Kodiak [Nightbane N.P.C.]:

Name: Kodiak
True Name: Thomas McBride
Alignment: Scrupulous
Hit Points: 64 [156 Nightbane Form] S.D.C.(Physical): 106 [296 Nightbane Form]
Horror Factor: 10
Attributes: I.Q.: 13, M.E.: 18 (+2), M.A.: 10, P.S.: 26 (+11) [44 (+29)], P.P.: 22 (+4) [28 (+7)], P.E.:23 (+16%/+4) [36 (+36%/+8)], P.B.: 14 [14], SPD: 26 [36 running]. Attributes in brackets [] are when in Nightbane form [Physical Strength and Endurance are Supernatural in Nightbane form]
Weight: 185 lbs (83.9 kg) [620 lbs (281.2 kg) in Nightbane Form] Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 meters) [7 ft 8 in (2.34 meters) in Nightbane Form]
Age: 184 years Race: Nightbane (Human) Sex: Male
Disposition:
Kodiak is not one of the oldest Nightbane but he is still over a century and a half old. Due to his age, he has gathered a lot of knowledge. Before dark day, he spent most of his time in the Alaska wilderness but after Dark Day, he had to come to help against the Nightlords and Vampires. He was always patriot although does not really consider himself to be a hero. Because of his skills, he is often tasked to be the leader although he is not really a natural leader. As well, he often is a very solitary being, often having spent years in the wilderness as almost a hermit. Still, he will try his best to work with others.
While Kodiak has a number of Nightbane Talents, he prefers simple hand to hand combat when possible. Even though he has a good reserve of magical energies, they are still finite and he likes to use his talents only when he absolutely has to. As well, while he has excellent skills with firearms, he does not particularly care to use them except when he has to.
R.C.C.: Nightbane Experience Level: Tenth (10)
Combat Skill: Hand to Hand; Expert [Hand to Hand: Martial Arts in Nightbane Form]
Attacks per Melee: Seven (7) [Eight (8) in Nightbane Form]
Bonuses, Combat: Facade Form: +8 to Strike, +10 to Parry, +10 to Dodge, +11 to Damage, +5 to roll with punch, fall, or impact, +2 to pull punch, +0 to initiative, Knockout on Natural 20, and Critical Strike on Natural 18 through 20. Also has paired weapons.
Nightbane Form: +11 to Strike, +15 to Parry, +15 to Dodge, +29 to Damage, +10 to roll with punch, fall, or impact, +6 to pull punch, +1 to initiative, Knockout on Natural 20, and Critical Strike on Natural 18 through 20. Also has paired weapons, Leap Kick, and Judo style throw.
Supernatural Punch Damage (Nightbane Form): 2D6+29 S.D.C. Restrained Punch, 1D6x10+29 S.D.C. Full Power Punch, 2D6x10+29 S.D.C. Power Punch (Costs 2 Attacks). Claw strike inflicts additional 2D6 S.D.C. to Punch Damage and Bite inflicts 3D6 S.D.C.
Bonus; Save: Facade Form: Lethal Poison [14] +4, Non-Lethal Poison [16] +4, Harmful Drugs [15] +4, Insanity [12] +2, Psionics [15] +2, Magic [12] +6, Horror Factor +3, Nightbane Form: Lethal Poison [14] +8, Non-Lethal Poison [16] +8, Harmful Drugs [15] +8, Insanity [12] +2, Psionics [15] +5, Magic [12] +12, Horror Factor +5.
Nightbane Abilities:
Change to Nightbane Form: Takes one full melee round (Save vs M.E. - 12 or greater to transform in one attack)
Supernatural Senses: Night vision (Facade, 200 feet / 61 meters; Nightbane, 500 feet / 152 meters) / Sense Other Nightbane (300 feet / 91.4 meters with an additional 30 feet / 9.1 meters per level)
Regeneration: 10 S.D.C./ Hit Points each melee round.
Mirror Walk: Cross into Nightlands. Costs 2 P.P.E., takes one round.
Immunities: Immune to all forms of mind control and Transformation
Nightbane Characteristics:
Werebear: Any task that requires manual dexterity (picking locks, typing on a computer, and using most guns) will be at -15%, and using weapons is at -2 to strike and parry. Size is usually 30 to 40% larger than the Facade, and sometimes much bigger. Bonuses: +8 to P.S., +3 to P.E. and +3D4xl0 S.D.C. Bite attack does 3D6 damage, and claws add 1D6 to punch damage. Speed is normal. Add +2 to horror factor.
Metal Claws: The Nightbane has metal fangs and talons instead of normal teeth and fingernails. The metal teeth inflict 3D6 points of damage with a bite, and the claws add 1D6 S.D.C. to hand to hand damage. Add 2 to Horror Factor.
Nightbane Talents: P.P.E.: 227 (Gains 3D6 per level)
First Level Talent: Mirror Search (Free) [10], Fourth Level Talent: Lord of the Wild (Free) [Special], Seventh Level Talent: Anti-Arcane (Free) [20], Tenth Level Talent: Storm Maker (Free) [Special]
