Blade

Blade is when the Marvel movies start hitting the road, though many people back then didn’t think of it as a super-hero movie. There had been material before (like the 1994 Fantastic Four or the movies spun off the The Incredible Hulk TV series. But Blade was *way* less campy.

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Background

Powers and Abilities

Blade is a daywalker, a powerful hybrid between a human being and a vampire. He has all of the gifts of a vampire but none of their weaknesses other than the thirst for blood. His speed and agility are exceptional even for a vampire and that in combination with his strength and combat skills allows him to easily defeat a legion of vampires.

His vampiric powers include unnaturally high olfactory senses and regenerative abilities. Additionally, he actually has a pair of fangs, but almost never uses them. Although Blade lacks most vampiric weaknesses, he still has the thirst; if he doesn’t get blood or a suitable derivative of it at least once a day, he will quickly weaken.

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Other assets

Blade apparently needs to feed (or use his serum) much more often than a normal vampire, a hunger that may be the price for his lack of other vampiric weaknesses as well as physical abilities that are extraordinary even for a vampire.

Blade’s reputation as a vampire hunter is now so great that opponents will be stunned upon his arrival and will initially hesitate to attack him.

During his life-long vampire hunt he has become very familiar with vampire lore, though there is still quite a bit of information that Blade has yet to uncover, particularly in regards to the social world and cultural history of vampires and details of the vampire community’s ties to human institutions.

Blade has learned to speak several languages fluently, including Russian and Hungarian.

Video

Trailer for the 1998 Blade movie in 720p.

History

In 1967 the vampire Deacon Frost attacked the pregnant Vanessa Brooks. Before she died, the hospital removed her son Eric by caesarean section.

Eric’s vampiric powers emerged in his adolescence. He began feeding off of homeless people. He was discovered and almost killed by the vampire hunter Abraham Whistler. Whistler relented when he recognized Eric’s true nature.

Eric was a hybrid of human and vampire known to vampires as a daywalker (a label that is applied by vampires with equal measures of hatred and envy).

Whistler took Eric in and became a father figure to him. He helped Eric overcome the self-hatred stemming from his inhuman nature. He gave him a mission in life : hunting vampires to avenge his mother’s murder and the loss of a normal human life. Eric took a new name to signify his rebirth — Blade.

Blade and Whistler quickly became the most feared partnership in the vampire hunting community. They roamed from city to city, rooting out the vampires in each place and wiping them out. Their depredations of the vampire community had such great effect that the ruling clans began plotting to hunt down and kill the duo.

Deacon Frost was finally charged with killing the hunters, which coincided with Frost’s own plans for Blade.

I feel safe in New York City

Whistler and Blade had returned to New York City. They were in the process of rooting out the vampire dens there. They were also making strides toward a better understanding of vampire society as a whole. They’d learned to identify vampire glyphs and were beginning to seek out repositories of vampire knowledge.

Blade learned Frost was in town. The duo focused their efforts on hunting him down, both having personal reasons to want him dead. Blade even injured Frost’s right-hand man Quinn on several occasions, but Quinn always escaped before Blade could finish him off.

At the same time, Blade began having problems with his serum. He needed more frequent doses and they were no longer as effective. Though he was still faster than most any other vampire, his legendary speed wasn’t quite as high as it had been.

One of Blade’s more notable slaughters took place at an underground vampire dance club. Blade met Quinn again, crucified him and set him on fire but had to leave the scene before finishing the job when the police arrived. Quinn was taken to a local hospital for autopsy and came back to life, biting both doctors who were examining him.

The first one, Curtis, apparently died. The second, Dr. Karen Jensen, was saved by Blade, who had come to the hospital to kill Quinn. Quinn escaped yet again and Blade kidnapped Dr. Jensen, taking her to his current lair.

EDTA

Returning to H.Q., Blade had Whistler inject Dr. Jensen with garlic extract, which would either cure the vampiric infection or kill her. Blade and Whistler informed her about the existence of vampires and what they were like.

Ironically, Dr. Jensen was a hematologist (a specialist in blood and blood-related conditions and illnesses). She asked to be released so she could return to her lab to develop a more effective cure.

She did so with a formula called EDTA that she had been working on for curing blood diseases. This same formula became a powerful weapon in Blade’s arsenal, as it had literally explosive effects on the blood of a vampire. The serum could also cure humans who had been turned into vampires, but it could not cure those born as vampires.

Dr. Jensen even hoped to reformulate Blade’s serum so that it would become fully effective again.

