Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider Portrayed by Jensen Ackles Statistics Full Name Daniel Ketch Age 25 Height 6' Build Lean Asskicker Eyes Blue/Sockets Hair Brunette/Hellfire Factions None Occupation Spirit of Vengeance Alignment Anti-Hero Claim to Fame Dan Ketch isn't known for much except a rap sheet stretching back to juvie. The Ghost Rider has developed a reputation as a terrifying figure of nightmares which has begun to stalk the wicked and the damned. Reputation Dan Ketch used to be kind of a petty crook, was known in his old neighborhood for being a car thief most especially, although motorcycles and the occasional bit of burglary came along. Word on the street is that he's trying to go straight, but he doesn't have a lot of employable skills. The Ghost Rider's reputation has been sealed by the gibbering, maddened men left in his wake. Criminals known for being fearless and terrifying have begged for death to be freed from the nightmares. Some people say he's the Devil himself, come to drag souls down to Hell. Biography Dan Ketch grew up in a fatherless home, with a naive mother who worked three jobs and a big sister who tried, and failed, to keep him out of trouble. By the time he was a teenager, Dan had gotten a rap sheet for plenty of petty crimes: vandalism, possession, fighting. By his twenties, he'd started to graduate into an actual criminal life, even as his older sister became a cop. Dan got a rep as the hot young car thief in Brooklyn, the guy to go to if you wanted something specific. His sister wouldn't bust him, but tried to focus him on his other hobby and passion as a mechanic and motorcycle builder. Of course, even then, he didn't have money for parts, which is how he ended up in a junkyard stealing parts in the middle of the night during a gang shootout. His sister, there undercover, was shot. Dan's cry caught the attention of the killers, who chased him into an old part of the junkyard, where a medallion on an old motorcycle suddenly burst into light and fire. Moments later, the Ghost Rider emerged, having consumed and taken Dan's form. The Rider annihilated the criminals and put the fear of…well, not God, into them. Dan returned to the world in time to get his sister into an ambulance, but she's remained comatose ever since. In the meantime, Dan and the Rider work to come to terms: the Rider's thirst for vengeance, Dan's search for redemption, and woe betide any criminal who gets in their paths.

Character Details Personality Dan's a bad young man who's trying to become a good young man, with mixed results. He's brave, confident, sarcastic, definitely has the bad boy aura. He's not particularly well-educated and he can be sensitive about it - he's smarter than he thinks he is. He has a quick temper and is prone to bad habits. He's been weak to bad influences in the past, but has gotten stronger from having to fight and hold his own against whatever that thing is in his head. The Rider has a simple personality - it is a creature of vengeance, rage, bloodlust and hate. The Rider lacks mercy or compassion, cares only for its mission. While it may avenge the innocent, it is not particularly nice in and of itself and certainly won't bother playing nice against anybody that tries to stop it. The blood of the innocent demands vengeance and the Rider will answer that call. Abilities Criminal Dan Ketch has been getting in trouble since he was twelve years old, running the streets, getting into mischief. Breaking into buildings, throwing rocks, generally hanging out with a bad crowd. He fits in with a criminal atmosphere, knows who to talk to, how to find stuff you need (drugs, people to do a job with, work if you need it, places to pawn things). As a criminal, Dan's specialty was boosting cars and bikes - he can hotwire just about anything with wheels, knock out the alarms, and get it on the road faster than most people can get their keys out of their pocket. He's good at the basic skills: breaking and entering, pickpocketing, lockpicking. Basically, he's experienced at being kind of a scumbag, even if he isn't one anymore. Mechanic Dan's an excellent mechanic of both automobiles and motorcycles, capable of even building one from scratch out of spare parts from a junkyard. He can fix damage quickly, smooth out and hide accidents with body work, even do the 'pimpin'' of rides that the kids seem to love. He can also jerryrig things to hold together long enough to get to the next gas station or just until they can find some place to hide, keeping dying cars moving as long as he can. Ghost Rider Daniel Ketch possesses the ability to become the Ghost Rider, one of the legendary Spirits of Vengeance. The Ghost Rider has its own consciousness, personality, values and memories, although it partially shares those with Dan and vice versa. Once transformed, Ghost Rider appears to be a leather-clad skeleton, with pinpoints of crimson in the depths of his eyes, his skeletal body wreathed in an aura of hellfire. He is eternally consumed by this fire, constantly feeding from some point within him, filling him up so that he seems to have a full body in spite of