Lone Rider

Real Name: Jason Ryder
Hero Name: Lone Rider (Formerly Masked Rider Red)
Title:
Alignment: NG
Age: 85
Gender: Male
Race:  caucasian with traces of polynesian ancestry
Hair: Bald
Eyes: Deep brown
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 250 lbs.
Blood type: O+



Jason Ryder is a large heavily muscled older man. He travels around in standard biker gear, leather jacket, black shirt, denim pants and boots. He is bald and has a rich dark beard with flecks of gray. He smells of someone who's been on the road for awhile. His voice is deep, gravely, and carries gravitas and the weight of his long life.

While he was once known as Masked Rider Red, currently Jason has no alter ego. "Masks, hero names, funny voices? (grumble) kid's stuff."



In his younger years, in the heyday of the masked riders, Jason was the hothead of the masked riders - Masked Rider Red. He was the most prone to violence as a solution, seeing the group’s stance of classical heroism self-defeating. All too often he saw villains take advantage of offers of surrender, and was proven right when one of them was killed by treachery. His ways put him at odds with them, and he split from them for years, becoming a violent vigilante until he had reached the point of threatening the families of the villains- at which point he realized the depths he sank to and retired. This proved to be good for his long term health, as the riders died one by one in the field or after retirement.

Today Jason is a quiet, stoic man who keeps out of trouble. The death of his fellow riders and his immediate family weighs heavily on his mind, especially since it was caused by things out of his control (accident for the wife, and cancer for his kids.) Jason is content to live out his days as an ordinary farmer but, when injustice rears its ugly head, Jason stands his ground. Somewhere out there someone will finally do him in, and he can catch up with his family in the afterlife.



Some years before the end of the American involvement in the Vietnam War, Ryder’s squad of twelve men found itself low on ammunition, medical supplies and daylight in South Vietnam. Their company was ambushed and annihilated, while the survivors were pursued by Viet Cong forces augmented with “supernatural” elements, such as giant beasts, undead monsters and even malevolent spirits. They had holed up in a small village that had was strategically positioned at a major crossroads into the north, as well as sitting beside a lake claimed to be sacred to the locals. Rightly fearing that they and the village would not see the next day, they prepared themselves to die to the last man.

Before the battle began Ryder went to the misty lake to wash and pray, when he realized he was watched by some ethereal lady. “Are you like, the lady of the lake or something? But this is Vietnam! And do we get a sword?!” he asked, believing he had gone mad with delirium. But the lady simply looked at him, and he felt he had nothing else to lose, and asked her to bless him and his fellow warriors. He called his men to drink from the lake, and soon each man found himself restored to full strength and much more. With superhuman vigor the twelve faced the horrors of that night and threw them back. Where once the shadow creatures took dozens of bullets to bring down, they recoiled at the presence of the twelve and were destroyed utterly by the weapons they wielded.

The twelve would eventually return to America, to form the Masked Riders, a group of twelve masked heroes who used their powers to fight evil in the 70s and 80s. Whether it was crime, supervillains, alien invasions, or undead, they inspired generations to come. One by one they perished in the fight against evil, until only Jason Ryder himself was left. Jason retired and started a family, and lived peacefully well into the new millennium.

Fast forward to the present, and Jason is over 80 years old, yet looks not a day over 50, and is as strong as the day he drank from the lake. As his friends died, he found his power levels steadily increase. His wife died many years ago, and his children recently; he has found himself in a new tragedy- outliving his loved ones. And then one day, when a large real estate developer is moving in to evict him and his farmers’ collective from disputed farmlands, he receives a call that his grandchildren are missing…



Blessing of Strength – The blessing of the lady of the lake imbues Ryder with superhuman strength, allowing him great physical feats – to wrestle the jaws of a dragon, to break the armor of the wicked, to protect the innocent, to uphold the virtues of the Riders.

Blessing of Invulnerability - The blessing of the lady of the lake protects Ryder from harm. No disease or poison shall blight his veins; no evil blow will find purchase upon his form, no random falling debris will kill him. Even the ravages of time are slowed in their effect, as Jason is still physically fit as a mid 40's man.

Holy aura – The power of the masked rider is a palpable thing, causing great discomfort and fear to creatures of undead, demonic and extradimensional nature. As a chosen protector of the earth itself, all of Ryder’s attacks and weapons count as ‘magical’ and ‘holy’.

Banishment – also called exorcism. This allows Ryder to remove a malevolent spirit, eldritch being or demon possessing an earth based life form. This requires no special incantation on Ryder’s part- he literally chokes out or punches out the evil from the subject. Also works on mind control, as the influencing force is violently ejected.



Old and Slow – age and lack of practice has slowed the Rider considerably. He can’t dodge attacks like he used to, and isn’t quite agile so is unlikely to do fancy parkour, tumbling, rolls or even long distance sprinting. His super jumps are limited to straight lines and the landing is going to be messy.

Exorcism – Exorcism only functions on earth, can only be performed on one subject at a time, and requires physical contact with the subject.

Unholy or Demonic – the touch of fiends or of pure evil can cause harm to Ryder, not outright negating his invulnerability but partially overcoming it.

Invulnerability limitations – Ryder still requires food, water and air. Dehydration, starvation or suffocation puts him into a deep sleep or coma. He can also be staggered by large amounts of pain.



The Hog – Ryder’s Harley Davidson, lovingly maintained and customized over the years, and his most prized possession. The wife bought it for their anniversary, so heaven help anyone who messes with the bike.



Combat training – Ryder was trained in firearms, explosives, boxing and graeco-roman wrestling in the military, then later trained with a young Asian martial artist who migrated to America in the lates 60s. He is familiar with the foundational forms of wing chun, karate, taekwondo, jiu jitsu and even sambo.

Mechanic – Ryder is familiar with the workings of engines and vehicles.

Beard – Ryder has a badass beard. Men of lesser facial hair cow before him, unworthy of his presence.