The Torch
Real Name August Hauff
Copyright 2025 Barry Reese

Prowess 2
Coordination 3
Strength 3
Intellect 6
Awareness 4
Willpower 5

Stamina 8

Powers
*Protective Suit – Damage Resistance 3 (Damage Resistance 8 vs. Heat and Fire); the gloves that accompany the suit are able to project flame – Flame Blast 7
*Fire Control 8 (Limit: The Torch is only able to manipulate existing flames – he cannot generate flames from nothingness; Limit: During the period in which he had powers, if any part of his flesh came into contact with the air, it would burst into flames – he is NOT IMMUNE to fire)

Specialties
Medicine, Science (Expert +2 bonus), Technology

Qualities
*No one respects my genius!
*Sensitive about his appearance
*Hates Lazarus Gray and his aides

Background:

August Hauff was a famous scientist who worked for the Occult Forces Project, a specialized unit dedicated to create Nazi super-agents. Hauff’s body chemistry was altered to the point that exposure to the air caused his body to burst into flame. He had to wear a protective suit that could also project fire – which he could then control via his mind. The Torch was sent after Mr. Death when Otto Luther went rogue and the two of them embarked on a scheme to capture the Eye of Cagliostro in Transylvania. He soon became a prisoner in Tartarus (“The Strands of Fate,” The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume Six). His exploits took place in 1938.

After the war, Hauff was eventually cured of his condition, though at the cost of his pyrokinesis — whether it was some remaining portion of his original power or if it was the cure itself, somehow Hauff’s aging was greatly slowed. The cure was provided by Assistance Unlimited and Hauff was released from jail after several decades. After trying and failing to start a new life, Hauff was recruited into The Claw’s forces, serving as an advisor on both strategic and scientific matters. When the Claw attempted to invade the Eternal Expanse, Hauff ended up clashing with both the Matriarch’s forces and with the Dark Society. After the Claw was defeated, Hauff ended up aiding the Society in overthrowing the Matriarch. He remained behind in the Eternal Expanse, becoming chief scientist for the new government (The Dark Society Book Eight: The Eternal Expanse).