his skeletal appearance, a strange mingling of constantly burning flesh inside his costume. The Ghost Rider has no need for breath, food or rest, capable of sustaining pursuit for days, even weeks without stopping, making him a terrifying presence on one's trail. He's immune to any forms of poisoning or toxic materials, like gas or radioactive waste. Transforming into the Rider also transforms his motorcycle (or any vehicle he's currently using) into an appropriate steed, the wheels turning to flame and the entire device taking on a demonic appearance. Dan may transform into Ghost Rider at will, although Ghost Rider can also force his way out in a battle of wills. Dan will also transform automatically into the Rider in the presence of freshly spilled blood or pure evil. Strength Fully empowered, the Ghost Rider possesses great superhuman strength. He can easily lift a car over his head and use it as a bludgeoning weapon or punch his way through a brick wall to get at a sinner on the other side. While he's not on the level of true superhuman strongmen, he can still lift around 25 tons of weight, a punch that seems to carry a lot more force when thrown from a motorcycle going three hundred miles per hour. Hellflesh Ghost Rider's skull is infamously wreathed in flame, but the body in the leathers consists of a mingling of demonic meat and hellfire, a substance known as hellflesh. Rider's body is incredibly resistant to damage, able to take superhumanly strong blows, to stop speeding cars dead when they hit him and to hold together after falling from the top of a twenty story building. If he is damaged, Rider's body will regenerate at a rapid rate, the hellfire itself rebuilding him, even if he's blown literally to piece. The more damaged he is, the longer it takes, but he once recovered from being blown into literal pieces in less than ten minutes. Permanent ways to harm him do exist, but they require magickal or divine power of signicance. The transformation from Dan into the Ghost Rider does NOT heal Dan, however, so, if he's hurt or dying, he'll still be that way if Rider returns to his mortal guise. In those cases, he usually makes sure to be near a hospital. Penance Stare The Penance Stare represents the most potent weapon in the Rider's offense. By making direct eye contact with a victim, the Rider suffuses their soul with hellfire. Meant to torture sinners, the hellfire brings all the pain and suffering that person has inflicted and unleashes it upon them, letting them experience the harm they have done. They become the wound they have carved into the world, only all at once, psychic and physical alike. The experience often destroys the minds of his victims, leaving them babbling and incoherent for at least a time, shells of their former selves. Some go permanently mad or catatonic. Others may recover, but never the same, always with that memory haunting them. Those truly without conscience, utterly insane or of a demonic persuasion won't be affected the way most humans will be. If someone had a particularly religious or guilt-ridden upbringing, it will be even more intense. The physical pain can cause muscle strain, strokes, aneurysms. One man choked to death on his own vomit, experiencing a lifetime of victimizing others all at once. The stare, of course, also won't affect anything without a soul - alien species would be on a case to case basis (i.e. worked out between players). Eye contact is required, lasting about ten seconds, and the stare won't effect a blind or eyeless target. OOC consent rules apply. Combat There's nothing pretty about how the Rider fights (or Dan for that matter). It's pure brawling, savage and direct. Rider relies on his physical power to overwhelm opponents, but also knows how to use leverage and can handle himself fairly in a fistfight. He's also a master at fighting with his mystical chain, a weapon that never leaves his side. Dan's pretty tough for a neighborhood guy and could win most barfights, but, on his own, wouldn't be able to hang with actual crimefighters or supervillains. Riding As you might have guessed, motorcycle riding is something of a high-level skill for these two. Dan's formidable in his own right, having ridden plenty growing up, on bikes that belonged to him and plenty that didn't. He'd easily qualify as a Hollywood stunt driver, if he had any idea how to get that kind of job. The Rider's union with his bike is such that he has utter and total control, making him capable of impossible feats, partially due to the nature of the bike, but partially just because he's that damned good. Supernatural Senses The Ghost Rider possesses senses and intuitions beyond the range of human ken and understanding. First and foremost, he can sense the presence of evil, both demonic and human in origin, anywhere within ten square miles of himself, although anything over a square mile would need to be intensely strong or engaged in actively evil actions. Once sensed, he essentially marks a target, able to track his sinful prey wherever they go. They may only escape this scrutiny by stunning the Rider sufficiently for him to lose his connection to the soul