From Panel to Play: Klaw

CP116Klaw

We hope that you have a really good pair of earmuffs handy as the topic of today’s from Panel to Play is the master of sound himself: Ulysses Klaw. Klaw isn’t a villain that’s worried about making himself heard and you definitely won’t fail to notice him when he soon joins a tabletop near you!

Ulysses Klaw comes from a long line of criminals and nefarious individuals. Although not shy in spreading their evil intentions throughout the world, Klaw and several generations of his family have been heavily entwined with the nation of Wakanda. The Klaw family had been on the losing side of all those interactions, but Klaw eventually managed to turn the tables on Wakanda.

While pursuing a sample of Vibranium in order to complete the construction of a piece of experimental technology allowing him to convert sound waves into physical mass, he ended up killing the Wakandan king, T’Chaka. He was ultimately forced to retreat from that battle without his original prize after suffering several severe wounds, but felt he had earned himself at least a partial victory.

A decade later, Klaw had managed to complete his sonic converter and was attacking Wakanda once again when things went even worse for him than they did last time. He ends up having to make a last-ditch attempt to salvage the battle by jumping into his sonic converter in the hopes of gaining the power to defeat his enemies. Although successful in gaining superpowers, having been transformed into a creature of “living sound”, he still ultimately lost that fight.

We now find Klaw sometime after his “rebirth”. He has learned to make use of the powers he gained in his transformation and to devastating effect as a new 5 Threat character. The master of sound is a force to be reckoned with and a brand-new Leader for the Criminal Syndicate affiliation. As you’d expect from a being capable of complete control over sound energy, he absolutely excels at defending himself against Energy attacks with an impressive 5 defense. His enemies also find that it can be hard to inflict meaningful damage against someone lacking what we’d normally consider a physical body. This is represented on the tabletop with a strong pool of Stamina, 7 on his Healthy side and 7 on his Injured side.

Klaw has a very strong focus for his suite of attacks. He only has access to Energy attacks, but you’re not going to be disappointed by what you’re about to hear. His main attack, Sonic Blast, is a Range 3 attack that will provide him power equal to the damage he deals with the Strength 6 hit. The attack also has a set of punishing special rules attached to it that really amp up the utility of this attack. A Wild and Critical result will ensure the target character gains the Stun special condition before damage is dealt, which prevents them from gaining more than a single power for damage from the attack. It also has the Suppressive special rule which forces the enemy character to lose a Power for each Wild in the attack roll. Klaw ensures his enemies suffer in every way!

When Klaw finds himself powered up and needing to remove obstacles from his path, he lets loose with a Sonic Shockwave attack. You don’t often see attacks of this strength and size let loose, but when Klaw has 5 power to spend, he can blast his opponents with this 7 Strength, Beam 5 (That’s right, Five!) attack. This attack will Pierce right through his opponents’ defenses (ruptured eardrums anyone?), changing 1 of the defenders success results to a Blank if he rolls a Wild in the attack. It also destroys all Size 2 or smaller interactive terrain features that the Range tool overlaps!

Klaw is not a boss that does much for his cronies, he’s all about what they can do for him. He’s also very possessive of his assets, which is demonstrated in his Leadership, Black Market Entrepreneur. This Leadership may seem simple at first, but the options it can provide to reposition a character of this strength is sure to provide a puzzle to the other player. When an allied character is Dazed or KO’d, Klaw may Advance Short. Your opponent is going to have to think twice about taking out Klaw’s henchmen since they’ll never know where Klaw will end up!

Reconstitute Form is Klaw’s first superpower. This Active superpower allows Klaw to spend 2 power to reform his body and shrug off portions of the damage that his enemies have snuck through. This superpower ensures that even if the crowd isn’t asking for it, he’s going to be sure to deliver an encore they won’t soon forget!

Soundwave Barrier is a blast and perhaps the most unique of his superpowers. This reactive superpower costs 3 power to use but allows him to Push an enemy character Away Short when they end their Activation within range 3 of him. You’re going to have to be incredibly careful when positioning your characters when up against Klaw.

Absorb Vibrations is an innate superpower that is going to ensure Klaw has the power to fuel all of his rules. This power allows Klaw to convert the energy of his opponents attempts to put him down into additional power, granting him 1 power when he is targeted by a physical or energy attack or when making a dodge roll. It also ensures that he cannot be Pushed or Advanced by the effects of energy attacks or enemy superpowers.

When you’re ready to become a presence in the black market, be sure to pre-order your copy of the M’Baku and Klaw character pack at your local game store or through the webstore today. Also, be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!