Exemplar

"Now that is metal!"

Exemplar is an Übermensch, the leftovers of a now defunct USSR project to create the ideal Soviet citizen. The vicissitudes of history having granted him his freedom, he has instead led a lackadaisical life of superheroism. Though he is very proficient in English (as well as French), he speaks with a prominent Czech accent.

Exemplar is played by Daniel.

Übermensch
Exemplar's only natural "power" is his superhuman body, which recovers quickly from injury and is pristinely strong and healthy. He does have a slightly above average mental edge courtesy of his treatment, but he has not really honed his mental faculties to their full potential.

Leadership
His most noteworthy abilities are all too human, being a powerful aptitude and attitude for teamwork. He is consumately cooperative, and his powerful sense of empathy and social skills make him a skilled leader and diplomat. When it comes down to the wire, his primary contribution is to offer guidence, encouragement, and support to his teammates. However, he is still an Übermensch, and combines that with a seeming flagrant disregard for common sense that drives him to take demented risks and thoughtlessly attempt the impossible.

Hot-Blooded
Fortune seems to favor the bold, and that certainly appears to Exemplar, who routinely takes ridiculous risks, impossible gambits, and ludicrous chances. It's hard to say if he just particularly shines when the pedal hits the floor or if there's some other force at work, but thus far he has consistently come out the other side grinning.



Weaponry
Exemplar's trademark weapon is his guitar, a custom Fender Stratocaster with a body internally reinforced with thick steel plating and edged in thin titanium bands. The guitar has its own power supply, used to power a plasma arc speaker mounted on the side of its body and conducted between two exposed terminals, which allow it to be played "unplugged" and also to be used as a burning weapon. In statistics, the guitar is treated like a greataxe, but it is also a Device containing a few of his powers.thumb|300px|right|A plasma arc speaker

Background
Grigori Demidov was born in USSR-controlled Czechoslovakia in 1990. His birth was the culmination of a lengthy program of gene splicing headed by one Dr. Nikolas Vasiliev. This originally government program was forced to sell out to private interests with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the country's split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and discontinued its project. However, Grigori remains, even though no more of his "kind" will be produced, a prize specimen for the lab, and he is regularly called in for examination to see how the result of his treatment is progressing through his life. He is regularly paid for this participation, and his parents received a sizable lump sum for essentially selling their infant to the lab, which has set him for a very comfortable life. He attended college in England more or less on a lark, majoring in music theory, and burned a great deal of his post-college life on a moderately successful (by amateur standards) band. His transition to superheroism was a seemingly abrupt one, though his unique heritage makes him well adapted for it.

Relationships

 * Delve: Being somewhat environmentally minded himself, Exemplar respects Delve's past work, though he's a little let down by her split from the EPA and her "Captain Planet" origins. However, he respects her even more as a leader now that he's worked with her. Attraction isn't a negligible part of this, but he has somehow mistakenly(?) reached the conclusion she is a lesbian. Even if you asked him, he's not really able to pin down exactly when or why he decided this. So far, the misunderstanding(?) persists.
 * Eclipse: Though he likes to tease Abbey, Eclipse confuses Exemplar. He isn't sure exactly what she "is", how she does what she does, or what is "wrong" with her, but it confuses him to no end. When he's able to forget her idiosynchracies, though, it's hard for him to resist the urge to bully her just a tiny bit.
 * Parallel: He's curious about this enigmatic super, though not suspicious, and finds his accent endlessly amusing for reasons he himself cannot quite pin down.


 * SO-LAR: Dr. Vasiliev's lab held this alien captive for a while, and Exemplar saw him a number of times while growing up in the lab. He feels sympathetic and curious about this friendly alien, and has some instinctive urge to look after him a bit.


 * Spellbinder: Though he won't admit it, Exemplar finds Spellbinder kind of intimidating. Though it's hard to outright intimidate Exemplar, he's certainly spooked by his combination of mysterious magic and mysterious motives.

Drawbacks
Vulnerable (Disease), x2 DC bonus.

Complications

 * 1) Back in the U.S.S.R.: Exemplar still has to semi-regularly report back to Dr. Vasiliev for testing and examination. These tests are inconvenient, uncomfortable and highly invasive, and his life is scrutinized heavily. For instance, if evidence is found he's started smoking, he'll receive a pay cut. Part of this seemingly plum position is the fact his body is partially owned property.
 * 2) Dread of the Grave: Serious brushes with death, reminders of mortality, and situations of powerful mortal terror cause Exemplar to freeze up. Though they do provide him with a powerful bit of fight-or-flight energy, he loses much of his ability to strategize or think rationally, operating out of desperation and fear. In a severe enough case, he may collapse, throw up, or even faint.
 * 3) Immunodeficiency: Mundane diseases and infections pose a more serious threat to Exemplar than to "normal" people. A routine cold or bad sinus infection might be enough to impose actual ability score penalties. A flu or case of pnuemonia is enough to threaten his life. This covers only "natural" disease. For disease-based powers and effects, simply use the Vulnerable drawback.
 * 4) I am I, Don Quixote: Exemplar has made it a personal imperative to significantly help at least one person every day. When "on mission" he generally considers this fulfilled, but it keeps him busy during downtime.