Brute
This page is work in progress. This page still needs to be reworded and properly cited.
Brute is one of the twelve power classifications created by the PRT still in modern day use.<ref>PRT Master Reference - Classifications</ref> A Brute classification typically indicates enhanced strength or durability, often both.<ref name=":0">Has enhanced strength or durability, most dangerous in a melee, typically very difficult to put down. While the execution may remain fairly stable, the source of this power can vary.
General response depends on degree of brute classification, but should involve focusing fire, limiting movements, and maintaining a safe distance.
Threat level 2+: Communicate brute nature. Assume divided fire will not have any serious effect, and devote focused fire to the target. Treat as low priority unless movements cannot be restricted, in which case the brute can be escalated to moderate priority.
Threat level 5+: Assume standard munitions are not going to hamper the brute. Lethal munitions are authorized, truck emplacements are authorized. Property damage should be expected and accounted for. Where possible, move fight to an open area. Threat level 9+: Inter-city missile emplacements and other large scale munitions are authorized. Assume standard parahuman abilities are not going to hamper the target. - PRT Master Reference - Classifications - Brute</ref> There are no known Brutes without at least some form of self-protection.<ref>Brute#Known Brutes</ref>
Methodology
Brute powers might manifest themselves in variety of ways. Most Brutes are either some combination of big, strong, and tough or possess some other method of self-protection.<ref>Brutes are some combination of big, strong, and tough, with very high innate durability or self-protection methods through one mechanism or another. - BRUTE, document by wildbow</ref> Examples of Brute powers include, but are not limited to:
- Increased mass and muscle, often utilizing biokinesis or some form of Changer effect.<ref>Muscle brutes are those who rely on size, physical strength, and some tenacity for their brute disposition. Biokinesis is often a factor, or their power might run through their bodies and have a sort of changer effect on them, with veins of fire and surging size and proportion. - Brute - Muscle Brutes, document by wildbow</ref>
- Different forms of armor, offering external protection.<ref>Armor brutes piece together a shell around themselves, producing raw armor that will absorb blows up until it is cracked or penetrated, at which point the brute becomes easier to injure. The armor often regenerates and/or provides additional capabilities. Heavily defense-leaning, but often provided with a weapon of some sort, raw stats, or their offensive potential is interlinked with their defense, in a retaliatory sense. - BRUTE - Armor Brutes, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Some form of personal shielding.<ref>Field Brutes maintain a personal forcefield, or durability that is very potent but temporary or readily broken. They may sport bursts of power, utility, or other benefits - BRUTE - Field Brute, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Some method to control objects in close range, using these to block attacks.<ref>Shield brutes draw heavily on a defensive feature that is direction-dependent or is based around an object or field that is moved around at will. Their defense is typically top class… when it is situated to block the attack in question. - BRUTE - Shield Brutes, document by wildbow</ref>
- Different transformations, assuming more durable forms.<ref>Transfiguration brutes offer transformation and revival abilities.
They arise from situations where death is sought or held at bay. - BRUTE - Brute types, document by wildbow.[1] </ref>
- Different forms of regeneration<ref>Regen brutes offer benefits over time, and healing abilities.
They arise from damage over time, and from self-harm. - BRUTE - Brute types, document by wildbow. </ref>, sometimes coupled with adaption<ref>Crawler#Abilities and Powers</ref> or growth<ref>Lung#Abilities and Powers</ref>. In some rare cases, parahumans with enhanced senses fall under the Brute rather than the Thinker classification.<ref name="RPG1">Question by braincraft: What classification is used for enhanced or expanded senses? There are a
lot of characters in Worm that have something along those lines, and
outside of Worm there's stuff like Superman's telescopic vision, x-ray vision, and enhanced hearing, or Wolverine's ability to track by scent.
