A Hero to Some... A Villain to Others

I recently decided to revisit an old character I had originally made for the City of Heroes/Villains MMO back before it was officially shut down back in 2012.  I have since made attempts to recreate the character in many other RPGs (Online and on paper) with varying degrees of success.  Now that I have SCRPG in my hot little hands, I figured it is now to dust off this character and rework it for a new game system.

Only one small problem... do I make the character as a Hero or as a Villain?  I originally envisoned him as a villainous character (as I created him during the Beta for City of Villains), but since then he has evolved to be a character that seems to straddle the line between the two.  So I decided that I would do two versions of the character, one using the hero creation rules and one using the villain creation rules and then present his origin and see what others think where he fits.  I intentionally tried to keep both versions fairly close to each other in their Powers/Qualities and dice, but given the differences between the two creation methods, the villainous version does seem a bit more powerful overall (which does make sense since the villainous version would likely go up against teams of villains), but I think overall they are fairly close (at least as close as the rules realistically allow).

Okay... enough preambling... let me introduce you to....

Drakonis Rex

Background -

Humanity thinks that it was the first species on Earth to evolve both intelligence and civilization, but they are wrong.  When an asteroid hit the Earth some 65 million years ago, ushering in the extinction of the many species of dinosaurs that had existed at that time, a few species managed to survive... including one that had already been evolving to be more intelligent than any species had been before.  Without the threat of their massive cousins, and the many oportunities this allowed surviving species to find new niches in which to adapt to, this branch of saurians would eventually give rise to the first humanoid species to walk the Earth... which called themselves the Mokole.

Appearance-wise, the Mokole were basically humanoid... walking upright on two legs with arms designed for grasping and manipulating tools.  Their legs were digigrade and had powerful claws, as did their hands (though not as large).  They also retained a long, flexible reptilian tail and were covered in scales for the most part (some did have hair-like feathers).  Males tended towards large and powerfully muscular builds, reaching heights of 8 feet and 300+ lbs of muscle, while females tended to slighter, more athletic builds that tended to average around 6 feet to 6.5 feet and less than 200 lbs.  Their heads were distinctly saurian and seemed to have a mainly carnivorous diet (sharp reptilian teeth).

Their civilization tended towards a tribalistic fudalism, yet was surprisingly advanced due to their discover of magic which they would use to make their lives a little easier, but never forgetting their warrior origins.  Through their mastery of magic, they were able to explore much of their world and many other worlds and realities, yet didn't colonize much outside of their relatively isolated homeland.  The Mokole thrived and explored the cosmos for eons... only to vanish seemingly over night.  What few cosmic civilizations and entities that tried to learn of their fate found little trace... even those who knew of their homeworld found that the coninent that had been the heart of their civilization was covered in ice... leaving little to no trace of their civilization or existence.  As far as the universe was concerned, the Mokole had joined their saurian ancestors in extiction.

At least until recently when a group of human scientists discovered an anomely unter the ice of Antarctica.  Exploring it, they found an artificial structure unlike anything humanity had ever made.  What dating methods they could use to determine the age of the structure suggested it had been burried under the ice for millions of years.  Though it was difficult, they evetually managed to breach the structure to explore the interior which they found to be remarkably preserved and untouched by anyone since it had been burried.  There greatest surprise however was a pillar of ice in the center of the structure that seemed to contain the preserved remains of a large humanoid reptile.  Thinking it was long dead, they removed it from its icy tomb for study... only to discover a very weak but steady pulse... it was still alive, preserved in some sort of stasis.

Taking the unconcious creature back to their base of operations for further study, the creature began to recover suprisingly quickly... only to discover itself in a cell.  Predictably, this was not taken to well by the creature who tried to lash out at its confinement, nearly punching though inch thick reinforced steel walls before a sedative gas was released to calm the creature down.  When it came too a few hours later (to the surprise of the scientists who thought it would be out for days), it behaved in a much calmer manner as if waiting for its captors to make their intentions known to it.  Eventually, the lead scientist decided to try to communicate with the creature... only to be surprised when it performed a simple hand jesture that resulted in a brief flash of light and began to speak to the scientist... in English.

Over the following days, the scientists learned the creature called itself Drakonis Rex and was the last reigning monark of the Mokole.  He said his species had encountered a hostile extradimensional entity that had threatened Earth... possibly the galaxy (or event the universe) and has sacrificed most of themselves to banish it to another dimension.  The backlash from the spell had apparently been what had fozen him in ice for eons... as he claimed that as King of the Mokole, it was his responsibility to be the focus of their sorcerous working.  He then asked if they had found any others like him... in the struture or elsewhere on the planet, to whuch the scientists admitted they did not.  For days after this, Drakonis Rex seemed dispondant, to which the scientists assumed he was trying to come to terms with his new reality.

