Fallen ICONS: Daniel Hugo, formerly Exemplar

SYSTEM: ICONS

Daniel Hugo believed he was a strange visitor from another world, one who had been raised on Earth and fought for truth, justice, and the things he believed in. He worked that much harder at being human because he wasn't.

Years later, he learned that was only half true. Yes, there were significant amounts of alien DNA in his system, but he was essentially human, crafted from human eggs, sperm, and something that crashed in the Nevada desert. The scientists who crafted him built in a fail-safe: certain frequencies of radiation, when combined and not present with other radiations in the same ranges, would trigger an enzyme that excised the alien DNA from his system. They didn't know that just some of the frequencies would kill him, or that others would cause wild and unpredictable temporary changes. The rocks that produce these radiations got lumped together as Xenite.

The truth didn't come out for a long time: a "man hunter" had come to earth to find the missing alien and he discovered the base, the project, and the child. He destroyed the base and its backups and left the child in another state, where he was given the name "Daniel" and raised by the Hugos, a childless farming couple.

Years later, when the truth was revealed, someone pieced together the fail-safe and used it. Exemplar was just a man, but he continues to fight for truth and justice--now as a reporter. Few people know he was once Exemplar; they think Exemplar fell in battle or returned to his home planet. But Daniel knows. And if the heroes can help his fight for truth and justice, they might be told.

Daniel Hugo

Daniel is a reporter and a blogger and an investigator. He retains most of his knowledge from his days as Exemplar, and he has picked up martial arts in order to stay fit and to protect himself.

Name	Daniel Hugo	Prowess	4	Intellect	4	Determination	–
		Coordination	4	Awareness	4	Stamina	8
		Strength	3	Willpower	5
Specialties	Art (Writing), Business, Investigation, Leadership Expert, Martial Arts
Powers	None.
Qualities	Midwestern Upbringing and Former Experimental Subject
	Truth, Justice, and the North American Way
	Web of Connections: Friends, Allies, Contacts, and Enemies

Exemplar

With his powers, Exemplar looked something like this:

Name	Exemplar (Daniel Hugo)	Prowess	5	Intellect	4	Determination	1
		Coordination	7	Awareness	7	Stamina	15
		Strength	10	Willpower	5
Specialties	Aerial Combat, Art (Writing), Leadership
Powers	Flight						9
	Damage Resistance Limit:Not vs magical effects						8
	Blast (shooting) Heat vision						7
	Super-senses: +1 Enh. sight & hearing, microscopic vision, telescopic vision, X-ray vision						5
Qualities	Truth, Justice, and the North American Way
	Alien Heritage, Midwestern Upbringing
	The Major Hero

Notes

Another character with a huge history and a huge suite of powers, ranging from ubermensch to juggler-of-worlds. I chose to concentrate on only a few, and the player can use the "Alien heritage" quality to stunt the rest. In my mind, the character is a better man: whatever humans can do, he can do better. Strong? He's stronger. That strength gives him a toughness. He can see farther. Instead of leaping, he can fly. You could arguably put Super Speed and Life Support in there, but I prefer to stunt them. Most "normal" uses of Life Support are handled by his great strength, and the Super Speed was never consistent...it was always sort of an afterthought and never part of his schtick like it was for a certain other flash-y character.

Exemplar and the original character are, also, a creature of science. Implicit in the "Alien heritage" quality is the idea that it is not magic.

Thanks to Fred Hicks for suggesting the name "Exemplar." The Daniel Hugo name is my way of suggesting Hugo Danners.