Tripwire

Strength 6x

Agility 2b *

Intellect 5x

Willpower 6d

Hand Size: Edge:

3 (17) 1

* Later raised to a.

Origin:

As are the vast majority of his fellow Joes, Tripwire is naught but a normal human, lacking mutant powers, sorcerous training, or any other mysterious origin. However, he is highly skilled where explosive devices are concerned, and can rig up a blast capable of destroying just about anything, given the proper amount of preparation time. And if Tripwire is good at anything, it's wrecking stuff.

Powers:

(none)

Hindrances / Augmentations:

Clumsiness: one of Tripwire's most characteristic traits is that he's clumsy, in the worst possible way. Unless he's dealing with explosives, which calm him down in an almost Zen sort of way, Tripwire is always jittery and jumpy, tends to drop things, break objects, and so on. When not handling explosives, he should be treated as though his Agility is zero (0) for the purposes of attempting actions.

Equipment:

Body Armor (s): Tripwire wears special padding on his uniform that offers him intensity 8 (+2) protection from both physical and energy attacks, which is meant to absorb the brunt of any explosion he encounters while defusing (or setting up) explosive devices. This suit also comes with a visored helmet, which extends its defense to Tripwire's head, and offers him intensity 8 screened senses for his vision.

Colt M1911A1 Pistol (a): holstered on his right hip, this handgun is a vital portion of Tripwire's arsenal, since he typically doesn't carry anything heavier while wading into a fight. In battle, he can use this pistol to inflict damage per a +4 weapon when firing a single shot, or +5 in a semi-auto, magazine-extinguishing burst of lead. He usually only wields this firearm as a last result, however.

Mine Detector (w): since a part of his job description involves the disposal and disarmament of various mines and explosives, Tripwire always has a handy dandy metal detector with him to sweep for such implements of destruction. This device can detect metallic objects at a range of about five feet, whether said objects be buried or otherwise hidden in the area.

Shaped Charges (i): since the other half of his job description involves blowing things up, Tripwire carries several shaped charges in his backpack. These devices can, once triggered, explode to inflict intensity 14 damage to a vehicle, structure, or person (!), easily piercing armor since the force of their blasts is focused (primarily) in a specific direction.

Skills:

Demolitions 3 (a): Tripwire is a veritable genius with explosives, if nothing else, since he's usually a clumsy oaf when he's not dealing with them. When working with an explosive device, whether he's trying to arm or disarm it, he should make all applicable actions at a reduced difficulty level, and in fact, can do so with the benefit of an autotrump.

Guns (a): a part of Tripwire's essential military training has involved learning how to utilize a gun - just about any gun, really. Whether it be a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Tripwire can wield the weapon at one difficulty level lower than is otherwise required. He rarely has a need to do so, of course, but if he should, he's definitely prepared.

Hurling (a): having spent years in a Zen monastery, Tripwire has tried for years to quell his anxious, bumbling behaviors - to no effect. However, this time was well spent, as he has learned to redirect the energy a foe directs at him as he sees fit. He may attempt this as a contingent, average difficulty Agility (agility) action when opponents fail to actually hit him.

Military / United States (w): as a general matter of course, Tripwire has acquired this skill when he joined up with the Army. In practical terms, this skill affords him innumerable Military contacts, and gives him an innate understanding of military protocols and procedures. Finally, it allows him to lead a body of fighting men into battle should he wind up in command of a particular operation.

Contacts:

As a member of the GI Joe team, whether or not he's acting as a part of its Tiger Force unit, Tripwire can easily rely upon his teammates for help should he need it; the Joes definitely take care of their own. Furthermore, he can likely acquire assistance from various members of the Zen monastery he used to be a part of, should he find himself in their neighborhood.

Calling:

Peace of Mind: Tripwire is a man full of contradictions, in that he's something of a bumbling klutz, though all of his skills rely on manual dexterity. He seeks an inner serenity to match that of several of his fellow Joes, such as Torpedo, but fails miserably unless he's handling explosives. The deadlier the ordnance before him, the calmer Tripwire gets; in fact, he's only at peace when handling really big bombs.

Costume:

When he first joined up with the Joe team, Tripwire wore a fairly standard uniform for explosives experts; namely, it had a lot of padding. It consisted of an Army green pair of trousers, an Army green, long-sleeved shirt, an Army green belt, gray leather boots, gray gloves, large, dark gray padding that covers the entirety of his torso, and a green, visored helmet.

Personality:

It's hard to pin down Tripwire's personality to a tee; however, it is much easier to determine the effect he has on other people. His off-putting, jittery nature tends to totally freak people out, especially once they find out the man handles explosives for a living. His background would indicate that he's looking for inner peace, and he seems to have found it - when working with destructive devices!!

