TEXT: Steven S. Long
  
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks • 
  An Enemies Book for Champions
  Authors:  Steven S. Long, Darren Watts
  Editing & Development:  Steven S. Long, 
  Darren Watts
  Layout and Graphic Design:  Andy 
  Mathews
  Cover Pencils: Greg Smith
  Cover Colors: Albert Deschesne
  Interior Artwork:  Storn Cook, Andrew 
  Cremeans, Keith Curtis, Malcolm Harrison, Jeﬀ  
  Hebert, Scott Heine, Eric Lofgren, Dennis Loubet, 
  Bryce Nakagawa, Greg Smith, Chris Stevens, Pat-
  rick Zircher
  A WORD OR TWO 
  OF APPRECIATION
  Dedication:  We’d like to dedicate this book to all the 
  Champions authors and creators who have come before 
  us. Without their creativity and hard work, the world of 
  the Champions wouldn’t be nearly as much fun to play 
  around in.
  Special Thanks:  To all the Hero fans who playtested, 
  testread, math-checked, and otherwise helped us make 
  this book as good as possible; and to the Hero fans who 
  participated in message board and mailing list discus-
  sions about who they’d like to see in this book, and why.
  HERO SystemTM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system.
  HERO System  © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. 
  All rights reserved.
  Champions © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Justice Inc., Danger International, Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, Pulp Hero, and 
  Star Hero © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, 
  electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or computerization, or by 
  any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the 
  Publisher:  DOJ, Inc., 1 Haight Street, Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102.
  Printed in the U.S.A. First printing September 2002.
  Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.
  Stock Number:  DOJHERO202
  ISBN Number:  1-58366-006-2
  http://www.herogames.com
  
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Introduction
  Introduction .....................................5
  Master Villians
  Doctor Destroyer ..............................7
  Gigaton .........................................13
  Rakshasa ......................................15
  Destroyer Agent (Standard) .............16
  Destroyer Agent (Combat) ..............17
  Destroid ........................................18
  Black Talon ....................................19
  Gravitar ..........................................21
  Istvatha V’han ................................24
  D-Soldier .......................................26
  V’hanian Hovertank ........................27
  Menton ..........................................28
  Takofanes, The Undying Lord .........31
  Demon Servitor .............................35
  The Warlord ...................................36
  The War Machine ..........................39
  Warbird ......................................39
  Warcry ........................................41
  Warhead .....................................43
  Warmonger .................................45
  Warpath ......................................47
  The Flying Fortress ......................49
  Shadow Army Soldier ...................50
  Team Villains
  The Crowns of Krim .......................52
  Dark Seraph ................................53
  Bloodstone ..................................56
  Eclipse ........................................57
  Force ..........................................59
  Phoenix ......................................61
  Temblor ......................................62
  Eurostar .........................................65
  Fiacho ........................................67
  Durak .........................................69
  Feuermacher ...............................71
  Mentalla .....................................73
  Scorpia .......................................75
  Ultrasonique ................................77
  Grab ...............................................80
  Black Diamond ............................81
  Bluejay .......................................82
  Cheshire Cat ...............................84
  Hummingbird ..............................86
  PSI .................................................89
  Psimon .......................................91
  Hypnos .......................................92
  Lancer ........................................94
  Medusa ......................................95
  Mind Slayer .................................97
  Torment ......................................99
  The Ultimates ...............................101
  Binder ......................................102
  Blackstar ..................................104
  Cyclone ....................................106
  Radium .....................................108
  Slick .........................................110
  Thunderbolt I .............................112
  The Starbird ..............................114
  Solo Villains
  Ankylosaur ..................................116
  Anubis ........................................118
  Armadillo ....................................120
  Black Harlequin ...........................123
  Black Paladin ..............................126
  Blowtorch ....................................129
  Brainchild ....................................131
  Bulldozer .....................................133
  Captain Chronos ..........................135
  Cateran .......................................138
  Cybermind ..................................141
  Esper ..........................................143
  Fenris .........................................145
  Firewing ......................................147
  Foxbat ........................................150
  Gargantua ...................................152
  Grond .........................................154
  Herculan .....................................156
  Holocaust ....................................159
  Hornet .........................................161
  Howler ........................................162
  Lady Blue ....................................164
  Lazer ..........................................166
  Leech .........................................168
  Lodestone ...................................170
  Masquerade ................................172
  Mechassassin .............................174
  Menagerie ...................................177
  Mirage ........................................179
  The Monster ................................181
  Morningstar .................................182
  Nebula ........................................184
  Ogre ...........................................187
  Photon ........................................189
  Riptide ........................................191
  Shadowdragon ............................193
  Shrinker ......................................195
  Slug ............................................198
  Stormfront ...................................200
  Tesseract ....................................202
  Thorn ..........................................204
  Thunderbird ................................207
  Thunderbolt II ..............................209
  Utility ..........................................211
  Vibron .........................................214
  Zephyr ........................................216
  Zigzag .........................................218
  Zorran The Artiﬁ cer ......................220
  Lemurian Constructs And Relics ...222
  Shirak The Destroyer .................222
  Lemurian Golem ........................223
  Chala-Lion ................................224
  Adapting Villains To Your Game ....225
  Lei Kung The Thunderer ...............225
  Guan Di .......................................226
  Master Reference Chart ...............227
  Supervillain Summary Table ........230
  Index ............................................233
  
  ‘One must expect to feel a 
  few thunderbolts when 
  one challenges the gods.’
  ‘You heroes, look upon 
  me and know what true 
  Darkness is... and know, 
  too, that it is your doom.’
  ‘Keeping this Cat out is 
  harder than you think.’
  
  5 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  O
  ne of the most time-consuming tasks a 
  Champions GM has to perform is creating 
  new villains for his campaign. It’s tough 
  to create intriguing, three-dimensional, 
  challenging supervillains — each one requires 
  a lot of thought, creativity, and work with the 
  HERO System rules to get him “just right.” It’s 
  not uncommon for a GM to spend more time 
  creating the villains for a Champions game ses-
  sion than planning everything else for the game 
  combined.
  To save you some time, and create a 
  common group of villains for Champions gamers 
  around the world to use as a frame of reference, 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks presents approxi-
  mately one hundred supervillains for use in your 
  games. Although these characters are tied to the 
  Champions Universe setting (which is detailed 
  in the aptly-named Champions Universe book), 
  you can adapt them to your game in just a few 
  seconds if you’re not using that campaign. Just 
  change the background, and perhaps the name, 
  and voila! — you’ve got a new villain for your 
  game.
  Similarly, you should feel free to re-arrange 
  or revise the villains in this book to suit your 
  campaign. If you’d rather have Grond in the Ulti-
  mates instead of Blackstar, you can easily make 
  the switch. If you need more teams instead of 
  solo villains, pick some likely candidates from 
  Chapter Three and group them into a gang. If 
  Gravitar is too powerful for your game, decrease 
  her Characteristics and the Active Points in her 
  powers. Each character comes with a “Campaign 
  Use” section that includes suggestions on how to 
  make him stronger or weaker, in case you have to 
  adapt him to the power level of your campaign. 
  After all, each game is a little different, so not 
  every published character fits every GM’s pref-
  erences as-is. The Campaign Use section also 
  discusses possible ways to integrate the character 
  into your game, interesting plot hooks associated 
  with him, and how he’d function as a Hunted.
  The villains in this book are designed as 
  Standard Superheroic characters, with 200 Base 
  Points. About half of them have the normal 150 
  points’ worth of Disadvantages, putting them on 
  par with starting superheroes in most Champions 
  campaigns. The rest, including all the “master vil-
  lains” in Chapter One, have more than 350 points 
  (sometimes many more), justified either with 
  more Disadvantages or Experience Points. Some-
  times it’s not possible to define a villain properly 
  on 350 points, and it’s preferable to build a villain 
  right rather than to follow rigid point restrictions 
  or nebulous concepts of “points efficiency.” Vil-
  lains, after all, aren’t the central focus of the cam-
  paign, so you don’t have to worry as much about 
  campaign standards as you do with PCs (who are 
  always on center stage) when creating them.
  As an enemies book, Conquerors, Killers, 
  And Crooks is designed primarily for use by 
  GMs. If you’re not a GM, you may still find it 
  useful as a source of example powers and charac-
  ter ideas, but get the GM’s permission to read it. 
  Some GMs may prefer to keep the information in 
  this book secret until they reveal it during game 
  play, and may not ever want players to read vil-
  lains’ character sheets.
  WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE
  Fans who have a longstanding familiarity 
  with Champions and the previous incarnations 
  of the Champions Universe will notice quite a 
  few favorites in these pages — classic villains like 
  Dr. Destroyer, Foxbat, and Firewing. Although 
  their appearances and backgrounds may differ (a 
  little or a lot), at heart they’re the same old favor-
  ites the players in your campaign have enjoyed 
  fighting in the past. However, not every charac-
  ter created in earlier Champions products is in 
  this book. Some may appear in later books, but 
  some never will. The new Champions Universe 
  isn’t the same as the old, and so it doesn’t neces-
  sarily need what the old one did. Nevertheless, 
  it’s only right and proper to acknowledge the 
  efforts of past creators who have helped to shape 
  gamers’ ideas about what a good Champions vil-
  lain should be. First and foremost among them 
  is Scott Bennie, whose Classic Enemies has pro-
  vided Champions gamers with hours of fun for 
  the past decade, but even that book recognizes 
  the contributions of others. Thanks, guys!
  This book also contains plenty of new vil-
  lains who will, hopefully, soon become favorites 
  of yours along with the likes of Dark Seraph and 
  Eurostar. Some fill gaps in the existing roster, and 
  others are particularly suited to the new Cham-
  pions Universe and its stories for some reason. If 
  nothing else, they should provide an unpleasant 
  surprise for players who already know what Dr. 
  Destroyer or Binder can do.
  So, get ready for a new universe of villainy 
  and superheroic excitement! With the legions of 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks at your beck and 
  call, you have hundreds of ways to challenge the 
  superheroes of the world.
  INTRODUCTION
  CHARACTER 
  SHEET NOTATION
  Generally, the text of 
  the character sheets 
  in this book should be 
  pretty straightforward 
  and easy to understand. 
  Consult the Glossary 
  in the HERO System 
  5th Edition, and the 
  example powers in 
  that book, if you have 
  any questions about 
  abbreviations, terms, or 
  notations. Th e Writer’s 
  Guidelines, available on 
  the Hero Games website 
  (www.herogames.com), 
  also provide some infor-
  mation about character 
  sheet formatting.
  In a Multipower, a “u” 
  next to the cost indicates 
  a Fixed (or “ultra”) slot, 
  and an “m” a Flexible (or 
  “multi”) slot.
  Under the END column, 
  a number in brack-
  ets indicates Charges 
  (however, the bracketed 
  number next to STR is 
  an END cost).
  
  6 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  T
  he ﬁ rst part of Conquer-
  ors, Killers, And Crooks 
  describes six master villains 
  — supercriminals power-
  ful enough to threaten the world 
  (or even the entire universe). 
  Some have hidden bases scat-
  tered around the world and entire 
  armies of followers, while others 
  prefer to work by themselves. But 
  each one represents a danger no 
  superhero can aﬀ ord to ignore.
  Th e master villains described 
  here are:
  Dr. Destroyer
  Gravitar
  Istvatha V’han, Empress Of A Billion 
  Dimensions
  Menton
  Takofanes the Undying Lord
  The Warlord
  
  7 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  B
  ackground/History:  Born to a Bavarian 
  dollmaker and his wife in the bitter winter 
  of 1917, Albert Zerstoiten was a precocious 
  child. Able to walk before he was a year old, 
  and to speak coherent sentences before he was two, 
  he constantly amazed his parents with his intellect 
  and strength.
  Although the family was poor, Rudi Zer-
  stoiten oft en entertained his son with stories of 
  his ancestors’ past glories, when the Zerstoitens 
  were renowned nobles. Albert loved the tales of 
  grandeur and power, and sat quietly in his father’s 
  workshop and helped him make dolls just so Rudi 
  would tell him more. As he grew up, the stories of 
  his noble blood, together with his rising awareness 
  of his intellectual superiority, combined to make 
  him insuﬀ erably arrogant and proud.
  Nor was that his only social diﬃ  culty. Albert 
  displayed a terrible temper, becoming furious 
  whenever he was slighted, frustrated, or denied in 
  any way. His parents soon learned it was best not 
  to anger him, but other people simply kept their 
  children away from him, fearing he’d hurt them. 
  Albert didn’t care; he had no desire to spend his 
  time in the company of inferiors. He grew up alone, 
  immersed in his studies.
  So vast was Albert’s intelligence that he was 
  enrolled in university at age 12. By the time he 
  was 20, he had two Ph.D degrees. His learning 
  and Aryan good looks attracted the attention of 
  the Nazi government, which oﬀ ered him a job 
  working on a number of secret military projects. 
  Albert readily agreed to the “oﬀ er,” knowing not 
  only that he had no choice, but that he could 
  improve his already extensive skills through such 
  cutting-edge projects. Th ough he mouthed Nazi 
  slogans when required to, he considered the Nazi 
  philosophy foolish. He was well aware that no one 
  race, German or otherwise, was superior to all the 
  rest; only he and he alone stood above the teeming 
  masses of humanity. Even the purest of Germans 
  was as nothing compared to him.
  Albert worked on numerous war projects for 
  the Nazis from 1938 until 1944, including several 
  involving the new Übermenschen, who intrigued 
  him and became a subject of lifelong fascination. 
  But when it became apparent Germany was des-
  tined to lose the war, he defected, betraying his 
  colleagues to the French Resistance. Reports that 
  several scientists whom Albert intensely disliked 
  were already dead when the Resistance attacked 
  have never been conﬁ rmed.
  Albert cared for the French no more than he 
  had for the Germans. When the opportunity arose, 
  he betrayed the Resistance as well and took ship for 
  South America. He already knew what destiny lay 
  in store for him — rulership — and it was time to 
  begin fulﬁ lling it. But fate had other ideas. Th e Brit-
  ish stopped the cargo ship he was on and captured 
  him — the ﬁ rst, and last, time anyone ever took 
  him against his will. He was escorted to America 
  under careful guard. Th e Allies knew who he was, 
  and though they despised him, they could not 
  deny his towering intellect or his devilish creativ-
  ity when it came to inventing weapons. American 
  oﬃ  cials, eager to take advantage of his abilities in 
  the Cold War they knew would inevitably follow 
  World War II, overlooked his activities on behalf of 
  Nazi Germany. Th e hideous experiments involving 
  human subjects tortured to death in the name of 
  Science, the advanced ﬁ rebombs designed to dev-
  astate entire cities, the dabbling with germ warfare 
  — all were conveniently forgotten. Instead of facing 
  judgment at Nuremburg, Albert Zerstoiten found 
  himself living in a comfortable split-level home in 
  America and working on the next generation of 
  atomic bombs.
  But the temporary derailment of his plans 
  did nothing to change Zerstoiten’s mind about 
  his ultimate destiny. His superiority, not only over 
  common folk but even the other “advanced” scien-
  tists he worked with on a daily basis, was readily 
  apparent to anyone with even the slightest wit. He 
  stayed just long enough to learn what he needed to 
  know about America’s technological and military 
  secrets, and then departed, hiding himself in South 
  America so he could work unmolested. Scientists 
  who had annoyed or aggravated him turned up 
  dead shortly aft er he left , but no one was ever able 
  to deﬁ nitely connect their deaths to him.
  For the next quarter of a century, Zerstoiten 
  worked to build not only his scientiﬁ c acumen, but 
  a world-wide criminal network. He soon gained 
  a reputation as a supplier of advanced weaponry 
  to underworld gangs, terrorist organizations, and 
  supervillains, but his empire was far greater than 
  that. By 1960, his smuggling operations, dummy 
  corporations, and other resources had made him 
  a millionaire many times over. Across the globe, 
  powerful underworld ﬁ gures knew him only by the 
  English translation of his name — Dr. Destroyer.
  By the mid-1970s, Zerstoiten felt prepared to 
  begin his conquest of Earth in earnest, but he knew 
  he had to prepare to contend with costumed super-
  heroes as much as with the governments of the 
  world. Designing himself a suit of powered armor, 
  the most advanced ever invented up to that time, so 
  he could face his foes on even footing, he embarked 
  on his ﬁ rst scheme of conquest:  a plan to take over 
  California, and eventually the entire United States. 
  DOCTOR 
  DESTROYER
  
  8 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  With America out of the way, it would be child’s play 
  to conquer Europe, Russia, and anyone else who 
  dared resist him. On March 5, 1975, he launched his 
  assault, backed by an army of agents equipped with 
  super-tech vehicles and weapons of his own design. 
  Th e superheroes of America, including the Fabulous 
  Five, the Justice Squadron, the Sentinels, and many 
  independent heroes, responded. Aft er a ﬁ erce battle, 
  they drove Destroyer from his initial gains and forced 
  him to abandon the attempt, though it cost them 
  dearly — both Kid Chameleon and the Ocelot fell by 
  Destroyer’s hand.
  Between 1975 and 1992, Destroyer tried several 
  times to conquer the world, oft en making impres-
  sive initial gains but always suﬀ ering eventual defeat 
  at the hands of heroes — albeit by frighteningly 
  narrow margins. (Th ough he also helped to defeat the 
  Gadroon and stave oﬀ  other threats to Earth during 
  this time.) Most infamous of these attempts was the 
  1991 attack on America using the artiﬁ cial island 
  of Destruga, and the follow-up eﬀ ort in 1992 that 
  resulted in the almost total destruction of Detroit... 
  and, to humanity’s great relief, Destroyer’s death.
  Or so Destroyer preferred for the world to 
  believe. His analysis of his activities during the 
  past two decades convinced him he needed more 
  resources, better technology, and stronger forces if 
  his plans were to succeed. Th e superheroes of Earth 
  represented an X-factor he could never completely 
  predict or compensate for, so the only solution was 
  to greet them with overwhelming force. Th e attack 
  on Detroit was nothing more than a feint, a way to 
  fake his own death so he could go into seclusion to 
  develop his most irresistible plan of conquest yet.
  For ten years Destroyer remained in hiding, so 
  carefully concealed that not even a whisper of his 
  continued existence reached the ears of the govern-
  ments of the world. During that time he concentrated 
  on scientiﬁ c research, developing new weapons and 
  systems even more advanced than his already cut-
  ting-edge technology. Incorporating breakthroughs 
  in computing, robotics, microelectronics, bioengi-
  neering, and nanotechnology into his inventions, 
  he built himself a new suit of armor — the most 
  powerful the world has ever seen. More regal and 
  impressive than ever, he now stands poised to fulﬁ ll 
  his destiny and become ruler of the world... regard-
  less of how many costumed fools choose to stand 
  against him.
  Personality/Motivation:  Destroyer is arrogance and 
  imperial ambition personiﬁ ed. He knows, from years 
  of experience, that he is intellectually and physically 
  superior to all other human beings (and, for that 
  matter, other sentients), and that as such it is his right 
  to rule the planet Earth. All mankind must bow to 
  him, and acknowledge him its unquestioned master, 
  before he will be satisﬁ ed. Compared to other people, 
  he is a god, and he intends to be recognized as one. 
  He will not tolerate scorn, mockery, or impudence; 
  on more than one occasion he has casually slaugh-
  tered someone who made a trivial remark he found 
  oﬀ ensive.
  Destroyer’s ego and arrogance manifest them-
  selves in grandiloquent ways. He’s not content to sit 
  quietly and conspire behind the scenes to take over 
  the world; he wants to bring humanity to its knees 
  with one terrifying gesture that embodies his irresist-
  ible power and intelligence. Given to long, pompous 
  speeches describing his own superiority and inevi-
  table triumph, Destroyer is so conﬁ dent in his own 
  success that he usually doesn’t hesitate to reveal his 
  plans to superheroes. Aft er all, they can’t possibly stop 
  him in time.
  At times, Destroyer carries himself with a noble 
  air, as if aﬀ ecting the manners of the emperors of old, 
  and pretends to be honorable and trustworthy. In 
  truth, he is neither. Th ough he claims his word is his 
  bond, he readily breaks promises he ﬁ nds inconve-
  nient and willingly betrays anyone foolish enough to 
  ally with him if he can gain by doing so.
  Although the rest of the world considers 
  Destroyer irredeemably evil (and he is), no one 
  denies his extraordinarily intelligence and other gift s. 
  Anyone who underestimates his intellect, his capacity 
  for creating multiple-layered plans, or his willingness 
  to do whatever he must to achieve his goals is in for 
  a rude surprise. Th e same goes for those who con-
  sider Destroyer a straightforward combat opponent; 
  in truth, he enjoys manipulating people intellectu-
  ally and emotionally — especially if, by doing so, he 
  can make them question their ethics or morals. He’s 
  particularly fond of using superheroes’ Codes Versus 
  Killing against them.
  Quote:  “One must expect to feel a few thunderbolts 
  when one challenges the gods.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Doctor Destroyer is widely, and cor-
  rectly, regarded as the most technologically advanced 
  and adept person on Earth. He wears a suit of pow-
  ered armor that’s more sophisticated and powerful 
  than any other in existence, and the super-technol-
  ogy in his bases, vehicles, and weapons is similarly 
  advanced. Every time superheroes capture some of 
  Destroyer’s technology, the scientists of the world 
  learn new things. Destroyer’s armor, and much of 
  his technology, is constructed of Destreum, a super-
  strong alloy he invented.
  Because Destroyer almost never takes oﬀ  his 
  armor (and then only in the most safe conditions), 
  and it cannot be removed against his will without 
  circumventing elaborate security technology, it does 
  not take a Limitation such as Focus or Only In Heroic 
  Identity. For game purposes, Dr. Destroyer simply has 
  innate powers — though the GM should, of course, 
  keep the special eﬀ ect in mind when resolving spe-
  ciﬁ c situations.
  Destroyer’s armor comes equipped with sys-
  tems designed to make him as physically superior 
  to superhumans as he already is intellectually. His 
  Fall Down — Go BOOM!
  ‘Yes, Destroyer’s armor is more 
  powerful than mine — it’s more 
  powerful than anyone’s. Watch 
  the news footage of the Battle 
  of Detroit. You haven’t seen me singlehandedly 
  collapsing any skyscrapers, have you? And that 
  was what he could do ten years ago....’
  — Defender of the Champions
  
  9 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Primary and Secondary Weapon Arrays contain 
  blasters and other weapons powerful enough to kill 
  or harm even the likes of Grond and Ripper, and his 
  defensive systems (ranging from the natural defenses 
  of his armor, to walls of force he can generate at 
  range) protect him from most types of harm. He can 
  ﬂ y, eﬀ ortlessly lift  hundreds of tons of weight, and 
  perform many other astounding feats. With his vast 
  technological resources, he can add to or adapt his 
  armor for speciﬁ c situations if need be.
  But Destroyer’s armor is not his greatest weapon. 
  His matchless mind is what gives him the edge he 
  needs to triumph. He is enormously skilled, a world 
  expert in dozens of sciences and related subjects, and 
  a polymath of almost unprecedented scope.
  Doctor Destroyer rarely engages in combat 
  himself, preferring not to soil his hands with such 
  menial tasks. He usually sends a robot duplicate or 
  other ﬂ unkies instead. If he does ﬁ ght, he begins 
  battle without employing any advanced tactics 
  — he simply stands there and blasts away at his foes, 
  knowing they cannot withstand his attacks for long. 
  He prefers single attacks, but will resort to multiple-
  power attacks if necessary, or to impress onlookers. If 
  his enemies somehow resist, avoid, or counteract his 
  attacks, he quickly adapts, using his intellect and tac-
  tical insight to ﬁ nd ways to lay them low. Superheroes 
  who mistake his arrogant approach to combat for a 
  true lack of tactical sense are in for a shock.
  Destroyer has two Achilles’s heels — one known 
  to the world, one carefully kept secret. Th e ﬁ rst is his 
  pride and arrogance, through which he can some-
  times be taunted into exposing himself, and which 
  drive him to grandiose schemes when more covert 
  action would probably allow him to achieve his goals 
  more quickly. Th e second is a quirk of genetics that 
  played him false. Th e same genes responsible for his 
  incredible intelligence and good health also render 
  him not susceptible to the standard age-retarding sci-
  entiﬁ c treatments known to the Champions Universe 
  as of 2002. (Th ey also make it extremely diﬃ  cult to 
  viably clone him.) Destroyer is now 85 years old, and 
  though he has slowed down his aging somewhat, he 
  cannot stop it altogether. His armor in essence acts as 
  a life support system, not only granting him powers 
  but keeping him as healthy as possible as long as pos-
  sible. He is desperately researching new ways to halt, 
  or even reverse, his aging before it becomes too late.
  Resources:  Doctor Destroyer possesses more, and 
  more advanced, resources than many nations. In 
  addition to his technological prowess, he is a billion-
  aire dozens of times over, with income deriving not 
  only from his numerous criminal schemes but the 
  many dummy corporations he has established over 
  the years to exploit patents obtained on his lesser 
  inventions. Approximately twenty thousand highly-
  trained servants, troops, and technicians serve him 
  with absolute loyalty, and many more people would 
  ﬂ ock to his banner should he gain some measure of 
  true geopolitical power in the world. Destroyer also 
  has a few superpowered servants; two of them, Giga-
  ton and Rakshasa, are detailed below.
  In addition to his human followers, Destroyer 
  has uncounted legions of robots, androids, and other 
  mechanical constructs at his command. Second 
  only, perhaps, to Mechanon in terms of his skill with 
  robotics, Destroyer oft en uses robotic duplicates to 
  insulate himself from direct contact with or harm 
  from superheroes. He rarely uses cloned servants or 
  constructs, preferring to leave the less precise and 
  powerful biological sciences to the likes of Teleios.
  Destroyer has four main headquarters. Th e ﬁ rst, 
  and oldest, is hidden deep in the Vale of Javangari 
  in the Himalayas. He discovered this ancient valley, 
  inhabited by peoples who had had no contact with 
  the outside world for centuries, in the 1960s. He 
  conquered it so eﬀ ortlessly that the people there now 
  revere him as a god, an incarnation of Shiva, and 
  serve him without question or complaint. In but a few 
  decades he has raised them from a primitive soci-
  ety with seventeenth century technology to one 
  of the most technologically advanced cultures 
  on Earth. Th e second is an underground base 
  in Siberia with underground river access to 
  the Paciﬁ c Ocean. Th e third is a mobile under-
  water base, in essence a gigantic submarine; 
  it was here that Destroyer spent 
  most of the past decade con-
  ducting research and build-
  ing his new armor. Th e 
  last is an orbital facility, 
  hidden by advanced 
  stealth technology and 
  equipped with weaponry 
  even more powerful than 
  the cannon with which he 
  razed Detroit.
  Destroyer uses a power-
  ful artiﬁ cially intelligent com-
  puter, named Sennacherib, to 
  run the automated features of 
  his facilities and assist him 
  with his research. Possibly 
  the most advanced com-
  puter in the world, Sen-
  nacherib has advanced 
  encryption and stealth 
  systems to prevent 
  anyone from hacking 
  into it or monitoring/
  tracking its transmis-
  sions.
  Relations With 
  Others:  Destroyer 
  does not get 
  along well with 
  anyone; every 
  powerful 
  individual 
  and organiza-
  tion in the 
  world is but 
  an obstacle 
  to his goal 
  of world con-
  quest. He reserves 
  his particular hatred 
  for groups with simi-
  lar objectives (such as 
  VIPER), former followers 
  
  10 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  who have “betrayed” him (Menton and Mentalla), 
  and groups like DEMON which rely on magic 
  instead of technology (which he considers fool-
  ish and dangerous, since wizardry cannot be con-
  trolled or scientiﬁ cally analyzed). Nevertheless, Dr. 
  Destroyer has from time to time joined forces with 
  other supervillains or villainous organizations as a 
  way to achieve his goals. Inevitably, he betrays these 
  allies, or comes to blows with them when their meg-
  alomaniacal personalities clash with his own.
  Some experts on supervillainy have opined that 
  Dr. Destroyer is the Supreme Serpent who suppos-
  edly rules VIPER, and that he either built, or secretly 
  is, the robotic ﬁ end Mechanon. Destroyer has never 
  commented on these theories.
  Campaign Use:  Doctor Destroyer is the single most 
  powerful supervillain in the Champions Universe, 
  the one villain any superteam, no matter how power-
  ful, should regard as an extreme danger to the safety 
  and security of the world. Even if the GM reduces 
  Destroyer’s power to make it possible for the PCs to 
  defeat him, triumphing over him and stopping his 
  schemes should never be easy.
  Th e points allocated on Destroyer’s sheet for 
  agents and bases are approximations. As a master vil-
  lain, Destroyer should have whatever resources and 
  facilities he needs to carry out one of his schemes. 
  Add to or change his Perks as needed.
  Doctor Destroyer is perhaps the most danger-
  ous Hunted any superhero can have; he counts as 
  More Powerful than any given hero or superhero 
  team. He might start Hunting a hero because he 
  thinks the hero stole from him, or humiliated him in 
  some way. If he really put his mind to it, Destroyer 
  could kill just about any hero without much trouble. 
  Only the fact that he has dozens of other things 
  to occupy him keeps him from simply wiping out 
  anyone he Hunts as soon as that person attracts his 
  unfavorable attention.
  If Destroyer is too powerful for your group to 
  challenge (assuming you want them to confront him 
  personally in combat at all), reduce the Active Points 
  in his attacks appropriately (but typically to no less 
  than 100-120 Active Points), and cut his Character-
  istics (reduce STR to 60, DEX to 25, and SPD to 6; 
  do not reduce INT or PRE). You might also consider 
  getting rid of his Damage Reduction or reducing his 
  PD and ED. In the unlikely event he’s not powerful 
  enough to challenge your PCs, increase the Active 
  Points in his attacks and defenses until he is, or equip 
  him with entire new suites of powers (e.g., a Multi-
  power of Mental Powers resulting from a Cerebro-
  Stimulator built into his helmet).
  Appearance:  Doctor Destroyer wears the most 
  advanced and powerful suit of powered armor in the 
  world. Th e basic armor, not much bulkier than ordi-
  nary clothing thanks to his nanotechnological break-
  throughs, is jet black. Attached to it are a breastplate, 
  gauntlets, and boots in silver-grey, and golden paul-
  drons in the shape of lion’s heads. Over it all he wears 
  a red cloak, and sometimes a sword for eﬀ ect. His 
  head and face are concealed by a silver-grey helm of 
  distinctive shape, with a headpiece reminiscent of a 
  golden crown on top.
  Out of his armor, Albert Zerstoiten is an 85 
  year old white male, extremely healthy and ﬁ t for his 
  age but still showing the signs of nearly a century of 
  hard-lived life. He has a thick head of grey hair, and 
  his face, handsome even today, looks cultured and 
  intelligent even when he’s committing the most evil 
  acts imaginable. His eyes, lively and piercing, betray 
  the cruelty that lives within him.
  DR. DESTROYER
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   80 STR 
  70 
  25- 
  Lift  1.6 ktons; 16d6 [8]
   30 DEX 
  60 
  15- 
  OCV:  10/DCV:  10
   55 CON 
  90 
  20-
   30 BODY 40 
  15-
   35 INT 
  25 
  16- 
  PER Roll 16-
   26 EGO 
  32 
  14- 
  ECV:  9
   60 PRE 
  50 
  21- 
  PRE Attack:  12d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   40 PD 
  24 
   
  Total:  40 PD (40 rPD)
   40 ED 
  29 
   
  Total:  40 ED (40 rED)
   8 SPD 
  40 
   
  Phases:  2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
   30 REC 
  6
   150 END 
  20
   100 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  489
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  12”/24”
   
  Flight: 
  30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  150 
  Primary Weapons Array:  Multipower, 
  150-point reserve
  15u 
  1)  Destroyer-Beam (Standard Mode):  
  EB 30d6 
  15
  15u 
  2)  Destroyer-Beam (Energy Conservation 
  Mode):  EB 20d6, Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) 
  0
  15u 
  3)  Destroyer-Beam (AP Mode):  EB 20d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½) 
  15
  15u 
  4)  Destroyer-Beam (Explosive Mode):  EB 
  20d6, Explosion (+½) 
  15
  15u 
  5)  Destroyer-Beam (Transdimensional 
  Mode):  EB 20d6, Aﬀ ects Desolidiﬁ ed (+½) 15
  15u 
  6)  Destroyer-Beam (Mercy Mode):  EB 12d6, 
  AVLD (defense is Power Defense; +1½) 
  15
  15u 
  7)  Destroyer-Beam (Power Mode):  
  RKA 10d6 
  15
  125 
  Secondary Weapons Array:  Multipower, 
  125-point reserve
  11u 
  1)  Particle Cannon:  RKA 5d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12u 
  2)  Secondary Destroyer-Beam:  EB 16d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12u 
  3)  Sensory Overload Cannon:  Sight and 
  Hearing Group Flash 15d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12u 
  4)  Synaptic Interference Generator 
  (Setting I):  Drain STR 8d6, Ranged (+½) 12
  12u 
  5)  Synaptic Interference Generator 
  (Setting II):  Drain DEX 8d6, Ranged (+½) 12
  12u 
  6)  Synaptic Interference Generator 
  (Setting III):  Drain SPD 8d6, Ranged (+½) 12
  12u 
  7)  Tangleweb Projector:  Entangle 10d6, 
  10 DEF, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 5
  DR. DESTROYER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  By murdering the PCs’ 
  liaisons and contacts 
  and replacing them 
  with robotic duplicates, 
  Destroyer begins to 
  turn government opin-
  ion against the heroes. 
  Before they know it, 
  they’re wanted on 
  trumped-up charges! 
  Can they remain free 
  long enough to ﬁ gure 
  out what’s going on 
  and clear their names... 
  or will Destroyer take 
  advantage of the confu-
  sion to succeed with his 
  latest scheme?
  Destroyer unleashes an 
  army of robotic soldiers 
  in an attempt to conquer 
  India. Th e PCs have to 
  stop the invasion, all the 
  while trying to ﬁ gure 
  out why the ﬁ endish 
  Doctor would choose 
  such a diﬃ  cult target 
  when many easier ones 
  are available.
  Destroyer announces 
  he’s built a series of 
  orbital cannons like 
  the one that levelled 
  Detroit, and demands 
  the world surrender to 
  him in 24 hours or he’ll 
  start destroying major 
  cities, one per hour, until 
  it does so. Can the PCs 
  ﬁ nd him and stop his 
  plot in time?
  
  11 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  112 
  Technological Arsenal:  Variable Power Pool 
  (Gadget Pool), 90 base + 45 control cost; 
  Focus (all powers bought through VPP 
  must have at least -½ worth of this 
  Limitation; -½), Can Only Be Changed 
  In Destroyer’s Laboratory (-½) 
  var
  20 
  Destreum Armor:  Hardened (+¼) for PD 
  and ED 
  0
  50 
  Destreum Armor:  Damage Resistance 
  (40 PD/40 ED), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  60 
  Destreum Armor:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% 
  0
  85 
  Force Barrier Generator:  Force Wall 
  (15 PD/15 ED; 5” long and 2” tall) 
  9
  37 
  Destreum Helmet:  Sight and Hearing Group 
  Flash Defense (15 points each), Hardened 
  (+¼) 
  0
  20 
  Destreum Helmet:  Mental Defense 
  (20 points total), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  20 
  Destreum Armor:  Power Defense 
  (16 points), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  15 
  Destreum Armor:  Lack Of Weakness (-15) 
  for Normal Defenses 
  0
  45 
  Life Support Systems:  Life Support:  Total 0
  90 
  Armor Jets:  Flight 30”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12 
  Swift  Runner:  Running +6” (12” total) 
  1
  5 
  Visual Sensor Systems:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Visual Sensor Systems:  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group) 
  0
  15 
  Sonar System:  Active Sonar (Hearing 
  Group) 
  0
  3 
  Audio Sensor Systems:  Ultrasonic 
  Perception (Hearing Group) 
  0
  8 
  Communications Suite:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing 
  Groups As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  15 
  Radar System:  Radar (Radio Group) 
  0
  15 
  Sensory Enhancement Systems:  +10 versus 
  Range Modiﬁ er for Sight Group 
  0
  15 
  Sensory Enhancement Systems:  Increased 
  Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) for 
  Sight Group and Radar 
  0
   
  Perks
  310 
  Bases:  four bases of up to 1,500 points each
  100 
  Contacts:  various and sundry throughout 
  the underworld, world governments, and 
  the world scientiﬁ c community
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
  85 
  Followers:  approximately 20,000 Followers 
  of up to 300 points each, built on 50 Base 
  Points
  18 
  Reputation:  world’s most powerful and 
  dangerous supervillain (on Earth; 14-) 
  +6/+6d6
   
  Any other Followers, Vehicles, or Bases he 
  might possibly need
   
  Talents
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
  3 
  Perfect Pitch
  5 
  Resistance (5 points)
  4 
  Speed Reading (x10)
  32 
  Armor Computer Systems:  Absolute 
  Range Sense, Absolute Time Sense, Bump 
  Of Direction, Lightning Calculator, 
  Universal Translator 16-
   
  Skills
  40 
  +4 Overall
  20 
  +4 with Ranged Combat
  3 
  Bureaucratics 21-
  3 
  Combat Piloting 15-
  7 
  Computer Programming 18-
  15 
  Cramming (x3)
  3 
  Criminology 16-
  3 
  Cryptography 16-
  3 
  Deduction 16-
  3 
  Demolitions 16-
  7 
  Electronics 18-
  3 
  High Society 21-
  3 
  Interrogation 21-
  11 
  Inventor 20-
  7 
  Mechanics 18-
  5 
  Navigation (Air, Land, Marine, Space) 16-
  3 
  Oratory 21-
  3 
  Paramedics 16-
  3 
  Persuasion 21-
  31 
  Power:  Gadgeteering 30-
  2 
  PS: Dollmaking 11-
  3 
  PS: Play Chess 16-
  3 
  PS: Play Piano 15-
  3 
  Security Systems 16-
  3 
  Systems Operation 16-
  3 
  Tactics 16-
  9 
  TF:  Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Science Fiction & Space Vehicles, Combat 
  Aircraft , Helicopters, Large Planes, Small 
  Planes, Submarines
  13 
  Weaponsmith (all categories) 18-
  3 
  Linguist
  2 
  1)  English (completely ﬂ uent; German is 
  native)
  2 
  2)  French (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  3)  Italian (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  4)  Japanese (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  5)  Mandarin Chinese (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  6)  Portuguese (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  7)  Russian (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  8)  Spanish (completely ﬂ uent)
  3 
  Scientist
  2 
  1)  SS: Anatomy 16-
  2 
  2)  SS: Anthropology 16-
  2 
  3)  SS: Archaeology 16-
  2 
  4)  SS: Astronomy 16-
  2 
  5)  SS: Bacteriology/Virology 16-
  2 
  6)  SS: Biochemistry 16-
  2 
  7)  SS: Biology 16-
  2 
  8)  SS: Botany 16-
  2 
  9)  SS: Chemistry 16-
  2 
  10)  SS: Computer Science 16-
  2 
  11)  SS: Density Physics 16-
  2 
  12)  SS: Dimensional Engineering 16-
  2 
  13)  SS: Electronic Engineering 16-
  2 
  14)  SS: Force Field Physics 16-
  2 
  15)  SS: Genetics 16-
  2 
  16)  SS: Geology 16-
  2 
  17)  SS: Gravitics 16-
  
  12 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  2 
  18)  SS: Mathematics 16-
  2 
  19)  SS: Medicine 16-
  2 
  20)  SS: Metallurgy 16-
  2 
  21)  SS: Nuclear Physics 16-
  2 
  22)  SS: Oceanography 16-
  2 
  23)  SS: Pharmacology/Toxicology 16-
  2 
  24)  SS: Physics 16-
  2 
  25)  SS: Psionic Engineering 16-
  2 
  26)  SS: Robotics 16-
  2 
  27)  SS: Size Physics 16-
  2 
  28)  SS: Subatomic Physics 16-
  2 
  29)  SS: Zoology 16-
  3 
  Scholar
  2 
  1)  KS: Art History 16-
  2 
  2)  KS: Chess 16-
  2 
  3)  KS: Th e Espionage World 16-
  2 
  4)  KS: History 16-
  2 
  5)  KS: Literature 16-
  2 
  6)  KS: Military History 16-
  2 
  7)  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist 
  World 16-
  2 
  8)  KS: Music 16-
  2 
  9)  KS: Superheroes 16-
  2 
  10)  KS: Th e Superhuman World 16-
  2 
  11)  KS: Superpowers 16-
  2 
  12)  KS: Supervillains 16-
  2 
  13)  KS: Wine 16-
  2 
  14)  KS: World Politics 16-
  3 
  Traveler
  1 
  1)  CK: Berlin 11-
  1 
  2)  CK: Buenos Aires 11-
  1 
  3)  AK: Central America 11-
  1 
  4)  CK: London 11-
  1 
  5)  AK: Th e Middle East 11-
  1 
  6)  CK: Moscow 11-
  1 
  7)  CK: Munich 11-
  1 
  8)  CK: New York City 11-
  1 
  9)  AK: South America 11-
  1 
  10)  CK: Tokyo 11-
  1 
  11)  AK: Th e United States 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  2,027
  Total Cost:  2,516
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Utterly Convinced 
  Of His Own Superiority And Destiny To 
  Rule Th e World (Very Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Casual Killer 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  20 
  Reputation:  world’s most powerful and 
  dangerous supervillain, 14- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Dr. Albert 
  Zerstoiten) (Frequently, Major)
  2,196 Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  2,516
  Note:  Dr. Destroyer does not receive the normal +5 
  bonus to his Hunteds for having a Public Identity 
  because, although his name is publicly known, his 
  general whereabouts almost never are.
  EXAMPLE POWERS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL 
  ARSENAL POWER POOL
  Here are some examples of devices Dr. 
  Destroyer might build with his Gadget Pool:
  Dimensional Transporter:  With this device, Dr. 
  Destroyer can move from one point to another 
  without crossing the physical space in between.
  Teleportation 20”, Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½) (60 Active Points); OIF (-½). Total 
  cost:  40 points.
  EMP Cannon:  Although he uses technology against 
  his enemies, Dr. Destroyer doesn’t like having it 
  used against him. Th is weapon allows him to shut 
  oﬀ  his opponents’ powered armor, blasters, and the 
  like.
  Dispel 24d6, any Electrical Device one power at 
  a time (+¼) (90 Active Points); OIF (-½). Total 
  cost:  60 points.
  Flight Enhancer:  With these extra jets, Dr. Destroyer 
  can ﬂ y faster than ever.
  Flight +15”, x16 Noncombat for all (45 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½). Total cost:  30 points.
  Force Barrier Extender:  Th is device enhances the 
  strength and size of Dr. Destroyer’s Force Barrier.
  Force Wall (+6 PD/+6 ED; +5” long and +2” 
  high) (44 Active Points); OIF (-½). Total cost:  
  29 points.
  Miniaturized Arsenal:  Th is series of weapon 
  enhancements allows Dr. Destroyer to ﬁ re a wide 
  range of deadly beams.
  EB 12d6, Variable Special Eﬀ ects (+½) (90 
  Active Points); OIF (-½). Total cost:  60 points.
  Psionic Feedback Inducer:  Th is weapon, which 
  attaches to Destroyer’s helmet, causes synaptic mis-
  ﬁ rings in the target’s brain, resulting in spasms and 
  intense pain.
  Ego Attack 4d6 (40 Active Points); OIF (-½), 8 
  Charges (-½) (total cost:  20 points) plus Drain 
  DEX 2d6, Ranged (+½) (30 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½), 8 Charges (-½), Linked (-½) (total cost:  
  12 points). Total cost:  32 points.
  Psychic Shield:  If Dr. Destroyer expects to face 
  powerful mentalists, he oft en prepares this device. 
  Due to his extensive study of Menton and Men-
  talla, it’s particularly eﬀ ective against their psionic 
  powers.
  Mental Defense (+15 points) (15 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½) (total cost:  10 points) plus Mental 
  Defense (+10 points) (10 Active Points); OIF (-½), 
  Linked (-½), Only Versus Menton And Mentalla 
  (-1) (total cost:  3 points). Total cost:  13 points.
  The Sword Of Destroyer:  Th is blade, carried more 
  for aﬀ ect than for actual use, appears to be a slim, 
  lightweight sword, similar to a rapier. In fact it con-
  
  13 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  tains built-in systems that surround the blade with 
  an energy ﬁ eld, allowing it to cut through virtually 
  anything.
  HKA 1½d6 (3d6+1 with STR), Armor Piercing 
  (x2; +1), Penetrating (+½), Reduced Endur-
  ance (0 END; +½) (75 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), No Knockback (-¼). Total cost:  33 points.
  Tractor Beam:  A favorite of Destroyer’s due to its 
  impressive nature, this device uses gravitic manipu-
  lation to move objects at a distance.
  Telekinesis (60 STR) (90 Active Points); OIF 
  (-½). Total cost:  60 points.
  GIGATON
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   60 STR 
  50 
  21- 
  Lift  100 tons; 12d6 [6]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   40 CON 
  60 
  17-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   25 PD 
  13 
   
  Total:  25 PD (20 rPD)
   30 ED 
  22 
   
  Total:  30 ED (20 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  0
   80 END 
  0
   70 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  251
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  105 
  Gigablast Powers:  Multipower, 
  105-point reserve
  10u 
  1)  Gigabolt:  EB 14d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10u 
  2)  Gigablast:  EB 14d6, Explosion (+½) 
  10
  10u 
  3)  Lesser Gigablast:  EB 10d6, Explosion 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10u 
  4)  Controlled Gigablast:  EB 10d6, Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10u 
  5)  One-Way Force Bonds:  Entangle 5d6, 5 
  DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  61 
  Energy Transference:  Absorption 8d6 
  (energy, half to STR, half to STUN), Can 
  Absorb Maximum Of 90 Points’ Worth 
  Of Energy 
  0
  20 
  Energy-Enhanced Body:  Damage 
  Resistance (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  20 
  Energy-Enhanced Senses:  Sight and 
  Hearing Group Flash Defense (8 points 
  each), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  8 
  Energy-Enhanced Mind:  Mental Defense 
  (10 points total) 
  0
  45 
  Energy-Enhanced Body:  Life Support:  Total 0
  45 
  Flying:  Flight 15”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  6 
  Swift  Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  6 
  Wrist Communicator:  HRRP; OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Groups As 
  Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Gigablast Powers Multipower
  15 
  +3 Hand-To-Hand
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 12-
  5 
  KS: Destroyer Security Procedures 14-
  2 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/
  Terrorist World 11-
  3 
  Oratory 15-
  2 
  PS: U.S. Army Soldier 11-
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  427
  Total Cost:  678
  200+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  unique Geiger 
  counter signature (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Completely Loyal 
  To Dr. Destroyer (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  Dr. Destroyer’s chief 
  super-lackey, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Tim 
  Colton) (Frequently, Major)
  353 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  678
  Background/History:  In 1994, Tim Colton was a 
  private in the U.S. Army who volunteered to take 
  part in a “wargame” involving a nuclear war sce-
  nario. What the brass didn’t tell the volunteers was 
  that the “game” was really an experiment designed 
  to test soldiers’ resistance to nuclear weaponry and, 
  in the process, develop a superhuman soldier who 
  could function in a post-nuclear era.
  Tim was so hung over from partying the night 
  before — all the volunteers had received a three-
  day pass — that to this day he barely remembers 
  lining up in the desert for the “exercise.” He does 
  recall a blinding white light and a feeling of heavy 
  pressure and heat. Aft er that, he lapsed into a coma 
  and didn’t wake up for nearly four years.
  Most of the participants in Project Sunburst 
  died that day. A few survived, sometimes develop-
  ing unusual powers aft er a while, but even most of 
  the survivors simply died long, slow deaths over 
  several months. Tim Colton was one of the lucky 
  GIGATON 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Destroyer discovers 
  Gigaton’s powers are 
  not stable and that he 
  will soon explode like 
  a mini-nuke. Aft er 
  secretly attaching a 
  temporary stabiliz-
  ing device to Gigaton, 
  Destroyer sends him oﬀ  
  to attack Washington, 
  D.C. At the right time 
  — just aft er a superhero 
  attacks — Destroyer will 
  de-activate the stabilizer 
  and let Gigaton explode, 
  thus making it look like 
  the hero triggered the 
  devastating blast. Can 
  the PCs discover what’s 
  going on in time to 
  stop the catastrophe, or 
  maybe even ﬁ nd a way 
  to save Gigaton and thus 
  convince him to become 
  a hero?
  A woman approaches 
  the PCs. She claims she 
  used to be Gigaton’s 
  ﬁ ancee and that she 
  recognizes him from 
  the shape of his face 
  and the look in his eyes 
  (she’s seen him on the 
  news). She begs them to 
  “rescue” him from Dr. 
  Destroyer. Is she right? 
  Is her request legitimate, 
  or an elaborate ploy of 
  Destroyer’s?
  A new supervillain, with 
  powers very similar to 
  Gigaton’s, begins com-
  mitting robberies in 
  Millennium City, leaving 
  a trail of wreckage in his 
  wake. Is this a new child 
  of Project Sunburst, or 
  has Gigaton decided to 
  start an ordinary crimi-
  nal career on the side 
  — and if the latter, why?
  
  14 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ones. As near as the Army doctors could tell, he was 
  completely unharmed! Th ey couldn’t even explain 
  the coma, but they could tell that his body remained 
  extremely healthy and vital despite it. Even as months 
  turned into years, Tim’s physique didn’t deteriorate 
  at all — in fact, it seemed to improve. Eventually the 
  doctors even stopped feeding him; he apparently 
  didn’t need food anymore.
  While in self-imposed seclusion, Dr. Destroyer 
  heard about the outcome of Project Sunburst and 
  sent Rakshasa to investigate. Gaining access to “the 
  Crypt” — the top-secret facility where most of the 
  Sunburst survivors were kept — with the help of an 
  Army general he was blackmailing, Rakshasa used 
  a device provided by Destroyer to determine that 
  several of the survivors, all in comas, were imbued 
  with strange power. One, Colton, was so powerful his 
  readings were oﬀ  the instrument’s scale. Rakshasa 
  arranged to liberate Colton and took him, still in a 
  coma, to Destroyer’s Javangari headquarters.
  Using his advanced biological and medi-
  cal knowledge, Destroyer found a way to wake 
  Colton up. Between his rage at having been 
  made a guinea pig by the Army, his gratitude to 
  Destroyer for “rescuing” him, and Destroyer’s 
  subtle (but eﬀ ective) brainwashing 
  techniques, Colton was soon a loyal 
  adherent of Dr. Destroyer, willing to 
  do whatever the arch-villain com-
  manded. Christening him “Gigaton” 
  because of the nature and source 
  of his powers, Destroyer made him 
  head of his organization’s security. 
  Th ough he keeps a careful eye on 
  Colton, just in case, so far the 
  evil Doctor has yet to be disap-
  pointed with Gigaton’s perfor-
  mance of his duties.
  Personality/Motivation:  
  Gigaton is an organized, 
  disciplined, no-nonsense 
  individual — a real “gung 
  ho” commander and combat-
  ant. Subconsciously he’s 
  not entirely comfortable 
  with the decisions 
  he’s made or life 
  he’s chosen, and 
  to blot out any 
  twitterings of 
  guilt he focuses 
  intensely on his 
  job or leisure 
  activities.
  Gigaton is a natural leader... to a point. He’s 
  extremely comfortable commanding squads of 
  troops, or even a small organization like Destroyer’s 
  security staﬀ . But beyond that, he’s more of a fol-
  lower than a leader. He looks to those more power-
  ful and intelligent than himself for leadership on a 
  larger scale, which is one reason why he’s so loyal to 
  Destroyer. He recognizes that Destroyer is danger-
  ous, perhaps even insane, but like a good soldier he 
  keeps right on doing as he’s told. Th e fact that he’s 
  surrounded by money, luxuries, and women doesn’t 
  exactly make him want to change his mind, either.
  Quote:  “As you command, Doctor. Your enemies will 
  be dead in mere minutes.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Gigaton gained his powers when the 
  energy from a nuclear explosion somehow infused 
  and interacted with his body. As a result, his every cell 
  is bursting with strange bio-nuclear energies, giving 
  him tremendous strength and resilience, a variety 
  of energy projection powers, the power to ﬂ y, and 
  even the ability to survive without air or food. Most 
  intriguingly, he can absorb energy from his oppo-
  nents’ attacks, using it to increase his strength and 
  durability. (Sometimes, if he knows he’s just about 
  to go into battle, he’ll have some of Dr. Destroyer’s 
  agents ﬁ re their blasters at him to “pump him up.”)
  Gigaton prefers to open the battle with one of 
  his Gigablast Powers — the Gigablast if possible (he 
  loves the explosive eﬀ ect), or the Gigabolt if neces-
  sary. If a more subtle approach is needed, he’ll use 
  his Entangle (a projected one-way force-ﬁ eld) ﬁ rst. 
  Although he’s strong enough and skilled enough to 
  be a powerful hand-to-hand combatant, he tends to 
  get involved in brawls only when ranged attacks are 
  no longer an option. If necessary he’ll throw an oppo-
  nent away from him to allow for more ranged attacks.
  Campaign Use:  Gigaton is Dr. Destroyer’s head of 
  security and one of the leaders of his armed forces. 
  As such the PCs probably won’t encounter him inde-
  pendently or provoke him into Hunting them; he acts 
  only on Destroyer’s orders.
  Gigaton could serve as a gateway to a story or 
  story arc involving Project Sunburst. Radium (page 
  108) and Armadillo (page 120) are other survivors 
  of the ill-fated experiment, and more may exist, just 
  waiting to wreak havoc on the world... or perhaps 
  become superheroes.
  To make Gigaton less powerful, reduce his STR 
  to 40 and other Characteristics proportionately (but 
  leave his SPD and DEX alone), and/or reduce his 
  Multipower to 80 Active Points (or lower, if neces-
  sary). If you need to make him more powerful, boost 
  the Multipower reserve to 125 points and all the 
  powers accordingly, and/or increase his SPD to 6.
  Appearance:  Gigaton stands 6’3” tall and weighs 
  about 245 pounds. He wears a black costume with 
  gold boots, trunks, gloves, and cape; his mask is a 
  black half-face cowl. On his center chest is a gold 
  atom symbol. On those rare occasions when he’s not 
  in costume, his red hair and green eyes are readily 
  apparent.
  