Frost makes his move

As this was going on, Blade was also introducing Dr. Jensen to the world of vampire hunting. She accompanied Blade as he uncovered a vampire archive. They discovered that Deacon Frost was planning to carry out a mystic ritual that would turn Frost into La Magra, the blood god, which could transform anyone into a vampire with a single touch.

Frost confronted Blade, gloating that he had been following Blade’s career all along and that he knew everything about him. He then asked the vampire hunter to join him as a fellow predator feeding on the weak. Blade refused.

Frost decided to attack Blade’s most vulnerable points, breaking into Blade’s safe house, kidnapping Dr. Jensen and mortally wounding Whistler.

Blade exchanged a few last words with Whistler, who had been a father to him. He left his pistol with Whistler so that he could kill himself and thus avoid becoming what they hated most.

Blade decided to end the battle once and for all by attacking Frost’s building. He battled his way through most of Frost’s security before discovering his mother Vanessa. She had turned after dying and had then become a thrall of Frost. Distracted, Blade was captured by Frost.

La Magra

Blade and Dr. Jensen were taken to the underground temple where Frost would perform the La Magra ritual. As it turned out, Frost needed the blood of a daywalker such as Blade for the ritual. He also needed several purebloods (those born as vampires), which he acquired by taking rival vampire clan leaders captive.

Blade was placed is a sort of iron maiden to drain his blood for the ritual and Dr. Jensen was thrown into a pit with Curtis, her former colleague from the hospital.

Curtis was a zombie, an unfortunate soul whose vampiric infection was not completely effective. This left him a shambling undead with minimal intelligence. Dr. Jensen escaped the pit and freed Blade, who was dying from blood loss. She offered herself to Blade, who gave into his thirst and drank from her.

Fully revitalized for the first time in quite a while, Blade first confronted his mother, killing her to release her from her unnatural life.

Blade challenged Frost and his cohorts just as the ritual was completed. With his return to full power, Blade made short work of Frost’s goons and retrieved his sword. He and Frost engaged in a lightning-fast sword duel.

The fight ended with Blade cutting off Frost’s sword hand and bisecting him at the waist…until Frost’s body liquefied and reassembled.

Frost had become La Magra. No matter what Blade did, Frost healed instantly. Blade finally found some of his EDTA injectors and stuck Frost with them until he looked like a pincushion. Frost, whose body was now made entirely of vampire blood, exploded and his menace was brought to an end.

Afterward, Dr. Jensen offered to cure Blade, but he had come to terms with what he was and no longer wished to be cured. She did improve his formula, however, so that it was completely effective again.

A trip to Europe

With his serum properly adjusted and the demons of his past conquered, Blade was a more formidable force than ever. Even Whistler’s disappearance improved his outlook in a roundabout manner. His despair over the loss of his adoptive father had become a mission of hope that Whistler could be found and returned to human life.

Blade followed the trail to Moscow, then Rumania, and onward across Europe.

Along the way, he found a temporary replacement for Whistler, a young techie nicknamed Scud. Scud was actually a plant working for the vampires. Blade knew this and kept Scud around anyway. Scud was doing quality work (so Blade wouldn’t get suspicious) and Blade could surreptitiously monitor Scud to be forewarned when the vampires closed in on him.

Two years passed as Blade rampaged through Europe on his vampire-hunting crusade. He finally found Whistler in Prague and used a retrovirus designed by Dr. Jensen to purge Whistler of his vampiric infection.

No sooner had Whistler recovered than two vampire assassins intruded on Blade’s lair. Ironically enough, they were members of a vampire hit team called the Blood Pack that had been training to kill Blade, but they now needed his help.

The Reapers

Blade agreed to meet with the head of the vampire nations, Overlord Eli Damaskinos. The daywalker was told of a new menace called the Reapers. They were a newly mutated strain of vampire, much more savage than normal vampires. The Reapers, led by a man called Nomak, fed on humans and vampires alike, converting them to Reapers at a precipitous rate.

Blade agreed to help the vampire hit team called the Bloodpack wipe out the Reapers. He did this as much to get an inside look at the vampires’ world as he did to stop the Reapers.

The team’s first stop was the House of Pain, a local vampire nightclub. Blade had suggested that the team check out places where vampires congregate, as Reapers seemingly preferred to prey on vampires. Blade and the Bloodpack got lucky : the Reapers were there and attacked in force. The team learned to their dismay that the Reapers were not vulnerable to garlic or silver.

The Reapers fled with the approach of day, but not before killing one of the Bloodpack. Blade fought Nomak one-on-one and was losing the fight until the rising sun repelled the head of the Reapers.

