Alex Finch

Art by Shannon Strucci

> *"I'm here for you!"
> - Alex Finch*
>
>

Alex Finch (superhero name: "Ace") is a main player character in the Critical Bits podcast and a member of the Fun Bunch. She is enthusiastic, gets wonderful grades, and is a star track athlete and valedictorian at Wallace H. Dale High. At the start of the show, she has no real superpowers—she’s just athletic and acrobatic.

## Appearance

The podcast does not describe Alex's appearance in great detail. Confirmed details are that she is a tall, older teen girl with freckles and a gap between her two front teeth. Official art also depicts her as caucasian with green eyes and short brown hair, but the players welcome alternate interpretations.

In both official and fan art, she is often depicted wearing a distinctive magenta, blue, and yellow track jacket.

As Ace, she starts out wearing an old outfit from her time doing jazz dance. The outfit is very colorful and covered in sequins, and she hides her face with a sequined masquerade-style mask.

**SPOILERS (for Episode 16)**: In Arc 3, Alex receives a super suit designed by Spare Parts and Tool Boi. When not active, it looks like a bracelet covered in black, grey, white, and purple sequins (the colors of the asexual flag). When activated, Alex can transform magical-girl-style into one of four different outfits. Each outfit is themed around one of the colors of the bracelet as well as one of the four playing card suits (diamond, heart, spade, and club). Each outfit grants Alex a different advantage in the field (see "Moves and Abilities").

## History

Since she was a little girl, Alex has been an overachiever. Her parents enrolled her in tumbling at age 3 and competitive gymnastics at age 4, and she's kept up with it ever since. She has always excelled at both athletics and her studies, and her parents have always supported her in all her endeavors.

When she was 6, her little brother Brantley was born. As the two grew up, it became clear that they had... very different personalities to say the least. Her relationship with her brother has often been strained over the years, but there are also times when they've expressed honest affection for each other.

Alex made friends with a neighbor kid, Gerry, in elementary school. The two had a close friendship up through middle school, with Alex always sticking up for Gerry whenever he faced bullies. Gerry began diverging from her more in high school as he became more of the delinquent drug dealer type. Despite this, Alex persisted in checking in on him when she could, always scolding him for smoking cigarettes and the like when she caught him.

In high school, Alex became the school valedictorian and involved herself in many different clubs and activities, including but not limited to the track team, student council (as treasurer), meteorologist club, and prom planning committee. She also participated in fundraising activities outside of school, including at least one charity benefiting crime orphans.

Despite all her activities and achievements, nothing scratched Alex's itch to do something more exciting and impactful for the town. To that end, Alex started doing small time crime fighting in her neighborhood. Gerry soon found out and tried to talk her out of it. Alex was too stubborn to stop and so Gerry instead decided to join up with her and make sure she stayed safe.

After a few more weeks of stopping jaywalkers and muggers, Alex and Gerry got on the trail of the supervillain Ratfink in connection with a string of missing teens. The two broke into Ratfink's house and encountered Kim Bennett, a teen supervillain who had been assigned to guard him. The three fought initially, but after Kim realized that Ratfink was in league with teen kidnappers, she turned to Alex and Gerry's side.

*[Events of the podcast to be added here]*

## Moves and Abilities

Alex has no superpowers, but she is still a strong athlete and acrobat, which allows her to fight, dodge, and maneuver effectively in combat.

Her unique moves in the game are as follows (text from the official Masks playbooks):

* Straight Up Creepin': When you scope out a person or place, roll + Mundane. On a 10+, ask two. On a 7-9, ask one. On a miss, you find yourself in over your head. The GM will tell you why this is a bad spot.
	+ what’s my best way in/out?
	+ what happened here recently?
	+ what here is worth grabbing?
	+ who or what here is not what they seem?
	+ whose place is this?
* No Powers and Not Nearly Enough Training: You’re always picking up new gear to keep yourself in the game. Whenever you pick up a new piece of gear, you can write it in as a new ability if this line is empty. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ The first time you use each piece of gear to directly engage a threat, unleash your powers, or defend someone, you can roll + Mundane instead of the normal Label.
* Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat

**SPOILERS (for Episode 16)**: The Ace super suit has four modes, each giving Alex an advantage on different rolls.

* Purple Diamond: The defense mode. Gives Ace +1 to Defend rolls.
* Grey Heart: The support mode. Gives Ace +1 to Comfort and Support rolls.
* White Spade: The scout mode. Gives Ace +1 to Assess the Situation rolls.
* Black Club: The attack mode. Gives Ace +1 to Directly Engage a Threat rolls.

**SPOILERS (for Episode 17)**: C’mon, Lucky: You have a pet of some kind, a smaller companion that helps you out. Detail it. Choose three basic moves and tell the GM how it helps you with those moves. Whenever your pet could help you, take +1 to that move. If your pet ever gets hurt, treat it as taking a powerful blow.

* This move applies to Alex's spirit otter Juabe. In the physical world, Alex shares a psychic link with Juabe and can talk to him telepathically. Juabe's link also extends to Brantley, meaning that when both siblings are around him, they can read each other's thoughts as well. It's upon discovering this that Alex truly understands how much powers can be a curse.

**SPOILERS (for Episode 21)**: Alex discovers her true powers and switches to the Nova playbook. As the Nova, she takes the following ability:

* Burn: When you charge up your powers, roll + conditions you currently have marked. On a hit, hold 3 burn. On a 7-9, mark a condition. On a miss, hold 2 burn and mark three conditions. Spend your burn on your flares. You lose all burn at the end of the scene. Alex's flares are:
	+ *Reality Storm*: You channel a destructive burst with your powers. Spend 1 burn to directly engage a threat using your powers, rolling + Freak instead of + Danger. If you do, you will cause unwanted collateral damage unless you spend another burn.
	+ *Move*: Spend 1 burn to move to any place you choose within the scene, breaking through or slipping past any barriers or restraints in your way. Spend a second burn to move to any place you’ve previously been.
	+ *Overcharge*: You channel the full capacity of your incredible powers to overcome an obstacle, reshape your environment, or extend your senses. Spend 2 burn to take a 10+ when you unleash your powers.
	+ *Elemental Awareness*: Spend 1 burn and mark a condition to open your mind up to the world around you with your powers. You can ask any one question about the world around you, and the GM will answer honestly.

**SPOILERS (for Episode 25)**: Alex acquires a new flare:

* *Snatch*: Spend 1 burn to use your powers to seize any one object up to the size of a person from someone within view.

## Trivia

* Alex and Gerry live at the end of the same cul de sac. Their usual method of getting to each other's houses is to hop the fence and go through the Jenkins family's yard.
* Alex has the first in-character line of the podcast.
* Alex's first roll of the game is to do a handstand. She rolled a mixed success (10-1), which meant her regular and one-handed handstands worked, but she fell over trying to do one-handed pushups.
* Alex got the first failed roll of the game (rolled a 5 trying to hack Ratfink's laptop).
* She also got enough failed rolls after that to get the first level up of the game (at the tail end of episode 1).
* Goes to Gerry's house for Saturday morning cartoons and toaster waffles every week.
* Nominally scolds Gerry for smoking pot but hangs out with him enough that she takes a few hits every now and then (she knows her limit).
	+ She always coughs so much, though.