Answer by wildbow: Thinker. In some rare cases they'd fall under a Brute classification. - RPG.net comment by Wildbow. </ref>
Trigger events
For Brutes, trigger events involve some form of physical harm, where the source and severity of the damage, combined with contextual factors, inform the resulting ability.<ref>Brute triggers generally involve being physically harmed. The nature of that physical harm, the degree or type of damage, and the contextual factors all inform the resulting ability. - BRUTE, document by wildbow</ref>
In particular, the nature of the harm effects the powers in the following ways:
- Harm from a physical source (crushing, smashing, dismemberment, broken bones, etc.) results in powers emphasizing raw strength, biological alterations, armor, shields, and size.<ref>Physical based harm involves crushing, smashing, collisions, cuts, gouging, disembowelment, impalement, stabbings, abrasion, scraping, tearing of flesh, dismemberment, broken bones and more in that vein. Powers derived from physical damage will tend to be more physical as a result, emphasizing raw strength, biological alterations, armor, shields, and size. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Damage from environmental hazards (extremes in temperature, radiation, electrocution, vacuums, etc.) results in more energy-based powers: Examples including personal telekinesis, forcefields and energy manipulation.<ref>Energy damage includes extremes in temperature, energy based damage like burns from fire, radiation and steam, electrocution, low temperature burns from cold or vacuum. Powers derived from energy-based harm will often be more energy based, with personal telekinesis, forcefields, energy manipulation, and some more concrete manifestations of time, space, or reality warping. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Forms of harm outside of these two categories (chemicals, poison, disease, etc.) lead to powers relating to growth, phasing, constructs, and more esoteric manifestations of time, space, or reality warping.<ref>‘Other’ damage includes chemicals (ie. acids), poison, drugs, disease, and ambient damage from genetic issues, and serves as a ‘misc’ category for sources of harm that fall outside this spectrum. Powers relating to growth, phasing, constructs, and more esoteric manifestations of time, space, or reality warping all fall into this category. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
Brute powers are also influenced by the degree and nature of the damage, expressed in the following ways:
- Surface damage tends to create surface level protection, often along the lines of personal forcefields or exterior armor.<ref>Surface damage tends to create surface level protection. Damage limited primarily to the skin or to sensitive areas of the body will tend to produce powers along the lines of personal forcefields or exterior armor. This provides a degree of protection that may be penetrated, accessing the flesh within, which often isn’t protected more than a typical unpowered person (or only marginally so). - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Deeper tissue damage will involve more thorough changes and restructuring. Brutes along these lines may more closely resemble Breakers, drawing from endless fountains of muscle mass or energy to repel or stand firm against attacks.<ref>Deeper tissue damage will involve more thorough changes and restructuring. Brutes along these lines may more closely resemble Breakers, drawing from endless fountains of muscle mass (deep physical harm) or energy to repel or stand firm against attacks. Such brutes are often hurt more, but have a capacity to keep going despite this harm, and/or they get stronger while injured. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Internal harm without clear outside source will often express itself by giving powers that relate to absorption or expression of forces. This might be kinetic energy, light, electromagnetism, or something more abstract like time or inertia.<ref>Finally, sources of harm that don’t come from the outside but from within, will often grant a form of brute power that ties into absorption and/or expression of forces. This might be kinetic energy, light, electromagnetism, or something more abstract like time or inertia. Absorbing one form of energy to power defenses or taking damage to charge a battery and then lash out with an offensive application of the power would be example cases. Gross impalement (to a degree where the shard may be confused as to whether the object is going from the outside in vs. the inside out) may also fall under this category. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
- Gradual damage will often provide regeneration in some capacity, or biokinesis of a more intentional sort than might be seen in deeper tissue damage.<ref>Sources of harm that do gradual damage (some poisons, being on fire, being immersed in chemical, drowning) will often provide regeneration in some capacity, or biokinesis of a more intentional sort than might be seen in deeper tissue damage. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
Combinations with other ratings
[Coming soon]
Role in the Cycle
Brute powers are generally very low level powers, making it easy for the entities to explore them. The entities continually refine their ability to persevere: A select few Brute powers and other Brute powers that perform exceptionally well are actually attempts by the entities to devise a form of true perpetuity, both for continuing the cycle and for their end goals.<ref>Brute powers are a very low level power, easy for the entities to explore, as they continually refine their ability to persevere. Very select brute powers and brute powers that perform exceptionally are actually attempts on the entities’ parts to devise a form of immortality, both for perpetuating the cycle and for their end goals. - BRUTE, document by wildbow.</ref>
PRT countermeasures
Brutes are most dangerous in a melee and are typically very difficult to put down. As such, the PRT's general response involves focused fire, limiting movements, and maintaining a safe distance, depending on the exact Brute rating.<ref name=":0" />
| Threat level | Additional measures |
|---|---|
| 2+ |
|
| 5+ |
|
| 9+ |
|
Known Brutes
Note: This list describes the Brute ratings of different capes. For a full overview of their abilities, please check their individual pages.
| Name | Speculated classification | Power description |
|---|---|---|
| Aegis | Brute ?, Mover ? | Redundant body and has a never ending supply of adrenaline |
| Alexandria | Brute ?, Mover ?, Thinker 6<ref name="14.y">14.y - Interlude: Alexandria</ref> | Super strength and invulnerability |
| Blasto | Tinker 6 (Master 5, Blaster 2, Changer 2, Brute 2) | Botany/cloning tinker |
| Crawler | Brute<ref name="I12">Interlude 12</ref> | Extremely rapid regeneration; adapts to any injury with permanent physical changes that render him increasingly resistant and increasingly monstrous |
| Echidna | Master/Striker 10, Brute 8, Changer 2,<ref name="18.4">Queen 18.4</ref> Thinker<ref name="18.5">Queen 18.5</ref> | Strength, healing factor at near-Endbringer levels. Near-normal durability. |
| Glory Girl | Brute ?, Mover ? | Super strong with a forcefield constantly surrounding her |
| Hatchet Face | Brute, Trump | Superhuman strength and durability |
| Hookwolf | Changer 4, Brute 7 | Surrounds himself with shifting armor of metal blades |
| King | Brute, Striker ? | Superhuman strength, automatically transfers all damage received to everyone he has touched in the previous 24 hours |
| Lung | Brute 4-9, Blaster 2-6 | Regeneration. Becomes progressively bigger, stronger and faster-healing as the fight goes on |
| Weld | Brute, Changer | Made of metal |
Speculated Brutes
Note: This list describes the Brute ratings of different capes. For a full overview of their abilities, please check their individual pages.
Note: This list deals with speculation. If you have a relevant and reliable citation, please add that cape to the 'Known Brutes' list. Please add capes to this list conservatively: It's meant to list capes that are generally agreed upon to be Brutes, but we lack proper citations for.
References
<references/>