
Portrayed By: Rebecca Ferguson
Everyone needs their little secrets; not everyone deserves to keep them.
Codename:
Veritas
Occupation:
Institute Advocate (Fixer)
Age:
31
Height:
5'7"
Eyes:
Blue
Hair:
Auburn
Creation:
Chimera
Legacy:
Clone
Biography
Subject #8-A came to the attention of the world some 18 years ago when the Institute broke a bombshell story of certain corps engaged in off-the-books sales of discard clones. Plastering the scandalous story everywhere they could– with a heavy focus on the rescue, recovery and rehabilitation of the subjects parceled out to private buyers– allowed the Institute to begin to push for much of the legislation which protects clones to this day.
She and those like her were some of the first thawed, and many of their records were destroyed in the attempted cover-up. It was recognized quickly that Subject #8-A was a potent telepath. The Institute was able to provide the structure and training she needed. They fed, clothed, and educated her. When given the opportunity to choose her own name, she took as surname the last name of the teacher who’d helped to bring stability to her mind.
For her first name, she chose Verity.
Verity has worn a number of hats since completing her training and officially joining the ranks of the Institute’s employees. She’s publicly acted as counselor, teacher, lobbyist and advocate, using her abilities when and where they can do the most good for the Institute’s mission. Given some of the circles she must navigate, she’s developed a reputation as an aloof and formidable woman, as so often happens with visible and intimidating women of authority– she is the ice queen, the iron lady, and less kind descriptions too.
Verity doesn’t mind these labels. Sometimes reputation alone is enough to get the ball rolling, and the less she has to sift through other people’s minds, the better.
Aspects
High Concept:
Front-Line Telepathic Mutant Activist
Verity has taken her forced visibility and made it a tool, to be used for the good of the Institute and all mutantkind. Whether the Institute needs a spokesperson, an educator, an investigator or... other things, she steps in to do what's necessary for those like her.
Trouble:
Paranoia Fuel
No one wants to be in a room with a known telepath, and Verity has been extremely visible as just that. Is she...? Isn't she...? It's so hard to tell!
And I Lay Me Down With A Will
Verity's own experiences, and what she's witnessed through her work with the Institute, have left her forward thinking. She plans and strives for a future that may never come and, when weighing the costs and consequences of her actions, she places the well-being of mutants as a whole over the needs and well-being of an individual-- including herself. If this sets her into morally grey territory, so be it. Some costs are worth paying.
Hell Is Other People
The roar of a crowd is deafening. The roar of a crowd, throats and minds all together, can be maddening. Too many minds, and Verity struggles with the sheer volume of noise. Individuals can be equally challenging, as touch-provoked psychic feedback threatens the sanctity of her (and their) sense of self. She often finds herself wrestling with the hedgehog's dilemma, wanting very much to belong but needing to keep others at arm's length.
Skills
Stunts
Description: Verity has been called both a woman of indomitable spirit and just really, really, really stubborn.
Mechanical Effect: +2 to defend against Provoke attacks specifically related to intimidation and fear
Stunt Cost: 1
Power Suite One: Telepathy
Verity possesses the ability to delve into the minds of others, both shallowly and deeply.
Power Breakdown
- Telepathy - Choose one: Read emotions with Empathy, surface thoughts with Notice or deep thoughts and memories with Investigate in your zone or adjacent zone. Targets aware of telepathic capabilities may oppose with Will.
- Telepathic Flexibility - Choose another skill you can use to read minds.
- Mental Blasts - You can make mental attacks with Will. Range is 3 zones. Someone taken out by a mental attack may be mind controlled or rendered comatose.
- Long-Distance Telepathy - You can read minds so long as you can see your target.
- Master Telepathy - +2 to your telepathic skills when mind reading.
Special Effects
- Area Attack - Attack everyone in a zone
- Inflict Condition - You add an aspect to the target which you can invoke once for free
Drawbacks
- Psychic Feedback -Delving too deep into someone’s brain is risky; their thoughts may start to resonate with yours and generate Psychic Feedback. -
Collateral Damage
- Psychic Maelstrom - Anyone who ends their turn in your zone takes 2 mental stress, and anyone who ends in a zone adjacent to yours takes 1 mental stress. This effect persists until you choose to end it or the end of the scene.