Nightcrawler Hero
Real Name: Kurt Wagner.
Occupation: Adventurer; former high school student, former circus acrobat.
Identity: Publicly known.
Legal Status: Citizen of Germany with no known criminal record.
Other Aliases: "Elf", "fuzzy elf".
Place of Birth: Unrevealed; presumably somewhere in Bavaria, Germany.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Eric Wagner (father, deceased); mother (name unrevealed; presumed deceased). (Note: Despite the apparent familial resemblance, there is no known relationship between Nightcrawler and the mutant terrorist Mystique.)
Group Affiliation: Super-Heroes of Europe; Xavier Institute alumni; formerly the Munich Circus.
Base of Operations: Super-Heroes of Europe Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland; formerly the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, New York; formerly Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1.
History: According to the account of his foster mother, Margali Szardos, she found Kurt as an infant by the side of the road in Bavaria beside his father's dead body as his mother lay dying. With her dying breaths, Kurt's mother begged Margali to take care of the child. Margali took Kurt to the Munich Circus where she worked as the fortune teller; the circus, no strangers to "freaks", raised him as one of their own. As they grew older, Kurt and Margali's children, Jimaine and Stefan, became star attractions on the trapeze; the audiences assumed Kurt's demonic appearance was makeup and just part of the act.
When Kurt was fifteen, the circus was bought out by foreign investors; these investors wanted to move Kurt to the circus's freak show. About the same time, his foster brother, Stefan, began to experiment with Margali's mystic books without understanding what he was getting into, becoming possessed by a demon. A series of murders were initially blamed on Kurt, due to his demonic appearance, but Kurt and Jimaine traced the killings to Stefan instead. Sadly, Stefan died from his possession. Discovered over the body, Kurt was saved from a lynching by Charles Xavier, who froze the crowd and made them forget Kurt's existence. Sensing the boy needed a safe place to be himself, Xavier asked Kurt to enroll in his recently formed Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a high school for superhumans just north of New York City.
In his time as a student, Kurt was one of the small army of Institute students organized by Scott Summers to free his brother Alex from the Living Pharaoh. This was the first time Kurt was seen going by the name Nightcrawler.
After graduating the Xavier Institute, Kurt returned to Germany. During an undocumented encounter with his foster mother, who blamed Kurt for Stefan's death, Kurt was able to prove his innocence to her; he was assisted in this endeavor by the Super-Heroes of Europe, the world's oldest active superhero organization. As a result of that adventure, he was inducted into the SHoE as its youngest member. At the same time, he was reunited with Jimaine, now a full-fledged sorceress and going by the name Amanda Sefton; the two have grown closer.
Nightcrawler was one of the alumni who was called to the Institute to protect it against the Juggernaut. His later activities are currently unrevealed.
Age: 19.
Height: 5' 9".
Weight: 165 lbs.
Eyes: Yellow, no visible pupils.
Hair: Black.
Skin: Blue, covered with light velvet fur.
Other Distinguishing Features: Nightcrawler possesses pointed ears, two fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, a long pointed tail which he can use as a third arm, and his feet have two toes forward and a third opposable toe coming off the insides of the feet.
Uniform: Black bodysuit with a red shoulder-to-groin V-neck overlay, white gloves with red trim, and white boots with red trim. As a student of the Xavier Institute, he trained while wearing the black bodysuit with red and black circle-X shoulder pads, yellow boots, and yellow belt with a rectangular red buckle styled with a black X that are standard issue to students.
Strength Level: Nightcrawler possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in intensive acrobatic exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Believed to be a second- or possibly even third-generation mutant, Kurt possesses several seemingly unrelated powers.
First and foremost is his ability to teleport. When he teleports, he moves automatically through another dimension, displacing himself and the air around him with a burst of sulfur and brimstone. His teleportation is oriented along the Earth's magnetic field, which affects the maximum distance he can teleport in a single jaunt; his recorded maximums are five miles north-south along the magnetic lines, two miles east-west across them, and one mile up or down. He can teleport several times in rapid succession, although he rarely does so except over a distance of several feet at a time. Nightcrawler himself gets fatigued by performing multiple successive teleports in a short time frame.
