Sticks McLellan

Origin:

Danielle 'Sticks' McLellan is a priestess of the goddess Nike, and her intense devotion has allowed her the use of a small portion of her patron's deific might. More recently, she also became a Zen Hell-Kite, gaining minor belief-based psionics in the process.

Known Powers:

Believer Psionics (Metapsi Powers):

Invulnerability Aura (a): when she finds herself in combat, Sticks may forego her standard empathic resistance. This is replaced with her so-called 'battle trance', which gives Sticks complete immunity to all empathic assaults entirely!

Resistance Aura (s): when not actively in battle, Sticks nonetheless has significant resistance to empathic powers. This power functions at her Awareness +4 RS - which is rank value 100 resistance for this priestly scrapper.

Schooling: Disciple of Clerical Magic (Nike):

Sticks is a priestess of the goddess Nike in good standing. Though she's no longer a part of the Unified Church of Olympus, Sticks nonetheless continues to impress her patron deity with her actions, both alone and with Agency 13. To date, she's been granted these spells:

Glow (u): one of the first spells she mastered, Sticks can use glow to imbue an object with a powerful field of concussive force. When using them against others, such energized items will inflict rank value 30 Force damage instead of their usual harm.

Healing / Others (u): one aspect of Sticks' priestly duties is the healing of others, to better enable them to act more efficiently. Sticks has the power to safely heal up to twenty lost Health points per person per day (rank value 20).

Healing / Self (p): in addition to being able to patch up the wounds of others, Sticks can also heal her own injuries. She may do this with rank value 20 ability, which allows her to safely repair twenty of her own lost Health points once per day.

Magic Sense (p): with the aid of this spell, Sticks can easily perceive the presence and nature of magic within her vicinity. She may wield this spell with rank value 20 ability, which reveals most magic that is not cloaked within six sectors of her person.

Paralysis (u): when Sticks manages physical contact with a foe (usually in the form of a choke hold), she can paralyze them. This requires that he, she or it fail a Willpower ACTION roll against this rank value 30 spell, rendering them unable to act.

Postcognition (p): a spell Sticks is still developing, she can see into the past with rank value 4 ability. This currently limits her to 'only' sixteen years back through time, but still makes for an incredible boon for the investigative work she is doing of late.

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Fighting Sticks: her namesake, Sticks carries around two foot-long metallic objects resembling yantok (rattan sticks) at all times. Made from MV 30 materials, she can inflict her Brawn +1 RS in Bashing damage with them - unless they're ensorcelled, that is.

Pixel ™ Smartphone: this highly advanced device is like unto a miniature handheld computer. It can hold several gigabytes of data as is needed, and Sticks usually has hers chock full of media pertinent to her various personal pursuits at all times.

In addition to also storing pertinent information about the current subject of her work, Sticks uses the phone to keep in touch with sources and to further research things online. It has rank value 4 communications range under ideal conditions (about five miles).

Quirks:

Fighting Logistics: their intense combat indoctrination gives the Zen Hell-Kites an extremely tactical mind - even if only subconsciously. After 1d10 rounds of combat with a foe (not turns), Sticks should receive a +1 RS to all subsequent Melee ACTION rolls made against said opponent.

Stubborn: say what you want about Sticks McLellan, but the one word that best describes her is stubborn. It's almost impossible for anyone to change her mind once she'd made it up, and she must pass a Willpower ACTION roll at -2 RS to avoid arguing with those who disagree.

Sturdiness: similarly, it's hard to argue that 'tough' doesn't describe this young priestess as well. Thanks to her innate toughness, Sticks may calculate her Negative Health score (if you use such) as if her Fortitude was +1 RS higher than is listed above.

Skills:

Acrobatics: a gymnast during high school, Sticks has maintained her trained agility ever since - it comes handy in the most surprising of situations. This skill allows her a +1 RS to all dodge, feint, weave, escape or evade manuevers - making her quite hard to hit.

Martial Arts styles B and E: a skilled melee combatant, Sticks does quite well even without her namesake. She may add a +1 RS to all unarmed fighting ACTIONs she attempts, and even gains a +1 initiative modifier while in the process of doing so.

Skill / Fighting Sticks: a competent student of eskrima, Sticks usually brings her fighting sticks to bear in combat - whether bashing someone's head in or throwing them at a foe. She may wield them in melee as if her Melee score was +1 RS in value.

Theology: as a faithful priestess of Nike, Sticks naturally knows all about religion. She's well-versed in the tenets of her own faith, as well as those of other gods (both Olympian and otherwise), and her Intellect in such matters should be considered +1 RS.

Thrown Weapons: in addition to her expertise in hand-to-hand combat, Sticks is also good at flinging things at her opponents. While she typically only does this with her fighting sticks, Sticks can fling any projectile weapons at her Coordination +1 RS.

Contacts:

Sticks McLellan is affiliated with Agency 13. She's a proven member of this curious investigative agency who, while rocksteady in the support of her teammates, is occasionally at odds with some of the group's goals. The others nonetheless trust her implicitly.