  15 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  RAKSHASA
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   26 DEX 
  48 
  14- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   15 PD 
  11 
   
  Total:  15 PD (8 rPD)
   15 ED 
  11 
   
  Total:  15 ED (8 rED)
   6 SPD 
  24 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  172
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Maya-Weaving:  Multipower, 
  75-point reserve
  15m 1)  Personal Illusions:  Mental Illusions 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  15m 2)  Group Illusions:  Sight, Hearing, Mental, 
  and Smell/Taste Group Images, -4 to 
  PER Rolls, Increased Size (8” radius; +¾), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  15m 3)  Voice Of Th e Mind:  Telepathy 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  49 
  Shift ing Form:  Shape Shift  (Sight, Hearing, 
  Smell/Taste, and Touch Groups, any 
  humanoid shape), Imitation, Costs 
  Endurance Only To Change Shape (+¼) 
  5
  15 
  Malleable Form:  Stretching 3” 
  1
  8 
  Toughness:  Damage Resistance (8 PD/8 ED) 0
  6 
  Swift  Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
   
  Talents
  15 
  Combat Sense 13-
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acting 14-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 14-
  3 
  Conversation 14-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  2 
  KS: Indian History 11-
  2 
  KS: Indian Culture 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  Hindi is native)
  3 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  Mimicry 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Seduction 14-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  258
  Total Cost:  430
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Completely Loyal 
  To Dr. Destroyer (Very Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Utterly Amoral 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Palash 
  Krisharan) (Frequently, Major)
  160 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  430
  Background/History:  While conducting certain 
  operations in India, some of Dr. Destroyer’s 
  Javangari agents realized the man they were deal-
  ing with was a conﬁ dence artist. Eager to prove 
  their merit to Destroyer, and to ensure that the 
  trickster received proper punishment, they cap-
  tured him and brought him, blindfolded and 
  unconscious, to the Vale. When he was awakened, 
  the prisoner made an eﬀ ort to escape — ﬁ rst 
  by trying to fool them with an illusion, then by 
  squeezing his malleable body through a grate in 
  the ﬂ oor! But one does not escape Destroyer so 
  easily. Seeing through the illusion, he unleashed a 
  minor blast, suﬃ  cient to knock the prisoner out 
  once more.
  When the prisoner re-awakened, he was in a 
  hermetically-sealed chamber equipped with psy-
  chic shielding. Under threat of torture he quickly 
  revealed that he was Palash Krisharan, and that 
  he’d possessed strange powers of illusion creation 
  and body-shaping since he was a teenager. His 
  strange “magic” had frightened his family and 
  friends so much they’d thrown him out of his vil-
  lage, so he drift ed to Calcutta and began using his 
  powers to steal. Eventually he learned enough to 
  work his way up to sophisticated, and proﬁ table, 
  con games.
  Intrigued, Destroyer gave him a choice:  
  serve me or die. Recognizing an unbeatable oﬀ er 
  when he heard one, Krisharan became one of 
  Destroyer’s superhuman agents. Christened “Rak-
  shasa,” aft er the mythological monster of India, 
  he has used his powers and talents on Destroyer’s 
  behalf ever since.
  Personality/Motivation:  Initially Rakshasa was a 
  reluctant servant, with an eye out for a way to 
  escape Destroyer’s clutches — but he soon real-
  ized how stupid that was. As one of the Doctor’s 
  chief operatives, he had more money, luxuries, 
  power, and security than ever before, and it 
  would be foolish to give it up just for the sake of 
  personal freedom. Over the years he’s gone from 
  being a malcontent to one of Destroyer’s most 
  loyal followers.
  Rakshasa suits Destroyer’s schemes well 
  not only because of his powers, but because he’s 
  completely amoral. All he cares about is serving 
  Destroyer and himself, in that order. If necessary, 
  he’ll steal, kill, commit mass murder, or do what-
  ever else he has to — or wants to, just for fun. He 
  is utterly without conscience or scruples.
  RAKSHASA 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Aft er a male PC defeats 
  or humiliates him, Rak-
  shasa decides to use his 
  powers to steal the hero’s 
  girlfriend/wife. Depend-
  ing on how he feels aft er 
  he gets started, he may 
  just use her and throw 
  her away, or kill her as a 
  way of toying with the 
  hero.
  Th e PCs suﬀ er a par-
  ticularly vicious attack 
  from Rakshasa, plung-
  ing them into a “group 
  coma” in which they 
  have a perilous adven-
  ture in their own “group 
  mind.” Th ey have to to 
  defeat their personal 
  demons (many in the 
  shape of weird tiger-
  men) in time to wake up 
  and stop Rakshasa from 
  completing a mission on 
  Destroyer’s behalf.
  Rakshasa commits a 
  murder at an island 
  resort where the PCs 
  happen to be vacation-
  ing. Th ey have to inves-
  tigate the killing, and 
  ﬁ nd and stop Rakshasa 
  — all without using 
  their powers or oth-
  erwise revealing their 
  identities!
  
  16 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Quote:  “Th ings are not always as they seem, are 
  they?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Rakshasa is a mutant with the abil-
  ity to generate illusions — both large-scale “halluci-
  nations” that anyone can sense, and more personal 
  images he projects directly into a victim’s mind. 
  Additionally, he has the ability to mold and shape 
  his body so he can assume any humanoid form 
  (and even imitate other people) or stretch and 
  bend his ﬂ esh in unusual ways.
  Rakshasa is not a front-line combatant, and 
  he knows it. In battle, he typically tries to hide 
  himself with an Image and then allocate the 
  rest of his Multipower for Mental Illusions; 
  alternately, he may try to assume the form 
  of a hero and then use Mental Illusions to 
  make his victims think he has that hero’s 
  powers. But he serves Destroyer best 
  when he can avoid getting into 
  ﬁ ghts.
  Besides his lack of direct 
  damage-causing powers, Raksha-
  sa’s other big weakness as a combat-
  ant is that he moves slowly. He can 
  run faster than normal people, but 
  that’s a far cry from being able to ﬂ y 
  or teleport.
  Campaign Use:  Rakshasa is one of Dr. 
  Destroyer’s chief spies, and as such the 
  PCs probably won’t encounter him inde-
  pendently or provoke him into Hunting 
  them; he acts only on Destroyer’s orders. 
  However, he does have a malicious streak 
  to him, and may go out of his way to 
  make a PC miserable if that character 
  somehow provokes or aggravates him.
  Rakshasa is dangerous for his out-
  of-combat abilities more than his ﬁ ghting 
  prowess. With his powers he can slip unde-
  tected into heavily-guarded installations, 
  steal what he wants, and then escape just 
  as easily. Successfully opposing him means 
  out-thinking him, not outﬁ ghting him.
  If Rakshasa needs more power to sur-
  vive and thrive in your campaign, expand 
  the range of his Mental Powers — give 
  him an Ego Attack and some Mind Con-
  trol, at the very least. If he’s too powerful, 
  reduce the Active Points in his Multip-
  ower slots (perhaps by getting rid of the 
  Reduced Endurance Advantage).
  Appearance:  In his natural form, Rak-
  shasa is a handsome male of Indian 
  ancestry who stands 5’9” tall and 
  weighs about 165 pounds. He usually 
  dresses in exquisitely-tailored clothes, 
  but could wear just about anything 
  depending on the role he’s currently 
  playing. Given his powers, he can also 
  look like anyone he wants to, if neces-
  sary.
  DESTROYER AGENT STANDARD
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  14 PD (8 rPD)
   6 ED 
  3 
   
  Total:  14 ED (8 rED)
   3 SPD 
  2 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  54
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  8”/16”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  37 
  Energy Riﬂ e:  Multipower, 60-point reserve, 
  32 Charges for entire reserve (+¼); all 
  OAF (-1) 
  [32]
  3u 
  1) Basic Setting:  EB 12d6; OAF (-1)
  3u 
  2) Autoﬁ re Setting:  EB 8d6, Autoﬁ re 
  (5 shots, +½); OAF (-1)
  6 
  Gun-butt Club:  HA +3d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½)
  12 
  Combat Knife:  HKA 1d6 (2d6 with STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF 
  (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) plus Ranged (+½) 
  for HKA 1d6; OAF (-1), 1 Recoverable 
  Charge (-1¼), Range Based On STR (-¼), 
  Lockout (cannot use HKA until Charge is 
  recovered; -½) 
  0
   
  Martial Arts:  Destroyer Commando Training
   
   Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
   Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  3d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  4 
   Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
   Boxing Cross +0 
  +2 
  5d6 Strike
  4 
   Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge all 
  attacks, Abort
  12 
  Destreum-Fiber Body Armor:  Armor 
  (8 PD/8 ED); OIF (-½), Activation Roll 
  14- (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Destreum Helmet:  Sight and Hearing Group 
  Flash Defense (5 points each); OIF (-½) 
  0
  16 
  Jetpack:  Flight 8”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Destreum Helmet:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Destroyer Energy Weapons
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  2 
  KS: Destroyer Operations 11-
  2 
  PS: Destroyer Agent 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  
  17 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  9 
  Choose three of the following:  Combat 
  Driving, Combat Piloting, Computer Pro-
  gramming, Demolitions, Electronics, Fast 
  Draw, Gambling (3 points’ worth), Interroga-
  tion, Lockpicking, Paramedics, Persuasion, 
  Security Systems, Streetwise, Systems Opera-
  tion, Teamwork, 3 points’ worth of KSs/
  Languages/SSs/TFs/WFs, 1 3-point Combat 
  Skill Level
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  146
  Total Cost:  200
  50+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Destroyer uniform 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Dr. 
  Destroyer (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  80 
  Experience Points or Disadvantages speciﬁ c 
  to the individual agent 
  Total Disadvantage Points:  200
  Description:  Th is character sheet represents one 
  of Destroyer’s standard agents. Equipped with an 
  energy riﬂ e powerful enough to harm most super-
  heroes, and a jetpack that gives him a lot more 
  tactical movement options, he’s a dangerous foe 
  — particularly when he has the Teamwork Skill.
  DESTROYER AGENT HEAVY COMBAT
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  18 PD (10 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  18 ED (10 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   9 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  99
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Flight: 
  12”/24”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  50 
  Energy Riﬂ e:  Multipower, 60-point 
  reserve, 32 Charges for entire reserve 
  (+¼); all OIF (-½) 
  [32]
  4u 
  1) Basic Setting:  EB 12d6;  OIF (-½)
  4u 
  2) Autoﬁ re Setting:  EB 8d6, Autoﬁ re 
  (5 shots, +½);  OIF (-½)
  8 
  Power Gauntlets:  HA +4d6; OIF (-½), Hand-
  To-Hand Attack (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
   
  Martial Arts:  Destroyer Commando Training
   
   Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
   Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  5d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  4 
   Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
   Boxing Cross +0 
  +2 
  7d6 Strike
  4 
   Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge all 
  attacks, Abort
  4 
   Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 35 STR 
  for holding on
  20 
  Destreum Battle Armor:  Armor 
  (10 PD/10 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  
  18 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  11 
  Destreum Helmet:  Sight and Hearing Group 
  Flash Defense (8 points each); OIF (-½) 
  0
  24 
  Jetpack:  Flight 12”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Swift  Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  6 
  Destreum Helmet:  HRRP (Radio Group); 
  OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing 
  Group As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Destroyer Energy Weapons
  13 
  Targeting Systems:  +4 OCV with Energy 
  Riﬂ e; OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  KS: Destroyer Operations 11-
  2 
  PS: Destroyer Agent 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  9 
  Choose three of the following:  Combat Driv-
  ing, Combat Piloting, Computer Programming, 
  Demolitions, Electronics, Fast Draw, Gambling 
  (3 points’ worth), Interrogation, Lockpicking, 
  Paramedics, Persuasion, Security Systems, 
  Streetwise, Systems Operation, 3 points’ worth 
  of KSs/Languages/SSs/TFs/WFs, 1 3-point 
  Combat Skill Level
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  201
  Total Cost:  300
  50+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Destroyer uniform 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recogniz-
  able)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Dr. 
  Destroyer (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  180 
  Experience Points or Disadvantages speciﬁ c 
  to the individual agent 
  Total Disadvantage Points:  300
  Description:  When standard agents aren’t suﬃ  cient 
  to defeat the foe, Dr. Destroyer calls out his Heavy 
  Combat troops. Biologically and cybernetically 
  augmented, and equipped with a suit of low-pow-
  ered battle armor, they are far more capable and 
  deadly than lesser agents (whom they oft en com-
  mand).
  DESTROID
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   0 EGO 
  0 
  — 
  ECV:  N/A
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   10 PD 
  27 
   
  Total:  10 PD (10 rPD)
   10 ED 
  27 
   
  Total:  10 ED (10 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   0 END 
  -10
   —  STUN — 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  112
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Flight: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  90 
  Electric Blast:  RKA 3d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  45 
  Energy Shield:  HKA 2d6, Continuous (+1), 
  Damage Shield (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); No STR Bonus (-½), 
  Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  0
  60 
  Energy Form:  Desolidiﬁ cation (aﬀ ected 
  by electricity), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  15 
  Robot Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  45 
  Robot Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  5 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on 10 STR 
  0
  9 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Running 
  0
  1 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Leaping 
  0
  1 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Swimming  
  0
  30 
  Robot Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (10 PD/10 ED) 
  0
  45 
  Robot Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  30 
  Energy Jets:  Flight 10”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  6 
  Robot Legs:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  0
  34 
  Visual Sensors:  Infrared Perception, 
  Ultraviolet Perception, x1000 Microscopic, 
  Telescopic (+6 versus Range Modiﬁ er) 
  (all for Sight Group) 
  0
  10 
  Augmented X-Ray Vision:  N-Ray 
  Perception (Sight Group) (not through 
  lead or gold) 
  0
  15 
  Auditory Sensors:  Active Sonar 
  (Hearing Group) 
  0
  3 
  Auditory Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group) 
  0
  12 
  Communications System:  HRRP 
  (Radio Group) 
  0
  15 
  Radar Array:  Radar (Radio Group) 
  0
  3 
  Sensor Enhancements:  +1 PER with all 
  Sense Groups 
  0
  
  19 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Talents
  32 
  Onboard Computer Systems:  Absolute Range 
  Sense, Absolute Time Sense, Bump Of 
  Direction, Lightning Calculator, Universal 
  Translator 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  506
  Total Cost:  618
  50+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Aﬀ ected By Cyberkine-
  sis (has EGO 25 for purposes of cyberkinetic 
  powers, and can be aﬀ ected by cyberkine-
  sis-based Presence Attacks) (Infrequently, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  lacks Smell/Taste and 
  Touch Sense Groups (Infrequently, Slightly 
  Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Obey 
  Destroyer’s Commands (Very Common, 
  Total)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Electricity 
  (Common)
  513 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  618
  Description:  When agents alone won’t do, Dr. 
  Destroyer unleashes his Destroids on unsuspecting 
  superheroes. A humanoid robot with a cylindri-
  cal head, a Destroid can project powerful blasts of 
  energy, ﬂ y, and even transform itself entirely into 
  energy! Its ability to become intangible and see 
  through physical objects gives it a signiﬁ cant tactical 
  advantage in most situations.
  BLACK TALON
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   18 PD 
  12 
   
  Total:  18 PD (18 rPD)
   18 ED 
  14 
   
  Total:  18 ED (18 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   10 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   45 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  148
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  11”/22”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  80 
  Primary Weapons Array:  Multipower, 
  120-point reserve; all OIF (-½)
  8u 
  1)  Explosive Flechette Cannons:  RKA 2½d6, 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½), Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Penetrating (+½), 64 Charges (+½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  [64]
  8u 
  2)  Destroyer-Beam Cannon:  EB 12d6, 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½), 64 Charges (+½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  [64]
  8u 
  3)  Autoﬁ re Energy Grenade Launcher:  
  RKA 2d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (8” Radius; +1), 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +1½), 64 Charges (+½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  [64]
  6u 
  4)  Anaesthetic Gas Projector:  EB 8d6, 
  AVLD (defense is Power Defense; +1½), 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  110 
  Secondary Weapons Array:  Identical to 
  Primary Weapons Array
  40 
  Destreum Wire Projector:  Entangle 8d6, 
  8 DEF; OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  18 
  Destreum Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (18 PD/18 ED) 
  0
  45 
  Hermetically-Sealed Destreum Body:  
  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  37 
  Foot-Jets:  Flight 15”, Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) 
  1
  10 
  Leg Servos:  Running +5” (11” total) 
  1
  5 
  Visual Sensor Systems:  Infrared 
  Perception (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Visual Sensor Systems:  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group) 
  0
  8 
  Communications Suite:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing 
  Groups As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Radar System:  Radar (Radio Group), 
  Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) 0
   
  Skills
  20 
  Targeting Systems:  +4 with Ranged Combat
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  428
  Total Cost:  576
  
  20 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Destroy-
  er’s deadly mecha (Not Concealable, 
  Causes Extreme Reaction [abject fear])
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  25 
  Physical Limitation:  No Manipulatory Limbs 
  (All Th e Time, Fully Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Dr. 
  Destroyer (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  261 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  576
  Description:  Th ese black, mecha-
  like armored suits built by Dr. 
  Destroyer are bristling with 
  weaponry. Th e central body 
  consists of a cockpit in which 
  the operator sits, protected 
  by a two-way viewing dome 
  and the body’s armor. 
  Attached to it are two 
  “legs” and two “arms,” 
  though the arms have 
  weapons mounted 
  on them instead 
  of hands. 
  Other weap-
  ons attach 
  to various 
  parts of the body.
  For ease of game play, the Black Talons are 
  built like ordinary characters rather than vehicles 
  (though they do in fact require a human or com-
  puter pilot). Th eir END represents their power gen-
  erator, their CON their (and their pilots’) resistance 
  to being knocked oﬀ -line or battered into submis-
  sion, and so forth.
  Doctor Destroyer oft en revisits the Black 
  Talon design, creating variants that are stronger, 
  more resilient, faster, better armed, or whatever else 
  happens to catch his fancy at the moment. Feel free 
  to revise or alter this writeup from time to time, 
  just to keep the players on their toes.
  
  21 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  GRAVITAR
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6.4 tons; 8d6 [4]
   25 DEX 
  45 
  14- 
  OCV: 8/DCV: 8
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   25 EGO 
  30 
  14- 
  ECV: 8
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack: 6d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   24 PD 
  16 
  Total:  54 PD (30 rPD)
   24 ED 
  18 
  Total:  54 ED (30 rED)
   6 SPD 
  25 
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  12
   90 END 
  15
   60 STUN 10 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  289
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  30”/120”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  135 
  Gravitic Manipulation:  Telekinesis (60 STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  90 
  Gravitic Powers:  Multipower, 
  90-point powers
  9u 
  1)  Gravitic Blast I:  EB 18d6 
  9
  9u 
  2)  Gravitic Blast II:  EB 12d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  9u 
  3)  Gravitic Blast III:  EB 10d6, Indirect 
  (any location/direction; +¾) 
  9
  9u   
  4)  Crushing And Rending I:  RKA 4d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  8u   
  5)  Crushing And Rending II:  RKA 3d6, 
  Indirect (any location/direction; +¾) 
  8
  9u 
  6)  Selective Weight Alteration:  RKA 1d6+1, 
  NND (defense is Desolidiﬁ cation, Power 
  Defense, or gravity-manipulation abilities; 
  +1), Does BODY (+1), Continuous (+1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  6u 
  7)  Enhanced Gravitic Manipulation:  
  Telekinesis (+40 STR) 
  6
  9u 
  8)  Technology Destruction:  Dispel 20d6, 
  any technology-based power one at a time 
  (+¼), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 3
  9u 
  9)  Th e Big Squeeze:  EB 9d6, NND (defense is 
  PD Force Field or Force Wall; +1) 
  9
  9u 
  10)  Altered Individual Gravity:  Flight 15”, 
  Usable As Attack (does not aﬀ ect anyone 
  with Desolidiﬁ cation, Power Defense, or 
  gravity-manipulation abilities; +1), Ranged 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  9u 
  11)  Altered Gravity Field:  Flight 12”, Usable 
  As Attack (does not aﬀ ect anyone with 
  Desolidiﬁ cation, Power Defense, or gravity-
  manipulation abilities; +1), Ranged (+½), 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (7” Radius; +1), Selective 
  (+¼) 
  9
  40 
  Gravitic Mastery:  Elemental Control, 
  80-point powers
  50 
  1)  Gravitic Shield:  Force Field (30 PD/30 
  ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  47 
  2)  Gravitic Wall:  Force Wall 
  (10 PD/10 ED, 10” long and 2” tall), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  41 
  3)  Gravitic Flight:  Flight 30”, x4 Noncombat, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  73 
  4)  Gravity Alteration:  Telekinesis (50 STR), 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (11” Radius; +1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Only To Pull 
  Objects Straight Down To Earth Or Hold 
  Th em Oﬀ  Th e Ground (-1) 
  0
  35 
  Gravitic Defense:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all 
  attacks) plus Missile Reﬂ ection (any 
  target); Physical Missiles Only (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
   
  Skills
  30 
  +6 with all Gravity Powers
  10 
  +2 DCV
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  3 
  High Society 15-
  3 
  Inventor 14-
  2 
  KS: Art History 11-
  3 
  KS: Literature 14-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 14-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂ uent; 
  French is native)
  2 
  Language:  Japanese (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Russian (basic conversation)
  3 
  Mechanics 14-
  3 
  SS: Physics 14-
  5 
  SS: Gravitics 16-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Traveler
  1 
  1)  CK: London 11-
  1 
  2)  CK: Millennium City 11-
  1 
  3)  CK: Moscow 11-
  1 
  4)  CK: New York City 11-
  1 
  5)  CK: Paris 11-
  1 
  6)  CK: San Francisco 11-
  1 
  7)  CK: Tokyo 11-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  711
  Total Cost:  1,000
  GRAVITAR
  
  22 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Enraged:  by insults, sarcasm, or not being 
  taken seriously (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Eurostar 8- (As Pow, Kill)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Bent On World 
  Domination (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  20 
  Reputation:  supervillainness of world-
  threatening power, 14- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Erica 
  d’Monstressart) (Frequently, Major)
  645 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  1,000
  Background/History:  Erica d’Monstressart was 
  always regarded as gift ed, even as a child. Born into 
  a wealthy family, from an early age she displayed 
  an intelligence, social sense, and beauty that made 
  her the envy (or subject of admiration) of everyone 
  who knew her.
  But Erica was more gift ed 
  than even her most ardent 
  admirers suspected. When 
  she was still young, she dis-
  covered she had a strange abil-
  ity no one else did — she could 
  manipulate gravity. Smart enough 
  to realize she shouldn’t tell anyone 
  about this, or show oﬀ  her abilities 
  in public, she kept her superpow-
  ers a secret.
  Given her power, and the way she 
  was used to getting what she wanted 
  when she wanted it, it would come as 
  no surprise to an expert in super-crimi-
  nal psychology that the idea of ruling 
  the world crept into her head as she 
  got older. Disguising herself with a 
  mask, she began to test her powers 
  against the Paris police, and then 
  the French Army, and eventually 
  other superhumans. She never 
  found anything that could sig-
  niﬁ cantly challenge her.
  Now conﬁ dent in 
  her abilities, she has 
  begun to think 
  seriously about 
  world con-
  quest and 
  how 
  she can 
  best achieve it. Th e world has has 
  only seen the full extent of her 
  powers twice — once in battle 
  against UNTIL, and once against 
  Eurostar, both of whom she defeated handily. On 
  the strength of the abilities she displayed in those 
  two combats alone, the U.S. Department of Defense 
  has already listed her as an “Omega Class” super-
  human threat in its Superhuman Survey for 2002. 
  More than a few people in the world are losing a lot 
  of sleep wondering what she’s planning next.
  Personality/Motivation:  Gravitar comes across as 
  cool, conﬁ dent, poised, and regally self-centered 
  — and she is. However, at times, particularly when 
  things are not going well for her or people don’t 
  take her seriously, she tends to have something 
  of the air of a petulant child. She’ll lash out in a 
  
  23 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  temper tantrum-like fury, heedless of the collateral 
  damage she might cause or the tactically disadvan-
  tageous position she might put herself into.
  Gravitar doesn’t want to conquer the world to 
  rule it as absolute monarch, like Dr. Destroyer, or 
  to eradicate life, like Mechanon or Takofanes. She 
  simply wants to be acknowledged as the most pow-
  erful person on Earth, whose orders all must obey 
  — much as if she were the mistress of a household, 
  and all the world her servants. If she does succeed 
  in her quest, she may tire of the burdens of ruler-
  ship before too long and let the whole thing slip 
  away as she searches for more interesting pursuits 
  to occupy her time. But it’s also possible that, as she 
  ages and gains more experience, her desires and 
  goals will solidify, and she’ll set out to conquer and 
  rule the world in earnest.
  Quote:  “You are feeling a little heavier, n’est-ce pas? 
  Be a good boy and go away, or I will have to make 
  you a good bit heavier than that — heavy enough 
  for your weight to crush every bone in your miser-
  able body.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Gravitar has the mutant ability to 
  control and manipulate gravity, which allows her to 
  create a wide variety of useful eﬀ ects. Most of these 
  are simulated with Telekinesis (or sometimes Flight 
  Usable As Attack, which high-STR characters can’t 
  easily escape from), but she can also create gravitic 
  shields (Force Field, Force Wall), cause gravitic 
  waves to rip and tear at things, or selectively make 
  parts of an object heavy enough to crush the rest of 
  it (EBs and RKAs, Dispel), squeeze someone hard 
  enough to knock all the air out of his lungs and 
  stun him (NND), or ﬂ y by manipulating gravity 
  ﬁ elds (Flight).
  Gravitar enjoys displaying her powers, so she 
  oft en makes spectacular attacks — such as render-
  ing some foes helpless with her Gravitic Manipula-
  tion, while using attacks from her Multipower to 
  harm their comrades. She can also use her Gravity 
  Alteration to hold her enemies down (forcing them 
  to make STR Rolls against STR 50 to so much as 
  move or lift  their arms) while she attacks them. 
  Although she is quite intelligent, and capable of 
  sustained tactical thinking, she usually prefers a 
  straightforward approach to combat:  she strikes 
  her opponents down with seemingly casual exer-
  cises of her power, deﬂ ecting their return attacks 
  with her defenses, until she has defeated them all. 
  She is not usually cruel, or a killer, but can easily 
  become petty, vindictive, and potentially deadly if 
  mocked, humiliated, or otherwise annoyed.
  Resources:  Between her various inheritances, and 
  the proceeds of her crimes, Gravitar is quite rich. 
  In her Secret Identity, she owns multiple estates 
  in Europe, and other estates in the Caribbean, the 
  United States, and Japan. She lives a life of luxury 
  and ease, and can aﬀ ord just about anything she 
  wants. She almost never uses her resources as 
  Gravitar, however; she doesn’t hire armies of mer-
  cenaries or the like. It won’t really be conquering 
  the world if she can’t do it all by herself, aft er all.
  Relations With Others:  Gravitar has expressed con-
  tempt for Dr. Destroyer in the past, mainly because 
  he “hides behind” legions of robots and agents, 
  which she considers cowardly. As a mutant, she also 
  despises the Institute for Human Advancement, 
  and does whatever she can to thwart or harm that 
  organization. Other than that, she’s never really 
  allied herself with, or opposed, other major players 
  in the Champions Universe underworld. Eventually 
  her goals are likely to conﬂ ict with theirs’, of course, 
  but for now a cautious neutrality seems to prevail. 
  It probably wouldn’t take much for one of them to 
  annoy her and thus make her an enemy, though.
  Campaign Use:  Gravitar is a master villain-level 
  character intended to oppose entire parties of 
  PCs and have at least an even chance of defeating 
  them. Unlike many master villains, she doesn’t go 
  in for a lot of manipulative scheming and elaborate 
  planning — she prefers to defeat her enemies, and 
  accomplish her aims, with raw power. Time, and 
  enough defeats, may teach her the wisdom of other 
  approaches.
  Gravitar is unlikely to start Hunting a PC; 
  she has better ways to spend her time. Only some-
  one who repeatedly insults or embarrasses her 
  could earn enough of her wrath to make her Hunt 
  them — and in that case, watch out! She’ll simply 
  confront the target of her ire at every reasonable 
  opportunity and smash him to a bloody pulp. She’ll 
  stop once she feels she’s obtained proper revenge 
  for all slights toward her.
  If Gravitar proves too weak to take on your 
  team of PCs, increase her defenses (perhaps give 
  her 50% Damage Reduction, Resistant) and other 
  powers as appropriate. You might also exchange 
  her Multipower for a heft y Variable Power Pool. If 
  she’s too tough for them to tackle, reduce the Active 
  Points in her attacks, drop her SPD to 5, and lower 
  her defenses to a more appropriate level. You might 
  also consider reducing her END, so she has to be a 
  little more cautious about using her powers at full 
  strength.
  Appearance:  Erica d’Monstressart is a beautiful 
  young French woman with long blonde hair and 
  blue eyes who speaks English with a delightful 
  French accent. In her Gravitar identity, she wears 
  a long-sleeved black dress with the skirt split up 
  the sides, a blue cloak that wraps around her upper 
  body but leaves her neck exposed, blue boots and 
  gauntlets, and a blue mask.
  GRAVITAR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Gravitar threatens to 
  alter the world’s gravity 
  to attract asteroids, and 
  thus devastate Earth, 
  unless rulership of the 
  planet is turned over 
  to her in 24 hours. Th e 
  nations of the world 
  have dismissed this as a 
  hollow threat, since (a) 
  they don’t think even 
  she is that powerful, and 
  (b) bombing the Earth 
  with asteroids would kill 
  her, too. But do the PCs 
  dare let the world’s lead-
  ers take that risk?
  Gravitar teams with 
  VIPER, which hooks her 
  up to a power-boosting 
  device that allows her 
  to stop everyone and 
  everything in Millen-
  nium City from moving. 
  Together they demand 
  a $10 billion ransom, or 
  else they’ll cause havoc 
  throughout the city. In 
  addition to stopping this 
  scheme, the heroes have 
  to ﬁ gure out why Gravi-
  tar got involved with 
  VIPER and why she’s 
  making such unusual 
  demands (she doesn’t 
  need the money). Could 
  there be something else 
  going on?
  Gravitar informs the 
  world press that Dr. 
  Destroyer is “a weakling 
  who’d never dare to face 
  me personally, because 
  he knows I would 
  destroy him.” Th e good 
  Doctor’s retaliatory 
  strikes are causing mas-
  sive property damage 
  and deaths, but not 
  harming Gravitar at all 
  (she has defeated every-
  one he’s sent to kill her, 
  and somehow protected 
  herself from all of his 
  long-range attacks). Th e 
  PCs have to put a stop to 
  this “war,” either by con-
  vincing her to take back 
  her insulting words, or 
  by bringing the two of 
  them together to settle 
  the issue mano-a-mano.
  A Matter Of Attraction
  ‘Downtown Vienna was terrorized earlier 
  today by a battle between the supervillain 
  team Eurostar and the powerful supervillain-
  ess Gravitar. Gravitar, who made her winning 
  debut in a battle against UNTIL four months 
  ago, had no difﬁ culty defeating Europe’s most 
  feared group of villains. After pinning most of 
  the group to the ground with increased grav-
  ity, she held Durak helpless a hundred feet in 
  the air, and then proceeded to rip out most of 
  Fiacho’s cybernetic implants....’
  — Cherie Lawrence, SNN
  
  24 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  B
  ackground/History:  Istvatha V’han, 
  Empress of a Billion Dimensions, is an 
  entity almost unknown on Earth. A native 
  of a parallel Earth known in its primary 
  language as V’ha, at an early age she discovered 
  she had the ability to travel between dimensions 
  (including time, should she so desire). Th e exact 
  nature of this ability is a mystery; she does not reg-
  ister as a mutant on mutant-detecting devices, and 
  every wizard who has examined her has ﬁ rmly pro-
  nounced that her abilities have nothing to do with 
  the Arts Arcane.
  Whatever the nature of her powers, Istvatha 
  put them to good use. Combining them with her 
  innate intelligence and oft en Machiavellian nature, 
  she slowly took control of her home planet... then 
  the entire universe it existed in... then the dimen-
  sion next door... and the next one, and the next one, 
  and the next one....
  At “present” (whatever that means to a time-
  traveler), Istvatha V’han, despite her title, does not 
  rule a billion dimensions, but does in fact control 
  something in the neighborhood of a hundred mil-
  lion of them. She conquers more every year. Her 
  only competition as a multidimensional ruler is 
  the dreaded Tyrannon the Conqueror, and the two 
  of them eye one another with an almost fanatic 
  hatred.
  Th e resources of her realm, of which she is 
  the unquestioned ruler, are immeasureably vast, 
  but due to the quirky and unpredictable nature 
  of interdimensional travel she cannot employ her 
  troops and materiel en masse to simply conquer 
  one dimension aft er another (neither can Tyran-
  non; they both have to be somewhat more subtle 
  and slower-paced than that). Still, through her 
  command of dimensional technology she can bring 
  enough of a force through to create serious prob-
  lems in any dimension. Th ose who do not simply 
  bow to her will and accept the beneﬁ ts of her ruler-
  ship are usually conquered within the space of a 
  year or so (to use Earth terms).
  Despite her sometimes tyrannical and high-
  handed nature, the Empress is generally a good 
  ruler, and is reasonably well-liked by her people. 
  Her bureaucracy is eﬃ  cient and usually quite loyal, 
  for the horrible punishments she visits upon those 
  who betray her or succumb to corruption are 
  common knowledge. Most of the dimensions she 
  rules are better oﬀ  now than they were before... all 
  they had to sacriﬁ ce for it was their freedom.
  And now, at long last, Istvatha V’han has set 
  her sights on a conquest she has long avoided 
  — the home dimension of Earth. She has known 
  of Earth’s dimension for dozens of years, but 
  skirted around it because of the high percentage of 
  superhumans in its population. In 1998, by Earth’s 
  calendar, she ﬁ nally felt powerful and conﬁ dent 
  enough to accept the challenge. Her expectations 
  proved incorrect, as the superhumans of Earth 
  banded together to fend oﬀ  her assault. Th e Cham-
  pions thwarted another attack in early 2002. She is 
  undoubtedly already beginning preparations for 
  a third attack, one of such magnitude and over-
  whelming power no one can hope to resist it.
  Personality/Motivation:  Istvatha V’han should pres-
  ent an interesting dilemma for player characters. 
  On the one hand, she is a “master villain” in the 
  classic sense of being a powerhungry conqueror 
  — indeed, she has conquered far more than most 
  master villains could even imagine. On the other 
  hand, her rule is for the most part beneﬁ cent, and 
  generally has many advantages for her subjects:  
  it raises the technological level of a dimension, 
  decreases poverty and joblessness, and oﬀ ers 
  boundless new opportunities for her subjects. She 
  does not impose a religion, harsh taxes, required 
  cultural forms, extreme censorship, or any similar 
  thing on her subjects, aside from her rule itself. 
  At her core, though, she is a tyrant bent on ruling 
  as much as she can, and for this reason most PCs, 
  even those impressed by her nobility, dignity, grace, 
  and methods of rule, must oppose her.
  Many savants throughout the dimensions 
  have wondered what drives Istvatha V’han to such 
  heights of conquest. No easy answer exists. Power 
  she certainly desires, but not the power to use 
  others cruelly, for she generally rules with a soft  
  hand. Wealth and fame she could achieve in many 
  ways that do not involve the burdens of ruler-
  ship. Th e conclusion most scholars reach is simply 
  that she feels she is the only being truly ﬁ t to rule, 
  and so rule she does. In fact she possesses a regal 
  bearing and demeanor which seem to imply she 
  believes she has a “divine right” to rule, but whether 
  she actually feels this way is not known.
  Quote:  “Inhabitants of Earth:  a momentous choice 
  is before you!  Submit to the rule of Istvatha V’han, 
  Empress of a Billion Dimensions, or be conquered 
  in turn, as so many before you have been. What say 
  you?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th rough mechanisms unknown, 
  Istvatha V’han possesses one of the rarest of super-
  powers, the ability to travel eﬀ ortlessly through the 
  many dimensions, including time. Concomittant 
  with this is her innate immortality and intellect. 
  She can also create tiny dimensional warps which 
  have the eﬀ ect of tearing apart persons and things 
  in the vicinity of the warp.
  ISTVATHA 
  V’HAN
  ISTVATHA V’HAN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Smitten with a PC she 
  encounters during one 
  of her attacks on Earth, 
  Istvatha V’han sends 
  an embassy demand-
  ing that he return with 
  her servants to become 
  her consort. Will the 
  PC be able to resist the 
  tremendous power she’s 
  oﬀ ering? Or will he try 
  to take advantage of the 
  situation — a legitimate 
  and well-intentioned 
  oﬀ er — to spy on her 
  and perhaps attack one 
  of her major power 
  bases?
  A distant alien species 
  sends a distress signal 
  to Earth, stating that 
  “dimensional warriors” 
  are overrunning their 
  system and planning 
  to conquer the rest of 
  the galaxy next. Th ey’re 
  requesting immediate 
  assistance. Is this a gen-
  uine attack by Istvatha 
  V’han, a ruse to draw 
  Earth’s superheroes 
  away from their home-
  world, or someone else 
  entirely?
  Another dimensional 
  overlord (such as Tyran-
  non the Conqueror or 
  Skarn the Shaper; see 
  Champions Universe) 
  threatens to engulf 
  Earth’s dimension and 
  absorb it into his own 
  realm. To stop him, the 
  PCs have to persuade or 
  trick Istvatha V’han into 
  helping them.
  
  25 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Th e Empress keeps her bearings when travel-
  ing from dimension to dimension by using her 
  Navigation (Dimensional) Skill. It allows her to 
  sense what dimension she is in (each one “reso-
  nates” diﬀ erently to her), its relation to nearby 
  dimensions, and so forth.
  In addition to her natural powers, over her 
  centuries of life Ist-
  vatha has had her 
  scientists implant 
  many microdevices 
  in her body to 
  give her addi-
  tional powers. 
  For example, her 
  Cerebellic Trans-
  lator allows her 
  to instantly 
  understand and 
  speak any lan-
  guage spoken in any 
  dimension; her Cere-
  bral Shield protects her 
  from mental attacks; and 
  her Resistance Field strength-
  ens her body’s defenses to superhu-
  man levels.
  Unlike many master villains, 
  Istvatha is not really a combat 
  machine. She neither enjoys nor seeks 
  out combat, and a group of powerful 
  PCs is likely to defeat her with relative 
  ease if she tries to duke it out with them. 
  She prefers to assume a regal attitude 
  of indiﬀ erence to attackers while her 
  army and trained corps of superhumans 
  make mush out of them. However, she has 
  received military training and is quite capa-
  ble of ﬁ ghting if she cannot ﬂ ee or summon 
  assistance.
  Th eoretically, the Empress could 
  use her ability to travel through time to 
  return, again and again, until she suc-
  ceeds in conquering Earth, or even to 
  go back in time and change events to 
  make Earth more vulnerable to her 
  armies. Based on statements she has 
  made, she seems to avoid this tactic 
  because of the unpredict-
  able nature of altering 
  the time-stream:  
  she could end up 
  unintentionally 
  changing things to 
  her detriment. She also seems to have some 
  personal objection to using time-travel as a weapon 
  — sort of a “I can beat them with one superpower 
  tied behind my back” code of honor. If pushed to 
  the brink, though, she might resort to a “temporal 
  ﬂ anking maneuver.”
  Resources:  As noted above, Istvatha V’han’s 
  resources are essentially limitless. With a hundred 
  million realities under her thumb, she can create 
  any sort of military vehicle or weapon she needs, 
  construct any sort of base or headquarters her acti-
  tivies require, and recruit dozens of superhumans 
  to serve her. See below for an example of her stan-
  dard D-Soldier and HoverTank. For the Empress’s 
  superhuman soldiers, just use the other characters 
  in this book, with changed appearances and names 
  — given the number of species she has to draw 
  from, she can have pretty much any type of super-
  human the GM wants her to.
  Relations With Others:  Th e Empress has 
  no formal relations with any person or 
  entity on Earth. She regards all Humans, 
  and every other being in Earth’s reality, as 
  potential subjects to be conquered.
  Campaign Use:  Istvatha V’han is a master 
  villainess with a diﬀ erence. Th e scale of her 
  powers, and the scope of her resources, 
  makes it virtually impossible to cap-
  ture her or permanently cripple her 
  ability to invade Earth’s dimension. 
  Th e best the PCs can hope for is to 
  blunt the early stages of one of her 
  invasions and put her in a posi-
  tion where they can extract 
  some sort of promise to 
  leave Earth’s 
  dimension 
  alone for 
  a speciﬁ ed 
  period of time. (Given that 
  she’s an immortal time-traveler, time 
  doesn’t mean much to her; she’s patient.)
  Since the Empress isn’t meant to 
  combat entire groups of PCs the way 
  Gravitar and Mechanon are, you can 
  increase or decrease her powers and Char-
  acteristics to suit the role you intend for her 
  to play in the campaign. Th e only thing you 
  shouldn’t do is change or get rid of her Dimen-
  sional Travel or Vitality powers, which are cen-
  tral to her character concept.
  It’s highly unlikely Istvatha would single 
  out a particular hero to Hunt; in essence she’s 
  “Hunting” Earth’s entire dimension and every-
  one in it. A character with powers similar to 
  her own might attract her special enmity, 
  though.
  Appearance:  Istvatha’s species is 
  humanoid in shape, but has 
  skin colored along the blue-
  green spectrum. Her skin is 
  a beautiful shade of dark 
  teal, and her long, cascading 
  hair is white. Her eyes are a 
  pupilless lavender. She stands 
  approximately 6’0” tall and has a slim, 
  athletic build. She dresses in the absolute ﬁ nest of 
  regal fashions. 
  
  26 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ISTVATHA V’HAN
  Empress Of A Billion Dimensions
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   26 DEX 
  48 
  14- 
  OCV: 9/DCV: 9
   24 CON 
  28 
  14-
   16 BODY 12 
  12-
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   24 EGO 
  28 
  14- 
  ECV: 8
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack: 6d6
   26 COM 
  8 
  14-
   25 PD 
  17 
   
  Total:  25 PD (20 rPD)
   25 ED 
  20 
   
  Total:  25 ED (20 rED)
   6 SPD 
  24 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   18 REC 
  10
   60 END 
  6
   60 STUN 12 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  278
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  94 
  Dimensional Travel:  Extra-Dimensional 
  Movement, any location in any dimension, 
  can travel through time, x8 Increased 
  Weight, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 3
  80 
  Dimensional Destabilization:  Energy Blast 
  20d6; No Knockback (-¼) 
  10
  20 
  Resistance Field:  Damage Resistance 
  (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  20 
  Resistance Field:  Power Defense (20 points) 0
  20 
  Cerebral Shield:  Mental Defense 
  (25 points total) 
  0
  50 
  Vitality:  Life Support:  Total (including 
  Longevity:  Immortality) 
  0
  15 
  Favor of Fortune:  Luck 3d6 
  0
   
  Talents
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
  20 
  Cerebellic Translator:  Universal Translator 14-
   
  Perks
  25 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Empress of a Billion Dimensions
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
   
  All the Followers, Vehicles, and Bases she 
  could possibly need
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acting 15-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 15-
  3 
  Combat Driving 14-
  3 
  Combat Piloting 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  5 
  Cramming
  3 
  Deduction 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  3 
  High Society 15-
  3 
  Navigation (Dimensional, Space) 14-
  3 
  Oratory 15-
  3 
  Persuasion 15-
  3 
  Riding 14-
  3 
  SS: Dimensional Engineering 14-
  3 
  SS: Physics 14-
  3 
  Seduction 15-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Systems Operation 14-
  3 
  Tactics 14-
  4 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
  3 
  Scholar
  2 
  1)  KS: Her Realm And What Goes On In It 14-
  2 
  2)  KS: Dimensional History 14-
  2 
  3)  KS: Political Science 14-
  2 
  4)  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 14-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  438
  Total Cost:  716
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  regal bearing and 
  regalia (Concealable With Diﬃ  culty; Causes 
  Major Reaction [fear and/or loathing])
  5 
  Enraged:  if questioned or disobeyed 
  (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14-
  25 
  Hunted:  Tyrannon 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence; 
  Regal Bearing And Attitude (Very Common, 
  Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants To Conquer 
  And Rule Th e Multiverse (Common, Total)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from dimensional-
  based attacks (Uncommon)
  416 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  716
  DSOLDIER
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift  150 kg; 2½d6 [1]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   12 PRE 
  2 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   5 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  13 PD (8 rPD)
   5 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  13 ED (8 rED)
   3 SPD 
  4 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  53
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Teleportation: 10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  31 
  V’hanian Energy Riﬂ e:  Multipower, 50-point 
  reserve, 32 Charges for entire reserve 
  (+¼); all OAF (-1) 
  [32]
  2u 
  1) Basic Setting:  Energy Blast 10d6; 
  OAF (-1)
  2u 
  2) Autoﬁ re Setting:  Energy Blast 6d6, 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½); OAF (-1)
  4 
  Gun-butt Club:  HA +2d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½)
  12 
  Body Armor:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  0
  13 
  Dimensional Shift  Harness:  Teleportation 
  
  27 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  10”; OIF (-½) 
  2
  3 
  V’hanian Helmet:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  V’hanian Helmet:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with V’hanian Energy Riﬂ e Multipower
  2 
  KS: V’hanian Military 11-
  1 
  Navigation (Dimensional) 8-
  2 
  PS: V’hanian Soldier 11-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Tactics 11-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  9 
  Choose three of the following:  Combat Pilot-
  ing, Computer Programming, Demolitions, 
  Electronics, Fast Draw, Gambling (3 points’ 
  worth), Interrogation, Lockpicking, Paramed-
  ics, Persuasion, Security Systems, Streetwise, 
  Systems Operation, Teamwork, 3 points’ worth 
  of KSs/Languages/SSs/TFs/WFs, 1 3-point 
  Combat Skill Level
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  104
  Total Cost:  157
  50+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  V’hanian uniform (Easily 
  Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  10 
  Hunted:  V’hanian Imperial Military Police 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Istvatha 
  V’han (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  57 
  Experience Points or Disadvantages speciﬁ c 
  to the individual agent
  Total Disadvantage Points:  157
  Description:  Th is character sheet represents a typical 
  D-Soldier in the armies of the Empress. Although 
  not as skilled, powerful, or well-equipped as more 
  specialized troops, the D-Soldier is the backbone of 
  Istvatha V’han’s armies. With his powerful energy 
  riﬂ e and ability to teleport, he’s a dangerous combat-
  ant even against superheroes.
  V’HANIAN HOVERTANK
   Val 
  Char 
  Cost Notes
   30 
  STR 
  0 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 HTH [0]
   18 
  BODY 4
   2½”x1¼” Size 
  20 
  Mass 1.6 tons; -4 KB; -2 DCV
   15 
  DEF 
  39
   16 
  DEX 
  18
   3 
  SPD 
  4 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   
   
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  85
  Movement: 
  Ground:   
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  40”/160”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
  85 
  Hoverjets:  Flight 40”, x4 Noncombat 
  0
  30 
  Main Gun:  Energy Blast 15d6; OIF 
  Bulky (-1), Limited Arc Of Fire 
  (60 Degrees; -½), 16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  18 
  Secondary Gun:  Energy Blast 9d6; OIF 
  Bulky (-1), Limited Arc Of Fire 
  (60 Degrees; -½), 16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  10 
  Secondary Guns:  total of 4 Secondary 
  Guns 
  [16]
  19 
  Sensor-Scope:  Radar (Radio Group), 
  Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees), Telescopic 
  (+14 versus Range Modiﬁ er); OIF Bulky (-1) 0
  6 
  Communicator Panel:  HRRP 
  (Radio Group); OIF Bulky (-1) 
  0
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  210
  Total Vehicle Cost:  253
  Value Disadvantages 
  20 
  Distinctive Features:  V’hanian military 
  vehicle (Not Concealable; Causes Major 
  Reaction [fear, awe])
  Total Disadvantage Points:  20
  Total Cost:  233/5 = 47
  Description:  Th e HoverTank is a standard front-
  line military vehicle employed by Istvatha V’han’s 
  armies. Fast, maneuverable, well-armored, and able 
  to carry up to half a dozen fully-equipped D-Sol-
  diers as its crew, it packs a potent oﬀ ensive punch. 
  Its main weapon is a large energy cannon on a 60-
  degree swivel mount; it has four secondary guns 
  equidistantly spaced around the rest of its hull.
  
