The Odd Squad is a group of four strange superhumans that emerged in the decades following World War II, when Talents emerged who were not limited by the seeming laws that had governed wartime superpowers during the era of GODLIKE. The Odd Squad wreak havoc in the postwar timeline of Wild Talents.
S.A.M.
AKA: Strength Augmenting Mechanics; Corporal Davis Pulaski
DOB: Oct. 23, 1923
DOD: –
Height: 12' 10"
Weight: 2.25 tons
APPEARANCE: S.A.M is a 13-foot robot constructed from the remains of American military vehicles. This artificial body, though intimidating, looks quite dated and is covered in patchwork repairs, giving it a botched-together look.
KNOWN SUPERHUMAN ABILITIES: The S.A.M. robot is immensely strong. Its armored shell (constructed from the modified remains of American armored vehicles) is capable of deflecting light anti-tank weaponry and is immune to machine-gun fire. Before his permanent transference to the S.A.M. suit, Corporal Pulaski was an accomplished Gadgeteer, but because of his new artificial status he lacks the superhuman Willpower to construct gadgets on his own.
HISTORY: Davis Pulaski was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin on October 5, 1923, to a wealthy family that owned the local lumber and paper concerns. He grew up in a sheltered house on the lake, tutored and pampered by an immense staff of faceless servants. Pulaski was a spoiled and distant child who tormented the household staff and managed by the age of nine to have them replaced six separate times. Later, as he grew older, his methods shifted from petty torment to sexual predation.
In the summer of 1941, Pulaski was discovered with an underage maid in the basement. The young girl had been beaten severely and Pulaski was arrested. The case gained statewide attention, and soon Pulaski found himself in the middle of one of the biggest scandals to hit the area in decades. The young man was given a choice by the judge: Join the army or work on a chain gang for sixteen months. Pulaski chose the army.
In the winter of 1942, Pulaski discovered his Talent ability with mechanical devices. His patchwork armor vehicles were widely sought after by the tank drivers of the U.S. First Army, and he gained a reputation as a miracle worker with machinery. For a time, Pulaski was content with interacting with "regular" people. When the war ended, however, Pulaski wanted more.
In 1950, Pulaski went to Korea with the U.N. forces. That winter he constructed S.A.M., a robotic body controllable at a distance. Pulaski's robotic alter ego soon became an important fixture on the frozen battlefields of Korea, ripping through armored columns and sending entire divisions scattering.
Before the conflict's end, army analysts began to notice Pulaski's deterioration. His body had grown weak, and physicals revealed an arrhythmia in his heartbeat. Pulaski was pulled off the line, but his thirst for battle drew him back. When the army confiscated the S.A.M. suit and placed Pulaski under protective custody, the young Gadgeteer concocted a plan to move to the S.A.M. body forever. His psychotic disassociation from humanity, something evident in him from youth, had only been exacerbated by his time in the robot.
By the time his plan was uncovered, Pulaski's human body was dead and the S.A.M. body was permanently switched on. Inside, Pulaski's mind took a final, irreversible shift away from the world of humanity.
S.A.M. was returned to active duty, on a trial basis, to see if he could be trusted. He performed better than anyone could have guessed, going so far as to cross the Yalu River into China. But when word of S.A.M's actions against Korean civilians reached the U.S. command, he was immediately pulled off the line and moved to Tokyo to face court martial.
S.A.M. was sentenced to "life" imprisonment in Leavenworth federal prison, where he simply entered "stand-by" mode, shutting down for almost a decade.
He was reactivated for project JUNG, an attempt by the military brass to save the deteriorating health of the strange alien IAM. In JUNG, S.A.M. found like-minded individuals, Talents who had skirted the edge of insanity and had found an orbit of instability in which to exist.
With IAM's help, S.A.M. was reprogrammed in the summer of 1967 to "correct" his psychosocial problems. This rewrite caused a dramatic shift in S.A.M's attitude. Nothing of Pulaski now remained; instead a new and independent being was born. S.A.M. embraced the growing peace movement and became a "flower child". In 1968, S.A.M. replaced the white star of the U.S. Army on his chest with a peace symbol.
SAM, by Todd Shearer, © 2010
S.A.M. ('The Odd Squad,' circa 1969)
Point Total: 500 Points
Archetype (12 pts): Artificial
Stats (165 pts)
Body 10d (+3 Attacks levels; Penetration +2, Can't Harm Innocents, –1; 90 pts)
Coordination 2d (10 pts)
Sense 3d (15 pts)
Mind 4d (20 pts)
Charm 2d (10 pts)
Command 4d (20 pts)
Secondary Stats
Base Will None
Willpower 0
Motivations: None
Skills (62 pts)
Intimidation 6d (10d), Knowledge (Chemistry) 3d (7d), Knowledge (Electronics) 4d (8d), Knowledge (Engineering) 6d (10d), Knowledge (Metallurgy) 5d (9d), Knowledge (Physics) 4d (8d), Language (Korean) 1d (5d), Tactics 2d (6d).
Superpowers (273 pts)
Gadgeteering 3d+2hd (A D U U; 15 per die; 105 pts)
Extras, flaws and effect: See page 145. Since S.A.M. has no Base Will, someone else must donate Willpower to a project for him to be able to create gadgets.
Reinforced Armor 4hd (D U; 12 per die; 96 pts)
Defends (heavy armor) extras, flaws and effect: See the Heavy Armor miracle, page 147, but S.A.M.'s armor has Permanent instead of Endless. S.A.M. has HAR 4.
Useful (extra tough) extras, flaws and effect: See the Extra Tough miracle, page 145. S.A.M. has four extra wound boxes on each hit location. Due to his Unhealing archetype quality, these extra wound boxes do not heal naturally. They can only be repaired with a Skill roll—a Knowledge roll such as Engineering, for example—repairing width in Shock or half that in Killing after 5—width hours of work.
Massive Robotic Construction 2hd (D U U; 15 per die; 60 pts)
Defends (light armor) extras and flaws: Armored Defense –2, Hardened Defense +2, Permanent +4.Capacities: Self.
Useful (massive size) extras and flaws: Booster +1, Growth Only –1, Permanent +4, Self Only –3. Capacities:Self.
Useful (immunities) extras and flaws: If/Then (Variable Effect is limited to immunities) –1, Permanent +4, Self Only –3, Variable Effect +4. Capacities: None.
Effect: S.A.M. is nearly 13 feet tall and weighs over two tons; this reduces knockback that he takes by 10 yards. Due to his sheer bulk he has LAR 2 (hardened). S.A.M. does not need air, food or water, and can tolerate extremes of pressure, temperature and radiation that humans could not survive.
Attacks
- Punch 10d (width + 3 in Shock and Killing with Penetration 2).
Defenses
- HAR 4
- LAR 2 (hardened)
- +4 wound boxes on each hit location
- –10 yards knockback
Written by Dennis Detwiller, © 2010.