Real Name: Tormod S. Skoog, Grade E-4
Occupation: Ordnance disposal, demolitions expert, helicopter gunner
Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GI Joe, Tiger Force (a GI Joe sub-team)

Height: 5' 9"
Hair: brown
Eyes: blue
Weight: 160 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none

Story:

Tripwire has always been a troubled soul, being one of the single most clumsy, antsy, and all around jittery human beings you'll ever meet. This caused him to get so bored with his overseas high school that he dropped out at age sixteen, and wandered aimlessly for a time, eventually winding up in a Zen monastery. He stayed there for two years, looking for an inner peace which never manifested.

Eventually being kicked out of the monastery for spilling just about every liquid known to man, Tripwire eventually returned to a military setting (his father was career Navy) and enlisted in the Army by the time he was nineteen. In basic training, he found the peace he was looking for on the grenade range, and promptly put in to become an explosives expert - it was his true calling!

Of course, he only finds said peace while working with such devices; otherwise, he's as jittery and clumsy as usual. This didn't stop him from earning a spot on the Joe team fair and square, however, and as soon as the man had introduced himself to his new teammates, he found himself swept up in a Cobra attack on Washington DC itself - an attack he and his fellow Joes trounced magnificently!

After this shaky start, Tripwire continued to demonstrate his usefulness to the Joe team in general, despite his relative comedy relief status as a bumbling fool. He served with distinction on several missions, including a foray into the Florida Everglades and the Joes' initial assault on what would soon become Cobra Island. A bit after this, however, Tripwire was pulled off of active duty for additional training.

You see, the man was chosen to be a member of the GI Joe Tiger Force team, a special group of Joes who utilized various confiscated and/or upgraded vehicles with which to fight the forces of Cobra. His particular position was that of a helicopter gunner, for reasons as of yet unknown (he may have requested it, but this has yet to be revealed), and he did the job quite well.

Tripwire presumably served with the Tiger force for the duration of its existence, and then continued on as a 'regular' Joe until the team was disbanded in '94, due to various governmental reasons. However, it was put back together three years later, and when Hawk reassembled the organization, Tripwire returned to the fold to battle Cobra once again, being first spotted in action in the year 2001!

(Historical Divergence)

He persisted in his role as an explosives expert for the duration of the team's second 'run', and also participated in the major GI Joe operations against Cobra after this period. These included intervention in the second Cobra Island Civil War, as well as World War III itself, when Cobra almost took over the entire world - failing only because of the diligence of Joes like Tripwire.

He's likely on the team to this very day, helping them clean up the many, many messes and leftover ordnance that Cobra left scattered around the world.

1985 Variations

Costume:

At some point in the mid-eighties, Tripwire donned a uniform that was of a totally different stripe, in that it was in much brighter colors. While it still looked the same, functionally speaking, the trousers, gloves, and long-sleeved shirt were of a neon orange hue, while the helmet and torso pads were colored in a deep red. His boots and belt, on the other hand, were changed to a black leather.

1988 Variations

Talents:

Aerial Combat (a): before he was assigned to the elite, yet short-lived Tiger Force unit, Tripwire received basic training as a helicopter gunner, and acquired a secondary specialty as such an operative, working with Recondo as his co-pilot in the Tiger Fly (an upgraded Dragonfly). He can make attacks while in the air at one difficulty level lower than is normally necessary.

Costume:

Tripwire's third uniform switched to slightly more regulation colors once he'd joined up with the short-lived Tiger Force, though it still contained the same basic components. Tripwire's trousers and long-sleeved shirt have since changed to a rich brown, while his boots, gloves, and belt have adopted an Army green hue, as did his helmet. Finally, his armor padding is yellow, with black 'tiger stripes' on it.

2001 Variations

Talents:

Aerial Combat (a): before he was assigned to the elite, yet short-lived Tiger Force unit, Tripwire received basic training as a helicopter gunner, and acquired a secondary specialty as such an operative, working with Recondo as his co-pilot in the Tiger Fly (an upgraded Dragonfly). HHe can make attacks while in the air at one difficulty level lower than is normally necessary.

Costume:

When he returned to the Joe team after its reformation, Tripwire's fourth uniform was rather close to his first, in both hue and style. It consists of an olive green pair of trousers, an olive green long-sleeved shirt, an olive green leather belt, shiny black leather boots and gloves, his olive green, steel helmet (with a darkened visor), and of course a plethora of black padding to protect from bomb blasts.

Extra Goodies:

GI Joe directories featuring a version of Tripwire:

1983

1985

1988

2001

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