  28 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  MENTON
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV: 8/DCV: 8
   40 CON 
  60 
  17- 
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   35 INT 
  25 
  16- 
  PER Roll 16-
   30 EGO 
  40 
  15- 
  ECV: 10
   35 PRE 
  25 
  16- 
  PRE Attack: 7d6
   30 COM 
  10 
  15-
   15 PD 
  11 
   
  Total:  35 PD (20 rPD)
   20 ED 
  12 
   
  Total:  40 ED (20 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12 
   16 REC 
  8
   80 END 
  0
   75 STUN 25 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  304
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
   
  Teleportation: 20”/160”
   
  Cost Powers 
  END
  150 
  Mental/Telekinetic Powers:  Multipower, 
  150-point reserve
  15u 
  1)  Mental Blast:  EGO Attack 8d6 
  (Human, Animal, and Alien classes of 
  minds), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0
  15u 
  2)  Illusions:  Mental Illusions 16d6 
  (Human, Animal, and Alien classes of 
  minds), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0
  15u 
  3)  Mental Control:  Mind Control 16d6 
  (Human, Animal, and Alien classes of 
  minds), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0
  15u 
  4)  Telepathy:  Telepathy 16d6 (Human, 
  Animal, and Alien classes of minds), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10u 
  5)  Mental Paralysis:  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, 
  BOECV (Mental Defense applies; +1), 
  Transparent To Physical Attacks (+¼), 
  Works Versus EGO, Not STR (+¼); 
  Mental Defense Adds To EGO (-½) 
  14
  15u 
  6)  Mental Blinding:  Sight, Hearing, Smell/
  Taste, and Touch Group Flash 9d6, BOECV 
  (Mental Defense applies; +1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  15u 
  7)  Psychokinesis:  Telekinesis (80 STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  6
  15u 
  8)  Psychokinetic Rending:  RKA 5d6, 
  Penetrating (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  7u 
  9)  Psionic Surgery:  Major Transform 4d6 
  (remove or change target’s memories and 
  Psychological Limitations, heals back nor-
  mally), BOECV (Mental Defense applies; 
  +1), Works Versus EGO, Not BODY (+¼); 
  Limited Target (human memories and 
  Psychological Limitations; -1) 
  13
  150 
  Mental Scanning:  16d6 Mind Scan (Human, 
  Animal, and Alien classes of minds), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  40 
  Psychometry:  Retrocognitive 
  Clairsentience, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Psychometry (-½) 
  0
  30 
  Telekinetic Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  30 
  1)  Psychokinetic Shield:  Force Field 
  (20 PD/20 ED), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  60 
  2)  Psychokinetic/Mental Shield:  Force Wall 
  (12 PD/12 ED/12 Mental Defense) 
  9
  60 
  3)  Matter Transmission:  Teleportation 20”, 
  x8 Noncombat, x4 Increased Mass, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  30 
  4)  Psychokinetic Flight:  Flight 20”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  27 
  Speed Of Th ought:  +4 SPD; Only To Use 
  Mental/Telekinetic Powers (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Strong Mind:  Mental Defense (26 points 
  total) 
  0
  10 
  Strong Mind:  Mental Group Flash Defense 
  (10 points) 
  0
  40 
  Mind Detection:  Detect Minds 16- (Mental 
  Sense Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, 
  Improved Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), 
  Sense, Targeting, Telescopic (+8 versus 
  Range Modiﬁ er) 
  0
  20 
  Favor Of Fortune:  Luck 4d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  100 
  Contacts:  various, around the world, in high 
  society and the underworld
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
   
  Talents
  44 
  Danger Sense (any area, any danger) 20-
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
  3 
  Simulate Death
  20 
  Universal Translator 16-
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  40 
  +8 with Mental/Telekinetic Powers
  3 
  Acting 16-
  3 
  Climbing 14-
  3 
  Combat Driving 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 16-
  3 
  Conversation 16-
  3 
  Deduction 16-
  MENTON
  
  29 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  Disguise 16-
  3 
  KS: Psionic Etiquette 16-
  3 
  KS: Th e Psionic World 16-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 16-
  3 
  Power:  Mental Powers 16-
  3 
  Power:  Telekinesis Tricks 16-
  3 
  SS: Psionic Engineering 16-
  3 
  SS: Psionic Surgery 16-
  3 
  Security Systems 16-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  10 
  TF:  Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Hanggliding, Helicopters, SCUBA, Skiing 
  (Snow and Water), Small Planes, Snowmobiles, 
  Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles
  3 
  WF:  Small Arms, Blades
  3 
  Traveler
  1 
  1)  CK: Hong Kong 11-
  1 
  2)  CK: London 11-
  1 
  3)  CK: Millennium City 11-
  1 
  4)  CK: New York City 11-
  1 
  5)  CK: Paris 11-
  1 
  6)  CK: Rome 11-
  1 
  7)  CK: Singapore 11-
  1 
  8)  CK: Tokyo 11-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  1,108
  Total Cost:  1,412
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detect-
  able Only By Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Enraged:  if takes BODY from an attack 
  (Uncommon), go 11-, rec 8-
  15 
  Hunted:  Dr. Destroyer 8- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Considers 
  Self Superior And Humanity His Puppets 
  (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Casually Cruel 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Alejan-
  dro Medina) (Frequently, Major)
  1,097 Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  1,412
  Background/History:  Th roughout the world, the 
  Medinas of Spain are renowned as wealthy 
  cattle-owners and industrialists. For centuries 
  they have been one of Spain’s most prominent 
  families, with relations among the crowned heads 
  of Europe and an open invitation to the most 
  exclusive social events. What no one knows, and 
  the Medinas take great pains to conceal, is that 
  since shortly aft er World War II the family has 
  oﬀ ered its unswerving loyalty and obedience to 
  Albert Zerstoiten, better known to the world as 
  Dr. Destroyer. Neither Destroyer nor any Medina 
  has ever revealed why the family pledged itself to 
  Destroyer’s service, but the fact of it remains.
  In 1968, Pacorro Medina took over as head of 
  the family upon the death of his father, Sebastiano. 
  Th ough young, Pacorro had a good head for busi-
  ness, and a ﬁ ne appreciation of family tradition. He 
  recognized the need to breed sons, to continue the 
  family line unbroken and ensure that the family 
  businesses would never leave Medina hands. He 
  courted and won the hand of Raquel Herrera, con-
  sidered the most beautiful young woman in Spain.
  In 1970, Raquel gave birth to fraternal twins, a 
  boy Alejandro and a girl Isabella. Th ey were the joy of 
  their parents’ lives — until the day Dr. Destroyer dis-
  covered latent psionic potential in both of them. He 
  commanded Pacorro and Raquel to turn the children 
  over to him, and without hesitation they obeyed.
  For Alejandro and Isabella, the next ten years 
  were a blur of studies, experiments, tests, and 
  procedures. Destroyer brought the full force 
  of his intellect and technology to bear on 
  the problem of unlocking the twins’ psionic 
  powers. Finally, aft er a decade of research, 
  he succeeded. Isabella gained mental 
  powers the equal of other powerful 
  psionics. Alejandro, for reasons 
  Destroyer could not fully explain, 
  gained much, much more — so 
  vast were the powers Destroyer 
  unleashed within him that from 
  that day to this, he remains the most 
  powerful human psionic in exis-
  tence.
  Destroyer wasted no time put-
  ting his newest assets — codenamed 
  Menton and Mentalla — to work as 
  spies and assassins. Th e twins spent 
  many years in his service, content 
  with the responsibilities and perqui-
  sites they enjoyed, but never truly 
  happy serving another — their 
  powerful minds were not suscep-
  tible to Destroyer’s “loyalty treat-
  ments” the way ordinary humans’ 
  are. Alejandro in particular 
  chafed under the Doctor’s com-
  mand, though he never showed 
  it openly. Why should one so 
  powerful as he serve anyone, 
  even Destroyer?
  In 1992, when 
  Destroyer faked his own 
  death to go underground 
  (destroying Detroit in the 
  process), Alejandro saw 
  his opportunity. With all 
  the world looking for him, 
  to make sure he was truly dead, Destroyer did not 
  dare to stir himself to hunt down one renegade 
  servant, no matter how powerful — to do so would 
  unacceptably jeopardize the success of his over-
  all scheme. Accordingly, Menton defected from 
  Destroyer’s organization and set out to conquer the 
  world for himself.
  Since then, Menton has made several eﬀ orts to 
  take control of various nations, or even the entire 
  planet, using his immense psionic powers. So far 
  he has always been defeated, but only barely. And 
  more than a few superheroes worry about just how 
  much behind-the-scenes control he may exert over 
  
  30 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  various world leaders....
  Personality/Motivation:  Menton makes no secret 
  of his general contempt for the rest of humanity. 
  He considers everyone else on Earth, up to and 
  including Destroyer, his inferior. To him, other 
  people are just puppets to control and manipulate 
  as he chooses. He enjoys displaying his “superior-
  ity” by inﬂ icting various petty and not-so-petty 
  cruelties on other people, like Mind Controlling 
  them to do things that get them ﬁ red or divorced, 
  forcing women to obey his whims while retain-
  ing full awareness of what they’re doing (and then 
  changing their memories of his appearance so they 
  accuse someone else of the crime), and so forth. 
  Quote:  “Struggle as you will, you can never with-
  stand the power of my mind.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Menton is, without a doubt, the 
  most powerful human psionic alive today. He 
  makes the members of PSI look like mental weak-
  lings by comparison, and even his own sister does 
  not possess powers that come close to his. He can 
  take control of someone’s mind, create absolutely 
  convincing illusions in another person’s mind, read 
  or alter thoughts and memories, paralyze or blind 
  someone by shutting oﬀ  parts of the victim’s mind, 
  and project psychokinetic force to achieve a vari-
  ety of eﬀ ects. His powers can aﬀ ect not only other 
  humans, but animals and the strangest of alien 
  minds with equal ease.
  Menton’s mind works with such strength and 
  swift ness he can take extra Actions with just his 
  mental and psychokinetic powers. In game terms, 
  he has +4 SPD, with the extra SPD only working 
  for mental attacks and Actions. He gets a Phase 
  on Segments 2, 6, 7, and 11 in which he cannot 
  take any physical Actions, just mental ones. If he 
  Aborts one of his ﬁ ve normal Phases, he loses any 
  mental Action in the Phase in which he Aborts; if 
  he’s already taken a “mental Phase” in a Segment, he 
  cannot Abort to a physical Action in that Segment.
  For all his power, Menton is not prone to 
  combat. He prefers to work behind the scenes, 
  to control others and get them to do his bidding 
  instead. If forced to confront someone, he prefers 
  to Mind Control one foe to attack another, thereby 
  removing two enemies from contention. If angered 
  (such as when he’s injured), he’ll resort to using 
  psychokinetic powers to inﬂ ict harm.
  Resources:  Menton does not maintain an organi-
  zation the way most other master villains do. His 
  “bases” are permanently-reserved suites in the 
  most expensive and exclusive hotels in the world, 
  where harems of beautiful women await his whims 
  and the best chefs prepare whatever food he might 
  desire. His “followers” are whoever he happens to 
  be controlling, either with his mind or more banal 
  methods such as money.
  Relations With Others:  Menton does not enjoy cordial 
  relations with anyone else in the underworld; his 
  overweening arrogance and insistence on possess-
  ing absolute authority in any situation keep potential 
  allies away, and his general scorn for “lesser” humans 
  keeps him from seeking any out. He reserves a par-
  ticular hatred for Dr. Destroyer, whom he regards as 
  an abusive tyrant, and if appropriate will take action 
  to thwart Destroyer’s schemes. Th e only person he 
  retains any true aﬀ ection for is his sister, Mentalla, 
  and because of that he sometimes helps her and her 
  comrades in Eurostar.
  Campaign Use:  Menton is a master villain of con-
  spiratorial bent. In most scenarios, the PCs should 
  never be quite sure if he’s really behind a particular 
  plot, or if it’s someone else altogether. Only in the 
  ﬁ nal, climactic scene should proof of his involve-
  ment come to light.
  Menton makes a vicious and dangerous 
  Hunter. He’s easily oﬀ ended by those who harm or 
  insult him, and quite willing to go out of his way to 
  make them suﬀ er for their impudence. He will use 
  his powers ﬁ rst to uncover a hero’s Secret Identity, 
  then to ruin his civilian life, and ﬁ nally, aft er he’s 
  toyed with his victim long enough, to reveal what’s 
  been done and then kill him.
  If you want to increase Menton’s power and/or 
  ﬂ exibility, substitute a Variable Power Pool for his 
  Multipower. For 264 points (roughly the same as 
  the Multipower), he can have a Variable Power Pool 
  with a 120-point base cost, 60-point control cost, 
  the Cosmic (+2) Advantage, and a Only Mental/
  Psychokinetic Powers (-¼) Limitation. Th en you can 
  use slightly modiﬁ ed versions of the Multipower 
  powers as powers he can create with his VPP. If 
  he’s too powerful for your game and needs to be 
  “cut down” a little, get rid of his bonus SPD, reduce 
  the Multipower to a 120 Active Point reserve, and 
  remove the Force Wall slot from his EC.
  Appearance:  With his black hair and smoky dark 
  eyes, Alejandro Medina is a handsome man in his 
  early 30s who enhances others’ perception of his 
  already noteworthy appearance through subtle 
  mental manipulation. He wears the most expensive, 
  best-tailored clothes he can obtain, oft en using an 
  item of clothing no more than once or twice before 
  discarding it as “worthless.” He’s oft en accompanied 
  by a train of utterly obedient servants and gorgeous 
  “girlfriends.”
  MENTON 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Varanyi, an alien 
  species with powerful 
  psionic abilities who 
  live on the other side of 
  the Milky Way Galaxy, 
  begin channeling power 
  through Menton’s mind 
  to prepare Earth for an 
  invasion (and, eventu-
  ally, to open a gateway 
  so their powerful Star 
  Galleons can easily 
  reach this world). At 
  ﬁ rst Menton doesn’t 
  notice their subtle work-
  ings, and when he does 
  begins to worry he’s 
  losing control of his 
  powers. By then it’s too 
  late, he can’t stop them 
  — he’ll have to humble 
  himself and turn to the 
  PCs for help, or else 
  become a tool of Earth’s 
  alien soon-to-be-mas-
  ters.
  Menton performs an 
  unusually public action, 
  helping Eurostar con-
  quer much of northern 
  Italy. Why is he being 
  so uncharacteristically 
  combative? His devo-
  tion to his sister is not, 
  in itself, enough to make 
  him change his habits 
  that much.
  Menton discovers a way 
  to breach dimensional 
  barriers with his mental 
  powers. He begins 
  secretly negotiating 
  with Istvatha V’han to 
  help her conquer Earth, 
  expecting he can in 
  turn take control of her 
  and usurp the throne of 
  her multidimensional 
  empire. Will it work... 
  or is he likely to create 
  more trouble than even 
  he can handle?
  
  31 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  TAKOFANES
  The Archlich
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   25 DEX 
  45 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   30 BODY 40 
  15-
   30 INT 
  20 
  15- 
  PER Roll 15-
   25 EGO 
  30 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   60 PRE 
  50 
  21- 
  PRE Attack:  12d6
   2 COM 
  -4 
  9-
   25 PD 
  19 
   
  Total:  25 PD (25 rPD)
   25 ED 
  19 
   
  Total:  25 ED (25 rED)
   6 SPD 
  25 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  16
   80 END 
  10
   80 STUN 20 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  350
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  330 
  Darkest Sorcery:  Variable Power Pool 
  (Magic Pool), 150 base + 75 control cost, 
  Cosmic (+2); Only Magic (-¼) 
  var
  292 
  Undead Creation:  Summon up to 125 
  undead of up to 800 points each, Expanded 
  Class (any undead; +½), Slavishly Devoted 
  (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  Summoned Being Must “Inhabit” Locale 
  (spell requires appropriate number and 
  type of corpses in the vicinity; -½), Arrives 
  Under Own Power (-½), Extra Time (simple 
  undead, like skeletons or zombies, require 
  an ordinary Attack Action, more complex or 
  powerful undead take longer; -0) 
  0
  125 
  Undead Command:  Mind Control 20d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (10” Radius; +1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Only Versus 
  Undead (-1) 
  0
  120 
  Th e Sceptre Of Th e Undying King:  
  Multipower, 120-point reserve
  12u 
  1)  Hellﬁ re Blast I:  EB 16d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12u 
  2)  Hellﬁ re Blast II:  EB 12d6, Explosion 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12u 
  3)  Torments Of Th e Damned:  Ego Attack 
  8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12u 
  4)  Th andaki’s Spell Of Irresistible Paralysis:  
  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, Takes No Damage 
  From Attacks (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  11u 
  5)  Kal-Turak’s Spell Of Th e Invisible Hand:  
  Telekinesis (50 STR), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  4u 
  6)  Power Of Command:  +60 PRE; Only 
  To Make Presence Attacks (-½) 
  0
  36 
  Th e Dragon Crown:  Aid 6d6, any Magic 
  power one at a time (+¼), Delayed Return 
  Rate (5 points per Minute; +¼); Self Only 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  25 
  Undying Form:  Damage Resistance 
  (25 PD/25 ED) 
  0
  120 
  Spells Of Protection:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% 
  0
  20 
  Th e Dragon Crown:  Mental Defense 
  (25 points total) 
  0
  20 
  Spells Of Protection:  Power Defense 
  (20 points) 
  0
  60 
  Spells Of Protection:  Knockback 
  Resistance -30” 
  0
  50 
  Undying Form:  Life Support:  Total 
  (including Longevity:  Immortality) 
  0
  60 
  Spell Of Levitation:  Flight 20”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  47 
  Spell Of Awareness:  Detect Physical 
  Objects, Magic, and Living Souls 15- 
  (no Sense Group), Discriminatory, 
  Analyze, Range, Sense, Targeting 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
   
  All the Followers, Vehicles, and Bases he 
  could possibly need
   
  Talents
  42 
  Danger Sense (sense, any area, any danger) 15-
  20 
  Spell Of Comprehension:  Universal 
  Translator 15-
   
  Skills
  40 
  +4 Overall
  3 
  Deduction 15-
  31 
  Power:  Magic 30-
  7 
  Spell Research 17-
  4 
  WF:  Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Missile Weapons
  3 
  Scholar
  12 
  1)  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 25-
  12 
  2)  KS: Demonology 25-
  17 
  3)  KS: Necromancy 30-
  7 
  4)  KS: Turakian Age History 20-
  12 
  5)  KS: Turakian Th eurgy 25-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  1,593
  Total Cost:  1,943
  TAKOFANES, THE 
  UNDYING LORD
  
  32 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Fear)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mystic Aura (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only With Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture/Kill)
  0 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 11- (Less 
  Pow, Watching)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wishes To Kill 
  Or Control Everyone On Earth (Very 
  Common, Total)
  20 
  Reputation:  the world’s most dangerous 
  occult supervillain, 14- (Extreme)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 
  2d6 STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy 
  attacks (Uncommon)
  1,603 Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  1,943
  EXAMPLE POWERS FOR DARKEST 
  SORCERY VPP
  Given the size and utility of Takofanes’s VPP, 
  you can easily create just about any magical power 
  you can think of — oft en multiple ones simultane-
  ously, without worrying about using a lot of Limi-
  tations. Here are a few example spells:
  The Cantrip Of Gibbering Weakness:  Th is spell 
  weakens the target, both physically and mentally.
  Drain STR 5d6, Ranged (+½) (total cost:  75 
  points) plus Drain INT 5d6, Ranged (+½) (75 
  Active Points); Linked (-½) (total cost:  50 
  points). Total cost:  125 points.
  The Dark Lightnings Of Phaar-khem:  Th is spell 
  blasts an area with bolts of dark lightning.
  RKA 4d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (12” Radius; +1¼) 
  (135 Active Points); Limited Range (30”; -¼). 
  Total cost:  108 points.
  The Invocation Of The Black Sun:  With this spell, 
  the Undying Lord can turn the sun black, plung-
  ing the whole world into gloom.
  Change Environment 1” radius, -4 to Sight 
  Group PER Rolls, Diﬃ  cult To Dispel (x4 
  Active Points; +½), MegaArea (each hex 
  is 13,000 km tall, wide, and deep; +1½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent 
  (+½) (56 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Min-
  utes; -2). Total cost:  19 points.
  Kal-Turak’s Spell Of Soul-Reaving:  One of the 
  Undying Lord’s favorites, this spell rips the soul 
  from a living being, killing him and leaving the 
  body intact for necromantic experimentation.
  RKA 10d6 (150 Active Points); Only Works 
  On Living Beings With Souls (-½), No Knock-
  back (-¼). Total cost:  86 points.
  Variant version:  RKA 3d6+1, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Longevity] or not having a 
  soul; +1), Does BODY (+1). Total cost:  150 
  points.
  Kal-Turak’s Spell Of The Fogged Mind:  Th is spell 
  places a fog into the victim’s brain, blotting out his 
  will so Takofanes may command him.
  Mind Control 20d6, Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½). Total cost:  150 points.
  Shattering-Spell:  With this spell, Takofanes can 
  break any physical object, from the smallest uten-
  sils up to large buildings.
  RKA 10d6 (150 Active Points); Only Works 
  On Unliving Objects (-½), No Knockback 
  (-¼). Total cost:  86 points.
  The Silvery Chains Of Shalgoth The Younger:  Th is 
  spell wraps the target in magical silver chains 
  from which few victims can escape.
  Entangle 10d6, 20 DEF (150 Active Points); 
  Cannot Form Barriers (-¼). Total cost:  120 
  points.
  The Sixth Slumbrous Charm Of Kaarthák:  Th is spell 
  lays a mantle of sleep upon the targets, plunging 
  them into the land of dreams.
  Ego Attack 7d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (7” Radius; 
  +1). Total cost:  140 points.
  The Spell Of Perfect Protection:  Takofanes may 
  use this spell to supplement his already potent 
  defenses.
  Force Wall (10 PD/10 ED/10 Sight Group 
  Flash Defense/10 Mental Defense/10 Power 
  Defense) (125 Active Points); Self Only (-½). 
  Total cost:  83 points.
  Background/History:  Seventy thousand years ago, 
  when the world was far diﬀ erent in form and 
  nature than it is today, was the Turakian Age. Th e 
  greatest of the evil wizards of that time, a son of 
  demons and adherent of the darkest gods, was 
  Kal-Turak, Ravager of Men, who shaped the very 
  lands to his whim and gave his name to the era. 
  Th e unquestioned ruler of much of the Turakian 
  world, he held sway over his subjects through vast 
  magical power, and his shadow loomed over even 
  those lands he did not rule.
  Not even his death freed the Turakians from 
  his grasp, for he returned from the tomb a sere 
  lich, steeped in necromancy, more powerful than 
  ever. In this form he called himself by a new name, 
  Takofanes (tuh-koﬀ -uh-neez), meaning in tongues 
  even more ancient “he who holds the power of life 
  and death in his hands.” His subjects called him 
  the Undying Lord, and the King of the Th rone of 
  Human Ivory, for his Seat of Power was craft ed 
  from the bones of those who dared oppose him.
  In time, the peoples of the world rose against 
  Takofanes, and aft er long and fearsome battle cast 
  him down and humbled him. But so great was his 
  TAKOFANES 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Divination spells give 
  Takofanes reason to 
  believe that a potent 
  relic of Turakian times, 
  the Amulet of Kartha-
  los, has survived to the 
  modern day. However, 
  the Amulet’s magics 
  shields it from him, pre-
  venting him from deter-
  mining its exact loca-
  tion. He begins attack-
  ing museums, hoping 
  to ﬁ nd it among their 
  collections. Can the PCs 
  ﬁ gure out what’s going 
  on in time to stop him, 
  or will he make himself 
  even more powerful by 
  adding the Amulet to his 
  arsenal?
  A member of the 
  Trismegistus Council 
  informs the PCs he 
  may have found a way 
  to block the Undying 
  Lord’s necromantic 
  spells, which would pre-
  vent him from creating 
  more undead servants. 
  It’s a ritual that requires 
  several exotic ingredi-
  ents. Th e PCs have to 
  race against time and 
  the forces of Takofanes 
  to get the necessary 
  materials and help cast 
  the spell.
  Takofanes constructs 
  a gigantic ﬂ esh golem, 
  as big as a skyscraper, 
  and sends it to destroy 
  Millennium City. But 
  what else does he have 
  planned that would 
  require such a monu-
  mental diversion?
  
  33 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  power that they could not slay him, so with their 
  own magics the leaders of the free peoples bound 
  him and buried him in a crypt far beneath the 
  surface of the earth, where no pathways led.
  So terrible was the battle against Takofanes 
  that the arcane forces unleashed by both sides 
  soon began to reshape the world, causing cata-
  clysms in which continents fell and rose, moun-
  tains were reduced to plains, and seas shrank away 
  to form new lands. But so deep was the Crypt 
  of Takofanes that he slumbered on, fettered by 
  potent magics. Other cataclysms of the world the 
  Crypt survived as well, but as the shape of the 
  lands changed, it came closer, far closer, to the sur-
  face than those who craft ed it ever intended.
  In 1987, petroleum engineers in Oklahoma, 
  drilling deep in search of oil, drilled through the 
  Undying Lord’s Crypt, freeing him aft er tens of 
  thousands of years. He awakened to a world far 
  diﬀ erent from any he had ever known — one in 
  which his powers, though strong, were weaker 
  than once they had been. He slew his saviors with 
  a casual gesture, then raised them up as the ﬁ rst 
  of his servants in this new time. Sensing a great 
  concentration of power on the East Coast of the 
  United States, he traveled that way by magic, kill-
  ing all he encountered along the way. Th e ﬁ rst 
  attempt America’s superheroes made to stop him 
  led to the death of half a dozen of them; only a 
  second, more concerted, eﬀ ort stayed his march 
  and drove him away. (See Champions Universe, 
  page 102, for more information.) He vanished 
  from the battleﬁ eld, only to reappear several 
  times since in similar attempts to conquer 
  or transform the world. Th e logic behind 
  his actions remains inscrutable, but his aim 
  — the conquest or destruction of mankind 
  — is all too evident. No one knows where 
  next he will appear, but only fools do 
  not dread his coming.
  Personality/Motivation:  An undead 
  necromancer and sorcerer of 
  vast arcane power, Takofanes 
  the Archlich cares only for the 
  acquisition of power, both magi-
  cal and temporal. People are little 
  more to him than gnats to be swatted, 
  or servants awaiting transformation into more 
  worthy forms. If he were to succeed in conquering 
  the world, the lot of humanity would be a vile and 
  bitter one indeed. Moreso even than Dr. Destroyer 
  or Dark Seraph, he represents pure, unalloyed 
  Evil, with all that state entails.
  Quote:  “Th ou and thy apeish kin will grovel at 
  my feet, or be destroyed. So saith the Lord of the 
  Th rone and Crown, and so shall it be done.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Although the level of arcane 
  energies in the modern world is less than it was 
  during the Turakian Age, and so his spells 
  are weaker too, Takofanes is still the most 
  powerful wielder of magical energies in the 
  world today, dwarﬁ ng even the likes of Dark 
  Seraph. With his magics he can devastate entire 
  cities, slaughter armies, and raise the hosts of the 
  dead to obey his every whim. His greatest powers 
  lie in the arcana of Necromancy, but he can com-
  mand virtually any type of magic imaginable.
  In battle, the Undying Lord prefers to let his 
  servants and pawns do all the work, taking a hand 
  himself only if it’s necessary or some foe threatens 
  him directly. Th en he strikes quickly and with-
  out mercy, using his powerful spells to strike his 
  enemies down without a second thought. A foe 
  slain will oft en be raised 
  from the dead 
  at once as a 
  zombie or 
  specter to 
  serve his will 
  — it is most 
  ﬁ tting, aft er all, 
  for those who 
  dare to oppose 
  him to strike 
  back against 
  their former 
  comrades 
  until the 
  
  34 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Archlich sees ﬁ t to slay them in turn.
  Takofanes wields two powerful magic items, 
  the Sceptre Of Th e Undying King (which his 
  priests craft ed for him back in Turakian times), 
  and the Dragon Crown, forged by the demon-
  god Krim in ages agone. Both provide him with 
  further magical abilities, or augment those he 
  already possesses. Because the Crown is perma-
  nently attached to his head, and he can summon 
  the Sceptre to himself with but a gesture, neither 
  qualify as Foci. (For more on the Crown, see 
  Champions Universe, page 102.)
  In battle, or when confronting others, Tako-
  fanes rarely moves or speaks. He simply hovers 
  near the ﬁ eld of combat, or sits in his great Th rone 
  (which undead servitors oft en carry on a golden 
  litter). Should he deign to raise a hand to oppose 
  some hero, that would almost be a mark of favor, 
  a sign the Undying Lord must exert himself, how-
  ever little, to defeat him.
  Th e Archlich’s magic is not like those of most 
  other superpowered spellcasters. It is a darker and 
  more primitive thing, born of ancient Turakian 
  lore and his own pacts with demons and things 
  still more foul — but no less powerful for its lack 
  of ﬂ ashiness or alliterative names.
  Resources:  Takofanes’s resources are vast, though 
  not technological as most other villains’. His ser-
  vants are undead he has created, or demonic ser-
  vitors summoned by his spells. Th ey wield ancient 
  weapons, sometimes enchanted, and ride in magi-
  cal chariots pulled by beasts both strange and fell. 
  When he must retreat, he uses his magics to trans-
  port himself to pocket dimensions he created long 
  ago, where none can ﬁ nd or harm him.
  Relations With Others:  Takofanes has no interest in 
  allying himself with anyone else; he stands alone, 
  supreme, and all others must cower before him 
  and worship him. Everyone in the world is but a 
  servant, or a servant to be, and he makes no pacts 
  with such worms.
  Campaign Use:  Takofanes is the most powerful 
  magical villain threatening the Champions Uni-
  verse (save perhaps for Tyrannon the Conqueror). 
  He’s quite capable of conquering the world, and 
  if he does so will reduce it to a place of darkness, 
  misery, and torment where human beings are 
  allowed to live only that they might breed more 
  slaves for him.
  Takofanes is still trying to grasp the nature 
  of the modern world. It is very unlike the world 
  he knew 70,000 years ago, and he has never been 
  opposed by the likes of superheroes. His unfamil-
  iarity with present-day Earth is one reason he has 
  always suﬀ ered defeat. In time, as he adapts him-
  self to the demands of the twenty-ﬁ rst century, he 
  will become even more diﬃ  cult to stop.
  If Takofanes needs to be more powerful to 
  take on your group of PCs, increase his Character-
  istics (including SPD) appropriately, or give him 
  more magic items or speciﬁ c abilities outside his 
  Darkest Sorcery VPP (e.g., a distinct demon-sum-
  moning power). To weaken him, reduce his Char-
  acteristics slightly, and replace his Variable Power 
  Pool with a 120-point reserve Multipower with 
  ten or twelve slots.
  Takofanes is unlikely to ever Hunt a spe-
  ciﬁ c hero; he has an entire world to conquer 
  and civilization to crush beneath his bony heel. 
  Should some unlucky PC attract his attention, the 
  Archlich would probably attack him with sum-
  moned servants and curses cast from afar. Direct 
  confrontation would be most rare — and usually 
  fatal for the hero.
  Appearance:  Th e Undying Lord is a skeletal lich, 
  with green ﬂ ames burning in his eye sockets. He 
  wears a scarlet kilt with a gold belt, and a scarlet 
  cloak with a gold border on which are embroi-
  dered arcane runes in red; at times the runes seem 
  to writhe, or change shape. On his head he wears 
  the Dragon Crown, which looks like six golden 
  dragons woven together to make a crown, with 
  each of their upper bodies and heads standing 
  up to form one of the tines. Each dragon has tiny 
  rubies for eyes, and the one in front, much larger 
  and more detailed than the others, holds a large 
  emerald.
  THE ARSENAL OF TAKOFANES
  When the time comes to oppose the PCs, Tako-
  fanes might distribute some of these items to 
  his most trusted servants. Th ey’re Unbreakable 
  Personal Foci, and though they don’t use up any 
  of the Undying Lord’s VPP, they only work at his 
  suﬀ erance.
  The Puissant Orb:  Th is crystalline globe, milky-
  white in color but occasionally showing ﬂ ashes 
  of color and light deep within, ﬁ ts comfortably in 
  a human hand. It allows the user to move people 
  and objects without touching them.
  Telekinesis (40 STR) (60 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1). Total cost:  30 points.
  Thunderbolt Wand:  Th is worked iron wand, set 
  with lesser gems, shod with silver, and capped 
  with a perfectly-formed crystal of tourmaline, 
  can project powerful bolts of lightning at nearby 
  targets.
  RKA 3d6, +2 Increased STUN Multiplier 
  (+½) (67 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited 
  Range (9”; -¼), 6 Charges (-¾). Total cost:  
  22 points.
  Vesperine Cloak:  Woven of bat’s-wings, this cloak 
  grants the wearer the ability to ﬂ y, and makes it 
  impossible to see him in darkness.
  Flight 10”, Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), Restrain-
  able (-½) (total cost:  12 points) plus Invis-
  ibility To Sight Group, No Fringe, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) (45 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1) (total cost:  22 points). Total cost:  
  34 points.
  
  35 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  DEMON SERVITOR
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   8 EGO 
  -4 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   2 COM 
  -4 
  9-
   8 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  16 PD (8 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  16 ED (8 rED)
   3 SPD 
  2 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   9 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   38 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  85
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Leaping: 
  5”/10”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  22 
  Fangs:  HKA 1d6 (2d6 with STR), Armor 
  Piercing (+½) 
  2
  10 
  Demonic Strength:  HA +3d6; 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  1
  21 
  Crushing, Strangling, Th rottling:  HKA 1d6 
  (2d6 with STR), Continuous (+1), 
  Penetrating (+½); Must Follow Grab (-½), 
  No Knockback (-¼) 
  4
  37 
   Corrosive Slime:  HKA 1d6, Continuous 
  (+1), Damage Shield (does damage in 
  HTH Combat; +¾), Penetrating (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); No 
  STR Bonus (-½) 
  0
  24 
  Demon’s Carapace:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Infernal Shield:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  50 
  Infernal Form:  Life Support:  Total 
  (including Longevity:  Immortality) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  1 
  Language:  English (basic conversation; 
  Demonic is native)
  5 
  Stealth 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  218
  Total Cost:  303
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Infernal Evil 
  (Concealable With Eﬀ ort; Causes Fear)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Must Obey Anyone 
  Who Knows Its True Name (Infrequently, 
  Fully Impairing)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Restricted By Pen-
  tagrams, if conﬁ ned within a pentagram 
  cannot leave or aﬀ ect anyone or anything 
  outside the pentagram (Infrequently, Fully 
  Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Utterly Evil (Very 
  Common, Total)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Utterly Loyal To 
  Takofanes (Very Common, Total)
  25 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places and objects, 
  takes 2d6 damage per Phase demon is on 
  holy ground, in a holy place, or within 1” of a 
  holy object (Common)
  103 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  303
  Description:  Created especially for Takofanes 
  by the Lords of Hell, these Demon Servitors are 
  among the most common beings to serve the 
  Undying Lord. Although they have many diﬀ erent 
  forms, the typical ones owe their appearance more 
  to Turakian concepts of demons than the imagin-
  ings of modern-day Christianity. Th eir bodies are 
  a shadowy black, with tentacle-like ﬁ ngers and 
  hair, and carapaces something like that of beetles. 
  A fetid, corrosive slime drips from their bodies, 
  and they bring horror wherever they go.
  
  36 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  B
  ackground/History:  Born in 1958, Roger 
  Warwell has always bitterly regretted that he 
  missed World War II and the Korean War, 
  and was too young for the Vietnam conﬂ ict. 
  He grew up listening to his father and uncles telling 
  war stories, and all he ever wanted to do with his 
  life was become a soldier.
  Warwell’s interest in bloodshed sometimes 
  manifested itself in a violent temper and criminal 
  conduct (mostly assaults). Much to his parents’ 
  despair, he was expelled from several schools for 
  ﬁ ghting, selling drugs, and similar antisocial behav-
  ior. Finally they shipped him oﬀ  to military school. 
  At last, he was truly in his element. He took to 
  military school like a ﬁ sh to water, quickly rising to 
  the top of his class and achieving high marks in his 
  subjects. Th ough his record was marred by a ﬁ st-
  ﬁ ght or two, he never got in serious trouble again. 
  Th at wasn’t because he’d reformed, but because the 
  discipline of military academy life taught him how 
  to conceal his criminal conduct better.
  Upon graduation, Warwell immediately joined 
  the Marines, where again he excelled. But a bud-
  ding military career was cut short when he was 
  caught selling military weaponry on the black 
  market with the help of a quartermaster. Warwell 
  escaped, killing a guard and his accomplice in the 
  process, and ﬂ ed the United States to become a 
  mercenary. He spent the next several years ﬁ ghting 
  for pay in the Balkans, Africa, South and Central 
  America, and anywhere else his military expertise 
  was needed and the money was good.
  When an injury sidelined him for several 
  months, he began to dabble in arms dealing again, 
  and quickly found it to be far more proﬁ table — 
  and safer — than ﬁ ghting on the front lines. Taking 
  advantage of military and underworld contacts 
  developed over the years, he put together a major 
  black market arms smuggling and selling network, 
  raking in vast proﬁ ts from stolen military goods. As 
  his fortune and power increased, he began hiring 
  scientists and engineers to develop his own line of 
  weapons, ones superior to standard government 
  models in many ways. Soon his biggest problem 
  was not being able to manufacture weapons quickly 
  enough to satisfy all his customers!
  For all that, Warwell might have remained 
  a more or less ordinary, if powerful, underworld 
  arms merchant if not for a fateful day in 1991. 
  While on a combination hunting and birdwatching 
  safari in the African jungle, he came across what 
  he thought at ﬁ rst was some sort of wrecked pro-
  totype stealth ﬁ ghter. He revised his opinion when 
  he discovered the remains of the pilot — a bluish-
  skinned, red-eyed alien! Realizing he’d found the 
  remains of a crashed alien starship, he quickly 
  called in his troops and had the entire ship lift ed 
  out of there and taken to his most private, most 
  secure facility.
  Aft er studying the ship for months, Warwell 
  knew it was a godsend for him. With this sort of 
  technological resource, he could be more than just 
  an arms merchant. He could become a major mili-
  tary force in his own right, a modern-day Alexan-
  der capable of laying the world at his feet. He could 
  become... a Warlord.
  Drawing on his own abilities as a military 
  systems designer and the skills of his corps of tech-
  nicians and engineers, Warwell designed a massive 
  suit of powered battle armor that incorporated 
  Earth and “Blueboy” technology, and a gigantic 
  ﬂ ying, stealth technology-cloaked airship to go 
  with it. Christening himself the Warlord, in 1994 he 
  launched his ﬁ rst attempt at conquest, attacking the 
  nation of Vietnam. Th ough eventually defeated by 
  an assemblage of various superheroes from around 
  the world, he satisﬁ ed himself that his battlesuit 
  had what it took to ﬁ ght against the “big boys.” And 
  his strong showing only attracted more customers 
  eager for his ever-more-powerful weaponry. He has 
  continued to spread havoc and violence throughout 
  the world, oft en personally taking a hand in the 
  battles and wars he foments. Th ough not as direct 
  a threat to world security as the likes of Mechanon, 
  Takofanes, or Dr. Destroyer, he remains one of the 
  most powerful, and aggressive, supervillains in the 
  world.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th e Warlord is a powerful, 
  powerhungry supercriminal who revels in conﬂ ict, 
  violence, ﬁ ghting, and bloodshed. Unlike many 
  master villains, he likes to get involved in combat 
  personally, taking on the most powerful superhe-
  roes and gunning them down with his powerful 
  weaponry. He’s set his sights on eventually taking 
  over part, or all, of the world through the applica-
  tion of matchless military force, and he doesn’t 
  intend to rest until his dreams of empire have 
  become a reality.
  Th e Warlord constantly speaks in military 
  jargon as a subconscious way of both showing 
  oﬀ  and putting others in their place. Bad sugges-
  tions aren’t just rejected, they’re “contraindicated”; 
  retreats are “strategic withdrawals”; he frequently 
  quotes Sun Tzu and Clausewitz; and so on. When 
  roleplaying him, try to get across his air of military 
  eﬃ  ciency, discipline, and obsession — but give 
  the deﬁ nite impression he can back up his macho 
  posturing with strength and power, because he can. 
  He’s no tin soldier playing at warfare; he’s a danger-
  ous, seasoned combatant who’s killed more super-
  THE WARLORD
  WARLORD 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Aft er seeing a picture 
  of Oculon, the Warlord 
  realizes he has Blueboy 
  eyes. Intrigued, he thaws 
  out the body of the 
  Hzeel pilot he found and 
  puts his surgeons and 
  scientists to work to ﬁ nd 
  out if they can create 
  more superpowered sol-
  diers for him by graft ing 
  Hzeel organs and parts 
  onto Human bodies. 
  Th ey succeed, vastly 
  boosting the strength 
  of his organization, 
  which leads to a spree of 
  crimes and attacks the 
  PCs have to stop.
  Th e PCs hear an under-
  world rumor that the 
  Warlord and Teleios 
  have joined forces for 
  some unknown purpose. 
  Is it true — and if so, 
  what are the two up to? 
  Is the Warlord about 
  to unleash a biochemi-
  cal armageddon on the 
  world?
  One of the Warlord’s 
  clients orders a new 
  type of weapon. Th is 
  new weapon happens to 
  use technology similar 
  to that invented (or 
  used) by one of the 
  PCs. Rather than spend 
  all the R&D time and 
  money to engineer it 
  himself, the Warlord 
  decides to kill the PC 
  and take it. He begins 
  a campaign against the 
  PCs intended to draw 
  them out to a place 
  where he can easily 
  murder them and take 
  what he wants.
  
  37 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  heroes than any supervillain besides Dr. Destroyer 
  (24 as of 2002).
  Quote:  “Sun Tzu would counsel caution in this situ-
  ation. But I disagree — now is the time to strike, 
  and strike hard, while the enemy is weak! General 
  Brannock, deploy ﬁ ve squads of troops to the coor-
  dinates previously provided. Order them to kill 
  everyone at the location and take whatever technol-
  ogy they can carry. Th e entire mission should take 
  no more than two hours.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e Warlord’s abilities primarily 
  derive from his impressively large and powerful 
  suit of battle armor, which combines both Human 
  and “Blueboy” (Hzeel) military technol-
  ogy. In addition to a wide variety 
  of blasters, it’s equipped with 
  machine guns, ﬂ amethrow-
  ers, tangleweb projectors, 
  and missiles. It’s also got 
  numerous defensive sys-
  tems, a jetpack and jumpjets 
  for ﬂ ight and ﬂ ight-assisted 
  leaps, and multiple sensory 
  systems including 360-
  degree camera feeds and 
  radar. Th e armor’s com-
  puters project readouts 
  in heads-up displays on 
  the interior of its dome.
  Th e Warlord 
  regards himself as a 
  master strategist and 
  tactician, and he is. Even more 
  importantly, his interest in ana-
  lyzing a conﬂ ict and determin-
  ing his best course of action 
  doesn’t inhibit his ability 
  to act quickly; he’d rather 
  make a decision based 
  on the best currently 
  available information 
  and carry forward than 
  wallow around inde-
  cisively, even if his 
  chosen course of action 
  ultimately proves to have 
  been the wrong one. He can always retreat, regroup, 
  and attack again later; he’s not foolish enough to 
  keep ﬁ ghting when the odds are against him. He 
  ﬁ ghts to win.
  Resources:  In addition to his team of superpow-
  ered soldiers, the War Machine, the Warlord pos-
  sesses two assets of note. Th e ﬁ rst is the Flying 
  Fortress, a gigantic airship/mobile base which 
  serves as his headquarters. Using stealth technology 
  and cloud generators to conceal itself from the rest 
  of the world, it’s the perfect staging ground for his 
  campaign of conquest. Th e heavily-armed Fortress 
  comes equipped with numerous combat aircraft  
  built with both Earth and Hzeel technology, and 
  the Warlord hopes to add teleportation systems 
  someday.
  Th e Warlord’s second major asset is the 
  Shadow Army, his private force of several thousand 
  highly-trained troops. Organized similarly to the 
  United States Army, the Shadow Army is but the 
  ﬁ rst of many armies the Warlord hopes to recruit. 
  Once he achieves a few successes in his campaign, 
  mercenaries from all over the world will ﬂ ock to his 
  banner, giving him the force he needs to continue 
  invading and conquering other nations... or so he 
  hopes.
  Relations With Others:  Th e Warlord has worked 
  with both VIPER and Eurostar on occasion, some-
  times seeking an ally with whom to conquer part 
  of the world, sometimes as part of a technology 
  exchange or the like. Other supercriminals (or 
  criminal organizations) he has neither opposed 
  nor teamed up with.
  Campaign Use:  Although he is a 
  master villain, and thus to be used 
  as the GM sees ﬁ t, generally the 
  Warlord is weaker than most of the 
  other master villains depicted in 
  this book. His technology is 
  not as advanced (or diverse), 
  his superteam is relatively 
  weak, and his corps of 
  soldiers nowhere near as 
  large as Dr. Destroyer’s 
  body of followers or 
  the undead legions 
  of Takofanes. Still, 
  underestimating him 
  is foolish; between his military skills, 
  his powerful weapons, and his ruthless 
  aggressiveness, he poses a deﬁ nite threat 
  to world security... not to mention the 
  health of any superheroes who dare to 
  oppose him.
  To increase the Warlord’s power, 
  add more weaponry; he oft en experi-
  ments by adding systems to his armor 
  temporarily, and this is a good way to 
  keep the PCs on their toes. Some 
  Damage Reduction would 
  also help him to stand up 
  against entire superhero 
  teams by himself, without the 
  help of the War Machine or any troops. To weaken 
  him, simply reduce the number and power of 
  his weapons until he’s where you want him to be, 
  power-wise.
  Th e Warlord is willing to Hunt anyone who 
  seems to pose a deﬁ nite threat to him or his orga-
  nization (including Devastator, who stole from him 
  and must be made to pay the price for his theft ). 
  As a Hunter, he plans (with military precision and 
  thoroughness) a methodical campaign of harass-
  ment, raids, and attacks designed to locate, weaken, 
  and then destroy his foe.
  Appearance:  Th e Warlord’s armor is large and 
  bulky; wearing it, he stands over seven feet tall, with 
  a proportionately broad ﬁ gure. Th e armor itself is a 
  shiny steel blue, and carries an enormous number 
  of weapons. On the right forearm, mounted above 
  the wrist, a large cylinder, divided into three sec-
  tions, encloses the arm; by rotating the three sec-
  
  38 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  tions of the cylinder, the Warlord can ﬁ re diﬀ erent 
  energy bolts from his right gauntlet. Mounted on 
  the left  forearm are two weapons, a machine gun 
  and a ﬂ amethrower, their twin barrels reaching 
  just over the edge of the Warlord’s knuckles when 
  he makes a ﬁ st. Peeking over his shoulders are a 
  micromissile launcher and a tangleweb projector. 
  Th e armor encloses the Warlord’s head and upper 
  chest in a sort of dome that gives him a wider ﬁ eld 
  of vision than a helmet would.
  Out of his armor, Roger Warwell is a rugged-
  looking man in his mid-40s. He’s obviously been 
  through a lot, as his numerous scars attest, but his 
  face, form, and attitude reveal a certain zest for life 
  that no misfortune can entirely extinguish; if he 
  weren’t so unstable and dangerous, many heroes 
  could get to like him.
  THE WARLORD
   Val 
  Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15+25 STR 5+12* 12- /17- Lift  200/6,400 kg; 
  3d6/8d6 [1 (4)]
   
  20 
  DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV: 7/DCV: 7
   
  25 
  CON 
  30 
  14-
   
  15 
  BODY 10 
  12-
   
  20 
  INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   
  18 
  EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV: 6
   
  30 
  PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack: 6d6
   
  10 
  COM 
  0 
  11-
   
  10 
  PD 
  7 
  Total:  34 PD (24 rPD)
   
  8 
  ED 
  3 
  Total:  32 ED (24 rED)
   
  5 
  SPD 
  20 
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   
  10 
  REC 
  4
   
  50 
  END 
  0
   
  50 
  STUN 14 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  181
  *:  OIF (Powered Armor, -½), No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  20”/40”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/80”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  60 
  Battle Armor Weapons Suite:  Multipower, 
  90-point reserve; all OIF (-½)
  4u 
  1)  Mark I Blaster:  Energy Blast 18d6; OIF 
  (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  4u 
  2)  Mark II Blaster:  RKA 6d6; OIF (-½), 8 
  Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  6u 
  3)  Mark III Blaster:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 0
  6u 
  4)  Mark IV Blaster:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  4u 
  5)  Mark V Blaster:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  4u 
  6)  Mark VI Blaster:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OIF (-½), 
  8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  4u 
  7)  Micromissiles:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾); OIF (-½), 
  8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  4u 
  8)  Flamethrower:  RKA 4d6, Armor 
  Piercing (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  6u 
  9)  Machine Gun:  RKA 3d6, Autoﬁ re (5 
  shots; +½), 64 Charges (+½); OIF (-½) [64]
  6u 
  10) Tangleweb Projector:  Entangle 9d6, 9 
  DEF; OIF (-½), 16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  6u 
  11) Electriﬁ cation Field:  RKA 2d6, 
  Continuous (+1), Damage Shield (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  6u 
  12)  Taser Blaster:  Energy Blast 9d6, 
  NND (defense is ED Force Field; +1); 
  OIF (-½), 16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
   
  Martial Arts:  Karate
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Atemi Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND(1)
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 35 (60) 
  STR
  4 
  Dodge 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge all attacks, 
  Abort
  3 
  Legsweep 
  +2 
  -1 
  6d6 (11d6); 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Knifehand Strike -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Punch/
   
  Snap Kick 
  +0 
  +2 
  7d6 (12d6) Strike
  5 
  Side/Spin Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  9d6 (14d6) Strike
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  60 
  Battle Armor:  Armor (24 PD/24 ED), 
  Hardened (+¼); OIF (-½) 
  0
  27 
  Flashbang Protection:  Sight and Hearing 
  Group Flash Defense (20 points each); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Psychic Shield:  Mental Defense 
  (19 points total); OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Force Field:  Power Defense (15 points); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Internal Air Supply:  Life Support 
  (Self-Contained Breathing); OIF (-½) 
  0
  45 
  Jetpack:  Flight 20”, x4 Noncombat, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 0
  8 
  Jumpjets:  Leaping +12” (20” forward, 
  10” upward); OIF (-½) 
  1
  6 
  Swift  Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  3 
  Visual Sensors Suite:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Visual Sensors Suite:  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Visual Sensors Suite:  Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees) for Sight Group; 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  Audio Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Communications Systems:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight And 
  Hearing Groups As Well As Radio Group (-½) 0
  13 
  Radar Array:  Radar (Radio Group), Increased 
  Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  80 
  Contacts:  numerous throughout the 
  militaries, arms manufacturers, and 
  mercenary groups of the world
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
  70 
  Th e Shadow Army:  Followers, 4,000 (see 
  character sheet on page 50)
  133 
  Flying Fortress:  Vehicle (see page 49)
  
  39 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Any other Bases, Followers, or Vehicles he 
  needs
   
  Talents
  8 
  Onboard Computer:  Absolute Range Sense, 
  Absolute Time Sense, Bump Of Direction, 
  Lightning Calculator; OIF (-½)
  15 
  Combat Sense 13-
  6 
  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  +4 DEX to go ﬁ rst with 
  All Attacks
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  11 
  Tactical Computer:  +2 with All Combat; 
  OIF (-½)
  6 
  Tactical Computer:  +3 versus Range with all 
  attacks; OIF (-½)
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Combat Piloting 13-
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  7 
  Demolitions 15-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  2 
  AK: Africa 11-
  2 
  AK: Th e Balkans 11-
  2 
  AK: Central America 11-
  2 
  AK: South America 11-
  2 
  AK: Southeast Asia 11-
  1 
  KS: Hzeel Starship Technology 8-
  5 
  KS: Military History 15-
  10 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 20-
  3 
  KS: Superheroes 13-
  3 
  KS: Supervillains 13-
  5 
  KS: World Military Weaponry & Vehicles 15-
  1 
  Language:  Serbo-Croatian (basic 
  conversation; English is native)
  2 
  Language: Spanish (ﬂ uent conversation)
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  5 
  PS: Arms Dealer 15-
  3 
  PS: Birdwatching 13-
  5 
  PS: Soldier/Mercenary 15-
  5 
  PS: Wargames 15-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 15-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  7 
  Tactics 15-
  5 
  Teamwork 14-
  7 
  TF:  Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Basic & Advanced Parachuting, Two-
  Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles, Small 
  Motorized Boats, SCUBA
  7 
  WF:  Small Arms, Blades, Th rown Blades, 
  Grenade Launchers, Heavy Machine Guns, 
  Shoulder-Fired Weapons
  11 
  Weaponsmith (all categories) 14-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  888
  Total Cost:  1,069
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  15 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  another superteam of GM’s choice 
  8- (As Pow, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Powerhungry 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Revels In Combat 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hunting 
  Devastator (Uncommon, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  master villain bent on destruc-
  tion and world conquest 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Roger 
  Warwell) (Frequently, Major)
  954 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  1,069
  THE WAR MACHINE
  WARBIRD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  20 PD (12 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  20 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   37 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  114
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  7”/14”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Right Wrist Rocket:  EB 8d6, Explosion 
  (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  5 
  Left  Wrist Rocket:  a second Wrist Rocket 
  (same as above) 
  [8]
  25 
  Razor Wings:  HKA 1½d6 (2d6+1 with 
  STR), Armor Piercing (+½); OIF (-½) 
  2
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  35 STR vs. 
  Grabs
  4 
  Karate “Chop” -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR) 
  4 
  Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
   
  
  40 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
   
  Martial Arts:  Warbird Fighting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  5 
  Flying Dodge 
  — 
  +4 
  Dodge All 
  Attacks, Abort; 
  FMove
  5 
  Flying Grab 
  -2 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 30 STR 
  for holding on; 
  FMove
  5 
  Flying Th row 
  -1 
  -2 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs; 4d6 +v/
  5; Target Falls; 
  FMove
  5 
  Passing Disarm -1 
  -1 
  Disarm, 30 STR 
  to Disarm roll; 
  FMove
  5 
  Passing Strike +1 
  +0 
  Weapon +v/5; 
  FMove
  24 
  Bulletproof Costume:  Armor 
  (12 PD/12 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  33 
  Wings:  Flight 20”, Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼); Restrainable (-½) 
  2
  2 
  Fast Runner:  Running +1” (7” total) 
  1
  3 
  Nightsight Helmet:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Helmet Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Membership:  commander of 
  the War Machine
   
  Skills
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  8 
  +4 with Flight
  3 
  Combat Piloting 13-
  1 
  AK: Africa 8-
  2 
  KS: Military History 11-
  2 
  KS: Superheroes 11-
  2 
  KS: Supervillains 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Warlord & His Organization 11-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 12-
  3 
  Paramedics 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  7 
  Tactics 14-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  4 
  TF:  Combat Aircraft , Helicopters, Large 
  Planes, Small Planes
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  236
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Hunted:  Th e Warlord 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Th e War-
  lord (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Revels In Violence 
  And Combat (Very Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Looks Aft er His 
  Men Before Himself (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  superpowered lieutenant of the 
  Warlord, 11- (Extreme)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Warhead)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Paul 
  Avery) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Paul Avery was a hot-shot 
  pilot with the United States Air Force, ﬂ ying the 
  latest combat aircraft . He was on top of the world... 
  until his eyesight suddenly started to deteriorate. 
  Air Force doctors who examined him said it was an 
  incurable condition. When informed he would no 
  longer be allowed to ﬂ y, he became so overwrought 
  he stole an F-15 and tried to ﬂ ee the United States. 
  He accidentally crashed the jet, but managed to bail 
  out and escape before the authorities arrived. He 
  disappeared into the mercenary underground, con-
  cealing his vision problems so he could continue 
  to ﬂ y.
  Aft er a few years as a mercenary, he was 
  recruited by the Warlord to become part of his 
  Shadow Army. Th e pay and conditions were better, 
  so Avery jumped at the chance. About a year 
  later, aft er a routine physical examination by the 
  Warlord’s doctors, Avery was told they had a revo-
  lutionary new treatment, based on the Warlord’s 
  unique technology, that could stop his eyesight 
  from getting worse, and over time reverse the dete-
  rioration altogether. But the Warlord had a condi-
  tion — Avery would have to help test an experi-
  mental ﬂ ying suit.
  Avery eagerly volunteered to test the suit. It 
  proved to work perfectly — and he was so good at 
  using it, the Warlord ordered him to keep it and 
  take the codename Warbird. As the ﬁ rst, and thus 
  most senior, member of the War Machine, Warbird 
  was given command of the others as the Warlord 
  built the team, and he remains in command today.
  Personality/Motivation:  Like the Warlord himself, 
  Warbird is a combat junkie. He loves the thrill of 
  battle, violence, and bloodshed. However, his pre-
  ferred method of ﬁ ghting is from the air, using the 
  highest-tech weaponry he can get his hands on; 
  ﬁ stﬁ ghts are for suckers and goons. He spends as 
  much time as he can in the air, even if it’s just for 
  the fun of ﬂ ying; in combat he never touches the 
  ground unless he has to.
  Warbird is ideally suited to command the War 
  Friendly Rivalry?
  ‘Warbird a commander? Gimme 
  a break! Sure, he talks a good 
  game, but that’s all it is — talk. 
  When things get tough, he’ll 
  fold under the pressure. I could lead the 
  Machine a lot better than he can.’
  — Warhead on Warbird
  WARBIRD 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Air Force catches up 
  to Paul Avery aft er years 
  of searching for him. 
  Aware that, as Warbird, 
  he can call for some 
  heavy-hitting backup 
  when they try to capture 
  him, the USAF brass 
  asks the PCs for help.
  Warbird ﬁ nds out his 
  eyesight started to go 
  bad years ago because 
  the Warlord arranged 
  to have a subtle poison 
  slipped into his food 
  — he wanted to recruit 
  Avery for the Shadow 
  Army. (Th at’s why the 
  Warlord’s doctors were 
  able to cure a problem 
  other doctors pro-
  nounced incurable — 
  they knew exactly what 
  the cause was.) Furious, 
  Warbird approaches 
  the PCs with an oﬀ er 
  to work undercover to 
  bring the Warlord down 
  (in exchange for immu-
  nity from prosecution, 
  of course). Can they 
  trust him? What hap-
  pens if he changes his 
  mind halfway through 
  the job?
  Warbird takes a vaca-
  tion cruise — on a ship 
  where the PCs just 
  happen to be vacation-
  ing themselves. When 
  Eurostar takes the ship 
  hostage, will the PCs 
  accept Warbird’s oﬀ er to 
  work with them to save 
  the passengers? Will 
  Warbird try to sell them 
  out to Eurostar?
  
