the Godless Dandy Melee: RV 20 Coordination: RV 10 Brawn: RV 6 Fortitude: RV 10 Intellect: RV 30 Awareness: RV 20 Willpower: RV 30 Health: 46 Fortune: 80 Lifestyle: RV 50 Repute: RV +5 Origin: Like most other genuine Frankologists, Maxwell 'Maximum' Buckner is a believer. He is a man who so intently believes in his philosophy that his mind has been literally reshaped by his intransigence, and has thus developed psionics related to it. Known Powers: Believer Psionics (Theonic Powers): Theonic Invisibility (s): Frankologists who aren't simply posers, such as Maximum, possess this power. Wielding it at rank value 50, Maxwell can perform missions against deific beings or their many agents without readily being detected by their ascendant senses. Theonic Sense (s): though not quite a Frankologist leader, at least where the strength of his beliefs are concerned, Maximum is well on his way to that level of enlightenment. Thus, he can sense the presence of immortal beings and their minions with rank value 20 skill. Limitations / Enhancements: (none) Equipment: Blackberry ™ Smartphone: Maximum uses this device to keep in touch with his subordinates at all times. This device can communicate with the terrestrial cell phone network with rank value 4 ability, having a maximum range of five miles (in ideal conditions). Maximum's Torch can store several gigabytes of data, which typically includes his favorite music and files pertinent to whatever his current philanthropic mission happens to be. That and it lets him be connected to the Internets at (almost) all times. Bullet-resistant Tuxedo: the ostentatious costume that Maximum wears when walking the earth has been custom made for him by Miguel Caballero. In addition to its rather flashy look, this garb provides Maximum rank value 10 resistance to Shooting damage of all types. Sword Cane: Maximum paid an itinerant superpsi crafter an inordinate sum of money and other resources to make this weapon for him. It looks like a mere red wooden cane to all outward appearances, but there is much, much more to this device than meets the eye. It has been empowered to possess a material value of 500, for one thing, and when holding down a special trigger for three seconds, Maximum can withdraw a hidden sword from the recesses of the cane - with which he can inflict his Brawn value in Slashing damage. What makes Maximum's sword cane so special, however, is that it can emit an antideionic beam at whatever he points it at! This devastating attack will inflict rank value 30 Deionic damage upon its foes - which is Armor Piercing against specifically deific defenses. Quirks: Enemy / Organized Religion: as a Frankologist, Maximum naturally earns the ire of most religious groups as soon as he reveals her beliefs to them. These groups will actively oppose Maximum's efforts, no matter how justified they may seem, simply to ensure their own survival. Likability: there's something about Maximum that just makes you like him - and that's not counting him giving you money. No, NPCs tend to react to Maximum at one behavioral step higher, and those already friendly to him treat him as if his Repute was +2 RS in value. Skills: Business / Finance 3: all of Maximum's vast fortunes are a direct result of his seemingly supernatural business acumen. He should receive a +3 RS on all ACTs roll related to running a business, investing profitably, or anything other feat of this type. Martial Arts style A: constantly subject to attacks from fanatic religiosos, Frankologists are often trained in this style of martial art. Maximum can thus achieve Pound or Concuss results against his foes regardless of the comparative Brawn or Fortitude scores. Philosophy: a Frankologist can't really 'grow' within the College without having learned all there is to know about earthen philosophy, via either the college route or from Professor F himself. Maximum's Intellect should be considered +1 RS in this area of expertise. Skill / Swords: to better wield his sword cane, Maximum has procured training in the fine art of swordplay. Thus, whenever wielding it or any similar bladed weapons, he may attempt to strike a foe as if his Melee was +1 RS higher than is listed above. Contacts: Maximum is supported in his endeavors by a decently sized organization. They look up likely candidates for him to shower with money to the best effect - namely, to help people disassociate charity with religion. Most of his staff are also Frankologists. Speaking of which, Maximum can definitely call upon the Scientific College of Frankology for aid at any time. Not because he often bankrolls the rebuilding of its headquarters after its seemingly regular destruction, so much as because of all the things he does to help the group's standing. Costume: While in public, Maximum almost exclusively wears a crimson tuxedo over a black dress shirt. He accessorizes this with crimson leather shoes, a black leather belt, a crimson tie, red mirrored sunglasses, and a rather tall crimson bowler hat - which he often