BLACK ENCHANTRESS

Real Name: Andrea Avery-Crusoe
Other Aliases: Arcanna the WitchGirl
Identity: Not Publicly Known
Occupation: Adventurer/Protector/Consultant
Group Affiliation: League of Champions, WitchGirls Inc
Base of Operations: San Francisco CA
Place of Birth: New Orleans LA
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: W. Clinton Avery (father), Ch'andarra (mother, presumed deceased), Donnah Hannah (niece)

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 110 lbs
Eyes: Violet
Hair: Silver-Blonde
First appearance: Champions v2 #2 (October 1987)

Background:

The Black Enchantress is not a nice person. She's selfish, self-absorbed, and vindictive. But if the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, one can only speculate as to where the opposite path might one day take the incomparably wicked little daughter of Doctor Arcane.

As the inheritor of fully half the mystical power of her mother, the extra-dimensional sorceress known as Ch'Andarra, Andrea Avery-Crusoe easily qualifies as one of the world's most powerful practitioners of the occult arts. But even that level of power is far from enough to satisfy her. Her ultimate ambition, she often insists with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, is to gain knowledge and power enough to destroy all opposition to her plan to conquer and rule the entire planet. An impractical ambition, she freely admits, but a girl has to aim at something, doesn't she?

Seemingly putting the lie to the Enchantress's stated ambition to rule the world is the fact that she serves as a member of the League of Champions, and has eagerly taken up her obligation as a member of the House Arcane to serve as a kind of global magic cop. She does freely admit that she doesn't do very well at playing the part of a hero ("I'm just not very good at being good"), and if pressed on it will say that she does it only because it gives her a handle on eliminating the competition. But whatever her true motive, the bottom line is that the Black Enchantress enjoys stomping on mystical bad guys.

In addition to being a member of the League of Champions, Andrea owns 41% of WitchGirls Inc, a licensed detective agency that provides consulting services in matters of the occult to Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Her work as "Arcanna the WitchGirl," keeps her much too busy for any kind of normal social life, but when she does take a rare break from the daily grind she enjoys spending time with girlfriends such as Pilar Ortega, Christine Grayson, and her WitchGirls partner, Rose. Although she does have a bit of a crush on the mysterious superhero known as Nightwind, she honestly doesn't have much use for men.

Andrea's basic mystical abilities involve the manipulation of elemental forces. She's fully in tune with the natural energies of the Earth, and can instantly summon and manipulate those powers. Note that although she often frames her abilities in the context of the classic Greek elements of earth, air, water, and fire, she isn't limited by them. She could, if she put her mind to it, just as easily handle aspects of the scientific interpretations of electricity, gravity, the weak force, and the strong force. Andrea is also (quite obviously, given her chosen title) an accomplished enchantress. Given time, she can work elaborate magics of any type and style. She enjoys brewing funky potions, she writes the occasional scroll, and she always has a few prepared spells on call.

One particular spell she always has on tap is an enchantment that allows her to transport herself and others to any place in the world with which she is familiar. She can also modify that enchantment so that she can tap into the memories of anyone she's traveling with and get to someplace he knows. This can be risky. If a memory isn't right, or something significant about the place she wants to go to has changed, she might not be able to get there, and could end up somewhere else entirely.

Another tiny little thing she likes to have on tap is the ability to change outfits at will. She has whole wardrobe of clothing and costumes she can switch into and out of in any appropriate circumstance.

One thing a GM who makes use of the Black Enchantress in his campaign needs to be aware of is that the Black Enchantress is fully capable of traveling through time. But she does not do it unless she has reason to believe she's supposed to do it. Traveling through time is even more dangerous than traveling from one place to another. Only make use this ability as a plot device. It should never be used as a method of combat.

Andrea is an accomplished martial artist. If for some reason her magic isn't working the way she wants it to, she can still clean an opponent's clock in physical combat. A couple of classic examples occurred when she showed the Nemesis Girl that raw strength isn't everything, and when she baffled the superswift Dash for a little while by deflecting most of his blows.

Be aware that if Andrea actually says something, you can rely on it being true. Or, at the very least, you can rely on her believing it's true. As Andrea explains it, being in tune with the natural energies of the Earth pretty much requires being in tune with the truth. Were she to start lying, she'd be diminishing herself, so she just doesn't do it.

Although she is perfectly willing to chase down and deal with common mystical menaces, she much prefers to let other people tend to that. If something hellaciously dangerous pops up she'll step in. Or if friends need help, tend to that. But if it's not important or interesting, she has her own concerns to worry about.

Andrea is extremely wealthy. She has a global network of agents and contacts, and a few secret bases scattered throughout the world. At root, she's basically an evil mastermind bent on world domination, and the GM could easily play her that way. But precisely because she considers the world her oyster, she will work with heroes such as the League of Champions to protect the planet against outside (and outsized) threats.