the Living Tribunal

Strength
30a
Agility
30a
Intellect
30a
Willpower
30a

Hand Size:
Edge:
7 (50)
5

Origin:

The Living Tribunal, like most cosmic entities, is a disembodied force of nature. An abstract being, the Living Tribunal is not mortal like you or I, but is not a deity like most entities commonly thought of as gods, either. The ultimate representation of adjudication in the multiverse (and possibly beyond), the Living Tribunal will continue to exist as long as there are scales to balance somewhere in reality.

Powers:

Causality Control (i): when all else fails, and there's nothing else left to do, the Living Tribunal has the authority to alter the very fabric of nature to protect the multiverse. Working at intensity 30, this power allows the Tribunal to rewrite reality as he sees fit, as he did when forced to remove the Infinity Gems' ability to work in unison as a single entity.

Immortality (s): the Living Tribunal, like most abstract entities, isn't a physical presence so much as a disembodied concept. As such, the Tribunal cannot be destroyed unless one single force comes to complete domination throughout the cosmos. In fact, when he does appear in material form, his body is really composed of extradimensional entities known as fractals, who manifest a shape for him.

Invulnerabilities (s): as a disembodied cosmic entity, the Living Tribunal is totally immune to everything save for the deionic energies of other cosmic entities. When he assumes a material form thanks to Anthropomorpho and his unending legion of fractals, however, the Tribunal lacks this defense. But then, it's not like he couldn't get another body if his current one is destroyed.

Macro Sense (w): as the ultimate enforcer of The One's agenda (whoever that ultimate being may be), the Living Tribunal has the power to sense everything within the multiverse at any given time. Functioning at intensity 30, this power will automatically indicate any significant alterations in the balance of the multiverse, thus allowing him to rectify such situations when necessary.

The Power Cosmic (i): again, as the ultimate authority figure in the multiverse, the Living Tribunal has nigh-unlimited power at his disposal. Wielding this power at intensity 30, the Tribunal has the power to do virtually anything, should he need to, to preserve the Balance. To date, the Living Tribunal has been known to demonstrate these cosmic power stunts:

* Energy Control (i): though his power primarily holds sway over the cosmic forces of the multiverse, the Living Tribunal can exert his power cosmic to manipulate the lesser energies of our reality. Working at intensity 30, this stunt lets him affect any active or passive energies he desires, as is needed, to further The One's agenda.

* Energy Sense (w): the Living Tribunal can use his power cosmic to actually sense any and all forms of energy, from mundane electromagnetic fields to fantastic forces such as magic, psionics, and even the deionic impulses given off by faith-fueled deities! This power stunt works for the Living Tribunal at intensity 30, allowing almost nothing to avoid his notice.

* Transmutation / Topological Control (i): thanks to this useful power stunt, the Living Tribunal can alter the form, function, and composition of any person or object, doing so with intensity 30 power. The Tribunal rarely resorts to the use of this power, but he has done so on occasion, whenever a great need has required him to make such alterations in would-be minions or their gear.

Telepathy (w): in addition to the above, staggering capabilities, the Living Tribunal has certain powers concerning the sentient mind. While he doesn't actually seem to have the power to sway conscious minds one way or the other, he can definitely achieve mind to mind communications with them, doing so with intensity 30 skill. He may have more inherent psionic powers, but these have yet to be revealed.

Schooling: Master of Philosophical (Balance) Magic

The Living Tribunal holds sway over the power of magic, as was demonstrated in his very first appearance. As such, he is no doubt nothing less than a master of such disciplines, most likely in the balance aspect of philosophical sorceries. The exact nature of his magical arsenal is unknown, but in the past he has made use of these spells of note:

Curse (u) (w): one aspect of the Living Tribunal's judgments allow him to dispense ironic forms of justice. These often take the form of vicious, unbreakable curses, which are applied to the guilty party with intensity 30 might. Though never outright deadly, these curses may well drive their victims to self-destruction due to the mental anguish they can cause.

Incantation of Oblivion (u) (i): this horrifying spell allows the Living Tribunal to draw forth unbelievably powerful energies, to the effect of completely annihilating a subject, whether it be a person, place, or thing. Functioning at intensity 30, this frightening spell can be used to destroy anything, up to and including an entire planetary system!

Hindrances / Augmentations:

(none)

Equipment:

(none)

Skills:

Skillmaster: in his role as the final arbiter of cosmic law, the Living Tribunal has access to all knowledge, no matter how esoteric or seemingly useless. To this end, he likely has every skill known to man and more, whether or not he needs to actually apply such knowledge in the perpetration of his duties. After all, one needs to know everything to be able to judge it.

Contacts:

Thanks to his station, the Living Tribunal can call upon the aid of any other cosmic entities across the multiverse to do his bidding, for to do otherwise is to defy the wishes of multiversal law, and the desires of The One that the Living Tribunal represents. In order to avert disaster, most beings heed his commands - save for suicidal types like the deviant Ereshkigal.

