Experiment OEBR1
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Experiment OEBR1 | |
| Player: @Jade Dragon | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Corruptor |
| Threat Level: | 30 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Occult Energies Battle Robot Prototype Unit #001 |
| Known Aliases: | Experiment OEBR1 |
| Species: | Robot |
| Age: | Unknown |
| Height: | 6' 4" |
| Weight: | 400 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Glowing blue |
| Hair Color: | None |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Property of Crey Industries |
| Occupation: | Mercenary |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Base of Operations: | Cap Au Diable, Rogue Isles |
| Marital Status: | N/A |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Dark Blast, Dark Miasma, Teleportation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Strong self-repair capabilities, apparently powered by feeding on life force | |
| Equipment | |
| None. | |
| No additional information available. | |
Experiment OEBR1 is an escaped battle robot created by Crey Industries. Although there is nothing human about it, a sort of presense can be sensed inside the machine, a demonic aura that feeds off the life of human beings.
Contents |
Affiliations
Identity: Public.
Supergroup: None. (Has been seen in the company of members of Malice in Wonderland, although this may be on the orders of Blood Wolf, to keep them under observation)
Known Associates: Blood Wolf (It is not entirely clear what purpose Blood Wolf may have for recruiting an emotionless killing machine, but he has definately taken an interest)
Personality
On the surface, the Occult Energies Battle Robot is a machine, acting according to its programming. It speaks only rarely, in an electronic monotone, and conveying only the basic information needed to perform its combat functions. The robot's terminology is very military in nature, it refers to itself as "this unit", its enemies as "threats" and the plans and goals of its contacts and allies as "mission objectives". Anyone working alongside the robot, however, may come to suspect that there is a sentience hidden somewhere within the machinery. There is something demonic about it, from its eerie glowing eyes, to the inhuman noises that seem to come from within its darkness, to the "hunger" that seems to drive it to feed on the souls of the living.
Whatever the malevolent spirit is, imprisoned within the robot body of OEBR1, it appears to find meaning in its existence by running missions. Money seems to be totally unimportant to OEBR1, as is power or fame; it is, in fact, only interested in its continued survival and freedom from Crey's control. It takes missions primarily to provide itself with a constant source of life force, but also because the missions give it a sense of purpose. This may change, however, as the entity learns more about its true nature, and starts to gain more sense of its own self.
Powers
As a battle robot created by Crey Industries, and powered by occult energies, OEBR1 draws upon both technology and magic for its array of powers. Most of its abilities are drawn from its occult power source, which manifests as a shadowy field of darkness that seems to flow and ebb around the robot, making it difficult to see even in full daylight.
Dark Blast
Experiment OEBR1 employs two modes of attack, a blast of dark energy, which damages the victim with a numbing, paralyzing cold, and by draining the victim's life energy directly. The latter attack also recharges the power source of the robot, and apparently can be used to repair its systems. OEBR1 has also demonstrated the ability to heal allies with this life draining attack, by diverting some of the life energy into their bodies. The robot seems understandably reluctant to part with its primary power source, however, and usually uses the form of this attack that only heals itself.
The robot's darkness powers also seem to include the ability to open dimensional portals, as noted below. One manifestation of this ability is a pool of darkness, that spreads away from the robot, from which a group of shadowy, black tentacles appear. These tentacles then grab and drain the life force from any foes that they can reach. Whether these tentacles are summoned from some other dimension, or are a manifestation of the occult spirit imprisoned inside OEBR1 is a good question.
Dark Miasma
As mentioned above, one of Experiment OEBR1's main abilities is its stealth, as by surrounding itself in darkness, it can become hard to see, particularly in areas that are already shadowed. This may, in fact, be Crey's reason for using occult energies in the first place, as they may have considered using the robot as an assassin. OEBR1 can extend its field of darkness far enough to protect allies, as well, which could have been seen as an additional tactical advantage by Crey.
OEBR1's darkness is actually solid enough that it can divert some attacks that are directed at it, although it is probably more accurate to say that it absorbs the damage. Energy, in particular, and Psychic attacks, seem to be sucked into nothingness when they strike the darkness field. OEBR1 can also extend its darkness field to surround foes, blinding them and draining them of strength and power. This typically appears as shadows stretching across the floor from the robot to its victims, and an area of darkness surrounding and engulfing them.
Teleportation
In addition to the offensive and defensive capabilities of OEBR1's occult darkness powers, it also seems to be able to use this darkness as a sort of dimensional gateway. By blending into shadow, the robot can literally disappear, passing into an ethereal state where it no longer interacts with the physical world. The robot can then move rapidly to a destination, and then rematerialize, effectively teleporting to the new location. OEBR1 can carry any number of allies along with it, although this may cost additional energy, as the robot seems to prefer teleporting only one ally at a time.
