Editing Bastard Son (section)

==Abilities and Powers==
Bastard Son has a [[Teacher]]-like power where he can turn a person into a specialist by granting them extraordinary and inhuman levels of skill in an unconventional thing/tool/weapon.<ref name="IRC eExperience" /><ref name="R2" /> For example, a subject skilled with yo-yos could use one outside a building to ascend from the ground floor to the second floor,<ref>The phone rings as you make your way to the second floor. Fingernails and Bat enter the lobby, while Yo-yo stands outside. A moment passes, and Yo-yo lunges up to the outside of the second floor. Glancing over your shoulder, you can see the individual's shadow cast through the exterior window, the open door, and touching the wall of the brightly lit hallway, ten feet away. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JQhjOujavd5Kf15WUorA9MrZCP8juKSsP4k8qFx2Ync/edit Excerpt] from [[Weaverdice#WD_Oakland|WD Oakland]]</ref> while a subject skilled with baseball bats could use one to parry bullets, albeit not perfectly.<ref name="WD eParryBullets">The man with the gun swings his bat as you pop out of hiding. It grazes the first bullet, knocking it off course, where it strikes through his side, bounces off, and hits the second bullet, pinging it away.<br><br>He looks odd, as people go, with his way of holding his head and body, his hair is long, and he has scruff on his cheeks, but his clothes are nice. More like someone incapable of taking care of themselves, with a benefactor.<br><br>The look he gives you as he meets your eyes is a hollow one. You're dealing with something closer to a zombie than a man, and the thought crosses your mind that he's probably going to do a lot of damage to you when he gets closer, and his bat has more reach than your fingernails do.<br>[...]<br>You fire your three shots, while making your way around him. Twice, he parries your bullets, but the last swing is slow, and costs him a precious hundredth of a second, and your bullet punches into his lower thigh.<br>[...]<br>The bullets are deflected, but the man with the bat deigns not to follow you, after two very close calls, almost missing the bullets completely. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JQhjOujavd5Kf15WUorA9MrZCP8juKSsP4k8qFx2Ync/edit Excerpt] from [[Weaverdice#WD_Oakland|WD Oakland]]</ref> Bastard Son and the recipient of his power do not get to choose which skill is granted as it is completely random.<ref name="IRC eExperience" /><ref name="Reddit ePowerDetails">'''Zoanzon:''' Does Bastard Son get to choose what god-tier skill is given, the recipient, or is it random? Does the skill have to be weaponized or is that just the logical ending for those he's gifting these considering they're probably his, as you said, attack dogs? Does the gifting strip the sanity and volition, or is that like Teacher where he can strip it like Teacher strips free will: at choice? Is the power gifting for a duration, as long as Bastard Son wants, or till death, and does the sanity issue continue after power-loss if they don't fade only on death?<br><br>Sorry for the barrage of questions; Bastard Son's power is a favorite of mine and I just wanna take the opportunity to find out more about it.<br><br>(Also since you're seeing this, thank you ''so much'' for letting us experience this wonderful setting, and for partaking in the community as much as you do!)<br><br>'''Wildbow:'''  No, no, yes,   yes, yes, yes, you're welcome. - Conversation with Wildbow on [https://redd.it/645t4x Reddit]</ref> Other known examples of granted skills include roller skates, glass shards, ribbons, paper, ball peen hammers, darts, and fingernails.<ref name="R2" /> [[Wildbow]] speculates some other examples could include spoons, paper airplanes, and tape.<ref>Examples included fingernails, a yoyo, a baseball bat/baseball combo, a spoon, paper airplanes and tape. - Comment by Wildbow on Parahumans Discord</ref>