Furthermore, as one of the Zen Hell-Kites, Sticks McLellan can typically make use of the group's Tibetan headquarters whenever she needs to. Assuming she ever finds her way back to Tibet, that is. Other Hell-Kites will usually respect her prowess, if not her motives.

Finally, though she left the Unified Church of Olympus on hostile terms, Sticks can rely on many members of that organization for aid should she but ask. They know why she had to leave, after all, so it's not like most of them hold her exit against her.

Costume:

Highly acrobatic, Sticks often wears Spandex ™ outfits - whether expecting a fight or not.

Her 'common' field uniform primarily consists of a black stretch fabric body suit beneath white leather combat boots, white leather gloves, a white bikini bottom, a white tank top, and a white leather bag that holds her fighting sticks.

On occasion, she'll complement this with a black leather jacket as well - even she gets cold, you know!

Personality:

Sticks is a single-minded perfectionist. She's also got a tendency to act before she thinks - or to make up her mind before she's got all the facts. She's trying to lessen both of these personality flaws, but sometimes hitting things is so much easier than restraint.

At the same time, she's training herself to pay attention to her surroundings more. Mike 013 inexplicably thought she'd make a good investigator, so Sticks finds herself wondering if he actually saw something in her that she herself did not. Or if he just needed muscle.

Real Name: Danielle McLellan
Occupation: investigator of the bizarre, priestess of Nike, former staffer in the United Church of Olympus
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with a minor criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none used more than once
Group Affiliation: Agency 13, the Zen Hell-Kites, former member of the United Church of Olympus

Height: 6'
Hair: blonde
Eyes: green
Weight: 140 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Sticks typically has a scowling expression on her face, no matter what she's actually feeling at the time.

Story:

Before she was known as Sticks to friends and foes alike, Danielle McLellan's life was similar to many American suburbanites. Being something of an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, however, Sticks had a tendency to work very hard at whatever it was she was doing at the time.

It occurred to her very early in life that anything worth doing was worth doing right - otherwise, why bother? Thus, she easily achieved very good grades in the broken American educational system, and even excelled in her chosen extracurricular activity: gymnastics.

Though she attended church with her family, Sticks found the whole experience wanting. It was kind of hard for her to take a religion seriously when its own priests were being caught so regularly violating the basic tenets of their faith in a blatantly obvious fashion, after all.

Eventually getting into college on a free ride thanks to her exceptional efforts in school, Sticks found her original plan to become a doctor derailed during one of her theology courses. It was at this time that she learned of people who venerate the goddess Nike.

Intrigued, Sticks sought out some of them to get to the root of their faith, since she had long since lost her own. This ultimately led to her joining up with the Universal Church of Olympus, a group that most people consider quacks - but not everyone.

In the Church, Sticks found that Nike and her followers were right up her alley - they seemed the only people she'd ever met that cared about doing things the most efficiently. Sticks even met her eventual patron once, and was truly impressed by what she had to say.

While Sticks would have been content at this point to further the Church's aims, this was ultimately not to be. When another Church member tried to take advantage of his position over Sticks, she responded to his heavy-handed sexual advances by breaking his arms. And legs.

When the Church's elders tried to take Sticks to task for this act of brutality, she simply left the organization. A large group of its membership thought its leaders were in the wrong on this issue, though, and still look upon Sticks and all she'd done for them quite fondly.

Furious that she'd wasted her scholarship on a 'useless' degree in theology, and even more so that she'd blown several years working for a group that had ultimately betrayed her, Sticks felt she needed an outlet for her rage - lest she wind up hospitalizing someone undeserving.

So, she began to study the martial arts while looking for a new job. Her search did not go well, thanks to the near-collapse of the global economy recently, which only fueled Sticks' hate. This is why she managed to master the art of eskrima in no time flat!

It was soon after this that Sticks was approached by Mike 013. He was looking for a religious expert to help in his investigations of the various secret societies that littered the world, and having learned of her story Mike 013 thought she'd make a great addition to Agency 13.

Needing the money, Sticks readily joined up with the group, though she wasn't sure how much good she would do for them; she's more of a fighter than an investigator, after all. Nonetheless, refusing to fail due to her own doubts, Sticks threw herself into her work.

It was during this time that she discovered the Zen Hell-Kites. Investigating them at the Agency's direction, Sticks came to admire their combat prowess, and saw in them kindred spirits - minus the political baggage that came with being a member of her former Church.

While Mike 013 didn't like it, Sticks ultimately joined up with the Hell-Kites - though she still works for the Agency too, of course. And her increased fighting prowess has only helped the Agency out - even if it involved her getting a bit too close to the subject of her study.

Legal Hoopajoob:

I offer my Edition 13 work under the Creative Commons Attribution license. You may use this material as you see fit in your own, derivative texts or products, whether copying, distributing, or displaying it, as long as you credit me within said works.

If you would like more information about me for attribution, you can contact me via e mail (DashApostrophe@gmail.com).

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