An autopsy of a dead Reaper gave the team a better idea of their capabilities and Whistler discovered that the Reapers were hiding underground in the sewer system.

Arming themselves with UV explosives, Blade and the Bloodpack stalked the Reapers through the sewers of Prague. Blade and the Bloodpack managed to kill all of the Reapers except Nomak, albeit at the price of most of the Bloodpack’s lives.

Blade and Whistler were then captured by Damaskinos’s troops and brought back to the Overlord’s headquarters. Nomak surreptitiously followed them back.

At the Overlord’s base, Whistler revealed that Nomak had spoken to him in the sewers and given him a ring with the crest of Damaskinos. Nomak was not a natural mutation of the vampire strain, but in fact the result of genetic engineering by Damaskinos’ scientists.

They were trying to create daywalkers like Blade. They had succeeded in removing their weaknesses toward silver and garlic, but not sunlight. Furthermore, the new strain was too savage. Nomak had escaped before he could be terminated as a failed experiment.

Destroying Damaskinos

Nyssa, leader of the Bloodpack and daughter of Damaskinos, confronted her honorless father. She was ashamed that her own father could be so deceitful and manipulative as to send the Bloodpack against the Reapers without warning them of all he knew.

This was especially galling as she had come to respect Blade. Nyssa was mortified that her enemy was a better man than the father to whom she’d dedicated her life.

Their argument was interrupted by a security alert. Nomak had broken into Damaskinos’s building and began killing his way through the army of security forces. While most of security was distracted by Nomak’s attack, Whistler escaped captivity and freed Blade from the lab where his daywalker blood was being analyzed.

Blade found a pool of blood used to keep the remaining genetically engineered Reaper embryos alive and dove in, becoming revitalized. Defeating the security guards who came after him, Blade began hunting Damaskinos as well while Whistler destroyed the laboratory facilities.

Damaskinos tried to escape, but Nyssa locked him in. She said that they both deserved to die : Damaskinos for being a craven honorless man and herself for serving him. Nomak caught up to them and killed Damaskinos. He bit Nyssa to turn her into a Reaper, but was interrupted by Blade.

Nomak and Blade had a vicious battle that ended when Blade took the broken remnant of his sword and with a desperate burst of strength impaled Nomak’s bone-plated heart. Nyssa, infected with the Reaper virus, decided that she wanted to see the sun one time before she died.

Blade carried her out of the building and sat with her as the sun rose, disintegrating her.

Blade returned to hunting vampires again, moving to London to continue the crusade. With Blade and Whistler reunited, armed with even more knowledge than ever before, and having deprived the vampire nations of their leader, the vampires’ days on Earth may well be numbered.

Video

Trailer for the second Blade movie, in 720p.

Description

Blade is a large, muscular black man who moves with obvious agility and power. He’s terribly fast and probably looks like a blur to most of his opponents.

Blade’s hair is cut in a short flattop that is shaved in back to complement a series of spiraling tattooed patterns sweeping across his back up to the base of his skull, down his upper arms and across to his chest.

The design is similar to that of Māori warriors, reflecting the warrior philosophy by which Blade lives. While he’s fighting he often has a vicious smile, with his canines growing to vampire length when he’s in an especially savage mood.

Blade is always dressed in black. His basic garb is a form-fitting shirt with slacks, leather gloves, and boots. Over this he wears a stylized bulletproof vest with an integrated scabbard running straight down the back and a combat harness holding his arsenal of weapons.

Next is a leather trench coat with an opening for the sword scabbard just under the nape of Blade’s neck. The final touch is a pair of stylishly slim black shades. After the defeat of Deacon Frost, Blade was a bit more ostentatious : he added decorative buckles to his combat vest and lined the trench coat with red silk.

A Federal rap sheet in the background of Blade III listed Blade’s height as 5’8”, but this is assumed to be an error so the actor’s height has been used instead.

Personality

Blade started out as a cynical individual filled by an all-consuming hatred of vampires. He did care about his friends in the vampire hunting community (especially Whistler, whom he regards as a father), but was too stoic to express it except through subtle body language.

Not being entirely comfortable with his vampiric nature, he avoided using his vampiric abilities if he could help it. In particular, he eschewed drinking blood, using a special serum to feed the thirst instead.

He was also too fanatical in his crusade to allow himself any of the joys of a normal life. The only time he seemed truly happy was when he was killing vampires, often wearing a tight grin as he slaughtered them.

