K-9

Context

This character is an original creation. We often call these “homemades” or “homebrewed” – think home cooking or craft beer.

Many of these characters were created to take part in tabletop role-playing game sessions. Others were invented as a creative writing exercise, often as part of a community event.

Background

Advertisement

Powers and Abilities

Steve is now a large husky dog. Most of his abilities are what you would expect of a enhanced husky, only his chameleon abilities being odd. It seems to be an odd mutation of a werewolf’s shapechanging ability

Before that he was a successful metallurgist.

His powers stem from a combination of the weird herbs, mystical rituals and a transfusion of werewolf blood. These were an attempt to get turned back into a human and a transfusion of werewolf blood.

Like a werewolf, he can shed a considerable amount of mass while changing – in his case, he can mimic dogs down to around 30 pounds of weight.

Other assets and limitations

Steve cannot talk or easily manipulate items. However, Manitou bought him a computer and helmet designed for those with severe handicaps. This gear can detect what portion of the screen he is looking at, display a keyboard, etc.. Thus K-9 can communicate, do online research, and even play some video games.

He has worked out a rough code with her, which they can use to communicate “in the field”. One bark = yes, two barks = no, three barks = run like hell, etc..

While he can still use most of his scientific skill, communicating his findings to anyone else can be challenging.

Advertisement

History

Five years ago, Steve was just your average young geek scientist. Feeling bored, he had borrowed a friend’s cabin for a weekend, and was doing some fishing and relaxing. Late one night, a desperate hammering came on the door.

When Steve opened it, a bloody, badly wounded man fell into his arms. Steve got him back to his living room, where his husky dog was. This is where things got weird(er).

The man was a villain named BodyJack, who would switch bodies with people. When he did, he would have to put the personality of the body that he was transferring into somewhere that didn’t have an active human consciousness. This was typically animals, though it could be comatose people. When BodyJack left a body, that body died.

BodyJack was fleeing a werewolf that had chosen his host body as prey. He switched himself into Steve’s body, and put Steve into the body of Carnifex the dog. However, he underestimated how closely behind him the Werewolf was and was killed anyway. Steve had fled in a panic, which saved his life.

Hair of the dog

Now he wandered, trapped in the body of a dog. A large and powerful dog, but still, just a dog. There are a couple of months here which are a blur, until his powerful personality came to grips with his new condition. Then he set about trying to find a cure.

Having developed a bit of a bias against science, he tried the supernatural. Despite much traveling (a friendly dog is welcome in many 18 wheelers, and regulations be damned), and several attempts by minor mages, all of this failed. However, it brought him to the attention of a more powerful mage – the vampire Dr. Valentine.

Dr. Valentine saw the potential for a good guardian in Steve. So,much against Steve’s will, he set about experimenting to augment Steve’s abilities and make him suitable as a minor servitor.

Hectic lycanthropic

This was accomplished by an infusion of werewolf blood. Steve gained much of a werewolf’s power, yet didn’t have their rage and was not quite as vulnerable to silver.

Dr. Valentine bound him around with spells. He then sent him out as the guardian of one of his progeny – the vampire Trudy Riggs. Trudy was in that”troubled” stage of vampirehood, the one that so few of these creatures survive. She was not a kind master. Ruby was eventually destroyed by Manitou when she slaughtered most of a roadhouse full of people.

Steve had not been able to stop Manitou. But she carried the wounded ”animal” back with her, and thus was born a partnership. Since then, they have worked together.

Personality

Bitter, and not very friendly. Note that he is a villain because Manitou is, and he is very, very loyal to her. He follows her lead, and mostly pretends to be a dumb animal. He is often left to guard prisoners, which he finds highly amusing.

At times, he takes full advantage of his “animal” status. At one friendly meeting between Manitou and Batman, he peed on the Batman’s boots.

By Richard Lyon.

Source of Character: Imagination.