  41 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Machine. Not only is he calm and level-headed in 
  a crisis, but he’s got a true leader’s devotion to his 
  men. If a member of the War Machine is in trouble, 
  Warbird does his best to help (or to evac them from 
  the battleﬁ eld as quickly as he can). When the team 
  has to retreat, Warbird’s always the last one to go, 
  providing cover ﬁ re for the others to ensure they 
  escape safely.
  Warbird has developed a romantic attrac-
  tion for Warpath. Unfortunately for him, so far she 
  doesn’t share his aﬀ ection.
  Quote:  “All right, men, hit ’em two-by-two! I’ll be in 
  the air to pick up the slack.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Warbird is a maneuverable ﬂ yer 
  with extensive experience in aerial combat. His 
  battlesuit’s high-tech wings and propulsion-pack, 
  combined with his natural agility and skill, make 
  him a deadly ﬁ ghter. His battlesuit comes equipped 
  with two weapons. Th e ﬁ rst is the wings themselves, 
  which have razor-sharp edges capable of cutting 
  through gun barrels or the super-tough skin of a 
  superhero. Warbird has developed a suite of aerial 
  ﬁ ghting maneuvers that allow him to make the 
  best use of the deadly wings (and to perform other 
  maneuvers, like snatching a weapon out of an 
  enemy’s hands). Th e second are his wrist-rockets 
  — eight on each wrist — which give him a ranged 
  combat option as well as a way to aﬀ ect multiple 
  opponents. Since he has a limited number of mis-
  siles, he tries to save them for the right moment.
  In battle, Warbird oft en ﬂ ies overwatch, keep-
  ing out of the main ﬁ ghts so he can chip in and 
  help teammates who’ve bitten oﬀ  more than they 
  can chew (he particularly likes to do this with 
  Warhead, since it makes his rival look bad). If the 
  enemy has a ﬂ yer, Warbird will concentrate on 
  defeating that person, so that he alone retains con-
  trol of the airspace.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. If you need to make Warbird more 
  powerful, give him some more weapons — eye-
  beams, shoulder-mounted blasters, blades he can 
  shoot from his wingtips, and so forth. To weaken 
  him, get rid of most (or all) of his Martial Maneu-
  vers, and/or decrease his Characteristics a little.
  Appearance:  Warbird wears a sleek suit of armor, 
  not much bigger or bulkier than a bodysuit. Wings 
  are mounted under his arms, and around both of 
  his wrists are micro-rocket launchers. Th e suit’s 
  helmet covers his entire head. On his back there’s a 
  sleek power-pack. Th e armor’s knee-length boots, 
  “trunks,” shoulders, and arms/gauntlets are navy 
  blue; the rest of the armor is white.
  Out of his battlesuit, Paul Avery is of average 
  height (5’8”), with the slim, muscular build of an 
  athlete. He’s usually got a carefree, joking manner... 
  unless someone challenges or insults him. Th en he 
  tends to become aggressive and rude.
  WARCRY
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  18 PD (12 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  22 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  12
   35 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  112
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  87 
  Sonic Implants:  Multipower, 87-point reserve
  9u 
  1)  Sonic Boom:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾) 
  9
  7u 
  2)  Focused Sonic Boom:  Energy Blast 
  12d6, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  4u 
  3)  Shattering Shout:  RKA 5d6; Only 
  Versus Rigid Nonliving Objects (-1) 
  7
  7u 
  4)  Sonic Liquiﬁ cation:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  7u 
  5)  Vertigo Induction:  Drain DEX 3d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” Radius; +1¼), Personal 
  Immunity (+¼) 
  7
  
  42 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
  Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  3d6 + v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  30 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 25 STR
  4 
  Judo Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 25 STR
  4 
  Karate “Chop” 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR) 
  4 
   Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  24 
  Bulletproof Costume:  Armor 
  (12 PD/12 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  8 
  Sonic Tolerance:  Hearing Group Flash 
  Defense (8 points) 
  0
  6 
  Fleet-Footed:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  3 
  Nightsight Goggles:  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Membership:  member of the 
  War Machine
   
  Talents
  3 
  Perfect Pitch
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Sonic Implants Multipower
  1 
  AK: Europe 8-
  2 
  KS: Military History 11-
  2 
  KS: Superheroes 11-
  2 
  KS: Supervillains 11-
  3 
  Mimicry 12-
  2 
  PS: Singing 11-
  2 
  PS: Soldier 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  3 
  Ventriloquism 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  238
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  unique Geiger counter 
  and metal detector signature (Not 
  Concealable, Noticed And Recognizable, 
  Detectable Only By Unusual Senses)
  10 
  Hunted:  Th e Warlord 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Showoﬀ ; Loves To 
  Use His Powers (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Th e 
  Warlord (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vengeful (Uncom-
  mon, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  superpowered soldier of the 
  Warlord, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Franklin 
  “Frank” Robinson) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Aft er being tossed out of the 
  U.S. Army for numerous disciplinary infractions, 
  Frank Robinson drift ed into the shadowy world of 
  the mercenary. He worked for several agencies in 
  Europe and Africa, none of them particularly repu-
  table, before ﬁ nally being recruited by the Warlord’s 
  organization.
  While in the Warlord’s employ, Robinson was 
  injured when some shrapnel from a commando’s 
  grenade struck him in the throat. Rather than live 
  the rest of his life as a mute, Robinson agreed to an 
  experimental procedure the Warlord said was avail-
  able. What he didn’t know was that the Warlord was 
  simply using him as a guinea pig. At the Warlord’s 
  instruction, surgeons implanted fragments of 
  Blueboy communication technology in Robinson’s 
  throat and brain. To the Warlord’s surprise, the 
  experiment worked — Robinson emerged from 
  surgery not only with his voice restored, but amaz-
  ing sonic superpowers to boot. Instead of having 
  him quietly killed and the body disposed of, the 
  Warlord made him a member of the War Machine, 
  where he’s served ever since.
  Personality/Motivation:  Warcry is a crude and petty 
  individual who lives for life’s simple pleasures — 
  money, women, food, liquor, gooﬁ ng oﬀ . He’s as eﬃ  -
  cient as the next man in the Warlord’s private army, 
  but only because it gets him something he wants, 
  not because he enjoys the discipline or considers it 
  valuable in and of itself. He’s a loudmouthed brag-
  gart, always trash-talking and putting others down, 
  but he’s more than willing to back up his boasts 
  with action. If beaten or humiliated, he’ll do what-
  ever he must to get revenge on his enemy.
  Quote:  “Listen up! Th is is the Warcry that’s takin’ 
  you down.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Warcry possesses a small, but 
  powerful, suite of sonic abilities that derive from 
  the Hzeel technology implanted in his body. He 
  can generate sonic blasts powerful enough to shred 
  metal, liquify ﬂ esh, or shatter just about any solid 
  object (he likes to use the latter power on superhe-
  roes’ Foci). He lacks the greater degree of control 
  displayed by the supervillainess Howler, whose 
  powers come from a similar source, but has more 
  raw power.
  In combat, Warcry is up front and in-your-
  face, showing oﬀ  his abilities and trying to earn 
  “bragging rights” by bringing down the ﬁ rst enemy, 
  or the most enemies. As a result he gets hurt a lot, 
  but he’s also gotten a lot of favorable attention from 
  the Warlord due to his gung-ho attitude. On the 
  WARCRY 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e PCs discover some-
  one they think might be 
  Warcry performing as 
  a rock singer in some 
  clubs in their home city. 
  Will they act on their 
  suspicions? What hap-
  pens if they’re right — is 
  it part of a plot by the 
  Warlord, or just Warcry 
  moonlighting to bring 
  himself yet more atten-
  tion and money?
  Aft er reviewing a bunch 
  of news broadcasts, 
  Warcry realizes Howler’s 
  powers come from 
  “Blueboy” technology, 
  just like his own. With 
  her amulet, he could 
  be more powerful than 
  ever! He starts to try to 
  manipulate events to 
  get the Warlord to cap-
  ture her. Unfortunately, 
  Howler’s working for 
  VIPER these days, and 
  his actions inadvertently 
  start a war between the 
  two organizations. Can 
  the PCs put a stop to the 
  whole mess before a lot 
  of innocents get hurt?
  Warcry develops a 
  “thing” for Black Dia-
  mond and decides he 
  can impress her by 
  committing a bunch of 
  ﬂ ashy crimes to steal 
  gift s for her. Can the 
  PCs stop his crime spree 
  — particularly if he calls 
  on his War Machine 
  buddies to help him 
  out? What will he do 
  when Black Diamond 
  tells him to go jump in 
  a lake?
  
  43 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  other hand, he sometimes uses his Vertigo Induc-
  tion and Sonic Boom powers when his teammates 
  are too close, which doesn’t really endear him to 
  them. He’s not particularly well-liked by the rest of 
  the War Machine, and may someday meet with an 
  unfortunate “battleﬁ eld accident.”
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Warcry more powerful, 
  expand the scope of his powers by adding more 
  slots to his Multipower (see Howler, page 162, for 
  some ideas along these lines). To weaken him, 
  reduce his Multipower reserve to 75 or 60 Active 
  Points.
  Warcry’s vengeful streak makes him the War 
  Machine member most likely to defy orders and 
  start Hunting a hero on his own. It’s not likely to 
  happen, but it is possible, especially if the same 
  hero defeats him several times in a humiliating 
  manner. If he becomes a Hunter, he won’t be subtle 
  about it; he’ll follow the character until an oppor-
  tune moment, then attack with everything he’s got.
  Appearance:  Warcry is a six-foot-tall black man, 
  muscular and ﬁ t. His “uniform” typically consists 
  of Army green fatigue pants and a lighter green 
  sleeveless shirt. Special goggles cover his eyes; his 
  radio is also built into them. He keeps his head 
  shaved bald.
  WARHEAD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   10 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  22 PD (12 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  20 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  119
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  40 
  Arty Is Your Friend:  Multipower, 60-point 
  reserve; all OIF (battlesuit; -½)
  3u 
  1)  Rocket-Propelled Bomb I:  RKA 2½d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  3u 
  2)  Rocket-Propelled Bomb II:  RKA 2d6, 
  Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾), +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier (+¼); OIF (-½), 8 Charges 
  (-½) 
  [8]
  3u 
  3)  Mini-Bomb:  RKA 2d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½), +2 Increased STUN 
  Multiplier (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  3u 
  4)  Tangle-Bomb:  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF; 
  OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  3u 
  5)  Flash-Bomb:  Sight Group Flash 8d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  30 
  Palm Blasters:  EB 12d6; OIF (-½), 
  8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
   Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
  Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  4d6 + v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  35 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 30 STR
  4 
  Judo Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 30 STR
  4 
  Karate “Chop” 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR) 
  4 
   Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  24 
  Bulletproof Costume:  Armor 
  (12 PD/12 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  25 
  Jetpack:  Flight 15”, Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  1
  11 
  Enhanced Flight Mode:  Flight +11”; OIF 
  (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  3 
  Nightsight Mask Lenses:  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Mask Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
  6 
  Good Eyes:  +3 PER with Sight Group 
  0
  
  44 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
   
  Perks
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Membership:  member of the 
  War Machine
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Arty Is Your Friend Multipower
  3 
  Combat Piloting 14-
  2 
  KS: History Of Aviation 11-
  2 
  KS: Military History 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 
  11-
  2 
  KS: Superheroes 11-
  2 
  KS: Supervillains 11-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  231
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Hunted:  Th e Warlord 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Womanizer 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Th e War-
  lord (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Arrogant Jerk 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  superpowered soldier of the 
  Warlord, 11- (Extreme)
  10 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Warbird, Rival Is 
  In Superior Position)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity 
  (Arthur “Arty” Weist) (Frequently, 
  Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To 
  Orders (Very Frequently, 
  Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Arthur “Arty” Weist’s 
  promising career as a Navy pilot was 
  derailed when he was court-martialed on 
  charges of sexual harassment and dis-
  honorably discharged. Th e true charges 
  were more severe — rape and assault 
  — but the Navy didn’t want the bad 
  publicity, and neither did Weist. 
  He’d been sexually harass-
  ing female oﬃ  cers for years 
  anyway, so it’s not like he wasn’t 
  guilty of that, too.
  Weist tried civilian aviation 
  for a while, but it just didn’t suit him. 
  Acting on a tip from an old Navy 
  buddy, he signed up with a merce-
  nary service, and was soon having 
  the time of his life as a merc 
  pilot. It was the perfect combination of money and 
  action. And when the Warlord recruited him for the 
  Shadow Army with oﬀ ers of even more money, he 
  signed up right away.
  Aft er serving for a couple years as one of the 
  Warlord’s combat pilots, Weist was ordered to par-
  ticipate in a test of a new ﬂ ying suit, one patterned 
  aft er Warbird’s but more heavily armed. Since he’d 
  always been jealous of Warbird — ﬂ ying under 
  one’s own power had to be a lot better than just 
  piloting a plane — Weist jumped at the chance. 
  Th e test went perfectly, and Weist proved quite 
  adept not only at ﬂ ying it, but using its weapons. 
  Th e Warlord gave him the codename “Warhead” 
  and assigned him to the War Machine, where he’s 
  served ever since.
  Personality/Motivation:  Warhead is a big, blustering, 
  arrogant, know-it-all jerk. He loves to ﬁ nd other 
  peoples’ buttons and push them, goad people into 
  getting themselves in trouble, demonstrate his own 
  superiority, and otherwise make a general pain in 
  the ass of himself. It’s all a way of compensating for 
  the inferiority he feels because he’s so short, but his 
  behavior doesn’t exactly make him any friends.
  Warpath and Warmonger like him even less 
  than the men do, because he’s also a notorious 
  womanizer. He hits on them constantly (though not 
  quite so crudely with Warpath, for whom he feels 
  some genuine roman-
  tic attraction), and 
  when they’re not 
  around he focuses 
  his attention on 
  female 
  sol-
  WARHEAD 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Warhead encounters a 
  female PC and immedi-
  ately forgets about War-
  path. He starts coming 
  on strong, even making 
  passes and using double 
  entendres in combat. 
  He begins stalking her, 
  causing all sorts of 
  problems. How can the 
  PC deal with the situa-
  tion without starting a 
  major conﬂ ict with the 
  Warlord?
  Th e Warlord decides 
  to try to improve War-
  head’s weaponry, so he 
  orders the War Machine 
  to steal the equipment 
  and explosives he needs 
  to do the work. As the 
  PCs try to stop the 
  theft s, will Warbird do 
  something to sabotage 
  the mission so his rival 
  doesn’t become stronger 
  than he is?
  Warhead takes an oﬃ  ce 
  building hostage, claim-
  ing he’s planted bombs 
  throughout it that he 
  can trigger instantly. 
  He’s demanding mil-
  lions of dollars and a 
  prototype experimental 
  aircraft  being designed 
  by Ironwood Industries. 
  Where are his team-
  mates? Is he acting 
  alone, or is this part of 
  some larger scheme?
  
  45 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  diers in the Shadow Army or the like. More than 
  once he’s almost compromised a mission by spend-
  ing too much of his oﬀ -duty time skirtchasing.
  Warhead has a strong rivalry going with 
  Warbird. Not only does Warhead think (incor-
  rectly) that he’d be a much better team leader than 
  Warbird, but he sees Warbird as his chief obstacle 
  to winning over Warpath. He never passes up an 
  opportunity to challenge or snidely insult Warbird, 
  and questions his authority at almost every turn.
  Quote:  “Hey, superfreak — catch!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Like Warbird, Warhead possesses 
  a battlesuit equipped with ﬂ ight technology (a 
  jetpack, rather than powered wings) and missiles. 
  However, Warhead’s suit is less maneuverable but 
  better armed. Warhead functions as the team’s 
  “artillery” and heavy combat specialist, using 
  his expertise with explosives and bombs to take 
  out multiple foes (against a particularly resilient 
  opponent, he’ll use his Mini-bombs in the hope of 
  Stunning him). For times when lethal attacks aren’t 
  called for, he has tangle-bombs and ﬂ ash-bombs, 
  and also blasters built into the palms of his gaunt-
  lets (he sometimes uses the latter as a multiple-
  power attack with one of his Multipower slots).
  Warhead tends to ﬁ ght aggressively, but not 
  stupidly. If his attacks aren’t achieving the intended 
  eﬀ ect as-is, he’ll maneuver in the hopes of get-
  ting a Surprise Move bonus, or try something else 
  unusual (like blasting the side of a building to make 
  the rubble fall on his opponent).
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. As you use the War Machine in your 
  campaign, Warhead works best as a source of team 
  friction the PCs can support. His constant goad-
  ing of Warbird, and the unwelcome attentions he 
  showers on the women, create weaknesses in the 
  War Machine the PCs may be able to exploit. For 
  example, it wouldn’t take much to convince the 
  rest of the team to turn Warhead over to the PCs in 
  exchange for some other concession.
  To make Warhead more powerful, give him 
  more slots in his Multipower, or have his battlesuit 
  provide bonuses to STR and other Characteristics. 
  To reduce his eﬀ ectiveness, cut the Active Points 
  in his Multipower reserve, so that his weapons 
  become weaker, and get rid of the Palm Blasters.
  Appearance:  Warhead wears a sleek suit of armor 
  identical in most respects to Warbird’s, with a few 
  diﬀ erences. First, the white parts become navy blue, 
  and the navy blue parts become gold. Second, he 
  has no wings, and instead of a powerpack has a 
  jetpack on his back. Th ird, he has more rockets on 
  the wrist-mounted rocket launchers he wears, and 
  he also has a smaller rack of larger missiles around 
  the outside of his upper arms.
  Arty Weist is a short man (5’5” tall), but mus-
  cular and well-built for his size. He has curly dark 
  hair and dark eyes, and usually dresses “sloppy 
  casual.”
  WARMONGER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   23 EGO 
  26 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  18 PD (12 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  20 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  22 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  120
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  50 
  Mental Domination:  Mind Control 8d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  22 
  Anger Management:  Mind Control +6d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Only To 
  Control/Inﬂ ict Anger And Th e Desire To Do 
  Violence (-1) 
  0
  45 
  Tortures Of Th e Mind:  Ego Attack 2d6, 
  Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) 
  2
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  30 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 25 STR
  4 
   Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  24 
  Bulletproof Costume:  Armor 
  (12 PD/12 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight Goggles:  Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Membership:  member of the 
  War Machine
   
  Talents
  20 
  Danger Sense (self only, out of combat) 13-
  15 
  Combat Sense 13-
   
  Skills
  2 
  KS: Asian History & Culture 11-
  3 
  KS: Military History 13-
  3 
  KS: Superheroes 13-
  3 
  KS: Supervillains 13-
  1 
  PS: Soldier 8-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Tactics 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  WARMONGER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  At the Warlord’s behest, 
  Warmonger visits the 
  General Assembly of the 
  United Nations and stirs 
  up dissension among 
  the delegates. Several 
  small and bloody wars 
  could break out unless 
  the PCs ﬁ gure out what’s 
  going on and put a stop 
  to it.
  Warmonger uses her 
  powers to trigger a PC’s 
  Enraged/Berserk or 
  Psychological Limita-
  tion, sending him on 
  a destructive rampage. 
  He “comes to” only to 
  ﬁ nd himself Hunted by 
  the police. Can he (and 
  his teammates) clear 
  his name and bring 
  Warmonger to justice 
  before the cops catch up 
  to him?
  Th e Warlord teams up 
  with VIPER, which 
  builds a cerebral 
  enhancer that allows 
  Warmonger’s powers to 
  aﬀ ect an entire nation. 
  Who should the War-
  lord target ﬁ rst...? — and 
  can the PCs ﬁ gure out 
  what’s going on and stop 
  him?
  
  46 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  230
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  10 
  Hunted:  Th e Warlord 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Disdain For 
  Others (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Th e 
  Warlord (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Coldhearted And 
  Humorless (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  superpowered soldier of the 
  Warlord, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Sandra 
  Chiang) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Growing up, Sandra Chiang 
  couldn’t understand why people were always so 
  mad at her all the time. Her parents never seemed 
  to stop yelling, all the kids at school hated her, 
  teachers singled her out for verbal abuse. Wherever 
  she went, disquiet — sometimes even violence — 
  seemed to follow. Shunned and alone, she withdraw 
  into herself, becoming defensive over the least little 
  thing, and turning her secret sorrow into feelings of 
  scorn for others.
  It wasn’t until she tried to join the U.S. Army 
  that special tests revealed the cause:  she was a 
  mutant. For years, she’d subconsciously been using 
  her powers, which allow her to enhance feelings 
  of anger, rage, and violence in others, on people 
  around her. Th e Army, seeking a new super-soldier 
  or DIA agent, trained her to manifest her powers in 
  full, and to control them. But by then it was too late 
  — the haughty defensiveness and general dislike 
  for humanity that comforted her during her teen 
  years were too ingrained to change. Her personality 
  problems were severe enough to get her into disci-
  plinary trouble on several occasions, and eventually 
  led to her discharge.
  And that was what the Warlord had been wait-
  ing for. His contacts in the Department of Defense 
  had told him about Chiang, and he decided 
  she’d be perfect for his organization. Lacking any 
  other alternative, she agreed, and soon found the 
  supervillain lifestyle to her liking. As Warmonger, 
  she was able to work out her own frustrations in 
  combat, and in the more closely-knit world of 
  the War Machine, she can ﬁ nd ways to get along. 
  Th ough perhaps not truly happy, she’s happier now 
  than she’s ever been before, and extremely loyal to 
  the Warlord as a result.
  Personality/Motivation:  As described above, War-
  monger is a coldhearted person who has little 
  regard for others. She looks upon other people 
  as her inferiors because she has mental powers. 
  Anyone who laughs at this, or otherwise annoys 
  her, will soon ﬁ nd himself suﬀ ering from a splitting 
  headache (a subtle use of her Tortures Of Th e Mind 
  power). She doesn’t even get along particularly well 
  with her teammates, keeping to herself as much 
  as possible and responding to her orders curtly 
  — but compared to how she gets along with other 
  people, she’s practically bosom buddies with the 
  War Machine.
  Quote:  “Kinda makes you angry, doesn’t it?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Warmonger is a mutant with 
  limited mental powers. She can exert mental con-
  trol over other people, but has the greatest suc-
  cess doing so when she’s trying to inﬂ ict, alter, or 
  enhance feelings of anger, rage, or the desire to do 
  violence. (At the GM’s option, any use of her Anger 
  Management power which achieves at least an 
  EGO + 10 Eﬀ ect Roll, even if it otherwise fails to 
  establish control, requires the victim to check for 
  any Enrageds/Berserks he may have.) Additionally, 
  she can cause mental pain, usually manifesting as 
  terrible migraine headaches, with the pain getting 
  worse and worse until she stops applying the power 
  or the victim passes out.
  
  47 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  As a combatant, Warmonger is weaker than 
  her teammates, and she knows it. In most battles 
  she tries to take cover and use her mental powers 
  to support the rest of the War Machine. If the 
  team has been issued some heavy weaponry, 
  Warmonger’s the person most likely to use it, since 
  she doesn’t have any weaponry of her own. She also 
  helps the group a lot with her Danger Sense; the 
  War Machine has come to rely on her predictions 
  (since, aft er all, anything that threatens her prob-
  ably poses a danger to them, too).
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Warmonger represents a possible 
  chink in the Warlord’s armor. Th ough embittered 
  and humorless due to the circumstances of her 
  childhood, she’s not really a hardened criminal. 
  It’s possible a PC could break through her shell of 
  disdain and scorn and convert her to the cause of 
  Justice — barely possible, but possible.
  To make Warmonger more powerful, give her 
  more mental powers (perhaps putting them in a 
  Multipower with her basic Mind Control). Some 
  Telepathy and maybe a few odd BOECV-based 
  abilities would work pretty well, and a Mind Link 
  would oﬀ er the War Machine a major tactical 
  advantage. Alternately, you could give her some 
  high-tech weaponry. To weaken her, remove her 
  Ego Attack, or subject her Mental Domination 
  power to the same Limitations as her Anger Man-
  agement ability.
  Appearance:  Warmonger is a short, pretty Chinese 
  woman with dark hair cut short. She usually wears 
  dark blue fatigue-like pants, with a matching jacket 
  over a tee-shirt. She has a nightsight goggles/radio 
  device like Warcry’s, but oft en keeps them in her 
  pocket until she needs them instead of just wearing 
  them all the time.
  WARPATH
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   25 DEX 
  45 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-/15- Sight
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV: 5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 3½d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   10 PD 
  7 
   
  Total:  22 PD (12 rPD)
   10 ED 
  7 
   
  Total:  22 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  15 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  8
   30 END 
  0
   45 STUN 19 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  143
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  12”/24”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Bow and Arrows:  Multipower, 60-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1)  Broadhead Arrow:  RKA 3d6; 
  OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  1u 
  2)  Chisel-Point Arrow:  RKA 2d6, Armor 
  Piercing (+½); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  2u 
  3)  Taser Arrow:  Energy Blast 12d6; OAF 
  (-1), STUN Only (-0), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  4)  Glue Arrow:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, 
  Sticky (+½); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  5)  Flare Arrow:  Sight and Hearing Group 
  Flash 11d6; OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  6)  Smoke Arrow:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 6” radius; OAF (-1), 4 Charges 
  lasting one Turn each (removed by 
  high winds or rain; -½) 
  [4cc]
  2u 
  7)  Explosion Arrow:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  2u 
  8)  Knockout Gas Arrow:  Energy Blast 
  4d6, NND (defense is Life Support [Self-
  Contained Breathing]; +1), Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (4” Radius; +1); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  30 
  Uncanny Accuracy:  Find Weakness with 
  Bow and Arrows Multipower 13- 
  0
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
  Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  3d6 + v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  30 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 25 STR
  4 
  Judo Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 25 STR
  4 
  Karate “Chop” -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR) 
  4 
  Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  6 
  Good Eyes:  +3 PER with Sight Group 
  0
  24 
  Bulletproof Costume:  Armor 
  (12 PD/12 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Fleet-Footed:  Running +6” (12” total) 
  1
  3 
  Nightsight Mask Lenses:  Ultraviolet 
  WARPATH 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Warpath hears that a 
  big corporation is about 
  to start a construction 
  project that will make 
  the reservation she used 
  to live on even smaller 
  and more impoverished. 
  Without checking 
  into these rumors, she 
  persuades the Warlord 
  to let her and the War 
  Machine attack the 
  corporation. Are the 
  stories true, and War-
  path’s actions perhaps 
  even justiﬁ ed, or is she 
  wrong... or is she being 
  manipulated somehow?
  Warpath goes AWOL to 
  participate in an archery 
  competition in disguise. 
  If possible, she gets into 
  a rivalry with a PC who’s 
  also there to compete 
  (or maybe strikes up 
  some sort of impromptu 
  romantic relation-
  ship with a PC who’s 
  just there to watch). 
  But when the Warlord 
  comes looking for her, 
  and decides to destroy 
  the competition and her 
  “friends” to teach her 
  a lesson, the PCs are 
  called into action....
  Warpath decides to 
  seek out and kill every-
  one who ever beat 
  her during an archery 
  competition, and every 
  competition judge 
  who awarded someone 
  higher marks than her. 
  Th e PCs are called in 
  to solve this series of 
  strange murders.
  
  48 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Mask Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Hear-
  ing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Membership:  member of the 
  War Machine
   
  Talents
  6 
  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  +4 DEX to act ﬁ rst with 
  All Powers
   
  Skills
  15 
  +5 with Bow and Arrows Multipower
  2 
  KS: Amerind Myths & Legends 11-
  3 
  KS: Competition Archery 12-
  2 
  KS: Military History 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/
  Terrorist World 8-
  2 
  KS: Superheroes 11-
  2 
  KS: Supervillains 11-
  2 
  PS: Bowyer 11-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  207
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Hunted:  Th e Warlord 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Be Th e 
  Best; Won’t Settle For Second Place (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Th e War-
  lord (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  superpowered soldier of the 
  Warlord, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Danica 
  Two Bears) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  A full-blooded American 
  Indian, Danica Two Bears grew up on a reservation, 
  surrounded by poverty. She saw her once-proud 
  people humbled and miserable, many of them rav-
  aged by alcoholism and depression. In most people 
  this would have inspired sympathy and compas-
  sion. With Danica, it just made her want to get out 
  of there.
  Her ticket oﬀ  the reservation was competition 
  archery. She was good with a bow and arrow, very 
  good, and though there wasn’t a lot of money to be 
  made shooting arrows at targets, there was enough 
  to get by. She was doing well, and ﬁ nally beginning 
  to get over her general adolescent rage at the world, 
  when she was falsely accused of cheating during an 
  archery competition. Th at was all it took to push 
  her over the edge.
  She committed a couple of crimes, using her 
  archery skills to give her an advantage, but her 
  inexperience showed and she was soon captured. It 
  was the Warlord who broke her out, seeing in her 
  the perfect addition to his War Machine — aft er 
  all, not all weapons have to involve gunpowder or 
  energy beams. Grateful for the rescue, Danica (or 
  Warpath, as the Warlord renamed her) has taken to 
  the supercriminal lifestyle with gusto.
  Personality/Motivation:  Warpath’s skills and abilities 
  have made her overconﬁ dent and arrogant. She’s 
  convinced she can handle anything; it might take 
  some time and a little tinkering in the Warlord’s 
  workshops, but she’s got a way to defeat anything 
  she comes across. Moreover, she can’t stand to be 
  bested or defeated; she’s the best, and second place 
  is for losers. Any hero who defeats her — particu-
  larly at archery — has probably just made himself 
  an enemy for life.
  Recently, both Warbird and Warhead have 
  been making romantic overtures toward her. She 
  doesn’t have any particular feelings for either of 
  them, but may decide to pick one or the other of 
  them (probably Warbird) just to see what that does 
  to their rivalry.
  Quote:  “Watch this, guys — one shot, right between 
  the eyes.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Warpath is a talented archer 
  equipped with a high-tech bow and a quiverful 
  of tricked-out arrows. In addition to standard 
  broadheads and chisel-points, she’s got arrows that 
  explode, emit clouds of smoke, burst into wads 
  of sticky glue to restrain the target, and so on. In 
  combat she analyzes her targets carefully, picking 
  the most important one and then ﬁ ring at him 
  with her Uncanny Accuracy (i.e., aft er Finding 
  Weakness). She prefers to ﬁ ght from behind cover 
  if possible, but is willing to get out in the open if 
  necessary.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Warpath tougher, give her a 
  few more Multipower slots (or increase the Active 
  Points in the reserve of her current Multipower), 
  and/or increase her defenses. To weaken her, get rid 
  of her Uncanny Accuracy power.
  Contrary to orders, Warpath might start to 
  spend time Hunting a hero who has bested her, 
  particularly if (a) the hero is also a weaponmaster 
  (particularly an archer), or (b) he humiliated or 
  insulted her in the process. As a Hunter, she will try 
  to arrange a confrontation where she can beat him 
  in front of a lot of witnesses and then kill him.
  Appearance:  Warpath is an Amerind woman with 
  long, braided black hair, who carries a high-tech 
  bow and a large quiver of high-tech arrows. She 
  doesn’t wear a mask or helmet, but does wear 
  goggles with ear- and mouth-pieces allowing her to 
  maintain radio contact with her teammates.
  
  49 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  THE FLYING FORTRESS
   
  Val 
  Char Cost Notes
   100 
  STR 
  0 Lift  25 ktons; 20d6 [0]
   
  28 
  BODY 0
   64”x32” Size 
  90 Mass 25 ktons; -18 KB; -12 DCV
   
  12 
  DEF 
  30
   
  10 
  DEX 
  0 OCV:  3/DCV:  3
   
  3 
  SPD 
  10 Phases:  4, 8, 12
   
   
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  130
  Movement: 
  Ground:   
  0”/0”
   
  Flight: 
  10”/1,250”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
  -12 
  No Ground Movement:  Running -6”
  35 
  Generator:  Endurance Reserve (300 END, 
  40 REC); OIF Bulky (-1) 
  0
  25 
  Internal Security:  Security Systems 20- 
  0
  50 
  Levitator Engines:  Flight 10”, x125 
  Noncombat 
  0
  12 
  Stealth Technology:  Invisible To Radio 
  Group, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  Radar Only (-¼) 
  0
  30 
  Cloud Generator:  Sight Group Images, 
  -5 to PER Rolls, Increased Size (64” 
  Radius; +1½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Set Eﬀ ect (cloud cover 
  around self; -1), No Range (-½) 
  0
  60 
  Weapons Pod:  Energy Blast 12d6, 4 clips 
  of 125 Charges each (+1); OIF Bulky (-1) [125]
  20 
  Weapons Pods:  15 more Blasters, as above, 
  spaced equidistantly around the ship’s hull [125]
  30 
  Internal Neural Tranquilizer:  Energy Blast 
  6d6, NND (defense is having a neural 
  system markedly diﬀ erent from humans’ 
  or wearing a Shadow Army ID badge; +1); 
  OIF Bulky (located on bridge; -1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  20 
  Internal Neural Tranquilizer:  15 more 
  Tranquilizers, located at strategic points 
  throughout the ship 
  [16]
  11 
  Sealed Environment:  Life Support 
  (Self-Contained Breathing, Safe Environ-
  ments:  Low Pressure/Vacuum, Intense 
  Heat, Intense Cold); Costs Endurance (-½) 2
  5 
  Polarized Exterior Windows:  Sight Group 
  Flash Defense (10 points); Only Protects 
  Versus Exterior Flashes Against Interior 
  Personnel (-1) 
  0
  6 
  Communications System:  HRRP; 
  OIF Bulky (-1) 
  0
  19 
  Radar Array:  Radar (Radio Group), 
  Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees), Telescopic (+14 
  versus Range Modiﬁ er); OIF Bulky (-1) 
  0
  37 
  Sensors:  Clairsentience (Sight and Hearing 
  Groups), 32x Range (4,800”), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF Bulky 
  (cameras and monitor station; -1½) plus 
  Infrared Perception (Sight Group); OAF 
  Bulky (same; -1½), Linked (to 
  Clairsentience; -½) plus Ultraviolet 
  Perception (Sight Group); OAF Bulky 
  (same; -1½), Linked (-½) 
  0
  15 
  Danger Room:  DEF +14; Partial Coverage 
  (200 hexes; -1¾) 
  0
  12 
  Cell Block:  DEF +8, Cannot Be Escaped 
  With Teleportation (x2; +½); Partial 
  Coverage (15 hexes; -2) 
  0
  23 
  Weapons Laboratories:  Weaponsmith 
  (all categories) 16-
  17 
  Electronics Laboratory:  Electronics 16-
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  415
  Total Vehicle Cost:  545
  Total Disadvantage Points:  0
  Total Cost:  545/5 = 109
  FLYING FORTRESS COMPUTER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   23 INT 
  13 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   3 SPD 
  5 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  37
  Cost Skills
  3 
  Cryptography 14-
  5 
  AK: Earth 16-
  2 
  KS: Archived Recent News 11-
  4 
  KS: Current News 15-
  3 
  KS: Military History 14-
  4 
  KS: Movies Database 15-
  3 
  KS: Music Database 14-
  3 
  KS: Superheroes 14-
  4 
  KS: Supervillains 15-
  2 
  KS: World Celebrities/Politicians 11-
  2 
  KS: World History 11-
  2 
  KS: World Politics 11-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 14-
  4 
  PS: Communications Coordinator 15-
  2 
  PS: Game-Player 11-
  3 
  Systems Operation 14-
  9 
  Weaponsmith (all categories) 14-
   
  Programs
  1 
  Monitor Camera System, Report Anomalies
  1 
  Monitor Communications System, Report 
  Anomalies
  1 
  Monitor Radar System, Report Anomalies
  1 
  Plot Distance, Travel Times Between Speci-
  ﬁ ed Locations
  3 
  Run Programmed Training Facility Simula-
  tion (Up to 3 Resident In Memory)
  1 
  Scan and Enter Data
  1 
  Search Reference Material For Information 
  On A Topic
  1 
  Send Emergency Call to Team Members If 
  Speciﬁ ed Protocols Are Not Met
   
  Talents
  3 
  Clock:  Absolute Time Sense
  5 
  Memory:  Eidetic Memory
  3 
  Calculator:  Lightning Calculator
  4 
  Scanner:  Speed Reading (x10)
  Total Abilities Cost:  82
  Total Computer Cost:  119
  
  50 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Total Disadvantage Points:  0
  Total Cost:  119/5 = 24
  Description:  Th e Flying Fortress is the Warlord’s mas-
  sive mobile base, built partly with Blueboy (Hzeel) 
  technology but mostly with good old-fashioned 
  Earth tech. Able to ﬂ y or hover in any part of the 
  atmosphere, it comes equipped with stealth technol-
  ogy (to hide it from radar) and cloud generators (so 
  that it looks, to the unaided eye, like an ordinary bank 
  of clouds). It’s well-armed, with both exterior and 
  interior weaponry and elaborate security systems. Its 
  interior features include living quarters (ranging from 
  the luxurious to bunkrooms for the Shadow Army), 
  eating and recreation facilities (including a “danger 
  room” for the War Machine and soldiers to conduct 
  mock combat exercises in), a holo-table on which the 
  Warlord plays elaborate wargames, hangars contain-
  ing smaller ﬂ ying vessels (not detailed here), and 
  advanced communications equipment.
  SHADOW ARMY SOLDIER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   4 PD 
  1 
   
  Total:  10 PD (6 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  10 ED (6 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   28 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  47
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  27 
  Warlord Assault Riﬂ e:  Multipower, 45-point 
  reserve, 48 Charges for entire reserve (+½); 
  all OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), Beam (-¼) [48]
  1u 
  1) Single-Shot Setting:  RKA 2d6; OAF (-1), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), Beam (-¼)
  2u 
  2) Automatic Fire Setting:  RKA 2d6, 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots, +½); OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Beam (-¼)
  6 
  Riﬂ e-butt Club:  HA +3d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  1
  9 
  Sidearm:  RKA 1d6+1, +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier (+¼); OAF (-1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼), Beam (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼) [12]
  12 
  Combat Knife:  HKA 1d6 (2d6 with STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF 
  (-1), Real Weapon (-¼) plus Ranged (+½) 
  for HKA 1d6; OAF (-1), 1 Recoverable 
  Charge (-1¼), Range Based On STR (-¼), 
  Lockout (cannot use HKA until Charge is 
  recovered; -½) 
  0
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  30 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 25 STR
  4 
  Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  9 
  Combat Body Armor:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); 
  OIF (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  0
  4 
  Radio Headset:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OAF (-1); 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Membership (Private in the 
  Shadow Army)
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Firearms
  1 
  KS: Military History 8-
  2 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 11-
  2 
  PS: Soldier 11-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Tactics 11-
  8 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades, 5 more points’ worth 
  of GM’s choice
  9 
  Choose three of the following:  Bugging, 
  Combat Driving, Combat Piloting, Com-
  puter Programming, Concealment, Demoli-
  tions, Electronics, Fast Draw, Gambling (3 
  points’ worth), Interrogation, Lockpicking, 
  Paramedics, Persuasion, Security Systems, 
  Shadowing, Systems Operation, 3 points’ 
  worth of KSs/Languages/SSs/TFs/WFs, 1 
  3-point Combat Skill Level
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  128
  Total Cost:  175
  50+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Shadow Army uniform 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  10 
  Hunted:  Warlord 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Violent And 
  Ruthless (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  75 
  Experience Points or Disadvantages speciﬁ c to 
  the individual agent 
  Total Disadvantage Points:  175
  Description:  Th is character sheet represents a typi-
  cal soldier — a private — in the Shadow Army, the 
  Warlord’s personal ﬁ ghting force. Shadow Army 
  personnel wear battleship grey uniforms and 
  berets (or helmets in the ﬁ eld); each one carries an 
  advanced assault riﬂ e, a semi-automatic pistol as a 
  sidearm, and a combat knife. Rank insignia are on 
  the outer upper arm in red.
  
  51 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  T
  he second part of Con-
  querors, Killers, And Crooks 
  describes ﬁ ve villain teams 
  — supercriminals who, 
  like the PCs, have chosen to band 
  together for support and assis-
  tance. As a group, a team can 
  accomplish much more than any 
  one member could by himself, and 
  thus supervillain teams oft en pose 
  as great or greater a threat than 
  master villains. 
  Th e villain teams described 
  here are:
  The Crowns of Krim
  Eurostar
  GRAB
  PSI
  The Ultimates
  
  52 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Membership:  Dark Seraph, Bloodstone, Eclipse, 
  Force, Phoenix, Temblor
  B
  ackground/History:  Tens of thousands of 
  years in the past, so long ago no one knows 
  exactly when, the demon-god Krim forged 
  six crowns of terrible power. Suﬀ used with 
  dark arcane energies, the crowns would grant those 
  who wore them awesome magical abilities — but 
  would also corrupt their souls. Every time some 
  weakling human put on one 
  of the crowns, Krim laughed, 
  knowing that destruction and 
  misery were soon to follow.
  During the Turakian 
  Age, Kal-Turak the Ravager 
  of Men used potent sorcer-
  ies to locate each of the 
  crowns and take control 
  of them, but he was not so 
  foolish as to wear any of 
  them himself. Rather, he 
  gave them to certain of his 
  servants, ﬁ rst using spells 
  to weaken the crowns’ 
  power so that none of the 
  wearers could challenge his 
  rule. Th e men of the Tura-
  kian Age claimed the Dragon 
  Crown the Ravager wore 
  was also forged by Krim at Kal-
  Turak’s behest, and allowed him 
  to control the other crowns, 
  though Kal-Turak said 
  naught of the matter.
  When the Turakians 
  at last overthrew Takofanes 
  (the arch-lich whom Kal-
  Turak had become), the six 
  crowns were lost, some 
  hoped forever. But such 
  was not to be. From time 
  to time during the Valdorian Age that followed, one 
  crown or the other would surface, usually on the 
  head of some sorcerer seeking ever-greater power, 
  only to be lost again when that person inevitably fell 
  into darkness and death.
  Aft er the Cataclysm that overthrew Atlantis 
  and changed the world, the crowns were lost again, 
  this time for many millennia. As the power of magic 
  waned in the world, the crowns became quiescent, 
  slumbering in their resting places. But in the twen-
  tieth century, as magic once again rose in the world 
  (albeit in diﬀ erent ways than ever before), the crowns 
  re-awakened, and their darkling energies called out 
  to men of great malice, as they sought new masters.
  Th e ﬁ rst and greatest of the crowns, the Iron 
  Crown, attracted the attention of one of the most 
  wicked men in the world, the British occultist Sir 
  Dennis of South Mallon. In 1978, Sir Dennis sac-
  riﬁ ced a dozen people to Krim to obtain the Iron 
  Crown, and in the process was transformed into the 
  terrifying Dark Seraph. For many years Dark Seraph 
  threatened the world on his own, occasionally team-
  ing up with DEMON or other mysti-
  cally-powered villains. Th en, in 1985, 
  he sensed the awakening of another 
  crown — the Shadow Crown, which 
  grants the wearer powers of dark-
  ness as black as Krim’s heart. A 
  young American researcher named 
  Paul Hundley had found the 
  Shadow Crown and placed it 
  upon his head, willingly selling 
  his soul for the power he was 
  oﬀ ered. Using the powers of 
  the Iron Crown, Dark Seraph 
  called Hundley to him.
  Dark Seraph now 
  knew it was only a matter 
  of time, and so waited with 
  brooding patience for the 
  other crowns to emerge. Th e 
  Golden Crown, with its awe-
  some psychokinetic powers, 
  appeared next, on the brow 
  of Donald Jamison, a drift er 
  who stole what he thought was 
  a tiara from a jewelry store. Th en 
  came the Blood Crown, unearthed 
  by archaeologist Nestor Castillo 
  in a long-lost Aztec temple not far 
  from Mexico City. Th e Shining Crown, 
  summoned by Greg Shackleford in much 
  the same way that Sir Dennis obtained the 
  Iron Crown, and the Stone Crown, found in 
  a weird cave formation in northern Mexico 
  by geologist Miguel Cordova, soon followed. 
  One by one, as the crowns were claimed and 
  worn, Dark Seraph knew of it, and called the wearers 
  to him. By 1993, the Crowns of Krim was complete 
  — and the world has lived in terror of them ever 
  since.
  Group Relations:  Despite the fact that each of them 
  is evil, and many of them have sold their souls for 
  ever-greater power, the Crowns of Krim work well 
  together. Th e crowns themselves all “owe allegiance” 
  to the Iron Crown, giving Dark Seraph the power to 
  command them and their wearers and thus elimi-
  THE CROWNS 
  OF KRIM
  CROWNS OF KRIM 
  SCENARIO SEEDS
  Hoping to summon a 
  host of demons to this 
  plane to help their plans 
  of conquest, the Crowns 
  commit a series of hor-
  rible crimes around Mil-
  lennium City to create a 
  vast pentagram. Unless 
  the PCs can stop them, 
  they’ll be faced not only 
  with six powerful mystic 
  villains, but an army of 
  demons to boot.
  Aft er an announce-
  ment by Millen-
  nium City University 
  archaeologists of the 
  discovery of a strange 
  new Mesoamerican 
  village in Mexico, the 
  Crowns of Krim team 
  with DEMON to take 
  over the dig site, kill all 
  the archaeologists, and 
  take whatever they can 
  ﬁ nd — obviously they 
  know or suspect some-
  thing the archaeologists 
  haven’t yet discovered. 
  Th e PCs have to get to 
  the dig site in time to 
  stop them from acquir-
  ing any artifacts of 
  mystic power.
  Th e Crowns begin a war 
  with the forces of Tako-
  fanes for reasons the 
  heroes aren’t aware of. 
  But what they are aware 
  of is that the ﬁ ghting 
  is causing tremendous 
  destruction and loss of 
  life, so they’ve got to 
  ﬁ nd a way to stop it.
  
  53 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  nate treachery or dissent. (Th ough even the Iron 
  Crown is subject, at least at times, to the Dragon 
  Crown of Takofanes; see Champions Universe, page 
  102, and page 31 of this book.) Dark Seraph rules the 
  Crowns with an iron ﬁ st; those who dispute or ques-
  tion his commands suﬀ er harsh punishments.
  Th e Crowns have worked with DEMON and 
  the Circle of the Scarlet Moon in the past, but not 
  on a regular basis. Th ey are implacably opposed to 
  Takofanes. Other groups and villains they generally 
  ignore, but an alliance might be possible under the 
  right circumstances.
  Tactics:  Th e Crowns of Krim have never bothered to 
  come up with elaborate tactics or battle maneuvers; 
  they simply use their great power to strike down 
  their foes. Each member ﬁ ghts in his own preferred 
  way (see individual character sheets), though each of 
  them shouts out “code words” in an ancient Turakian 
  tongue when he’s about to use an attack that aﬀ ects 
  a large area (such as Dark Seraph’s power of Invoked 
  Lightning).
  Campaign Use:  Many experts rank the Crowns of 
  Krim as the most powerful occult group threatening 
  the world today, putting it ahead of even DEMON 
  due to its members’ vast power and diabolic natures. 
  Th ough Takofanes the Undying Lord is himself 
  signiﬁ cantly more powerful than any one of the 
  Crowns, as a group the Crowns can perform coor-
  dinated assaults on targets, making them equally as 
  dangerous, if not moreso, than the Archlich in battle.
  Th e six crowns themselves are Obvious Inacces-
  sible Foci (though they do grant their wearers some 
  powers that do not require them to be worn). Th ey’re 
  quite obvious when worn, but cannot easily be 
  removed from the wearer. (In their civilian identities, 
  if they maintain them, the Crowns hide their crowns 
  with minor spells of concealment or the like.) If 
  taken from its wearer, and not quickly claimed and 
  worn by some other person, a crown will subtly call 
  out to its owner, leading him to it until it rests atop 
  his brow once more. Because it’s almost impossible 
  to keep one of the Crowns from transforming — it 
  requires certain rare and potent spells — they do not 
  take the Only In Heroic Identity Limitation on their 
  Characteristics or many of their powers. However, 
  the GM is certainly free to deny them those abilities 
  in mundane situations, according to common sense 
  and dramatic sense, if he feels it would be appropri-
  ate.
  Th e Crowns typically commit crimes with an 
  occult theme — they attempt to steal magical items 
  they can use, strike back against the Trismegistus 
  Council and their other enemies in the Mystic 
  World, work powerful summoning-spells to bring 
  arch-devils to this world, and so forth. Mundane 
  crimes are beneath them. Dark Seraph’s ultimate 
  goal is rulership of the world, but he’s willing to work 
  toward it slowly.
  Similarly, the Crowns are most likely to start 
  Hunting a hero who has occult powers, particularly 
  if you can work out a way for them to somehow “tap” 
  the hero’s arcane energies to increase their own abili-
  ties. But given their demonic natures, they could end 
  up Hunting just about anyone, if angered enough. 
  Initially, they’ll pursue their quarry in brutal fashion, 
  with destructive surprise attacks; if that doesn’t work, 
  they’ll gradually shift  to more clever, devious tactics.
  Krim and his workings oﬀ ers a clever GM many 
  ways to use Dark Seraph and his minions in the 
  campaign. How great is the Dragon Crown’s control 
  over the six lesser crowns (and what will Takofanes 
  do with that power, assuming Dark Seraph can’t ﬁ nd 
  a way to break it)? Are there perhaps more crowns, 
  waiting to be found? Did Krim craft  any other 
  enchanted items, which could fall into the hands 
  of the petty and wicked men of the world? Might 
  the demon-god himself somehow manifest on this 
  world, ravaging it with horror and chaos?
  If the Crowns are too weak a group to stand up 
  to your PCs, start boosting their individual power 
  levels until they can challenge the heroes, but always 
  keep Dark Seraph markedly more powerful than the 
  others. As a last resort, you might create a new crown 
  or two and add to the group’s roster. To weaken the 
  group, leave one or two of the crowns yet unfound, 
  and their wearers thus still normal people. When the 
  time comes, you can add new members easily.
  DARK SERAPH
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   45 STR 
  35 
  18- 
  Lift  12.5 tons; 9d6 [4]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV: 8/DCV: 8
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   15 BODY 10 
  12- 
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV: 7
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack: 6d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   35 PD 
  26 
   
  Total:  35 PD (35 rPD)
   35 ED 
  30 
   
  Total:  35 ED (35 rED)
   6 SPD 
  27 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  12
   50 END 
  0
   70 STUN 19 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  280
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Crowning Glory
  ‘Make no mistake, brothers 
  — Dark Seraph is the mightiest 
  demonic entity residing 
  permanently on this plane of 
  reality, and for one reason: the Iron Crown. Of 
  all the artifacts we have encountered, only the 
  Basilisk Orb rivals its power. If we could obtain 
  both the Crown and the Orb, no one could stop 
  DEMON! But to take it, we would have to slay 
  the Midnight Angel, and with the other Crowns  
  to back him, we may lack the strength to do 
  that ... for now.’
  — Speech by a Morbane of DEMON, 
  overheard by the crimeﬁ ghter Nightwind
  
  54 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Cost Powers 
  END
  77 
  Black Magic:  Multipower, 135-point 
  powers, all OIF (Iron Crown; -½; 
  Activation Roll 15- (-¼)
  6u 
  1)  Invoked Lightning:  Energy Blast 18d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), Extra Time 
  (Full Phase; -½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  13
  8u 
  2)  Arcane Blast:  Energy Blast 18d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF 
  (-½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  0
  7u 
  3)  Reﬂ ected Heart:  Darkness to Sight Group 
  8” radius, Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); OIF (-½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  0
  8u 
  4)  Agony Inﬂ iction:  Ego Attack 9d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF 
  (-½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  0
  5u 
  5)  Ravaging Th e Soul:  Drain BODY 6d6, 
  Ranged (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); OIF (-½), Only Works On Beings 
  With Souls (-½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  0
  34 
  Opening Th e Portals Of Th e Mind:  Telepathy 
  12d6; OIF (-½), Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  6
  29 
  Ascension Of Th e Ætheric Form:  Desolidiﬁ -
  cation (aﬀ ected by magic attacks), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½), 
  Activation Roll 15- (-¼) 
  2
  35 
  Demonic Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (35 PD/35 ED) 
  0
  60 
  Demonic Toughness:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Lack of Weakness (-5) for 
  Normal Defenses 
  0
  10 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (10 points) 0
  10 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Sight Group Flash Defense 
  (10 points) 
  0
  45 
  Demonic Form:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  40 
  Dark Wings:  Flight 20”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Restrainable (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  27 
  Demon-Sense:  Detect Living Souls 13- 
  (no Sense Group), Sense, Range, Targeting 0
   
  Perks
  6 
  Contact:  black magic covens 11-
  2 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Knight
  8 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  30 
  Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, any 
  danger) 13-
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  12 
  +4 with Black Magic Multipower
  3 
  Conversation 15-
  2 
  Cryptography 13-; Translation Only (-½)
  3 
  High Society 15-
  6 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 16-
  2 
  KS: British Peerage 11-
  3 
  KS: Demonology 13-
  2 
  KS: Fine Wine & Food 11-
  3 
  KS: History 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Mystic World 13-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  English is native)
  2 
  Language:  Latin (ﬂ uent conversation)
  2 
  PS: Play Polo 11-
  3 
  Riding 14-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  1 
  TF: Snow Skiing
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  536
  Total Cost:  816
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [abject fear]; Detectable Only With Unusual 
  Senses)
  25 
  Enraged:  if attacked (Very Common), 
  go 11-, recover 11-
  25 
  Enraged:  Berserk if takes BODY 
  (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 8- (Less Pow, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Revels In 
  Destruction, Death, Mayhem, And 
  Corruption (Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined To 
  Rule Th e World And Grind All Mortals 
  Beneath His Mighty Heel (Very Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  powerful demonic supervillain, 
  11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Sir 
  Dennis of South Mallon) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 2d6 
  STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  406 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  816
  Background/History:  Bored, bored, bored. Dennis 
  Walthingham, baronet of South Mallon, couldn’t 
  believe how bored he was. Ever since his father 
  died and the title passed to him, he’d been living 
  the life of the idle rich — not that he’d exactly 
  been a productive member of society before then. 
  But one can only attend so many parties, social 
  functions, and sporting events before they blur 
  together into one boring canvas. Th en, one day, 
  his friend and sometime lover Barbara Preston-
  Fredericks mentioned a “cult” she’d been dabbling 
  with, just for thrills. “Th ey’re into all this black 
  magic stuﬀ , Dennis; you’d love it. Like nothing 
  you’ve ever seen before.” Th ough skeptical, Dennis 
  decided to accompany her to the cult’s next meet-
  ing; at least it was something diﬀ erent to do.
  Th at night changed Dennis’s life forever. Th e 
  group was more than just a “cult” — it was a genuine 
  coven, practicing genuine black magic, and Dennis 
  was fascinated. Not only did the idea of knowing 
  DARK SERAPH 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Seeking even greater 
  power, Dark Seraph 
  plans to steal the Ago-
  nistes Ring, an evil 
  magical artifact, from 
  DEMON. To penetrate 
  DEMON’s defenses, and 
  if possible conceal his 
  involvement, he decides 
  to play the PCs oﬀ  
  against DEMON, and 
  then slip in during the 
  resulting chaos to claim 
  the Ring for his own. 
  Can the PCs ﬁ gure out 
  what’s going on in time 
  to stop him — and how 
  will DEMON react to 
  being tricked?
  Dark Seraph believes 
  the time has come 
  to summon Krim to 
  Earth. Naturally, this 
  requires a powerful 
  black magic ritual, for 
  which he needs certain 
  materials and tools. He 
  embarks on a crime 
  spree, sometimes aided 
  by the Crowns, to obtain 
  what he needs and pre-
  pare the world for the 
  demon-god’s coming.
  Dark Seraph teams with 
  Black Paladin to con-
  quer and hold part of 
  Western France. What 
  do they want with that 
  region? Th e PCs have 
  to ﬁ nd out what their 
  motives are in time to 
  confront and stop them.
  
