Overview[]
Black Adam
By Thoth, I so love a challenge! --But still you cannot outrace the swiftness of Heru... or match the strength of Amon! To Hades with you!
The original champion of Shazam, Teth-Adam, now known to the world as Black Adam, has traveled from the farthest reaches of the universe and space-time to return to the Earth. Now that he is here, he doesn't intend to leave. The benevolent, but ruthless dictator of Kahandaq seeks to secure a place in this modern world of superpowers and aliens. Even if it means cutting a brutal and bloody swath through everyone else to do it.
Sheet[]
Character Sheet
Abilities: Ability
Teth-Adam: 5
Abilities: Powers
Courage of Mehon: 8, Power of Aton, Speed of Heru: 7, Stamina of Shu, Strength of Amon: 10, Wisdom of Zehuti: 8
Advantages:
Khandaq Rock of Eternity
Flaws:
Electricity, Hated, Magic, Old Testament, Theo Adam, Transformation Word
Languages: An ability allows Black Adam to comprehend all languages.
Abilities
Ability: Teth-Adam (5)
When mortal, the soul of the Egyptian prince Teth-Adam inhabits the body of his descendent Theo Adam. So while Teth retains most of the mental faculties which ultimately proved him to be a worthy successor to "Shazam" and confidant of Nabu (along with a portion of those skills which are routinely honed as Black Adam) they are stuffed into the body of Theo Adam who is not physically heroic.
Strength/Dexterity/Toughness: 2 Fighting: 4 Intellect: 3 Willpower: 6 Leadership/Egyptology/Occultism*: 5 Strategist: 4 Reads/Speaks: English, Arabic, Ancient Egyptian
- Occultism refers to esoteric lore and not innate spell casting. Teth-Adam cannot cast spells without some sort of magic instrument. These same instruments would grant its power to any who know how to activate its magical functions.
Powers: Courage of Mehon (8)
The Egyptian serpent god, Mehon provides Black Adam with a godly degree of inner strength, protecting him from outside manipulation and mental domination especially from telepathic and mystical sources.
It also renders him as immune to fear and fear effects. He cannot be cowed or intimidated. He backs down only when he rationalizes that its the wise course of action rather than a true fear of reprisal.
In statistical terms it blesses Adam with a Willpower of 8.
The boost of courage and ancient capability increases his fighting score by +2 for a total of 6.
Powers: Power of Aton
The Power of Aton is what seals the enchantment crafted by Shazam to the soul of Teth-Adam. This is why Shazam could not and cannot merely reverse the enchantment when he feels that Adam betrays him for the enchantment itself is the 'word of power' which summons the power of the gods and not their power itself. So long as the gods themselves favor Adam, and thus far they always have, it is immeasurably more difficult to override the Power of Aton than it is to merely tweak the enchantment itself (see Magic flaw).
When Adam speaks the words "Shazam" he becomes a lightning rod for a burst of magical lightning from an alternate plane. This burst travels with the speed of typical lightning meaning that it will unerringly hit its target unless he moves (or someone else moves him). In game terms anyone who is 'aware' of the effect of the magic word and has Reflexes 4 (if close) or Speed 5 (if a reasonable distance away) would generally have the speed-feat necessary to attempt to move Adam or to easily dodge the blast (if he was pulling the old blast you with my magic lightning feat.)
As Aton is represented by the golden sunburst, the burst of lightning always originates from the sky when on a planet but, if somehow spoken while in space, would come from whatever direction the closest sun was in relation to Adam at that time.
The Lightning is rated at: Heat 7, Electricity 7, and Arsenal 6 for damaging things. In addition to the bolt of transformative lightning, Adam has learned to channel the magic that augments him into offensive electrical blasts of lightning equal to the power of true lightning, usually in blasts from his hands. And uses the same stats for damages.
Whenever the Power of Aton enchants Adam his immortal avatar form is re-made anew. However, the same is not so for Teth-Adam. When Adam "depowers" Teth-Adam retains any injuries he received prior to the change. As such, Adam never willingly reverts. Why give up godhood?