Purchased Talents: Dark Song (7) [5], Mirror Sight (5) [2], Premonition (2) [2], Shadow Blast (5) [Special], See Truth (3) [5], Soul Shield (6) [4]
R.C.C. Skills (Military Training): Communication: Radio: Basic (+15%) 98%, Medical: First Aid (+10%) 98%, Physical: Hand to Hand: Expert, Pilot: Horsemanship (+15%) 91%, Science: Mathematics: Basic (+10%) 98%, Technical: Language: English [Native] (+25%) 98%, Literacy: English (+25%) 98%, Writing (+15%) 85%, W.P.; Modern: Bolt Action Rifle (+6 Aimed/+4 burst)
R.C.C. Related Skills: Espionage: Detect Ambush (+5%) 80%, Tracking (+5%) 80%, Wilderness Survival (+5%) 80%, Physical: Boxing [Learned at Ninth Level], Prowl 75%, Swimming 95%, Pilot: Automobile [Learned at Sixth Level] (+5%) 81%, Rogue: Streetwise [Learned at Third Level] 48%, W.P.; Ancient: Knife [Learned at Third Level] (+2 Strike / +2 Throw /+3 Parry), W.P.; Modern: W.P. Automatic Rifle [Learned at Sixth Level] (+4 Aimed/+2 burst), Wilderness: Carpentry (+5%) 75%, Land Navigation (+5%) 77%.
Secondary Skills: Domestic: Dance 75%, Fishing 85%, Physical: Athletics - General, Running [Learned at Eighth Level], Wrestling [Learned at Eighth Level], Technical: Lore: Nightbane 75%, Lore: Nightlands 70%, Lore: Vampire [Learned at Fourth Level] 60%, W.P.; Ancient: Sword (+3 Strike / +3 Parry), W.P.; Modern: Automatic Pistol / Revolver [Learned at Fourth Level] (+5 Aimed/+3 burst)
Appearance:
In his facade or human form, Thomas is a wide shouldered man who was tall for his time although not overly tall. By modern standards, he is only about of average height. He is extremely strong from his years working as a lumberjack and as a farmer. Not really a body builders body though. He has grey eyes and greying brown hair. He looks like he might be in his early forties. He wears long sideburns and a long mustache as were fashionable from the time which he comes from. He usually wears flannel shifts, blue jeans, and beat up leather boots.
In his Nightbane form, Kodiak is an extremely huge humanoid bear and is almost eight feet in height. Massive arms which end in huge claws. Instead of normal claws, he has metal claws along with metal teeth when he opens his massive mouth. His fur is brown although streaked with grey as if he is an extremely old bear. At a distance, he appears to be a normal bear.
Weapons, Normal:
Remington Model 870 Shotgun (12 Gauge): 8 lbs (3.6 kg)
Pump action shotgun manufactured by the Remington company. Barrel is 18 inch (45.72 cm) and weapon has a six round magazine. Caliber: 12 Gauge, Damage: 8D6 Solid Slug / 5D6 Buckshot (Double damage at close range),
Action: Pump Action, Mode of Fire: Single shot only., Range: 300 ft (90 m), Magazine: 6 round internal (Has 24 Normal Rounds Solid Slug, 12 Silver Round Solid Slug, 24 Normal Buckshot Rounds, 12 Silver Buckshot Rounds)
Ruger Super Redhawk Revolver (.454 Casull): Weight: 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) empty.
Heavy hunting pistol in the .454 Casull round (Can also use .45 Long Colt) and has adjustable rear sights. The Barrel is 7.5 inch long. Caliber:.454 Casull (Can also use .45 Long Colt) Damage: 7D6 (7D6+14 for Hollow Points) Action: Double Action. Range: 300 ft (90 m). Cylinder: 6 rounds (Has 96 rounds normal hollow points for pistol / 24 rounds silver hollow points)
Winchester Model 70 Bolt Action Rifle (30-06 Springfield): Weight: 10.75 (4.8 Kg)
High quality bolt action rifle with a Matte blued barrel so that the rifle does not betray your presence with a reflection. Rifle has a composite stock and a 26 inch barrel. Chambered in 30-06 Springfield with a 5 round internal magazine. Weapon has a scope fitted. Caliber: 30-06 Springfield, Damage: 7D6 Action: Bolt Action. Mode of Fire: Single Shot. Range: 1,800 feet (539 m). Magazine: 5 Round Internal Magazine, Can carry one additional round in chamber (Has 48 rounds of normal rounds and 12 silver rounds)
Other Equipment:
Properties: House in Alaska
Vehicles: Tan 1988 Ford Bronco 4x4 - Slightly dented and rusted but otherwise in good shape. Has an AM / FM Radio with a CD player and a CB Radio.
Clothing: Flannel Shirts, Blue Jeans, Work Boots, Work Socks, Coveralls, Camouflage Clothing (Hunting Pattern not military) , Two Suits, leather belt
Other Items: First Aid Kit, Backpack, Soap and Grooming Supplies, Survival Supplies, Camping Gear (Including Tent), Compass, Sleeping Bag, Pocket Knife, Flash Light, Lighter, Gun Cleaning Gear, Five Weeks of Rations (MREs)
Valuables & Properties: 40,000 Dollars

