Background: Very little is known about Warlord Zoku apart from his incredible power. Even his age is a mystery as no one knows when he erupted or who he was before his eruption, least of all Warlord Zoku. Though Lord Zoku is aligned with the Heaven Thunders Triad even they have reservations about using him in battle. They much prefer to use him as a threat than as an actual tool of destruction. Most times when he is called upon to resolve a situation it is because there is no other way to acheive victory or there is no reason to spare any of the surrounding countryside when Warlord Zoku goes on a rampage. The Triad bosses are even unsure how to pay him for his services. He drinks tea but other than that he seems to need nothing to eat or drink. He never suffers from lack of companionship. Whatever dementia he's painted himself in has little to do with the outside world. The Triads provide him with everything a man or nova could want but he ignores most of it and uses the rest as his fancy strikes him. He very rarely takes orders though when he is asked to do something he acts as if he were the one who gave the order. Until he forgets about it and then someone has to remind him. Several people have tried to take advantage of this by pretending to represent the Triads or by convincing him that he works for them, but for some reason he can distinguish these frauds and kills them without a second thought.
Only one other nova knows that Warlord Zoku needs to eat Jade and that nova keeps him supplied with the substance while keeping it a secret from the Heaven Thunders Triad. The nova's name is Hairy Goblin and he secretly works for the Dragon Emperor while pretending to be an agent of the Heaven Thunders Triad. The Dragon Emperor is a nova and has forged a coalition of powerful Chinese novas that work in the shadows of the vast Chinese bureaucracy. Their agenda is known only to the Dragon Emperor who remains hidden even from the majority of his followers.
There is something of an artist in Warlord Zoku though it is hard to see. Everytime he changes form his form is symmetrical and though alien it is mostly aesthetically pleasing with dazzling colors and a metallic sheen. He never wears the same form twice but his bulk is considerable in its relaxed state and often he will have several appendages that seem to serve no real purpose.
Roleplaying Notes: Though Warlord Zoku is among the most powerful of novas on the planet and could easily go up against the likes of Caestus Pax and Scripture he is less than totally focused and his mind wanders even in the heat of battle. Often he forgets who he is supposed to be fighting and what he is fighting for. When this happens he becomes a mass of insect-like things that can cover a 2 kilometer radius and attack anything in their path like a plaugue of locust.
He very rarely speaks and when he does it is usually to make some comment that has nothing to do with the situation at hand. He makes obscure references to events that happened anywhere from 20 to 1000 years ago without explanaition or reason. For example if some operatives of the Heaven Thunder Triads has a nova prisoner, and are trying to torture him for information and have Warlord Zoku present for the intimidation he provides, he might at any time say something like; "Qin Shihuangdi ordered the burning of all writings that were not on useful topics like agriculture, medicine, and divination." or "The Huang He breached its dikes and shifted course from north to south, flooding huge regions and driving millions of peasants from their homes." or "Zheng He intervened in a civil war in Java and established a new king there, then he captured the hostile king of Sinhala and took him back as a prisoner." If asked a direct question he gives a direct answer but if he doesn't understand the question or know the answer he is likely to run off on a tangent and babble for hours.
Quantum Powers:
Armor: 5 (Impervious)
Body modification: Adhesive Grip, Extra Limbs (variable), 6 Extra Bruised health Levels, 18 Extra Maimed Health Levels, Spines
Clone: 5 (Weakness: Linked to Shapeshift, Strength: Cloning Clones Extra)
Homunculus: 5
Invulnerability: 5 (Broad Category: Mental and Social attacks/powers)
Shapeshift: 5 (Weakness: Cannot take the form of an existing creature or object. Strength: Unlimited Gain I Extra)
Aberrations:
Aberrant eyes (Reflective), Feeding Requirement (Jade), Alien Appearance (Stylized body and Coloration), Amnesia, Vestigial Limbs (Too varied to list)
Health levels:
Bruised x10, Hurt, Injured, Wounded, Maimed x19, Crippled, Incapacitated, Dead x16
New Enhancements:
Bide: With this Enhancement the nova can choose to act last in a turn of combat thereby assuring that his action goes unopposed. In effect the nova is acting at the last moment while others are distracted by deciding what to do next or just registering what has happened the previous turn. If two novas have this Enahncement then the one with the highest initiative goes last. If their initiative is the same then roll a single die to determine who goes last. To use this Enhancement the nova spends one point from his Quantum Pool and then reserves his action for the last. All other participants and character present must use all their actions or forfiet them before the nova who uses Bide can act. If the nova who uses Bide has extra attacks from Quickness or Accelerate Time he can use them to dodge attacks directed at him but not to initiate attacks or even counterattacks such as Power Blocks or Riposte type manuevers. At the end of the turn the nova can then use his normal action for whatever purpose he would normally be allowed to use it and can even split the action. He cannot however use actions gained from Quickness and Accelerate Time or other action giving powers.
Toughness: With this Enhancement the Nova becomes literally too tough to die. For each level of Mega Stamina the Nova can survive being Dead for one hour. The Nova can be brought back to life through conventional means if the cause of death was cardiovascular or if it was arrived at from overflow Bashing damage (One or more levels of Bashing damage once the Health track has filled up with Lethal damage). Novas who die from Lethal damage can survive and even revive themselves with the Regeneration Enhancement. Novas who are killed by Aggravated damage can only be brought up to a survivable state by the Healing power at the cost of one Willpower and twice the normal Quantum expenditure by the healing Nova. In any case the maximum amount of damage a Nova with Toughness can survive beyond 'Dead' is one level per total (Mega Stamina x 2) + Stamina. For example a Nova with Stamina of 3 and Mega Stamina of 2 could take up to 7 levels of damage beyond dead and still be recoverable for the next two hours.
New Extras:
Cloning Clones: The Clones that the nova creates have the Clone power and are able to use it themselves. The nova can create waves of duplicates that match him in power but which are progressively less able to sustain Quantum use. Each wave of clones has a Quantum Pool equal to half that of its creator. These clones are more independant than regular clones and if maintained long enough can begin to form thier own goals and objectives. Primary among those of course would be to remain in existence for longer intervals.
Unlimited Gain Extra: This Extra can be applied to any Quantum Power that gives a bonus to an attribute or Mega Attribute, such as Absorption, Boost and Density Increase. This Extra can also be taken more than once but each time it is taken it raises the Quantum Minimum of the power affected by one. The first time this Extra is taken it allows the nova to use an attrbute boosting power to raise that attribute by 5 dots over his normal maximum up to an absolute maximum of ten. The second time this Extra is taken the nova can use the Attribute boosting power to raise the attribute by 5 dots over his previous maximum, up to an absolute maximum of 15. The third time it is taken the nova can boost an attribute or Mega Attribute by 5 dots more, up to an absolute maximum of 20. Each time it is taken it raises the maximum effect of the attribute boost by 5 dots or to the next absolute maximum divisible by five, but it also raises the Quantum Minimum of the Attribute boosting power by one.