In addition to this general sway over the powers and principalities of the multiverse, the Living Tribunal has numerous servants who help him to perform his duties. The Watchers, in addition to reporting to the Celestials, observe our universe for the Tribunal. Furthermore, the enigmatic Magistrati rule in cases where the Tribunal's influence would be inappropriate, doing so from his very own Star Chamber.

Calling:

Guardian: though he is the ultimate decider of tricky issues concerning cosmic law, the Living Tribunal is also the final guardian of the balance of power in the multiverse. As such, he acts whenever a significant force gains too much influence, whether it be order, chaos, good, or evil. Finally, he will intervene directly when one or more of his servants are mistreated.

Costume:

Not being a physical entity, the Living Tribunal requires no costume. In fact, when he manifests in Anthropomorpho's realm or elsewhere, the Tribunal wears no garish uniform, merely donning a hood to cover the various faces on his tripartite head. Other than that, he goes 'naked' while performing his various duties throughout our multiverse.

Personality:

The Living Tribunal seems at first to be a proud, overbearing being, but the simple truth is that he is the second most powerful entity in his multiverse, and as such, he simply acts with conviction to protect everything within his superior's domain. After all, the only thing that can truly cause his demise is not doing his job, when you get down to it.

Real Name: the Living Tribunal
Occupation: Cosmic Tribunal
Legal Status: inapplicable
Marital Status: inapplicable
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: none

Height: inapplicable
Hair: inapplicable
Eyes: glowing white
Weight: inapplicable
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: the Living Tribunal has no actual physical existence, but he most often manifests in the form of an immense, golden humanoid male, one with three faces on his head - one uncovered, one totally cloaked, and one partially hooded. Furthermore, his head merely floats above his body, with no neck actually anchoring it to his torso.

Story:

The origins of the Living Tribunal are shrouded in mystery, but it is known that 'he' is as old as the multiverse itself - in other words, the Tribunal is older than our universe, having existed since the very beginnings of time and space. Furthermore, he is known to be the custodian of cosmic balance in his multiverse, ensuring that no one force, conceptual or physical, grows more powerful than any other.

As such, the Tribunal will act only when it is absolutely necessary to maintain this precious balance, set forth by the one being known to be his superior: The One who is above all. Nothing but cryptic references have ever been made about this entity, so it is assumed that the multiverse functions according to his wishes, as enforced by the actions of the Living Tribunal.

No action is too extreme, as far as the Tribunal is concerned, to maintain this balance of forces. In fact, this entity has gone so far as to destroy whole worlds to do his duty, regardless of the welfare of the residents of said planets. This is never done in malice or anger; such actions are simply things that Must Be to guarantee the continued existence of reality itself.

In recent history, as the multiverse keeps track of such things, the Tribunal seems to be quite busy. The actions of powerful beings like Mephisto, the Beyonder, and even Thanos have kept this entity on his toes, as it were. In fact, the Living Tribunal was recently required to deactivate the dread Infinity Gems' power to function side by side, as they were almost used to rock the multiverse itself.

Another threat to our multiverse was inadvertently caused by none other than Wendell Vaughn, the human Avenger known as Quasar. On an adventure outside our multiverse, this Protector of the Universe brought back an alien device known as the Star Brand, a paradoxical power source that caused a disturbance in our reality simply by being an outside source of energy.

Furthermore, once the deviant sorceress known as Ereshkigal got her hands on this device, she used it in an attempt to shift the Cosmic Axis itself, an act that would have caused grave consequences for both the Living Tribunal and the multiverse as a whole. As such, when the world of this device's origin was brought into our multiverse shortly after this debacle, the Tribunal was forced to act.

Using his vast power, the Living Tribunal sealed this world off from the rest of the multiverse, as the energies of the Star Brand permeated every molecule and resident of the alternate earth. The Brand itself escaped his ruling, however, as it was returned to its multiverse of origin along with the techno-organic entity known as Skeletron, who had claimed it for his own.

It is most likely that the residents of this world will eventually attempt to free themselves from veritable imprisonment at the Tribunal's hands, even if such a plot is only intended to return them to their multiverse of origin. As such, the Living Tribunal will eventually be forced to deal with these variant timeline earthlings once and for all - and his actions may not be pleasant.

In the meantime, however, the Tribunal has been keeping busy. For instance, one of his manifestation bodies recently fell victim to a vicious assault, an attack by unknown parties which was seemingly enough to disable or destroy it outright. Of course, the Tribunal was not actually slain, for he manifested months later, meting out ironic justice to Doctor Doom for sadistically abusing Uatu the Watcher.

Extra Goodies:

Living Tribunal Saga System 13 Text File Download

Living Tribunal Imagery

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