Man-Bot of the Freedom Force

Man-Bot

(Ted Taylor)


Context

Freedom Force was a 2002 squad tactics video game, with a 2005 sequel. It received excellent reviews, and remains one of a puzzlingly small number of successful PC games about super-heroes.

It takes place during the 1960s, with a strong Silver Age  style and Kirbyesque character designs.


Background

  • Real Name: Ted Taylor.
  • Marital Status: Single.
  • Known Relatives: Tom Taylor (brother, deceased).
  • Group Affiliation: Freedom Force.
  • Base Of Operations:
  • Height: 6’1” Weight: 180lbs Age: 22
  • Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown


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Powers and Abilities

His body flooded with Energy X, Ted Taylor is a walking time bomb. He is continually pulsing with devastating releases of all forms of electromagnetic energy (“Energize Release”). He must wear a special containment suit which bleeds this energy off harmlessly, or be a constant danger to himself or anyone around.

By manipulating the energies within him, he can agitate inanimate molecules to trigger one of the following effects:

  • Explosion (“Disruption Beam”).
  • Augmenting his teammate’s abilities (“Energy Transfer”, “Energize Other”).
  • Neutralizing his foes’ (“Energy Draw”).
  • Or even focus and unleash a blast of raw energy of considerable potency (“Energy Focus”).

His containment suit is not foolproof, but it enables him to be around other human beings without killing them. It also gives him superhuman strength, as well as considerable resistance to conventional injury. It is not environmentally sealed, however, and it is assumed he takes his meals alone.


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History

Originally a playboy of the worst degree, Ted Taylor was struck with a pure beam of undiluted Energy X. This caused him to wreck his expansive, fancy sports car, killing the girl he was with at the time. Horrified, he rushed to the home of his brother Tom. Tom was a genius scientist who was working on an exoskeleton intended to help paralyzed individuals move around.

Tom managed to convert the suit to run off Ted’s energy pulses, as well as store and bleed off the excess energy. But before Ted could put the suit on, he released a pulse that killed his brother. Distraught, he sequestered himself away from humanity.

When Nuclear Winter began his snowy takeover of Patriot City, Taylor could stand by no longer. He teamed up with Minuteman, Mentor, and El Diablo to stop the frigid felon, and became the fourth founding member of Freedom Force.


Description

Ted Taylor is a handsome man with a flashing smile that will never be seen again. Instead, he spends all of his time in a large blue metal containment suit to prevent him from wreaking havok wherever he goes.

The chest of the suit has a glowing purple vent, continuously radiating low levels of energy as light, and cables connect the suit’s backpack and helmet to the rest of it.


Personality

Glum, gloom, and self-loathing pretty much describe him to a T. This is very similar to the early appearances of the Thing. When on a mission, he is all business, often using phrases like “I have a target”.

However, he is a reluctant and relatively unskilled combatant, apologizing to his enemies when he blasts them through brick walls. Man-Bot relies on the sheer physical power of his suit, and the raw firepower at his disposal, to take care of those he faces.


Quotes

(Trying to get Alche-Miss to stop coming on to him): “Stay away, Alche-Miss. You have no idea who I am – or what I’m capable of.”

“It’s hopeless ! I should just accept my fate – to be a menace to my fellow man, and an outcast – FOREVER !”

(Swatting a bad guy) “Sorry, I have to do this.”


DC Universe History

Most of Freedom Force should really be kept together. They tend to compliment each other nicely, and have most of their ’bases’ covered.

In this case, they could be dropped in whole cloth into the period between the Golden and Silver ages. Perhaps they held the title of the “World’s Premier Team” after the Justice Society ended, and before the Justice League started up.

Alternatively, Mentor could have been trying to escape with the Gene Bomb during Invasion, and when he fails, gathers many of the Energy X powered individuals as Freedom Force.



Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG

Tell me more about the game stats

Man-Bot

Dex: 03 Str: 03 Bod: 03 Motivation: Unwanted Power
Int: 06 Wil: 06 Min: 05 Occupation: Adventurer, former playboy
Inf: 04 Aur: 08 Spi: 09 Resources {or Wealth}: 009
Init: 013 HP: 070

Powers:
Energy Absorption: 10, Bomb: 06, Energy Blast: 11, Enchantment: 05, Neutralize: 08

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Bomb power has a flat 10% chance of automatically releasing, centered on himself, every time he or his containment suit takes actual RAPs of physical damage after LDD but BEFORE Energy Absorption. He is unaffected by this, though he can be affected by other uses of this power if he is too close.
  • Normal use of the Bomb power requires targeting an inanimate object – unless the object is damaged by the attack, the Bomb power does not go off.
  • Neutralize has No Range (-1), and has an Area Effect (+1).

Advantages:
Expansive HQ (Freedom Fortress), Attractive.

Connections:
Freedom Force (High).

Drawbacks:
Guilt, Misc: Without his Containment Suit, Man-Bot’s Bomb power pulses on every 8-10 AP’s of time, whether taking damage or not, and at 8 AP’s centered on himself. He is unaffected by this pulse.

Equipment:
CONTAINMENT SUIT [/STR/ 09 /BODY/ 09, Advantage: Hardened Defenses].

By Bil.

Helper(s): Roy Cowan.

Source of Character: Freedom Force and Freedom Force vs the Third Reich computer games.