Psionistar
From PRIMUS Database
This character article is a stub -- a small, but growing, work in progress. If you're the creator of this character, why not consider expanding it?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contents |
About the character
David Connor Smith, aka Psionistar, is the creation of @BlackstarRising. Psionistar is based on the CoH/CoV character Blackstar Rising. His personality and general demeanor are very similar to that character in the City of... universe, however this iteration is fully and wholly a Champions Universe native, having no knowledge of Paragon City, the Rogue Isles or the CoVerse whatsoever. My strategy when bringing this character over was to assume that CO represented a a wholly unique, self-contained parallel universe, or a seperate continuity. To accomplish this, I took the Marvel Ultimates approach towards making this David by keeping much of his general personality and abilities intact, giving him a similar, but not identical background and integrating him fully in the Champions universe.
Remember kids, just because it's in Primus doesn't mean your character automatically knows all this stuff. Use this information wisely and always ask the player first if you want to know something or if a piece of information is available ICly.
Background
built a king on compliments
charisma and advertisements
still they see him shimmer ephermeral
it ain't supernatural
or maybe
out of body experience
I flew around the little room once
on intravenous Demerol
it weren't supernatural
sudden smell..certain view
sparks a whoppin case of the deja vu
is it inexplicable
it ain't supernatural
or maybe
-- "Supernatural," Vic Chesnutt
Early Years
College and Medical School
Doctors Without Borders and the ill-fated expedition
The Temple of the Mind Unchained
I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.
-- "Lateralus," Tool
((This particular section currently pertains to a bit of plot that is under progress. Stay tuned, true believers, as the details are revealed! ))
A Sort of Homecoming
Here and Now
David currently has quite a bit going on:
- David, along with Radiance and Backlash lead a tough, but successful assault into Vanguard's tomb to free the fallen hero's spirit from the grasp of Takofanes's servants as part of Operation: Liberation. After the successful conclusion of the offensive, Takofanes was driven away, allowing the sun to rise on a grateful Millennium City for the first time in two weeks. He is currently looking forward to a short period of much-deserved downtime before resuming work for UNTIL in Lemuria and on Monster Island and his usual Meta-S.W.A.T. duty rotation.
- He is looking forward to taking Sister Salem out on another date and spending more time getting to know her.
- Ever the planner and thinker, David has been pondering ways to coordinate the effort of psychic heroes to better combat large scale threats, such as PSI, and to improve public perception of those who are psychically gifted.
- Finally, David and Zarp Draken are working together to help a mutual friend deal with a potentially dangerous and deadly personal problem...
Powers and Abilities
"Jesus, Doc, for a psychiatrist, you are freakin' deadly!" - Roquella Quickshot upon watching Psionistar take apart a pack of New Purple Gangers
"PLEASE!! Enough!!! We surrender, we're coming out unarmed!!! Just please...tell your goddamn shrink to lay off already!" - anonymous PSI operative arrested late August, 2009
David's experiences and training with the monks of the Temple of the Unchained Mind allowed him to hone his mind and body to the point where by force of will he can manifest and project amazing mental powers.
Telepathy
Intense study of the Path of the Unfettered Mind has granted David the ability to alter the thoughts, perceptions and emotions of his foes at a deep and visceral level to awesome battlefield effect. Additionally, he can amplify his presence and force of personality to hypnotize opponents, rendering them asleep, paralyzed by fear or dazed. By focusing his will for short periods of time, David can unleash devastating "blasts" of concentrated psionic power which can render opponents unconscious, making them easy to place in custody without causing permanent damage. He can also bolster the will of his teammates, providing them ability withstand the brutal punishment of super-powered combat.
Although capable of communicating via thought-projection with others, he seldom chooses to use this ability outside of extremely close friends, and even then, under only the direst of circumstances. This is mostly because this type of communication is very taxing and clumsy to use with non-psychics. He is also capable of reading thoughts, but again, he only resorts to this under the most extreme of circumstances (and the agreement of the players of characters he is interacting with, of course).
Among other psychics that he trusts or that he is friends with, David is very comfortable "speaking" telepathically. He often trades jokes mentally with his teammates Radiance and Sarah Winters and has been known to play entire games of chess mentally with Engine Nineteen of the Statesmen.
Telekinesis and Spacefolding
David's deep and intuitive understanding of the Way of the Hand Unseen has granted him profound telekinetic potential. He is able to fling opponents or objects great distances as well as carefully manipulate small, delicate objects with a simple thought. For fun, he often uses this ability to prestidigitate and perform tricks to amuse friends. Additionally, David has demonstrated the ability to hold people or objects completely still in a bubble of psychokinetic force, rendering them motionless and powerless for a time.
