Rankle

Rankle is a mystic superhero and Fae Prince. He is the infrequent ally of the Champions.

## Biography

Rankle was exiled from his home in the Blazing World after he embarrassed some high-ranking members of the Unseelie Court with his tricks. Although this accomplishment made him a legend among his prank-loving brothers and cousins, his father, the King of Eye-Pluck Bog, was less amused and tossed him out of his home.

Cursing his father for "not being able to take a joke," Rankle found himself unable to enter any other Blazing World kingdoms, as the Eye-Pluck faeries had a terrible reputation and nobody wanted the trouble that he would surely bring. Without other options, Rankle made his way to Earth instead. After some initial misadventures, he found that the people of Earth were actually *grateful* for his pranks-- provided he limited himself to playing jokes on supervillains.

Settling in Chicago in order to be close to the nourishing energy of its leyline, Rankle has spent the last several decades offering occasional help to the heroes of the city. Although he is less heroic than most of his peers, he has grown fond of Earth's bizarre culture and has started taking a more proactive role in protecting mankind.

## Personality

Rankle is extremely impish in nature and takes grim delight in "playing pranks" on friend and foe alike. Despite this love of trickery, he typically conducts himself in a serious fashion and doesn't make light of grave situations. This is a lesson he learned the hard way, as it was a poorly-timed joke at a war council which resulted in his banishment from Eye-Pluck Bog.

Though not a coward, Rankle is cautious and quick to flee a battle that is not going his way. He finds heroes who insist on fighting against impossible odds to be foolish and exasperating.

Rankle *hates* to be the butt of a joke, but a truly well-crafted and hilarious prank played on someone else is the most certain way to gain his (grudging) respect.

## Powers

Rankle is a master of transformation and illusion. His magical abilities are limited only by his imagination and sense of humor. Some of his favorite tactics are turning groups of enemies against one another with cunning mental illusions or transforming an opponent's weapons, gadgets, or even power armor into useless trash.

Rankle can also use his illusions for the benefit of himself and his allies. He can create perfect disguises and shapeshift himself into nearly any form; this transformation is so complete that only magical spells of detection have any hope of identifying him.

Should trickery prove ineffective, Rankle can harness a force he calls "bogfire" (a sickly-green mystical flame conjured from his home dimension) that can both wound and inflict nauseating sickness. Rankle does not much care for this type of fighting, however, and is more likely to flee from a target who proves immune to his trickery than slug it out with bolts of bogfire.

Rankle's most powerful ability lies in the forging of magically-binding wagers. These bets can be nearly anything, but both parties must verbally agree to the terms and shake hands to seal the contract. Once complete, this agreement inflicts a truly monumental Transform on whomever loses the bet; Rankle likes to use this to turn his enemies into harmless toads, which he releases into the predator-haunted swamps of his home dimension. As appropriate for his tricky nature, Rankle usually words the terms of his wagers in such a way that they are much less fair than they appear. He has lost several of these wagers in the past but has always weaseled out of his side of the bargain due to some loophole in the wording.

Besides his significant combat abilities, Rankle can also use his magic to travel between dimensions or teleport great distances. He can fly by assuming the form of winged animals, he can pass through walls, and he is a past master of invisibility. He also enjoys a form of immortality, in that whenever he is "killed" he will rise from the grave some days or weeks later. Certain substances can prevent his resurrection, but only experts on Fae lore would know what those substances were and Rankle certainly isn't telling.

## Weaknesses

Rankle is a mystical, fae creature and is subject to certain forms of magic that humans find harmless. He can be banished or bound in a manner similar to a demon, and setting foot on holy ground causes him to weaken rapidly.

Rankle also displays addict-like compulsive behavior when an opportunity for a good joke appears, and if someone offers him a wager he may become almost frantic in his desire to accept the bet.