Alley-Vipers
| Melee RV 10 |
Coordination RV 6 |
Brawn RV 10 |
Fortitude RV 10 |
Intellect RV 6 |
Awareness RV 10 |
Willpower RV 10 |
Lifestyle RV 15 |
Repute RV -5 |
| Health: Fortune: |
36 26 |
Origin:
You wouldn't know that Alley-Vipers were merely tough, yet otherwise normal human beings. With their prodigious strength and endurance, their heavy armor and armament, and their extreme brutality, Alley-Vipers have a reputation for being unholy terrors both in and out of battle!
Known Powers:
(none)
Limitations / Enhancements:
(none)
Equipment:
Body Armor: while many Cobras are only equipped with helmets for protection, Alley-Vipers are given full suits of body armor with which to terrorize the world! These rank value 6 armors provide them like resistance to physical assault, -2 RS versus energy attack.
Mind you, the Alley-Viper helmet enhances this protection by +1 RS, with their visors providing them similarly potent screened senses while they're properly in place. Finally, their bullet-resistant vests transduce Piercing damage into -1 RS Bashing damage for Alley-Viper soldiers.
Grenade: Alley-Vipers always have several explosives handy, some on their uniform and more on their backpacks. They can be flung anywhere within two sectors, and detonate to inflict rank value 30 Slashing (fragmentary) damage inside the sector they explode within.
Knives: Alley-Vipers carry at least two blades on them, one sheathed on their chest and the other on their right wrist. Of m.v. 40, they can cut through items of up to like m.v. in time, or be used to inflict Slashing damage in melee combat.
Pneumatic Grappling Ascent Cannon: to assist them in quickly gaining the high ground during street battles, Alley-Vipers carry a grappling hook in their backpacks. They can use this to ensnare a surface up to five stories high, and then reel themselves up onto buildings and such.
Sidearm: like most Cobras, Alley-Vipers have a backup piece on them at all times. They may fire a single round at their foes from this hand cannon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage, or a semi-automatic burst of such to inflict rank value 10 Piercing damage.
Shield: all Alley-Vipers carry a large shield with them in the field, the better to withstand heavy fire that their body armor alone would buckle under. Their first is a badge-shaped barrier that features an orange and blue, urban camouflage pattern.
Possessing a material value of 30, Alley-Vipers may use it to perform a shield maneuver, gaining rank value 20 protection against physical assault, reduced by -2 RS when used against energy assault. It can inflict +1 RS Bashing or Slashing attack damage when used offensively.
Submachine Gun: the primary firearm carried by Alley-Vipers can discharge one round to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage, a small burst of ammunition to inflict rank value 10 Piercing damage, or be fired continuously to inflict rank value 20 Piercing damage.
Enhanced with a foregrip, the penalty for firing these weapons in a fully automatic fashion is reduced by 1 RS. The starlight scope mounted on top also assists in nocturnal operations, reducing the penalty for firing during night operations by 3 RS.
Quirks:
(none)
Skills:
Guns: all Cobra operatives have the ability to wield firearms in combat, and Alley-Vipers are no exception to this rule. They may discharge any standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol as if their Coordination was +1 RS higher than is listed above.
Martial Arts style A and B: furthermore, Alley-Vipers are well-versed in the art of self-defense. They wield both style a, allowing them to Pound or Concuss foes regardless of their comparative Brawn or Fortitude, and style b, granting them a +1 RS to hit in unarmed combat.
Manipulation: while all Cobra operatives can readily be considered terrorists, the Alley-Vipers wield terror as a normal part of their duties. They benefit from a +1 RS to Repute ACTIONs dedicated to pulling the strings of others, albeit usually in a hostile fashion.
Military: expert urban combatants, Alley-Vipers all possess this skill. Their military training (whether gained via a national force or elsewhere) lets them to function seamlessly within a combat unit, and gives them insight into Cobra's byzantine organizational structure.
Contacts:
Proven Cobra operatives, or they'd have never gotten this far, Alley-Vipers can readily consider that organization a reliable contact. Unless they would profit from leaving a given Alley-Viper to their fate, Cobra would likely make at least a token effort to assist one in a pinch.
Costume:
The Alley-Viper uniform is... distinctive. It is a suit of body armor featuring orange and blue urban camouflage, an orange helmet with an urban camo face shield, a blue face mask, black leather boots and gloves, black and brown knife sheathes, orange knee pads, and an orange belt.
Notes:
Those Cobra operatives who prove effective in urban combat are offered a place in the Alley-Vipers, assuming they can meet the minimum requirements of the job. The first of these is to be capable of withstanding a burst of machine gun fire to their armored chests.
After that, they then must recover from a thirty foot fall while wearing their full one hundred pounds of field kit, and survive an unmasked jog through a one hundred meter hall filled with poison gas. And that's just the physical requirements - Alley-Vipers must be absolutely brutal!
There's a reason the reputation of the Alley-Vipers precedes them. They have to be merciless to survive their jobs as inner-city combatants, never hesitating to wield terror or violence against anyone standing in the way of Cobra's world domination, whether civilian or combatant!
1993 Variations
Equipment:
Bola: in the event that an Alley-Viper must extract a target alive, they wield their bolas. They may fling these weapons anywhere within two sectors of their person, which can grapple a foe with their Brawn rank value if the Alley-Viper strikes them in the legs.
Missile Launcher: in '93, the Alley-Viper field arsenal included a man-portable missile launcher! Excellent for knocking down walls or reinforced doors, this weapon can fire one rocket-propelled grenade per load, each of which functions in the following fashion:
| Handling RV 10 |
Velocity RV 50 |
Durability RV 10 |
Damage RV 30 Slashing (fragmentary) |
Shield: Alley-Vipers' shields are a bit different this year. Instead of their original configuration, the Alley-Viper shield is shaped like the Cobra sigil, comes in either black or a black and red coloration, and adds their normal defense rank value against laser fire.
