Plot Character - DotM Megatron
It is extremely doubtful I would ever submit this, but I'm interested in feedback anyway.
Character Name: Megatron
Character Faction: Decepticon
Which show/comic is this character from? Is he a native of this universe, and if so, where is he from?
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Not a native.
If he's not a native, where was he pulled from in his native timeline? What events have happened? What events have yet to happen?
Right after Carly gave him the pep-talk, and he'd gone off to kick Sentinel Prime's ass.
How do you view this character's personality? His ethics and morals?
Megatron is not the fiery general he once was. Thousands of years of war, fewer thousands of years on ice, followed by a scant handful of years full of devastating losses have battered the Decepticon leader. The source of his people's life was destroyed in his very spark-chamber, the last of the true Primes and the energon harvestor that might have saved their species was destroyed before his optics, and now Sentinel Prime has taken over the Decepticons, that damn kid is running around so the space-bridge likely is going to fail spectacularly, more of their people are going to die, Cybertron is going to die, and Optimus is still alive.
He is tired. He wants the war to be over, one way or another. He wants his people to have a future, one way or another. He'd prefer it to be on Cybertron, but at this rate, he'll take Earth if that's all he can get.
He is tired of leading the Decepticons. Herding murderous cats wasn't fun to begin with, but it's rapidly gone downhill since he was de-iced. When he returned to life after his failure with the Allspark, he was pleased to have the Fallen guide him. The Fallen was a true Prime, despite what someone like Jetfire might say. He would take care of the Decepticons, of all the Transformers. As soon as they harvested the energon and dealt with the Autobots, Megatron could lay down his sword and rest.
When that didn't work out but he knew Optimus had a method for reviving the near-dead, Megatron worked to get Sentinel Prime back in the game. Once again, there was someone else to take up the burden of leadership, someone else who could save their people.
Someone who was taking over everything Megatron had worked for. Even tired and weary like this, Megatron has enough pride to smash a sun. Sentinel Prime had already shown once he had no respect for Megatron. The Decepticon leader wouldn't allow Sentinel another chance.
Megatron is in this odd state of being a different kind of insane than he previously was. With the Fallen dead, he no longer has the forsworn Prime's influence shaping his mind and will. Without that, he is becoming more like he once was - the defender of Cybertron. On the other hand, he still has those thousands of years of the Fallen's influence, the war, and those years locked inside the ice. He will never become the person who was Optimus Prime's brother. On the grasping hand, he's got part of his head blown off and doesn't seem too interested in fixing it. There's parts of his metacortex just *missing*. He's not entirely thinking straight, which is one of the reasons he's willing to let someone else take charge of the situation.
He wants Cybertron and the Transformers to survive and begin to thrive again. He is all right with it not being under him as long as he is still respected. He really does not want to lead the Decepticons any more than he has to. These past few years on Earth have ground him down, and he's well aware of it.
At this point, he will do whatever it takes to see the Transformers survive as a race. The only line he is unwilling to cross is the one where he is cast aside and spit upon.
What scares this character? How does this character react to fear? (Note: It is possible that this character is fearless. This must be noted. And you still can't use 'failure' as a primary fear.)
Optimus Prime's love for the humans. Again and again, he sees the mech who was once his brother fight and destroy every effort Megatron makes to restore their race in order to defend the humans. He also sees Optimus do _nothing_ to save their people. He simply gathers them on Earth and lets the humans take control over them. That kind of life is utterly abhorrent to Megatron, and he cannot fathom why Optimus values the humans over his own people.
The humans themselves. They kept him on ice for decades. They did credible damage to a number of Decepticons. They killed Blackout. They are getting *better* at killing Decepticons. As of when he was ganked, he considers them to be a serious threat to the Decepticons and perhaps to the Transformers as a whole. He will spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out how to wipe them out without getting the Autobots, or worse yet, Sam, involved. (He is convinced Sam is a harbinger of misfortune and ruin. He feels he has more than adequate evidence for this.)
