Black, Cyrus Villain
Real Name: Cyrus Black.
Occupation: Sorcerer.
Identity: Cyrus Black does not use a dual identity; however, his status as a sorcerer is unknown to the general public.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no known criminal record.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: Unrevealed.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: None.
Group Affiliation: None.
Base of Operations: Mobile.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: DOCTOR STRANGE: SORCERER SUPREME #.
History: Little is known about Cyrus Black's past. Unlike most known sorcerers, who learned the art of sorcery from a mentor, he is believed to be self-taught.
At some point in the past when the latter was still a student in Kamar-Taj, Black and Stephen Strange were brought before the mystic principality named Watoomb to duel for possession of an artifact known as the Wand of Watoomb. (The reasons why those two were chosen for this contest are still unclear.) The details of the duel are currently unrevealed; however, Strange emerged the winner, while Black retreated to a homeless shelter in Hell's Kitchen. Black briefly considered abandoning his mystic studies, but threw himself into furthering them instead.
Years later, Black attempted to take the Wand of Watoomb from Dr. Strange's Greenwich Village Sanctum Sanctorum, sending his rat familiar, Nebuchadnezzar, into the building to search for it. Despite Black's guile and illusions he cast which appeared to warp reality around him, Strange was able to defeat him, though Black was shown to be casting from outside the Sanctum and escaped.
Months later, Black was among those sorcerers who gathered at Strange's request to assist against the Zodiac Cartel when the Zodiac erected a force dome around Manhattan. Despite his cooperation in this instance, Black warned Strange that the two would next meet as foes.
Black's later activities have yet to be documented.
Age: 42.
Height: 6'.
Weight: 170 lbs.
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Brown.
Uniform: Loose red tunic, dark red pants, black boots, gold wrist bands, gold belt with a circular buckle inscribed with a down-pointing equilateral triangle, black high-collar cloak clasped with an oval gold brooch with a white four-pointed star.
Strength Level: Cyrus Black possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in minimal regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Cyrus Black is an adept sorcerer. Strictly speaking, Black and other human sorcerers do not have superhuman powers; only the ability to manipulate mystical energy lies within an Earth-born sorcerer, not the energy itself. Theoretically, any Earth human being can tap into an infinite amount of mystical energy. However, each person is limited by his own amount of training, discipline, knowledge, and enlightenment as to the mystical arts. Although potent, Black's sorcery pales before that of Dr. Strange.
Black's magic, is derived from three major sources: personal powers of the soul/mind/body, derived through developing one's own psychic resources (mesmerism, astral projection, thought-casting, etc); powers gained by tapping the universe's ambient magical energy and employing it for specific effects (teleportation, illusion-casting, energy projection); and finally powers gained through invoking entities or objects of power existing in mystical dimensions tangential to his own. The latter means of power is usually gained through the recitation of spells; either ritualized ones found in various mystical texts or by original spells invoking extra-dimensional assistance.
Black is a master of egocentric magic, relying primarily on mental illusions that fool those around him into believing he's altering reality around them. The illusions he creates are incredibly complex, so much so that psychosomatic damage from the illusion is known to cause actual physical harm, including broken bones and death.
Black's use of ecocentric magic appears to be rudimentary. He has created bolts and shields of magic energy, though they proved ineffective against Strange's own magic.Allies: Cyrus Black has a rat familiar named Nebuchadnezzar. This rat works as a scout with Black seeing the world through its eyes, and on occasion he has cast spells through it.