In addition, Experiment OEBR1 has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to partially transport to a distant foe, send out tentacles to grab him, and then pull back him through the dimensional gateway to OEBR1's original location. This allows OEBR1 to separate a foe from any nearby allies so he can be dealt with alone. This is a favorite tactic of the robot, as it costs only a minimal amount of energy, but allows OEBR1 to drain the life force of that victim without interruption, resulting in an overall gain in energy. OEBR1 typically only uses this tactic when it is low on energy, however, returning to direct confrontation when its energy reserves are full.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The bright blue symbols that are etched all over OEBR1's mechanical body appear to be wards of some sort, perhaps a magical spell that keeps the occult energy source bound to its body. When the robot is drawing upon its power, the symbols appear to glow, becoming brightest when the robot is "feeding". Conversely, when the symbols dim, OEBR1 appears to become more desperate for energy, and will often seek out victims to feed its "hunger".
Despite the robot's great weight, or perhaps because of it, OEBR1 is not particularly strong, and does not usually engage in hand to hand combat. When it does attack at close range, it tends to wrap its fists in darkness, giving itself a boost over physical strength alone. This may be because the robot's mechanical systems cannot move very quickly. OEBR1 tends to move fairly slowly, and prefers to teleport rather than run or jump to a location. The weight of the robot may also be due in part to the "heaviness" of the darkness contained within it. When in its ethereal state, the robot has no weight, and in fact can float in the air as if hovering.
Character History
The history of the robot known as Experiment OEBR1 begins in 2002, when Crey Industries began work on a project to tap magical energy, using research stolen from the Circle of Thorns. Dubbed the Occult Energies Evaluation and Application Research Division, this project settled on building a battle robot, which would be powered by energy drawn from another dimension. The idea was to create a soldier that would not need food or fuel, but could continue infinitely on its extradimensional energy source.
Unfortunately, on October 16, 2004, when the prototype was activated, something clearly went wrong. As OEBR1 was activated, and its occult energy source was drawn into its mechanical body, the dark energy surrounding it seemed to go out of control. Most of the armor plates that had been intended to protect the robot were consumed by the darkness, exposing the frame underneath. This apparently did not satisfy the energy's "hunger", however, because OEBR1 sat up on the experiment table, and despite Control Protocols that were put in place to prevent just such an event, began to attack the Crey researchers, draining their life force. After feeding on a number of Crey scientists and even causing their bodies to disintegrate and disappear into the shadows around its body, the robot lurched its way to the door, and began its escape from the building.
The robot soon found itself in King's Row, and went on a rampage, apprehending random bystanders on the streets and consuming them, as it had the Crey employees. A force of Freedom Corps agents were dispatched to deal with the threat, and a battle was engaged, which resulted in serious injuries to many of the superheroes. They quickly rallied, however, and were able to drive the robot back, after which the robot seemed to recognize that it was faced with a superior threat. Activating its teleportation ability, it spread an area of shadows around itself, and then faded away into its own darkness, dissappearing completely.
The Freedom Corps agents were able to deduce that the robot had teleported away, but a search for it turned up no further clues. It had apparently consumed enough to satisfy it for the moment, because no further attacks were reported on Paragon City citizens. In fact, the robot had calculated that to continue to feed randomly would result in its capture and deactivation. Thus, it began to single out homeless victims and criminals, who would not be reported to the police and thus attract attention. Over two years in Paragon City, OEBR1 continued to hide out underground, feeding only enough to keep itself functional. It also apparently covered itself in a cloak and hood during this time, perhaps to cover the glow of its sigils, or to keep it from being singled out as non-human.
Eventually, however, OEBR1 found its way to the Rogue Isles. Over the two years it had apparently developed its knowledge and intelligence enough to begin to speak. (It did not speak at all during its first encounter, and in fact demonstrated only the most rudimentary intelligence, no more than that of an animal) Encountering Arachnos agents and other contacts on the Isles, OEBR1 began to run tasks for them, seeing this as an opportunity to feed on life force without the risk of retribution from the authorities. By working within the system, OEBR1 has managed to build up a surplus of power reserves, and has begun investigating into its own past, making inquiries of the Circle of Thorns, and trying to locate artifacts that may unlock the mystery of its creation.
Inspirations and Trivia
Experiment OEBR1 is primarily inspired by Cloak, of Cloak and Dagger, although there are similarities between it and Sandy. Unlike Sandy, however, or Cloak, Experiment OEBR1 is not in any way human, and has no sense of mercy or morals. I wanted to make it as different from Sandy as possible, although OEBR1 is not really villainous, it is just a machine.
I first created OEBR1 back when City of Heroes first came out, as a Dark Defender. At the time, I role played it as unable to speak, as described in the Character History. This proved to be too limiting on teams, however, so when I recreated it in City of Villians it had developed enough to be able to speak. This also explained how the robot was able to interact with the contacts to get missions. I have not specifically decided what is imprisoned inside OEBR1, but it is sentient, and it was drawn into the robot accidently during the ritual Crey used to bind the energy to the robot. As OEBR1 develops, this entity will become more and more aware of itself, and will act more intelligently and with its own purpose.
I try to consistently refer to OEBR1 as "it".