Kodiak's History:

Thomas was born in the early part of the Nineteenth Century although sometime after the War of Eighteen-Twelve. As all Nightbane, Thomas does not know who his true parents were or even if he had any. The story was that he was simply found in a basket outside the door to the orphanage. He was adopted in an orphanage in Ireland by a couple who emigrated to the United States soon after they adopted the young child. Like many people of the time, they were illiterate. They eventually settled in the State of Maine where his father worked first as a lumberjack and later become a carpenter. Much of the food on the table when Thomas grew up was hunted. He taught his son the same skills which he used in life. Like his father, Thomas never learned to read or write as a child. Thomas was never told that he was adopted but now assumes that he was because no Nightbane know who their true parents are.

Thomas in most ways settled down to a relatively normal life and married a local woman named Amy. For a time everything seemed to work out. Like all Nightbane, he could never father a child and the couple was childless. There was something missing but he never knew what it was. There was just something different. He thought it might be god and tried church but that never seemed to fill the void.

It was not until he was over forty years old that he discovered. His wife had died a few years previously from pneumonia and if anything he was more lost than before. His mother and father were long dead by this time and he had few friends. He had moved deep into the wilderness and had shunned all contact. One day, in the middle of the winter, a tree fell on the cabin he had build and the roof collapsed on him. He was pinned and knew he would die from exposure. He fought to get the collapsed roof off of him but without luck. He got angry and suddenly he transformed into a half Kodiak bear form. That was the first time he transformed. At first he thought had become some kind of demon but eventually learned what he truly was.

Over the next few years, he wandered around doing various jobs including working as a fisherman. Like most Nightbane, he changed his name when he settled in a new life. This was something he did throughout his life. Once the boat he was on actually sunk and it was only by transforming to his bear form that he was able to survive. He found out that there were others like him and that he could sense them and they could him. From talking to them, he discovered what he was and a bit about the supernatural universe including visiting the Night Lands. Over the years he learned much including how to read and write.

