Attributes
Abilities
Advantages
+
Energon
Spark
Willpower
| Name: | Upgrade | Generation: | Transmetal | Protoform: | Predacon |
| Player: | NPC | Beast: | Hornet | Alliance: | Predacon |
| Chronicle: | Secrets of Cybertron | Nature: | Hacker | Class: | Mega |
Attributes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | Social | Mental | |||
| Strength (x2) |
| Charisma |
| Perception |
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| Dexterity |
| Manipulation |
| Intelligence |
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| Stamina |
| Appearance |
| Wits |
|
Abilities |
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| Talents | Skills | Knowledges | |||
| Alertness |
| Animal Ken |
| Computer |
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| Athletics |
| Piloting |
| Enigmas |
|
| Brawl |
| Etiquette |
| Investigation |
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| Dodge |
| Firearms |
| History |
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| Empathy |
| Melee |
| Demolitions |
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| Expression |
| Leadership |
| Repair (Improving) |
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| Intimidation |
| Performance |
| Matrix |
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| Primal-Urge |
| Security |
| Politics |
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| Streetwise |
| Stealth |
| Procedures |
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| Subterfuge |
| Survival |
| Science |
|
Advantages |
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| Backgrounds | Weapons | Mechanisms | |||
| Devices |
| Flamethrower | (Handheld) | Armor |
|
| Generation |
| Ice Cannon | (+ Flame) | Cybervenom |
|
| Procedures | +
| Stinger | (Beast) | Download |
|
| Rank |
| Charge | (x 2) | Drone Force |
|
| Size |
| Energon Charge | Encoding |
| |
| Eyelasers | Flight |
| |||
| Radio |
| ||||
Energon | Spark | Willpower | |||
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| |||
| Beast Mode | |
|---|---|
| Strength |
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| Dexterity |
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| Stamina |
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| Appearance |
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Spark Location: Abdomen
Devices: Arms [See Device Notes, below]
Procedures: Refine Energon, Transmetallize
Flaws: Intolerance (Organics), Social, 1 pt.
Image: Upgrade's most immediately striking feature is his arms: out of proportion with the rest of his frame, and of newer material, they definitely have the look of a new attachment. They end in large, heavy hands, and throb with power when they are activated. Upgrade's body is colored gold and orange, with accents of blue. He has an insectoid face even in robot mode, with a mandibled mouth. When he transforms, his arms fold into his hornet abdomen, and his knees fold up into his head and torso. His chest and spark area are heavily armored. He is fond of carrying two weapons: an ice blaster in one hand, and a flamethrower in the other. However, once battle gets in close, his super-strong fists provide all the firepower he needs...provided the new arms don't jam.
History: Upgrade was a Predacon that started out with nothing, and he earned his name due to his constant attempts to make something out of nothing. After several arrests by the Predacon Police, he was unceremoniously assigned to an off-planet mission under a high commander. That was where he met up with Stingwing. Upgrade rose to subcommander by the usual Predacon methods, and found that Stingwing made a loyal ally. Not wanting a position in the hot seat, he backed Stingwing's rise to a commandership. Upgrade felt it was time to clean up Cybertron, and he wanted to do it with a revolution, both in technology and in Predacon government. He began to research the veterans and the results of the Beast Wars on Planet Earth. Upon acquring knowledge of Transmetal technology, he wasted no time in experimenting on himself. Pleased with the results, he was ready to become even stronger, and move up to Transmetal II...if only he could find a driver. Eventually, a female emerged that had the plans, and a crush on Stingwing to boot. She offered the technology...but died before it could be used on Upgrade. In addition, Upgrade acquired another problem: a Transmetal II subcommander that thought himself his equal because he had "magical powers" on his side.
Upgrade continued to do some digging, landing members for the Revolutionaries. Among them, a killer-for hire, an ex-Maximal council member with inside information, and—most interesting of all—Oblivion, former agent of the Predacon Secret Police, who was discharged and mindwiped, devoid of any useful information, but still retaining his skills.
In the Revolutionaries' first open Maximal-to-Predacon conflict, which took place in Rhinox's greenhouse in Maximal territory, an organic took a cut at Upgrade with an energon sword, and removed one of his arms. Not to be outdone, especially not by someone with feathers, Upgrade replaced both his arms with artificial attachments that provided him with highly augmented strength. In addition to his experiments on his own body, Upgrade often takes Maximal prisoners to use in an unstable Transmetal III Device.
Roleplaying hints: Anything can be made better...and everything should. Nothing is quite perfect in your eyes, especially nothing Maximal. Organic Maximals bother you the worst; the fur and feathers they spread about can easily ruin sensitive equipment. You are fussy about keeping your lab in order, and obsessed with making changes to everything you encounter...especially yourself.
Unlike his fellow subcommander, Upgrade speaks in casual language, and swears bitterly when he is upset. Being brought out of the streets of Cybertron from the underground up, Upgrade also knows his way around the back alleys. You can—sometimes—pick a Secret Police agent out of a lineup. You are also the only Revoultionary to show respect for Oblivion: you're the only one who knows who he really is. You have much less respect for Epitaph than some of the others...you know who he really is, too, and it's nothing to brag about.
Your loyalty to Swiftsting comes out of old habits. He has saved your life before, and you owe him to stick it out for the long haul. Besides, despite what the posturing might show, you know you're already really in charge. Megatron, also, is a real gem; he's a looney, sure, but he's a credit to the race, so long as he puts names on the Revolutionaries' roster. Plus, he's definitely high technology.
Quotes: "Low-class feather-brained Maxie freaks!"