One of David's favorite combat tactics is to use his ability to manifest planes of telekinetic force, which can simulate blunt or bladed weapons, as well as be used to shield himself from attacks. Wielding these awesome mental weapons, David wades into melee combat fearlessly and fearsome, often taking on five or six opponents at once without so much as taking a scratch.
David has also been able to use his telekinetic power to create small, localized disturbances in space-time that allow him to access a super-space dimension. By accessing this dimension, David can teleport or "spacefold" nearly instanteously from one place to another within visual distance. Additionally, this ability allows him access to the Astral plane as well as the ability to phase-shift himself for brief periods out of dangerous situations.
Psychometabolism
By unlocking the unused potential of his mind, David has developed uncanny command his own body. Between his dedication to exercise and meditation, as well as his mental abilties to regulate his metabolism, David's body is in amazing physical condition. He is capable of running long distances at speeds near twenty miles per hour and has been clocked in sprints at speeds close to thirty miles per hour. His reflexes are very sharp and quick, perhaps even coming close to precognitive speeds under certain circumstances and his physical strength and stamina are at peak levels for a human being.
Subconciously, David's mind enhances his body's immune and repair abilities. His body's regenerative capabilities allow him the ability to shrug-off wounds and trauma that would otherwise level a baseline human. Additionally, he almost never gets sick or suffers from any kind of illness unless he is extremely tired or otherwise taxed.
The cost of these amazing abilities is that his brain, like that of many other psychics, requires great amounts of fuel in order to maintain these super-human levels of output. David's brain alone uses up around 2000 calories of carbohydrates a day to function, not including the fuel and protein needs of his body. To keep up with this demand for energy, David needs to eat often, and tends to snack quite a bit throughout the day. When he does not take time to refuel his body, he suffers from dizziness, nausea, fatigue and under extreme circumstances, can enter a state of shock. If his body is under-fueled, his abilities begin to shut down, beginning most notably with his healing and regenerative factors.
Despite all these profound abilities, David's body is still that of a mortal man. Enough concentrated damage from any source can render him unconscious and if it is powerful enough, permanently injure or kill him.
Martial Arts Training and Acrobatics
David's philosophy that mind and body must be integrated with each other to function at their peak has lead him to vigorously pursue combat training. He holds black belts in Akido and Jujutsu as well as Master Instructor certification in Krav Maga. The swordplay style he uses with his mental blades seems to some observers to be similar to kenjutsu, but is actually a technique developed by the Monks of the Unchained Mind specifically to leverage the unique capabilities of this type of combat. David has also trained himself to be an accomplished gymnast, often incorporating acrobatic moves into his combat repetoire. His athletic abilities have been identified to be quite incredible, as he has been photographed running at top speed across a telephone wire in Westside.
Medical and Psychiatric Training
David did his undergraduate education at Cornell University where he majored in psychology while simultaneously completing undergraduate preparatory coursework to enter medical school. Upon graduating summa cum laude, David was accepted to Johns Hopkins University Medical School where he completed his MD with specialties in behavioral science and psychiatry. He interned at Cambridge University Medical School and at Walter Reed hospital. David is licensed to practice medicine in the State of Maryland and has a reciprocal license agreement to practice in State of Michigan.
Although David is a psychiatrist by training, he is not the type of doctor afraid to get his hands dirty. He has delivered his share of babies, treated gunshot wounds, broken bones and provided a great deal of general medical care, both as Meta-S.W.A.T.'s team physician and during his stint with Doctors without Borders. He understands that he is not trained to be a surgical specialist and is smart enough to seek help or consultation with difficult medical problems outside his expertise, or to refer patients to the appropriate providers in non-emergency situations. However, he keeps his skills sharp and polished and is unafraid to step in to help provide care in emergencies. Often, David finds himself working along Meta-S.W.A.T.'s resident nurse, Mercy, and often defers to her vast medical experience when it comes to surgical and trauma-related issues.
Personality
The usual personality people see from David at first is one of deep professionalism. David is dedicated to the science and craft of medicine and since becoming a member of Meta-SWAT, he has strived to become the best law enforcement officer he can be. David spends a great deal of his downtime reading journals and corresponding with various colleagues to stay abreast of trends, research and advancements in psychiatric medicine. Being quite a perfectionist, David also spends at least an hour of each day handling the paperwork and other administrivia of his profession and his position as Operations XO of Meta-SWAT. Additionally he has been studying the finer points of squad-based combat and tactics under Striker’s tutelage since taking his new job. In combat situations, David is cool, confident, focused, and when necessary, deadly.