takes off for dramatic effect. Personality: Maxwell has seen his fair share of tragedy, but has tried his best to turn lemons into lemonade - so to speak. He's come to enjoy his lifestyle of weaponized philanthropy, and greatly enjoys the bizarre public character that has sort of coalesced around himself. Real Name: Maxwell 'Maximum' Buckner Occupation: investor, philanthropist Legal Status: citizen of the United States with a minor criminal record Marital Status: widower Alias(es), if any: none Group Affiliation: the Scientific College of Frankology Height: 5' 11" Hair: blonde (curly) Eyes: blue Weight: 210 lbs Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Maximum is a bit pudgy, but he fills out his tuxedo well. Story: Maxwell 'Maximum' Buckner is something of a prodigy where investment bankers are concerned. The man had it all, really - even a wonderful wife to share it with. A rare illness struck his companion early in their marriage, however, and she died a slow and agonizing death. Devastated by his loss, Maxwell tried to find a way to cope with his despondency, only to be assailed by wave after wave of religious men. These vultures cared not for Maxwell previously, only showing up shortly before his wife's demise to prey upon his perceived weakness. Put off by their sickening behavior, which seemed to promise that he would feel better if only he joined some church or another (and subsequently gave it lots of his money), Maxwell's disenfranchisement peaked with his assault on a particularly tactless minister. Tired of these horrible men attempting to exploit his wife's death for the personal gain of their churches, Maxwell went into seclusion. He threw himself into his work (after doing a short stint in the county jail for throttling that priest in the hospital) - to great effect. Dramatically increasing his already impressive fortunes, Maxwell started to think long and hard about his money. He and his wife were going to do all sorts of amazing things with it - some for themselves, some for others. But without her none of it really meant anything to him. So Maxwell started thinking seriously about philanthropy. By now he'd built his own company, no longer working for others, and his efforts would continue to make money even if he no longer actively worked at increasing his holdings... so he could afford to give away plenty. But the idea of donating to religious charities now appalled him. To this end, Maxwell built a non-profit foundation with which he could directly help the needy. This group would seek out men, women and children in the community who could use his help, and Maxwell would subsequently do everything he could to make things right for them. Sometimes his acts were grand and other times they were relatively minor. However, in time Maxwell began to acquire quite the reputation as a philanthropist, and he started to develop into a strange caricature of himself in the media - which he at first found disturbing. Maxwell began to enjoy this strange turn of events thanks to the Scientific College of Frankology. Having gotten wind of Maxwell's actions and seemingly familiar opinions on organized religions from his comments to reporters, Professor Frankowitz decided to pay the man a visit. After a short talk, the two hit it off quite swimmingly, and the Professor helped Maxwell to greatly expand his charitable efforts. The Professor knew of many, many people that had been actively harmed by churches in the past, after all, and this opened Maxwell's eyes even more. Becoming a true Frankologist, Maxwell embraced the strange public 'character' the media seemed to have made of him, even picking a ludicrous 'rich guy' costume whose colors reflected the general fashion sense of Frankologists around the world. Dubbing himself Maximum Buckner, he continued his philanthropy unabated - but now it had an edge to it. Maxwell had determined that the best way to leverage his charity was to use it in a way that would convince people that one need not rely on faith-based groups to be charitable. No, he wanted people to engage in more direct, more personal charity with their fellow man. To this end, Maximum (as he now calls himself, usually in the third person) ensures that every time his charity helps someone out, he's interacting with the recipient of said help himself - whether paying off their mortgages or simply buying them a new coat come winter time. In this fashion, Maximum has greatly raised his public profile, and whenever he comes to town people are almost always happy to see him. In his own way, he's doing similar work for the Scientific College of Frankology overall - helping to spread its message in a positive fashion. The best part is, as much as he's despised by religious charities, many of whom require one pray with them or whatever to gain their resources, they cannot speak ill of Maximum in public. They know fully well that this would only lend weight to his message against them! 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