  55 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  what others did not know, and wielding powers 
  ordinary people could never possess, intrigue him, 
  but the sheer wickedness of it spoke to his selﬁ sh, 
  petty heart. He plunged into the study of the occult 
  with a will, spending a fortune on ancient grimoires 
  and mystical appurtenances. His natural talent for 
  the Arts Arcane was evident; before long he was the 
  most knowledgeable member of the coven, and its 
  leader, though he’d been a member for less time than 
  anyone else. Many a night he felt the warm blood 
  of a black cat seeping between his ﬁ ngers as he per-
  formed sacriﬁ ces with the coven, and more than a 
  few of his enemies found themselves suﬀ ering under 
  horrible curses.
  In 1978, Dennis began to feel strange stirrings, 
  as if something were calling to him, summoning 
  him to his destiny. A spell came, unbidden, to his 
  mind, and he brought the coven together to perform 
  it. When the ritual was done, there appeared before 
  him on the sacriﬁ ce-stone a Crown of Iron, seeth-
  ing with dark power. But Dennis could sense he still 
  lacked the power to claim it for his own — all the 
  sacriﬁ ces performed that night were not yet enough. 
  So, as a terrible thunder rolled and lightning split the 
  sky, Dennis turned on his coven. While his erstwhile 
  friends stood paralyzed with fear, he sacriﬁ ced each 
  of them, one by one, to the demon-god Krim in 
  exchange for the power of the Iron Crown — and he 
  oﬀ ered up his soul to Krim as well. As the blood of a 
  dozen men and women pooled around Dennis’s feet, 
  Krim heard him, and accepted. Dennis reached out 
  and took the Crown, and without hesitation placed 
  it upon his head. When next lightning lit the ring of 
  stones, he saw his reﬂ ection in the pool of blood — 
  the demonic visage, the black wings, the awesomely 
  powerful Crown — and laughed with savage delight.
  Personality/Motivation:  Dark Seraph is thoroughly 
  and utterly evil. He no longer even possesses a 
  human soul, having sold his to Krim for occult 
  power. He wants nothing more than to spread 
  mayhem, chaos, death, destruction, pain, suﬀ ering, 
  and torment throughout the world, and to rule all 
  mankind from a dark throne in Krim’s name. Th ere 
  is no act so vile or wicked Dark Seraph will not per-
  form it; in fact, the eviler the act, the better he likes it.
  Quote:  “You heroes, who think you have seen dark-
  ness before:  look upon me and know what true 
  Darkness is... and know, too, that it is your doom.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Dark Seraph possesses horrify-
  ing powers of dark magic as a result of wearing the 
  Iron Crown and selling his soul to the demon-god 
  Krim. Some of his powers, including his black magic 
  spells, depend on the Crown itself, while others are 
  innate. His powers do not take the Only In Heroic 
  Identity Limitation for two reasons. First, though he 
  maintains his identity as Sir Dennis of South Mallon 
  (mainly to mingle, in non-threatening form, with 
  dissipated dilettantes and mystic cultists who seek 
  his presence as a way of currying favor or spicing 
  up their jaded lives), he rarely uses it, preferring his 
  Dark Seraph form. Second, save for certain rare and 
  potent spells, there is no way to keep him from trans-
  forming into Dark Seraph (i.e., activating his powers) 
  whenever he chooses. In his Sir Dennis form, he 
  keeps the Iron Crown on, but hides it with a minor 
  spell of concealment. (To a greater or lesser extent, all 
  of this applies to the other ﬁ ve Crowns as well.)
  Dark Seraph’s black magic grants him numerous 
  powers, from the ability to call down deadly bolts of 
  lightning and project blasts of pure sorcerous energy, 
  to tearing men’s souls from their bodies and render-
  ing himself intangible. Other powers, including his 
  enormous strength, wings, and general toughness, 
  result from his quasi-demonic form. He prefers to 
  open battle with Invoked Lightning, in the hopes of 
  destroying or incapacitating as many foes as he can 
  right away, and then switches to whatever individual 
  attacks are appropriate for speciﬁ c enemies. He 
  rarely Dodges or does anything else to avoid enemy 
  assaults, preferring to demonstrate his power by 
  simply soaking up blows and remaining unaﬀ ected.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Dark Seraph represents the sort of 
  unabashedly evil villain most players love to encoun-
  ter. Th ere’s no moral ambiguity here, no question 
  of what Dark Seraph stands for or will do — he’s 
  unquenchably evil, a force of great power for all true 
  heroes to oppose even to their dying breath. Few 
  things could be more satisfying to a PC than dealing 
  Dark Seraph (and his minions) a thorough defeat.
  Dark Seraph and the Crowns of Krim are pow-
  erful enough to threaten the world, though not quite 
  powerful enough or organized enough to fall into the 
  “master villain” category. He makes a good second-
  tier master villain, one suitable for more inexperi-
  enced hero teams to tackle. But he’s still powerful 
  enough to take on most hero teams, even without the 
  Crowns to back him up.
  If you want to make Dark Seraph more pow-
  erful (perhaps temporarily, as part of a story arc), 
  replace his Multipower with a large Variable Power 
  Pool, and give him a Magic Skill to go with it. Th at 
  way he has both power and ﬂ exibility. If you need 
  to weaken him, reduce several of his Characteristics 
  (including STR to 30, defenses to 25, and SPD to 5), 
  and cut his Multipower down to a 90 Active Point 
  reserve. You might also want to reduce or get rid of 
  his Damage Reduction.
  Dark Seraph won’t hesitate to Hunt superheroes 
  who frustrate his plans, defeat him, or otherwise 
  attract his attention. He particularly likes to bedevil 
  heroes whose powers result from holy sources, or 
  who are regarded as moral role models. Even better 
  than defeating them in battle is to use his powers and 
  resources to tempt them and cause their downfall.
  Appearance:  As beﬁ ts his name, Dark Seraph 
  resembles a fallen, demonic angel. His hairless skin 
  is a revolting shade of grey, and the wings sprout-
  ing from his shoulder blades are jet black. Besides 
  the Iron Crown which adorns his head, he wears 
  nothing more than a pair of boots and an elaborate 
  breechcloth. He reeks of evil so palpable that his 
  mere presence causes people to run screaming in 
  terror.
  
  56 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  BLOODSTONE
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   20 PD 
  15 
   
  Total:  20 PD (20 rPD)
   16 ED 
  11 
   
  Total:  16 ED (16 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  175
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  50 
  Bloodworking:  Multipower, 75-point 
  reserve; all OIF (Blood Crown; -½)
  3u 
  1)  Bloodlash:  Energy Blast 12d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½), 
  Limited Range (5”; -¼), Side Eﬀ ect (Blood-
  stone automatically takes 1 BODY damage 
  the ﬁ rst time he activates this power in a 
  scene; -½) 
  3
  3u 
  2)  Weeping Blood:  RKA 1d6, NND (defense 
  is Power Defense or not having blood; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1), Continuous (+1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½), Cannot 
  Use Targeting (-½), No Knockback (-¼) 
  0
  3u 
  3)  Boiling Blood:  RKA 1½d6, NND (defense 
  is Power Defense or not having blood; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1); OIF (-½), Cannot Use 
  Targeting (-½), No Knockback (-¼) 
  7
  4u 
  4)  Corruption Of Th e Blood:  Entangle 5d6, 
  5 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks 
  (+½); OIF (-½), Cannot Form Barriers (-¼) 7
  18 
  Demonic Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (20 PD/16 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Demonic Toughness:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (5 points) 0
  30 
  Dark Wings:  Flight 15”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Restrainable (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  15 
  Smell Blood:  Detect Blood 13- (Smell/
  Taste Sense Group), Sense, Targeting 
  0
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Bloodworking Multipower
  2 
  AK: Mexico 11-
  2 
  AK: National University Of Mexico 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Archaeological World 11-
  3 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 13-
  3 
  KS: History 13-
  3 
  KS: Mesoamerican Civilizations 13-
  2 
  KS: Roman Catholic Th eology 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  Spanish is native)
  1 
  Language:  Nahuatl (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Quiche (basic conversation)
  3 
  PS: Archaeologist 13-
  2 
  PS: Professor 11-
  3 
  SS: Archaeology 13-
  1 
  Riding 8-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  213
  Total Cost:  388
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [abject fear]; Detectable Only With Unusual 
  Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 8- (As Pow, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Casual Killer 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Enjoys Taunting And 
  Torturing Foes (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Nestor 
  Castillo) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 2d6 
  STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  53 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  388
  Background/History:  It was the ﬁ nd of a lifetime, 
  and Nestor Castillo knew it was going to make his 
  career.
  Following clues he’d uncovered in certain 
  inscriptions found in excavations at Teotihuacán, 
  Castillo had tracked down what he believed to be 
  a long-lost Aztec temple. Rather than announce a 
  ﬁ nd that proved to be bogus, or allow anyone else 
  to claim credit, he began excavating the site secretly 
  on his own. Working with feverish intensity, he 
  soon burrowed into the hill and, as luck would 
  have it, straight into the chamber on the top of the 
  temple.
  As he looked around eagerly, his ﬂ ashlight 
  casting eerie shadows around the room, he realized 
  that while he might be in a temple, it wasn’t exactly 
  Aztec. It bore some resemblance to Aztec structures 
  and decor, but there were subtle diﬀ erences. Th e 
  sculptures and wall-murals were darker, bloodier, 
  more violent and disturbing than Aztec ones. Th e 
  place gave him something of a chill. Th e stench of 
  sacriﬁ cial blood, still strong aft er centuries, didn’t 
  do anything to comfort him.
  Th en he saw the Crown. Resting atop an eerie 
  altar-stone, it was blood-red, and shone as if wet. 
  Unable to resist, he walked over and touched it 
  — and then, almost as if compelled, placed it on his 
  head. At once he was transformed. Gone was the 
  ambitious archaeologist, the devout Roman Catho-
  BLOODSTONE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Bloodstone ﬁ nally sells 
  his soul to Krim. Not 
  only does this boost his 
  power generally (add 
  about +50 Character 
  Points’ worth of abili-
  ties), but Krim decides 
  to give him a “birthday 
  present” and doubles 
  the eﬀ ectiveness of his 
  Bloodworking powers! 
  Berserk with power, 
  Bloodstone goes on a 
  rampage, sating his lust 
  for violence by killing 
  anyone he can ﬁ nd. Th e 
  PCs have to stop him 
  — hopefully before 
  attracting the atten-
  tion of the rest of the 
  Crowns.
  Bloodstone discovers 
  that his powers give 
  him the ability to com-
  mand vampires (add a 
  Multipower slot, Mind 
  Control 12d6, Only 
  Works On Vampires 
  (-1)). With the Crowns’ 
  help, he rounds up a 
  bunch of the bloodsuck-
  ers and unleashes on the 
  city just for the fun of 
  seeing what will happen. 
  Th e heroes have to stop 
  the vampires and then 
  track them back to their 
  source and put a stop to 
  Bloodstone’s party.
  Th e Circle of the Scarlet 
  Moon decides Blood-
  stone would make the 
  ideal blood sacriﬁ ce for 
  one of its rituals — with 
  the power of his blood 
  behind it, the spell can’t 
  help but succeed. It initi-
  ates an elaborate plot 
  to draw him to Millen-
  nium City, capture him, 
  and sacriﬁ ce him. Th e 
  PCs have to uncover the 
  scheme and prevent the 
  Circle from obtaining so 
  much power.
  
  57 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  lic. In his place stood Bloodstone, a quasi-demonic 
  servant of Krim and wearer of the fearsome 
  Blood Crown.
  Concealing his new powers and form, Cas-
  tillo covered up the temple again and returned 
  to his post at the university. But it wasn’t long 
  before he felt another compulsion, to travel 
  north. He did so, and soon met Dark 
  Seraph and the other Crowns, joining 
  them to extend their reign of evil and 
  terror throughout the world.
  Personality/Motivation:  Once 
  a kindhearted (though ambi-
  tious) and religiously devout 
  person, Bloodstone is now evil 
  incarnate. His powers allow him to inﬂ ict great 
  pain and suﬀ ering, and he enjoys using them. 
  Watching a captive die by inches as he slowly 
  bleeds the life from him is one of Bloodstone’s 
  greatest joys. But he’s also temperamental, 
  given to killing victims without a second 
  thought — a practice which has more 
  than once deprived the Crowns of a 
  needed hostage or a valuable source of 
  information, much to Dark Seraph’s 
  displeasure.
  Quote:  “Warm and scarlet it courses 
  through your veins — now watch, as 
  it seeps from your body and spills 
  upon the thirsty ground....”
  Powers/Tactics:  Bloodstone is a haemokinetic — he 
  can disrupt or control the ﬂ ow of blood in a living 
  being. He can cause it to ooze from a person’s pores 
  and oriﬁ ces, make it boil someone alive from the 
  inside out, or “corrupt” it (inﬂ icting such pain on 
  a person that he cannot move). He can even use 
  some of his own blood to create a “bloodlash,” a 
  horrible liquescent whip.
  Bloodstone’s favorite tactic is to use Corrup-
  tion Of Th e Blood to keep his foes from moving, 
  then kill them with Weeping Blood or Boiling 
  Blood. He usually saves the Bloodlash for when 
  his other attacks aren’t eﬀ ective, he needs to aﬀ ect 
  nonliving objects, or he hopes to do Knockback to 
  the target.
  Bloodstone hasn’t sold his soul to Krim yet, as 
  many of the Crowns have, though it’s probably only 
  a matter of time. It’s already so corrupt that selling 
  it to the demon-god will be but a triﬂ ing act.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Bloodstone is, generally speaking, the 
  weakest of the Crowns — partly because he hasn’t 
  sold his soul yet, partly because of the more limited 
  nature of the powers granted by the Blood Crown. 
  If you want to make Bloodstone more powerful 
  (perhaps because he ﬁ nally sells his soul), add some 
  slots to his Multipower (a Flash deﬁ ned as making 
  the eyes and ears bleed, a Continuous Drain BODY 
  representing slow bleeding, and so forth). You 
  might also consider expanding his powers to bioki-
  nesis in general, giving him control over over bio-
  logical processes (for example, he could cause heart 
  attacks or weaken muscles), or enhancing some of 
  his demonic abilities. If you think he’s too powerful 
  for your game, reduce his Multipower reserve 
  to 60 Active Points, and get rid of his Damage 
  Reduction.
  As a Hunter, Bloodstone is a vindictive and 
  cruel. He likes to strike from surprise, using 
  his Weeping Blood or Boiling Blood powers 
  to hurt his quarry, and then vanish, leav-
  ing the victim to worry about when he’ll 
  strike again. He’ll keep up that game as 
  long as it seems safe and amuses him, 
  and then close in for the kill.
  Appearance:  Bloodstone 
  wears a costume with 
  blood-red sleeves and 
  torso, gold waist and 
  legs, and a stylized gold 
  design across his upper chest. his lower 
  arms, hands, calves, feet, neck, and head are 
  uncovered, displaying skin that looks like 
  ﬂ ayed human ﬂ esh. Th e Blood Crown, with 
  tines like bloody talons, rests atop his hairless 
  head.
  ECLIPSE
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV: 8/DCV: 8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV: 5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   20 PD 
  15 
   
  Total:  20 PD (20 rPD)
   20 ED 
  16 
   
  Total:  20 ED (20 rED)
   6 SPD 
  27 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   12 REC 
  6
   60 END 
  10
   50 STUN 17 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  190
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  53 
  Shadow Magic:  Multipower, 80-point 
  powers, all OIF (Shadow Crown; -½)
  11m 1)  Conjured Shadow I:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 8” radius; OIF (-½) 
  8
  10m 2)  Conjured Shadow II:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 5” radius, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  10m 3)  Darkblast:  Energy Blast 12d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  3
  10m 4)  Consuming Shadows:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  3
  8m 
  5)  Inescapable Shadow:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 2” radius, Usable As Attack (+1), 
  Ranged (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  13 
  Shadow Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  40-point powers, all OIF (Shadow Crown; -½)
  13 
  1)  Conjured Shadow III:  Darkness to 
  
  58 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Sight Group 4” radius; OIF (-½) 
  4
  13 
  2)  Shadow Form:  Desolidiﬁ cation (aﬀ ected 
  by magic or light attacks); OIF (-½) 
  4
  14 
  3)  Shadow Stealth:  Invisibility to Sight 
  Group, No Fringe, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½), Only In Darkness/
  Shadows (-¼) 
  0
  20 
  Demonic Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Demonic Toughness:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (5 points) 0
  45 
  Demonic Form:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  30 
  Dark Wings:  Flight 15”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Restrainable (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Shadowsight:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Shadowsight:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  32 
  Demon-Sense:  Detect Living Souls and 
  Physical Objects 12- (no Sense Group), 
  Sense, Range, Targeting 
  0
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Shadow Magic Multipower
  2 
  AK: University Of Chicago 11-
  2 
  CK: Chicago 11-
  3 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 12-
  2 
  KS: History 11-
  2 
  PS: Research 11-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  353
  Total Cost:  543
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter 
  Evil (Not Concealable; Causes 
  Extreme Reaction [abject fear])
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo 
  Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus 
  Council 8- (As Pow, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Toys With 
  Victims (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined 
  To Bring About Th e Reign Of Krim On 
  Earth (Common, Strong)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, 
  takes 2d6 STUN and BODY per Turn 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy 
  attacks (Uncommon)
  213 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  543
  Background/History:  In 1985, Paul 
  Hundley was a bitter college student. 
  Coming from a background of poverty, and 
  cursed with an arrogant manner and features best 
  described as plain, Hundley learned to hate the 
  world that constantly rejected him. Desperately 
  envious of the “beautiful people” on campus who 
  seemed to have it all, he looked for a way to even 
  the scales... and found the occult.
  At ﬁ rst he scoﬀ ed, but the more he researched 
  the matter, the more he was convinced there had 
  to be some truth to it. Th en, while doing work-
  study research for one of the anthropology profes-
  sors, he came across some information that dove-
  tailed with cryptic clues in the grimoires he’d been 
  reading. Convinced he had uncovered the location 
  of some long-lost “relic of greatte power,” as one of 
  his tomes put it, he spent all of his money to ﬂ y to 
  Southeast Asia and sneak into Vietnam to ﬁ nd it.
  Against all odds, Hundley succeeded. In the 
  ruins of a temple whose architecture and ico-
  nography he didn’t even recognize, he found an 
  ancient crypt. He descended into a chamber so 
  dark his ﬂ ashlight could barely cut through the 
  gloom — and at the heart of darkness there was a 
  Crown. Exultantly Hundley picked it up and put it 
  on, not caring what price he might have to pay for 
  its power. When Krim spoke to him, he willingly 
  oﬀ ered up his soul for even greater power — and 
  then set forth for England, to join up with Dark 
  Seraph and serve him willingly.
  Personality/Motivation:  Second only to Dark 
  Seraph in sheer evil among the Crowns, Eclipse is 
  also less human and more demonic than any other 
  member of the group save he who wears the Iron 
  Crown. And unlike Dark Seraph, who ﬁ rst 
  seeks to establish his own power on Earth 
  and then summon Krim, Eclipse has become 
  so wholly a creature of the demon-god that 
  he is determined to bring Krim to Earth as 
  soon as possible.
  Eclipse loves to toy with his 
  victims, typically by making them 
  wander around helplessly in his 
  ﬁ elds of shadow while he taunts 
  them and occasionally attacks 
  them. Slowly but surely, he 
  cripples and then kills 
  them. More than once 
  one of the Crowns’ 
  plots has been derailed 
  because Eclipse had the chance to 
  ﬁ nish oﬀ  a foe and didn’t take it 
  when he should have. 
  Quote:  “You don’t have a shadow 
  of a chance.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Eclipse has 
  powers over darkness and 
  shadow, represented by a 
  Multipower with Flexible 
  slots and an Elemental 
  Control. By mixing and 
  matching his abilities 
  appropriately, he can 
  create many useful 
  eﬀ ects. His ﬁ rst action 
  in combat is usually to establish a ﬁ eld of Dark-
  ness around himself, to prevent enemies from 
  perceiving him. Th en he can lash out with Dark-
  blasts and Consuming Shadows. His Inescapable 
  ECLIPSE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Inﬂ uenced by Krim, 
  who has decided it’s 
  time to establish his 
  empire on Earth, Eclipse 
  rebels against the rest of 
  the Crowns. With Krim 
  boosting his powers, 
  and diminishing those 
  of the other Crowns, 
  it becomes a major 
  struggle, as Eclipse tries 
  to seize the other ﬁ ve 
  crowns for his own use. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ nd 
  out what’s happening 
  and put a stop to all of 
  it. And what happens 
  if Takofanes, with his 
  Dragon Crown, gets 
  involved?
  A prominent business-
  man comes to the PCs, 
  claiming “a shadow-
  man” is stalking and 
  scaring himself and 
  his family. Could it be 
  Eclipse having a little 
  “harmless fun,” or is 
  something else going 
  on?
  DEMON kidnaps 
  Eclipse with the intent 
  of transforming him and 
  his crown into a power-
  ful magical weapon. Th e 
  PCs have to stop this 
  from happening, while 
  also stopping the rest of 
  the Crowns from tearing 
  up Millennium City as 
  they try to rescue their 
  comrade.
  
  59 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Shadow power, which allows him to “stick” a patch 
  of Darkness to someone and have it follow that 
  person around, is a particular favorite.
  Eclipse never assumes normal human form 
  anymore; in fact, his demonic transformation is 
  almost complete and irreversible. Only a mystic 
  who deduces his Secret Identity (for which he gets 
  no points, because he is not inconvenienced by it)   
  could cast a spell using his true name and force 
  him back into human shape.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Eclipse would make a good leader 
  for the Crowns, should Dark Seraph be captured 
  — or perhaps he will rebel against the rest of the 
  group because they’re not working hard enough 
  for Krim’s manifestation.
  To make Eclipse more powerful, give him 
  some additional Multipower slots, such as the 
  ability to Drain light-based powers, Teleporta-
  tion by stepping between shadows, or the ability 
  to conjure mystic chains of darkness (Entangle). 
  You could also increase his Damage Reduction 
  to 50%, or make similar changes to represent his 
  transition to an almost purely demonic entity. If 
  you need to weaken him for your game, reduce 
  his Multipower to a 60 Active Point reserve, make 
  some of the slots Fixed, and remove his Life Sup-
  port.
  As a Hunter, Eclipse toys with his victims the 
  same way he likes to in combat. Sneak attacks, 
  abuse of the hero’s DNPCs, and mocking refer-
  ences to his ability to reveal the hero’s Secret 
  Identity (probably vicious lies, but can the hero be 
  sure?) will make the PC’s life a living hell.
  Appearance:  Eclipse resembles a humanoid 
  shadow, with the magniﬁ cent Shadow Crown 
  merging almost imperceptibly into his dark head. 
  When he wishes to ﬂ y, shadowy wings unfold 
  from his shoulderblades.
  FORCE
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   21 DEX 
  33 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   23 PD 
  15 
   
  Total:  23 PD (23 rPD)
   23 ED 
  18 
   
  Total:  23 ED (23 rED)
   5 SPD 
  19 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   13 REC 
  0
   50 END 
  0
   50 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  179
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  50 
  Arcanokinesis:  Multipower, 75-point reserve; 
  all OIF (Golden Crown; -½)
  5u 
  1)  Arcanokinetic Blast:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 3
  5u 
  2)  Arcanokinetic Spears:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  3
  5u 
  3)  Arcanokinetic Shackles:  Entangle 7d6, 
  8 DEF; OIF (-½) 
  7
  5u 
  4)  Arcanokinetic Shield:  Force Wall 
  (10 PD/10 ED; 5” long and 2” tall), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  3
  35 
  Attack Alteration:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all 
  Ranged attacks), Range (+1); OIF (-½), 
  Costs END (-½) plus Reﬂ ection (at any 
  attacker); OIF (-½), Costs END (-½) 
  4+3
  47 
  Arcanokinetic Manipulation:  Telekinesis 
  (40 STR), Fine Manipulation; OIF (-½) 
  7
  23 
  Demonic Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (23 PD/23 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Demonic Toughness:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (5 points) 0
  30 
  Golden Wings:  Flight 15”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Restrainable (-½) 0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Arcanokinesis Multipower
  2 
  CK: Philadelphia 11-
  3 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 12-
  2 
  PS: Panhandling 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  Survival (Urban) 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  271
  Total Cost:  450
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [abject fear]; Detectable Only With Unusual 
  Senses)
  15 
  Enraged:  if takes BODY (Uncommon), go 
  11-, recover 11-
  30 
  Enraged:  Berserk in combat (Very 
  Common), go 8-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 8- (As Pow, 
  Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To Fight 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Donald 
  Jamison) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 2d6 
  STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  75 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  450
  
  60 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Background/History:  Time was, Donald Jamison 
  was just a bum — a nobody drift ing around 
  Philadelphia, committing petty crimes and 
  begging pocket change from passersby to sur-
  vive. Th en one day, as he was walking through 
  a rundown part of town, he 
  passed a recently-aban-
  doned storefront for 
  what used to be a jew-
  elry store. It was getting 
  dark, and the old store 
  looked like it might be a 
  good place to spend the 
  night out of the cold, so 
  he peered through the 
  grimy window to see if 
  anyone was in there.
  Was that the glim-
  mer of gold, back there 
  in the shadows?
  Th e thought of 
  shelter driven out of his mind 
  by greed, Jamison found an old metal 
  bar and used it to lever open the 
  door. As he went inside, he got a 
  better look — it was some kind of 
  tiara. When he got closer, he real-
  ized he was wrong; it was actu-
  ally a crown, of all things!
  He bent to pick it up, and 
  when he touched it, his mind 
  reeled. Visions of wealth and 
  power danced through his 
  head. He saw himself, vast 
  energies playing about his 
  body, destroying anyone 
  who stood in his ways 
  and gathering up the 
  riches of the world. Wine, women, and mansions 
  were all his for the taking... if he’d just put on the 
  crown.
  He put on the crown.
  Personality/Motivation:  Force is the least demonic-
  minded and most materialistic of the Crowns of 
  Krim. He’s still got a lot of his humanity left , and 
  he wants to use the power of the Golden Crown 
  to get all the riches and luxuries he’s never had 
  before. He commits a lot of robberies on his own, 
  just for the love of taking beautiful, precious 
  things for his own. When he’s not Force, he spends 
  time in his human form, spending his ill-gotten 
  gains to rent the best hotel rooms and live the 
  high life.
  As Force, Jamison is brutal and combative. 
  He loves “ﬂ exing his muscles” and exerting his 
  power; he looks forward to ﬁ ghting heroes, and 
  oft en picks ﬁ ghts (or keeps on ﬁ ghting when 
  the rest of the team wants to ﬂ ee). Even 
  worse, he tends to lose control of himself 
  in battle (particularly 
  when injured), and 
  has more than once 
  turned on one of 
  his teammates in his 
  blood-fury.
  Quote:  “When I’m done 
  with you, the cops will 
  have to mop up what’s 
  left .”
  Powers/Tactics:  Force 
  is a confrontational, 
  aggressive ﬁ ghter who leaps 
  right out in front and begins 
  slugging away with his Arcanokinetic 
  Blasts and Arcanokinetic Spears. He’s 
  not stupid or mindless, though (except 
  when Enraged/Berserk); he’s smart 
  enough to shift  to using his Entangle 
  or Force Wall if necessary. When Dark 
  Seraph can control him, and make 
  him think with a little tactical sense, 
  he sometimes Holds his Action and 
  takes a support role, using Missile 
  Deﬂ ection and Reﬂ ection to pro-
  tect the other Crowns from enemy 
  attacks.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory 
  text for general information. 
  To make Force more powerful, 
  move his Arcanokinetic Shield 
  power outside of his Multip-
  ower, and give him an Indirect 
  EB slot so he can attack while keeping the Shield 
  up. To weaken him, move his Attack Alteration 
  and Arcanokinetic Manipulation powers into his 
  Multipower.
  As a Hunter, Force is unsophisticated, but 
  dangerous. He’ll simply seek out the hero, and 
  when he ﬁ nds him, attack with everything he’s got. 
  If he’s beaten, he’ll be a little sneakier next time, 
  but he won’t try anything like framing the hero 
  — he wants the satisfaction of destroying him in 
  one-on-one combat.
  Appearance:  Force’s costume is a dark green 
  and dull gold bodysuit with no adornments. Th e 
  Golden Crown, its beauty matched only by its evil, 
  sits on his head; its tines are not connected to the 
  body of the crown, but rather held apart from it by 
  unbreakable bonds of arcanokinetic force.
  FORCE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  One of Force’s theft s 
  is from a jewelry store 
  that’s a front for VIPER. 
  Angered by this show 
  of disrespect, not to 
  mention the loss of the 
  valuable jewelry, the 
  local Nest Leaders band 
  together to teach Force 
  and the Crowns a lesson 
  they won’t soon forget. 
  Th e PCs need to stop 
  the whole mess from 
  getting started, or at 
  least try to contain the 
  damage the battles will 
  cause.
  With his stolen wealth 
  and the help of a whole 
  bunch of advisers, 
  Donald Jamison decides 
  to become “a big-time 
  tycoon.” He starts a busi-
  ness that competes with 
  one a PC hero owns or 
  works for. Th e course of 
  business brings the two 
  together — perhaps as 
  allies, perhaps as adver-
  saries. What will happen 
  when the PC discovers 
  Jamison is actually one 
  of the Crowns of Krim?
  During a battle, the 
  Golden Crown begins to 
  speak to one of the PCs 
  telepathically. It claims 
  it doesn’t like its current 
  master, and oﬀ ers to 
  abandon him and let the 
  PC use it instead. Will 
  the hero be tempted 
  — and if so, what hap-
  pens?
  
  61 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  PHOENIX
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   15 PD 
  10 
   
  Total:  15 PD (12 rPD)
   25 ED 
  20 
   
  Total:  25 ED (20 rED)
   6 SPD 
  30 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   15 REC 
  10
   86 END 
  20
   50 STUN 12 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  217
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Th e Unholy Fire:  Elemental Control, 60-point 
  powers; all OIF (Shining Crown; -½)
  20 
  1)  Fiery Blast:  Energy Blast 12d6; OIF (-½) 6
  17 
  2)  Immolation:  RKA 4d6; OIF (-½), 
  No Knockback (-¼) 
  6
  15 
  3)  Fiery Shield:  HKA 1d6, Continuous (+1), 
  Damage Shield (+½), Increased STUN 
  Multiplier (+2; +½), Penetrating (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF 
  (-½), No STR Bonus (-½) 
  0
  20 
  4)  Fiery Wings:  Flight 20”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Th e Unholy Light:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers; all OIF (Shining Crown; -½)
  20 
  1)  Bolt Of Blindness:  Sight Group Flash 
  Attack 12d6; OIF (-½) 
  6
  25 
  2)  Blinding Glare:  Sight Group Flash 
  Attack 6d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” Radius; +1¼); 
  OIF (-½) 
  6
  20 
  3)  Unholy Lance:  Dispel Holy Powers 
  16d6, any Holy power one at a time (+¼); 
  OIF (-½) 
  6
  16 
  Demonic Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (12 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Demonic Toughness:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  15 
  Phoenix Eyes:  Sight Group Flash Defense 
  (15 points) 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (5 points) 0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  UV Perception (Sight Group) 0
   
  Perks
  7 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  3 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 12-
  2 
  KS: Sportscars 11-
  2 
  KS: Television 11-
  2 
  KS: Vampires 11-
  2 
  PS: Play Golf 11-
  2 
  PS: Play Tennis 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  295
  Total Cost:  512
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [abject fear]; Detectable Only With Unusual 
  Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 8- (As Pow, 
  Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Pyromaniac 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Greg 
  Shackleford) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 2d6 
  STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  197 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  512
  Background/History:  In many ways, the personal 
  histories of Phoenix — Greg Shackleford — and 
  Dark Seraph — Sir Dennis of South Mallon 
  — are remarkably similar. Like Sir Dennis, 
  Shackleford was born into a life of luxury, his 
  father a major executive at Pharos Industries, 
  and his mother the daughter of an old shipping 
  family whose fortune dated back over a century. 
  Never wanting for anything, he grew up spoiled 
  and undisciplined, and soon turned to all sorts of 
  petty mischief and troublemaking to attract his 
  parents’ attention.
  As he grew older, Greg drifted in with a bad 
  crowd of other rich kids who thought nothing of 
  abusing their wealth and position in society to 
  have fun. But even that wasn’t enough for Greg 
  after a while. Eventually he turned to the occult, 
  dabbling in the dark arts to satisfy his stulted 
  soul’s yearning for excitement.
  In 1989, after seeing a news report about 
  Dark Seraph, something happened to Greg. 
  He knew there were other crowns like the Iron 
  Crown out there, and he was determined to have 
  one for himself. He began delving deeper and 
  deeper into his occult researches, and finally 
  devised a spell to locate a crown. The only 
  problem was, it required a sacrifice — a human 
  sacrifice. But by then, even that wasn’t enough to 
  stop him. It didn’t take much effort to arrange for 
  his girlfriend and three of his friends to die in 
  a “drunk driving accident” just as he completed 
  his ritual and learned what he needed to know. A 
  quick plane trip to Costa Rica and a little explo-
  ration of the jungle later, and he found some old 
  ruins — and in them, the Shining Crown.
  Personality/Motivation:  Phoenix began selling 
  
  62 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  his soul long ago, though not consciously — it 
  was only after he became thoroughly involved 
  in the black arts that it was too late for him to 
  turn back. When he seized the Shining Crown 
  for his own, he willingly gave the rest of his soul 
  to Krim in exchange for power — and he hasn’t 
  regretted doing so. Being Phoenix is a tremen-
  dous thrill to him; it’s far more exciting than any-
  thing he’s ever done. At times he can barely toler-
  ate spending any time in his civilian identity; it’s 
  deadly dull compared to being a Crown of Krim.
  The Shining Crown has influenced Shack-
  leford’s mind, making him a pyromaniac. He 
  loves to use his powers to set things on fire, often 
  wasting time and energy in mid-mission just 
  to start a little blaze. If a particularly tempting 
  target (like a child in flammable clothes) presents 
  itself, the GM may have him make an EGO Roll 
  to avoid wasting a Phase to set it on fire.
  Quote:  “They say angels carry flaming swords. 
  But their fire is as nothing compared to mine!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Phoenix is one of the Crowns’ 
  front-line combatants. In battle he’ll activate his 
  Fiery Shield, then begin laying about with his 
  ranged attacks to devastate the foe. He particu-
  larly enjoys blinding an enemy so another Crown 
  (typically Force or Dark Seraph) can lower the 
  boom on the target when he’s at reduced DCV. 
  He also likes to make multiple-power attacks. 
  He has to be careful about END usage, though. 
  Phoenix usually remains in the air during most 
  combats; he prefers the mobility of the skies.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. If Phoenix needs a little power 
  boost for your campaign, give him some Skill 
  Levels with Flight, and improve his Damage 
  Reduction to 50% (at least for Energy attacks). 
  To weaken him, get rid of his second Elemental 
  Control and place all of his attacks (except the 
  Fiery Shield) in one Multipower.
  Phoenix rarely Hunts heroes; it’s just not 
  worth the trouble. When he does start Hunt-
  ing someone, he tries a two-pronged approach 
  — attack them as Phoenix, and use his mundane 
  resources as Shackleford to try to learn the hero’s 
  Secret Identity, or the like. Burning down the 
  hero’s house or vehicle is a definite option.
  Appearance:  Phoenix wears a fire-orange and 
  scarlet costume. His fire-orange boots and gloves 
  have flames licking up from their edges; his 
  trunks and belt are also fire-orange, but with no 
  flames. He wears no mask; his eyes are orbs of 
  fire with flames licking up from them; his hair is 
  shoulder-long, and he wears the Shining Crown 
  on his head.
  TEMBLOR
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   50 STR 
  40 
  19- 
  Lift  25 tons; 10d6 [5]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   30 PD 
  20 
   
  Total:  30 PD (20 rPD)
   30 ED 
  24 
   
  Total:  30 ED (20 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   16 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  0
   60 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  205
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Tunneling: 
  8”/16”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  35 
  Earth Powers:  Multipower, 62-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½), Only When In 
  Contact With Th e Ground (-¼)
  3u 
  1)  Earthen Grip:  Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF, 
  Indirect (always originates from the 
  ground beneath the target; +¼); OIF 
  (-½), Only When In Contact With Th e 
  Ground (-¼) 
  6
  3u 
  2)  Earthen Hand:  Telekinesis (40 STR); 
  OIF (-½); Only When In Contact With 
  Th e Ground (-¼), Can Be Destroyed As 
  A Focus With 12 DEF (-¼) 
  6
  2u 
  3)  Dust Blast:  Sight Group Flash Attack 
  6d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (7” Cone; +1); OIF 
  (-½), No Range (-½), Only When In 
  Contact With Th e Ground (-¼), Does Not 
  Work Against Desolidiﬁ ed Characters (-¼) 6
  PHOENIX 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A wealthy PC encoun-
  ters Greg Shackleford 
  in a social situation, and 
  strikes up a friendship 
  with him. During the 
  course of the friendship, 
  Shackleford discovers 
  some clues regarding 
  the fact that the PC is a 
  superhero. Mayhem fol-
  lows in due course.
  A series of mysterious 
  ﬁ res breaks out around 
  Millennium City. Th e 
  locations seem to be 
  forming a picture or 
  pattern — perhaps one 
  with occult signiﬁ cance. 
  Is this Phoenix’s work, 
  and if so, what are the 
  Crowns up to? If not, 
  who’s causing the ﬁ res?
  Phoenix learns that 
  an ancient ﬁ re-magic 
  ritual might double the 
  strength of his powers. 
  He starts breaking into 
  libraries and museums 
  looking for books or 
  scrolls containing the 
  ritual. Th e PCs have 
  to stop him before he 
  ﬁ nds what he’s look-
  ing for.
  
  63 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  2u 
  4)  Earthmelding:  Desolidiﬁ cation 
  (aﬀ ected by any attack), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½), Only 
  When In Contact With Th e Ground (-¼), 
  Only To Pass Th rough Earth/Stone (-¼), 
  Does Not Protect Against Damage (-1) 
  0
  3u 
  5)  Supreme Digging:  Tunneling 8” 
  through 8 DEF material, Fill In, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) OIF (-½), Only 
  When In Contact With Th e Ground (-¼) 2
  17 
  Stone Body Shaping:  Multipower, 25-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½)
  2m 
  1)  Huge Stone Fist:  HA +4d6; OIF (-½), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½), Increased 
  Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1) 
  6
  1u 
  2)  Spiky Stone Fist:  Armor Piercing (+½) 
  for 50 STR (see text); OIF (-½), Increased 
  Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1) 
  6
  3m 
  3)  Obsidian Blade Hand:  HKA 1½d6 
  (3d6+1 with STR); OIF (-½) 
  2
  2m 
  4)  Crystalline Growth:  Stretching 5”; OIF 
  (-½), Limited Body Parts (arms only; -¼), 
  No Noncombat Stretching (-¼) 
  2
  20 
  Demonically Rocky Skin:  Damage 
  Resistance (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Demonic Toughness:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  20 
  Heavy:  Knockback Resistance -10” 
  0
  8 
  Foot Melding:  Knockback Resistance 
  -5”; Only When In Contact With Th e 
  Ground (-¼) 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (5 points) 0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Demon’s Eyes:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  See Th rough Earth:  N-Ray Perception 
  (Sight Group); Only To See Th rough 
  Earth/Stone (-½), Limited Range 
  (25”; -¼), Nonpersistent (-¼) 
  0
  24 
  Sense Vibrations:  Detect Physical 
  Vibrations 12- (Touch Group), 
  Discriminatory, Range, Targeting; Only 
  When In Contact With Th e Ground (-¼) 0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump of Direction
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Earth Powers Multipower
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  AK: Mexican Cave Formations 12-
  2 
  AK: Mexico 11-
  2 
  CK: Mexico City 11-
  3 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 12-
  3 
  KS: Rocks & Minerals 12-
  2 
  KS: Th e Scientiﬁ c World 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  Language: English (completely ﬂ uent; 
  Spanish is native)
  3 
  Power: Earth Manipulation 12-
  2 
  PS: Explorer 11-
  3 
  PS: Rock Collecting 12-
  3 
  PS: Spelunking 12-
  6 
  Survival (Deserts, Mountains, Temperate/
  Subtropical) 12-
  3 
  Scientist
  3 
  1)  SS: Geology 13-
  2 
  2)  SS: Geophysics 12-
  1 
  4)  SS: Physics 11-
  1 
  3)  SS: Seismology 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  263
  Total Cost:  468
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [abject fear]; Detectable Only With Unusual 
  Senses)
  30 
  Enraged:  Berserk when takes BODY 
  damage (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 8- (As 
  Pow, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Sadistically Evil 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Enjoys Causing Mas-
  sive Property Damage (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Miguel 
  Cordova) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 2d6 
  STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Holy attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Sonics 
  (Uncommon)
  88 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  468
  Background/History:  Miguel Cordova couldn’t 
  believe his luck. Years of fieldwork as a geolo-
  gist had finally paid off. In the wastelands of 
  northern Mexico, in a region where he had no 
  scientific right to find such a thing, he located a 
  deep cave formation. Unwilling to wait until he 
  could get a partner to enter it with him, he began 
  exploring right away.
  He was immediately struck by the unusual 
  nature of the cave. It was... strange. The interior 
  stone didn’t seem like anything native to the area, 
  and the shape of the caverns themselves was 
  odd. At one point it occurred to him that it was 
  almost like being inside monstrously large bio-
  logical organs, but his mind laughed off the idea 
  even as his scientific curiousity led him deeper 
  and deeper into the cave.
  Finally, the cave came to end — but in the 
  final cavern lay the biggest surprise of all. Nes-
  tled in a rock formation there, almost as if lov-
  ingly held by a gigantic stone hand, was a crown. 
  Meticulously carved of grey granite, it resembled 
  nothing Cordova had ever seen before. Intrigued, 
  he picked it up, finding it oddly light and easy to 
  handle. Suddenly he felt a compulsion, an over-
  
  64 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  whelming desire to put the crown on. Neither 
  able nor willing to resist, he set it on his head. 
  And then he screamed, but his screams did noth-
  ing to end the pain lancing through his body. 
  Under the power of the Stone Crown, he was 
  transformed, changed into a man of rock instead 
  of mere human ﬂ esh. Tossing aside the spelunking 
  equipment he no longer needed, he made 
  his way back to the surface.
  He found Dark Seraph waiting 
  for him there.
  Personality/Motivation:  Unlike 
  the other Crowns of Krim, 
  whose personalities 
  remain mostly the same, 
  Temblor was signiﬁ -
  cantly changed by his. 
  Gone is the good-
  natured scientist, 
  driven by a desire 
  to learn and 
  discover, and in 
  its place is a ﬁ end. 
  Temblor is evil 
  through and through. 
  He takes enormous plea-
  sure in causing death, 
  destruction, and suﬀ er-
  ing. He thinks nothing 
  of literally ripping 
  victims apart limb 
  from limb, smash-
  ing hospitals and 
  orphanages, and the 
  like. He represents 
  the terrifying fury 
  of the earth — the 
  merciless power 
  of earthquakes, 
  the unyielding 
  strength of stone, 
  the impenetrable 
  darkness of a million caves — brought demonically 
  to life.
  Quote:  “You think to harm the very stuﬀ  of Earth 
  itself? As well try to hurt a mountain before it 
  crushes you with an avalanche!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Temblor’s powers relate to his 
  control over earth and stone, and to the fact that 
  his body, being made of stone, is both immensely 
  strong and extremely durable. He can make the 
  earth rise up and close around his foes, cause pro-
  jections of rock to move things at his command, 
  meld himself into the earth in various ways, and 
  even reshape his body through a process similar to 
  the growth of crystals (but millions of times faster).
  In battle, Temblor usually starts the ﬁ ght by 
  applying sheer Strength, augmenting his rocky 
  muscles with his Huge or Spiky Stone Fist powers 
  if necessary (but they cost a lot of END, so he 
  won’t use them repeatedly unless he feels he has 
  no choice, or he goes Berserk). If punches won’t do 
  the trick, he’ll try some of his more exotic powers, 
  or even meld into the ground so he can come up 
  underneath or behind a foe for a surprise attack. 
  However, since he does not have Life Support, he 
  can only stay in the ground for as long as he can 
  hold his breath.
  Temblor’s biggest weakness is that many of his 
  powers require him to remain in contact with the 
  earth. If he’s lift ed oﬀ  the ground, or is in a build-
  ing above the ground ﬂ oor, they don’t work. But 
  he’s not completely helpless in such situations; he 
  retains, for example, his Strength and Stone 
  Body Shaping powers.
  Temblor’s Spiky Stone Fist power 
  requires the GM’s permission, since it 
  involves placing a naked Power Advan-
  tage in a Power Framework. If you 
  don’t allow this in your cam-
  paign, simply ignore this 
  power. 
  Temblor does 
  not have a Physical 
  Limitation representing 
  how large and heavy he 
  is because he can change 
  form back to normal at any 
  time to avoid any restrictions his super-
  human shape might impose.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory 
  text for general information. Tem-
  blor serves mostly as muscle for 
  the Crowns of Krim, though he’s 
  much more versatile than most 
  “brick” characters. Boosting his 
  power generally means giving 
  him more slots for his Earth 
  Powers Multipower, increasing 
  the number of points in the 
  reserve and slots of his Stone 
  Body Shaping Multipower, 
  and/or increasing his SPD to 
  5. If he’s too strong for your 
  campaign as-is, reduce his 
  STR to 40 and get rid of the 
  Stone Body Shaping powers.
  Temblor isn’t really focused 
  enough to Hunt a superhero; he’s in this supervil-
  lain game for the fun of destroying things, getting 
  into ﬁ ghts, hurting people, and making himself 
  rich. At most, he’s likely to single out a hero he hates 
  for special punishment during battles.
  Appearance:  Temblor’s large, heavy body appears 
  to be made entirely of grey-brown granite, shot 
  through with veins of obsidian here and there. His 
  facial features are relatively drab, without much 
  detailing, making it hard for him to display subtle 
  expressions. Atop his head rests the Stone Crown, 
  made of ﬁ nely-chiseled and shaped dark grey gran-
  ite.
  TEMBLOR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  While walking down 
  the street in his normal 
  human form, Miguel 
  Cordova is robbed and 
  injured by a mugger. 
  Th is forces a trans-
  formation into an 
  automatically-Berserk 
  Temblor, who goes on 
  a destructive rampage. 
  While the PCs try to 
  stop him, VIPER takes 
  advantage of the confu-
  sion to commit some 
  other crimes. Is it pos-
  sible VIPER knew who 
  Cordova was and delib-
  erately triggered the 
  transformation?
  Temblor gets word a 
  local museum is about 
  to display an ancient 
  ruby pendant that sup-
  posedly has “power 
  over the earth itself.” He 
  decides to steal the pen-
  dant and ﬁ nd out if its 
  reputation is deserved. 
  If so, will it augment 
  his powers, or provide 
  a weapon for heroes to 
  use against him?
  Miguel Cordova hears 
  about another bizarre 
  cave formation, this 
  one in the Yucatan, that 
  reminds him of the 
  one where he found 
  the Stone Crown. He 
  decides to check it out. 
  Will he get there ﬁ rst, 
  or will the Circle of the 
  Scarlet Moon beat him 
  to it? What happens if 
  they team up to explore 
  the cave, leading to an 
  alliance between the 
  Circle and the Crowns?
  
  65 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Membership:  Fiacho, Durak, Feuermacher, Mentalla, 
  Scorpia, Ultrasonique
  B
  ackground/History:  Eurostar ﬁ rst appeared on 
  the world stage in 1988, but its roots stretch 
  back half a decade beyond that. In 1983, an 
  ambitious and charismatic young Danish poli-
  tician named Danar Nicole, aft er years of arguing pas-
  sionately, but fruitlessly, about the need for European 
  union, quit the European Parliament in disgust. If 
  Europe would not unite for its own good, he decided, 
  he would make it unite under the rulership of the 
  one person with the right vision to lead:  himself. For 
  the next several years, Nicole trained himself in the 
  arts of destruction, and had surgeons, bioengineers, 
  and technicians remake his body so that he became a 
  living weapon — a human dagger pointed at the heart 
  of foolish Europe.
  But Nicole, now calling himself Fiacho, knew 
  that in a world ﬁ lled with the likes of the New Knights 
  and VIPER, he could not achieve his aims alone, no 
  matter how well-trained he might be. He needed 
  allies, superpowered allies who shared his vision of 
  the future — or who were at least willing to follow his 
  orders. He put the word out to his contacts through-
  out Europe, asking them to report anything unusual 
  to him.
  He got his ﬁ rst break in 1986, when a friend at 
  Interpol told him about a superhuman strongman 
  wreaking havoc in Poland. Fiacho traveled there to 
  ﬁ nd Igor Sterankov — Durak — destroying a Soviet 
  armored division the Kremlin had sent to capture or 
  kill him. Aft er helping Durak out of a tight spot by 
  slaughtering a tank crew, Fiacho suggested to him 
  that there were better, more proﬁ table, ways to use 
  his powers. Realizing the Soviet military would even-
  tually overwhelm him with sheer numbers, Durak 
  agreed. Fiacho spirited him out from behind the Iron 
  Curtain to safety, and Eurostar had its ﬁ rst recruit.
  Later that same year, the pair was intrigued 
  when a series of mysterious, sudden, violent storms 
  destroyed some villages in Italy. When they investi-
  gated, they found Bora, an Italian woman with the 
  power to control the winds. Although Bora was ini-
  tially suspicious of them, and ready to ﬁ ght, Fiacho 
  used his most persuasive manner to explain himself 
  and convince her she could better extract her longed-
  for revenge upon the world as part of a team. Now the 
  nascent Eurostar was a trio.
  In 1987, word reached Fiacho about Jean Dubois, 
  a brilliant French scientist whose work Danar Nicole 
  had once helped sponsor. Poor Dubois had been 
  maimed in an accident and become a raving para-
  noid. Sensing an asset he could exploit for his team, 
  which needed a technician, Fiacho visited the hospital 
  where Dubois was staying. At ﬁ rst he was disap-
  pointed to discover that Dubois was blind, and more 
  deeply disturbed than he’d heard, but Dubois man-
  aged to convince him not only that he was suﬃ  ciently 
  lucid to become part of Fiacho’s team, but that he 
  could use technology to compensate for his blindness. 
  Fiacho took a chance and broke him free.
  Th e four villains adjourned to Fiacho’s chalet in 
  Switzerland to discuss their plans. Over several weeks, 
  Fiacho sold them on his vision of a united Europe 
  — with Eurostar at its helm. In truth, the other 
  members were less interested in Fiacho’s political 
  aspirations than in the chance for adventure, excite-
  ment, destruction, and proﬁ t he promised, but at 
  least to some degree they agreed with him. With their 
  consent, Fiacho planned a grand statement to let the 
  world know what was in store.
  On March 7, 1988, Fiacho released to the world 
  the Eurostar Manifesto, a statement of the group’s 
  political beliefs and goals. It read, in part:  “Th e free 
  peoples of Europe, inspired solely by greed and isola-
  tionism, have consistently refused to become part of 
  a united Europe — a Europe that would be the world 
  power it deserves to be, and in the end make all of 
  them better oﬀ  than they are today. Such ignorance 
  cannot be ignored, or left  unpunished. From this day 
  forward, let the foolish peoples of Europe take note:  
  you have forfeited your freedom. If you do not unite 
  of your own free will, Eurostar will unite you by force.”
  Nor was the team’s statement an empty one. For 
  the rest of that year Europe was victimized by a Euro-
  star crime wave, the likes of which it had never seen 
  before. Th e team raided a Russian gold depository, 
  stealing billions of dollars’ worth of bullion. It attacked 
  UNTIL facilities, not only to weaken one of its chief 
  enemies but to steal valuable technology. It robbed 
  banks, looted arsenals, and committed numerous acts 
  of terrorism and mayhem designed to destabilize the 
  governments of Europe.
  During 1989, Eurostar was less visible — the 
  team was using its gains to build a secret headquar-
  ters in Europe and plan further activities. In 1990 it 
  resumed its campaign of terror, and also picked up 
  a new member:  the Whip, a former KGB operative 
  with a high-tech whip who betrayed his Russian 
  masters to join the team. In late 1992, Eurostar added 
  to its roster yet again, when Mentalla, a Spaniard 
  formerly in the service of Dr. Destroyer, became a 
  member.
  Th e team stabilized at six members for the next 
  four years. It launched an attempted invasion of 
  Poland in 1993, conducted a series of attacks on Bal-
  kans peacekeepers in 1994, and tried to overthrow the 
  governments of the Baltic states in 1995 — plots all 
  averted by superheroes by the narrowest of margins. 
  EUROSTAR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Eurostar decides to 
  try to repeat its 1993 
  assault on Poland, but 
  against an easier target 
  and hopefully with suc-
  cess this time. Using 
  another of Teleios’s 
  cloned armies, the team 
  makes a bid to take over 
  Romania.
  Eurostar sets up an 
  enormous counterfeit-
  ing eﬀ ort, planning to 
  use the fake money 
  to acquire as many 
  assets as they can, then 
  anonymously reveal the 
  deception to destabilize 
  European economies. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ nd 
  the counterfeiting ware-
  house and put a stop to 
  the plot.
  Eurostar steals eight 
  Russian nuclear weap-
  ons and threatens to 
  detonate one a month 
  in a European city of 
  its choice unless the 
  governments of Europe 
  immediately turn over 
  all power to the team. 
  Th e PCs have to track 
  Eurostar down and 
  recover the nukes before 
  Zurich is reduced to a 
  smoking crater.
  EUROSTAR
  
  66 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  In 1996, it lost two members, Bora and the Whip, 
  when their brains were blown out by VIPER snipers 
  in an ambush that started the so-called “VIPER-
  Eurostar War.” From then until 1998, the team was 
  occupied mainly with battles against VIPER, deplet-
  ing its coﬀ ers in an eﬀ ort to obtain revenge. Finally, 
  both sides dropped the matter, unwilling to waste 
  any more time and resources on what was obviously 
  a stalemate. But hostility between the two remains 
  strong to this day.
  With his team weakened by two years of conﬂ ict, 
  Fiacho began looking for new members and other 
  ways to strengthen Eurostar. He soon found the per-
  fect candidates — Scorpia and Feuermacher, mem-
  bers of another villain team called Terror, Inc. Scorpia 
  had previously contacted him about the possibility of 
  joining, but he had not been ready for new members 
  at that time. Now he let her know the situation had 
  changed. Within a few months, Scorpia and Feuerm-
  acher had killed the tyrannical leader of Terror, Inc., 
  Professor Muerte, and left  South America to return 
  home to Europe. Now the team had six members 
  again and was ready to continue its march toward 
  domination of the continent.
  Since then, Eurostar has solidiﬁ ed its reputation 
  as the most dangerous supervillain team on Earth. 
  In its quest to take over Europe, it has destroyed 
  entire city blocks, stolen billions of dollars, and killed 
  hundreds of people (including several superheroes). 
  Th ough the team normally conﬁ nes its activities to 
  Europe, it has struck at targets in the United States 
  and Asia, and will probably do so again. Th e cos-
  tumed crimeﬁ ghters of the world have learned not 
  to take Eurostar’s threats lightly. As Fiacho once said, 
  “Eurostar does not rob banks. We wreck economies.”
  Group Relations:  Th e members of Eurostar aren’t nor-
  mally joiners; they’re obsessed, anti-social loners and 
  brooders who prefer to keep to themselves. Only their 
  mutual desire to lash out at the world — whether that 
  means destruction, conquest, or both — brings them 
  together, and then only as needed. Th ey rarely social-
  ize together, maintaining more of a “business relation-
  ship” than anything else. But there’s very little bicker-
  ing among them; over the years they have learned to 
  tolerate each other’s quirks and work together without 
  much friction. Fiacho’s intense political vision and 
  leadership skills help to keep the team motivated and 
  eﬃ  cient.
  Fiacho keeps a close eye on his newest team-
  mates, Scorpia and Feuermacher. Th e latter doesn’t 
  seem particularly ambitious or intelligent, but the 
  Irishwoman is a diﬀ erent matter altogether. Fiacho 
  knows her skills, and her willingness to betray anyone 
  who seems to be an obstacle to her own plans and 
  desires. Preferring not to end up dead like Professor 
  Muerte, Fiacho watches her carefully.
  Eurostar does not maintain close relations with 
  any other villain team or villainous agency; it prefers 
  to stand alone. It is said to have ties to some Italian 
  and Russian organized crime groups, but if so, it is 
  likely simply using them until it’s ready to sweep 
  away the governments of Europe and take control. It 
  remains hostile toward VIPER.
  Eurostar has a secret base in Switzerland, well-
  hidden and protected by elaborate security measures. 
  It’s a 300-point base (including computer), similar to 
  the Urban Base on page 106 of Champions but with 
  a danger room, more laboratories, and better protec-
  tion.
  Tactics:  Years of working and ﬁ ghting together have 
  made Eurostar a well-oiled combat machine. In battle 
  the team ﬁ ghts to win, avoiding ﬂ ashy or “showoﬀ ” 
  maneuvers in favor of a lethal, practical approach. 
  When it ﬁ ghts, it goes for the jugular; it has no interest 
  in taking captives so Fiacho can gloat about his latest 
  master plan.
  Eurostar plans most of its missions elaborately, 
  and includes in its contingencies the possibilities of 
  superhero interference. Th us, the team is rarely taken 
  by surprise; in fact, superheroes who think they’re 
  ambushing Eurostar may ﬁ nd themselves on the 
  wrong end of the trap! It’s not uncommon for one 
  member of the team to remain in hiding to attack 
  anyone who interferes with a mission, or for the team 
  to bring along weaponry speciﬁ cally created to deal 
  with a particular superhero Fiacho expects to show 
  up.
  Th e members of Eurostar have all learned Espe-
  ranto, and typically use it to communicate on the 
  battleﬁ eld, since so few of their enemies understand it.
  Campaign Use:  Eurostar’s primary role in the cam-
  paign is to be the “dangerously practical” superteam. 
  Unlike VIPER, Dr. Destroyer, or the Ultimates, Euro-
  star won’t waste time and money on grandiose Silver 
  Age-style world-threatening gadgets and plots. It 
  functions more like a military squad or a terrorist cell 
  — it attacks a deﬁ ned target with precision and fore-
  thought, and if it meets opposition, it responds with 
  lethal force. Th e team’s members represent an intrigu-
  ing dilemma for heroes with Codes Versus Killing, 
  since they’re so ruthless and murderous many heroes 
  will want to try to put them down permanently.
  Eurostar is a dangerous Hunter for a hero to 
  have. Th e same precision and ruthlessness that makes 
  the team such a potent threat in general make it 
  doubly troublesome for any speciﬁ c hero it singles out 
  for “punishment.” For example, Eurostar won’t hesitate 
  to take a DNPC hostage and threaten to kill him if 
  the hero doesn’t show up — and then kill the DNPC 
  anyway aft er the hero arrives, if it feels like it.
  Eurostar has a particular hatred of Americans 
  and American heroes, regarding them, and their 
  countrymen, as boorish idiots who don’t understand 
  political realities. In any given situation, it prefers 
  to target Americans for hostage-taking or killings 
  intended to “send a message.”
  If Eurostar isn’t strong enough for your cam-
  paign, the best way to beef it up is to add members. 
  Champions Universe describes a number of European 
  villains who’d make good recruits (including der 
  Westgote, whom the group is speciﬁ cally considering 
  for membership). On the other hand, if Eurostar’s 
  numbers and power make it too much of a threat for 
  your PCs, get rid of a few members — Ultrasonique, 
  Feuermacher, and Mentalla would make good candi-
  dates for this — or decrease all the members’ power 
  levels by 10-20 Active Points.
  EUROSTAR 
  TEAM TACTICS
  Some of Eurostar’s spe-
  ciﬁ c tactics and code-
  words include:
  Fireball:  All the mem-
  bers with Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  or Explosion attacks use 
  them on the designated 
  area.
  Pigeon:  Durak tosses 
  the designated target in 
  the air, and everyone (or 
  speciﬁ c team members) 
  attack him while he’s in 
  mid-air.
  Pincushion:  Fiacho and 
  Scorpia both target the 
  same victim with their 
  weapons, using Team-
  work to obtain bonuses. 
  An alternate version is 
  Stinger — Fiacho uses 
  his Hold maneuver to 
  disable a foe, allowing 
  Scorpia to come in and 
  use her Sting or Martial 
  Arts to attack the target.
  Ring Of Fire:  Feuerm-
  acher traps an enemy 
  with his Wall Of Flame 
  or Fiery Prison powers, 
  and then the other 
  members target the hap-
  less hero with physical 
  attacks.
  Visiting Hour:  Every 
  team member should 
  grab a hostage (if pos-
  sible) and prepare to 
  escape.
  