Costume:
The second Alley-Viper is slightly less eye-piercing than the original. It consists of a yellow and black urban camouflage body suit, coupled with a black helmet and face shield, a yellow face mask, black leather boots and gloves, a black vest, and a black leather belt.
1994 Variations
Equipment:
Missile Launcher: in '94, the Alley-Viper field arsenal included a man-portable missile launcher! Excellent for knocking down walls or reinforced doors, this weapon can fire one rocket-propelled grenade per load, each of which functions in the following fashion:
| Handling RV 10 |
Velocity RV 50 |
Durability RV 10 |
Damage RV 30 Slashing (fragmentary) |
Shield: Alley-Vipers' shields are a bit different this year. Instead of their original configuration, the Alley-Viper shield is shaped like the Cobra sigil, in a neon orange color this time, and adds their normal defense rank value against laser fire via ray shielding.
Costume:
The third Alley-Viper uniform is a mish-mash of the first two. It consists of a blue and orange urban camouflage body suit, coupled with an orange helmet and face shield, a blue face mask, orange leather belts, boots, and gloves, and an orange, bullet-resistant vest.
1997 Variations
Equipment:
the Rage: the perfect vehicle for an Alley-Viper who just needs more firepower, the Rage is a futuristic urban assault vehicle. With its low profile and experimental concussion cannons, it can easily dominate urban warfare, and is described in its own vehicular entry.
Shield: Alley-Vipers' shields are a bit different this year. Instead of their original configuration, the Alley-Viper shield is shaped like the Cobra sigil, in black this time, and adds their normal defense rank value against laser fire via ray shielding.
Costume:
The fourth Alley-Viper uniform is a variation on the second. It consists of a white and Cobra blue urban camouflage body suit, coupled with a blue helmet and black face shield, a brown face mask, black leather belts, boots, and gloves, and a black, bullet-resistant vest.
2002 Variations
Equipment:
Shield: Alley-Vipers' shields are a bit different in 2002. Instead of their original configuration, the Alley-Viper shield is shaped like the Cobra sigil, in Cobra blue (v5) or black (v6), and adds their normal defense rank value against laser fire via ray shielding.
Costume:
The fifth Alley-Viper uniform is a variation on the second. It consists of a black and white urban camouflage body suit, coupled with a blue helmet and a blue face shield, a black face mask, Cobra blue leather belts, boots, and gloves, and a Cobra blue, bullet-resistant vest.
Their sixth uniform is another variation on the second. It consists of a black and white urban camouflage body suit, coupled with a red helmet and a black face shield, a black face mask, red leather belts and gloves, black leather boots, and a red, bullet-resistant vest.
2003 Variations
Equipment:
Ghille Suit: this 'Spy Troops' gear lets Alley-Vipers blend in while in the bush. Camouflaged to help their wearers insinuate themselves into overgrown environs, ghille suits inflict a 2 RS penalty upon any attempts by others to spot their wearer while motionless.
Shield: Alley-Vipers' shields are a bit different in 2002. Instead of their original configuration, the Alley-Viper shield is shaped like the Cobra sigil, in matte black this time, and adds their normal defense rank value against laser fire via ray shielding.
Costume:
The seventh Alley-Viper uniform is a variation on the second. It consists of a black and Cobra blue urban camouflage body suit, coupled with a Cobra blue helmet, a black face shield, a black face mask, black leather belts and boots, Cobra blue gloves, and a black, bullet-resistant vest.
2004 Variations
Equipment:
Shield (v9): Alley-Vipers' shields are a bit different in 2004, when they use one. Instead of their original configuration, the Alley-Viper shield is shaped like the Cobra sigil, in black this time, and adds their normal defense rank value against laser fire via ray shielding.
Costume:
The eighth Alley-Viper uniform is, finally, an all-new affair. It is primarily a Cobra blue urban combat armor suit, complemented with a blue and black helmet, gray boots, gray knee pads, gray wrist guards, gray spaulders, a yellow belt, and a gray belt buckle.
Their ninth uniform is a variation on the second. It consists of a black urban combat body suit, coupled with a black helmet, a black face shield, a black face mask, black leather belts and boots, brown leather gloves, brown knife sheathes, and a black, bullet-resistant vest.
The tenth Alley-Viper uniform is a variation on the eighth. It is a primarily burgundy urban combat armor suit, complemented with a burgundy and black helmet, gray boots, gray knee pads, gray wrist guards, gray spaulders, a yellow belt, and a gray belt buckle.
2010 Variations
Equipment:
Night Stick: when they don't necessarily want to kill their target, Alley-Vipers often carry a night stick to beat them into submission. They can wield these short blunt instruments, made from m.v. materials, to inflict their Brawn value +1 RS in Bashing damage.
Shield: Alley-Vipers' shields in 2010 are close to their originals. They once again possess the edged, badge-like shape of their first defensive barrier, painted in a burgundy color, and may still feature their normal defense rank value against laser fire via ray shielding.
Costume:
The eleventh Alley-Viper uniform is, once more, an all-new affair. It is a primarily black urban combat armor suit, complemented with a burgundy helmet and face shield, black leather boots, gloves, and belts, gray knee pads, and a burgundy, bullet-resistant vest.
Extra Goodies:
Cobra directories featuring a version of Alley-Vipers:
| 1989 | 1993 | 1994 | 1997 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2010 |
Note: 2002 saw two Alley-Viper releases (Versions 5 and 6), while 2004 saw three (Versions 8, 9, and 10).
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