The Fallen, or anyone, getting into his head again. Even though he's mostly certain he would have done what he did anyway, he still realizes how the Fallen nudged him. He despises the idea of not having the ability to choose. He is willing to serve and submit himself, but only _if he so chooses_. This is the main reason he won't allow his head to be repaired. He thinks a fully functional metacortex will open him up to outside influences again. (He's almost certainly wrong about this.) If someone does attempt to use mind-control powers on him and Megatron realizes it, he is going to do his level-best to tear them apart as soon as he's able.
What does this character look like in each mode? Picture links are encouraged, but we do need at least a text line noting where his symbols are.
Robot Mode
Megatron is still the massive Transformer his people remember, but he's battered. His fusion cannon is gone, and to the familiar eye, his right arm has been gutted and replaced. He has chains wrapped around his chest. The olive drab pieces of his vehicle-mode seem to be covered in a patina of rust. Wheels on his lower legs and upper arms attest to the new vehicle mode - a truck.
He wears a tarp as a keffiyeh, covering his head and shoulders. Underneath, the right side of his head has been blown off. It's not a fresh wound. Repair drones can be seen skittering around inside, but sometimes Megatron will reach in and pull one out to crush. Hellish red optics glare out at the world, but they are dimmer than they used to be.
Vehicle Mode
A battered Mack tanker-truck, olive drab and obviously built for a war zone. Possibly built _in_ a war zone. It's not well-maintained, showing signs of rust and corrossion. Even the cow-catcher in front is showing signs of wear. A tarp covers the tanker, various hazard signs warning that its contents are flammable. Chains and nets of ropes wrap around the cab and the front part of the tanker seemingly at random.
[Waiting on having a toy or asking Ra to detail the location of his symbols.]
Detail the plot you wish to run with this character, at least in general outline form, from beginning to end. Detailed specifics are not needed and are mildly discouraged. Extra points for plots that involve many different characters in many different ways. Multiple plot suggestions are encouraged.
Megatron shows up, tolerates the new arrival stuff, and makes no move to take over. Starscream waits for the other shoe to drop. At some point, he goes "you two do your thing" to Scourge and Starscream and makes it clear that he really isn't going to take over. Starscream waits for the other shoe to drop even harder. Megatron lurks in the background. He wants to find out about Cybertron, and he wants to brutally kill Sentinel Prime if/when he shows up.
Megatron wants to warn Starscream about various things upcoming in his future. This is not really a plot, just a scene.
Sam has expressed an interest in the above things.
If the re-aging plot takes out the Decepticon command staff, Megatron can step up and herd the cats until one of the science-types fixes the problem.
I'd like to do at least one credible attempt to destroy the Earth.
I would prefer Megatron go out with a bang. Not necessarily doing something noble, though I am partial to hopeless last stands. Definitely something where the fact that Megatron, even a ground down and wearied Megatron, is incredibly dangerous.
There doesn't seem to be any sort of RP happening on the boards! Write a post that shows how you would start up a scene this plot character. Be creative with the environment and specific characters present, but do not pose for anyone else. This is about how YOU and THE PLOT CHARACTER would initiate roleplay. We are specifically looking for a sample here that could be used as a thread-starter, rather than something in the middle of another thread. (Note: This is possibly the most important part of the application, as a plot character exists to create roleplay opportunities for other players.)
In one of the smaller lounges, Megatron watches out the transparisteel viewing port. There is nothing interesting in this lounge - no gaming systems, few seats, only one computer console currently in use by the angry blue car. No one, he thinks, will come across him accidentally back here. Those who might seek him purposefully, however, should know where to look.
If what Barricade has found is what he suspects, Starscream will need to know soon. Megatron wants to be sure, though, and more, he wants to be sure of what the humans know. If they've told the Autobots. The raid is already half-shaped in his mind, he just needs-
His optics flicker dim. He needs Barricade to report, then he needs to let Starscream and Scourge deal with it. The war is theirs to fight now.
There is another presence nearby besides Counterpunch. Megatron turns away from the starscape. He rumbles, "Are you playing games, little helicopter?"
OOC: Megatron is entirely unaware that Spinister is undetectable. But whoever he is detecting might not be Barricade! Feel free to post in as you like. (Spinister might be around anyway.)
How is this character armed? Armored? Does he have any special abilities? Does he have any attached characters? (Note: If this character is a demigod or similar, you can note his commonly manifested powers. They must be specifically noted as being only the commonly manifested ones.)