  67 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  FIACHO
   Val Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   16 BODY 12 
  12-
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   10 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  22 PD (14 rPD)
   9 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  21 ED (14 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   14 REC 
  8
   46 END 
  0
   45 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  175
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  11”/22”
   
  Leaping: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  25 
  Micro-Flechette Launcher:  RKA 1d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½), Autofire (3 shots; 
  +¼), Penetrating (+½), 32 Charges (+¼); 
  OIF (-½) 
  [32]
  42 
  Corrosive Gas Pellets:  RKA 2d6, NND 
  (the defense is a PD Force Field/Force 
  Wall; +1), Does BODY (+1), Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½); OAF (-1), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  48 
  Sonic Disorientator:  Drain DEX 3d6 
  (standard eﬀ ect:  9 points), Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), Personal 
  Immunity (+¼), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½); OIF (armband; -½), Maximum 
  Eﬀ ect (-10 DEX at any one time; -½) 
  0
  41 
  Knockout Smoke Generator:  Darkness to 
  Sight Group 3” radius; OIF (armband; -½), 
  No Range (-½), 4 Charges lasting 1 Turn 
  each (-½), plus Drain STUN 2d6, Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect (3” Radius; +1), Continuous (+1), 
  Personal Immunity (+¼); OIF (armband; 
  -½), 4 Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-½), 
  Linked (-¼) 
  [4]
   
  Martial Arts: General Combat Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  4d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Deadly Strike 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6+1 
  (2½d6 with 
  STR) 
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 55 STR
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  60 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Eye Gouge 
  -1 
  -1 
  Sight Group 
  Flash 8d6
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 55 STR
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  13d6 Strike
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  4d6 NND (3)
  3 
  Th row 
  +0 
  +1 
  9d6 + v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  11d6 Strike
  4 
  Vital Point Strike -1 
  +1 
  4d6 NND (1)
  16 
  +4 Damage Classes (already added in)
  25 
  Fighting Skill:  Find Weakness 12- with 
  Martial Arts
  2 
  Dermal Implants:  Damage Resistance 
  (2 PD/2 ED) 
  0
  18 
  Armored Uniform:  Armor (9 PD/9 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Fast Runner:  Running +5” (11” total) 
  1
  5 
  Strong Legs:  Leaping +5” (10” forward, 5” 
  upward) 
  1
  6 
  Wrist Communicator:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight 
  And Hearing Groups As Well As Radio 
  Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Base:  contribution to team’s base
  40 
  Contacts:  various throughout Europe and 
  the Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World
  6 
  Deep Covers (3)
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
  9 
  Reputation:  world-threatening super-terror-
  ist (on Earth; 14-) +3/+3d6
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  15 
  Combat Sense 14-
   
  Skills
  30 
  +3 Overall
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  3 
  Acting 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Bribery 14-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 14-
  3 
  Combat Driving 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Conversation 14-
  3 
  Deduction 14-
  3 
  Demolitions 14-
  3 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  2 
  KS: Dr. Destroyer 11-
  4 
  KS: European History 15-
  5 
  KS: European Politics 16-
  3 
  KS: Fine Restaurants Of Europe 14-
  3 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 14-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 14-
  2 
  KS: VIPER 11-
  3 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  Mimicry 14-
  3 
  Oratory 14-
  3 
  Paramedics 14-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  3 
  PS: Politician 14-
  3 
  PS: Terrorist 14-
  3 
  Security Systems 14-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  3 
  Systems Operation 14-
  3 
  Tactics 14-
  
  68 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  3 
  Linguist
  1 
  1)  English (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  Danish is native)
  1 
  2)  Esperanto (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  3)  French (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  4)  German (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  5)  Greek (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  6)  Italian (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  7)  Russian (ﬂ uent conversation)
  1 
  8)  Spanish (ﬂ uent conversation)
  3 
  Traveler
  4 
  1)  AK: Europe 16-
  1 
  2)  CK: Berlin 11-
  1 
  3)  CK: Brussels 11-
  1 
  4)  CK: Copenhagen 11-
  1 
  5)  CK: Geneva 11-
  1 
  6)  CK: London 11-
  1 
  7)  CK: Madrid 11-
  1 
  8)  CK: Moscow 11-
  1 
  9)  CK: Munich 11-
  1 
  10)  CK: New York City 11-
  1 
  11)  CK: Paris 11-
  1 
  12)  CK: Rome 11-
  1 
  13)  CK: Vienna 11-
  1 
  14)  CK: Washington, D.C. 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  567
  Total Cost:  742
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  altered, ugly human 
  (Concealable With Diﬃ  culty, Always 
  Noticed)
  20 
  Enraged:  by insults, sarcasm, or not being 
  taken seriously (Common), go 11-, recover 
  11-
  25 
  Hunted:  New Knights Of Th e Round 
  Table 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined To 
  Conquer And Rule Europe (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Extremely Venge-
  ful (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Be In Com-
  mand (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Reputation:  world-threatening super-
  terrorist, 14- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Danar 
  Nicole) (Frequently, Major)
  372 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  742
  Background/History:  <“Danar, you can’t be seri-
  ous!”>
  <“I am very serious. You might even say, deadly 
  serious.”>
  <“But... but, your career! You’ve spent years becom-
  ing one of the best-known politicians in Europe! 
  You’re one of the leaders of the European Parlia-
  ment. Th ere’s no stronger, more eloquent voice for 
  the cause of European unity than yours!”>
  <“And has it worked? Have the fools stopped 
  squabbling, stopped dredging up centuries’ worth 
  of supposed wrongs, started working together to 
  build a better future? Have they done anything to 
  put Europe in the position of world pre-eminence 
  that it deserves? No! Th ey have done nothing! All 
  my words have been meaningless, and my career 
  has been wasted.”>
  <“You can’t mean that.”>
  <“I have never been more serious in my life. Aft er 
  years of blinding myself to reality, I can 
  ﬁ nally see clearly. Th e peoples of Europe 
  will only come together for their 
  common good if someone makes them. 
  And I intend to do just that.”>
  With those words, Danar 
  Nicole stalked out of the 
  European Parliament 
  building, never to return. 
  Years of tireless work 
  for his beloved cause 
  of European unity had 
  led to nothing but fail-
  ure. Frustrated, angry, 
  and incredibly bitter, 
  Nicole decided that 
  where persuasion had 
  failed, force would do 
  the trick.
  He spent the next 
  several years trans-
  forming himself into a 
  living agent of destruction. 
  He studied with terrorists 
  and martial arts masters, 
  learning how to fight, kill, 
  and cause mayhem and 
  paranoia throughout 
  society. He hired the 
  best underworld 
  surgeons and techni-
  cians, and had him-
  self transformed. Bul-
  letproof plastics were 
  inserted under his 
  skin, muscle grafts 
  were sewn onto 
  existing muscles, 
  and special weapons 
  were designed specifically for him. When the 
  treatments were done, he went back to his train-
  ing facilities to learn how to use his new body.
  And when he was done, Danar Nicole was 
  no more. In his place stood Fiacho.
  Personality/Motivation:  Fiacho’s name — an Espe-
  ranto word meaning “very bad” — encapsulates 
  his background and personality perfectly. It’s a 
  word from a created language intended to unify 
  mankind, twisted to other purposes — just like 
  Nicole, once an ardent pan-European patriot, has 
  become twisted by rage into a vicious conqueror. 
  And the meaning of the word is important, too; 
  it reflects Fiacho’s attitude about both himself 
  and the people of the world. The fanaticism he 
  FIACHO 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Fiacho decides a plague 
  would make the con-
  quest of Europe easier, 
  so he begins stealing the 
  necessary equipment 
  and supplies to manu-
  facture bio-weapons. 
  Th e PCs have to inves-
  tigate, determine what’s 
  going on, and track 
  Fiacho down and stop 
  him. But what if VIPER 
  decides to get revenge 
  on Eurostar by stealing 
  Fiacho’s technology?
  Danar Nicole’s former 
  ﬁ ancee, Danish politi-
  cian Dagny Lindstrom, 
  is about to marry a 
  prominent industrialist 
  in an elaborate cer-
  emony. Fiacho decides 
  to crash the party, but 
  fortunately Lindstrom 
  knows the PCs and has 
  invited them to attend 
  her wedding.
  Aft er the PCs stop one 
  of Eurostar’s plots, 
  Fiacho decides to teach 
  them a lesson by sneak-
  ing into their base and 
  reprogramming the 
  security systems to trap 
  and attack the heroes. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ ght 
  through their own 
  security to catch Fiacho 
  before he can escape to 
  launch another deadly 
  scheme.
  
  69 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  once focused on unifying Europe through poli-
  tics has been transformed into an obsession with 
  conquering Europe and forcing it to unify under 
  his rule — an obsession so strong it literally 
  drove him to “improve” himself through radical 
  surgery and bio-engineering.
  Where once he was gentle and peaceful, 
  Fiacho is now cruel, brutal, and ruthless. He has 
  murdered dozens of people with his own hands, 
  and would think nothing of killing dozens 
  more — or even detonating a nuclear device in 
  an urban area, if he believed doing so would 
  advance his purposes. Normally cold and calcu-
  lating, he’s sometimes prone to outbursts of rage 
  (particularly when insulted or mocked), and has 
  a strong vengeful streak, as many of his former 
  European Parliament adversaries have learned to 
  their sorrow.
  Quote:  “The destiny of the European millions is 
  at stake here — and I intend to see that they ful-
  fill it, whether they like it or not.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Thanks to the extensive surgical 
  and bio-engineering processes he underwent, 
  and years of training and combat experience, 
  Fiacho is a deadly combatant with abilities far in 
  excess of even an elite forces soldier. With eight 
  times the strength of a normal man, he can use 
  his martial arts skills to hit with lethal force, and 
  pick just the right weak spot for a devastating 
  blow. Dermal armoring implanted under his skin 
  distorts his appearance, but provides needed 
  protection; he supplements it with an armored 
  costume.
  When his martial arts abilities aren’t 
  enough, Fiacho has several weapons he can 
  employ. His Micro-Flechette launcher fires tiny 
  explosive flechettes capable of penetrating heavy 
  body armor, and he also carries pellets of cor-
  rosive gas that not only make good weapons, but 
  are useful for eating through doors and walls to 
  create an alternate escape route. When fighting 
  in hand-to-hand combat, he activates his Sonic 
  Disorientator, which plays hob with an oppo-
  nent’s balance and agility. If necessary he can 
  generate a cloud of smoke laced with anaesthetic 
  gas to weaken his opponent further (he uses his 
  Combat Sense to ignore the smoke, and the gas is 
  tailored to have no effect on him).
  In addition to his combat abilities, Fiacho is 
  a skilled tactician, a knowledgeable and persua-
  sive politician, and a student of many subjects. 
  Even if he can’t fight physically, his brilliant, 
  twisted mind will be working hard to find other 
  ways to hurt his enemies.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for gen-
  eral information. Fiacho is a fanatic, and should 
  be played as such. You should present him as 
  obsessed, over the top, utterly irrational when 
  it comes to achieving his goals. The danger he 
  poses should never leave the PCs’ minds; one slip 
  on their parts, and Fiacho will escape, probably 
  leaving dozens or thousands of corpses in his 
  wake.
  Fiacho is a dangerous Hunter. His vengeful-
  ness makes it difficult for him to Hunt anyone on 
  less than an 11-, and he approaches Hunting the 
  same way he approaches his other missions — 
  from the perspective of a fanatic terrorist. He’d 
  think nothing of blowing up an entire build-
  ing to affect one superhero, of killing the hero’s 
  DNPCs to send a message, or holding thousands 
  of people hostage to force his quarry to walk 
  into a trap. He won’t bother trying to capture his 
  adversary; he’ll go for the kill every time.
  If Fiacho is a little too powerful for your 
  game, get rid of some of his Martial Maneuvers, 
  his Find Weakness, one or two of his weapons, 
  and perhaps his Combat Luck. If you need to 
  make him stronger, increase his STR to 35 or 40, 
  his SPD to 6 or 7, and/or give him more weap-
  ons.
  Appearance:  Once a handsome man about six 
  feet tall, Fiacho has obviously undergone surgi-
  cal alteration and augmentation. The dermal 
  implants which protect him from attacks have 
  altered his features and added both bulk and a 
  little height. In some places on his body, cyber-
  netic implants, muscle grafts, or the like are vis-
  ible. His costume consists of dark-colored pants 
  and a red and grey high-collared tunic, both 
  made of high-tech cloth to offer further protec-
  tion against injury.
  DURAK
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   70 STR 
  60 
  23- 
  Lift  400 tons; 14d6 [7]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   40 CON 
  60 
  17-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   30 PD 
  16 
   
  Total:  30 PD (30 rPD)
   30 ED 
  22 
   
  Total:  30 ED (30 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   22 REC 
  0
   80 END 
  0
   75 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  251
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Leaping: 
  24”/96”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  17 
  Super-Strong Muscles:  Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) on 70 STR (3 END) 
  0
  14 
  Super-Tough Skin:  Hardened (+¼) for 
  30 PD/30 ED 
  0
  37 
  Super-Tough Skin:  Damage Resistance 
  (30 PD/30 ED), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  3 
  Mask Lenses:  Sight Group Flash Defense 
  (5 points); OIF (-½) 
  0
  14 
  Bracing:  Knockback Resistance -7” 
  0
  5 
  Super-Tough Skin:  Lack Of Weakness (-5) 
  for Normal Defenses 
  0
  15 
  Super-Strong Legs:  Leaping +10” (24” 
  forward, 12” upward), x4 Noncombat 
  1
  6 
  Wrist Radio:  Radio Perception/
  
  70 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Base:  contribution to team’s base
  6 
  Contacts:  Russian organized crime 11-
   
  Skills
  20 
  +4 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Climbing 14-
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  1 
  KS: European Politics 8-
  2 
  KS: Russian Organized Crime 11-
  1 
  Language:  English (basic conversation; 
  Russian is native)
  1 
  Language:  Esperanto (basic conversation)
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  161
  Total Cost:  412
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  smashed, scarred face 
  (Concealable With Diﬃ  culty; Noticed And 
  Recognizable)
  25 
  Enraged:  in combat (Very Common), go 11-, 
  recover 11-
  15 
  Enraged:  when ﬁ ghting Russians (Uncom-
  mon), go 11-, recover 11-
  25 
  Hunted:  New Knights Of Th e Round Table 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To 
  Fight  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  
  Hates Russia And Russians 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  
  Contempt For Normal 
  Humans (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  “the ﬁ st of 
  Fiacho,” 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  
  Public Identity (Igor 
  Sterankov) (Fre-
  quently, Major)
  32 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  
  412
  Background/History:  Igor Ster-
  ankov was just a punk kid growing up in 
  Moscow during the ﬁ nal decline of the 
  Soviet Union. Uninterested in school, he 
  quickly drift ed in with Russian orga-
  nized crime gangs. Big, tough, and 
  strong, he was a perfect enforcer 
  and legbreaker for his bosses, and 
  he enjoyed his work.
  Th en he made the mistake of 
  getting into a ﬁ ght with a Russian 
  Army oﬃ  cer in a bar. Th e oﬃ  cer 
  called for backup, and pretty soon Sterankov was 
  at the center of a melee involving a dozen trained 
  Russian soldiers. Th ey held him down and beat him 
  unmercifully, their punches shattering his jaw and 
  ruining his face forever. Th en they turned him over 
  to the KGB to serve as a test subject in ongoing 
  superhuman-soldier experiments.
  Th e treatments, involving chemical injections, 
  sensory deprivation chambers, neuro-electrical 
  stimulation, and other such pleasantries, worked 
  only too well. Th ey enraged Sterankov, somehow 
  allowing him to tap reserves of power and strength 
  he didn’t know he had. He smashed his way out of 
  the cell they put him in, out of Lubyanka Prison, 
  and out of Russia and into Poland, destroying 
  buildings, tanks, and anything else he could get his 
  hands on along the way. Th at’s where Fiacho found 
  him, rescued him from the Russian Army, and 
  made him the ﬁ rst recruit for Eurostar.
  Durak has served Eurostar loyally, since being 
  a part of the team has given him plenty of oppor-
  tunities to engage in the ﬁ ghting and wholesale 
  destruction he loves. Th e media oft en refers to him 
  as “the ﬁ st of Fiacho,” since Eurostar’s evil leader 
  has but to point or give an order, and Durak leaps 
  into devastating action.
  Personality/Motivation:  Durak is nothing but a 
  thug who got lucky. He loves to ﬁ ght, break things, 
  hurt people, and throw his considerable weight 
  around. His superpowers have just made 
  him all the more contemptuous of ordi-
  DURAK 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Durak hears a news 
  report claiming a PC 
  “brick” is stronger and 
  tougher than he is. He 
  sets out to prove the 
  news report wrong.
  Durak expresses his 
  general contempt for a 
  captured VIPER agent 
  by crushing him. Unfor-
  tunately, the agent had 
  information Fiacho 
  wanted. Not wanting 
  to make Fiacho angry, 
  Durak decides to trick 
  the PCs into attacking 
  VIPER so he can either 
  (a) get the information 
  from them, or (b) sneak 
  into the VIPER Nest 
  aft er them and retrieve 
  it himself.
  Durak decides to wreak 
  a little havoc in Moscow 
  just when the PCs are 
  there for a cultural 
  exchange, goodwill tour, 
  or vacation. Th e ﬁ ght 
  attracts the attention 
  of Russian villains, and 
  eventually Eurostar, 
  leading to a massive 
  melee.
  
  71 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  nary people; if you’re not superhuman, you’re just a 
  gnat to be swatted, as far as he’s concerned.
  Quote:  “Breaking your back will be good warm-up.”
  Powers/Tactics:  One of the strongest superhumans 
  in the world, Durak is a powerful hand-to-hand 
  combatant who delivers punches that can penetrate 
  tank armor and shrugs oﬀ  soldiers’ gunﬁ re as if 
  they were kids with peashooters. He has little grasp 
  of tactics (though he does know how to team up 
  with other Eurostar members to maximize their 
  eﬀ ectiveness); he prefers to just leap into the middle 
  of battle and begin swinging his ﬁ sts. He’s surpris-
  ingly fast and agile for someone of his size, which 
  sometimes takes his opponents by surprise. Given 
  a decent chance of success, he’ll plant his feet and 
  prepare to unleash a Haymaker on his opponent.
  Durak’s biggest weakness is his low EGO; he’s 
  an easy target for heroic mentalists or mystic supers 
  with mind-controlling spells. If this becomes too 
  much of a problem, Fiacho will design a Psychic 
  Shield for his mask (i.e., Durak will buy some 
  Mental Defense on a Focus).
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Durak is really nothing more (or 
  less) than major muscle for Eurostar; he has all the 
  depth of a wading pool.
  If Durak is too strong and powerful for your 
  game, reduce his STR to 60, get rid of his Super-
  Strong Muscles power, and reduce his defenses to 
  25. If he’s not tough enough to go toe-to-toe with 
  PC bricks and have at least an even chance of beat-
  ing them, increase his STR and defenses until he’s 
  on par.
  Durak’s unlikely to Hunt a hero, unless Fiacho 
  orders him to. In that case, he’ll simply track the 
  hero down, ambush him with a Move Th rough leap, 
  and then begin punching until the target is dead or 
  disabled.
  Appearance:  Nearly seven feet tall and weighing 
  over 300 pounds, Durak is an enormous mass 
  of super-strong muscle. His costume is a grey 
  bodysuit with red highlights (including a D on 
  his left  breast) and a half-face mask (with protec-
  tive lenses to shield his eyes from bright lights). 
  His lower left  face is permanently mis-shapen and 
  scarred due to the beating he received from the 
  KGB agent.
  FEUERMACHER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   21 DEX 
  33 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   6 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  22 PD (16 rPD)
   10 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  34 ED (24 rED)
   5 SPD 
  19 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   50 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  7 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  122
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  56 
  Fiery Form:  HKA 2d6, Continuous (+1), 
  Damage Shield (does damage in HTH 
  combat; +¾), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½); Always 
  On (-½), No STR Bonus (-½) 
  0
  62 
  Fiery Attacks:  Multipower, 62-point reserve
  6u 
  1)  Fiery Blast:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  6u 
  2)  Melting Blast:  RKA 3d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  6u 
  3)  Fireball:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Explosion (+½) 
  6
  6u 
  4)  Fiery Forms:  RKA 2d6, Indirect 
  (always originates from Feuermacher, 
  but can strike target from any angle; +½), 
  +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  30 
  Fiery Powers:  Elemental Control, 60-point 
  powers
  30 
  1)  Fiery Flight:  Flight 20”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  30 
  2)  Fiery Protection:  Force Field (16 PD/
  24 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0
  40 
  3)  Fiery Prison:  RKA 2d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Targets Only Take 
  Damage If Th ey Touch Cage Or Move Into/
  Out Of Th e Aﬀ ected Hex (-½) 
  0
  43 
  4)  Fiery Wall:  Force Wall (0 PD/10 ED), 
  Transparent (physical; +½), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) plus RKA 1d6, 
  Continuous (+1), Damage Shield (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); No 
  Knockback (-¼), Linked (-½) 
  4
  4 
  Fiery Form:  Life Support (Safe 
  Environments:  Intense Cold, Intense Heat) 0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Base:  contribution to team’s base
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Fiery Attacks Multipower
  FEUERMACHER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Feuermacher discov-
  ers that the mysterious 
  employer who sent 
  him on the X-53 job 
  years ago was actually 
  ARGENT. Now he’s 
  ready to get revenge 
  — and he doesn’t care 
  how many innocents 
  he has to hurt in the 
  process.
  Th e PCs receive word 
  that Feuermacher has 
  just attacked a bank 
  downtown and is in the 
  process of robbing it. 
  Not only is this a good 
  chance to capture him 
  when his teammates 
  aren’t around to help 
  him, but it must mean 
  Eurostar’s in the city 
  somewhere planning 
  something....
  Feuermacher kidnaps 
  a DNPC or prominent 
  NPC who’s a scientist, 
  because he thinks 
  (based on the character’s 
  latest work) that the sci-
  entist can develop a cure 
  for his ﬁ ery condition.
  Strength Upon Strength
  ‘I may be the strongest man in Britain, but not 
  in Europe — Durak’s got me there. The ﬁ rst 
  time we fought, he nearly broke my arm. And 
  he’s fast, too. Since then I’ve learned how 
  to cope with him, but it takes cleverness as 
  much as strength.’
  — Bastion of the New Knights of the Round Table
  
  72 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  2 
  AK: Africa 11-
  2 
  AK: Europe 11-
  2 
  AK: South America 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 11- 
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  German is native)
  1 
  Language:  Esperanto (basic conversation)
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  4 
  Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical) 13-
  3 
  Tactics 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  3   
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  370
  Total Cost:  492
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  New Knights Of Th e Round Table 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Physical Limitation:  Sight PER Roll 10-, All 
  Other PER Rolls 8- (All Th e Time, Greatly 
  Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  
  Spendthrift  (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Lim-
  itation:  Contempt 
  For Normal 
  Humans 
  (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  
  destructive 
  terroristic 
  supervil-
  lain, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social 
  Limita-
  tion:  Public 
  Identity 
  (Hans Zeldte) 
  (Frequently, 
  Major)
  10 
  Vulner-
  ability:  2 x 
  STUN from Water 
  attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  152 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  492
  Background/History:  Hanz Zeldte was once 
  a mercenary with a well-deserved reputation 
  for taking on any job, no matter how reprehensible 
  or dangerous, if the pay was good. A mysterious 
  employer oﬀ ered him a small fortune to obtain 
  samples of an experimental fuel called “X-53” from 
  a French research corporation. Zeldte didn’t know 
  what X-53 was, but for that much money, he didn’t 
  care. He took the job.
  Th e mission went perfectly at ﬁ rst. He and his 
  team penetrated the company’s security, got inside, 
  and found the lab without any problem. But it took 
  so long to ﬁ nd the X-53 that the guards spotted 
  them. Grabbing the container of X-53, Zeldte ran 
  for it. A stray bullet from one of the guards’ pistols 
  shattered the container, dousing Zeldte with the 
  fuel. To his horror, he burst into ﬂ ame! He fell to 
  the ground screaming, rolling in the dirt to try to 
  put the ﬂ ames out... only to discover, a few seconds 
  later, that he was on ﬁ re, but not feeling any pain at 
  all. Th en he passed out from shock.
  He awoke in a special hospital, one maintained 
  by L’Institut Th oth to help people with unusual 
  superhuman conditions. He was in a bed — a bed 
  with asbestos sheets, because his body was still on 
  ﬁ re! In fact, according to the doctors, he was going 
  to remain on ﬁ re permanently. Somehow the X-53 
  had interacted with his cellular structure to cause 
  an instantaneous, irreversible mutation.
  As Zeldte tried to come to terms with his new 
  body, he was contacted by the evil mastermind Pro-
  fessor Muerte. Muerte thought Zeldte would be a 
  perfect addition to his Terror, Inc. villain team — 
  and the pay was excellent. Zeldte had had enough 
  of the hospital anyway, so he took the Professor 
  up on his oﬀ er. Christening himself Feuermacher 
  (Firemaker), he became a part of the Superhuman 
  World.
  Over the next several years, Feuermacher 
  fought against the likes of the Sentinels, the Justice 
  Squadron, and plenty of other heroes — usually 
  on the losing end. He became more and 
  more disgusted with Professor Muerte’s 
  “leadership”; the man was danger-
  ously insane. It was time to ﬁ nd a 
  better job, with a better class of 
  people. It was about then that his 
  teammate Scorpia approached 
  him about the possibility of 
  getting rid of Muerte and join-
  ing Eurostar — a villain team 
  with a much better reputa-
  tion in Feuermacher’s eyes. 
  He jumped at the chance. A few 
  weeks later he dropped Muerte’s 
  body, encased in the ruins of pow-
  ered armor he’d melted into a 
  solid cocoon of slag, into the 
  deeps of the Paciﬁ c. Th en he 
  and Scorpia set out for Switzer-
  land, and he’s been doing great ever 
  since.
  Personality/Motivation:  Feuer-
  macher carries a lot of rage 
  and bitterness around with 
  him over his condition 
  — which keeps him from 
  interacting with ordinary 
  people in any mean-
  ingful way, and oft en 
  makes day-to-day life 
  diﬃ  cult — but he masks it 
  through a combination of 
  professionalism and wise-
  cracking. Only in battle 
  does he really give vent 
  
  73 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  to his anger, and even then he tends to joke around 
  a lot (though his opponents rarely ﬁ nd his jokes 
  amusing). He shares Durak’s contempt for ordinary 
  people (another defense mechanism). If given the 
  chance to reverse his condition, even if it meant 
  risking his life, he’d take it.
  Since he knows he’s cut oﬀ  from many types 
  of entertainment, Feuermacher is willing to spend 
  prodigious amounts of money on those types he 
  can enjoy (like buying recorded music or movies 
  by mail order). Despite making so much money as 
  part of Eurostar, he’s perpetually strapped for cash, 
  and sometimes pulls “side jobs” on his own to keep 
  his pockets lined.
  Feuermacher has a little bit of a crush on Scor-
  pia. He knows nothing can ever come of it, but he 
  still looks out for her a little more in combat and 
  would protect her before any of the others if he had 
  to make a choice.
  Quote:  “Th ings getting a little hot for you, hero?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Although not as powerful or versa-
  tile as the likes of Firewing, Feuermacher possesses 
  a useful suite of ﬁ re-based superpowers. He can ﬂ y, 
  generate various types of ﬁ re-bolts, surround his 
  foes with walls or cages made of pure ﬁ re, and melt 
  or deﬂ ect incoming attacks with the ﬁ ery mantle 
  that surrounds his body. Perhaps his most unusual 
  ability, the one from which he takes his name, is 
  Fiery Forms — the ability to sculpt ﬂ ame into semi-
  solid objects before using it to attack. For example, 
  he might create a ﬁ re-hawk that swoops around to 
  hit an opponent in the back, or a ﬁ re-disk he can 
  arc over an enemy’s Force Wall.
  Feuermacher’s body is on ﬁ re permanently, 
  making it dangerous for other characters to touch 
  him (or let him touch them). His ﬂ ames only 
  go out if there’s no oxygen to support them, and 
  they return as soon as they have access to oxygen. 
  Eurostar’s headquarters and equipment include 
  ﬁ reproofed sections able to withstand his ﬂ ames so 
  he can try to live a quasi-normal existence. Unfor-
  tunately, the ﬂ ames interfere with his ability to 
  perceive things, and make it impossible for him to 
  wear a wrist radio like his teammates do.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. If Feuermacher is too powerful for 
  your game, get rid of his Melting Blast and Fireball 
  Multipower slots, and then move Fiery Prison and 
  Fiery Wall into the Multipower (increasing the 
  reserve as needed to accomodate them). If you 
  need him to be more powerful, give him some 
  additional Multipower slots, and increase the 
  strength of his Force Field.
  As a Hunter, Feuermacher is smart and aggres-
  sive. His ﬁ ery body makes it impossible for him 
  to use subtle tactics against his target, but he can 
  shadow him from a distance, learn as much as pos-
  sible, and then plan an ambush.
  Appearance:  Feuermacher looks like a tall, athletic 
  man sheathed in ﬂ ame from head to foot. Some-
  times he shapes the ﬂ ames into boots, gauntlets, 
  and a sort of mask at the appropriate places, just to 
  give himself a little more visual deﬁ nition.
  MENTALLA
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   11 BODY 2 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   25 EGO 
  30 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   8 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  24 PD (16 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  26 ED (16 rED)
   6 SPD 
  30 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  8
   60 END 
  10
   30 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  169
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  16”/32”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  87 
  Mental Powers:  Multipower, 87-point reserve
  9u 
  1)  Mindblast:  Ego Attack 7d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  9u 
  2)  Mindscapes:  Mental Illusions 14d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  9u 
  3)  Mindbar:  Mind Control 14d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  9u 
  4)  Mindspeech:  Telepathy 14d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  8u 
  5)  Mindwipe:  Drain EGO 3d6, Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 
  per Hour; +1), Range (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  87 
  Mindﬁ nding:  Mind Scan 14d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  20 
  Psychokinetic Abilities:  Elemental Control, 
  40-point powers
  20 
  1)  Psychokinetic Shield:  Force Field 
  (16 PD/16 ED), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) 
  1
  20 
  2)  Psychokinetic Flight:  Flight 16”, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  1
  13 
  3)  Psychokinetic Defense:  Missile 
  Deﬂ ection (all Ranged attacks), Range 
  (+1); Costs END (-½) 
  4
  10 
  Mindshield:  Mental Defense 
  (15 points total) 
  0
  5 
  Mindshield:  Power Defense (5 points) 
  0
  6 
  Wrist Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Base:  contribution to team’s base
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Mental Powers Multipower
  6 
  +2 with Psychokinetic Powers Elemental 
  Control
  MENTALLA 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Mentalla learns Dr. 
  Destroyer is about to 
  begin another one of his 
  schemes to conquer the 
  world. Rather than put 
  herself in danger, she 
  tips oﬀ  the PCs, subtly 
  guiding and helping 
  them to oppose him. 
  What will the PCs do 
  when they learn who’s 
  been assisting them?
  Menton and Men-
  talla decide to play a 
  “wargame,” using the 
  people of Millennium 
  City to battle each other 
  in a vast sort of chess 
  game. Can the PCs 
  ﬁ gure out what’s behind 
  all the weird behavior, 
  and if so how can they 
  stop it? What happens 
  if the twins decide to 
  make the PCs — or their 
  loved ones — part of the 
  game?
  Mentalla discovers, to 
  her shock, that she’s 
  pregnant! She has vague 
  — oddly vague — rec-
  ollections of spending 
  time with a male PC. 
  What’s going on, and 
  what will she do to get 
  to the bottom of the 
  mystery?
  
  74 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  2 
  KS: Dr. Destroyer 11-
  2 
  KS: European History 11-
  2 
  KS: Philosophy 11-
  2 
  KS: Spanish History 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  Spanish is native)
  1 
  Language:  Esperanto (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Italian (basic conversation)
  3 
  Power:  Mentalism 14-
  3 
  Power:  Psychokinesis 14-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  369
  Total Cost:  538
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Enraged:  when someone resists her 
  Mind Control (Uncommon), go 11-, 
  recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  New Knights Of Th e 
  Round Table 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Dis-
  dainful Of Normals; Consid-
  ers Other Peoples’ Minds Her 
  Playthings (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of 
  Dr. Destroyer (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  dangerous mentalist super-
  villain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Isa-
  bella Medina) (Frequently, Major)
  228 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  538
  Background/History:  A daughter of the Medi-
  nas of Spain, and twin sister to the world-infa-
  mous Menton, Isabella Medina comes from 
  a rather distinguished lineage (see page 29 for 
  details). When she was young, her parents turned 
  her and her brother over to Dr. Destroyer to 
  become experimental subjects in his psionics 
  program. Destroyer unlocked the twins’ psionic 
  potential, making Menton extremely powerful and 
  Isabella, code-named “Mentalla,” less so — but still 
  quite powerful in her own right.
  Mentalla served Dr. Destroyer as a spy and 
  assassin for many years. Aft er his “death” in 1992, 
  when Menton left  his service, Destroyer was 
  unable to take vengeance upon Menton for fear 
  of exposing the fact that he still lived to the world 
  — but he could punish Mentalla in Menton’s 
  stead. Aft er Mentalla recovered from the vicious 
  beating Destroyer administered, she made up her 
  mind to leave as well — if that’s how Destroyer 
  repaid years of faithful service, she wanted no fur-
  ther part of him. But she needed somewhere to go, 
  and someone to help protect her from Destroyer’s 
  other servants; unlike Menton, she lacked the raw 
  power to do that on her own.
  Th at’s when she thought of Eurostar. 
  Destroyer had once assigned her to investigate the 
  group and assess its danger to his overall plans, 
  and Mentalla had been struck by how much she 
  had in common with Fiacho. Like him, she was 
  intrigued by political philosophy and social theo-
  ries, and to some extent she sympathized with his 
  desire to lead Europe. When the right opportunity 
  arose, she abandoned Destroyer and sought out 
  Eurostar to apply for membership.
  At ﬁ rst the group was highly 
  suspicious of her, especially given 
  the nature of her powers. But 
  she never did anything to jus-
  tify their worries, and it quickly 
  became apparent just how 
  useful her psionic abilities were 
  to the group. By 1995, she’d been 
  removed from provisional status and 
  made a full-ﬂ edged member, and she 
  remains so to this day.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th e ﬁ rst 
  impression Mentalla gives is a good 
  one — she seems smart, reason-
  ably friendly, and self-conﬁ dent. 
  Get to know her a little better, 
  though, and her true personal-
  ity emerges. Self-assured to the 
  point of arrogance, and com-
  pletely disdainful of those around 
  her, she thinks nothing of manipulating 
  the minds of others as she sees ﬁ t. To 
  her, they’re just toys to keep her amused... 
  until she decides to break them. Th e only 
  person she truly seems to love and respect 
  is Menton, though she does enjoy having 
  political discussions with Fiacho.
  Mentalla retains a bitter hatred of 
  Dr. Destroyer because of his “betrayal” 
  of her, and sometimes goes out of her 
  way to interfere with his operations. Th is 
  sometimes puts Eurostar at peril, but the 
  group always manages to survive some-
  how — and if necessary it can always ask 
  Mentalla’s brother for some help.
  Quote:  “Don’t mind if I do.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Mentalla possesses power-
  ful psionic and psychokinetic abilities — not 
  nearly as powerful as her brother Menton, but 
  more powerful than most other mentalists. She is 
  particularly good at taking a person’s willpower 
  and reducing it to next to nothing; the victim 
  won’t recover for hours. While in this “mind-
  wiped” state, a victim is even more easily manipu-
  lated by her other mental powers, making it quite 
  easy for Eurostar to interrogate captives or plant 
  mental commands in peoples’ minds.
  Mentalla usually hangs back in battle, since 
  she has relatively low defenses for the group and 
  is also relatively slow. If possible she’ll ﬁ nd cover 
  far from the center of the ﬁ ght and use her Mental 
  Powers via Line Of Sight. She can also deﬂ ect 
  attacks away from her comrades, a valuable ability 
  
  75 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  in many combats.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Mentalla more powerful, add 
  some Multipower and/or Elemental Control slots 
  that allow her to aﬀ ect physical objects in addi-
  tion to minds — a Telekinesis slot, deﬁ nitely, and 
  perhaps an RKA deﬁ ned as ripping things apart or 
  piercing them with psychokinetic darts. You should 
  also consider giving her some extra SPD just for the 
  use of her mental powers, like her brother Menton 
  has (see page 28). To make her less powerful, 
  reduce her Multipower to a 75 Active Point reserve 
  (or even 60, if appropriate).
  Mentalla rarely Hunts heroes, but if someone 
  makes her angry enough, she’ll do it. Her usual 
  modus operandi is to learn as much as she can 
  about the character (oft en via Telepathy), and then 
  use her mental powers to ruin his life. She’ll make 
  friends and family treat him badly and abandon 
  him, the IRS audit him every year, people acciden-
  tally run over him with their cars, and so forth. 
  Only when the victim is truly desperate and miser-
  able will she reveal what she’s done, gloat, and then 
  close in for the kill.
  Appearance:  Mentalla wears a dark bodysuit-like 
  costume with a stylized M on the front. She keeps 
  her dark hair long and unbound. Her eyes are 
  green, and her face and ﬁ gure remarkably beautiful. 
  She does not wear a mask, but has so far managed 
  to keep her identity concealed because she grew 
  up in Destroyer’s care... and he makes few of his 
  records public.
  SCORPIA
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  14 PD (8 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  14 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   12 REC 
  10
   50 END 
  5
   38 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  151
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  6”/12”
   
  Swinging: 
  10”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  18 
  Th rowing Blades:  Multipower, 30-point 
  reserve, 12 Recoverable Charges for 
  entire reserve (+¼); OAF (-1) 
  [12rc]
  1u 
  1)  Single Blade:  RKA 2d6; OAF (-1), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼)
  1u 
  2)  Multiple Blades:  RKA 1d6, Autoﬁ re (up 
  to 5 shots, +½); OAF (-1), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼)
  51 
  Curare-Tipped Darts:  RKA 4d6, NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Immunity:  Curare]; 
  +1), Does BODY (+1); OAF Fragile (-1¼), 
  No Knockback (-¼), Must Target 
  Unarmored Hit Locations (-½), Range 
  Based On STR (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼) 
  [12]
  29 
  Scorpia’s Sting:  HKA 1d6 (1½d6 with STR), 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OAF (claws; -1) plus 
  Drain STUN 5d6; OAF (claws; -1), Linked 
  (-¼), Only Works When Claws Do 
  BODY (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼) 
  1 + [12]
   
  Martial Arts:  Karate
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Atemi Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND(1)
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 35 STR
  4 
  Dodge 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge all attacks, 
  Abort
  3 
  Legsweep 
  +2 
  -1 
  6d6; Target Falls
  4 
  Knifehand Strike -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Punch/
   
  Snap Kick 
  +0 
  +2 
  7d6 Strike
  5 
  Side/Spin Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  9d6 Strike
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  16 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Curare Tolerance:  Life Support 
  (Immunity:  Curare) 
  0
  6 
  Fast Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  3 
  Strong Leaper:  Leaping +3” 
  (6” forward, 3” upward) 
  1
  5 
  Swingline:  Swinging 10”; OAF (-1) 
  1
  3 
  Nightsight Lenses:  Nightvision; OIF (-½) 0
  6 
  Wrist Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Base:  contribution to team’s base
  6 
  Contact:  the Provisional IRA 11-
   
  Talents
  6 
  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  +4 DEX to act ﬁ rst with 
  All Attacks
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Th rowing Blades and Poisoned Darts
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  20 
  +2 Overall
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Climbing 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 12-
  5 
  Demolitions 13-
  3 
  Disguise 12-
  3 
  KS: Th e Espionage World 12-
  3 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 12-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  1 
  Language:  Esperanto (basic conversation; 
  English is native)
  2 
  Language:  Spanish (ﬂ uent conversation)
  SCORPIA 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Scorpia discovers how 
  Mentalla has been inﬂ u-
  encing her thoughts. 
  Rather than attack her 
  directly — a danger-
  ous proposition at best 
  — she decides to manip-
  ulate the PCs into doing 
  it for her. She begins 
  to leave clues for them 
  that will, she hopes, lead 
  them to Mentalla’s secret 
  identity and provoke a 
  battle.
  One of Scorpia’s old 
  friends in the Provi-
  sional IRA appeals to 
  her to get Eurostar to 
  help with a major attack 
  on the British. Can the 
  PCs ﬁ nd out about the 
  “partnership” and stop it 
  before dozens of British 
  soldiers lose their lives?
  Hoping to improve her 
  arsenal, Scorpia begins 
  kidnapping espionage 
  agents and assassins 
  around the globe. When 
  they hear about this 
  strange crimewave, what 
  will the PCs do?
  
  76 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  1 
  Language:  Irish (basic conversation)
  3 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry 12-
  3 
  SS: Pharmacology/Toxicology 12-
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 12-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  7 
  TF:  Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Small Motorized Boats, SCUBA, Parachuting 
  (Basic and Advanced)
  7 
  WF:  Small Arms, Blades, Th rown Blades, 
  Grenade Launchers, Heavy Machine Guns, 
  Shoulder-Fired Weapons
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  325
  Total Cost:  476
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  New Knights Of Th e Round 
  Table 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Bloodthirsty And 
  Sadistic (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vain (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  cold-blooded killer/
  terrorist, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret 
  Identity (Fiona O’Brady) 
  (Frequently, Major)
  166 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  476
  Background/History:  Fiona 
  O’Brady was born and raised 
  in one of the worst parts of 
  Belfast, Northern Ireland, 
  where sectarian violence 
  was frequent and bloody. 
  Th e daughter of devout 
  Catholics, with a father 
  who belonged to the 
  Provisional IRA, it 
  was only natural that 
  she got involved in the Troubles at an early age. 
  She started throwing rocks at Protestant children, 
  and then at British soldiers. With her quick wits 
  and quick hands, she was always able to hit her 
  mark and then get away before the Brits could 
  catch her.
  Recognizing her talent and potential, the 
  Provos made her one of their own and began to 
  train her. She became a talented amateur chemist, 
  with a particular aﬃ  nity for poisons and bombs. 
  Before long she was such a problem for the British 
  that she earned herself a nickname — Scorpia 
  — and took to wearing a mask when she went 
  on jobs, so the enemy couldn’t identify her.
  But then a member of her cell tripped 
  up, and the British found out where the 
  group was hiding. With the soldiers clos-
  ing in, Scorpia abandoned them and escaped. She 
  hadn’t cared about the cause much for a long time 
  — it was the violence and bloodshed themselves 
  that drew her, like a moth to a ﬂ ame. She made her 
  way to the Middle East, using her contacts in the 
  terrorist underworld to ﬁ nd a job training other 
  terrorists in hidden camps in Iraq. Th at was where 
  the megalomaniacal Professor Muerte found her. 
  Amused by the idea of a beautiful Irishwoman 
  teaching foul-mouthed Arabs terrorism tactics, he 
  oﬀ ered her a position in his organization — Terror, 
  Inc. Ever eager for the opportunity to commit more 
  mayhem and acquire greater power, she accepted.
  Scorpia was part of Terror, Inc. for several 
  years, but eventually it began to pall. Muerte was 
  too unstable and dangerous to work with anymore. 
  Looking about for other options, she saw Eurostar. 
  Th at seemed like the perfect ﬁ t. But when she put 
  out feelers, she was rebuﬀ ed — Eurostar didn’t need 
  any more members just yet.
  So she waited, and bided her time. When the 
  VIPER-Eurostar War broke out, and Bora and the 
  Whip were killed, she knew Fiacho would need 
  replacements, so she started laying plans for her 
  escape. Using her feminine wiles, she got closer to 
  Professor Muerte than ever before. Th en, in 1998, 
  when Fiacho contacted her to ask her to join his 
  group, she betrayed Muerte, subtly poisoning him 
  over the course of several weeks. 
  Th e ﬁ nal look on his face, when 
  he realized he was about to die, 
  was worth the wait.
  Scorpia had Feuermacher, 
  another of her teammates who 
  wanted to jump ship to Eurostar, 
  melt Muerte’s armor to slag around 
  his corpse, then drop him into the 
  Paciﬁ c. Taking all the technology and data 
  they could carry, the two left  for Europe, 
  detonating several explosive packages as 
  they departed. (Th e rest of the facility was 
  later destroyed in bombing raids by the 
  United States Air Force.)
  Since then, Scorpia has been a loyal 
  member of Eurostar. She ﬁ nds the group 
  and its activities much more to her 
  liking — and the occasional opportu-
  nity to strike at the British is just icing 
  on the cake.
  Personality/Motivation:  Scorpia 
  has few, if any, redeeming 
  personality features. Cold, 
  manipulative, and cynical, 
  she relishes violence and 
  bloodshed. Human life 
  means nothing to her; 
  she’ll kill for the slight-
  est reason, even just to 
  vent her momentary 
  frustration. Planning 
  large-scale attacks 
  on society is even 
  more fun, as far as 
  she’s concerned. 
  Th ough she can 
  
  77 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  act like a nice, normal person for a while, eventually 
  her need for violence will re-assert itself.
  Scorpia is also extremely vain. She considers 
  herself a rare beauty, and she’s right, but she hates 
  it when other women “challenge” her by looking 
  prettier than she. Maiming and mutilation of the 
  oﬀ ending female oft en follow. Mentalla has dealt 
  with this problem by mentally smacking Scorpia 
  around the block, reducing her EGO to nothing 
  and then instilling mental commands to “leave 
  Mentalla alone.” Periodically she reinforces these 
  commands. If Scorpia ever breaks free from Men-
  talla’s control, what she’ll do to Isabella won’t be 
  pleasant... at least, not for Isabella.
  Quote:  “It’s only proper that the last thing a man 
  sees before he dies is a pretty face and a friendly 
  smile, no?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Scorpia is a highly-trained terrorist, 
  assassin, and martial artist, able to kill her opponents 
  in a number of ways. She’s an expert with blades and 
  poisons, and commonly carries both throwing blades 
  and curare-tipped darts. Her favorite weapon is “Scor-
  pia’s Sting,” claws she wears on the back of her hands. 
  When she slashes a victim with them, she can, if she 
  chooses, inject a knockout drug. Th e victim typically 
  awakens to ﬁ nd himself tied up and awaiting inter-
  rogation at the hands of a woman who ﬁ nds torturing 
  people exciting.
  Lacking the raw power of her comrades, Scor-
  pia tends to hang back in battle, ﬁ ghting on the 
  periphery and picking oﬀ  targets her teammates 
  have weakened. She oft en works with Fiacho to take 
  on enemy martial artists.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Scorpia more powerful, 
  give her more weapons — perhaps some other 
  poisons, or some explosive grenades, or some-
  thing more high-tech and clever (like the weapons 
  Fiacho uses). You could also increase her SPD to 6, 
  improve her defenses a bit, and maybe add some 
  more Martial Maneuvers (or an Array with Fiacho; 
  see Th e Ultimate Martial Artist, page 119). To 
  weaken her, reduce her DEX to 20, remove about 
  15 points’ worth of Skills, and get rid of the Curare-
  Tipped Darts (or reduce them to just 1 Charge).
  Scorpia, as a trained killer, is a dangerous 
  Hunter. She stalks her target the way she used to 
  stalk British soldiers — she gathers intel, follows 
  the target until she sees an opening, and then she 
  strikes with a ﬂ urry of poisoned blades. Alternately, 
  she might plant a bomb in the hero’s car or at his 
  house. She’s perfectly willing to kill DNPCs if she 
  can’t get at or aﬀ ect the hero himself.
  Appearance:  Scorpia’s costume is a two-tone blue 
  costume — lighter blue on the legs, stomach, and 
  gloves, darker blue on the upper body and half-face 
  mask (which leaves her hair free). Her thigh-high 
  boots are also dark blue; she keeps most of her 
  throwing blades concealed in them. Over her left  
  breast is a stylized scorpion symbol in light blue.
  Out of costume, Fiona O’Brady is a beautiful 
  young Irishwoman with red hair and green eyes. 
  Her smile can light up a room, but in her eyes 
  there’s always a hint of darkness to counteract it.
  ULTRASONIQUE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  18 PD (10 rPD)
   8 ED 
  3 
   
  Total:  18 ED (10 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  127
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Swimming: 
  12”/24”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  27 
  Power Pack:  Endurance Reserve 
  (200 END, 20 REC); OIF (-½) 
  0
  37 
  Technical Support:  Variable Power Pool 
  (Gadget Pool), 30 base + 15 control cost; 
  Focus (all powers bought through VPP 
  must have at least -½ worth of this 
  Limitation; -½), Can Only Be Changed 
  In Ultrasonique’s Laboratory (-½) 
  var
  47 
  Sonic Gauntlets:  Multipower, 70-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½)
  5u 
  1)  Sonic Blast:  Energy Blast 14d6; OIF (-½) 7
  4u 
  2)  Low-Powered Sonic Blast:  Energy Blast 
  9d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  4u 
  3)  Ultrasonic Blast:  Energy Blast 9d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OIF (-½) 
  7
  4u 
  4)  Infrasonic Blast:  Energy Blast 9d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½) 
  7
  5u 
  5)  Sonic Cone:  Energy Blast 7d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (8” Cone; +1); OIF (-½) 
  7
  4u 
  6)  Shriekers:  Hearing Group Flash 15d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Armored Diving Suit:  Armor 
  (10 PD/10 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Armored Diving Suit:  Life Support 
  (Self-Contained Breathing; Safe 
  Environment:  High Pressure); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Underwater Propulsion Pack:  
  Swimming +10” (12” total); OIF (-½) 
  1
  17 
  Sonar:  Active Sonar, Concealed (-5 to 
  Hearing Group PER Rolls to detect the 
  “pings”), Increased Arc Of Perception 
  (360 Degrees); OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  Auditory Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio 
  Group (-¼) 
  0
  
  78 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
   
  Perks
  10 
  Base:  contribution to team’s base
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Sonic Gauntlets Multipower
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  Inventor 13-
  2 
  AK: French Beaches 11-
  2 
  KS: European Politics 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Language: Braille (ﬂ uent “conversation”; 
  French is native)
  1 
  Language: English (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language: Esperanto (basic conversation)
  3 
  Power:  Gadgeteering 13-
  3 
  PS: Diver 13-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  3 
  TF: Large Motorized Boats, SCUBA, Small 
  Motorized Boats
  3 
  Scientist
  1 
  1)  SS: Marine Biology 11-
  1 
  2)  SS: Oceanography 11-
  1 
  3)  SS: Physics 11-
  2 
  4)  SS: Sonics 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  257
  Total Cost:  384
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  scarred face 
  (Concealable With Diﬃ  culty; Noticed And 
  Recognizable)
  25 
  Hunted:  New Knights Of Th e Round Table 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Physical Limitation:  Blindness (All Th e 
  Time, Fully Impairing)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Raving Paranoid; 
  Trusts No One But Eurostar (Common, 
  Total)
  15 
  Reputation:  French super-terrorist, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Jean 
  Dubois) (Frequently, Major)
  49 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  384
  EXAMPLE POWERS FOR TECHNICAL 
  SUPPORT POWER POOL
  Auditory Pinpointer:  Ultrasonique installs this 
  device in his battlesuit as a backup for his sonar.
  Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) and 
  Targeting for Hearing Group (30 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½). Total cost:  20 points.
  Flight Pack:  Th is device attaches onto Ultraso-
  nique’s Underwater Propulsion Pack and allows 
  him to ﬂ y.
  Flight 15” (30 Active Points); OIF (-½). Total 
  cost:  20 points.
  Propulsion Enhancers:  Th is device augments Ultra-
  sonique’s Underwater Propulsion Pack, giving him 
  even greater speed underwater.
  Swimming +10” (22” total) (10 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½). Total cost:  7 points.
  Sonic Cutter:  Th is short-range beam of focused 
  sound can cut through most solid objects.
  RKA 2d6 (30 Active Points); OIF (-½), Limited 
  Range (4”; -¼). Total cost:  17 points.
  Sound Mimicry System:  Th is device allows Ultraso-
  nique to create a wide variety of sound eﬀ ects.
  Hearing Group Images, -3 to PER Rolls, 
  Increased Size (16” radius; +1) (28 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½). Total cost:  19 points.
  Stealth Enhancer:  Ultrasonique uses this gadget to 
  ensure the success of stealth missions.
  Invisibility to Hearing Group (10 Active Points); 
  OIF (-½). Total cost:  7 points.
  Background/History:  Jean Dubois, a physicist 
  renowned for his skill with sonic devices who was 
  also an accomplished SCUBA diver, was hired to 
  work with the French Navy to develop new sensors 
  for tracking torpedoes and submarines under-
  water. Th e project was going well until one of the 
  torpedoes, which had not been properly disarmed, 
  accidentally exploded near him. Bits of red-hot 
  shrapnel struck him in the eyes, permanently blind-
  ing him.
  Dubois awoke in the hospital several days later. 
  He couldn’t see anymore, but he could hear. Out 
  in the hall, doctors were whispering. He couldn’t 
  make it all out, but he did hear his name. Slowly it 
  dawned on him that they were plotting against him 
  — he didn’t know why, but they were. Th en he real-
  ized the “accident” with the torpedo hadn’t been an 
  accident at all — the Navy was out to get him, too! 
  Clearly, they were all jealous of his brilliance; they 
  wanted his inventions for themselves.
  Dubois’s paranoia only deepened over the next 
  few weeks as he slowly healed. Th en, one day, Danar 
  Nicole came to visit him. Dubois remembered 
  Nicole; the charismatic politician had helped him 
  get funding for scientiﬁ c progress on several occa-
  sions, and had always supported his work. Quietly, 
  so the scheming doctors and nurses couldn’t over-
  hear, Nicole explained everything to him. “Th ey” 
  were out to get Dubois because of his vocal support 
  of the cause of pan-European unity that Nicole 
  championed — they wanted him eliminated so he 
  couldn’t help Nicole any more. But he and Nicole 
  weren’t going to let them win, were they?
  Dubois swore he’d do anything he could to 
  help Nicole. He wouldn’t even let blindness slow 
  him down; he could easily design a personal sonar 
  device to compensate for the loss of his eyes. Nicole 
  took Dubois away from the hospital, killing several 
  ULTRASONIQUE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Ultrasonique discovers 
  “they” have inﬁ ltrated 
  the Department of Jus-
  tice. He begins attack-
  ing courthouses, oﬃ  ce 
  buildings, and prisons 
  associated with the DoJ 
  to “drive them away.” 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ gure 
  out what’s going on and 
  who’s behind the attacks 
  — perhaps arriving 
  just in time to corral an 
  Ultrasonique-created 
  jailbreak at Stronghold!
  A psychiatrist at 
  L’Institut Th oth believes 
  she can cure Ultraso-
  nique; she’s an expert on 
  abnormal psychology 
  and superhumans. But 
  she needs to have him 
  lured into a therapeutic 
  situation without know-
  ing exactly what’s going 
  on; if he’s captured and 
  forced to take part, her 
  treatments won’t work. 
  She appeals to the PCs 
  for help. Can Ultraso-
  nique be cured? What 
  happens if he discovers 
  he’s being tricked?
  While experimenting 
  with some new sonic 
  devices, Ultrasonique 
  discovers he can use 
  certain sound waves 
  to open a gateway to 
  another dimension. Sud-
  denly, Eurostar has an 
  unstoppable new way to 
  escape from the heroes. 
  But maybe Ultraso-
  nique’s device is slowly 
  attracting the horriﬁ c 
  residents of the other 
  dimension, and giving 
  them access to Earth....
  