His true passion, however, is for the medical aspect of his job. He pours over case files, compiling and updating profiles of some of Millennium City’s most nefarious villains, looking for clues on how to defeat these foes psychologically or for weaknesses that can be exploited. He has spent time training with the FBI’s Hostage Negotiation Team, although he has yet to put his new training into play in an actual hostage situation. David’s dedication and desire to achieve carries over into David’s approach to honing and maximizing his abilities. He spends at least an hour a day in the gym on some kind of work-out whether it’s pilates, hand to hand combat training, running or lifting weights. He has also become a student of yoga and meditation, which has given him great insight into maximizing his abilities for combat and non-combat purposes.
Those who get to know David at a deeper level see that he is a man passionate about learning and living. David is an avid reader of books on many subjects, mundane and esoteric, a fan of fine art and music and enjoys nothing more than stimulating conversation over a fine meal with good wine and better company. He deeply enjoys wit and is quite the raconteur when relaxing among friends. David is very close to his family, calls them often and travels to visit whenever possible and although he is reluctant to admit it, he has quite the romantic streak.
This joie de vivre, however, covers a tendency to dwell in melancholia in his private moments... Upon his return from the Himalayas, David has been estranged from his former wife who could not deal with the stress of having a new husband taken from her so early, only to be returned with no memories of his disappearance. Additionally, he has yet to fully come to terms with his memory loss, or his new purpose in life since his return. Ironically, David sometimes has trouble opening up to friends about his own feelings, since so many of them look upon him as a sounding board and confidant.
Lately however, some of his friends, including Backlash, Lady Incendiary and Zarp Draken have encouraged him to be more open about his feelings and speak up about them more often. Additionally they have been encouraging him to be more spontaneous and have a little more fun. This has returned some balance to David’s life, however, he is still obsessed with unlocking his hidden memories and gaining some understanding and closure on what happened to him after his plunge from the icy Himalayan slopes.
Affiliations, Friends and Foes
Meta-SWAT
Through the course of his adventures, David began to work closely with members of the MCPD MARS team Meta-SWAT, most notably, with Lieutenant John Wheeler (better known as Striker) and Zarp Draken, on a variety of cases. After the successful conclusion of an operation against Telieos in the Canadian Wilderness, Striker tapped David to join up with the squad as the team psychiatrist and profiler. After demonstrating a solid grasp of police methods and squad combat tactics, David was promoted to the rank of police sergeant and made the team's Operations Executive Officer (XO).
Friends and Allies
David counts himself lucky to have many friends and allies among Millennium City's heroic community. Some notable examples are:
- Striker, leader of Meta-SWAT and one of David's first true friends, Striker reminds him a great deal of his father, Connor, who is also a former military man.
- Zarp Draken who worked closely with David on some of his first cases as a superhero, including an assault of VIPER's Project Awakening base in the Canadian Wilds. Zarp's mercurial nature reminds David that it's alright not to be serious sometimes.
- Seroyio the Hunter, the noble Kohdian bounty hunter who David helped treat after a run-in with VIPER out in Burning Sands.
- Rezz who David admires for his scientific brilliance and who he sees as a kindred intellectual spirit and scholar.
- Sister Salem who David admires deeply for her dedication to the heroing community as well as her vast knowledge of subjects arcane and spiritual.
- Zen, the alien psychic who has given David a glimpse into his lost memories and the extent of his abilities.
- Backlash, Lady Incendiary and David can often be seen in Club Caprice trading snarky remarks and banter.
Patients
David treats a few noteable meta-human patients who have unique cases or who cannot otherwise afford care. Among these are:
Rivals and Enemies
- PSI and its notable villains, Medusa and Psimon are some of David's more notable foes. He has spent a great deal of time investigating Mind, Inc. and attempting to undo the damage PSI has done to the public's perception of psychics.
- David has also matched powers and wits with Menton and Mind Slayer, emerging with the upper hand in both encounters.
- In addition to the mental and psychic threats that currently harass the world, David has come upon some startling intelligence surrounding the presumed-dead Dr. Destroyer. He has begun to investigate the possibility that Destroyer is still alive, or that someone, or something, may have assumed his identity.
Nemesis!