Like all Transformers from his reality, Megatron can do an autonomous mode-scan and instantly assume a new alt-mode. This is a hefty energy drain, but his self-regenerating dark matter power core makes him more willing to do it than most Decepticon troops.
Again, like all Transformers of his reality, he possesses molecular self-regenerating armor. His power core means he doesn't have to worry about it not having the power for regeneration. Most human weapons will have no real effect on him. Higher-temperature, higher-yield, and Cybertronian weapons do more normal damage, but he still has a tremendously tough hide.
Megatron no longer possesses an in-built fusion cannon. Instead, he has a fusion shotgun. It has much the same effect. In vehicle mode, it can unfold from his tanker and mount atop his cab.
Since his spark was merged with the Allspark, Megatron has found himself unable to actually die. The act of merging his spark with the Allspark should have killed him, but didn't. It took drastic repairs to get him active again, but that still shouldn't have worked at all. Getting shot in the head by his own cannon should have killed him, but didn't. It is entirely possible that only another Transformer infused with massive amounts of Allspark energy (like movie Optimus) could truly kill him.
Stats
Since we aren't hard-coding combat, but we do want to have an idea of how this character compares to another character in combat-terms, we're using a five-tier quantitative system. Pick one of the selected options for each stat.
We are aware that some plot characters will have stats off-the-scale or that are otherwise odd. Do the best you can, and remember that this system does not change based on a character's species. So a human with a Strong strength stat is comparable to Hook.
Strength: Leader (4)
Endurance: Self-Contained Reactor (5) [Apparently he has a "self-regenerating dark matter power core", according to the RotF movie guidebook.]
Toughness: Unbreakable (5) [He's survived every single thing the movies have thrown at him, except right at the end there. I suspect he could survive that if he really wanted to.]
Agility: Acrobatic (4)
Intelligence: Exceptionally Bright (4)
Firepower: City-Buster (5)
Ranged: Sharpshooter (4)
Melee: Seasoned (3)
Armor: Tanklike (4)
Please read the Speed page on the Wiki for more information on the hard scale we use for speed in this game.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Fast
Character Name: Megatron
Character Faction: Decepticon
Which show/comic is this character from? Is he a native of this universe, and if so, where is he from?
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Not a native.
If he's not a native, where was he pulled from in his native timeline? What events have happened? What events have yet to happen?
Right after Carly gave him the pep-talk, and he'd gone off to kick Sentinel Prime's ass.
How do you view this character's personality? His ethics and morals?
Megatron is not the fiery general he once was. Thousands of years of war, fewer thousands of years on ice, followed by a scant handful of years full of devastating losses have battered the Decepticon leader. The source of his people's life was destroyed in his very spark-chamber, the last of the true Primes and the energon harvestor that might have saved their species was destroyed before his optics, and now Sentinel Prime has taken over the Decepticons, that damn kid is running around so the space-bridge likely is going to fail spectacularly, more of their people are going to die, Cybertron is going to die, and Optimus is still alive.
He is tired. He wants the war to be over, one way or another. He wants his people to have a future, one way or another. He'd prefer it to be on Cybertron, but at this rate, he'll take Earth if that's all he can get.
He is tired of leading the Decepticons. Herding murderous cats wasn't fun to begin with, but it's rapidly gone downhill since he was de-iced. When he returned to life after his failure with the Allspark, he was pleased to have the Fallen guide him. The Fallen was a true Prime, despite what someone like Jetfire might say. He would take care of the Decepticons, of all the Transformers. As soon as they harvested the energon and dealt with the Autobots, Megatron could lay down his sword and rest.
When that didn't work out but he knew Optimus had a method for reviving the near-dead, Megatron worked to get Sentinel Prime back in the game. Once again, there was someone else to take up the burden of leadership, someone else who could save their people.
Someone who was taking over everything Megatron had worked for. Even tired and weary like this, Megatron has enough pride to smash a sun. Sentinel Prime had already shown once he had no respect for Megatron. The Decepticon leader wouldn't allow Sentinel another chance.
Megatron is in this odd state of being a different kind of insane than he previously was. With the Fallen dead, he no longer has the forsworn Prime's influence shaping his mind and will. Without that, he is becoming more like he once was - the defender of Cybertron. On the other hand, he still has those thousands of years of the Fallen's influence, the war, and those years locked inside the ice. He will never become the person who was Optimus Prime's brother. On the grasping hand, he's got part of his head blown off and doesn't seem too interested in fixing it. There's parts of his metacortex just *missing*. He's not entirely thinking straight, which is one of the reasons he's willing to let someone else take charge of the situation.
He wants Cybertron and the Transformers to survive and begin to thrive again. He is all right with it not being under him as long as he is still respected. He really does not want to lead the Decepticons any more than he has to. These past few years on Earth have ground him down, and he's well aware of it.
At this point, he will do whatever it takes to see the Transformers survive as a race. The only line he is unwilling to cross is the one where he is cast aside and spit upon.
What scares this character? How does this character react to fear? (Note: It is possible that this character is fearless. This must be noted. And you still can't use 'failure' as a primary fear.)
Optimus Prime's love for the humans. Again and again, he sees the mech who was once his brother fight and destroy every effort Megatron makes to restore their race in order to defend the humans. He also sees Optimus do _nothing_ to save their people. He simply gathers them on Earth and lets the humans take control over them. That kind of life is utterly abhorrent to Megatron, and he cannot fathom why Optimus values the humans over his own people.
The humans themselves. They kept him on ice for decades. They did credible damage to a number of Decepticons. They killed Blackout. They are getting *better* at killing Decepticons. As of when he was ganked, he considers them to be a serious threat to the Decepticons and perhaps to the Transformers as a whole. He will spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out how to wipe them out without getting the Autobots, or worse yet, Sam, involved. (He is convinced Sam is a harbinger of misfortune and ruin. He feels he has more than adequate evidence for this.)
The Fallen, or anyone, getting into his head again. Even though he's mostly certain he would have done what he did anyway, he still realizes how the Fallen nudged him. He despises the idea of not having the ability to choose. He is willing to serve and submit himself, but only _if he so chooses_. This is the main reason he won't allow his head to be repaired. He thinks a fully functional metacortex will open him up to outside influences again. (He's almost certainly wrong about this.) If someone does attempt to use mind-control powers on him and Megatron realizes it, he is going to do his level-best to tear them apart as soon as he's able.
What does this character look like in each mode? Picture links are encouraged, but we do need at least a text line noting where his symbols are.
Robot Mode
Megatron is still the massive Transformer his people remember, but he's battered. His fusion cannon is gone, and to the familiar eye, his right arm has been gutted and replaced. He has chains wrapped around his chest. The olive drab pieces of his vehicle-mode seem to be covered in a patina of rust. Wheels on his lower legs and upper arms attest to the new vehicle mode - a truck.
He wears a tarp as a keffiyeh, covering his head and shoulders. Underneath, the right side of his head has been blown off. It's not a fresh wound. Repair drones can be seen skittering around inside, but sometimes Megatron will reach in and pull one out to crush. Hellish red optics glare out at the world, but they are dimmer than they used to be.
Vehicle Mode
A battered Mack tanker-truck, olive drab and obviously built for a war zone. Possibly built _in_ a war zone. It's not well-maintained, showing signs of rust and corrossion. Even the cow-catcher in front is showing signs of wear. A tarp covers the tanker, various hazard signs warning that its contents are flammable. Chains and nets of ropes wrap around the cab and the front part of the tanker seemingly at random.
[Waiting on having a toy or asking Ra to detail the location of his symbols.]
Detail the plot you wish to run with this character, at least in general outline form, from beginning to end. Detailed specifics are not needed and are mildly discouraged. Extra points for plots that involve many different characters in many different ways. Multiple plot suggestions are encouraged.
Megatron shows up, tolerates the new arrival stuff, and makes no move to take over. Starscream waits for the other shoe to drop. At some point, he goes "you two do your thing" to Scourge and Starscream and makes it clear that he really isn't going to take over. Starscream waits for the other shoe to drop even harder. Megatron lurks in the background. He wants to find out about Cybertron, and he wants to brutally kill Sentinel Prime if/when he shows up.
Megatron wants to warn Starscream about various things upcoming in his future. This is not really a plot, just a scene.