  79 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  of those treacherous doctors on the way, and Euro-
  star had its next member.
  Personality/Motivation:  Ultrasonique is a seriously 
  deluded paranoid. Convinced “they” are 
  out to get him, he weaves every possible 
  threat to his safety or well-being into an 
  elaborate conspiracy theory. Th e only 
  people he trusts are the members of 
  Eurostar, who have proven themselves 
  his friends again and again. When his 
  ravings become too diﬃ  cult to handle, or 
  threaten to jeopardize a mission (because, 
  for example, he veers away from the team 
  to attack one of his many imagined enemies), 
  Mentalla can mentally override his fears and calm 
  him down, but that only works for a little while.
  Quote:  “Plot against us all you want, but you cannot 
  silence me!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Ultrasonique’s powers derive 
  from devices he’s built which use focused sonics to 
  achieve various combat eﬀ ects. He also uses sound 
  waves to overcome his blindness, and the various 
  gadgets he carries on missions oft en employ sonics 
  as well.
  Ultrasonique tends to ﬁ ght intelligently, fol-
  lowing Fiacho’s or Scorpia’s tactical directions to 
  accomplish as much as possible. However, at least 
  once per ﬁ ght the GM should have him make an 
  EGO Roll against his Psychological Limitation. 
  If he fails, he decides his enemies are working 
  for “them,” and reacts out of desperation and 
  anger. Th is might have the same eﬀ ect as an 
  Enraged, or any other outcome the GM 
  prefers.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text 
  for general information. Ultrasonique func-
  tions as Eurostar’s gadgeteer and source of techni-
  cal expertise, making him an invaluable asset for a 
  group mostly containing villains with innate super-
  powers. However, his paranoia oft en counterbal-
  ances his eﬀ ectiveness, and sometimes exposes the 
  team to danger (or gives the GM a hook to draw 
  the heroes into an adventure).
  To make Ultrasonique more powerful, add 
  some slots to his Multipower (see Warcry, page 41, 
  or Howler, page 162, for some examples), and/or 
  increase the size of his Technical Support VPP. If 
  you want to make him less eﬀ ective, get rid of his 
  VPP altogether, and/or reduce his SPD to 4.
  Ultrasonique generally does not Hunt heroes; 
  he’s too busy concocting elaborate defenses and 
  contingency plans to protect himself from “them.” 
  If he goes aft er a PC, it’s because Fiacho ordered 
  him to.
  Appearance:  Jean Dubois is a French male, 5’9” 
  tall with short black hair and dark eyes that oft en 
  glance around nervously. As Ultrasonique, he wears 
  a dark blue-black bodysuit with large blue-grey 
  bracers and other blue-grey highlights and attach-
  ments; his mask completely covers his face, and 
  includes a blue-grey plate across the eyes.
  The UNTIL Response
  ‘In conclusion, we cannot 
  emphasize enough the danger 
  Eurostar represents to Euro-
  pean peace and security. In 
  over a decade of terrorist activity, the group 
  has killed over three thousand people, caused 
  nearly thirty-two billion dollars’ worth of 
  damage to buildings, stolen several billion 
  dollars’ worth of property, and established a 
  solid working relationship with several pow-
  erful organized crime groups operating in the 
  continent.
  ‘It is the Commission’s opinion that locating 
  and stopping Eurostar should be a top priority 
  for UNTIL’s European division. We recommend 
  the establishment of a permanent anti-Euro-
  star task force, to be code-named Project 
  Carolingian. Agents assigned to Carolingian 
  would focus their investigations upon Euro-
  star and Eurostar-related entities exclusively, 
  and would develop special weapons and 
  tactics speciﬁ cally intended for defeating and 
  capturing members of Eurostar.’
  — From the Report of the UNITL Special 
  Commission on Eurostar, December 2001
  
  80 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Membership:  Black Diamond, Bluejay, Cheshire Cat, 
  Hummingbird
  B
  ackground/History:  GRAB was founded in 
  the late 1980s by several money-minded vil-
  lains as a sort of “support group.” Its mem-
  bers were all mentally balanced individuals 
  (relatively speaking) who didn’t want to conquer 
  the world, spread misery and suﬀ ering, or launch 
  grandiose schemes — they just wanted to use their 
  powers to get rich and live in the lap of luxury. 
  Although it was a loose alliance more than a true 
  villain team, all the members got along well, oft en 
  socializing together. Th ey established special funds 
  for planning jobs, obtaining medical care, posting 
  bail money, and so on.
  Th ings went horribly awry in 1994, when 
  Black Claw, one of the group’s founding members 
  and its de facto “leader,” was shot and killed by 
  the police while trying to escape from a botched 
  break-in. Unfortunately, the Claw was the one who 
  maintained all of the group’s ﬁ nances and records, 
  and the police quickly found them and froze all his 
  assets. Almost overnight, the members of GRAB 
  lost nearly two million dollars — their entire oper-
  ating stash.
  Disheartened by Black Claw’s death, not to 
  mention losing all that money, the members of 
  GRAB started to drift  apart. Without someone to 
  motivate the membership, the group was in danger 
  of breaking up altogether. Th en, one ﬁ ne spring day, 
  each of them received a note in the mail. Elegantly 
  handwritten, on rich, cream-colored paper, each 
  note invited the recipient to a meeting “to discuss 
  matters of mutual interest that will ensure the con-
  tinued existence, prosperity, and success of your 
  organization.”
  Intrigued, and lacking any better alternative, 
  each of the remaining members showed up at the 
  designated location — an elegant hotel suite in New 
  York City — at the appointed time. Ushered into 
  a sitting room by a silent butler, they soon found 
  themselves speaking with an old, vulpine-faced 
  man.
  Obviously wealthy and powerful, the man 
  minced no words. “I am aware of the nature of your 
  organization,” he said, “and I applaud your cupidity 
  and your desire to avoid bloodshed — both admi-
  rable qualities in my book. I have need of persons 
  such as yourself from time to time, and oft en come 
  across information that might be of use to indi-
  viduals in your... profession.
  “I propose to re-constitute GRAB in a form 
  more or less the same as it was before. I will estab-
  lish a ﬁ ve million dollar “working fund” in trust, so 
  that you as a group exert control over the money 
  but the police cannot take it away. From time to 
  time, I will provide you with information about 
  jobs, and unless the group has some strong objec-
  tion you will perform these jobs according to my 
  instructions. What do you say?” He gave them a 
  week to think it over.
  Although none of the thieves was entirely 
  comfortable with the proposal — they couldn’t 
  ﬁ nd out a thing about the mysterious old man — it 
  looked like a pretty good deal. It was too elaborate 
  to be a police scam; it had to be legit. When they 
  met the craft y old man one week later, they agreed 
  to his terms.
  Since then, the members of GRAB have seen 
  an unprecedented rise in their respective fortunes. 
  Th eir jobs go more smoothly than ever, the old 
  man helps them get top dollar for fenced goods, 
  and none of them has spent very much time in jail. 
  Th ey still have no idea who the old man is, where 
  he gets his information, or why he wants to work 
  with them, but they see no reason to look a gift  
  horse in the mouth. Th ings are good, and GRAB 
  wants them to stay that way.
  Group Relations:  Th e members of GRAB get along 
  extremely well. Th ey tend to be easy-going, and to 
  have the same attitudes and opinions, so the group 
  isn’t split apart by personality conﬂ icts like so many 
  villain teams are. And they play together as well as 
  work together; they go out in their Secret Identities 
  to eat at ﬁ ne restaurants, shop at boutiques, and 
  visit clubs.
  GRAB doesn’t associate with other villain 
  teams or agencies, since that just seems to lead to 
  trouble and most of those people aren’t very like-
  able anyway. In fact, on a few occasions they’ve 
  stolen from the likes of VIPER, so any attempt at 
  alliance would prove fruitless.
  Tactics:  GRAB doesn’t have an extensive selection 
  of combat tactics; the group doesn’t even like to 
  ﬁ ght. As far as the members are concerned, if they 
  get into a battle, something has gone wrong. Th eir 
  main concern in combat is usually getting away. 
  Fortunately, as a group GRAB is pretty mobile, and 
  they use that to their advantage whenever possible.
  GRAB does not have a secret headquarters, 
  but it does maintain several luxury apartments as 
  safe-houses and bolt-holes. Cheshire Cat oft en uses 
  his “gate” power to take the team to one of them, or 
  to other designated “rally zones,” when ﬂ eeing the 
  scene of a crime.
  Campaign Use:  GRAB is markedly diﬀ erent from 
  most villain teams. It’s not aft er power, or trying to 
  satisfy some bizarre personal ambition, or inter-
  GRAB
  GRAB PLOT SEEDS
  While stealing some 
  valuable electronic 
  components, GRAB 
  accidentally takes some 
  highly radioactive mate-
  rial — without taking 
  the shielded container 
  that goes with it. Dozens 
  of lives, including those 
  of the members of 
  GRAB, could be in jeop-
  ardy if the heroes can’t 
  track the team down. 
  Unfortunately, GRAB 
  is particularly skilled at 
  avoiding detection and 
  capture.
  A museum in Millen-
  nium City announces 
  a major new exhibit 
  of valuable Egyptian 
  artifacts. GRAB is sure 
  to be tempted; how can 
  the heroes ensure that 
  Black Diamond and her 
  cohorts don’t make oﬀ  
  with these priceless cul-
  tural relics?
  While robbing a com-
  puter chip manufactur-
  ing facility, GRAB stum-
  bles across an Ultimates 
  secret facility and steals 
  several of Binder’s valu-
  able tech modules. Th e 
  PCs have to keep the 
  Ultimates from tearing 
  the city apart looking 
  for GRAB — perhaps 
  with a little help from 
  GRAB itself!
  
  81 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  ested in putting people in danger. It just wants 
  money, and wants to get it as easily and safely as 
  possible. Heroes may ﬁ nd themselves wondering 
  why they’re wasting time pursuing GRAB when 
  there are really dangerous villains out there. Vigi-
  lante-style heroes may have to confront a moral 
  quandry — is it just and proper to shoot a group of 
  villains that goes out of its way not to hurt people, 
  and which even spends time helping with disaster 
  relief when some master villain attacks the city?
  Because the villains of GRAB are so sympa-
  thetic (relatively speaking), they may make good 
  potential romantic interests for the player char-
  acters. Given the right circumstances, any one of 
  them could reform and give up crime, or maybe 
  even become a superhero.
  GRAB will not Hunt heroes; it’s interested in 
  money, not revenge. At best it might pursue a hero 
  to steal something from him, but it will either suc-
  ceed and stop bothering him, or eventually con-
  clude it’s not worth the time and give up.
  GRAB is not meant as an equal combat threat 
  against most superhero teams; its members don’t 
  want to ﬁ ght at all. So, don’t worry about the group’s 
  power level vis-a-vis your PCs in most instances. 
  However, GRAB should be powerful or versatile 
  enough to have a decent chance to escape from 
  the heroes when confronted; if it’s not, consider 
  increasing the team’s movement speeds, and give 
  Cheshire Cat some group-oriented teleportation 
  powers. On the other hand, if GRAB can escape too 
  easily, tone down the members’ movement powers 
  until they’re more evenly matched with the PCs.
  BLACK DIAMOND
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   60 STR 
  50 
  21- 
  Lift  100 tons; 12d6 [6]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   40 CON 
  60 
  17-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   25 PD 
  13 
  Total:  25 PD (25 rPD)
   25 ED 
  17 
  Total:  25 ED (25 rED)
   6 SPD 
  30 
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  0
   80 END 
  0
   65 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  222
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  37 
  Kinetic Absorption:  Absorption 6d6 
  (physical, half to STR, half to PD), 
  Delayed Return Rate (loses points at the 
  rate of 5 per Minute; +¼) 
  0
  12 
  Dense Form:  Hardened (+¼) for 
  25 PD/25 ED 
  0
  31 
  Dense Form:  Damage Resistance 
  (25 PD/25 ED), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  10 
  Dense Form:  Knockback Resistance -5” 
  0
  6 
  Super-Strong Legs:  Running +3” (9” total) 1
  8 
  Super-Strong Legs:  Leaping +8” 
  (20” forward, 10” upward) 
  1
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  1 
  Security Systems 8-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  128
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Hunted: PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted: Justice Squadron 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Heavy (weighs 800 kg) 
  (Frequently; Slightly Impairing)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hasty, Impulsive, 
  And Careless (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Maxine 
  Walters) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x STUN from Force, Grav-
  itic, and Magnetic attacks (Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x BODY from Force, Gra-
  vitic, and Magnetic attacks (Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  “Maxine, would you take these 
  notes in to Dr. Rabindahar, please?”
  “Yes, sir.” She picked up the folder and headed 
  toward the lab, her mind more on what she was 
  going to wear for her date that night than what 
  she was doing. Unfortunately, while she was debat-
  ing the merits of mini-skirt versus jeans, she 
  completely overlooked the EXPERIMENT IN 
  PROGRESS — DO NOT ENTER warning sign. 
  She opened the door to the lab and walked right 
  into the middle of one of Dr. Rabindahar’s grav-
  ity induction experiments. Enormous energies fed 
  back into her body, and the equipment exploded.
  She woke up when the paramedics tried to 
  move her — and couldn’t! Something had hap-
  pened; instead of dying, she’d become extremely 
  heavy. She didn’t look any diﬀ erent, didn’t feel or 
  sound any diﬀ erent, but a change had deﬁ nitely 
  taken place. Over the next few days, Maxine 
  discovered she’d become superhumanly strong 
  and durable — and she could absorb the force of 
  impacts to become stronger still. Sure, she was too 
  heavy to ride in most cars anymore, but that was a 
  small price to pay.
  BLACK DIAMOND 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Black Diamond ﬁ nds 
  out that Dr. Rabindahar, 
  whose experiments 
  gave her her powers, 
  was secretly working 
  for VIPER at the time... 
  and that the accident 
  was deliberate! Furi-
  ous, she starts trashing 
  VIPER Nests and opera-
  tions, leading VIPER to 
  retaliate. Th e PCs have 
  to defuse the situation 
  before the city is caught 
  up in a superpowered 
  mob war.
  Black Diamond wants 
  to participate in a 
  charity fund-raiser 
  involving various 
  superhumanly strong 
  heroes, but doesn’t want 
  to be arrested. She asks 
  the PCs to intervene 
  with the authorities so 
  she can help out. But 
  what happens if one of 
  GRAB’s victims shows 
  up to get revenge?
  Black Diamond ﬁ nds 
  herself getting heavier 
  and heavier — some-
  thing’s going wrong 
  with her powers. Since 
  no one in GRAB has 
  any medical expertise, 
  she turns to ARGENT 
  for help. What sort of 
  service will ARGENT 
  demand in exchange for 
  curing her?
  
  82 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  For the ﬁ rst time in her life, Maxine felt 
  she’d gotten a break. With superpowers, she could 
  become rich! She made herself a costume out of an 
  old bathing suit, bought a mask at a costume shop, 
  and started robbing banks and jewelry stores. Due 
  to her inexperience, it wasn’t long before the super-
  hero Diamond caught her. She managed to escape 
  before the government could get her to Stronghold, 
  but the whole incident scared her. She didn’t want 
  to go to prison.
  It wasn’t long aft erward that she met Black 
  Claw, another costumed criminal who, like her, 
  didn’t particularly want to hurt anyone — he 
  just wanted to get rich. Together the two of them 
  thought up the idea of GRAB, pitched it to like-
  minded villains, and got the “team” started. Since 
  the Claw’s death, she’s sort of become the “leader” 
  of GRAB, a role she’s not particularly comfort-
  able with. But the jobs keep going well, and 
  they’re all raking in the bucks, so she ﬁ gures 
  she must be doing OK.
  Personality/Motivation:  Maxine Walters 
  — Black Diamond — is not a particularly 
  complex person. She wants to be rich, 
  and she doesn’t particularly care how 
  she gets there as long as no one gets 
  hurt. Th e way she sees it, anyone who 
  can’t protect their stuﬀ  deserves to have 
  it taken away.
  Black Diamond has a tendency to 
  be reckless. She goes oﬀ  half-cocked, with-
  out fully considering the implications of her 
  actions. She’s a doer, not a thinker, and reacts 
  impulsively to many situations. Combined 
  with her greediness, this trait has led her to 
  stick her nose where it doesn’t belong more 
  than once, causing trouble for herself and 
  GRAB.
  Quote:  “Look, pal, don’t make me hit you. 
  Trust me, you won’t like it.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Black Diamond is a 
  mutant whose latent powers were acti-
  vated by unexpected exposure to an 
  experimental high-gravity ﬁ eld. Th e 
  accident made her superhumanly strong 
  — able to rip vault doors oﬀ  their hinges, 
  toss cars around like baseballs, and shrug 
  oﬀ  bullets like they were nothing. Her 
  most unusual power is her ability to 
  absorb kinetic energy and use it to 
  increase her strength and resilience. 
  When she uses this power, a ﬁ eld 
  of black, crackling energy sur-
  rounds her body.
  Black Diamond is the most 
  “straightforward” member of 
  GRAB in combat. She’s the 
  group’s front-line ﬁ ghter, the 
  one who charges into battle 
  and starts smacking superhe-
  roes around. Th e rest of the 
  team tends to rally around 
  her, following her lead until 
  they can all break free from 
  the ﬁ ght and escape.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Other than as a member of GRAB, 
  Black Diamond can serve as a source of story ideas 
  due to her tendency to act without thinking. She 
  might impulsively steal a necklace, only to discover 
  it’s an enchanted relic DEMON desperately wants. 
  She might take it into her head that a news reporter 
  is insulting her, and go down to the TV station to 
  pick a ﬁ ght with him and everyone else there. Th e 
  possibilities are endless.
  Maxine doesn’t Hunt heroes; there’s no proﬁ t 
  in it. If a hero got her really mad, she might barge 
  into his team’s headquarters to challenge him to a 
  one-on-one ﬁ ght, but that’s about it.
  If you need Black Diamond to be more pow-
  erful, boost her STR to 70, give her a few levels of 
  Density Increase, or let her have the Brick Tricks 
  martial art style from page 64 of Th e Ultimate Mar-
  tial Artist. If she’s too tough already, reduce her STR 
  to 50, cut her SPD down to 5, and/or get rid of the 
  Kinetic Absorption power.
  Appearance:  Black Diamond is a tall black woman, 
  standing 6’2” tall with a sculpted, muscular body 
  and her hair cut very short. She wears a sleeveless 
  black body stocking with tasteful silver-edged dia-
  mond-shaped cut-outs on the sides and front, and 
  short silver gloves. Since she was ﬁ rst captured and 
  her identity exposed, she hasn’t bothered to wear a 
  mask.
  BLUEJAY
   
  Val 
  Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10+20 STR 
  10# 
  11-/15- Lift  100 kg/1,600 kg; 
  2d6/6d6 [1/3]
   18+5 DEX 24+7# 13-/14- OCV: 6 /8/DCV: 6/8
   13+7 CON 6+7# 12-/13-
   
  10 
  BODY 0 
  11-
   
  18 
  INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   
  11 
  EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV: 4
   10+10 PRE 
  7* 
  11-/13- PRE Attack: 2d6 /4d6
   
  14 
  COM 
  2 
  12-
   
  5 
  PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  19 PD/14 rPD
   
  5 
  ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  19 ED/14 rED
   
  3+3 
  SPD 2+20*  
  Phases:  4, 8, 12/
   
   
   
   
   
  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   
  7 
  REC 
  4
   
  26 
  END 
  0
   
  30 
  STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  112
  *:  OIF (battlesuit; -½)
  #:  OIF (as above) plus No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  16”/128”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Power Pack:  Endurance Reserve 
  (150 END, 15 REC); OIF (-½) 
  0
  40 
  Gauntlet Weapons:  Multipower, 60-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½)
  4u 
  1)  Blaster:  Energy Blast 12d6; OIF (-½) 
  6
  4u 
  2)  Atrophic Ray:  Drain STR 4d6, 
  Ranged (+½); OIF (-½) 
  6
  
  83 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  4u 
  3)  Pulse Blaster:  Energy Blast 6d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½), Armor Piercing 
  (+½); OIF (-½) 
  6
  4u 
  4)  Capturefoam Projector:  Entangle 6d6, 
  6 DEF; OIF (-½), 16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  28 
  Battlesuit:  Armor (14 PD/14 ED); OIF (-½) 0
  13 
  Helmet:  Sight and Hearing Group Flash 
  Defense (10 points each); OIF (-½) 
  0
  21 
  Wings:  Flight 16”, x8 Noncombat; 
  OIF (-½), Restrainable (-½) 
  4
  24 
  Booster Pack:  Flight +18”; OIF (-½) 
  4
  6 
  Helmet Communicator:  HRRP; OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Groups As 
  Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  13 
  Helmet Radar Unit:  Radar (Radio 
  Group), Increased Arc Of Perception 
  (360 Degrees); OIF (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Helmet Binocular Lenses:  +12 versus 
  Range Modiﬁ er for Sight Group; OIF (-½) 0
   
  Perks
  6 
  Contacts:  6 points’ worth in the aeronautics/
  defense contracting industries
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Gauntlet Weapons Multipower
  8 
  +4 with Flight
  3 
  Acrobatics 13- (14-)
  3 
  Breakfall 13- (14-)
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 13-
  3 
  SS: Aeronautics 13-
  3 
  SS: Physics 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13- (14-)
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  238
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted: PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted: Justice Squadron 8- (Mo 
  Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code 
  Versus Killing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  dangerous supervil-
  lainess, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Iden-
  tity (Lisa Anderson) (Frequently, 
  Major)
  10 
  Unluck 2d6
  35 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Lisa Anderson was once an 
  engineer working for a small, cutting-edge aero-
  nautics ﬁ rm called McNeil Aviation. Th anks in 
  large part to some of her innovative designs, the 
  ﬁ rm won a contract from UNTIL to manufac-
  ture a winged “ﬂ ying battlesuit.”
  Lisa spent many long, frustrating hours work-
  ing on the project, allowing her personal and social 
  life to deteriorate in the hope of reaping big career 
  and ﬁ nancial beneﬁ ts when the job was done. 
  Unfortunately, UNTIL cancelled the project due to 
  cost overruns, and McNeil ﬁ red Lisa, keeping her 
  work for itself under the terms of her employment 
  contract.
  Bitter over how she was treated, and eager 
  for riches she felt should be hers, Lisa broke into 
  McNeil late one night, stole the suit and all its plans, 
  and made her escape. Unfortunately, something 
  went wrong, and a ﬁ re started; the McNeil plant 
  burned to the ground. Th e authorities blamed the 
  ﬁ re on the “new ﬂ ying supervillain” seen leaving the 
  scene of the crime.
  Seeing no legitimate way to earn the kind of 
  money she wanted to have, Lisa went back to work, 
  modifying the battlesuit for her 
  own uses. Soon Bluejay was 
  making the papers with 
  stories of her daring 
  upper-story robber-
  ies and other 
  crimes. But 
  bad luck 
  continued 
  to dog Lisa; 
  though she 
  didn’t want to 
  harm anyone, 
  things 
  oft en went 
  wrong, 
  result-
  ing 
  
  84 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  in innocent people getting hurt during her jobs. 
  She soon developed a reputation as being far more 
  dangerous than she actually is.
  One night, Bluejay planned to rob a high-
  tech company, but found Black Diamond and 
  Black Claw were beating her to it! When PRIMUS 
  showed up, the three villains, who were just about 
  to start ﬁ ghting, teamed up to make their escape. In 
  the process they found they had a lot in common, 
  and Black Diamond told Bluejay about GRAB. 
  Bluejay gladly got involved, and has been a part of 
  the alliance ever since.
  Personality/Motivation:  Like the other members 
  of GRAB, Bluejay is in the supervillain game for 
  the money. She feels life has treated her shabbily, 
  and she intends to make up for it by stealing from 
  people who have more than they need — banks, 
  corporations, rich people, and so on. Although 
  her suit carries some pretty heavy armaments, she 
  doesn’t want to hurt anyone; she’ll stick to nonle-
  thal attacks most of the time. She’s been known to 
  ﬂ y injured people to the hospital aft er she acciden-
  tally hurt them.
  Bluejay is really upset about her reputation; 
  she knows she’s not really dangerous at all. But 
  every time she tries to convince people she’s harm-
  less, something goes wrong and the stories about 
  her keep circulating. Not even membership in 
  GRAB has helped.
  Quote:  “Just try to catch me!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Bluejay’s powers come from the 
  battlesuit she wears. In addition to providing 
  her with protection against attacks, the battlesuit 
  augments her strength and reﬂ exes, and comes 
  equipped with several weapons (two blasters, a 
  weakness ray, and a capturefoam projector). Most 
  importantly, it allows her to ﬂ y using built-in 
  hypercritical wings and a booster pack. When she 
  turns the booster pack up to full, she can move at 
  nearly Mach 1, which is useful for escaping from 
  annoying superheroes.
  If she can’t avoid combat, Bluejay sticks to the 
  skies, not landing at all if she can help it. She uses 
  her Capturefoam Projector and Atrophic Ray the 
  most, since they cause no lasting harm; the blast-
  ers are best for smashing through walls and taking 
  out superheroes powerful enough to withstand the 
  blast. She and Black Diamond have worked out a 
  “fastball special”-style tactic where she picks Dia-
  mond up, carries her along at high speed, and then 
  lets her go like a “living bomb.”
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Bluejay is a pretty typical member of 
  GRAB when it comes to everyday use, but she does 
  present some interesting story hooks. For example, 
  was she really responsible for the McNeil Avia-
  tion ﬁ re, or is there more going on of which she’s 
  unaware?
  Bluejay is good friends with Lady Blue, and 
  sometimes helps her out with her “charity work.” 
  Th at could lead to some interesting escapades as 
  well.
  If you want to increase Bluejay’s powers, there 
  are several possible routes. You could improve her 
  STR and defenses, making her a quasi-brick. You 
  could increase her SPD and movement, making 
  her a quasi-speedster. Or you could give her 
  more weapons, making her more like a powered 
  armor character. Making her less powerful usually 
  involves decreasing her movement and SPD, and 
  getting rid of one or two of her weapons.
  Bluejay won’t Hunt heroes. She’s not that vin-
  dictive, and there are better ways to spend her time.
  Appearance:  Bluejay’s battlesuit is light blue and 
  white, with some black highlights:  blue boots, 
  torso, gauntlets, and helmet; white legs and arms; 
  with various points of articulation and the like in 
  black. Th e helmet leaves her lower face exposed, 
  and has a bird-like crest. Th e suit’s wings, also light 
  blue, are attached to her arms.
  Out of her battlesuit, Lisa Anderson is a pretty 
  woman, 5’7” tall with light brown hair cut just 
  above her shoulders, and brown eyes. Th anks to her 
  criminal career, she can aﬀ ord to dress nicely, and 
  does.
  CHESHIRE CAT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   25 DEX 
  45 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   14 PD 
  8 
   
  Total:  17 PD (3 rPD)
   14 ED 
  9 
   
  Total:  17 ED (3 rED)
   6 SPD 
  25 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   11 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   37 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  147
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  10”/20”
   
  Leaping: 
  10”/20”
   
  Teleportation: 15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Aikijutsu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge all 
  attacks, Abort
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  55 STR vs. Grabs
  3 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 50 STR 
  for holding on
  4 
  Joint Lock/
   
  Th row 
  +1 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  2d6 NND (1); 
  Target Falls
  5 
  Redirect 
  +1 
  +3 
  Block, Abort
  5 
  Strike 
  +1 
  +3 
  8d6 Strike
  3 
  Th row 
  +0 
  +1 
  8d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  10 
  Billy Club:  Multipower, 20-point reserve; 
  all OAF (-1)
  BLUEJAY 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Linda McNeil, one of 
  the former owners 
  of McNeil Aviation, 
  deduces that Lisa 
  Anderson is Bluejay, 
  and begins blackmail-
  ing Anderson with the 
  information. Desperate 
  to get McNeil out of her 
  life, Bluejay decides to 
  frame her for a crime 
  and trick the PCs into 
  arresting her.
  Determined to shed her 
  “dangerous supervil-
  lain” reputation, Bluejay 
  “reforms” and begins 
  performing good deeds, 
  making sure other 
  people ﬁ nd out about 
  them. In secret she’s 
  still committing crimes, 
  using a version of her 
  battlesuit with a diﬀ er-
  ent color and slightly 
  diﬀ erent conﬁ guration. 
  Can the PCs ﬁ gure out 
  what’s going on?
  During a GRAB rob-
  bery, Bluejay is exposed 
  to mind-altering chemi-
  cals that temporarily 
  aﬀ ect her personality. 
  She becomes vindic-
  tive and cruel, changes 
  her name to the Blue 
  Shrike, adds claws and 
  other lethal weapons to 
  her arsenal, and teams 
  up with some other 
  supervillains. GRAB 
  wants her back, but 
  can’t manage to catch 
  and detoxify her, so the 
  group appeals to the 
  PCs for help.
  
  85 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  1u 
  1)  Striking:  HA +4d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  2
  1u 
  2)  Blocking:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all 
  Ranged attacks) 
  0
  37 
  Teleporting:  Teleportation 15”, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  1
  76 
  Teleport Gate:  Teleportation 10”, x16 
  Noncombat, Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½), 
  Continuous (+1), Usable By Others (x8 mass; 
  +¾); Gate (-½) 
  9
  8 
  Strong Runner:  Running +4” (10” total) 
  1
  4 
  Strong Leaper:  Leaping +4” (10” forward, 
  5” upward) 
  1
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  13 
  Defensive Teleportation:  +4 DCV; Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  2
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  1 
  KS: Hockey 8-
  2 
  KS: Th e Martial World 11-
  2 
  KS: Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  PS: Nuclear Technician 11-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  229
  Total Cost:  376
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted: PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  25 
  Hunted: Justice Squadron 8- (Mo Pow, 
  NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code 
  Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other super-
  powered martial artists, to prove his supe-
  riority)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Robert 
  Johanssen) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to being Teleported, takes 
  3d6 damage instantly (Uncommon)
  56 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  376
  Background/History:  Bob Johanssen was a nuclear 
  plant technician — not a very good one, but he got 
  by. For fun, he studied martial arts and spent time 
  with his wife. One day, to his shock, his wife said 
  she wanted a divorce. She was sick of living on 
  his technician’s salary; she expected more of a 
  man, and Bob certainly wasn’t delivering. She 
  moved out that night, leaving Bob alone.
  Th e day he got the ﬁ nal divorce papers, Bob 
  tried to commit suicide by walking right into the 
  heart of the reactor. Much to everyone’s amazement, 
  he didn’t die — he suddenly appeared, right out of 
  thin air, on the other side of the plant! Bob wasn’t 
  quite sure what to make of it, but he knew oppor-
  tunity when he saw it. With superpowers, he could 
  make himself so rich his ex-wife would eat her heart 
  out with envy and regret!
  As Cheshire Cat, Bob spent several years as a 
  solo criminal, committing robberies and avoiding 
  trouble as much as he could. He was quite successful, 
  but lonely. When he heard about GRAB, he tracked 
  down Black Diamond and told her he wanted to be a 
  member. He’s never regretted it — aft er all, how many 
  other jobs let him get rich quickly and eﬀ ortlessly 
  while hanging out with three gorgeous women?
  Personality/Motivation:  Cheshire Cat is usually the 
  most violence-prone member of GRAB. He doesn’t 
  want to kill or seriously injure anyone — aft er all, 
  he’s in this for the money! — but he has no objection 
  to administering a good beating to his enemies. He 
  particularly likes to defeat other superpowered mar-
  tial artists, to prove he’s better than they are.
  Cheshire Cat has a borderline bipolar person-
  ality disorder. Most of the time, he’s cheerful, or at 
  least neutral, but a sustained run of failures or bad 
  luck plunges him into a deep, dark depression from 
  which it may take him a long time to recover. Th is 
  doesn’t aﬀ ect his job or combat abilities most 
  of the time, so it’s not represented as a 
  CHESHIRE CAT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  One time, while Tele-
  porting into a museum, 
  Cheshire Cat brings 
  something back to 
  this plane of existence 
  with him. Terriﬁ ed, he 
  disappears at once, leav-
  ing the thing to maul 
  museum workers the 
  next day. Th e creature 
  seems invulnerable; only 
  if the Cat can summon 
  the courage to tell the 
  PCs what happened 
  and confront the thing 
  can the heroes hope to 
  defeat it.
  Cheshire Cat’s ex-wife 
  decides she really, truly 
  does love him aft er all 
  (and Telepathy shows 
  she’s telling the truth). 
  She asks the PCs to ﬁ nd 
  him and let him know. 
  Is this the love story 
  it seems, or is an old 
  enemy of Cheshire Cat’s 
  at work?
  A  mis-Teleportation 
  causes Cheshire Cat 
  to wind up in a 
  PC’s home, where 
  he uncovers the 
  character’s Secret 
  Identity. What 
  will he do with the 
  informa-
  tion?
  
  86 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Psychological Limitation, but it’s worth noting for 
  roleplaying purposes.
  Cheshire Cat is something of a skirtchaser. He 
  doesn’t hit on his teammates, since that could make 
  things awkward, but he’s not above making a pass at 
  a superheroine who catches his eye.
  Quote:  “Keeping this Cat out is harder than you 
  think.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Cheshire Cat is a hand-to-hand 
  combatant; he has no Ranged attacks. His high (for 
  a martial artist) STR gives him punching power 
  and makes it easy for him to immobilize most 
  opponents with his Hold or Joint Lock maneuvers. 
  He’s become adept at using his Teleportation in 
  conjunction with his ﬁ ghting skills, oft en making a 
  Half Move Teleport right behind or next to some-
  one to obtain a Surprise Move bonus. On the other 
  hand, his metabolism cannot tolerate having other 
  people Teleport him; this causes him severe pain.
  In addition to being able to teleport himself, 
  Cheshire Cat also has a limited power to open “tele-
  portation gates” through which other people can 
  travel. His gates are not a continuous-eﬀ ect phe-
  nomenon; he can only keep one open for a second 
  or two, just long enough for someone to use it. 
  Th rough diligent practice, he’s increased his ability 
  to the point where he can move someone as heavy 
  as Black Diamond through his gate; in the future he 
  hopes to extend the gate’s range and duration.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make the Cat more powerful, give 
  him some additional Teleportation-based powers 
  (and improve his Gate), and perhaps increase his DEX 
  to 28. If he’s too powerful for your game, get rid of his 
  Gate, and decrease his STR to 25 and SPD to 5.
  Cheshire Cat doesn’t Hunt superheroes; there’s 
  no money in it. He does sometimes pick ﬁ ghts with 
  superpowered martial artists to prove he’s a better 
  ﬁ ghter, though.
  Appearance:  Robert “Bob” Johanssen is a six feet 
  tall, handsome, blond-haired man with an infec-
  tious smile and the body of an athlete who trains 
  intensively. As Cheshire Cat, he wears a white 
  gi-like top, with red trim and a red sash, and red 
  ankle-length pants and shoes. His ﬁ ngerless gloves 
  are red, and his half-face, cat-eared mask is white.
  HUMMINGBIRD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   8 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  16 PD (8 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  16 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  4
   36 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  6 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  119
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  25”/50”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Hummingbird Size:  Shrinking (.064m 
  tall [about 2.5 inches], .0032 kg mass, -10 
  to PER Rolls to perceive character, +10 
  DCV, takes +15” KB), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  41 
  Neural Cohesion Powers:  Multipower, 
  62-point powers, all Linked (to Shrinking; -½)
  4u 
  1)  Mental Attack:  Ego Attack 5d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  Linked (to Shrinking; -½) 
  2
  4u 
  2)  Mental Domination:  Mind Control 
  10d6, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  Linked (to Shrinking; -½) 
  2
  16 
  Bulletproof Costume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  8 
  Neural Cohesion:  Mental Defense 
  (12 points) 
  0
  41 
  Small But Speedy:  Flight 25”, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); Linked (to 
  Shrinking; -½) 
  2
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Neural Cohesion Powers 
  Multipower
  8 
  +4 with Flight
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  2 
  KS: Gems & Jewelry 11-
  4 
  KS: Popular Music & Culture 13-
  4 
  PS: Shopping 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 11-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  231
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  A NIGHT On The Town?
  ‘Nighthawk? I dunno... I guess 
  he’s got that whole “mysteri-
  ous loner” thing going for him, 
  but he’s kinda intense, y’know? 
  Like, brooding and stuff. I don’t think he’d be 
  much fun to go out with. And Ironclad just 
  looks weird. But Defender, I bet he’s pretty hot 
  when he’s not wearing all that armor stuff!
  ‘But the hero I’d most like to be stranded on 
  a deserted island with is that guy Nightwind. 
  I’ve never met him, but I’ve, like, seen him on 
  TV and stuff. Check out those pecs!’
  — From a supposed interview with 
  Hummingbird posted on SuperRomance.com
  
  87 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  20 
  Hunted: PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted: Justice Squadron 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Tiny Voice (-3 to 
  Hearing PER Rolls to hear her speak when 
  she’s Shrunk below 1m tall) (Infrequently, 
  Slightly)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Insatiable Curi-
  ousity About Others’ Secrets (Common, 
  Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Airhead 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Melissa 
  Saunders) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Biological or 
  Chemical Attacks (Common)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Biological or 
  Chemical Attacks (Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Ever had that dream where 
  you wake up and you’re real tiny, and everything 
  around you looks gigantic?  Well, it happened to 
  Melissa Saunders for real.
  One night when she was just shy of sixteen, 
  Melissa went to bed. She’d been reading Alice’s 
  Adventures In Wonderland for one of her high 
  school classes. Everything was perfectly normal, but 
  when she woke up, her bed, furniture, and every-
  thing else in her room had become gigantic!  She 
  screamed, but no one heard her (she ﬁ gured out 
  later her voice wasn’t loud enough because of her 
  small size). Aft er she stopped panicking, she real-
  ized it wasn’t that her furnishings had all gotten 
  bigger — it was that she’d gotten smaller.
  She sat there and tried to ﬁ gure out what to 
  do. Couldn’t tell her parents — heck, they usually 
  didn’t even have time to talk to her in the morn-
  ing anyway, they were so busy rushing oﬀ  to work 
  in the city. Didn’t want to tell any of her friends, 
  either; some things, she understood, were best kept 
  secret.
  For that matter, how was she even going to get 
  to school?  It would take her two hours just to walk 
  to the bus stop at her size. Could she even get out 
  of bed?  She crawled to the edge and looked over. It 
  was a loooong way down. Well, nothing for it; she’d 
  have to jump and hope she didn’t break her leg. She 
  gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and leaped...
  ...only to ﬁ nd herself suspended in mid-air!  
  She wasn’t falling. She concentrated hard for a 
  second, and found that she could move herself. She 
  could ﬂ y!  Within ﬁ ve minutes, she was zipping 
  around the room just as pretty as you please, exe-
  cuting midair spins, hairpin turns, and all sorts of 
  fancy maneuvers. She landed on the ﬂ oor near her 
  desk. Th e ﬂ ight thing was pretty cool, but she wasn’t 
  all that sure about the Tom Th umb routine. Maybe 
  if she concentrated real hard on being normal size 
  again?...
  Within a few seconds, she was back to her 
  normal self. She found out she couldn’t ﬂ y at that 
  size, though; ﬂ ying only worked when she was tiny. 
  She got her biology textbook out of her backpack 
  and ﬂ ipped through it for a second, looking for 
  something she’d read the other day. “Mutation:  a 
  change in a gene which results in a new inheritable 
  characteristic.”  Wow, she thought, that must be 
  it, I’m a mutant. I mean, I haven’t been in any lab 
  accidents or bitten by any radioactive butterﬂ ies or 
  anything, what else could it be? Cool.
  When you’re sixteen, without signiﬁ cant 
  parental supervision, and you have powers of 
  shrinking and ﬂ ight, what can you do?  You’ve got 
  it, spy on your rivals at school. And get into the 
  teacher’s desk and look at the test before you take 
  it. Soon, Melissa was making straight As, and the 
  gossip mill was buzzing with hateful little stories 
  about all the popular girls who’d been snubbing her 
  since ﬁ ft h grade. All in all, it was a very good junior 
  year.
  It wasn’t long before Melissa graduated to petty 
  theft . Nothing major — small pieces of jewelry, a 
  little cash here and there, anything small enough 
  and light enough for her to carry in her “Hum-
  mingbird” form (as she called it). It was during 
  one of these “shopping runs” that she learned 
  about some of the other powers that she had. She 
  was lift ing a small, but nevertheless very valuable, 
  diamond ring from a jeweler’s in the mall when 
  an annoyingly diligent sales clerk saw her. “Hey, 
  come back here!” he shouted, waving his hands and 
  trying to catch her.
  “Leave me alone!” she shouted in her tiny, 
  squeaky voice. Suddenly he stopped, turned around, 
  and walked the other way as if nothing had hap-
  pened!  Intrigued, she ﬂ ew up behind him and 
  said, “Cluck like a chicken!” In a moment he was 
  strutting around making clucking noises. A little 
  experimentation brought another mental power to 
  the fore as well — a psychic blast that made people 
  clutch their heads in agony and pass out.
  When you’re seventeen and ﬁ nd out you have 
  mind control powers, what do you do then?  Th at’s 
  right — you get the captain of the football team to 
  take you to the Senior Prom. And you make your 
  parents give you a sportscar for graduation.
  But petty theft  and idle amusement didn’t 
  satisfy Melissa for long. She had all these powers, 
  why shouldn’t she use them? Before long she was 
  making her living stealing and fencing jewelry 
  and similar small, valuable items. Aft er she had 
  proven herself trustworthy, her fence turned her on 
  to some spy-jobs she was ideal for. Soon she was 
  making more money doing industrial espionage 
  and surveillance work than by stealing, and having 
  a ﬁ ne time. Sure, her parents thought she was 
  attending community college, but a little mental 
  control here and there ensured she got top marks 
  without ever having to attend class.
  Hummingbird came to GRAB’s attention when 
  the group’s patron needed to ﬁ nd out some infor-
  mation about a computer corporation he wanted to 
  hit. GRAB had to know where the plans for certain 
  experimental microchips, as well as the prototype 
  chips themselves, were kept, so they wouldn’t waste 
  time looking. Hummingbird got the information, 
  and in almost no time. GRAB was impressed — so 
  HUMMINGBIRD 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Hummingbird develops 
  a crush on a male PC 
  and begins hanging 
  around a lot, trying to 
  prove her devotion. 
  She even claims she’s 
  reformed and wants to 
  be a hero! Is she telling 
  the truth, or is it all an 
  elaborate scheme by 
  GRAB to gather infor-
  mation on the heroes?
  While pulling a heist, 
  Hummingbird over-
  hears a couple of crimi-
  nals working for another 
  villain (GM’s choice) 
  talking, and learns about 
  the villain’s plans. Some-
  how, the villain ﬁ nds 
  out she’s on to him, and 
  decides to eliminate her 
  permanently. Afraid to 
  bring GRAB into the 
  situation (she doesn’t 
  want her friends to get 
  hurt), Hummingbird 
  goes to the PCs for help.
  Th e members of PSI 
  decide Hummingbird 
  should be on their team 
  — even if they have to 
  kidnap her and brain-
  wash her. A war starts 
  between PSI and GRAB, 
  with the PCs (and lots 
  of helpless innocents) 
  caught in the middle.
  
  88 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  impressed it 
  oﬀ ered Humming-
  bird membership in the 
  team. It didn’t take Melissa 
  long to agree; the group’s atti-
  tude toward crime suited hers, 
  and it was a lot more fun to hang out 
  with other super-people than spend so 
  much time by herself. She’s been a member 
  in good standing since then, and enjoying every 
  minute.
  Personality/Motivation:  Hummingbird isn’t a 
  hardened criminal. She’s more of a young adult 
  on a lark. She loves her powers and what she can 
  do with them. She likes spying on people without 
  being detected (she loves knowing peoples’ secrets), 
  making people do whatever she wants, and getting 
  whatever she wants without paying for it. She really 
  isn’t into the whole self-sacriﬁ ce, devotion to the 
  cause of good routine most heroes go in for; she’s 
  essentially a selﬁ sh, petty, rather vain person who’d 
  rather look out for herself than use her powers to 
  help others. “Self-sacriﬁ ce, who needs that? Gimme 
  the mink coat and diamond necklace any day!”
  Hummingbird’s villainous tendencies run 
  strictly to the larcenous. She has no desire what-
  soever to play nasty tricks on superheroes (okay, 
  maybe a little prank or two every now and then), 
  or to get in ﬁ ghts with them — or anybody else, for 
  that matter. If someone pulled a gun on her, she’d 
  probably freak out. Th is is really just a big game to 
  her, something to do for kicks. In fact, she doesn’t 
  always take things nearly seriously enough; she’s 
  something of an airhead, prone to ignoring plan-
  ning meetings and other important details. (About 
  once every adventure or two she appears in, the 
  GM should make an EGO Roll for her; if she fails, 
  she forgets some important detail and causes prob-
  lems for GRAB as a result.)
  Hummingbird gets along well with her team-
  mates, particularly Bluejay and (to a lesser extent) 
  Black Diamond. She and Bluejay oft en go out shop-
  ping together.
  Quote:  “Size counts! But not in the way you’re 
  thinking.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Hummingbird is a mutant with the 
  power to shrink her body down to about 2.5 inches 
  tall. When she shrinks, her cells become extremely 
  compact, which makes her resistant to damage. Th e 
  compaction also somehow strengthens her brain 
  cells, giving her mental powers (she may develop 
  additional ones in time). She can also use the resid-
  ual energies from reducing her size to ﬂ y.
  Most of Hummingbird’s powers are Linked 
  to her Shrinking. For every 10 points’ worth of 
  Shrinking she uses, she can use 1d6 of Ego Attack, 
  2d6 of Mind Control, or 5” of Flight. She usually 
  Shrinks down as small 
  as she can go.
  Hummingbird 
  dislikes combat intensely 
  and will avoid it if at all possible. If 
  she can’t, she’ll try to use Held Actions to pro-
  tect herself by Dodging or Diving For Cover. She’s 
  also gotten quite good at Shrinking, hiding behind 
  something strong enough to protect her from 
  counterattack, and then blasting away at enemies 
  with her Neural Cohesion powers.
  Campaign Use:  Like the other members of 
  GRAB, Hummingbird is primarily a thief, not a 
  combatant. The GM should use her appropriately 
  — as the focus for mystery and chase-and-cap-
  ture scenarios, rather than straight-up battles. 
  Given that she’s not particularly malicious or 
  vicious, she might even make a good potential 
  romantic interest for a PC hero.
  If you need to make Hummingbird more pow-
  erful, there are two possible routes you can take. 
  One is to emphasize her psionic abilities — give her 
  more Mental Powers and increase her EGO. Th e 
  other is to focus on her speed — make her a speed-
  ster by increasing her Flight, her SPD, and her abil-
  ity to Dodge. A little more defense wouldn’t hurt, 
  either. To make her less powerful, reduce her SPD 
  and inches of Flight.
  Hummingbird would probably never Hunt a 
  hero; that’s just not her style. If a heroine stole her 
  boyfriend, she might mount a campaign of vicious 
  pranks and sneak attacks, but that’s about it.
  Appearance:  Hummingbird is a pretty 19-year-old 
  girl with shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, 
  and a trim, attractive ﬁ gure. Her normal costume 
  consists of tight green pants, a green top that bares 
  her midriﬀ , nothing on her arms, short gold gloves, 
  and gold boots — but sometimes she changes the 
  color scheme around, just for fun. She doesn’t wear 
  a mask.
  