505 points
| ST: 10 [0] | HP: 10 [0] | Speed: 5.50 [0] |
| DX: 10 [0] | Will: 13 [0] | Move: 5 [0] |
| IQ: 13 [60] | Per: 13 [0] | |
| HT: 12 [20] | FP: 12 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Threshold: 30 | ER: 10+6 | |
| Dmg: 1d-2/1d | BL: 20 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: 10 | DR: 0 |
| Block: 10 | ||
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0]; Latin (Accented) [4]; Sanskrit (Accented) [4].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Ally (Nebuchadnezzar, Rat Familiar; Up to 5% of Starting Points; Non-Sapient, +0%) (15) [1]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Energy/2 [40]; Energy Reserve (Magical) 10 [30]; Energy Reserve (Magical) +6 (Granted by Familiar, -40%) [11]; Fearlessness 5 [10]; Illusion/2 (Sub-Realm of Mind) [20]; Magery 2 (Solitary Ceremonial, +10%) [27]; Magery +3 (One Realm Only: Mind Realm, -40%; Solitary Ceremonial, +10%) [21]; Matter/2 [40]; Mind/3 [60]; Mindlink (w/ Familiar) [5]; Single-Minded [5]; Space/2 [40].
Perks: Cloaked [1]; Fearsome Stare [1]; Sure-Footed (Uneven) [1].
Disadvantages: Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Chronic Pain (Mild; Interval: 1 hr) (12) [-5]; Loner (12) [-5]; Low Self-Image [-10]; Status -2 [-10]; Stubbornness [-5]; Wealth (Poor) [-15].
Quirks: Dishonest Face [-1]; Easily Winded [-1]; Horrible Hangovers [-1]; Uncongenial [-1]; Vindictive [-1].
Skills: Area Knowledge (Hell's Kitchen) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Artist (Illusion) (H) IQ+3 [16] – 16; Autohypnosis (H) Will+1 [8] – 14; First Aid/TL8 (Human) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Force Sword (A) DX+2 [8] – 12; Forced Entry (E) DX+1 [2] – 11; Fortune-Telling (Astrology) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Fortune-Telling (Crystal Gazing) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Fortune-Telling (Palmistry) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Fortune-Telling (Tarot) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Hidden Lore (Demon Lore) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Hiking (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Hypnotism (Human) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 11; Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+4 [12] – 14; Intimidation (A) Will-1 [1] – 12; Lip Reading (A) Per-1 [1] – 12; Literature (H) IQ-1 [2] – 12; Lockpicking/TL8 (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Occultism (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Panhandling (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Research/TL8 (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Scrounging (E) Per+0 [1] – 13; Shield (Force) (E) DX+2 [4] – 12; Speed-Reading (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Stealth (A) DX+0 [2] – 10; Streetwise (A) IQ+0 [2] – 13; Thaumatology (VH) IQ+4 [4] – 17*†; Theology (Comparative) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 11; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 10; Urban Survival (A) Per+0 [2] – 13; Veterinary/TL8 (H) IQ-1 [2] – 12; Weather Sense (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Wrestling (A) DX+0 [2] – 10.
Magical Realm Skills: Energy (VH) IQ+1 [4] – 14*; Illusion (VH) IQ+8 [20] – 21*†; Matter (VH) IQ+1 [4] – 14*; Mind (VH) IQ+4 [4] – 17*†; Space (VH) IQ+1 [4] – 14*.
Starting Spending Money: $800 (20% Starting Wealth).
* Includes +2 from Magery..
† Includes +3 from Magery (Mind Realm Only).
Role-Playing Notes:
Black is a bitter man driven primarily by his stubbornness and a vindictive streak against his old rival Dr. Strange. He has contemplated abandoning his craft several times, only to stubbornly continue on instead; he believes that without magic he truly is nothing. (This belief is compounded by his inability to hold any mundane job for any significant amount of time, resulting in his living among the homeless of Hell's Kitchen in abandoned buildings.)
| DX | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Punch | 1d-3 cr | C | 9 | – | – | 10 | |
| – | Kick | 1d-2 cr | C, 1 | n/a | – | – | 10 | |
Design Notes:
1. The first Magery price combines the price of an unmodified Magery 0 [5] with the modified Magery 2 (Solitary Ceremonial, +10%) [22]. It just looked wrong when placing the two on the sheet together.
2. The Illusion Realm is a Sub-Realm of Mind; therefore it was fitting that the Magery +3 with One Realm Only: Mind Realm (-40%) also applied to the Illusion Sub-Realm as well as Mind.