an L carved into its top, never ceases to know things he shouldnt (and say things no one ever should), and yet he has wormed his way into the confidences of many field team members, even finding a way onto the Tokyo expedition, much to Saoirses chagrin.

I decided quite early on into my building of this campaign that Thom would be a little bit Deadpool. Introduced in the heart of a sanitarium, it would only stand to reason that the potentially unstable not-so-Starman is a little out there. But there is a baseline sanity that exists deep within Thom. He's not so far gone that he's a nuisance like Multi-Man; that said, he's certainly not there yet. It's like there's a single piece misaligned in his head. Perhaps Thom's memory holds the key, but without access to it, Thom remains one of many mysteries in this character. Who is he, really? Why is he in Opal City in the first place? And just how much does he love sloppy joes? These questions and many more might be answered as we continue to delve deeper and deeper into one of the more unique characters of this campaign.

#55 went undrafted, even after Scare announced his enjoyment of the character so recently!

Thom is so weird I don't know how else to describe him. Between shattering the fourth wall and producing sloppy joes from....somewhere, he's just Thom.

As for this spot...I'll go with Madame Xanadu.

I'm guessing dog! I'm guessing dog!

next will be Xanadu