Phantom Detective
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Ralph Copper, the Phantom Detective | |
| Phantom Detective | |
| Player: @SusieBot | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 33 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Ralph Copper |
| Known Aliases: | PD |
| Species: | Ghost |
| Age: | 103 |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Weight: | Variable |
| Eye Color: | None |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | U.S. Citizen (Deceased) |
| Occupation: | Registered Hero, Private Detective |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Base of Operations: | King's Row, Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | James Copper (father, deceased); Ruth Copper (mother, deceased); Jim Copper (brother, deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Spectral Entity | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Detective | |
| Equipment | |
| None | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Introduction
I consider the Phantom Detective my other "great idea" character (the first being Susie-Bot). While a lot of my characters tend to be one-trick ponies, and could never star in their own comic, PD might be just about there.
Informed by such DC ghost characters as the Spectre, Deadman, and the Gentleman Ghost, PD arose from a mission to create a "ghost" character -- which is easy to do, since all you have to do is kill someone. I don't remember why he came out as a hard-boiled detective, but it just fit. It's a gimme from a role-playing perspective, as there's a lot of lingo to latch onto and an archetypal personality to begin from. It's also an excuse to read a lot of Chandler and Hammett.
If I ever buckle down and play him hard, I would very much like to get him onto a JSA-type team. I think his personality and archetype are ideally suited to a straight, Golden Age super-hero team.
Personality
When he was alive, Ralph Copper was not a particularly nice guy. Working as a shamus in Paragon City, he got a lot of mileage out of people not liking him very much. Brash and sardonic, he could get a witness to give him something in anger that he'd never get by playing nice. The one guy that could catch more flies with vinegar, as the saying goes.
Ralph also smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish, and he had a nasty habit of chasing skirts and getting into fights when he'd had a few. He was thirty-five when he died, and he didn't look a day over 40.
Since coming back, Ralph has mellowed a little bit, mostly on account of the fact that he can't drink (or, rather, he can drink, but it doesn't do anything). The quest for redemption has also softened his rough edges a bit -- he's (slightly) less inclined to rough someone up, unless he sure that they've got it coming.
Powers
Spectral Entity
Ralph Copper is a ghost, which comes with advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are:
- Spectral Energy: Ralph was never much of a fighter, but his connection to the afterlife has changed all that. His "body", such as it is, is composed of energy from the "other side". This energy can be extremely damaging to life forms based in this dimension. Ralph's touch saps the life energy of organic and mechanical beings. He can even channel this energy into his own body, replenishing his stores of spectral energy.
- Intangibility: In this dimension, Ralph is partially intangible. He has limited control over this aspect of his body -- he is solid enough to interact with objects, but high-speed projectiles and energy beams will generally pass through him with significantly less effect than they would have on a normal human. Ralph's spectral nature also makes him somewhat resistant to mental probing and psionic attack.
- Flight: Like most ghosts, Ralph has only a casual relationship with gravity. He can fly at will, and tends to remain airborne more often than he is on the ground.
The disadvantages to ghosthood are rather severe. The most obvious is that Ralph has no skin -- his corporeal form is that of a skeleton. He did, however, retain his hair -- a reminder from the powers that be of his vanity in his previous life. He is also locked into a limited wardrobe -- he can apparently don a spectral trench coat or doff his hat, but he can not stray far from his fundamental form.
Ralph can also not eat or drink -- or, rather, he can, but he can not taste it, nor can he feel the effects. He always feels vaguely hungry and thirsty. His one vice is that he can smoke -- which he does, constantly.
Abilities
Detective
For all his faults, Ralph was a respectable detective. He has a limited, but intuitive, grasp of forensics, but his real talent is for tailing, following leads, and interrogation. In his previous life, he used to get pummeled quite frequently -- it became something of a trademark for each case to involve a severe beating. With his new powers, this happens less frequently -- but occasionally.
Since his return, Ralph has focused on supernatural crimes -- his spectral form has given him an additional intuition about magical energies, though he is surprisingly vulnerable to attacks from other spectral entities. He has a strong dislike of demons, and does not trust wizards.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Ghost
Phantom Detective is subject to most of the same rules as other ghosts, though he receives some special exemptions because of his "boss". He can be banished, held, or bound by magical means. He is also susceptible to positive energy weapons.
Ironically, Ralph carries around an axe of ghost-slaying, an artifact of substantial power. This weapon is particularly effective against ghosts. While he often wields it in battle, the weapon's real purpose is known only to Ralph.
Character History
1939
Ralph Copper was a cop for five years, before internal corruption and his own demons got him booted from the PCPD. He became a private detective, hung out a shingle in King's Row, and spent ten years making too little money for getting roughed up by hoodlums all over Paragon City. He had a reputation for getting set up by rich broads -- they'd string him along, set him up, and he'd take the fall for them. Only a quick wit and dumb luck got him out of those binds.
In 1939, Ralph began working for Bettie DeVeau, the daughter of oil magnate Bentley DeVeau. As per his usual methods, Ralph immediately bedded her, got his heart wrapped up in it, and bought her sob story of extortion hook, line, and sinker. His investigations led him to the Kings, the merciless criminal overlords of Paragon City. It turns out that Bettie was using her connections with Universal Oil to let the Kings run weapons between the States and Europe at the behest of an unknown cabal within Paragon City. She was also in love with a highly placed capo within the Kings' organization. Unfortunately, the Kings' were ready to hang her out to dry, and so she turned to Ralph.
Ralph's demise was embarassing, at best. Sapped while poking around a Kings' warehouse, the mobsters interrogated him briefly before shooting him twice in the head and dropping him off of a dock in Indepedence Port.
A Second Chance
Ralph never talks about the other side. From his perspective, he was there for maybe a week. He worked out a deal with some higher power to return to earth and earn his redemption. Unfortunately, he was to return as a ghost.
Unbeknownst to Ralph, time does not pass the same way in all dimensions. When Ralph returned to earth, 67 years had passed.
Phantom Detective
When Ralph returned to Paragon City, he was amazed to see it transformed into the "City of Heroes". It took him some months just to get acclimated to getting around the city. He spent a great deal of time poking around rooftops, watching people, and drifting through womens' locker rooms. Being a ghost, he was fortunate to not need food or lodging. Unfortunately, he was desperately in need of a cigarette.
In time, Ralph registered as a hero and began his path to redemption. He re-rented his old office space, and hung out his shingle -- though this time, his cases took a decidedly more supernatural bent. Since his return, Ralph has been involved in a number of high-profile cases. He battled Doctor Vahzilok, battled through Faultline to prevent the pollution of the timestream, and assisted the residents of Salamanca to prevent the town from being sucked into the spirit world. He has battled a number of giant monsters and arch-villains.
Still, the Phantom Detective remains a local guy, concerned with small cases. When he stumbles into a larger case, it's usually through dumb luck, and only dumb luck lets him survive. A hard-edged ghost with a heart of gold, Ralph Copper's only agenda is redemption.