It was at this time that the organization that funded the expedition, a branch of the United States military, decided to inspect the station to learn what had happened since breaching the structure as the scientists had failed to report in due to the damage Drakonis' initial awakening had caused.  Needless to say, the officer that lead the inspection did not react well to Drakonis' existence, seeing him as a dangerous beast that had caused a lot of damage to the station.  He claimed that the scientists were in danger and that Drakonis needed to be taken to a secure location to be forcibly studied and imprisoned indefinitely.  Predictably the scientists protested, claiming he was a sentient being that deserved the same rights as anyone else... which the officer rejected as Drakonis had no human rights as he was obviously not human.  In the ensuing argument over jurisdiction, Drakonis had finally had enough and decided to handle things his way by trying to leave... only for the officer to draw a pistol to force Drakonis to surrender. When Drakonis refused, the officer fired, only for the bullet to ricochet off of Drakonis' scales and hit one of the scientists.

Enraged by this foolishness, Drakonis lunged for the officer's weapon and crushed it, along with the officer's hands before turning to see if the scientist still lived.  Much to his sadness, the wound, while not instantly fatal, was severe and the facility didn't have the equipment or the staff to treat it and the scientist would not survive long enough to reach a facilty that could save her life.  Drakonis however knew of another way.  Taking the scientist back to the structure where he had been found, used the mystical training he had been taught to transfer a portion of his life essence to help the scientist recover, though he had no idea what effect it might have on her.  Meanwhile the officer ordered his men to arrest the remaining scientsts and began a search for Drakonis and his "hostage", claiming that Drakonis had been the one that wounded the scientist.

Knowing that the officer would likely try to kill him should he or his men catach up with Drakonis, he used what he remembered of the sturcure's original purpose to try to open a portal to any other functioning Mokole outpost, provided any remained functional.  To his surprise, a portal did open, but he couldn't tell exactly where it lead.  As the soldiers arrived to rescue the scientist and  exterminate the "monster" as ordered, Drakonis was seperated from the scientist who told him to flee while he could.  Reluctantly, Drakonis stepped through the portal which closed just as the soldiers opened fire.  Drakonis found himself in a barely functioning outpost that hadn't weathered the eons of neglect as well as he had, but at least he was free and had a few resources with which to work with... though to what end he still wasn't sure.  All he knew was that he was, at least for the time being, alone on a world that was both familiar yet very alien and likely to react with hostility towards him.

Meanwhile, the officer managed to convince his superiors that Drakonis was a serious threat that needed to be hunted down and was allowed to create a covert task force for just that purpose... with the scientist that Drakonis saved (as well as the rest of her team) forcibly conscripted to help hunt him down (who is now discovering that the magic used to save her life had side-effects she is trying to keep hidden).

Drakonis Rex (Hero)
Background: Anachronistic; Power Source: Genetic; Archetype: Physical Powerhouse; Personality: Stoic
Principles: Honor and Strength
Powers: Vitality d10; Strength d10; Awareness d6; Leaping d8
Qualities: Close Combat d10; Magical Lore d8; Imposing d8; Ranged Combat d8; Prehistoric Monarch d8
Status: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d10
Health: 35
Green Abilities: Magic of the Dragon (Growth; Magical Lore); Dragon Scales (Damage Resistant); Draconic Strength (Frontline Fighting; Strength)
Yellow Abilities: Dragon Stamina (Adaptive; Vitality); Might of the Dragon (Area Assault; Strength); Dragon Stomp (Power Strike; Leaping)
Red Abilities: Draconian Rejuvination (Major Regeneration; Vitality); Eyes of the Dragon (Unerring Strike; Awareness)
Out Ability: Defend Ally (Magical Lore)

Drakonis Rex (Villain)
Approach: Prideful; Archetype: Bruiser
Powers: Vitality d10; Strength d10; Awareness d8; Leaping d10
Qualities: Close Combat d10; Magical Lore d8; Imposing d10; Ranged Combat d8; Prehistoric Monarch d8
Status: Green d6; Yellow d8; Red d10
Health: 45 (+20 upgraded)
Abilities: Dragon's Strength (I Will Deal With the Rest of You Later; Close Combat); Dragon's Might (My Greatness Cannot Be Denied; Strength); Dragon Scales (Feel No Pain); Draconic Magic (Grin and Bear It; Magical Lore)
Upgrade: Power of the Mokole (Power Upgrade)
Mastery: Superiority

As you can see... Drakonis Rex is (I hope) an interesting character who has the potential to become either a hero or a villain... one who finds himself seen by the world as a monster or a menace, yet he has a sense of Honor (though not necessarily human Honor).  He has already made at least one enemy (the scientist could be an ally or a adversary, depending how the story goes) and has some resources to help with his future (though the limits of which are questionable).  Yes, it does seem that he is being persecuted unfairly... though not entirely without reason.  This could push him to try show people he isn't the monster he is claimed to be... or to allow him to give in to that perception.

Yes, I did leave some details a little vague and generic (so that he could be fit into almost any game and game system)... and there are also other loose threads that could be fleshed out further if there is enough interest.

So I am curious as to which direction people would like to see this go... with Drakonis Rex walking the path of the Hero or the Villain?  Would you like to see his story fleshed out more either way?