[gesturing Stalker to a Transmetallization chamber] "This is where we make sure you don't get fur in my lab."
[after besting Epitaph]"You're all invited to the ceremonial staff-snapping, which will take place outside, right after this discussion."
Timeline: Upgrade first appears in the episode "Guarding the Green," minus his infamous super-strength. When his arm is removed in that same episode, he replaces them both, and in later appearances, is at his full power. During "Balance of Power," on Planet Earth, Upgrade wins a challenge against Epitaph and becomes commander of the Revolutionaries. In "Into the Darkness," he is briefly possessed by personality files left behind by Tarantulas, and in "Virtual Journey," enlists Maximal help to attempt to remove the unwanted roommate. When Swiftsting returns to active command, in "The Maximal Approach," Upgrade abdicates in his favor, though he has lost much of the confidence he once had in his old friend.
Device Notes:
Upgrade's new arms count as a Level Five Device. They require at least one Energon to activate, and a roll of Stamina plus Repair at Difficulty 6. When the arms are activated, Upgrade has a Strength of 8, plus one automatic success in his Strength pool for every Energon spent. There is no limit to how much Energon Upgrade can spend to augment his Strength pool. The stat increase wears off after a number of rounds equal to the successes on the Stamina plus Repair roll. If the roll is a botch, Upgrade's arms lock up, and are useless until another Cybertron can repair them.
Upgrade can catch bladed weapons, and sometimes gunfire. For deflection purposes, his arms act as a Level Two Shield.
Mechanism Notes: In the first season, and on Planet Earth, Upgrade utilizes an unlimited drone force called the Yellowjackets. Yellowjackets resemble tougher versions of a Beast Wars Cyberbee. They have a Dexterity of two and a Strength of one, and are fitted with Dart Launcher and Stinger weapons. As well as being used to bother attacking Maximals, Upgrade will occasionally use a single Yellowjacket as a spy. In "The Best-Laid Plans..." he also uses one to attach a radio transmitter to Cheetor. Larger, tripod-like drones were scrapped early on, in "Guarding the Green." Upgrade did not rebuild these drones (he is fickle about experiments that don't turn out).
| Name: | Upgrade | Generation: | Transmetal | Protoform: | Predacon |
| Player: | NPC | Beast: | Hornet | Alliance: | Predacon |
| Chronicle: | Secrets of Cybertron | Nature: | Hacker | Class: | Mega |
Attributes |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | Social | Mental | |||
| Strength (x2) |
| Charisma |
| Perception |
|
| Dexterity |
| Manipulation |
| Intelligence |
|
| Stamina |
| Appearance |
| Wits |
|
Abilities |
|||||
| Talents | Skills | Knowledges | |||
| Alertness |
| Animal Ken |
| Computer |
|
| Athletics |
| Piloting |
| Enigmas |
|
| Brawl |
| Etiquette |
| Investigation |
|
| Dodge |
| Firearms |
| History |
|
| Empathy |
| Melee |
| Demolitions |
|
| Expression |
| Leadership |
| Repair (Improving) |
|
| Intimidation (Strength) |
| Performance |
| Matrix |
|
| Primal-Urge |
| Security |
| Politics |
|
| Streetwise |
| Stealth |
| Procedures |
|
| Subterfuge |
| Survival |
| Science |
|
Advantages |
|||||
| Backgrounds | Weapons | Mechanisms | |||
| Devices | +
| Flamethrower | (Handheld) | Armor |
|
| Generation |
| Ice Cannon | (+ Flame) | Cybervenom |
|
| Procedures | +
| Stinger | (Beast) | Download |
|
| Rank |
| Charge | (x 2) | Drone Force |
|
| Size |
| Energon Charge | Encoding |
| |
| Flight |
| ||||
| Radio |
| ||||
Energon | Spark | Willpower | |||
|
|
|
| |||
| Beast Mode | |
|---|---|
| Strength |
|
| Dexterity |
|
| Stamina |
|
| Appearance |
|
| Spark Powers | |
|---|---|
| Healing |
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| Shining |
|
Spark Location: Abdomen
Devices: Arms [See Device Notes, below], Transmetal II Driver
Procedures: Refine Energon, Transmetallize, many others
Flaws: Intolerance (Organics), Social, 1 pt.
Image: As a Transmetal II, Upgrade has stretched his Mega class out to a good nine feet in height. His attached arms are unchanged, but, still orange and blue, clash slightly with the increased gold in his color scheme. At his new height, the addition is in better proportion with his body. His paired guns have become one double-action canon, which he holds in one arm.
History: After experimenting with many new types of technology, Upgrade finally got a hold of a real Transmetal II Driver. Upon returning to Cybertron, when the Revolutionaries secured their new base, it was locked down, and the still-Transmetal Predacons on the team became Transmetal IIs. Upgrade was very pleased with the results of his new transformation. After the changes to the unit were made complete, the mission to set Megatron free became the team's new priority.
Timeline: Upgrade finally becomes a Transmetal II in the episode "Lockdown." He aids in the Megatron mission using both intelligence and brute force. During the fourth season, Upgrade favors Darkwave, and removes himself from Swiftsting's command. He takes up a job working at the Predacon Pit, making sure that the new Predacons off the assembly line come out in top, Upgrade-approved, condition.
Device Notes: Upgrade can apply Shining 2 to his arm Devices for additional power. After the Stamina plus Repair activation roll, he makes a Spark roll. All the successes on this roll are added to his modified Strength pool of 8. In addition, he can still spend Energon as desired for increased automatic successes, but spending Energon to activate the arms is now optional.