Bio-Vipers

Melee RV 20

Coordination RV 6

Brawn RV 30

Fortitude RV 40

Intellect RV 4

Awareness RV 10

Willpower RV 4

Lifestyle RV 2

Repute RV -10

Health: Fortune:

96 18

Origin:

Cobra's Bio-Vipers are not human. They were perfectly good Cobra EELs, at least until Doctor Mindbender subjected them to an experimental, deep sea chimeric gene cocktail. Now an amalgamation of human and numerous other sea creatures, Bio-Vipers are an artificial species.

Known Powers:

Dual Respiration: as human beings with the genes of numerous sea creatures spliced into their own, Bio-Vipers have the ability to breathe both above and below the waves! Thanks to this induced genetic change, Bio-Vipers can easily breathe almost anywhere on earth!

Fangs: naturally, Mindbender included piranha DNA in his chimeric Bio-Viper compound. As such, these bestial Cobras now have the needle-like fangs of those brutal carnivores, and can readily inflict their Brawn value in Slashing damage with each deadly bite!

Growth: Bio-Vipers cannot change their size, per se. But they're huge - about nine feet tall! Thus, they possess this power to describe their larger stature compared to normal humans. While they only have this power at rank value 2, they're supremely imposing!

Razor Skin: like a sinister shark, the skin of each Bio-Viper is coated with dermal denticles, tooth-like objects that make their very touch dangerous! Thanks to this genetic modification, Bio-Vipers can easily inflict Slashing damage on contact, intentionally or otherwise!

Redolence: Bio-Vipers stink! Whether it's because they lurk at the bottom of the ocean for fun or because of some unknown property of Doctor Mindbender's genetic tampering, you can always tell when a Bio-Viper is around thanks to their rank value 20 redolence.

Resistance to Cold and Pressure Variance: perfectly comfortable on the beach or the ocean floor, Bio-Vipers are highly resistant to changes in pressure or a reduction of the ambient temperature. Thanks to this ability, they possess rank value 50 resistance to these phenomenon.

Super Swimming: thanks to their weblike platypus feet, amongs other induced alterations to their body, Bio-Vipers can swim as if born to do so. They possess this power at rank value 4, allowing them to move beneath the waves at speeds near thirty miles per hour!

Tentacles: growing out of their torso, these four bonus limbs give Bio-Vipers unparalleled grappling ability! They are allowed two additional melee attacks with them each turn, and while they have no other special properties, they're great for holding their foes in place.

Ultravision: while they have generally poor vision, hence all their other evolved traits, moray eels can peer into the ultraviolet spectrum of light. As such, this rank value 10 ability has been grafted into the Bio-Vipers, allowing them to see well at night or on the sea floor.

Cybernetics:

The only thing that makes a given Bio-Viper even remotely manageable in the field is a set of cybernetic controls that Doctor Mindbender has implanted into each Bio-Viper. It tamps down their berserker rages for the most part, unless they fail an IPS check in the midst of battle.

Limitations / Enhancements:

Implant Psychosis Statistic: like all electromechanically augmented beings, Bio-Vipers are subject to this dreadful neurological condition. To avoid its effects, a Bio-Viper must pass a Willpower ACTION against the intensity of their IPS whenever they are under duress.

This ACTION is never automatic, for Bio-Vipers are always ready for a fight! Failing this ACTION prompts a Bio-Viper to completely lose control, and to rampage as they would prefer for the duration of a conflict. Luckily, their IPS only has a base rank value of 1, so there's that?

Otherness: the combination of their horrific visages, repulsive stench, and violent behavior forever marks Bio-Vipers as both more than less than ordinary humans. Not that they care much, this extreme character limitation gives Bio-Vipers a -4 RS penalty on all NPC reactions.

Equipment:

Concussion Grenades: though they often forget they have the things, Bio-Vipers enter combat with three concussion grenades pinned to their one-piece swimsuit. These weapons inflict rank value 30 Force damage to all uncovered targets within the sector they detonate inside.

Missile Launcher: giving them a bit of bite beyond hand-to-hand combat, Bio-Vipers are each issued a one-handed rocket launcher. This powerful device, which they occasionally remember to utilize, fires advanced projectiles which possess the following characteristics:

Handling RV 20

Velocity RV 50

Durability RV 20

Damage RV 30 Slashing

Protective Swimsuit: this limbless, one-piece swimsuit is more than a mere accoutrement. In addition to serving as an anchor for the Bio-Vipers' grenades and implants, it converts incoming Slashing damage into Bashing damage, reducing it by -1 RS all the while.

Quirks:

Color Blind: while the addition of select moray eel genes into their DNA structure gives Bio-Vipers a considerable benefit in the form of their ultravision, it nonetheless hampers how they see conventional colors. All Bio-Vipers are completely color blind.

Unattractive: it should go without saying, but Bio-Vipers are madman-made monsters! Their features, while ostensibly humanoid, are not human at all, and those who find their eel eyes, rock fish scales, and giant tentacles icky react to them with a -2 RS penalty.

Skills:

Underwater Combat: while most of their more technical skills have been lost, Bio-Vipers retain this talent due to sheer 'natural' ability. Thanks to this ingrained capability, they may attempt offensive and defensive maneuvers beneath the sea without penalty.

Contacts:

None. Barely sentient still, the Bio-Vipers produced by Doctor Mindbender are immensely powerful, but are dangerous to friend and foe alike. Only the Mega-Vipers care to associate with them at all, but then that's their job. Thus, they're only retained as long as they're useful.

Costume:

As rampaging, barely-sentient monstrosities, Bio-Vipers don't bother with a whole lot of unnecessary accoutrements. They limit their clothing to a crimson, spear-proof one-piece swimsuit that covers their chest and groin, which holds their grenades, and a black belt.

Notes:

The gaggle of creatures known as Bio-Vipers were formerly a battalion of regular Cobra EELs, at least until Cobra Commander greenlit another of Doctor Mindbender's chimeric genetic experiments. If he could build a Serpentor, after all, he should be able to enhance extant soldiers.

That was the idea, anyway. So, after whipping up a cocktail of DNA snippets from the world's deadliest aquatic predators, Doctor Mindbender fused this material with his EEL 'volunteers' on a genetic level. Whether or not he was successful depends on your point of view.

Standing feet above the size of an ordinary human, Bio-Vipers feature the eyes of a moray eel, the teeth of a pirahna, the skin of a shark, the tentacles of a squid, and a terrible redolence evocative of the briniest ocean depths. Oh, and they now have blue and green skin.

On the other hand, thet've lost most of their combat skills, along with their driving intellect. Thanks to this, Bio-Vipers had to be fit with special cybernetics to at least minimally control their destructive natures, and the Mega-Vipers were created to direct them in the field.

This makes the use of Bio-Vipers more of a blunt instrument than anything remotely clandestine, but that's okay! Bio-Vipers make astonishingly good weapons of terror, and to keep the world on its toes, the Commander lets them rampage freely when they're not working for Cobra.

Extra Goodies:

Cobra directories featuring a version of Bio-Vipers:

1993

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