New Salem Character #9: Loupe

Loupe (Anton Vitrius)

Pyramid Tier: 1    Experience level: 3

Affect/Gimmick: An actual costumed super-villain, Loupe wears a green/gold bodysuit with a jeweler's loupe as a face.  He's precise, and his gear is all modeled on jewelers equipment.

Gang?: Yes, The Faces. These are all nicknamed for classic diamond shapes (round, oval, cushion, pear, asscher, radiant, heart) as well as Princess, Emerald and Marquise, who have more detail below. 

Status: Loupe is known for being cold and aloof, distant from anyone not Princess, Emerald and Marquis, who do handle all of his dealing with the Syndicate. This does limit his ability to call on favors, but he seems comfortable at this tier as a burglar himself, a fence, and the overseer of other burglaries in the Spires and West Covenant. 

Powers: 4

1. Light Control Device: As per book, this has 24" range, 20 charges, and is built in as a ring around the outside of his faceplate. 
2. Heightened Senses Device: His faceplate provides beyond cutting edge light amplification/IR/UV/Microscopic/Telescopic/X-Ray Vision. 
3. Heightened Intelligence A: +7. Bonus, given time and data he can plan a break in to anywhere. 
4. Pet x2: See Game Mechanics notes, but in this case it is his two top henchmen, Marquise and Emerald. These two are incredibly dangerous men (220 lbs, 5 basic hits, 15 in all stats, 25 hp, 60 power, 45" move, 412 lb carry, 1d6 damage, Natural weaponry +1/+1d4 with bonus power of throat punch (PR 4 but no need for a special attack) and Akido training (PR 4 to double knockback effects) respectively) who are the real leaders of the gang. Princess is a more normal woman but still effective (12 in all stats, 7 HP, 48 power, 36" move, +4 to hit with her diamond-tipped hairpins or other stiletto-adjacent weapons) and acts as Loupe's minder, bodyguard, and moll for the rubes. 
5. Low Self Control: Loupe is a coward. He's kept in line by the terror feels for Marquise and Emerald so he won't run if they don't, but it makes him a lousy combatant. Any HTH attacks he makes are at -4 to hit/half damage and he has double normal chance of being kayoed (if the roll is inside that doubling it is actually him playing dead to get out of the fight, but he won't get up until Princess, Marquis, or Emerald 'help him up'),

Weight: 150          Basic Hits: 3      Agi Mod: +0

S: 12     E: 12        HP: 7 

A: 11      I: 21         Pow: 56

C: 11                      Move: 35"

Accuracy: +0 or -4

Damage Mod: +2

Reactions Mod: +0

Carrying Cap: 198    HTH: 1d4, divided by 2

Inventions: All of the Faces have wraparound glasses that accept data from his loupe, giving them night-vision and reducing siding penalties by half because they can also see what he's seeing (these take training to use right...). Princesses diamond tipped hairpins are also his invention, and act as +2 to hit, +1d4+1 damage. He has his own bag of jewelers rouge that creates a smoke cloud for 1 full turn (everyone not wearing his gear treats front facing as side, side facing as rear, attempts to see past 5' require an I*3% save) that will be used to cover escapes. 

Background/Origin: Anton Vitirus was a technician and inventor at Tripod Optical, one of the many tech start-ups funded by OMEGA, the science/tech company in New Salem that funds dozens of such places as incubators. When Tripod Optical was folded into OMEGA proper Vitirus was let go, before he could present his massive breakthrough in optical technology. It all got buried in paperwork - he didn't own the patents, OMEGA was too big to even notice it but he was convinced they would crush him if he tried to make it legally. So he turned to crime. 

His reasoning - that he could beat any safe or security system with this - was sound. But he needed helpers. He wasn't a skilled criminal after all. That got him Marquise and Emerald, who quickly realized this goober had utility as a planner, a tech guy, and ultimately a fall guy. Their brutal tendencies (beating the snot out of anyone found in the burglaries, crippling Jake 'Middleman' Mastrantonio the fence who oversaw Spires and West Covenant, etc.) have earned Loupe a scary reputation for being able to keep these guys under his thumb. That, combined with the precision of Loupes plans, his ability to spot forgeries, and his skill at taking over the Middleman's operation.

So Anton became a criminal mastermind, and is sometimes forced out into the field. He doesn't so much mind the burglary part, but the violence scares him. He'd turn himself in but Emerald and Marquise are very good at creating pain without breaking bones. He knows from experience. So he stays a super-villain. 

Game Design Notes: the Pet power in V&V is one of two (like animated servant) that gives the character a constant companion. I generally expand that out so that it’s not just one animal but it could be a sidekick, or also an organization. “Pet” is how you build the SHiELD part of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD where he has James Bond style adventures but also is in charge of the organization that provides him support.