of the wicked. He can see the sins on a human soul, sometimes able to say the evil things people have done, although not with any context or names, just "Fornicator" or "Murderer". He can identify supernatural creatures by sight, often able to tell their species, although some, of course, are beyond his experience. He has true sight, and will see through any psychic illusions or technological disguises, although sophisticated sorcery or powers can still trick him. (OOC consent required to detect and identify with PCs). Hellfire Ghost Rider possesses the ability to generate, control and blast a form of supernatural energy commonly referred to as Hellfire. Having the same appearance as true fire, Hellfire literally burns the souls of things it touches, causing physical harm and damage to them at the spiritual level. The result is immense amounts of pain, hallucinations and potential permanent damage to their mind and sanity. The hellfire also causes physical damage, burning the target's flesh, although Hellfire consumes a body much more slowly, intended as it is to punish eternally rather than consume. Hellfire does not affect inanimate objects or anything/anyone that does not have a soul, although it always looks scary as hell. Psi-Resistant The Ghost Rider's mind cannot be read by conventional telepaths, even those of great power, because it is not a human being. It's not even a 'he', although that often gets used by appearance and because its host is male. It won't be affected by psionic illusions or mind control (on the other hand, it cannot benefit from such things either). Dan's mind has no such protections but, if a psychic intruder or attacker were detected, the Rider would likely assume control and push said person out (an experience likely to be painful, like being doused with hellfire, for the telepath involved). Advantages The Ride The Rider's motorcycle is as much a part of his legend as the flaming skull. Any motorcycle that the Rider infuses with his hellfire will become his Cycle, transformed into a mingling of twisted metal, hellfire and demonic iconography. The wheels become spinning hellfire, a trail of the same left in his wake. While empowered, the Cycle possesses the same durability and regenerative properties as the Rider himself, including being able to pull itself together from being smashed to smithereens. The cycle's top speed is nearly three hundred miles per hour on open road, although he has to go slower on tight-packed city streets (while still being much faster than your average driver). He can configure, at will, the front of the bike into a battering ram, either angled or in the shape of a flaming skull, to punch through doors and blockades. When riding it, the Rider can easily defy gravity, driving up the sides of building, over the surface of water, and even upside down if need be. Although it cannot properly fly, the leaps it can make with a proper ramp-up would send Evel Knievel into conniption fits of jealousy. Mystical Chain The Ghost Rider's torso is criss-crossed with a length of mystic chain made of hell-forged black iron. Stronger than any conventional metal short of adamantium, the chain has multiple weighted portions along the length, allowing it to be used to strike and break bones and flesh brutally. The chain responds completely to the Rider's mental commands, able to grow to nearly a hundred feet at a strain, but he usually wields about twenty feet of prehensile, brutal chain into battle. The chain can reconfigure itself to his whim, making throwing knives and shuriken, whips, stiffening into a quarterstaff, even forming a sort of makeshift chainsaw capable of ripping flesh as well as any horror movie. The chain can be charged with hellflire, making its blows spiritually as well as physically painful, and can be used to channel hellfire into a victim like a conduit. Horrifying The Ghost Rider is a walking biker skeleton sheathed in flame, demanding justice and hunting evil. Many criminals run screaming just at the sight of him, even without any reputation to precede. He's a monster and he looks like it and intimidation can get you a long, long way. Criminals, after all, are a cowardly lot. Spirits of Vengeance The Ghost Rider is but one of the Spirits of Vengeance, supernatural beings empowered to avenge the innocent and punish the damned. Other spirits, whether of similar origin or elsewise, can sense a kinship with the Rider and they will often come to one another's aid, sense each other's presence. They may sometimes recognize one another even in a mortal or secret guise. These potential allies can be of great help in extreme situations (Essentially potential OCs for TP purposes, not for everyday plot, or to give potential ties to other PCs, be it Marvel Spirits or DC ones like the Spectre or the Crimson Avenger). Disdvantages Two Minds The Ghost Rider and Dan Ketch are separate people and they don't always get along. They don't even often get along, or particularly like one another. Dan believes in the Rider's mission and the Rider sees Dan as a means to an end. But they're not friends and, when they argue, they can battle for control