  89 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Membership:  The membership of PSI is extensive 
  and diverse; the most powerful and important mem-
  bers include Psimon, Hypnos, Lancer, Medusa, Mind 
  Slayer, and Torment.
  B
  ackground/History:  Th e story of PSI, the 
  Parapsychological Studies Institute, began in 
  1980 when the National Institute of Health, 
  working with a grant from the estate of the 
  super-scientist Michael Maven, formed a task force 
  to study beneﬁ cial human mutations in general and 
  psionic and psychokinetic powers in particular. 
  Th e scientist they put in charge of the program 
  was Dr. Sebastian Poe, a prodigy in his mid-20s 
  who had already published several papers on the 
  topic of what he referred to as “cerebellic genetic 
  deviations.” Poe had several theories about psionics, 
  most interestingly that while everyone was born 
  with a certain level of potential for psionic powers, 
  certain combinations of proteins and other chemi-
  cals could greatly enhance the powers of those who 
  had already manifested small talents.
  Unfortunately, Poe was unable to prove his 
  theories quickly enough, and the NIH cut his 
  funding in 1984. Poe believed he was very close to 
  a breakthrough, so he opened a private research 
  company, also called the Parapsychological Studies 
  Institute, in Maryland with his own funds. Since he 
  no longer had the government providing him with 
  patients to experiment on, he hired Trace, a pri-
  vate detective who had already manifested psychic 
  tracking abilities, to help him ﬁ nd subjects for his 
  experiments.
  In 1985, Poe had his breakthrough, develop-
  ing what he called the “Psi Serum.” Using it on 
  himself, he ampliﬁ ed his own psychic potential 
  to the point where he could actually perceive the 
  world through other people’s senses. Th rilled by his 
  success, he also began experimenting on his own 
  infant son Kevin, though at ﬁ rst this had no eﬀ ect. 
  Just as everything seemed to be going so well, Poe’s 
  other personal investments failed and he was sud-
  denly unable to continue maintaining the clinic. 
  In desperation, Poe turned to organized crime and 
  the Scarlatti family, who ruled the underworld of 
  Baltimore. Sam Scarlatti saw the potential value of 
  Poe’s serum and agreed to continue to fund Poe’s 
  research, as long as Poe could continue to provide 
  superhuman help for the Scarlattis in the form of 
  his successful “experiments.”
  Poe went straight to work, and within months 
  he had his ﬁ rst two criminal successes:  Darkmind, 
  a powerful telepath; and Crimson, who manifested 
  additional telekinetic “limbs.” Poe had also hired a 
  new accountant, Madeline Bruner, and began an 
  aﬀ air with her. Bruner found out she had latent 
  psionic potential and insisted she also get a sample 
  of the serum; soon she manifested powers herself. 
  Learning of the aﬀ air (and also the illicit experi-
  ments Poe had performed on their child), Poe’s wife 
  Renee left  him and took Kevin into hiding some-
  where in the midwest.
  By 1990 Madeline and Poe were married, 
  and her ambition began to guide Poe’s work. Dis-
  satisﬁ ed with merely providing soldiers for the 
  mob, Madeline devised a plan to actually use their 
  powers to seize control of the Scarlatti family, and 
  under her direction the Psi Super-Agents carried 
  it out. Not long aft er, she repeated the plan, except 
  that this time her target was Baltimore’s VIPER 
  Nest, and included in her spoils was the brilliant 
  mechanical engineer Bradley Richards, who had 
  devised most of that particular Nest’s equipment. 
  PSI’s power had begun to grow. Th e pace of 
  growth, however, remained too slow for Madeline, 
  who now preferred her codename “Medusa.” She 
  began an aﬀ air with the most powerful of the ﬁ eld 
  agents, a protégé of Poe’s called Psimon, and in 
  1994 the two devised a scheme to remove Poe from 
  leadership. Carefully weaving a web of betrayal, 
  Medusa and Psimon sacriﬁ ced their Maryland 
  headquarters by leaving enough clues for the Jus-
  tice Squadron to ﬁ nd and capture Poe and several 
  other agents. Th anks to their careful planning, Poe’s 
  claims that the Squadron had not in fact captured 
  all of the organization were not believed, and in 
  1995 Poe was sentenced to a decade in Stronghold, 
  where he remains to this day.
  Meanwhile, the rest of PSI went underground, 
  founding a new base just outside of the rebuilding 
  city of Detroit (soon to be renamed Millennium 
  City). Psimon and Medusa began a new series of 
  plans, forming a special school for young mentalists 
  whose student body was made up of runaways and 
  kidnapees with psionic potential. Th ey also started 
  a new self-help movement called Mind Incorpo-
  rated with the assistance of author Edward Cum-
  mings to bring more confused mentalists under 
  their sway. And now, Madeline has begun to size 
  up the possibilities of taking control of the Millen-
  nium City government. So far, the new PSI has yet 
  to face a defeat thanks to their caution and careful 
  planning (though they did tangle inconclusively 
  with the Champions in 2001). Th ey’ve assembled a 
  large team of mentalists, ranging from the power-
  ful ones described here to many with lesser powers, 
  and they have more on the way. Eventually they 
  intend to control the entire country from behind 
  the scenes, and when they ﬁ nally make their move 
  they may well be unstoppable. Unless, of course, 
  PSI
  THE PSI SERUM
  Although Sebastian Poe 
  is in prison, PSI retains 
  control of his greatest 
  discovery, the Psi Serum. 
  Th e Psi Serum has the 
  eﬀ ect of amplifying a 
  person’s latent psionic 
  potential. If adminis-
  tered to a person with 
  no psionic potential 
  at all, it has no eﬀ ect 
  (other than sometimes 
  making the subject 
  mildly ill for one or two 
  days). But if the subject 
  has the tiniest trace of 
  latent psionic potential 
  — even so little that, like 
  Madeline Bruner, they 
  don’t register as mutants 
  on mutant detection 
  scanners — then the 
  Psi Serum interacts 
  with and increases that 
  potential, usually to the 
  point where the sub-
  ject gains true mental 
  powers. Th e stronger 
  the subject’s potential, 
  the stronger the powers 
  he gains from the Psi 
  Serum; to date, Psimon 
  is the strongest and 
  most versatile mentalist 
  created with the Serum.
  PSI keeps a small stock 
  of the Psi Serum on 
  hand for testing new 
  “recruits” (even if they 
  don’t know they’re being 
  tested). Th e formula 
  is a carefully-guarded 
  secret; only Medusa and 
  Psimon know it in full.
  
  90 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  some heroes uncover their plans ﬁ rst, and survive 
  long enough to do something about them....
  Group Relations:  Th e relations between the mem-
  bers of PSI are not the best; in a group of such mis-
  ﬁ ts and powerhungry criminals, there are bound 
  to be conﬂ icts. Th e ongoing love aﬀ air between 
  Psimon and Medusa ties them tightly together, but 
  Mind Slayer has her deadly eyes on Psimon for 
  herself. Lancer questions the group’s eﬃ  ciency and 
  secretly entertains ideas about eliminating the two 
  lovers and taking over. Hypnos has ambitions of his 
  own. Only their mutual desire for power and proﬁ t, 
  which they can more easily acquire together, keeps 
  them functioning as a group.
  PSI has an ongoing feud with VIPER due to 
  the “Baltimore incident” (as VIPER refers to it), and 
  is currently involved in a low-scale underworld war 
  with ARGENT over what it views as that group’s 
  attempt to trick it and independently develop 
  psionic technology (see Champions Universe, page 
  146). It regards independent mentalist villains, like 
  Cybermind and Esper, as potential recruits, though 
  it sees Menton as a major threat. Given a reasonable 
  chance of success, PSI would probably try to elimi-
  nate Menton.
  Tactics:  PSI’s approach to combat is diﬀ erent 
  from that of other villain teams, since its mem-
  bers’ powers mostly fall into the same category, 
  mentalism. Instead of working together to pound 
  opponents into the dirt, they combine their mental 
  powers to achieve greater eﬀ ects (see Comple-
  mentary Mental Powers on page 119 of the HERO 
  System 5th Edition, Revised). Early in battle, Hypnos 
  oft en concentrates on using his Drain EGO so that 
  enemies become more vulnerable to the team’s 
  powers; the other members protect him while he 
  does this (assuming he can’t ﬁ nd cover himself). 
  Psimon uses his Group Mind power to keep the 
  team in contact during any mission or battle.
  Other than its general lack of anyone but 
  mentalists, PSI’s major tactical weaknesses is its 
  inability to move quickly, or in unusual ways. Of 
  the six most powerful members, only two, Hypnos 
  and Mind Slayer, can ﬂ y; the others are limited to 
  running. Th ey plan their jobs and battles to take 
  this into account as much as possible, but it still 
  causes problems from time to time. Psimon has put 
  some funds into researching personal teleportation 
  technology, but so far nothing has come of it; he’d 
  be interested in stealing some if he knew a good 
  source. As an alternative, he’d be willing to create 
  versions of Hypnos’s belt jets for everyone, but 
  Hypnos refuses to let anyone examine or reverse-
  engineer them.
  PSI members typically carry a common set of 
  equipment when in the ﬁ eld:  a PSI blaster, for use 
  against opponents like robots who aren’t suscepti-
  ble to psionic powers; a specially-tailored armored 
  costume (with a distinctive PSI belt-buckle, but 
  rarely including a mask); and a radio. Some mem-
  bers don’t like to carry the blaster and conveniently 
  “forget” it on occasion.
  Campaign Use:  You can use PSI in one of two ways. 
  Th e ﬁ rst, but perhaps least satisfying, is as straight-
  forward combat opponents for the PCs — sort of 
  the same way you’d use Eurostar or the Ultimates. 
  Given the specialized nature of PSI, this may be 
  problematic. If your PCs don’t have any strong 
  defenses against Mental Powers, PSI will walk all 
  over them; if they have too many defenses, they’ll 
  walk all over PSI.
  Th e second, and preferable, way is to empha-
  size the behind-the-scenes, conspiratorial scheming 
  aspect of PSI — the aspect Medusa is so enamored 
  of. With their psionic powers, the members of PSI 
  can inﬁ ltrate governments and institutions, obtain-
  ing power and riches while secretly corrupting 
  society. Th is is a much more insidious and evil 
  form of supercrime than simply smashing banks 
  apart to take the money, and one the PCs will have 
  a harder time coming to grips with — which makes 
  PSI more of an intriguing challenge. Th ey can still 
  hold their own if a ﬁ ght breaks out (as it inevitably 
  will), but they’re not just combat machines, and this 
  approach focuses on what makes them so danger-
  ous:  their ability to control people and events with-
  out being detected.
  If PSI isn’t powerful enough for your PCs, all 
  you have to do is create some more members. Th e 
  six described here deﬁ nitely are not the limit of 
  PSI’s roster. Many others, such as the Inquisitor, 
  Soulﬁ re, Deuce, and Teke could be moved up into 
  the “lead ranks” easily — and you can tailor their 
  powers to suit whatever weaknesses you feel PSI 
  has vis-a-vis the player characters. On the other 
  hand, if PSI’s members are too powerful, decrease 
  their mental powers generally (or get rid of the 
  powers causing you the most trouble), get rid of 
  their standard equipment, or remove a few mem-
  bers from the team.
  PSI is a dangerous and powerful Hunted. 
  Rather than take on its quarry directly, the team 
  conducts surveillance and research, ﬁ nding out 
  whatever it can and using that information to 
  mount a campaign of covert harassment. A little 
  Mind Control on the right people is enough to get 
  a hero audited, divorced, ﬁ red, or arrested (among 
  other things), and that’s just the beginning. When 
  PSI feels the foe is suﬃ  ciently weakened, it closes in 
  to kill him... or transform him into a puppet to do 
  its bidding.
   PSI PLOT SEEDS
  Medusa gets tired of 
  the slow pace of the 
  team’s schemes. At 
  her insistence, Mind, 
  Incorporated begins a 
  major recruitment drive 
  to swell PSI’s ranks. 
  However, greater public 
  exposure also brings 
  with it the risk of greater 
  exposure of PSI’s true 
  purposes and plans. Is 
  this the break the heroes 
  need to shut PSI down 
  for good?
  Sebastian Poe gets 
  released from prison 
  early for good behavior. 
  Furious at Medusa’s and 
  Psimon’s betrayal, he 
  teams up with VIPER 
  to get both revenge and 
  control of the group 
  back. He plans to give a 
  squad of VIPER agents 
  special psionic powers 
  and use them to smash 
  PSI, then turn the tables 
  on VIPER, re-form PSI, 
  and start a new under-
  world empire of his 
  own. But what happens 
  if Kevin Poe shows up, 
  possessing vast mental 
  powers thanks to his 
  father’s early experi-
  ments, and wants to kill 
  his father and destroy 
  everything associated 
  with him?
  Aft er one of Menton’s 
  schemes is foiled by 
  the PCs, PSI senses its 
  opportunity and puts 
  together a “hit squad” to 
  take him out. Th e PCs 
  soon ﬁ nd themselves 
  in a position of having 
  to defend a weakened, 
  but potentially world-
  conquering, enemy from 
  another, lesser but still 
  deadly, foe.
  Recruitment Drive
  ‘Frustrated? Angry? Not able to 
  live up to your potential? Now 
  there’s help for you — right 
  inside your own brain!
  ‘Unlock the amazing powers of your mind with 
  Mind, Incorporated! Using special techniques 
  developed by Nobel Prize-winning scientists, 
  the counselors of Mind, Inc. will teach you 
  how to put aside petty fears and doubts and 
  let your true self emerge. Conﬁ dent and in 
  control, you’ll be able to achieve things you 
  never have before!’
   
  —From a Mind, Incorporated 
  “informational pamphlet”
  
  91 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  PSIMON
   Val  Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift  150 kg; 2.5d6 [1]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   15 BODY 10 
  12- 
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13- 
   29 EGO 
  38 
  15- 
  ECV:  10
   23 PRE 
  13 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  4½d6 
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   7 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  15 PD (8 rPD)
   10 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  18 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  22 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   15 REC 
  14
   60 END 
  5
   35 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  182
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  60 
  Mental Domination:  Multipower, 
  60-point reserve
  12m 1) Superior Will:  Mind Control 12d6 
  6
  12m 2) Open Your Mind to Me:  Telepathy 12d6 6
  12m 3) Control Of Th e Senses:  Mental 
  Illusions 12d6 
  6
  12m  4) Mental Overload:  Ego Attack 6d6 
  6
  12m 5) No Escape From My Th oughts:  
  Mind Scan 12d6 
  6
  20 
  PSI Blaster:  Energy Blast 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  16 
  PSI Armored Costume:  Armor 
  (8 PD/8 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  9 
  Mental Wards:  Mental Defense 
  (15 points total) 
  0
  35 
  Group Mind:  Mind Link, any group of 
  up to 16 minds 
  0
  4 
  PSI Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼) 0
   
  Talents/Perks
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ 
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Mental Domination Multipower  
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  2 
  KS: American Superheroes 11-
  2 
  KS: Television Shows 11-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  3 
  Seduction 14-
  3 
  Tactics 13-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  234
  Total Cost:  416
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  10 
  Enraged:  when taunted eﬀ ectively or 
  humiliated (Common) go 8-, recover 14-
  20 
  Hunted:  VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  5 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vain About His 
  Appearance (Uncommon, Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Consistently 
  Underestimates Female Opponents 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Powerhungry 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Medusa 
  Despite Th eir Fights (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Romantic (with Medusa’s various 
  other lovers)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Simon 
  Bell) (Frequently, Major)
  111 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  416
  Background/History:  Simon Bell was PSI’s ﬁ rst great 
  success under Sebastian Poe’s leadership. In 1992, 
  Bell, a nondescript college student at the University 
  of Maryland, checked himself into a local hospital 
  complaining of migraine headaches. While there, 
  he began to manifest psychic powers, giving several 
  of the nurses and residents “waking nightmares” in 
  the process. His “emergence” was detected by Trace, 
  and Poe visited him in the hospital, recruiting him 
  into PSI that very aft ernoon.
  Giving him the joking code name “Psimon,” Poe 
  ran Bell through the full battery of tests, and eventu-
  ally woke in him an impressive suite of psychic abili-
  ties. Poe began to regard Bell as his eventual second-
  in-command. Meanwhile, Medusa became quite 
  taken with the handsome, aggressive young man, 
  and the two started a torrid aﬀ air. Obsessed as always 
  with personal power, Medusa decided Psimon was 
  both more forceful and more easily manipulated than 
  Poe, and convinced him to overthrow his mentor and 
  seize control of the organization. With her assistance, 
  Psimon laid the trap that led to the Justice Squad-
  ron capturing Poe and apparently “destroying” PSI. 
  Instead, Psimon led the team underground and has 
  commanded it ever since.
  Personality:  Psimon has been a fairly eﬀ ective 
  leader for PSI. Th ough not very well-read or edu-
  cated (television is the limit of his entertainment), 
  he is a strong tactician and a sharp thinker, using 
  his team’s abilities to their fullest advantage. He is 
  not subtle, so he lets Medusa handle the scheming, 
  reserving the power to approve her plans for him-
  self. Personally, he has a massive ego and enormous 
  faith in his own abilities. He frequently underes-
  timates the abilities of his opponents, especially 
  if they are female, though to his credit he usually 
  learns from his mistakes. He knows PSI’s greatest 
  strength has been its patience and willingness to 
  work behind the scenes, and is loath to risk reveal-
  ing its existence to the public for anything but the 
  highest stakes. Personally, he is a bit of a bully and 
  has no patience for weakness, which he exploits 
  cruelly for his own ends (as he does with Mind 
  Slayer and Torment).
  Despite his ego and desire for power, Psimon 
  genuinely cares for Medusa, though the two of 
  them ﬁ ght frequently. He does not take kindly to 
  other men paying her attention.
  PSIMON 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Psimon gets tired of 
  Medusa calling him “a 
  dummy” and enrolls in 
  Millennium City Uni-
  versity (it’s easy to get a 
  scholarship when you 
  have Mind Control!). 
  Th e possibilities for 
  unusual interaction with 
  professors who secretly 
  have superpowers, PCs 
  who study or teach 
  there, and the like are 
  endless.
  Aft er a battle with the 
  PCs, Psimon decides 
  one of the male heroes 
  was attracting just a 
  little too much of Medu-
  sa’s attention. He sets out 
  to teach the hero not to 
  mess with his girl.
  During a ﬁ ght with 
  VIPER, Psimon is badly 
  injured and captured. 
  VIPER bioengineers 
  rebuild him with 
  numberous cybernetic 
  enhancements (includ-
  ing a mind-control 
  chip so he has to do 
  what they say), and 
  then unleash him to 
  wreak havoc on the city, 
  hopefully damaging 
  or exposing PSI in the 
  process.
  
  92 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Quote:  “All right, hero. Time to do as Psimon says!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Psimon is one of the more pow-
  erful psychics on Earth, though nowhere near 
  the range of Menton or Mentalla. His powers 
  are varied and strong, allowing him the abil-
  ity to deploy his teammates according to 
  their own strengths and covering their 
  weaknesses himself. In combat he tries 
  to identify the opposition’s leaders and 
  remove them with Mind Control or 
  Mental Illusions, hopefully scrambling 
  any plan of attack. His Mind Link 
  allows him to remain in constant 
  contact with his own team, whom he 
  directs to strike by surprise and from 
  hiding wherever possible.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory 
  text for general information. As 
  the leader of PSI, Psimon should 
  have as much or more knowl-
  edge of any plot the organiza-
  tion gets involved in than any 
  other member (except maybe 
  Medusa), though not of indi-
  vidual members’ activities, 
  which could lead to some inter-
  esting situations. VIPER (or any 
  other organization PSI has interfered 
  with) might recognize his value and 
  either attempt to recruit him them-
  selves or remove him to weaken 
  PSI for a future attack.
  If Psimon isn’t powerful 
  enough to aﬀ ect the PCs in your campaign, try 
  increasing his Multipower to a 75 Active Point 
  reserve (and possibly increase some of the slots 
  as well), or give him some gadgets to make him a 
  more well-rounded combatant. If he’s too eﬀ ec-
  tive, decrease the Multipower reserve to 50 Active 
  Points.
  Psimon’s generally too cautious to Hunt a hero 
  on his own. He’ll lead PSI’s eﬀ orts to Hunt someone 
  as a group, but it’s unlikely he’d go aft er a hero (par-
  ticularly a powerful one) without backup.
  Appearance:  Psimon is a handsome young dark-
  haired man in his late twenties, standing about 6’1”, 
  with a small beard in the middle of his chin. He has 
  piercing blue eyes and a charming, boyish grin he 
  uses to great eﬀ ect. Fastidious in his appearance, he 
  hates to get dirty, and usually wears tailored clothes 
  (including his PSI jumpsuit, which he’s had altered 
  to ﬁ t him better). He sometimes wears a longcoat 
  over the jumpsuit.
  HYPNOS
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  150 kg; 3d6 [1]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13- 
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11- 
   23 EGO 
  26 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   12 PRE 
  2 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6 
   10 COM  
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  16 PD (8 rPD)
   7 ED 
  3 
   
  Total:  15 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  22 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   9 REC 
  4
   56 END 
  10
   30 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  120
  Movement: 
  Running:   
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Mental Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  30 
  1) Power Of Suggestion:  Mind Control 12d6 6
  32 
  2) Mental Shock:  Ego Attack 5d6, Does 
  Knockback (+¼) 
  6
  32 
  3) Sapping Th e Will:  Drain EGO 2½d6, 
  BOECV (Mental Defense applies; +1), 
  Ranged (+½) 
  6
  20 
  PSI Blaster:  Energy Blast 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
   
  Martial Arts:  Brawling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Eye Gouge 
  -1 
  -1 
  Sight Group 
  Flash 4d6
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND (3)
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6 Strike
  3 
  Tackle 
  +0 
  -1 
  3d6 + v/5 Strike; 
  You Fall, Target 
  Falls
  16 
  PSI Armored Costume:  Armor 
  (8 PD/8 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Mental Wards:  Mental Defense 
  (15 points total) 
  0
  16 
  Concealed Belt Jets:  Flight 10”; IIF (-¼), 
  Fuel Charge (1 Continuing Charge 
  lasting 1 Hour; -0) 
  [1cc]
  4 
  PSI Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OAF (-1), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +3 OECV with Mind Control
  3 
  Conversation 11-
  3 
  Disguise 11-
  1 
  Gambling (Card Games) 8-
  2 
  KS: East Coast Maﬁ a 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  3 
  Persuasion 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  1 
  Streetwise 8-
  1 
  Teamwork 8-
  
  93 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  230
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Conceal-
  able; Always Noticed; Detectable Only By 
  Unusual Senses)
  15 
  DNPC:  Wanda Van Der Schaaf (retired 
  mother, in a nursing home) 8- (Incompetent)
  20 
  Hunted:   VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  10 
  Hunted:   Mighty Man 8- (As Pow, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Lecherous 
  (Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Reputation:  supervillain who’s been beaten 
  many times, 11-
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Psimon for lead-
  ership of PSI)
  10 
  Unluck 2d6
  45 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Brian Van Der Schaaf was always 
  a bad kid — which only made sense, since his Mom 
  was the notorious supervillainess Dr. Bedlam. Aft er his 
  mental powers manifested, he used them to bully his 
  foster parents, teachers, and classmates, and when he 
  ﬁ nally got caught on a breaking-and-entering charge 
  in 1983 and was sent to reform school, well, he wound 
  up pretty much running the place. All his life he’d 
  watched superbeings battle each other on the evening 
  news, and ﬁ nally he decided he was ready to join the 
  fun. He developed a costume, stole some experimental 
  belt-jets, and became the mercenary criminal Hypnos.
  Well, being a supervillain turned out to be harder 
  than Brian had thought. He ran into a second-rate 
  hero called Mighty Man the ﬁ rst couple of times out of 
  the starting gate, and despite his obvious edge in intel-
  ligence got beaten and wound up in Stronghold. He 
  participated in the Great Stronghold Breakout of 1990, 
  only to get rapidly recaptured by Vanguard. And when 
  he teamed up with some other villains to rob Fort 
  Knox, things ﬁ nally seemed to be looking up — but 
  then the Sentinels came along and busted up that little 
  party.
  Finally, in 1992 Hypnos took a job working as a 
  henchman for the Lyndon mob in Philadelphia, and 
  when the Scarlatti family took out a hit on Mr. Lyndon 
  himself, Hypnos wound up in direct conﬂ ict with 
  Psimon. Th e two struck up a conversation, and Psimon 
  oﬀ ered Hypnos a choice:  come join PSI as a ﬁ eld 
  agent, or die along with his employers. Hypnos signed 
  up without hesitation. For the last decade Hypnos has 
  added mental muscle to the PSI “ground troops.” He’s 
  fairly happy with his current situation, but of course 
  he’s always willing to listen to the next oﬀ er.
  Personality:  Hypnos is a straightforward costumed 
  villain. He’s greedy, amoral, and lazy, and wants to use 
  his powers to “get some for himself and the heck with 
  everybody else.” He’s not particularly violent unless he’s 
  scared or embarrassed, and isn’t really a killer. Mostly 
  he just likes the excitement of ﬁ ghting the law and 
  living life on the edge. He also is a ﬁ rst-class lecher 
  and made passes at pretty much every female 
  in PSI. Medusa has strung him along with 
  promises, Lancer was mostly confused 
  and turned him down, and Mind Slayer 
  nearly cut him in half. He won’t be 
  trying that one again.
  Quote:  “Hey, Nighthawk! Why don’t 
  you go play in traﬃ  c? No, I mean it....”
  Powers/Tactics:  Hypnos 
  doesn’t much care about 
  tactics, preferring to con-
  centrate on having fun, 
  looking good, and humiliat-
  ing heroes. Unless Psimon orders him 
  to use his Drain EGO to support 
  one of his teammates, his general 
  technique involves swooping into 
  the fray with his belt-jets and 
  zapping whichever hero he ﬁ nds 
  most annoying with a couple 
  of Drain EGOs, then order-
  ing them to do something 
  spectacularly dangerous 
  with his Mind Control 
  and watching the fun. 
  He is not above using his 
  Mind Control to sic oppo-
  nents who are getting 
  to close to him on his 
  teammates if the eﬀ ect 
  is easier to maintain.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Aside from his general criminal conduct 
  as a member of PSI, Hypnos is useful to the GM as a 
  potential weak spot in PSI’s armor. Not only would he 
  like to displace Psimon (if for no other reason than 
  to have a better chance with Medusa), but he’s also a 
  pretty good candidate to sell out the team if someone 
  like VIPER decides to go aft er PSI once and for all.
  To make Hypnos a tougher opponent, give him 
  more Elemental Control slots (possibly including some 
  Mind Scan, or a Mental Transform. To tone him down 
  a bit, increase the END cost for his Mind Control (and 
  maybe other powers).
  Hypnos might make a good Hunter or arch-
  nemesis for one of the PCs in your group, since his 
  annoying behavior makes him the kind of bad guy 
  heroes “love to hate.” (He’s particularly likely to annoy 
  heroines, because of his crude passes and suggestive 
  innuendo.) He prefers vicious ambushes involving his 
  Ego Attack, and if he succeeds in knocking his quarry 
  out, he Drains his EGO down to almost nothing and 
  then Mind Controls him when he wakes up.
  Appearance:  Hypnos is an odd-looking white male in 
  his mid-30s, completely bald and with unusually pale 
  skin and dark eyes. He stands 5’10 and weighs about 
  180. In his costumed identity, he wears a PSI armored 
  uniform, dark red in the center, boots, and gloves, and 
  gold along the sides and arms, with a “hypnotic eye” 
  chest symbol. Unlike most PSI members, he also wears 
  a cape, also gold-colored, with a high collar. His belt-
  jets are worn in back, concealed by his cloak.
  
  94 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  LANCER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  200 kg; 4d6 [2]
   21 DEX 
  33 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   17 BODY 14 
  12-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12- 
   25 EGO 
  30 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   11 PD 
  7 
   
  Total:  19 PD (8 rPD)
   10 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  18 ED (8 rED)
   6 SPD 
  29 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   13 REC 
  8
   66 END 
  10
   39 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  188
  Movement: 
  Running 7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  32 
  Mind Lance:  Ego Attack 4d6; Visible (-¼) 4
  30 
  Clouding Th e Mind:  Invisibility to Sight, 
  Hearing, Smell/Taste, and Mental Sense 
  Groups, No Fringe; Only Works Against 
  Sentient Targets She’s Aware Of (-½) 
  4
  20 
  PSI Blaster:  Energy Blast 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
   
  Martial Arts:  Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
  Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  4d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6 Strike
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  35 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
  Judo Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 30 STR
  4 
  Karate Chop 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR)
  16 
  PSI Armored Costume:  Armor 
  (8 PD/8 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Mental Wards:  Mental Defense 
  (15 points total) 
  0
  2 
  Athlete:  Running +1” (7” total) 
  1
  4 
  PSI Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼) 0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Lightsleep
  5 
  Resistance (5 points)
   
  Skills
  5 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Demolitions 12-
  2 
  KS: History Of Alternate Earth, 11-
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  2 
  PS: Psi-Warrior 11-
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  2 
  Survival (Temperate) 12-
  3 
  Systems Operation 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  TF: Common Ground Vehicles, Tracked 
  Military Vehicles
  5 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades, Grenade Launchers, 
  Shoulder-Fired Weapons
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  187
  Total Cost:  375
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Conceal-
  able; Always Noticed; Detectable Only By 
  Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:   VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants to Protect 
  Mentalists From Persecution (Uncommon, 
  Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Mistrusts 
  Non-Psis (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates Governments 
  And Military (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Unluck 1d6
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Mental 
  Illusions (Uncommon)
  80 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  375
  Background/History:  Charyle Zuidema was born 
  on a diﬀ erent Earth from ours, one in a paral-
  lel timeline where history had taken a diﬀ erent 
  course. On her Earth, psis were persecuted by the 
  world government, a United Nations-like organiza-
  tion that pursued mentalists with special security 
  robots. Charyle was part of a resistance cell located 
  in the Canadian wilderness, and since her powers 
  had developed in puberty had been trained as a 
  guerrilla psi-warrior, combining mental powers 
  and military skills into one lethal package. On one 
  fateful day in 1999, her cell was pinned down by 
  a squad of Hunterbots and several of her friends 
  were killed. As they crouched behind a fallen tree, 
  one of her teammates, Gavin Tanis, used a power 
  she hadn’t known he had:  the ability to cross 
  dimensions and travel between diﬀ erent histori-
  cal timelines. He sent her to our world to save her 
  life — the last thing she saw before fading out was 
  Gavin being struck by a hail of bullets.
   Charyle arrived in our world completely 
  unprepared, but determined to do whatever it took 
  to keep this world from becoming like the one she 
  left  behind. She joined PSI of her own free will, 
  believing that the only way for psis to guarantee 
  their safety was to control the governments of the 
  world. Th ough she doesn’t agree with Medusa or 
  Psimon generally on an ethical basis, she’s willing 
  to bide her time until she has built up a power base 
  of her own and can do to them what they did to 
  Poe. Towards that end, she’s been spending a lot 
  of time with Torment and a few of the kids at the 
  Academy....
  Personality:  Charyle is basically a good person 
  who feels herself to be at war. She generally mis-
  trusts anyone who isn’t a mentalist because of her 
  experiences growing up on her alternate Earth, 
  and is determined not to lose any more loved ones. 
  HYPNOS PLOT 
  SEEDS
  Hypnos meets Foxbat 
  in a bar one night. Over 
  several beers the two 
  decide they’re sick of not 
  being taken seriously, so 
  they’re going to team up 
  and terrorize the town! 
  Hilarity ensues as the 
  two half-drunk super-
  villains try to commit 
  various crimes.
  While driving to the 
  store one day, Hypnos 
  accidentally has a minor 
  fender-bender with 
  supermodel Nia Th ali-
  otos. Talk about luck! 
  Soon he’s being seen 
  all over town in the 
  company of a bevy of 
  gorgeous, subservient 
  women. Can the PCs 
  save the helpless models 
  from their horrible fate?
  An old friend from his 
  days as a mob super-
  hireling sells Hypnos 
  some experimental 
  force-ﬁ eld technology 
  “that fell oﬀ  the back 
  of a truck.” Now virtu-
  ally immune to injury, 
  Hypnos becomes even 
  more of an arrogant 
  nuisance than he was 
  before. Can Psimon keep 
  his position of power 
  within PSI? Can the PCs 
  stop Hypnos from com-
  mitting ever more spec-
  tacular crimes? What 
  happens when the War 
  Machine comes looking 
  for the Warlord’s stolen 
  technology?
  
  95 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  She considers her partnership with PSI to be a 
  temporary one, and justiﬁ es her participation 
  in their worst actions as the lesser of two 
  evils. Despite the atmosphere of treachery 
  and paranoia within PSI she has made a 
  few friends, like Deuce and even Torment; 
  she hopes they’ll make up the core of the 
  new PSI when she takes over in a few 
  years and uses PSI to keep the United 
  Nations from controlling the world.
  Th e history of Lancer’s Earth 
  is basically the same as that of 
  this Earth until 1970, at 
  which point it diverges 
  radically. Th us, she 
  has no knowledge of 
  this Earth’s history or 
  culture for the past thirty 
  years, which may cause her 
  minor diﬃ  culties from time to 
  time.
  Quote:  “We leave no one behind. Do 
  you understand me?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Lancer has two primary 
  powers. Th e ﬁ rst is her Mind Lance, which 
  is a visible purple beam of pure mental 
  force that emanates from her forehead. Th e 
  other is Clouding Th e Mind, with which she 
  creates a mental “blind spot” in her target, 
  preventing him from perceiving her in 
  any way short of actually touching her. To 
  use this power, she must concentrate on 
  the “targets” of the invisibility; therefore 
  anyone she remains unaware of can per-
  ceive 
  her normally.
  Lancer has a thorough background in guerrilla 
  tactics and years of experience as a soldier. While 
  not a true leader-type, she has a ﬁ ne tactical sense, 
  makes an excellent lieutenant and scout, and works 
  very well in groups. She doesn’t care for killing but 
  will do so when necessary.
  Th e structure of Lancer’s mutant mind makes 
  her more susceptible than most people to Mental 
  Illusions. She’s aware of this; Psimon, fortunately for 
  her, is not.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Eventually, Lancer won’t be able to 
  tolerate PSI’s evil plans and will want to take over 
  the organization. Her eﬀ orts in this regard might 
  make up a nice series of background stories over 
  the course of a campaign leading to a climactic 
  confrontation between two factions of PSI, with the 
  PCs in the middle! Also, it would be interesting if 
  pursuers from her home dimension ever crossed 
  over into Earth’s dimension, or perhaps the PCs 
  might make a visit to hers somehow. Lastly, it might 
  make an interesting complication if Lancer were to 
  encounter doubles of people she knew on her Earth 
  here; what sort of roles might the PCs or other 
  characters play in her timeline?
  To make Lancer more powerful, give her 
  some of her old psi-warrior military equipment 
  — for example, her mentally-linked assault riﬂ e 
  (RKA 2d6, Autoﬁ re, 64 Charges, +4 OCV only 
  for Lancer). You could also give her some Extra 
  Damage Classes for her martial arts, or another 
  minor mental ability or two. If you need to 
  weaken her, reduce her Characteristics a little 
  (including SPD to 5), and get rid of her Mind 
  Lance power.
  Lancer won’t Hunt heroes, unless she’s 
  convinced they’re working for the United 
  Nations to oppress mentalists. Her morals 
  and sympathies are more in tune with 
  their’s than with PSI’s. In fact, she could 
  easily wind up allying herself with the 
  PCs in some situations.
  Appearance:  Lancer is a redheaded 
  woman in her early 30s, standing 
  six feet tall. She wears her hair 
  cut very short, military style, to 
  keep it from bothering her when 
  she’s ﬁ ghting. Lean and muscular, 
  she has several scars on her body, 
  none visible while fully clothed. On most missions, 
  she wears a standard PSI costume, in gold and 
  green, but on others, and when oﬀ -duty, she prefers 
  looser-ﬁ tting military-type clothing with numerous 
  pockets.
  MEDUSA
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   8 STR   
  -2 
  11- 
  Lift  75 kg; 1½d6 [1]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   17 CON  
  14 
  12- 
   
   8 BODY -4 
  11- 
   23 INT 
  13 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   26 EGO 
  32 
  14- 
  ECV:  9
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  18 PD (14 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  18 ED (14 rED)
   4 SPD 
  14 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   34 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  9 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  108
  Movement: 
  Running 6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  120 
  Mental Paralysis:  Entangle 6d6, 8 DEF, 
  BOECV (Mental Defense applies; +1), 
  Takes No Damage From Physical Attacks 
  (+¼), Work Against EGO, Not STR (+¼), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Mental 
  Defense Adds To EGO (-½), Cannot 
  Form Barriers (-¼) 
  0
  20 
  PSI Blaster:  Energy Blast 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  7 
  Stiletto:  HKA ½d6 (1d6 with STR), 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OAF (-1), No 
  Knockback (-¼) 
  1
  16 
  PSI Armored Costume:  Armor (11 PD/11 
  ED); OIF (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  0
  15 
  Mental Wards:  Mental Defense (20 points 
  total) 
  0
  4 
  PSI Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OAF (-1), 
  LANCER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Lancer decides the time 
  has come to eliminate 
  Psimon and take over 
  PSI. She decides to do 
  to him what he did to 
  Sebastian Poe, using the 
  PCs in the place of the 
  Justice Squadron.
  Using money earned 
  as part of PSI and by 
  pulling some “side jobs,” 
  Lancer contracts with 
  Teleios to buy a squad 
  of custom-bred Psychic 
  Warriors, which she 
  intends to use ﬁ rst to 
  take over PSI, then to 
  return home and rout 
  the United Nations. But 
  what if Teleios has an 
  agenda of his own, and 
  the Psychic Warriors 
  start disobeying her?
  Th e United Nations 
  from Lancer’s dimen-
  sion ﬁ nds a way to 
  follow her and sends 
  Hunterbots in pursuit. 
  Soon mentalists every-
  where are coming under 
  attack from powerful 
  killer robots!
  
  96 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perk
  6 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talent
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  7 
  High Society 15-
  1 
  CK: Millennium City 8-
  3 
  KS: PSI’s Finances 14-
  2 
  KS: Millennium City Underworld 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Language: French (ﬂ uent conversation; Eng-
  lish is native)
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS:  Accountant 14- 
  7 
  Seduction 15-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 12-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  242
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:   VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Powerhungry 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Uses Sex To 
  Manipulate Men (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Actually In Love 
  With Psimon And Jealous Of His Attention 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Madeline 
  Bruner) (Frequently, Major)
  65 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Madeline Bruner was born in 
  1965 to upper-middle-class parents in Connecticut. 
  All her life she watched her parents try to scrabble 
  up the social ladder and not quite succeed. Every-
  thing they had, and it was plenty for most people, 
  was never enough for the Bruners. Madeline 
  learned her lessons well, and went oﬀ  to college 
  with the idea of acquiring a good job and then a 
  wealthy husband ﬁ rmly in mind. Aft er graduating 
  with a degree in accounting, she took a job as CFO 
  of a small research ﬁ rm in Maryland, only to dis-
  cover that the Parapsychological Studies Institute 
  was being funded by the mob in exchange for the 
  use of some of its students as super-criminals! Her 
  mother would have been scandalized, but Madeline 
  was only... intrigued.
  She began an aﬀ air with the Institute’s director, 
  Sebastian Poe, and when his wife found out and left  
  him they moved in together, marrying in 1989. She 
  became invaluable to Poe in his relationship with 
  the Scarlatti family, since he didn’t have the native 
  instinct for deception that she had or the ability to 
  organize and “cook” PSI’s books. And then, when 
  she asked him to give her the psychic activation 
  serum he’d developed, well, there was no way for 
  him to refuse.
  Once Madeline became Medusa, there was 
  no limit to her thirst for more power. First she 
  pushed Poe to betray the mob, and then to take 
  on and defeat the local VIPER Nest. But he moved 
  too slowly for her, so she instead took up with the 
  younger and more ambitious Psimon, and helped 
  him betray and overthrow Poe. Aft er escaping the 
  Justice Squadron, she convinced Psimon to move 
  PSI 
  to Millennium City and to found 
  ﬁ rst the Academy and then 
  Mind, Incorporated — all 
  the while juggling several 
  other lovers. Now she 
  has set her sights on 
  political power, and has 
  spent her time recently 
  establishing her new 
  secret identity of Madeline 
  Bell as a mover and shaker in 
  Millennium City’s local 
  politics. Th ough 
  Psimon remains the 
  oﬃ  cial head of PSI, 
  no one who deals 
  with the organization has any 
  doubt that it’s Medusa who really 
  holds the reins.
  Personality:  Medusa deﬁ nes 
  the word “powerhungry,” and 
  she has a generous dose of 
  good old-fashioned greed 
  to go with it. She won’t be 
  satisﬁ ed as long as someone 
  out there is happier and more 
  powerful than she is. Despite 
  everything she has, she still has 
  a pathological need to 
  acquire more, whether 
  it’s wealth, power, or the 
  attention of men. But 
  she’s a shrewd and craft y plotter and never enters 
  a situation without a plan. She is patient, methodi-
  cal, and absolutely ruthless to anyone unfortunate 
  enough to get in her way.
  Despite her constant string of aﬀ airs and will-
  ingness to use sex as a weapon, Medusa genuinely 
  loves Psimon, and gets jealous when he pays atten-
  tion to other women. Th ey may ﬁ ght a lot, but he’s 
  hers to ﬁ ght with, and anyone who tries to take him 
  away is going to suﬀ er.
  Quote:  “You’ll regret your interference in my plans. 
  Now why not be a good boy and stay there for a 
  while?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th anks to Sebastian Poe’s Psi 
  Serum, Medusa’s minuscule latent psionic potential 
  was vastly ampliﬁ ed, giving her a single, extremely 
  strong, mental power:  the ability to paralyze her 
  foes, locking up their voluntary muscles and motor 
  MEDUSA 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Medusa meets a male 
  PC in his civilian iden-
  tity at a highbrow social 
  function and sets out to 
  seduce him, thinking he 
  has something (money, 
  inﬂ uence, valuable prop-
  erty, fame) she can use 
  to further her ambitions.
  When Mind, Incorpo-
  rated comes under the 
  scrutiny of the authori-
  ties, Medusa decides 
  to eliminate the people 
  backing the potential 
  investigation. Th e PCs 
  are called in to investi-
  gate a series of bizarre 
  murders in which the 
  victims all had their 
  throats cut, but don’t 
  seem to have struggled 
  at all....
  Th e President 
  announces a visit to Mil-
  lennium City. Medusa 
  ﬁ gures this is her chance 
  to get close to him and 
  start acquiring real 
  power, so she makes 
  careful plans. Th e PCs 
  have to ﬁ nd out what 
  she’s up to and stop her.
  
  97 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  commands. Once she makes someone stop moving, 
  they usually can’t budge until the eﬀ ect wears oﬀ  
  (about a day later, unless another member of PSI 
  helps the victim out, or he breaks out on his own).
  Medusa avoids combat whenever possible. 
  If she can’t avoid it, she’ll get to cover quickly and 
  then snipe at targets, trying to set them up for her 
  teammates. She has been known to freeze people 
  who have particularly angered her and then slit 
  their throats, leaving them to watch as their lives 
  bleed slowly away. She carries a stiletto with sharp-
  ened edges for this purpose (it’s also good for 
  Surprise Move attacks against vulnerable foes who 
  don’t know she’s got it).
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Medusa is the “power behind the 
  throne” of PSI, and unlikely to appear without an 
  entourage of ﬁ eld agents to protect her. However, 
  her  recent eﬀ orts to manipulate political events 
  in Millennium City may bring her a new set of 
  enemies and rivals that might threaten PSI’s veil of 
  secrecy.
  To make Medusa more powerful, give her 
  some additional mental powers, though they 
  should be nowhere near as strong as her Mental 
  Paralysis. If she’s too eﬀ ective in your campaign, 
  reduce the dice and DEF of her Mental Paralysis 
  until it’s powerful enough to be frightening, but not 
  overwhelming.
  Medusa doesn’t get involved in Hunting 
  heroes; it’s not worth her while. She might, as 
  Madeline Bell, pursue a hero (in his costumed or 
  civilian identity) romantically if she sees something 
  to gain by it, or ﬁ nd a spiteful way to get back at a 
  hero who defeats, humiliates, or exposes her, but 
  nothing more.
  Appearance:  Medusa is in her mid-30s, and though 
  she is only slightly more attractive than average, she 
  has an indeﬁ nable appeal to some men. She is care-
  ful about her appearance, and keeps her thick mane 
  of long, black hair styled in whatever the fashion of 
  the moment might be. When she does have to work 
  in the ﬁ eld she wears a modiﬁ ed PSI costume, care-
  fully tailored to show oﬀ  her generous ﬁ gure.
  MIND SLAYER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   19 DEX 
  27 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13- 
   10 BODY 0 
  11- 
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11- 
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6 
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   9 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  40 PD (31 rPD)
   9 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  30 ED (21 rED)
   5 SPD 
  21 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   52 END 
  8
   27 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  117
  Movement: 
  Running:   
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Telekinesis:  Multipower, 75-point reserve
  15m 1) Telekinetic Blades:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END, +¼) 
  3
  15m 2) Mental Manipulation:  Telekinesis 
  (42 STR), Fine Manipulation 
  7
  15 
  Telekinetic Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  30-point powers
  15 
  1) Telekinetic Shield:  Force Field (20 PD/
  10 ED) 
  3
  30 
  2) Telekinetic Wall:  Force Wall 
  (12 PD/6 ED) 
  4
  15 
  3) Telekinetic Flight:  Flight 15” 
  3
  20 
  PSI Blaster:  Energy Blast 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  16 
  PSI Armored Costume:  Armor (11 PD/
  11 ED); OIF (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Mental Wards:  Mental Defense 
  (16 points total) 
  0
  15 
  Telekinetic Probe:  Spatial Awareness 
  (Mental Group); Costs Endurance (-½) 
  2
  4 
  PSI Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OAF (-1), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Telekinesis Multipower 
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  2 
  KS: Millennium City 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  1 
  Language:  Spanish (basic conversation; Eng-
  lish is native)
  3 
  Seduction 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  5 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  Survival (Urban) 11-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  274
  Total Cost:  391
  MIND SLAYER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  “What do you mean 
  you’re out of cigarettes?” 
  Caught in the grip of a 
  severe nicotine ﬁ t, Mind 
  Slayer trashes three con-
  venience stores and kills 
  six people before she 
  ﬁ nds a place that carries 
  her brand (Coﬃ  n Nails 
  Th in Menthols, in the 
  jet-black pack — ask 
  for them by name!). Th e 
  PCs are asked to inves-
  tigate the mysterious 
  crimes and bring the 
  killer to justice.
  Mind Slayer decides 
  it’s time to get rid of 
  Medusa so she can 
  have Psimon to herself. 
  However, she can’t just 
  kill her; that could 
  turn Psimon against 
  her forever, and that’s 
  unthinkable. Instead, 
  she buys an anaesthetic 
  gas from ARGENT 
  that mimics Medusa’s 
  powers, intending to 
  use it to frame her. Th e 
  PCs have to investigate a 
  wave of killings and stop 
  them, hopefully ﬁ guring 
  out in the process that it 
  was Mind Slayer and not 
  Medusa who slit those 
  throats.
  Mind Slayer recognizes 
  one of her old “regu-
  lars” in Chicago as an 
  up-and-coming Mil-
  lennium City politician 
  preaching a message of 
  “good old-fashioned 
  American family values.” 
  She begins blackmailing 
  him, so he has to ﬁ gure 
  out a way to sic the PCs 
  on her without reveal-
  ing his secret. And what 
  happens if Medusa ﬁ nds 
  out Mind Slayer has 
  withheld such valuable 
  information from her?
  Forewarned Is Forearmed
  ‘Listen up, people! That last 
  mission didn’t go so well 
  — those damned Champions 
  nearly caught us. It was only 
  thanks to Medusa taking a couple of them out 
  of the ﬁ ght that we managed to get away. We 
  might not be so lucky next time. It’s time to 
  start ﬁ nding out more about these jerks so we 
  can remove them from the picture. We’ve got 
  to learn more about them so we can locate 
  their weaknesses and use ’em against them. 
  Here’s what we’re going to do....’
   
  —Psimon, rallying his troops
  
  98 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  200+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Dependence:  character must smoke (or 
  otherwise ingest nicotine) at least once every 
  six hours or suﬀ er Incompetence (Very 
  Common, Addiction)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Conceal-
  able; Always Noticed; Detectable Only By 
  Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:   VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:   Police 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves And Needs 
  Approval From Psimon (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Violent (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Romantic, with Medusa, for Psi-
  mon’s aﬀ ection
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Stacy 
  Turner) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Unluck 2d6
  51 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  391
  Background/History:  Stacy Turner ran away from her 
  home in the suburbs of Chicago in 1989 when she 
  was sixteen, ﬂ eeing the beatings her father had given 
  her regularly since the death of her mother a few 
  years before. For a while she survived on the Chicago 
  streets, ﬁ rst as a petty thief and eventually as a pros-
  titute. But when one of her “johns” attempted to beat 
  her in a ﬁ lthy motel room late one night, she snapped 
  mentally and her powers manifested in the 
  form of telekinetic “knives” that tore her tor-
  mentor apart. Terriﬁ ed, Stacy stole his wallet 
  and used the money to get on a bus.
  While still on the run, she was 
  approached by a heavyset older man 
  who called himself Trace, who prom-
  ised to take her to a place where doc-
  tors could help her learn to use her 
  powers safely and no one would be able 
  to hurt her again. Th ough she was hesi-
  tant at ﬁ rst, eventually he won her over 
  and took her back to the Institute. Th ere 
  she met Dr. Poe, who showed her various 
  new ways to use her powers, and Psimon, 
  with whom she fell instantly in love. She 
  became one of PSI’s most feared assas-
  sins, and when Psimon approached her 
  about joining the “traitors” in taking over 
  the organization, she accepted immediately. 
  Now she serves as Psimon’s personal body-
  guard and aide, as well as an occasional 
  ﬁ eld agent.
  Personality:  Mind Slayer is absolutely 
  in love with and loyal to Psimon. 
  Even though she knows he also 
  has a relationship with Medusa, 
  she has convinced herself it 
  means nothing to him and she 
  remains his one true love (a fact 
  he’s quick to take advantage 
  of, especially when Medusa’s 
  not around). To everyone else, Mind Slayer is utterly 
  cold, merciless, and uncaring. She rarely even speaks 
  to anyone other than her “love.” She is quick to anger, 
  and reacts harshly and sometimes violently to any 
  attempt to engage her in conversation. Th e other 
  members of PSI have learned to just leave her alone 
  as much as possible. She smokes heavily but does not 
  drink or use other drugs. She takes her “bodyguard” 
  responsibilities seriously, and spends most of her 
  time at Psimon’s side watching out for danger.
  Quote:  “Don’t worry, dear, this costumed fool won’t 
  hurt you again aft er I cut him to ribbons.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Mind Slayer’s powers are all varia-
  tions on her telekinesis, from straightforward mental 
  “grabs” to shields of mental energy to psychokinetic 
  “ﬁ ngers” enabling her to function by feel in darkness. 
  Her specialty, however, are the razor-sharp “knives” 
  she fashions from pure mental force and hurls at 
  her enemies. She has no hesitation about using this 
  lethal attack in combat, and is therefore a fearsome 
  opponent.
  In a battle, Mind Slayer remains as close to 
  Psimon as possible, using her Force Wall to protect 
  him (and her) from attackers. Th at keeps her from 
  using her Telekinetic Blades, of course, but she can 
  still use ordinary Telekinesis. If necessary, she’ll leave 
  Psimon in a force bubble and ﬂ y out into battle, but 
  she’s loathe to do this for fear Psimon will get hurt 
  when she’s not around. If a ﬁ ght goes badly, she’ll pick 
  Psimon up and ﬂ y away with him.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. Mind Slayer is probably the least likely 
  member of PSI (aside from Psimon and Medusa) 
  to turn against the organization; she genuinely loves 
  Psimon and has no outside interests at all. However, 
  some day she may become aware that he doesn’t love 
  her in return, and her wrath in that case might be 
  fearsome. Also, her real father still lives in Chicago 
  — if a mission took her out there, she might decide to 
  drop in on him and try to resolve some old traumas.
  To make Mind Slayer more powerful, give her 
  some additional telekinetic powers, or increase her 
  Multipower reserve until she can add Indirect to her 
  Telekinetic blades and use them from within her 
  Force Wall. To weaken her, reduce her Multipower to 
  a 60 Active Point reserve, or decrease her END so she 
  has to watch how she uses her powers more carefully.
  Taking Mind Slayer as a Hunted is like signing 
  one’s own death warrant; she’s clever, fast, and vicious. 
  She likes to strike from surprise with her Telekinetic 
  Blades, preferably while her quarry is in public or 
  with loved ones.
  Appearance:  Mind Slayer is in her late twenties, and 
  has an exotic, unconventional beauty she disguises 
  with thick makeup and “punk” haircuts. Her lipstick 
  and nail polish are usually either black or a garish 
  candy color. She wears a modiﬁ ed PSI costume with 
  ﬁ shnet hose instead of leggings, which she decorates 
  with studs and spikes and “accessorizes” with pins, 
  bracelets, and safety pins. She never mends any of 
  the tears in her outﬁ t unless they’re too revealing for 
  comfort. Unless she’s ﬁ ghting, she’s probably got a lit 
  cigarette in her mouth or hand.
  
  99 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  TORMENT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12- 
   21 EGO 
  22 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6 
   16 COM 
  3 
  12- 
   10 PD 
  7 
   
  Total:  18 PD (8 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  16 PD (8 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   9 REC 
  4
   36 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  107
  Movement: 
  Running 7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  80 
  Share My Pain:  Ego Attack 4d6, 
  Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Concentration (½ DCV; -¼) 0
   
  Martial Arts:  Muay Th ai
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Low Kick 
  +0 
  +2 
  7d6 Strike
  5 
  Roundhouse 
   
  Kick/Knee Strike -2 
  +1 
  9d6 Strike
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  20 
  PSI Blaster:  Energy Blast 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  16 Charges (-0) 
  [16]
  16 
  PSI Armored Costume:  Armor 
  (8 PD/8 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  16 
  Mental Wards:  Mental Defense 
  (20 points total) 
  0
  2 
  Athletic:  +1” Running (7” total) 
  1
  4 
  PSI Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF (-1), