I was summoned?
The All-Star Marvel RPG
Character Application
Character you would like to play: Daniel Rand, The Immortal Iron Fist
Powers: Though once an ordinary man, Daniel Rand plunged his hand into the heart of dragon Shou-Lao the Undyingand infused the dragon's superhuman energy into his soul; this along with training by Lei Kung the Thunderer gave Rand the power of the Iron Fist, allowing him to summon and focus his chi and enhance his natural abilities to extraordinary levels. His strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes and senses can all be astronomically intensified, making his already formidable martial arts skills even moreso.
Fleshing out the ideas of his powers a bit, Rand's abilities are an extension of the internal energy of his soul and chi into his body. By focusing the energy within him, it gives him more control over his physical form. While none are as powerful as his iron fist, the power behind a chi-infused kick would certainly be greater than if he hadn't been focusing whatsoever. Not only that, but this Rand's powers will, indeed, be a bit more supernatural than his Marvel Universe counterpart's. Let's say Rand needs to leap across a gap between rooftops that seems just a
tad too far for him. By focusing his chi, he'd be able to make the leap with ease. If, say, he needed to pass through a group of guards unseen, he would be able to focus his chi to both more easily conceal himself in shadow, and lessen the noise with which he walks. He wouldn't be invisible, but he'd be practically silent to thugs and goons. While a master of Kung Fu, it is still entirely reasonable that he would train with the shinobi of Japan and learn their practices, and, paired with his chi, truly put them into the most extreme practice.
Another aspect I'd like to explore with Rand is that of the elemental, natural and magical aspects of his powers. If Rand comes toe-to-toe with a dozen men with pistols, what is he to do? His powers are somewhat limited. He can't climb on walls, he doesn't have a healing factor without his chi, and he isn't a robot of any sort. That's why I'd like to expand on his powers a bit; by harnessing his chi, I'd like to be able to make Rand briefly be able to control the elements and harness animal spirits around him. That isn't to say he'd be able to conjure a tornado, or a tidal wave, but, rather, if he's face to face with Hydroman, why not let him be able to focus his chi to turn part of the villain to ice? It would exhaust him, and would only freeze portion of Hydroman, but, perhaps that is the leg up that could get Danny ahead in the fight. Against a dozen men with guns, Daniel could summon a gust of wind and the spirit of the eagle, harness his chi, and blow them all of their feet. He wouldn't be able to fly, and he'd never have the hide of a rhino, but it would be an expansion of his powers that could be explored.
Given the nature of his training, Rand also understands certain aspects of the astral and supernatural. He is by no means a magician of any kind, but he is, on a surface level, aware of the way some things in the occult world work.
As the son of one of New York's wealthier entrepreneurs, Danny has considerable resources. Though not at the level of Tony Stark, or Bruce Wayne, Rand isn't a character who has to worry about paying for his rent, or how to put food on the table. He is a credit card kid. How long that will stay true, though, is something that remains to be seen.
Danny's MU counterpart is capable of focusing his energies to a point where he can fuse his consciousness with that of another human being. This Danny will not be at that level yet, but there will be times when his story calls for immense levels of meditation and concentration, and, at such times, he might be capable of suggestion or surveillance.
Basic history of the character (Up until this point):
Danny Rand is the son of a New York City entrepreneur. One of his father's hobbies includes dabbling in the occult. As a result, Danny's family is somewhat shunned from New York's high society and elitist crowd. His father, only 29, gets wind of a group of Tibetan monks, claiming to have seen God in the mountains that surround their village. Eager to investigate, he enlists the help of his personal friend and fellow occult enthusiast, Stephen Strange. They charter a private helicopter, fly to Tibet, and bring the then-11 year old Danny with them.
The "god" the Tibetans claim to have seen is, in fact, the city of K'un-L'un. As ancient as the religion the monks themselves worship, K'un-L'un is a city of highly skilled and powerful ninja, all of whom have focused their chi to a point of near-perfection. Every ten years, the ninja focus their energies and make the city visible to humanity. At the center of their city, is the heart of the dragon Shou-Lao, and, when the city is visible, one person may enter the city, touch the heart, and be granted the power to harness his or her own chi so that he might one day join their ranks. Anyone who hones their skills enough will find themselves named the Iron Fist, the group's chief protector and guardian.
At 11, Danny touches the heart, and gains immense power from it. Danny's teacher and fellow adventurer, Stephen Strange, had spent years with Danny, telling him of theories about harnessing his chi. Danny takes these lessons to heart, when Strange and his father mysteriously part ways, and explores New York, meeting those who have touched the heart before him and are still alive: Shang-Chi, Elektra Natchios, and Kirgi, who train him in martial arts. Having harnessed the full power of his chi, he returns to K'un-L'un when he is 21, to voice his desire to be the Iron Fist.
He succeeds in the gauntlet of ninja put before him, and begins working to protect the city. He works in secrecy, putting down tales of K'un-L'un as myth, working to keep the city in the clouded veil of legend. Governments and surveillance companies learn that members of their staffs die under mysterious circumstances, highly confidential documents go missing, un-prosecutable war criminals are found with broken necks in their hotel rooms, and Danny's responsible for it all. Danny is, after all, a ninja. Killing people is an art, and he is an artist.
On one assignment, though, in New York, Danny died. His successor to the mantle of the Iron Fist, Orson Randall, used the power of chi to bring the dead warrior back to the world of the living, but, unfortunately, the cost was great. Orson himself was stripped of the title, and it was once again bestowed on Danny. Orson, in the hands of the people he had betrayed, was banished to exile, and left without the protection of of K'un L'un, he was on his own.
