Shazam
(The Wizard)
Context
These are gisted, mid-1990s notes about the wizard who gave Captain Marvel his great powers.
They primarily represent his then-contemporary appearances.
Background
- Real Name: Unrevealed.
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: None.
- Group Affiliation: Marvel Family.
- Base Of Operations: Fawcett City ; Rock of Eternity.
- Height: ~5’11” Weight: ~140lbs. Age: Really Old.
- Eyes: Blue Hair: Gray
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Powers and Abilities
Shazam himself possess the abilities he gives the Marvel Family. These are great strength, enhanced resilience, superspeed, flight, and resistance to toxins. He is also an accomplished warrior, having been a champion of right in the distant past. Right now, due to atrophy, his physical skills are highly diminished. But his mind is still fairly sharp.
Shazam is also an accomplished wizard. He truly knows magic and can cast spells ritually to achieve any of a limited but powerful number of abilities.
Furthermore, Shazam owns the Historama that adorns the space near his throne in the Rock of Eternity. It functions as a crystal ball in the classic vein, but with incredible range and accuracy. It is unknown what limits, if any exist, the Historama has in these regards. He activates the Historama by saying, “Historama show me…”
Most often Shazam does not say anything when casting spells. He doesn’t actually cast spells that often either. However he does not make overt or highly flexible uses of magic, so in DC Heroes RPG terms he does not have Sorcery. Assume he could easily do anything during a single adventure once, with APs near his Occultist.
He did in the past recover Captain Marvel from the blackness of space after he battled the Venusian Mind Worms, by creating a gate to pull him through.
History
This will come in the v1 writeup. I’ll have to read back issues to get it.
Description
Shazam is an elderly man with a white beard and a bald head. He has been depicted wearing a simple white robe, and having a long beard and long hair down his back. He has also been shown wearing contemporary street clothes with his hair cut and tied back into a pony tail and with his beard clipped short.
He has also been depicted as being quite frail looking, although you’d probably bend a crowbar against his back if you tried hitting him with it. This again is on the far end, and mostly when he wears robes. When shown in contemporary garb he seems fairly spry for someone as old as he looks.
Personality
Shazam is a wise man who is often involved in policing catastrophe. He is always thinking ahead to what is happening in the world and sometimes the multiverse. He treats everyone with respect until they prove they do not deserve it and acts much like a grandfatherly figure.
You cannot use Shazam wrong as long as you have him act in the shadows most of the time, offering counsel. He is not a coward and does get involved in battles, but he picks his battles carefully. Even with his powers he is not as powerful as the rest of his Marvels, so he will let them handle any threats as often as possible.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Shazam
| Dex: 10 | Str: 12 | Bod: 11 | Motivation: Responsibility of Power |
| Int: 10 | Wil: 13 | Min: 14 | Occupation: Mentoring Guardian |
| Inf: 05 | Aur: 07 | Spi: 13 | Resources {or Wealth}: 009 |
| Init: 023 | HP: 100 |
Powers:
Awareness: 06, Dimensional Travel: 08, Flight: 12, Invulnerability: 16, Superspeed: 10, Systemic Antidote: 10
Skills:
Charisma (Persuasion): 08, Military Science: 07, Occultist: 13, Weaponry: 08
Advantages:
Area Knowledge (Rock of Eternity, Fawcett City), Expansive Headquarters (Rock of Eternity), Leadership, Slowed Aging.
Connections:
Marvel Family (High), Fawcett City Heroes (Low), Ibis (High), Satanus (Low).
Drawbacks:
Age, Attack Vulnerability (Bashing Combat, -1 CS).
Equipment:
- Historama [BODY 20, Remote Sensing: 64, Dimensional Travel: 12, Time Travel: 23. Dimensional Travel can only be used to look into other dimensions, but a check is still required or Remote Sensing will not work. Assume the Historama’s location in the Earth Dimension is in the middle of Fawcett City for determining distance. Time Travel can only be used to look into the past, and functions just like Dimensional Travel. It cannot look into the ’true‘ future].
- Rock of Eternity [BODY 38, Time Travel: 30. The Rock of Eternity can impart Time Travel onto an exiting body as long as the person exiting is guided to the right turns to make. They also have to be moving at at least 13 APs of velocity].
Design notes
Firstly, Shazam has the Power of Shazam that he gives to others. The difference is that he is an old man, even though he has those powers. The only way to convey this in game stats to the extents it appears in the comics is to give him the Age Drawback as well as an attack vulnerability to bashing combat, to represent his being winded easier by attacks.
Secondly, Shazam has been around for a very long time. As such has gained mystical abilities far beyond those of other practitioners with smaller lifespans. Also, speaking of his lifespan, he actually has the advantage of having slow aging. The Rock of Eternity is probably the reason for this, but he has dwelled within so long that it’s properties have rubbed off on him.
Here is a bare bones writeup of Shazam, who doesn’t seem to have one. :) Well it’s actually fairly fleshed out but I know I missed things, with the exception of Tawky Tawny, I figure he’s in one of the two groups Shazam has a connection to. I am missing the name of Ibis’ love, and will add a connection to her once I read my comics at home.
This writeup reflects events up to Genesis, including Underworld Unleashed and Final Night. He doesn’t have connections to the New Gods because I don’t know what he’s on New Genesis for right now, and would rather wait to find out before I say if it’s a short or long term relationship.
New Rules
The only new rules consist of the bonus and limitation on the Historama’s Dimensional Travel and Time Travel powers. These powers allow the Historama to “cleave through the barriers” to show the occupants of the Rock of Eternity what transpires.
Since the Rock itself resides in another dimension this is a necessary power to allow it to see Fawcett City, but did not need to be there just for that. The Historama is powerful, and should be able to see into other dimensions besides the Earth’s dimension. That is why the power is there.
The Historama might, just might not have as high a range as I have given it, but it probably does. I’m only going to note here that the Historama does NOT actually travel through dimensions, time or even space. Until Space-Time Continuum Viewing is a power I’ll do it this way.
Source of Character: Power of Shazam, DC Comics.