Kurt's hands and feet secrete a clear substance which enables him to cling to almost any surface, including wooden and stone walls and ceilings, panels of glass, and even sheets of metal. The gloves and boots on his superhero uniform are designed to let this substance work through them. Kurt's spine is extra-flexible. He is able to crouch in such a way as to be on all fours and routinely bend backwards to touch his feet without the risk of chronic pain. In addition, his tail is flexible enough to be used as a third arm and hand. Unknown to most, and even unknown to himself until recently, Nightcrawler's connection to the dimension he teleports through enables him to "blend" into shadows, becoming nearly transparent if not invisible when in shadow. This shadow-blending is automatic and cannot be turned off.Other Abilities: Kurt is a skilled acrobat and trapeze artist, a natural showman, and a natural leader. Due to his time in the circus, he speaks most of the more numerous languages spoken in Europe.
Weapons: Nightcrawler has been known to wield up to three light edged rapiers at once.
930 points
| ST: 12 [20] | HP: 12 [0] | Speed: 7.50 [0] |
| DX: 16 [120] | Will: 13 [5] | Move: 7 [0] |
| IQ: 12 [40] | Per: 14 [10] | |
| HT: 14 [40] | FP: 14 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 1d-1/1d+2 | BL: 29 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 14 | Parry: 15 | DR: 12/4* (uniform) |
Languages: English (Native) [6]; German (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: 3D Spatial Sense [10]; Appearance (Handsome) [12]; Catfall (Mutant Biology, -0%) [10]; Chameleon 10 (Accessibility: Only in Darkness, -30%; Always On, -10%; Extended (IR and Radar), +40%; Mutant, -10%) [45]; Charisma 1 [5]; Clinging (Mutant, -10%) [18]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Double-Jointed (Mutant Biology, -0%); Enhanced Dodge +3 [45]; Enhanced Parry (All Parries) +2 [20]; Extra Arms +1 (Extra-Flexible, +50%; Mutant Biology, -0%) [15]; Extra Attack 1 [25]; Fit [5]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Omnilingual (Limited: European Languages Only, -40%) [24]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) (Mutant Biology, -0%) [1]; Warp (Blink, +25%; Costs 2 FP (Variable*), -10%; Extra Carrying Capacity: Extra-Heavy Encumbrance, +50%; Gyroscopic, +10%; Nuisance Effect: Puff of Smoke, Smell of Brimstone, and Sound Effect: BAMF!, -5%; Range Limit: 1 to 5 miles, Depending on Direction, -30%; Rapid Fire: 2/turn, +40%; Reliable +10, +50%; Mutant, -10%) [220]; Weapon Master (Small Class: Swords) [30].
Perks: Fur [1].
Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Hero's) [-10]; Guilt Complex [-5]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]; Sense of Duty (Humanity) [-15]; Social Stigma (Freak) [-10].
Quirks: Broad-Minded [-1]; Devout Roman Catholic [-1]; Incorrigible Flirt [-1]; Likes Swashbuckler Movies [-1]; Show-Off [-1].
Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX+4 [20] – 20; Animal Handling (Big Cats) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 12; Animal Handling (Elephants) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 12; Animal Handling (Equines) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 12; Area Knowledge (Central Europe) (E) IQ+2 [4] – 14; Body Language (A) Per+2 [8] – 16; Broadsword (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Broadsword Art (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Carousing (E) HT+0 [1] – 14; Climbing (A) DX+4 [1] – 20†; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+1 [2] – 13; Criminology/TL8 (A) IQ+0 [2] – 12; Current Events/TL8 (Headline News) (E) IQ+2 [4] – 14; Current Events/TL8 (Travel) (E) IQ+2 [4] – 14; Dancing (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Detect Lies (H) Per+2 [11] – 16‡; Diplomacy (H) IQ+1 [8] – 13§; First Aid/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 12; Judo (H) DX+2 [12] – 16; Jumping (E) DX+2 [4] – 18; Karate (H) DX+2 [12] – 18; Knot-Tying (E) DX+0 [1] – 16; Lasso (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Leadership (A) IQ+2 [4] – 14#; Lifting (A) HT+0 [2] – 14; Makeup/TL8 (E) IQ+1 [2] – 13; Navigation/TL8 (Land) IQ+3 [2] – 15¥; Observation (A) Per+1 [4] – 15; Performance (A) IQ+2 [8] – 14; Piloting/TL8 (Light Aircraft) (A) DX+0 [1] – 16¶; Professional Skill (Trapeze Artist) (A) DX+2 [8] – 18; Public Speaking (A) IQ+2 [2] – 14#¤; Rapier (A) DX+2 [8] – 18; Rapier Art (A) DX+0 [1] – 16£; Research/TL8 (A) IQ+0 [2] – 12; Riding (Equines) (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 14; Savoir-Faire (Circus) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 13; Sewing/TL8 (E) DX+0 [1] – 16; Sex Appeal (Human) (A) HT+4 [2] – 18§€; Shadowing (A) IQ+2 [8] – 14; Shortsword (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Shortsword Art (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Skiing (H) HT-2 [1] – 12; Stage Combat (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Stealth (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [4] – 13; Survival (Mountain) (A) Per+0 [2] – 14; Survival (Plains) (A) Per+0 [2] – 14; Survival (Woodlands) (A) Per+0 [2] – 14; Swimming (E) HT+2 [4] – 16; Thaumatology (VH) IQ-2 [2] – 10; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 16; Thrown Weapon (Knife) (E) DX+2 [4] – 18; Wrestling (A) DX+2 [8] – 18.
Techniques: Acrobatic Stand (A) def+2 [2] – 16; Triple-Weapon Attack (Rapier) (H) def+4 [5] – 18; Triple-Weapon Defense (H) def+1 [2] – 15.
Starting Spending Money: $4,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).
* The FP cost is 1 per teleport; normally he spends 1 FP per 'port when using Warp, but Rapid Fire + Variable Costs Fatigue means he spends 2 FP when using Rapid Fire.
† Includes +5 from Double-Jointed.
‡ Defaulted from Body Language.
§ Conditional +1 from Charisma when making Influence skill checks.
# Includes +1 from Charisma.
¥ Includes +3 from 3D Spatial Sense.
¶ Includes +1 from 3D Spatial Sense.
¤ Defaulted from Performance.
£ Defaulted from Rapier.
€ Includes +4 from Appearance.
Role-Playing Notes:
Kurt presents himself as a carefree swashbuckler, emulating Errol Flynn and Cary Elwes in their swashbuckling movie roles. He will flirt with any attractive woman, even though his heart belongs to his lifetime love, Amanda. Underneath all this, he is a very moral, caring, and pious (devout Roman Catholic) man. He is normally a very laid-back person, but he is also known to be outspoken when it's a cause he believes in.
| BROADSWORD | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| 4 | Edged Rapier | 1d+3 cut | 1, 2 | 14 | $1,000 | 3 | 10 | |
| or | 1d+1 imp | 1, 2 | 14 | 10 | ||||
| DX | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Bite | 1d-2 cut | C | n/a | – | – | 12 | |
| KARATE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| 4 | Karate Punch | 1d cr | C | 15 | – | – | 12 | |
| Karate Kick | 1d+1 cr | C, 1 | n/a | 12 | ||||
| RAPIER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| 4 | Edged Rapier | 1d+5 cut | 1, 2 | 15F | $1,000 | 3 | 10 | |
| or | 1d+3 imp | 1, 2 | 15F | 10 | ||||