The Rook
“I obey.”
Alias: None
Approach: Generalist
Archetype: Formidable
Health: 50 + (
× 5)
Powers
Stone 
Strength 
Transmutation 
Vitality
Qualities
Alchemical Guardian
Alertness
Close Combat
Conviction
Status: Mental or Magical Penalties
Any penalties and no bonuses 
Some penalties and some bonuses
No penalties 
Abilities
Castling (A): Boost using Stone. Use your Max die. Defend with your Mid die.- Dependable Servant (I): Whenever you roll a 1 on a die, reroll that die once.
- Indomitable Loyalty (R): Ignore all penalties on you for your action. Take irreducible damage equal to the total of those penalties.
- Skin of Stone (I): Reduce physical and energy damage dealt to you by 1 if the scene is in the Green zone, 2 in the Yellow zone, or 3 in the Red zone.
- Versatile Servitor (A): Take any basic action and use your Max die.
- (U) Enhanced Intellect (I): Increase all of the Rook’s quality dice by one size, except for Alchemical Guardian. (When using this upgrade, the Rook has 20 additional Health.)
(M) Master Minion (I): If you have been given an order to perform a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome in a situation where the difference is accomplishing the task and failing to do so.
The Rook
Alias: None
Gender: None
Age: 124
Height: 9’0”
Eyes: Two glowing pinpricks of crimson light
Hair: None
Skin: Obsidian
Build: Massive
Costume/Equipment: The Rook wears nothing, save a white chess rook symbol that has been painted onto its chest.
Approach: Generalist
Archetype: Formidable
Biography
Over a century ago, a powerful alchemist crafted a servant for themself. The alchemist moulded clay, stone, and arcane reagents into the shape of a towering humanoid figure, before imbuing their creation with the breath of animation. This golem served the alchemist well, performing all tasks asked of it. Eventually, though, the alchemist’s time on Earth came to an end. But even after their passing, their creation remained animate. At first, the golem wandered the city where the alchemist had lived, but the folk there were fearful of it. Thus it eventually found its way into the catacombs beneath the city. There, in the catacombs, the golem remained, dormant, until the day in which it would be claimed by a new master.
In the present day, the nefarious Checkmate Gang had set up a temporary headquarters in those same catacombs while laying low and trying to avoid attention from the local police and superteam after a failed plot. While scouting around the area, the Queen stumbled upon the dormant golem. After she alerted her teammates, the Knight used the mystic powers of her mace to awaken the creature. Its eyes flared to life, but it remained perfectly still. Nothing the Checkmate Gang did could effect action in the stony being, until the King discovered an old inscription in Akkadian on a nearby stone. Quickly deciphering it, he spoke the words, and the golem moved for the first time in over a hundred years. In a deep, stony voice, the creature inquired what the King wished it to do. The King swiftly decided to make the golem the sixth member of his new criminal crew, dubbing it the Rook.
Capabilities and Motivations
Due to the Rook’s mineral composition, it possesses great strength and durability. In addition, it is able to call to the earth and stone around it, and reshape them to fit its needs. Further, remnants of the alchemical magicks that were used to create it still linger in its form, which it can harness to transmute substances.
The Rook is convicted to helping its master or masters, which it defines as anyone who has spoken its command phrase. However, the being’s rudimentary mind can be easily confused by magical, psychic, or particularly-compelling mundane mental attacks.
Upgrades
The King has ordered the Knight and the Bishop to use their mystic talents to work on improving the Rook’s capabilities. So far, they’ve managed to temporarily increase the cognitive and reasoning abilities of the golem, which in turn increase its skills and ability to perform tasks.
Editor’s Notes
The Rook is a golem made of stone because the rook in chess is represented by a stone tower. So there.
“Master Minion” is the first custom Mastery I’ve made. Master Mercenary was the base for it that I modified. I think it’s pretty okay; it may be a touch more flexible than Mercenary, or it may not.
The Rook’s bio doesn’t detail what happened to the original inscription that contained its activation phrase; presumably the King committed the string to memory before destroying the original, thus preventing anyone else from getting it. However, an interesting plot that could occur would be a psychic hero trying to wrest it from his mind.
Also, since the alchemist who created the Rook died, they obviously didn’t find / create the magnum opus / philosopher’s stone / elixir of life / panacea. (Alchemy sure did have lots of different names for alchemical immortality.)