Effects

Melee RV 10

Coordination RV 10

Brawn RV 10

Fortitude RV 10

Intellect RV 20

Awareness RV 6

Willpower RV 20

Lifestyle RV 20

Repute RV 0

Health: Fortune:

40 46

Origin:

Like the vast majority of the GI Joe team, Effects lacks special powers of any variety. The man does wield a whole lot of advanced, government-issue hardware with which he fights terrorists and aliens, however, so one could consider him a high tech hero if they were so inclined.

Known Powers:

(none)

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Catapult: inexplicably, Effects carries a catapult with him into action. This small unit can be used to fling globs of burning napalm at an opponent, globs which inflict rank value 20 2x SD Energy damage per strike... and easily catch anything else in the vicinity on fire!

Explosives / Pyrotechnics: his stock in trade, Effects has the tools and supplies necessary to blow things up - but good! He can produce any explosion of up to rank value 40 intensity, which has a fragmentary effect and/or simply looks visually dazzling!

Laser Rifle: Effects' primary weapon in the field, this rifle allows him to fire at a foe without kickback, thus eliminating any drift caused by the use of projectile weapons in space. This directed energy weapon can inflict rank value 20 Armor Piercing Energy damage per deadly blast.

Monster Slash Knife: should he have to cut a line or even a Cobra astronaut on the job, Effects has started carrying a blade with him on missions. Built from m.v. 40 materials, it can either be used to cut through things of like m.v., or be used to inflict Slashing damage in melee.

Sidearm: though he'd prefer to use his big guns in a fight, things don't always go as planned. Effects can discharge this weapon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage when firing a single shot, or rank value 10 Piercing damage when firing a three-round burst.

Space Suit: when he has to 'step out' into space, Effects will usually be seen in his space suit; he typically wears it while on the job anyway (just in case), but it's not always totally sealed up unless he's on a walk. Effects' space suit has these capabilities:

* Environmental Independence: Effects' helmet has a built in oxygen rebreather installed within, which helps to recycle his air - so that he need not carry about a bulky supply of pressurized, breathable atmosphere. This device works at rank value 50 for air (two day supply).

* Helmet: in addition to helping him to function in space, Effects' space suit also protects his head from injury. It offers him rank value 10 protection against physical attacks as long as they hit him in the head, reduced to rank value 4 versus energy-based attack.

* Resistance to Cold and Pressure Variance: a self-sealing, pressurized suit, Effects' uniform offers him rank value 75 protection against these damage forms, a necessity when working in the cold, hard vacuum of space (if you want to last a while, at least).

Quirks:

(none)

Skills:

Demolitions 2: his stock in trade, Effects lives to blow stuff up for a living. Whether just making an impressive light show or demolishing a building, he should receive a +2 RS on any efforts involving explosives, including those to set or disarm such destructive devices.

Guns: while he usually prefers to blow things up, Effects has been fully trained in the fine art of modern gunplay. He may attack with a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol as if his Coordination was +1 RS higher than is listed above.

Martial Arts style B: a skill you can't get through Basic training without mastering, Effects has learned how to defend himself without weaponry. Whenever engaging in unarmed combat, from punches to kicks to elbow drops, Effects may resolve such attacks at a +1 RS to his Melee.

Military / United States: while he wasn't initially Army-minded, Effects enlisted to something more fulfilling with his life than mere Hollywood special effects. He's an expert on the SOP, and can easily fight within a modern combat unit.

Spatial Combat: being drafted onto the GI Joe team's elite Star Brigade, Effects has been trained how to fight in the strange conditions in low earth orbit - and beyond. He may ignore penalties to any combat maneuvers he attempts while subject to varying G forces.

Contacts:

Though he joined late in the original GI Joe team's first incarnation, Effects is a fully fledged member of the GI Joe team, and can easily rely upon them for help should he but ask. Effects has numerous additional contacts in both military and Hollywood circles.

Costume:

Effects' GI Joe field uniform is a space suit! The upper body is black and light blue in hue, while the lower body is navy blue in coloration. It is accented by navy blue gloves, long black leather boots, a black leather belt, and a navy blue helmet with a black, mirrored visor.

Personality:

Aron is something of a showoff - but then, his occupational specialty involves making big, flashy entrances. He likes to live large, talk large, and be large as much as is possible, and he essentially lives by the mantra that 'more is more'!

Real Name: Aron Beck, Grade E-6
Occupation: explosives ordnance disposal, special effects coordinator
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GI Joe, Star Brigade (GI Joe sub-group)

Height: 6'
Hair: blonde
Eyes: blue
Weight: 190 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Effects often has a large, toothy grimace at all times. Possibly as a result of being exposed to so many explosions.

Story:

Aron 'Effects' Beck got his start working for the movie companies, engaging in a wide variety of special effects work that got him accolades throughout the industry. But while he was really good at making realistic looking explosions, Effects wanted to do more with his life.

After meeting up with several military 'consultants' on one project after another, Effects grew to appreciate just what these men and women did for their country on a daily basis. Hanging up his back stage hat, Effects enlisted in the Army - and dedicated himself to a life of service!

Deciding to put him where he would be most effective, the Army thought it best to make Effects an Explosives Ordnance Disposal expert, as well as a demolitionist. The man is good at blowing things up after all - why not let him run with that for all he was worth?

Thanks to his years of experience with things that go boom, not to mention the sheer artistry that Effects put into each of his detonations, the man was noticed by the powers that be and, as soon as an opening became available, Effects was recruited onto the GI Joe team.

Seeing that Effects had a truly special talent for what he does, the Joes put him to work in their elite Star Brigade unit almost immediately. After getting trained in the fine art of spatial combat, Effects began to join the Joes on missions beyond the earth's atmosphere!

All of these jobs entailed him using his special demolitions talents against the forces of evil, whether they be terrestrial threats like Cobra, or even more far-reaching foes like the representatives of the Lunartix empire - aliens who seem to have it out for the GI Joe team.

If not humanity in general. Of course, Effects's time with the GI Joe team the first time around was all too short, as the Joes were deactivated a short time after he joined them. Shunted back to conventional services, Effects simply continued to hone his skills even more.

(Historical Divergence)

Of course, the GI Joe team wasn't down for long, as the Cobra activity it was originally formed to counter rapidly spiraled out of control without opposition. Though he didn't make the initial 'cut' in the new team, Effects was eventually drawn back into the fold.

He made his first 'comeback' during the second Cobra Island Civil War, and his second after World War III, which seemingly saw Cobra defeated at long last. Of course, that's what the powers-that-be thought last time, too, so who knows if they'll rise a third time!

Extra Goodies:

GI Joe directories featuring a version of Effects:

1994

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