However, the subject also appears to permanently<ref name="Reddit ePowerDetails" /> lose their mind in the process.<ref name="IRC eExperience" />  His power takes away sanity and volition from the recipient, leaving them highly suggestible so that he can effectively use them as attack dogs.<ref name="R2">Bastard Son appears in my Weaverdice stuff on occasion. A predisposition for one note laughs (heh), a [[Teacher|teacher-like ability]] where he awakens god-tier skill levels in use of seemingly random tools and improvised weapons (roller skates, glass shards, ribbons, paper, ball peen hammers, darts) and strips away sanity and volition from the recipients. He's an attack dog with a whole contingent of attack dogs at his disposal.<br><br>In Oakland, three such attack dogs cornered a skill-thief thinker with the ability to have the skills and talents of everyone within a one-hundred foot radius. Said skill-thief was capable of using the three attack dogs' skills (yo-yo, baseball bat, fingernails) but didn't have said weapons at their disposal, exactly, and was too panicked to improvise. Casey-at-the-Bat swatted bullets out of the air with their aluminum bat, just to give you a sense of what was in play. The player used their 'I can unleash my powers for incredible effect, but only once' perk, gaining the skills and capabilities of everyone within 5 city blocks, and still wound up shooting themselves in the head (using their enhanced skill to ensure it worked) to avoid letting Bastard Son have them.<br><br>(That might sound like bad GMing, but it was an auction bid for powers and the player took 'maximum difficulty first session' in exchange for more points. There were ways out, and getting within swing range of Casey-at-the-bat wasn't one of them.)<br><br>The Elite position him where their hold is in question. They know what he's like and they work around it. - Comment by Wildbow on [https://redd.it/645t4x Reddit]</ref> Bastard Son's subjects are more zombie than human and look like people who are incapable of taking care of themselves without human assistance.<ref name="WD eParryBullets" />

Bastard Son is known to enhance non-parahumans<ref>You're ignored, and there are few opportunities to talk before things get underway.  Bastard Son makes his way down the stairs, joined by two capes and two of his enhanced normals, while the others stand near the railing, overlooking the scene.  One rocks in place, and another is singing softly to herself.  It's an ominous backdrop for this particular scene.<br>It's clear from the outset that he's merciless.  The leader of the Elite launches straight into the running of the city, and you get the impression that he's crafting every statement in a way that makes things harder on the new people.  You're only barely able to keep up. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/19MyrV2mcGM5ZGXZLPgGInDp2m1dgXnRfW7uRPZ5i-Go/edit# Excerpt] from [[Weaverdice#WD_Oakland|WD Oakland]]</ref> and has used his power to have a whole contingent of subjects at his disposal.<ref name="R2" /> When meeting with other [[villains]] in Oakland, he brought a dozen enhanced bodyguards with him.<ref name="WD2.1" /> In one incident, Bastard Son sent three of his subjects to seize a skill thief, alive or dead.<ref name="WD eSeize">With a great deal of personal wealth and the ability to acquire all skills from nearby individuals, Apex began researching gangs to insert herself into, and came across a website that tipped off the Digital Boys.  They accepted her offer for a meet and invited her to a small office building. At the actual meeting, she found a largely abandoned building, still under construction, and was met by four parahumans, who heard her out on her offer.  After the initial discussion, which was somewhat awkward, they stepped out of the room to make a call, and promptly teleported off the premises.  Apex received a phone call, this time from Bastard Son, one of the Elite.  With Poe gone, Bastard Son is working to put the Elite on the map, and as it happens, the Digital Boys have a standing arrangement with the Elite, giving them first dibs on new members.  Bastard Son has heard about Apex, who divulged her strengths and weaknesses to the Digital Boys, and sends his people to seize her, alive or dead. - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L7XX00xrdLCHAiVzyX19G7sifIes2pfjMcHXUociFy4/edit Summary] from [[Weaverdice#WD_Oakland|WD Oakland]]</ref>
<!-- It is unknown how often Bastard Son can grant these skills and, besides the upkeep cost of taking care of his zombie-like subjects, how many people can be granted skills before some supposed limit is reached. -->

The powers of some skill thieves or copiers can work against his subjects.<ref>As you head up the stairs, you pick up new skills. Three individuals are approaching from the front, and what you're picking up feels... exceedingly wrong.<br><br>The skills you're grasping are needlessly specific, the full applications beyond even your understanding... relating to baseball? Yo-yos? Fingernails? - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JQhjOujavd5Kf15WUorA9MrZCP8juKSsP4k8qFx2Ync/edit Excerpt] from [[Weaverdice#WD_Oakland|WD Oakland]]</ref><ref name="R2" />