V&V A to Z: Fortunata

Character Name: Fortunata    Real Name: Melissa Bianchi     Side: Evil

Gender: Female     Height: 5'9"     Weight: 120 lbs     Age: 24

        

Physical Description: An tall, thin, attractive woman with pale skin and long, black hair.  She wears black - lots of black - and generally dresses in what might be considered a goth-like fashion.  

STR: 10     END: 15     INT: 19     AGL: 13     CHA: 17

Level: 6th     XP: 20,833     Basic Hits: 3     Hit Points: 10     Healing Rate: 1.2/day

Movement: 38"      Power: 57     Carrying Capacity: 150 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d4

Damage Modifier: +2     Accuracy: +1     Detect Hidden: 14%     Detect Danger: 18%  

Inventing Points: 2.4     Inventing: 57%     Reaction Modifier: -2 Good/+2 Evil
Training: Charisma  

Powers/Talents/Spells

Animal Control (Ravens)

Astral Projection

Combat Accuracy: gains a +1 to hit (cumulative) with any powers or spells for each of the    following conditions met – knows target's true name; has drawn up a detailed horoscope on    the target; has something of emotional importance, or something otherwise connected to the    target

Darkness Control

Emotion Control (love, single target)

Heightened Charisma A: +8

Heightened Intelligence A: +9

Heightened Senses: Magic Awareness (17” range, automatically works in most cases (unless    somehow shielded), PR 1)

Illusions (type A, visual/audible/odor/taste, PR 4)

Magical Spell – Curse: Attacks as Mind Control, PR 20, if successful a random calamity    happens to the victim every 1d100 hours (roll anew after each such occurrence), usually    requiring an AGL roll to avoid, damage dependent on circumstances and environment (i.e.    brakes failing on car, roof collapsing in, etc). Also, victim is +4 to be hit by all opposing    attacks. Lasts indefinitely until curse is lifted or countered (GM's discretion).

Magical Spell – Eldritch Bolt: Damage and range as per Power Blast, but attacks as per    Paralysis Ray

Magical Spell – Eldritch Shield: Acts as the Force Screen aspect of the Force Field ability; 1”    radius circle, range 1”

Psionic Ability – Trance: Slows down the body's need for food, water, air, etc (about 1/10    normal) while slipping into an unconscious state. PR 5 to activate, and PR 1 per 8 hours    while in trance.

Drawbacks

Phobia (claustrophobia)

Area of Knowledge

Occult, Crime

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: As a child, Melissa had the misfortune of being trapped underneath the wreckage of her parents' house after it had collapsed, after an earthquake had hit the area.  It was over a week later that workers digging through the rubble found her; at first they thought she was dead, and were shocked when she came to.

Her parents had died during the earthquake, and so she went to live with her aunt Sonja, a practitioner of various magical arts.  Sonja held the theory that Melissa had somehow instinctively put herself into a trance, allowing her to survive under conditions that would have otherwise almost certainly killed her.  Sonja began teaching Melissa the basics of magical theory.

Melissa advanced faster in her arcane studies than anyone could have anticipated.  Sonja was pleased with her niece's rapid progress, although she worried about the girl's lack of concern regarding the ethical ramifications of magic.  As Melissa's disregard for ethics increased, Sonja found she had no choice but to discontinue her niece's teachings.  Melissa accepted this with a surprising amount of grace.

A few months later, shortly after Melissa's birthday, Sonja died in what can only be described as a freak auto accident.  By all accounts, the car shouldn't have swerved off the road the way it did.  No one could explain it.  After all the paperwork was done with, Melissa collected the inheritance from her aunt, and then continued her magical studies, probing deeper into the tomes that Sonja had seen fit not to show her. She also used the money to track down various tomes to increase her magical knowledge.

Burning through the inheritance money fairly quickly, she used her magical abilities to charm various wealthy men and women into giving her the money she needed. This worked well for Fortunata, as she now liked to call herself (the name is a variation of the Edgar Allen Poe character from The Cask of Amontillado who was buried alive) for a few years, until a local coven of magicians discovered her actions. The subsequent battle was bloody, and not all of the coven survived, but by the time it was over, Fortunata's victims were now free of her control, and she was now wanted by the local law enforcement agencies.

Now on the run, Fortunata's tactics haven't changed that much. She tries to find someone wealthy that she can control, and lays low while bleeding the victim dry, using their money to continue her search for more magical power.

Campaign Use: Fortunata is a controller; a wealthy ally or acquaintance of the PCs falling under her control is an easy way for her to come into conflict with the PCs. She might briefly work with other supervillains, as long as it somehow advances her goals, but it is unlikely she would join such a group on a permanent basis – unless they acknowledged her as leader, of course.