Second movie

After his final confrontation with Deacon Frost, Blade became a much more relaxed man. He had defeated the enemy that had scarred his life, lain his mother to final rest, and had come to terms with his vampiric nature. He took a lot more satisfaction in his crusade and enjoyed his work much more visibly than before.

This was especially evident in little things like blowing his car a kiss after he kept it from getting scratched by an escaping vampire and the way that he delighted in toying with the Bloodpack as he worked alongside them.

He even became somewhat sympathetic toward Nyssa of the Bloodpack, recognizing her as someone with a sense of honor similar to his own despite her being a vampire.

Blade likes to use a variety of weapons in each fight, often matching his weapons to the task at hand. If the vampires are running, he’ll simply gun them down. If they challenge him in melee combat, he’ll use his sword or knives, even alternating between various melee weapons.

Whether this is a point of honor on his part (meeting his enemy on equal terms), reflects a desire to constantly test himself, or he simply likes to use all of his toys, is unknown. It may be all of the above.

Quotes

“What the fuck ?” (muttered soundlessly when the bisected Deacon Frost oozed back together)

“Did I arrive at a bad time, friend ?” (in sarcastic Russian to a vampire about to attack a human)

Scud : “So B-man, what do you think ?”
Blade : “Sounds like a plan.”
Whistler : “What do you really think ?”
Blade : “They’re gonna fuck us the first chance they get.”

“You obviously do not KNOW WHO YOU’RE FUCKING WITH !”

“The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it. The real world.”

“Some motherfuckers always trying to ice skate uphill.”

“Frost, you’re nothing to me but another dead vampire.”

Frost : “Hey I heard you’ve been looking for me, I’m flattered.”
Blade : “It’ll pass.”

Karen : “Wait ! I’m coming with you.”
Blade : “You’re useless.”

DC Universe History

Vampires do exist in the DC Universe, although on a smaller scale than in the Blade movies. However, the DCU vampires are the more traditional supernatural creatures, rather than the genetically altered humans of the Blade movies.

Blade and his fellow vampires could replace the traditional ones or be a separate strain from them. Their precise origins would be determined by the GM to suit the campaign.

Another approach would be to replace the movie vampires with the supernatural ones, which would mean that this version of Blade would also have all of the powers of the vampires of traditional folklore. If this option is chosen, the DCU’s Blade stats become : (adapted from the DCH “I, Vampire” write-up):

STR 08 BOD 11

Additional/Upgraded Powers –
Animal Control: 10, Animal Summoning: 10, Dispersal: 10, Hypnotism: 08, Invulnerability: 18, Regeneration: 10, Self link (Fog): 07, Shape Change: 08, Telepathy: 08, Vampirism: 10

Bonuses and Limitations:

• All Powers are Mystic Linked (+10 BC).
• Animal Control is only usable against bats, wolves and rats (-1FC).
• Animal Summoning is only usable against bats, wolves and rats (-1FC).
• Dispersal is only usable and Always On when SL Fog is Active (-2FC).
• Shape Change may only be used to transform into a wolf or a bat (-2FC).
• Regeneration allows healing even after death (x4 BC).
• Regeneration can replace lost limbs (+2FC).
• Regeneration is ineffective against mystically inflicted wounds (-1FC).
• Telepathy can only be used with Hypnotized subjects (-2FC).

Drop Conditional Recovery and Miscellaneous Healing Advantages.

Drop all Drawbacks, then add Loss Vulnerability (Temporarily loses 1 AP of Physical Attributes per day without feeding on blood).

Regardless of precisely how Blade is incorporated into the campaign, he would be a major player in the occult monster-hunting scene. He would probably be a member of the Trenchcoat Brigade. The simplest route would be replacing Mister E with Blade, though there are a great many role-playing possibilities with the two of them working together.

Though Mister E and Blade fill the same niche of monster hunter, Mister E has much wider knowledge of the occult and monsters other than vampires. On the other hand Blade brings a great deal of physical power to the group.

He would probably be acquainted many other heroes and villains in the occult sphere and possibly some “mundane” characters as well. He might have had encounters and/or conflicts with Batman while cleaning vampires out of Gotham City, for example.

By Dr. Peter S Piispanen and Roy Cowan.

Source of Character: Blade and Blade II (movies), character played by Wesley Snipes.

Helper(s): Sébastien Andrivet, Morgan Champion, Paul ’Z‘ Ewande, Bryan Gittens, Max Grind, Hart, Jackson, David Johnston, William A Peterson, Tobie, Nick Yankovec, imdb.com, imfdb.org, Pufnstuff.