Shadow-Phantom
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Shadow-Phantom | |
| Player: commander515 | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Stalker |
| Security Level: | 10 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Unknown |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | homo sapiens |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 5'8" |
| Weight: | 190 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Unknown |
| Hair Color: | Unknown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Unknown |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown |
| Base of Operations: | Unknown |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| enhanced speed, agility, mental focus and determination | |
| Known Abilities | |
| extensive training in numerous martial arts | |
| Equipment | |
| reactive stealth armor nanosuit, multi-spectral vision goggles, composite alloy claws | |
| ' | |
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Shadow-Phantom is my third villain character, but was created with the intention of being my 'main' villain. Basically, he is me - at least, 'me' if I was born and lived in the Rogue Isles; cryptic, taciturn, anti-social, and more than a little insane. Not psycho-killer insane, though; more of a highly eccentric, habitually sarcastic, deceptively snarky, arrogant megalomaniac insane. Think a mildly evil genius who likes to sneak around and assassinate people he hates when not trying to prove that he's smarter than everyone else.
Character Overview
Shadow-Phantom is a highly mysterious individual with no apparent ties to anyone or anything in the Rogue Isles. Since his largely unnoticed arrival on Mercy Island, he has done very little to garner any attention from either Arachnos or any other low-level villains. He seems perfectly capable of operating solo at whatever task he is engaged in, although it is unknown whether or not that is his preferred method of operating. Even if he were to attract the attention of a would-be observer, there is a high probability that his talent for stealth would make it highly difficult for said observer to gather any concrete information about him.
Character History
"Why are you always so suspicious?"
- "Shall I answer chronologically, or alphabetically?"
- ~Adler and Holmes, Sherlock Holmes
There is, most likely, not a single person now living who knows Shadow-Phantom's true name - all of his friends and relatives have long since passed away. Since coming to the Rogue Isles, he has kept his identity - indeed, even his presence - a closely-guarded secret. Despite his obsessive and painstaking attention to his anonymity, however, tales of his exploits in parts less well known than the Isles have filtered along in his wake.
The whispers first began when a pair of Rogue Island cops suffered a beating at the slate grey ghost's hands, regained consciousness several hours later, and promptly went to their favorite watering hole to bitch about it. Despite the tale quickly growing many times taller than it actually was, the man behind the counter was impressed enough by it not to simply discount it out of hand. When more of his customers came in a few days later and sold the same tale, the barman decided to see what he could dig up.
Villains be warned: all it takes is one overly inquisitive old bartender to start unraveling your history.
The rumor, if it is to be believed, is that the man now known as Shadow-Phantom was actually born and raised in the Rogue Isles. According to the tales, his life story is a familiar one to anyone unfortunate enough to have to live in Recluse's realm.
Personality
"I have two rules I follow. The first is: never kill someone without a reason."
- "And the second?"
"You can always find a reason to kill someone."
- ~Saren and Anderson, Mass Effect: Revelation
Shadow-Phantom is a man who keeps to himself (on the rare occasions when he's not keeping to the shadows). He cares little for social interaction, and sees even necessary contact with other sentient beings as bothersome and inconvenient. As such, he tends to be curt, even abrupt in his responses, and seldom says anything more than what he deems necessary. He has an extremely dim view of mankind in general, and views most people as lazy, thoughtless, careless, and entirely lacking in self-discipline. Since he possesses none of those traits himself, he judges himself to be physically, mentally, and morally superior to the vast majority of the general population, and is utterly convinced that a small oligarchy of people like himself could solve all of the planet's problems if they were in charge.
He tends to be somewhat self-centered, and has a pronounced self-indulgent streak. He cares about himself first and everyone else second - though he is not above lending his time, talent, and skills to the cause of another, if he deems that it will be of benefit to him in the end. While he seldom gloats or brags, he often expresses a kind of smug self-satisfaction in situations where he feels that the value of his presence and abilities has been demonstrated. Shadow-Phantom rarely passes up an opportunity to make himself look good or show off his intelligence or sophistication; he knows that he is smart, fast, and dangerous and does his level best to make sure that everyone around him knows it, too, though he will not be overtly ostentatious about it or 'lay it on too thick'.
While he never hesitates to enter combat, Shadow-Phantom dislikes violence for its own sake. In spite of his attitudes, he is fairly empathetic and is always conscious of the damage and pain that weapons and attacks can inflict on the human body. For this reason, he always employs physical violence very judiciously and efficiently, always planning out his actions beforehand in order to maximize his effectiveness while minimizing trauma and bloodshed as much as possible. The exception to this scenario occurs when he is confronted with a self-defined 'person who needs killing'. When Shadow-Phantom decides that society will be better served by the violent and excruciating death of someone that he decides is not worth the carbon molecules they are composed of, he will not hesitate to slaughter them in an up-close and gruesome fashion. Keep in mind that in the Rogue Isles, that constitutes a potentially quite sizeable category of people.