Eventually, the American Civil War overtook events in the United States. He was a patriotic person and decided to sign up. He ended up as an officer in the famous Twentieth Maine under Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. Surprisingly, a large number of Nightbane fought in the war, both on the Union and Confederate sides. Like him, many were extremely patriotic. Several times he ended up crossing swords with them although Nightbane usually avoided fighting each other when possible. He fought in many battles including the battle for Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

When the war was over, he decided to settle in new York City for a while. Working as a carpenter, he took a second wife at this time, a widow named Mary with several children this time, and helped her raise her children from her first husband. She was human and like with his previous wife, there were no children between them. He kept what he was a secret from her and this is a pattern which he would follow throughout his life. It was while living in New York City that he began to learn about Vampires having several run ins with them. He was responsible for cleaning out a major nest of them. Eventually his wife died and the children moved away.

He was alone again and this time drifted into the northern western wilderness. He settled near Fort Yellowstone where Yellowstone Nation Park was later formed. He just lived by himself for many years, preferring the solitude of the wilderness. He build a small cabin and supported himself mostly by surviving off the land although he did hunt a bit for skins which he sold. There he hid out until the beginning of the Twentieth Century.

After a while, the Nightbane decided that California was the place to go where he was a survivor of the Great Quake of 1905. He just married a woman, his third wife, and she was killed when their house collapsed from the earthquake. It was a horrible time for him and he was sorely tempted to simply disappear into the wilderness again. Still, he stayed a part of human society for the moment. It appeared that no matter how much times changed, the skills of a carpenter were always in demand. There was much demand for his skills with the rebuilding of the city.

Like many patriotic individuals, he volunteered when America entered the First World War and fought in the trenches of Europe. Like in the American Civil War, there were Nightbane who fought on both sides. He was hurt several times but was able to heal the injuries each time by transforming into his Nightbane form. He met an English nurse named Elizabeth and they married after a brief courtship. She went back over to the United States with him where they lived in Maine. Unfortunately, she died just a couple of years later. He never knew what killed her. Just one day she was fine and the next day she fell ill and died just a few days later. It might have been something she picked up while a nurse in the war.

His next few years we a blur with him moving back into the wilderness to live in solitude again. He missed out on the Roaring Twenties but was almost unaffected by the Great Depression as well. He had what he needed and simply preferred to live his life. Still, he would occasionally see others including other Nightbane. Some of them warned him of a great battle in the future where he would have to take sides.

When World War Two started, he though it was the war where he would take sides. Like in previous Wars, he volunteered and fount in the battlefields of Europe. He was one of the first off the landing ships in Normandy and one of only a handful which actually survived the invasion landing. Of course there were some strange reports about a bear on the landing beaches but there was never anything solid. He fought in many battles in France and Germany. When the Allies won, he though that it was finally over. The war was like none he ever saw before with the incredible carnage and destruction.

Back in the United States after the war, he settled down like a great many G.I.s returning from the war. He settled down with a new wife and vowed never to fight in another war. She had been a friend of a friend who he had written to extensively during the war. He did not fight in the Korean war and stayed out of Vietnam as well. He never spoke against the war and was still proud to have fought but he considered that he had done his service. His latest wife had not been particularly young when he married her and she had died in the middle of the Seventies. It was not unexpected due to the fact that she had cancer and had fought with the disease for several years.

Still, he retreated back into the wilderness again. This time into Alaska and a young lady named Susan accompanied him there. He with her settled just outside of what was called civilization in Alaska and started a new life. At first they simply lived together but after a few years they got married. His wife worked as a waitress while he did a wide variety of jobs. He worked as a lumberjack, a carpenter, and as a fisherman. There was the ability to make huge sums of money as a Fisherman off the Alaskan coast. He always stayed away from the oil industry though. In many ways, it was the best times he ever had in his life.

He lived a comfortable life until Dark Day. His latest wife was murdered that day. It was horrible because he had never lost a wife due to an act of violence. He had taught her to defend herself but it did no good. She was just another among the huge number of people who were killed that day. He also realized that the war to be fought was not World War Two but the invasion which occurred on Dark Day. With regret, he headed back down to the lower Forty-Eight to fight the invasion.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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