This is a character I’ve had for a long time, basically an amalgamation of all my favorite things about the superhero subculture all rolled up into one neat little package. I basically wanted to accomplish three goals when I was making her. The first and foremost was I wanted to make a character that wasn’t classically powered, she wouldn’t be a mutant, nor would she have come across any magical something or other. Basically I wanted a character that could contend with Batman in his own element without the resources that Batman.
Secondly I wanted to make a teenager; of course this means that the character wouldn’t really be able to contend with Batman, she wouldn’t have nearly the same experience. But it wouldn’t be a far cry to imagine her in the future taking on a lot of higher level characters. Another thing I wanted to confront when making a teenager was the idea that teenage heroes aren’t always well adjusted or guided by a force that keeps them in line. I love the Teen Titans, and they definitely touched upon the subject but I was really inspired by the Runaways. Leaving a teenager on their own where they can decide what they do with themselves, for better or worse. Basically I wanted to make it so she’d have to learn how to survive on her own, without the use of powers or a solid group backing.
Lastly I wanted to follow the typical anti-hero design from the 90s, a character that was bent on the vengeance of her loved ones due to their death. While death is a powerful motivator, I wanted to make it a little more complex than that since death of loved ones has been done so many times before. So basically I made death the seed for her growth, the real reasons that she became the hero that she is today is because of the social stigma that surrounded her due to her loved ones death, something that would temper her and add to her direction.
What I came up with has been a pretty interesting character to me at least, Jessie has had a lot of opportunity to be fleshed out through roleplay and writing. When I first created her she was a street tough teenager who was ready to throw away her own life if it meant she could enact her vengeance. Her vengeance in this case being clearing her father’s name as a domestic terrorist, thus clearing any suspicion automatically cast on her by people who knew her history. Through relationships with like minded teenage heroes Jessie eventually became something of a self sacrificial leader. She’s not really inspirational, or much of a talker, being more comfortable just fighting than talking her problems out. But she has control over herself and her abilities, and she has a sense of duty and a foot in the real world which most of her peers do not seem to have as Meta Teens. Eventually her character grew into someone who was both fiercely loyal to her friends, but still kind of unable to let people past her own personal wall.
Anyway this is a snapshot of Jessie Tell, probably more toward the beginning of her career, later she’s actually gotten more techniques, working with pistols (Not for killing.) as well as her hand to hand skills as well as focusing on stealth:
Jessie Tell
Brawn: 2 Agility: 2 Mind: 2
Skills:
Athletics (Acrobatics, Throwing)
Stealth (Evading Cameras/Alarms)
Escapology (Improvising)
Streetwise (Gather Information)
Military (Tactics)
Advantages:
Jack of All Trades
Frightening Presence
Never Surrender
Quick Thinking
Disadvantages:
Age (Young)
Normal
Secret
On the Run
Powers:
-Armored Trenchcoat- Armor 2
[Limitations: Gadget Easily Taken]
-Keen Eyes- Keen Senses 1
[+3 Mind to Sight Checks.]
Dazing Strike - Daze 2
[Range 0, Area 0, Limitation: Activation]
Attack Weak Point 2
Disarm Expert 2
Fleet of Foot 1
Martial Arts Mastery 3
Swift Strike 2
Equipment:
-Survival Knife-
Knife (Damage x1, Throw Knife Brawn x3 Squares
Cellphone (Camera, GPS Included.)
Street Level: 25 Points
Bio:
Loathe to the person that sees Jessica Tell as a picture of a common every day girl. With but a look at the way she carries herself one can tell she’s not someone to be trifled with lightly. To see her in action is another matter entirely as the small girl seems to exhibit skills far beyond what most her age would be able to accomplish. Not only that but Jessie seems to exult in the violence of battle, going into a rage and often making obvious mistakes in order to place herself for more devastating attacks. She seems to have no mind to any injuries she receives which is a scary thought when one considers that she’s only human. If one were to get close enough to her she’d eventually tell them the story of how she trained with years with a mentor who strengthened her mind and body to the point that she could accomplish such goals. She says she trained for three years under his tutelage, paying by working as a housekeeper for him. However this doesn’t seem to be the entire truth, Jessie seems to possess more skills than just a simple martial artist, but she doesn’t seem to want to say where she got them.
Narrator Notes:
Here’s where I’d explain to the narrator the Secret Stuff about the character.
-Peaceful Hand-
Jessie was trained by more than one mentor; in fact she was trained by an entire organization of mentors. The Peaceful Hand is a secret society that was built around the time that Meta Humans began appearing on the Earth as super heroes. Concerned law enforcement, military, and political figures at the time worried about heroes rising up and overtaking the entire world as overlords. So the Peaceful Hand was formed, and basically grew into a secretive military organization over the years. Basically members of the Peaceful Hand are made to look like common everyday citizens, and in fact they usually are though they commonly come from military or law enforcement and are usually inducted through family or political ties. Jessie’s own father was a member and had failed a mission from the Peaceful Hand resulting in the US Military saying he had gone rogue and become a Domestic Terrorist. This resulted in Jessie’s mother eventually committing suicide due to not being able to handle the social stigma of being related to a criminal of such high stature. Before Jessie was sent off to a foster home however she was approached by a friend of her fathers who had been in the Peaceful Hand who stated that she could eventually clear her father’s name if she worked for them. At the age of twelve Jessie joined them and was whisked out of the eyes of the government to a secret facility and heavily trained for combat until she was sixteen. At that point she was given rank within the Peaceful Hand and sent to a hot bed of Super Hero activity to act as a watcher of sorts. So basically at the call of her organization Jessie can pretty much go into assassination mode and start taking down super heroes that the Peaceful Hand deems a threat.
So basically here’s the Disadvantages explained
Secret: Jessie is basically part of a Super Hero hating organization, and has been trained in combating Meta human threats. If somebody decides that she should start murdering superheroes she’s basically obligated to do so.
On the Run: Jessie dropped off the map from the age of 12 to 16, she’s still technically a minor so she’s basically always on the lookout for cops and other authority figures so she doesn’t get tossed into the foster care system.
Anyway, this is my first build, I probably made some mistakes, but that's why I'm posting it here. Comments questions always welcome.
Also here's a picture that I commissioned of her a while ago. Its not really a super accurate representation but it was cheap so I'm not complaining. Accurately though Jessie would be flat chested and be wearing jeans and sneakers instead of a one piece suit. Jacket is still cool though.
Edit:
Overshot by six points had to take some out.
