Garrotte
Context
A 1992 Punisher story arc featured a collection of stock, cliché international assassins that seemed to come straight from C-list 1980s action movies. Such generic characters are of course useful, if only as a base.
There isn’t much material about these guys. But assigning cookie-cutter stats to these cookie-cutter archetypes seems reasonable, doesn’t it ?
Background
- Real Name: Unrevealed.
- Marital Status: Unrevealed.
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: None.
- Base Of Operations: Marseilles, France.
- Height: 6’1” Weight: 215 lbs.
- Eyes: Unrevealed Hair: Brown
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Powers and Abilities
Garrotte is a large, strong, athletic man.
He’s an expert with his namesake weapon. He’ll arrange to get behind his opponent without them noticing, then wrap his garrotte around their neck and pull hard.
He’ll leverage his weight, use any convenient nearby item (such as a subway pole) to brace himself, use his knees to put his victim off-balance, etc.. In DC heroes RPG terms, the presence of a convenient item to brace himself on might be good for a further +1/+1 to AV/OV for his Grappling Attack (GM’s call).
This is a deadly attack, with a 06/06 OV/RV in Grappling combat (between the weapon and the Schtick). Plus a Combined EV attack as the sharp wire of the garrotte cuts even through Kevlar, plus any suffocation effect. Even the Punisher couldn’t break the grip and ended up burning a fair few Hero Points to survive.
Garrotte is surprisingly stealthy for such a large man. That’s a good skill to have given his modus operandi.
History
Garrotte was one of the seven international hitmen hired by American mobster Rosalie Carbone to eliminate the Punisher. Thinking it would motivate her hires, Carbone offered an astronomical bounty (five mils in early 1990s dollars).
This was a mistake. What it actually did was to encouraged the killers to double-cross each other as they hunted down the Punisher rather than focus on their deadly target.
Garrotte teamed up with his colleague Tequila. She’d distract their target and allow him to step behind the Punisher and do his job. This very nearly worked, and the Punisher almost ended up strangulated to death in a New York subway car.
The vigilante managed to turn the situation around using the emergency brake. He then shot his aggressor point-blank in the face.
Garrotte hasn’t been seen since and is presumed dead.
Description
Garrotte always wears sunglasses.
He nearly never speaks, unless the situation critical (such as telling his partner to stop shooting since she might hit him). Perhaps his own throat was wounded at some point and speaking is painful.
Personality
Silent, professional killer. Garrotte knows what he needs to do and how to achieve it.
He has been known to use mildly cinematic techniques for murder – such as using his garrotte to slide along a telephone wire and reach an open window to sneak into his target’s house.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Garrotte
| Dex: 04 | Str: 04 | Bod: 04 | Motivation: Mercenary |
| Int: 04 | Wil: 03 | Min: 04 | Occupation: Mercenary |
| Inf: 03 | Aur: 02 | Spi: 03 | Resources {or Wealth}: 005 |
| Init: 011 | HP: 010 |
Skills:
Accuracy (Initiating Grappling Attacks): 05, Thief (Security system, stealth): 05, Vehicles (Land): 03
Advantages:
Connoisseur, Language (French), Schtick (Strangler’s Hands (Armed)).
Connections:
International underworld (Low).
Drawbacks:
None demonstrated.
Equipment:
- Shades [BODY 01, Shade: 01].
- Garrotte [BODY 05, /STR/ 05, EV 02 (05 w/STR), Bonus: EV can be Combined with /STR/, Limitation: /STR/ is only for Grappling Combat, and can only go as high as one AP above the wielder’s STR].
Source of Character: Marvel Universe (Punisher War Zone v1).
Helper(s): Darci.
Writeup completed on the 30th of April, 2011.