After reading Mark Smylie's story of Rook etc and martin's further defense of Onslaught it gelled. I understood what bothered me about Onslaught's stats.
They are too high for a minor hero or demi-hero. They are at the major-hero level. With his crit-proof suit and doubled attacks Onslaught is considerably more effective in melee than Conan, and Conan is the model for Harrek. My belief is that Onslaught's stats and powers, as they are, are equal to Harrek's. Now Harrek has other powers which are even more miraculous, and he has armies following him, so in the end he'd be more effective than Onslaught, plus he embodies that handy-dandy infinity rune that would just dispell all of Onslaught's magic, but without that and other mysterious hero-powers I think that Onslaught and he would be evenly matched.
I also dislike the way that Onslaught, whom I believe is an incarnation of DEATH of the same sort but to a lesser extent than Harrek, uses Healing spells with such alacrity. Healing should be difficult for him, and his weapons should cause wounds that may not be healed with magic, or that will only heal with magic, like the Seal Wound spell.
Finally, I believe that if Onslaught is to keep these hero-level
stats and powers he should have some mystical effects on his
environment. People near him should feel sick to their stomachs, as
if they were weakened by disease, food should spoil at twice normal
rate, small animals should age and die quickly, people who are
talking in his presence should find it difficult to keep their
concentration as their thoughts keep dying off, and their throats
and mouths should go dry. Through these effects Onslaught would know
that he is approaching the status of an IMMORTAL in the service of
Death, and those around him would better understand the nature of
the power he wields.
whoah!
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