Altitude

F
Ex 20
A
Gd 10
S
Ty 6
E
Gd 10
R
Ty 6
I
Rm 30
P
Gd 10
Res
Rm 30
Pop
Fe +2

Health:
Karma:
46
46

Origin:

Unlike the vast majority of his fellow GI Joe operatives, Altitude actually has a super-human ability: he has an eidetic memory! He uses this special skill, as well as advanced GI Joe hardware, in the never-ending fight against international terrorism of various stripes!

Known Powers:

Natural Psionics (Superpsi Powers):

Eidetic Memory (s): natural psionic gift or incredibly rare mutation? We may never know, and the truth is it probably doesn't matter. Regardless, Altitude can remember anything he's ever experienced, and with this Amazing (50) ranked ability, doing so doesn't take him all that long.

Limitationns / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Helmet: Altitude's helmet has two functions. It protects against head injuries, providing him Good (10) defense versus physical attack striking him in the cranium, and also has a darkened visor that provides him Screened Senses, for his vision at least, at a like rank.

Knife: paratroopers always carry a blade on the job. Made from Incredible (40) m.s. materials, Altitude can either use this tool to cut through items of up to like m.s., given enough time, or to inflict his Strength rank in Edged Attack damage during melee combat.

Missile Launcher: Altitude's primary weapon is a firearm that behaves like his standalone sidearm, below, but inexplicably has a one-shot missile launcher attached to its side! The small projectile this weapon can launch has the following vehicular characteristics:

C
Gd 10
S
In 40
B
Gd 10
Damage
Remarkable (30) Fragmentary (EA)

Parachute: naturally useful when leaping out of an airplane, Altitude obviously needs one of these when doing the whole paratrooper thing. This item allows him to exit a flying vehicle from extreme heights, and easily land on the ground without flattening himself.

Sidearm: holstered on his right leg, this weapon is a convenient backup in the event that Altitude's machine gun isn't handy. He can fire a single round from this piece to inflict Typical (6) Shooting damage, or a short burst of such to inflict Good (10) Shooting damage.

Quirks:

(none)

Talents:

Artist: a former cartoonist and relentless sketch artist with an eidetic memory, Altitude can readily produce lifelike images with a pencil in hand! In addition to serving him on the job, this talent allows Altitude an alternate means of gaining a bit of Karma on the side.

Guns: a part of his Army basic training, Altitude can use almost all conventional firearms with proficiency. Whether he's toting standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifles or pistols, Altitude may fire such weapons as though his Agility was +1 CS in rank.

Marksman: this talent describes Altitude's ability to wield heavier ordnance. When utilizing line-of-sight weaponry, such as missile launchers and massive-caliber cannons, Altitude may do so at a +1 CS to his Agility score, disregarding penalties for range all the while.

Martial Arts type B: another facet of his Army basic training, this talent describes Altitude's ability to defend himself while unarmed. He may attempt any unarmed melee strikes, from punching to kicking to elbow smashing, at a +1 CS to his listed Fighting score.

Military / United States: an origin of sorts for Altitude, this skill accounts for all his talents save for his artistry. His Army training has given him an inherent understanding of military policies and procedures, on top of additional, floating military contacts.

Contacts:

As a member of the Sky Patrol, Altitude can rely upon his teammates for assistance should he require it; the Joes definitely watch each other's backs. Furthermore, Altitude has additional contacts in both military and animation circles, both having a bearing on his career to date.

Costume:

Altitude's GI Joe field uniform is comprised of a primarily green jumpsuit, accented with dark orange on the arms after the tricep, and on the legs under his thighs. This is bolstered with dark brown boots, gloves, and belts, gold web gear, and a steel helmet with a bronzed visor.

Personality:

John-Edward is a true stickler for detail. Whether he's doing a sketch for a friend or artistically detailing the layout of a Cobra installation, he pushes himself to reproduce exactly what's lodged in his head at the time. This makes his work time-consuming, but worth the wait!

Real Name: John-Edward O. Jones, Grade E-9
Occupation: recon scout, combat artist
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GI Joe, Sky Patrol

Height: 6'
Hair: black
Eyes: brown
Weight: 200 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none.

Story:

Son of a Hollywood stuntman and a full-blooded Apache, Altitude always strives to live up to his family history. At the same time, he loves to draw, an interest greatly bolstered by his eidetic memory, which allows him to reproduce anything he's ever seen in uncanny detail.

Pursuing a career in art, Altitude eventually drifted into animation. His career was going places, but stalled out unexpectedly with the collapse of the syndicated animation programming industry. Having been burned, Altitude then sought a reliable paycheck, and subsequently enlisted.

Taking advantage of his keen eye and incredible recall, the Army put Altitude to work as a recon patrolman, though since he'd already demonstrated skill as such, he doubled up as a combat artist. As one can guess, Altitude truly excelled in this curious line of work.

Seeing reports of his amazing ability over the years, not to mention samples of his reports the powers that be gave Altitude a shot at joining GI Joe. Never one to let an opportunity like that slide, Altitude signed up for the team 'audition', and as he always does, gave it 110%.

Snatched up by Skydive, Altitude was quickly put to work against Cobra's Python Patrol. Skydive's Sky Patrol team wielded older GI Joe and captured Cobra vehicles retro-fitted with an experimental, chromium-based stealth technology built to stymie Cobra radar systems.

With the Sky Patrol, Altitude has the same job he performed in the regular Army: he's dropped by airplane into some godforsaken corner of the Earth, memorizing everything he sees as he goes. This time, though, he does so against Cobra, focusing on their bases, troops, and vehicles.

Afterwards, Altitude simply returns to base, and proceeds to sketch out everything he saw in the field. His drawings are so precise that the Sky Patrol uses them to plan missions, as they're even more reliable than intelligence gathered by satellite or other overhead surveillance.

Altitude continued to serve in this capacity until GI Joe was disbanded in '94. It is not known just what he did with himself after the Joes were shut down, for he had a long career in the Army - you don't get to the rank of Sergeant Major of the Army overnight, you know.

(Historical Divergence)

However, the Joes have been active on and off since then, and when they run into a situation that requires more backup then they have handy, they call in everyone available to help, Altitude included. And Altitude is more than happy to continue the fight for freedom with GI Joe!

2016 Variations

Equipment:

Machine Gun: in 2016, Altitude adopted this weapon, with which he may discharge a single round to inflict Typical (6) Shooting damage, a three-round burst of such to inflict Good (10) Shooting damage, or fire it continously to inflict Excellent (20) Shooting damage.

But wait, there's more! Altitude's weapon features an underslung grenade launcher, which can bloop projectiles up to three areas away from his person. These implements explode to inflict Remarkable (30) Edged Attack damage to everyone within their detonation area.

Costume:

Altitude's second GI Joe field uniform consists of a primarily green jumpsuit, accented with orange on the arms after the tricep, and on the legs under his thighs. This is bolstered with brown boots, gloves, and belts, khakis knee pads, gold web gear, and a steel helmet.

Extra Goodies:

Altitude Universal Heroes Text File Download

GI Joe directories featuring a version of Altitude:

  1990 2016  

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