of their shared existence or even influence the actions of the other while they're in control. At this point, the Rider's consciousness is by far the more powerful and willful, but that may change as Dan Ketch comes into his own. Demon-Seeming While not a demon, the Ghost Rider appears to be once, has often been referred to once, and even sometimes wonders if he is. Most supernatural creatures, even those very conversant with demonology, will not be able to tell the difference, outside of a few experts. Since the Rider's own memores of its origin are hazy at best and non-existent oftentimes, it's not in much of a position to dispute the claim. Those who fight demons may see Ghost Rider as far more threat than help. The Sacred While not a demon in the sense of being a hellbound fallen angel, a servant of a dark princes, the Ghost Rider certainly isn't an angel either. Holy weapons and divine effect can do him serious damage, as well as the mystickal powers granted to magic beings outside of the traditional heaven/hell split (Y'know, pagany stuff). That's not to say he's totally their bitch, but they hurt him much more than conventional attacks and have the potential to actually disperse or exorcise him, if he were to be sufficiently harmed. Mortal Flesh Dan Ketch is just a guy. The Ghost Rider may transform his body, possess him, inhabit his space, but, when he's not the Rider, Dan Ketch has no special abilities, other than a quick pair of fists and a rugged, scrappy demeanor. He can be hurt and killed by conventional means and does not benefit from the Rider's healing factor. If he transforms into the Rider, he will be placed in stasis, not growing sicker or bleeding out, but neither will he heal. When the Rider becomes Dan once more, Dan will still have the same wounds he had before the transformation and will still need medical care to be healed. Foes Ghost Rider has enemies, some of them going back centuries. Since his current incarnation is largely amnesiac, seeing only flashes of the past, many of these enemies are just unknown to him, lurking out in the shadows. Some of them, however, are powerful demon lords, while others are ancient sorcerors or mystic beings of great power. They and their minions hunt and thwart the Rider whenever they can. Amnesia The Ghost Rider doesn't know what it is. There are memories, flashes of past lives, past selves, but they're blurred, foggy and they tend to come and go. He'll get a snatch of a name here and there ('Noble Kale' seems to recur often), but not nearly enough to stitch together. And the Rider is very job-oriented and not exactly prone to navel-gazing. Someday, he may put it all together - in the meantime, those gaps in knowledge, what it's done, who it's done it to, and why. It possesses knowledge and lore that might help it, especially in the realms of the supernatural and the occult, that it simply does not possess at present. Uncontrollable Changes While Dan turns into the Rider largely at will, the Rider will rise up if Dan encounters a being or object of 'pure evil', or if innocent blood is spilled nearby. While Dan may be able to contain it for a moment, to let himself duck out of plain sight, he cannot prevent it and trying to stop him will only make the Rider more angry. Compulsion The Ghost Rider hunts those who have spilled innocent blood. He does this on pure instinct, able to sense and identify killers automatically, then track them. Once he's set on a target, he will pursue them relentlessly, unstoppably, without thought to consequence, collateral damage or other priorities. It can make the Rider short-sighted, as it will choose vengeance in the moment over longer investigations, often making the Rider more reactive than pro-active. Eye Contact In order to utilize his most devastating weapon, the Penance Stare, Ghost Rider needs to make eye contact and maintain it with a target for at least ten seconds. While his eyes have a certain magnetizing quality which will make your average scumbag freeze in terror, stronger foes might look away in time. Also, blind opponents or those without eyes are, of course immune (The Stare is also a matter of OOC consent when used on PCs, of course). Relationships Image Name Relation Information Character Name Friend Insert a description of the relationship here. Character Gallery Logs 2015 Melody of the Lights February 8, 2015: Melody sets a chain of horrors in motion for the minor gangs in Gotham that could be a threat to Catwoman's plans. (log: 20150208-melodyofthelights | tags: ghost_rider gotham rant | posted: 08 Feb 2015 18:42) Proper Penance January 22, 2015: Columbia heals people that the Spirit of Vengeance seeks. (log: 20150122-proper-penance | tags: columbia ghost_rider metropolis | posted: 23 Jan 2015 00:32) Trick and Education January 8, 2015: Danny and Melody talk about their shared issues. Nothing to see here folks. (log: 20150108-trickandeducation | tags: ghost_rider gotham rant | posted: 09 Jan 2015 23:37) Howl at the Moon January 7, 2015: The Rider rides in Gotham… (log: 20150107-howlatthemoon | tags: ghost_rider gotham rant | posted: 07 Jan 2015 13:09) Back to: Current Cast