Big MAC, Power Armored Hero From An Apocalyptic Alternate Timeline

Another "loaner" hero for the occasional one-shot, with a vague background than can be tweaked to suit the player's tastes.  I'm rather fond of the build because it shows off the way heroes get more potent through the GYRO scale more dramatically than most.

Big MAC

Master Sergeant Barbara "Big MAC" MacReady comes from the same alternate timeline as the Red Colossus ICBM, and was thrown into our timeline by getting caught in the fringe of the same katatron blast as the Soviet juggernaut.  She assisted local heroes in disabling the robot, and (with no obvious way to return home) surrendered herself (and her Mobile Assault Corps suit) to government authorities.  Her next few years were spent being interrogated by disbelieving intelligence agents and scientists, and she came very close to being "disappeared" for good.  Thankfully the supers she'd fought alongside had enough pull and persistence to eventually get her freed after almost half a decade of "retirement" and she was eventually licensed as a federally-supported hero.  Her MAC suit was returned to her after a thorough decontamination process and the removal of its payload of NBC WMDs, and studying its systems led to some major breakthroughs in toxic cleanup technology.  

Description: Out of her suit, a very fit young woman who carries herself with a pronounced military air and a serious mien.  In her MAC suit, a hulking seven foot tall powered armor rig in dull blue-gray, with a prominent energy projector built into the chest plate and multiple underslung tubes on its forearms for deploying neutralizing agents in spray or foam form - the original payload of isotope dusts, war viruses and nerve agents having been removed.  Her detachable MAC-pack thruster array is nearly as bulky as the suit itself, and is usually detached until needed if she expects to be operating in confined spaces.  

Gender: Female          Age: 25           Height: 5'3"          Eyes: Blue

Hair: Buzzcut Blonde               Skin: Pale Caucasian          Build: Thin But Muscular

Background: Retired          Power Source: Powered Suit          Archetype: Armored

Personality: Stoic                   Health (G/Y/R):  34/24/12

Powers: Power Suit d12, MAC-Pack d10, Awareness d6, Momentum d6, Nuclear d6, Toxic d6

Qualities: Leadership d10, Technology d10, Traumatized Atomic War Vet d8

Status: Green (34-25) - d6 / Yellow (24-13) - d8 / Red (12-1) - d10

Abilities:

Green

Alloy Plating (I) Reduce any physical damage your take by one while you are in the Green zone, two while you are in the Yellow zone, or three while in the Red zone.

Atomic Force Field (I) Reduce any physical or energy damage your take by one while you are in the Green zone, two while you are in the Yellow zone, or three while in the Red zone.

Charge and Recharge (A) Attack using Power Suit.  Recover Health equal to your Min die.

Mobile Cover (A) Attack using Power Suit.  Defend another target using your Min die.

Principle of Detachment (A) Overcome a challenge related to duress or fear.  Use your Max die.  You and your allies each gain a Hero Point.  Minor twist: What mechanical device just shorted out?  Major twist: How have you withdrawn from the current situation to cope?  RP: You are detached from emotional situations and always keep your cool.

Principle of the Indestructible (A) Overcome in a situation where you charge headlong into danger.  Use your Max die.  You and your allies each gain a Hero Point.  Minor twist: What goes wrong with your defenses?  Major twist: Who gets hurt other than you as a result of you not being able to take damage?  RP: You ignore damage from unpowered close-combat weapons and attacks (such as clubs and non-powered fists) and basic ranged weapons (such as slings and arrows).

Rocket Ram (A) Attack using MAC-Pack. This Attack ignores all penalties and Defend actions, and cannot be affected by Reactions.

Yellow

Atomic Beam (A) Attack up to three different targets using Nuclear.  Use your Max die on one target, your Mid die on a second target, and your Min die on a third target.  If you roll doubles, either take a minor twist or take irreducible damage equal to that die.

Reactor Overload (A) Boost yourself using Power Suit.  Use your Mid + Min dice.  The bonus is persistent and exclusive.

Red

Armored Rampage (A) Attack multiple targets using Power Suit.  Use your Max + Min dice.  If you roll doubles, either take a minor twist or take damage equal to your Mid die. 

Damn Foolish Heroics (R) When an opponent Attacks, you may become the target and Defend by rolling your single Red zone status die.

Thruster Rush (A) Attack using MAC-Pack.  Use your Max die.  Hinder each nearby opponent using your Mid die.  After using this ability, you and up to two allies may end up anywhere in the scene, even outside the action.

Out

Automated Defense Program (A) Defend an ally by rolling your single Power Suit die.

Tactics

Big MAC is a mobile defensive powerhouse who gets progressively more dangerous the more desperate a situation becomes.  Her combination of Alloy Plating and Atomic Force Field give her solid resistance to energy damage and enormous protection against physical impacts, both of which scale up through the GYRO zones.  In Green, she can use her signature MAC-Pack thruster array to bypass most enemy defenses with a sudden Rocket Ram, provide Mobile Cover to an ally, or Charge and Recharge to steadily restore some of her own energy.  Principle of the Indestructible is easy to use for someone as tough and mobile as she is, while Principle of Detachment lets her shrug off threats and attempts at intimidation.  She's lived through the start of World War 3 in her home timeline, and even the worst supervillains don't impress her much.

In the Yellow zone, she'll usually use Reactor Overload immediately to establish a lasting bonus, repeating if it's stripped away or just rolls poorly on the initial attempt.  She may continue with her Green zone Attacks, or start using the dangerously unstable Atomic Beam to maximize her offense.  The MAC suit's innate damage resistances also double at this stage.

In the Red zone, she'll resort to Damn Foolish Heroics (and her prodigious damage resistance) for a team-wide defensive Reaction, which also works even when she's the initial target.  She also gains access to Thruster Rush for a strong Attack, a multi-target Hinder, and the ability to move herself and two allies anywhere she likes, including out of the fight entirely if there are civilians or injured in need of a speedy evac.  Her ultimate offensive ability is to overpower all servos and thrusters and go on an Armored Rampage, dealing serious damage to every foe that gets within reach as she rockets around.  The ability is dangerous to use since doubles generate either a minor twist or self-damage, but unlike many similar abilities the damage isn't irreducible and she's got six(!) physical damage resistance at this point.  She's also still got potential healing from Charge and Recharge, especially with bonuses to apply to the Min die.

Even when Out, the suit's Automated Defense Program will still maneuver its battered hulk to block attacks on key allies.

Design Notes

Big MAC's d12 Power Suit grants her incredible physical strength and durability, fully sealed life support capable of enduring the worst an atomic battlefield has to offer, and not much else.  Her MAC-Pack d10 Signature Vehicle is capable of propelling her both underwater and in flight, and can manage low orbit altitudes and atmospheric re-entry given time.  The thruster array is semi-autonomous and can be detached when operating in tight spaces, orbiting nearby and returning when called for.  Secondary functions of the suit include a potent if somewhat unstable atomic energy emitter (d6 Nuclear), an array of sensory and communication devices augment by boosters on her MAC-Pack (d6 Awareness), deployable ground mobility units (eg pop-out tracked rollers) in the suit's boots (d6 Momentum), and subsystems for nullifying a wide variety of toxic substances, whether radioactive, chemical or biological in nature (d6 Toxic).

Her Leadership and Technology qualities reflect her military training as a leader of a team of MAC fighters.  She relies on her Traumatized Atomic War Vet for most combat pools, as well as battlefield awareness, intimidation, tactical analysis, and staying cool under pressure.

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