After successfully working, once again in utter secrecy, as the Fist for many months, Danny is asked to infiltrate the ruthless HYDRA agency. HYDRA has been after the city's secrets for decades, and has finally acquired the technology, resources, and real estate needed to begin planning an assault. It's Danny's job to find a way into their newly fortified Tibetan base, locate the base's commanding officer, and use the healing power of his chi energy to eliminate the commander's cruel spirit, replacing it with that of a good man. He proceeds to infiltrate the base as a new recruit, and begins working his way up the ranks. Despite his isolation, Danny checks in with K'un-L'un every few days, communicating only with Davos, one of his mentors and former contestant for the title of Iron Fist. Eventually, Danny finds his way to the heart of the base, about to heal the agent's spirit, when the base locks down, and Danny is revealed as a K'un-L'un ninja. In order to preserve the city's secrets, he must make an escape, or die trying.
This origin calls Stephen Strange into the Iron Fist narrative. At this juncture, Carnage24 has claimed the very beginnings of Strange's story as his own, which is something I think should be honored. Carnage's story described Strange as an Indiana Jones-ian adventurer, and would, therefore, make him 39 within the game's continuity if my timeline is approved. Whether that is too old is the decision of the GMs, players, and Carnage24. It is my view, though, that Strange being in his late 30s does not necessarily detract from his youth in the magical arts. That, however, is still only my opinion.
Why Have You Chosen That Character?:
I haven't so much as logged on to the boards in almost two years, and my presence in the games was dwindling at best, even before I left. In the wake of some personal ups-and-downs a few years ago, I had allowed myself to be bitter, cynical, and, worst of all, snide and, at times, downright unkind. That's unacceptable, and the time I spent off coincided with a time when I did some tremendous personal growth. The idea for picking up Iron Fist was first born when SenseiofCheese, someone who has, through the boards, become quite a good friend of mine, started telling me that he wanted to see me back on the boards. I did some work in the comics industry, shared some stories with him, and he could tell that some enthusiasm on my part had been sparked once again. What's more, I have become a completely different storyteller, and the prospect of working together was something that excited us both to no end. A few late nights of pitches, and we realized that we both wanted to work on a Heroes for Hire storyline. Of course, in order to truly bring something new to the table, SoC and I had to completely change the dynamics of the team. And, in the "Basic History" section above, I think that the time before the creation of the Heroes for Hire is something that puts a fresh spin on the characters and their mythologies.
The Iron Fist is a tremendous character, with a rich and compelling history in the original source material, but, here, there's a chance for something new to be done, while still honoring the character's roots. What's more, I get to work with a close friend whose storytelling I have an unequalled respect for. To me, that's a very exciting opportunity.
What Do You Plan On Doing With This Character (IE: How are you changing him or her?):
In the books, Danny has served almost every narrative archetypal role a character can play. He was a schtick-y 1970's kung-fu master, a dramatic
engine of storytelling, and a mystical adventurer. What I'm not sure we've ever really seen, though, is a Danny Rand who's on the run, an Iron Fist who's being hunted. Right at the start of the story, that's where we'll be. Right out of the gate, y'know? Then, bam, HYDRA's on Danny's tail. This introduction can reshape all of Danny's future adventures and experiences.
Plus, K'un-L'un is an entirely different place than its MU counterpart, as is Danny's role within it. There are some plans for the Heroes for Hire, too, which, with Sensei's application are probably quite obvious, but their genesis and development are going to be entirely different, as well. At least, I like to hope so.
Two Complete Sentences Explaining What You Can Bring To This RPG (As A Player):
As a player? I'm not too sure. I'm a little bit rusty, as far as the games go. I can't promise to be posting every day, or every other day, but I hope I can still write dialog and believable characters. I want to make the game better for everyone. Plus, I hope I've grown as a storyteller these past months. Only time, and the audience, will tell, though.
Please provide a small sample post in the format you wish to portray your character in (Minimum three paragraphs/one line of dialogue, maximum six paragraphs):
"Nnng."
Daniel Rand stirred from unconsciousness, barely aware of where he was, or what he was doing there. His wrists, restrained. Handcuffs locked his forearms against the arms of the chair he had been shoved into. He barely sat up straight, and he felt sweat sliding down his chest. A bright light
was lit above him, shining right into his eyes.
"He is awake." He heard.
He tried to place the accents. He knew they were Mediterranean, perhaps Greek or Italian. It was a tough thing to do, having just been knocked out clean, but he was doing his best.
"Ah, good." Another, distinct voice said. This one was gruff. Wartorn. "Our guest lives."
Albania. The emphasis on the "s" is far too soft to be Grecian.
He slowly tilted his head left, then right, growing more and more conscious as the seconds passed. The key, he knew, would to be to maintain a ruse of incoherence for as long as he could.
He felt a slap on his face, and his eyes snapped open.
"Wake up, my friend." The wartorn voice said, as the hand slapped into his cheek again and a third time. "We have much to discuss."
Now, Danny remembered. The council of K'un-L'un had sent him here to steal files from the Albanian government's intelligence bureau. The satellite had been able to pick up a few heat signatures of residents exiting the city from, seemingly, out of thin air. Needless to say, they were a little bit more than curious to find out what it was that they had discovered.
Danny's job was to ensure that they didn't.
Looking around, he realized he was in some sort of office within the SHISH* headquarters, the very building he'd tried to infiltrate. He shook his head hard, getting rid of the few remaining cobwebs. He surveyed the situation in front of him. Four guards, plus the bearded officer. All in full military uniform. On the desk behind them, he saw his satchel, inside of which was a motherboard from one of the imaging computers, his plain white t-shirt, and his boots.
*-SHISH, State Intelligence Service. Albanian: Sherbimi Informativ Shteteror - Editin' Ed.
"Y'know," Danny began,
"It's the damnedest thing. I was on a tour, took a wrong turn looking for the bathroom, and -heh heh heh- look where I end up."