The Power of Aton grants him substantial resistance to Magics with a rating 6 or less (see Magic flaw for more details).
In addition to these facets of the Power of Aton, Adam has learned to 'gift' others with a portion of his immense powers. Just has he calls 'SHAZAM', an Acronym for the names of the six Egyptian dieties he channels, he can become a proxy for someone else. Beings like Osiris receive a portion of his power. In doing so. Adam is reduced, so he does not do this lightly. It is Adam's choice when, who and how much of his power he allocates.. whether a little or a lot, and for how long, and what facet. Such as gifting his strength to augment anothers, or his speed. He cannot be made to gift it all away, as his power is cemented to his soul and is contingent with his favor with the egyptian pantheon. He can choose to however, of his own free will. And thus create a new avatar of the egyptian pantheon.
Powers: Speed of Heru (7)
While in the atmosphere, Black Adam has reached speeds rivialing some of the faster superhumans on the planet thanks to the gifts of Heru, the Egyptian god of the sky. While outside the atmosphere, however, he has been able to travel several times faster.
Powers: Stamina of Shu
Gifted with the stamina and durability of the Egyptian god Shu, Teth-Adam, while in his Black Adam form, is virtually tireless. He need not sleep, breath, eat, or drink enabling him to survive the vacuum of space without any adverse effects for thousands of years. As well, his body has become nearly indestructable, barely being harmed by anything but the strongest of forces and blasts.
Endurance: 10 Toughness: 8
Powers: Strength of Amon (10)
With the strength of Amon empowering him, Adam is easily capable of lifting and tossing weights well over 5,000,000 lbs.
Powers: Wisdom of Zehuti (8)
The Wisdom of Zehuti bestows a portion of the wisdom and forethought of its namesake upon Adam. However, it does not make Adam omnipotent. In game terms, without tapping directly into the knowledge of the god it boosts, Teth-Adam's mental stats by +2 effectively making him more "wise" than a human should naturally be making his stats:
Intellect: 5 Leadership/Egyptology/Occultism: 7 Strategist: 6
Note that Adam can essentially decipher or converse in any language he encounters. However non-Earthly languages would be RPed as needing some time to figure out.
It further has the ability to allow him to tap directly into the 'knowledge of the gods' giving him a moment of clarity or clairvoyance into a problem or topic. With a round of focus he can act as if he possesses an Intellect or Specific-Skill of 8 for the remainder of the scene.
Note: This is not a plot-killer. A moment of clarity to figure out a puzzle or way to overcome an immediate hurdle is different than immediately unlocking the genetic code of the alien virus and then creating a cure. When it's not covered by the skills above or an intelligence of five (5) it will be hashed out with other players/plot masters.
Advantages
Advantage: Khandaq
Capital: Shiruta
Official Language: Arabic
Government: Hereditary Autocracy, Single Party State
Chosen Prophet: Khem-Adam
Legislature: House of Representatives (Dissolved)
Area: 300,000 km2
Population (2014 Estimate): 28,300,000
GDP: 192.12 Billion
Religion: Sunni Muslim (98), Other (2)
Located on the northern tip of the Sinai Peninsula between Egypt and Israel the State of Khandaq had been an area of constant turmoil following World War II. A recent protracted civil war had all but destroyed their economy. Very few years ago, and much to the horror of the United Nations, Khem-Adam literally descended from the sky to personally overthrow both factions and install himself as the sole authority within its borders.
The primarily Muslim population view Khem-Adam as the "chosen prophet" whose autocratic style of governance and weekly public executions quickly quelled any rebellions.
Since that time most of the non-Muslim population have fled or emigrated elsewhere and Khandaq, despite its fanatical occupants, has taken an isolationist stance in the region owing to a policy of "utter decimation" to any force which threaten its borders or its people.
Khem-Adam's recent marriage to Isis has prompted the majority of its resources to be turned inward towards "revitalization" and after several years of stability Khandaq has begun to establish embassies in countries throughout the Middle East and major powers in the world and even been allowed to send a representative to the United Nations as a non-member observer despite its non-democratic system.
Advantage: Rock of Eternity
There exists, in a pocket dimension all it's own.. a fusion of physical land from both Heaven and Hell created by the first Champion to imprison the physical aspects of the seven deadly sins, as well as a dragoneqsue demon of immense power. Located outside of time and space.. but insintrically linked to both.. the place serves as a home and headquarters for the Wizard Shazam, it's guardian.
Adam.. as well as all of the other marvels, both black and white.. can travel to this place with a moments concentration. Adam however.. is not wanted there.. and to go there means likely being assaulted by the Wizard and in a moment.. all of the white marvels the wizard summons to defend the place. Adam knows this and even he won't test that combination of power..
In an extreme emergency.. he can travel there, and if needbe, take others with him.
Flaws
Flaw: Electricity
In the ancient world when science was little more than crude architecture and the wizards of old counseled kings of legend a bolt of lightning was a symbol of divine power. Indeed, perhaps it is why this rather theatrical effect was chosen to bring power to the Marvel family.
Yet as time has marched forward the energy held in a wildly unpredictable stroke of lightning - heaven manifest- has been channeled through wires which circle the globe many times ever. Whether due to a lack of foresight on the part of the Wizard Shazam or some psychological flaw in Adam himself - and best achieved with a combination of both - powerful strokes of electricity can sometimes revert Adam to his human form (but not back).
There is not hard and fast rule on how much or what it takes but typically the more stylish the attack, the closer it is to actual lightning, and the more mystical in nature the more likely it is to work. Catching Adam unaware seems to work best no matter what type as if unconsciously believing the gods themselves have just revoked his power.
Flaw: Hated
Outside of Kahndaq, the world is wary of the superpowered being known as Black Adam. His ruthless treatment towards anything or anyone that is not of Kahndaq, has earned him more than a few enemies on the world stage. Perhaps his only saving grace is his unfaltering honor.
Flaw: Magic
Black Adam is a saturated in powerful godly magics. While this affords him a host of abilities it also brings with it a number of flaws which can be exploited.
Neither Black Adam nor Teth-Adam can hide from beings who detect magic in any way. Black Adam radiates like a flood light and even Teth glows weakly from the base enchantment and the residue of arcane energy which regularly saturates his form.
Although he is very resistant to weaker Magics (rated 6 or less) simply because of the power of his magic and his natural invulnerability he can be effected by stronger magic. Thus teleporting him into space, the center of the Earth, or banishing him to another plane is as much a possibility as it is with anyone if the magician has a high level of power.
As a battery of magical energy those who can draw out magic can drain him of his power in order to weaken Adam and charge themselves temporarily (in regular play) or for longer more permanent periods of time (in plots). In these cases the energy the gods lend Adam is in a new host so the "Magic Word" will not simply re-enchant him -- the stolen power must somehow be freed.
As such, powerful practitioners of White Magic can seek to weaken Adam when he gets out of hand while practitioners of the Dark Arts might actively seek out conflict to attempt to gain his power.
Those with great power (as a plot effect) can attempt to alter the base-enchantment itself and literally change Adam's magic word. This changes the word to summon the lightning and can essentially trap him in one form until he can figure out the new word.
Adam is also vulnerable to powerful weapons which have been crafted for the specific purpose of slaying magic-creatures (treat Toughness and Willpower as -3). Similarly the root of his enchantment is entwined with the Rock of Eternity and, as such, he has little to no resistance against attacks crafted from pieces of this rock (treat Toughness as 3).
Adam is also beholden to the Egyptian gods that power him. In the event they withdrew their support of Adam (either singularly or altogether) he would lose the powers bestowed by whatever god left his pantheon.
Flaw: Old Testament
Black Adam believes that things function better when he gets the respect he is due. As a divine being on-par with the gods and the ruler of a sovereign nation he expects a certain amount of formality and courtesy when other people deal with him. Those who are ignorant of who he is will be educated on the matter and those who are knowingly disrespectful will earn some measure of punishment.
Understand that at his core Adam believes that mortals are means to an end. A labor force to construct a monument to honor him or to perish waging war on his enemies. Even at his best a man is less than he and will be treated as an undisciplined animal if that is how he acts.
Adam very much believes in an eye-for-an-eye and when judging the actions of others. He affords wrongdoers no more mercy than they have demonstrated to whomever they wronged and if the injury is to he or his then the crime is that much worse.
This old-world outlook does bring with it a certain civility. When Adam is the guest in the house of another he will not be the first to hurl even oblique insults. When Adam makes a bargain with another so long as that bargain continues in good faith he will not merely cancel the deal when it is no longer in his best interest.
Adam is very "old testament" in that he is a patient and just deity. As long as people are worshiping him as he has commanded he wants to bring them to paradise - to smite those that stand in their path - but, sometimes, mortals have a crisis of faith and it may take bringing a few plagues down on some of the infidels to get the others to fall back in line.
Flaw: Theo Adam
Theo Adam is a descendent of Teth-Adam and the man who killed William and Mary Batson to obtain the scarab which contained Adam's power. Theo is a cruel and violent sociopath who sought to make himself a god...
..unfortunately Teth-Adam's soul proved to have a stronger will and ultimately took over Theo's body. However, no matter how much he wishes it to be otherwise Teth is still beholden to lingering amounts of Theo. This is the primary reason behind his cruelty and why he can go from cool and rational to momentarily insane from time-to-time.
Those who can reach into Adam beyond his mighty will and draw out or appeal to Theo will be dealing with a person much more easily to manipulate than Teth.
Also, Theo does not heal nor does he stop aging when he is Black Adam. While his powers can provide him with a theoretically infinite way to put-off dying from age or injury one wrong word can put him at death's door.
Flaw: Transformation Word
While he gets his powers from the gods, the transformation itself is triggered by magic, specifically, a magic word. If he can't speak the word that triggers his abilities, he'll be left in his mortal state until he can. This also applies if, for instance, his word was changed by a suitably powerful magician, say the one that gave him his abilities in the first place, without his knowledge.
History[]
Black Adam's history began thousands of years ago, as the warrior-prince Teth-Adam, son of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II. His skill and courage impressed the high priest Shazam, a powerful wizard. Shazam chooses Teth-Adam to be his champion, endowing him with the powers of the gods by speaking the name 'SHAZAM' (an acronym for the gods he invokes: Shu, Heru, Amon, Zehuti, Aton, and Mehen), changing Teth-Adam into Mighty Adam. Mighty Adam served as Shazam's, and Egypt's, champion for centuries, but began to grow obsessed with his power, his superiority and arrogance darkening his heart. Mighty Adam killed the Pharoah, taking over Egypt -- but was soon stopped by Shazam, who drew away Adam's powers into a scarab necklace, killing Mighty Adam instantly due to rapid aging from his loss of powers. But this was not the end of Teth-Adam. Thousands of years later, an ambitious archeological aide named Theo Adams uncovers the tomb of "Khem-Adam" (meaning "Black Adam," the name Teth-Adam had been given upon death) and leads his superiors C.C. and Marilyn Batson to the discovery. Theo discovered the scarab, and became obsessed with it, killing the Batsons in order to keep it for himself. Theo, now a murderer and a fugitive, escaped from Egypt back to the United States. It was during this time that Theo heard of 'Captain Marvel,' a man looking almost identical to C.C. Batson with the lightning bolt symbol decorating his chest that had been emblazoned upon Khem-Adam's tomb. Through the power of the scarab, Theo realized he was the reincarnation of Teth-Adam, and upon this revelation he spoke the word 'Shazam'... ... And Black Adam was reborn.
Logs[]
The following logs feature Teth-Adam:
- 2013.10.17 - What the Demon said to the God
- 2013.10.22 - Midtown Showdown
- 2013.10.28 - Born of the Cauldron
- 2015.10.16 - The Return of Black Adam
- 2015.10.23 - Golden Opportunities
- 2015.11.06 - Super Training
- 2015.11.28 - Thoughts of the Gods
News[]
The following news stories feature Teth-Adam:
No news stories currently listed.
Associations[]
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Isis Wife, queen of Kahndaq |
Gallery
Wanted[]
| Teth-Adam's Wanted List |