Shortly after his return to Millennium City and the beginning of his career as a costumed hero and adventurer, David began to be stalked by a strange man with similar mental powers named Hideki Kobayashi. Over the past few months, the two have locked horns several times, eventually landing Kobayashi in Millennium City lockup for his attempts to terrorize the city with a hypno-suggestive device of great power.
In their now numerous encounters, Kobayashi has hinted that the two know each other, and has even referred to David by the unusual name "Fading Dawn." This of course, has infuriated and frustrated David to no end, because he has no memories from the year of his life that he went missing in the Himalayas. Further compunding this is the fact that Kobayashi, with the aid of other prisoners in the lockup, has managed to escape and is currently at large, despite the best efforts of David and his fellow Meta-S.W.A.T. teammate, Blacktide.
Quotes and Views
Author's note: If you'd like to live a quote or perspective on David, put it here.
"A handsome man that I see as a dear friend even after such a short time of knowing each other. We have both observed the abyss in the other's mind and stand strong to make this world understand we can do a great good with that mysterious power." - Engine Nineteen
"He's pretty razor, a little bit of a stuffed shirt when he's on the clock but good to have your back. Pretty handy with a stitch I'm told, although I was unconscious at the time so I can't back that up." - Spitfyre
"Doctor Smith, Psionistar, David. I'm really not sure which name I should use with him anymore. Runs himself ragged over some stuff, totally handles other things with a practiced grace, needs to remember to rest more. Trust is hard to regain but he's getting there." - Giga Gal
"The discipline he commands with his abilities is something all human psychics should aspire to achieve. In a community of mangy dogs, he is the noble wolf that stands above the rest." - Zen
"Doc is, to this day another very good reason I enjoy my job so much. Its good to have someone qualified that you can vent to and get a decent opinion out of them. The guy has an affinity for people that amazes me. He's also pretty handy to have around when you take a head-knock, speaking from personal experience" - Skylance
"David is a sweet guy...for a psychiatrist. Seriouly though, he's a very good friend to match wits with, go shopping with or just generally hang out with." - Lady Incendiary
"Mistah David's a real nice fellow, Ah mean, when he ain't tryin' ter get me tah call him by his firs' name only. Ah respect him greatly as a physician and a psionicist, not to mention jus' a fellow human bein'. He treats me righ' decent, an' tha's somethin' that doan happen much with psychic types." - Auroral
"David? Man, he's pretty hot for an older guy, and, because we're both telepaths I'm gonna say he's pretty cool just to represent. But, uh, yeah, if I ever need a therapist; I'd be him. I think we were supposed to a psychic club thing, I need to talk to him about that." - Daydream
The Rumor Mill
- A weekend getaway to exotic Marrakesh might have been just what the doctor ordered for Dr. Smith who has been very melancholy of late. Upon his return from Morroco, David seemed much more relaxed and at peace with himself. But who were the two lovely companions he was spotted dodging VIPER operatives with in a chase through the old souks? "A gentlemen never betrays the confidence of a lady....or ladies as the case may be."
- Rumor has it that the good doctor has taken quite a shine to Ms. Sarah Nurse but hasn't had the opportunity to ask her out on a proper date yet.
- Another rumor floating around in some circles indicates that Dr. Smith used his powers a bit unethically while treating a certain patient and got a glimpse of an ancient and horrendous evil...
- Whispered among psychics around town is that David is active in a sort of secret psychic council called The Eleven that seeks to counterbalance the schemes and machinations of villainous psychic groups like Psi.
- Recently, the good doctor has been seen deep in conversation with a certain demon-like pirate woman... could this be a sign of a more whimsical side to David's personality?
Author's note: Please feel free to add a rumor if you know something about David! I feel confident we can all use our editing power here as adults...
Trivia and Miscellaneous Meta-Info
- Although his current position requires him to carry a sidearm, he only carries around the HK pistol to comply with Meta-SWAT department policy. He only ever shoots the thing twice a year to pass the range qualification portion of his police recertification. He qualifies as at the "Expert" level, each time.
- He has a pet English bulldog named Martin, who has been a long-suffering and loyal, if somewhat neglected friend.
Current theme songs include:
- "Cymbal Rush" by Thom Yorke
- "The Figurehead" by the Cure
- "Seasons in the Abyss" by Slayer (which makes a great combat theme for him...)
- "Lateralus" by Tool
- "Supernatural" written by Vic Chesnutt, but the version I like best is by Live on the MTV Unplugged Album
