[COMPETITION] And A Big Hand For...

The winner of the HeroPress "Talk To The Hand" competition was Nate at Natholean's Empires for his illustrated take on the backstory of The Hand...

The cover to Alliance of Awesomeness #17

"...a potted origin story [that] was told in full in issue 17 of the Alliance of Awesomeness (known by its acronym AA). 

"Most people don't remember but Krakistan was the last hardline Soviet Republic that was fighting the Cold War with any gusto. So villains were often secret agents from there trying to sabotage the scientific miracles being performed by the dedicated and selfless boffins of the free world.  

"Agent 86 aka Mr Puffy-paws would be a thorn in the side of the Alliance of Awesomeness throughout most of the nineties until he accidentally caught his tail in a printing press while plotting against Mothron. As yet he is one of the few NDC characters to have died and not be resurrected in a ridiculously blatant way to try to generate interest and revenue, but I am sure it is just a matter of time. 

"Today of course, Krakistan has abandoned its evil Communist overlords for evil Islamic Fundamentalist overlords. The poor old Krakis - they can't catch a break."

"The transformation sent Dr Handley Fingeroth mad (surprisingly) and he went on an uncontrollable rampage - after quickly stopping to put on some pants and booties of course - this was the eighties and all characters needed to dress well.

"He gained his name The Hand from a person that phoned in a 911 call.

"The exact words were: 'Help! We are being attacked by a... a Hand!'. 'I'll send AA straight away!' 'I'm not drunk I tell you! It's a monstrous hand!'

"The only two available members of the Alliance were Leather Lass and the Converter, as the others had their own books and were caught up in the blatantly revenue focused crossover event running through that winter - 'Beware the Body Parts'. This involved a completely disconnected series of stories where the only thing any of the issues had in common was that costumed heroes fought baddies whose names reflected various parts of the anatomy; and a cross-over announcement appeared on the cover.

"Mothron took on the Achilles Heel - who could find an opponent's weakness and exploit it. This was when Mothron pushed himself and learned to control not just three but five moths at a time.

"Iron Butterfly took on the Nostril, and Big Ted fought the interstellar menace, Gluteus. Dustmaster's conflict with the Sphincter is one issue that should probably be removed from memory.

"Eventually defeated when Converter used the energy of a Big Mac to make an explosion that knocked him out (product placement has been alive and well for a long time in comics), The Hand would return several times in the nineties before Dustmaster tricked the monster into a matter converter that he had built using Handley's records. Transformed back into a human scientist he became an even greater menace when he quit science and put together a boy band called 'Hands Up' that would hypnotise adolescent girls into taking over governments. Whether or not we have seen the last of The Hand is easy to answer. Yes we have."

The runner-up was Michel from Siskoid's Blog Of Geekery with The Cult of the Piecemeal God

The Piecemeal God is a powerful interdimensional entity, a survivor from the previous iteration the universe, essentially trapped in the Void between worlds, and only able to manifest physically through its worshipers.

Members of its cult cultivate purity of spirit, striving to attain a state of mind as close to that of their deity as possible. When a Cultist reaches that "purity", the Piecemeal God crosses over into our universe, transforming its Cultist's flesh into part of its unholy body.

Because no single three-dimensional creature can contain this Lovecraftian entity, the Piecemeal God must content itself with this disconnected existence.

Pictured above is one of two Hands of the Piecemeal God, one of its more dangerous anatomical agents, for through its Hands, the god can fire eldritch, interdimensional energies or launch itself into the air and punch what the infidels (everyone else) have built.

While many parts of the Piecemeal God are dedicated to protecting its great organs, waiting for the day when enough of the Elder Thing exists on our plane for it to take its rightful place as its ruler, the Hands are frequently sent out on errands on the Cult's behalf.

Cultists so transformed retain a certain measure of their former identity, though by then, they think so much like the Piecemeal God, there is little to differentiate them from it or one another except their particular memories.

Becoming a Hand may seem like a great honor, but Cultists are as happy to become their god's Liver or Kidney. Being a Hand actually means more active and more dangerous work, and could lead to a Cultist's untimely death, after which a new Hand must be grown from the flesh of another worshipper.

Hand stats for Doctor Who: Adventures in Space and Time RPG
Attributes: Awareness 3, Coordination 4, Ingenuity 3, Presence 5, Resolve 5, Strength 7

Skills: Athletics 2, Convince 2, Craft 1, Fighting 3, Knowledge 2, Subterfuge 1, Survival 2 (the GM may add more Skill points based on the Hand's previous identity, if known)

Traits: Alien; Alien Appearance, Climbing (characters with 2 or less Resolve will be creeped out if they witness this), Fear Factor 2, Friends (Major: Cult of the Piecemeal God), Natural Weapon/Eldritch Blast [4/L/L], Natural Weapon/Hand Attack (+2 Strength for crush, +4 Strength for punch), Networked, Tough; Obsession (Major: Bringing the Piecemeal God into our universe).
Story Points: 6
Home Tech Level: As per location and era the GM wishes to use

A massive thank you to everyone who took part. 
It was much appreciated 
- please give yourselves a big pat on the back.