Sam has expressed an interest in the above things.
If the re-aging plot takes out the Decepticon command staff, Megatron can step up and herd the cats until one of the science-types fixes the problem.
I'd like to do at least one credible attempt to destroy the Earth.
I would prefer Megatron go out with a bang. Not necessarily doing something noble, though I am partial to hopeless last stands. Definitely something where the fact that Megatron, even a ground down and wearied Megatron, is incredibly dangerous.
There doesn't seem to be any sort of RP happening on the boards! Write a post that shows how you would start up a scene this plot character. Be creative with the environment and specific characters present, but do not pose for anyone else. This is about how YOU and THE PLOT CHARACTER would initiate roleplay. We are specifically looking for a sample here that could be used as a thread-starter, rather than something in the middle of another thread. (Note: This is possibly the most important part of the application, as a plot character exists to create roleplay opportunities for other players.)
In one of the smaller lounges, Megatron watches out the transparisteel viewing port. There is nothing interesting in this lounge - no gaming systems, few seats, only one computer console currently in use by the angry blue car. No one, he thinks, will come across him accidentally back here. Those who might seek him purposefully, however, should know where to look.
If what Barricade has found is what he suspects, Starscream will need to know soon. Megatron wants to be sure, though, and more, he wants to be sure of what the humans know. If they've told the Autobots. The raid is already half-shaped in his mind, he just needs-
His optics flicker dim. He needs Barricade to report, then he needs to let Starscream and Scourge deal with it. The war is theirs to fight now.
There is another presence nearby besides Counterpunch. Megatron turns away from the starscape. He rumbles, "Are you playing games, little helicopter?"
OOC: Megatron is entirely unaware that Spinister is undetectable. But whoever he is detecting might not be Barricade! Feel free to post in as you like. (Spinister might be around anyway.)
How is this character armed? Armored? Does he have any special abilities? Does he have any attached characters? (Note: If this character is a demigod or similar, you can note his commonly manifested powers. They must be specifically noted as being only the commonly manifested ones.)
Like all Transformers from his reality, Megatron can do an autonomous mode-scan and instantly assume a new alt-mode. This is a hefty energy drain, but his self-regenerating dark matter power core makes him more willing to do it than most Decepticon troops.
Again, like all Transformers of his reality, he possesses molecular self-regenerating armor. His power core means he doesn't have to worry about it not having the power for regeneration. Most human weapons will have no real effect on him. Higher-temperature, higher-yield, and Cybertronian weapons do more normal damage, but he still has a tremendously tough hide.
Megatron no longer possesses an in-built fusion cannon. Instead, he has a fusion shotgun. It has much the same effect. In vehicle mode, it can unfold from his tanker and mount atop his cab.
Since his spark was merged with the Allspark, Megatron has found himself unable to actually die. The act of merging his spark with the Allspark should have killed him, but didn't. It took drastic repairs to get him active again, but that still shouldn't have worked at all. Getting shot in the head by his own cannon should have killed him, but didn't. It is entirely possible that only another Transformer infused with massive amounts of Allspark energy (like movie Optimus) could truly kill him.
Stats
Since we aren't hard-coding combat, but we do want to have an idea of how this character compares to another character in combat-terms, we're using a five-tier quantitative system. Pick one of the selected options for each stat.
We are aware that some plot characters will have stats off-the-scale or that are otherwise odd. Do the best you can, and remember that this system does not change based on a character's species. So a human with a Strong strength stat is comparable to Hook.
Strength: Leader (4)
Endurance: Self-Contained Reactor (5) [Apparently he has a "self-regenerating dark matter power core", according to the RotF movie guidebook.]
Toughness: Unbreakable (5) [He's survived every single thing the movies have thrown at him, except right at the end there. I suspect he could survive that if he really wanted to.]
Agility: Acrobatic (4)
Intelligence: Exceptionally Bright (4)
Firepower: City-Buster (5)
Ranged: Sharpshooter (4)
Melee: Seasoned (3)
Armor: Tanklike (4)
Please read the Speed page on the Wiki for more information on the hard scale we use for speed in this game.
Speed in Robot-Mode: Slow
Speed in Alternate-Mode: Fast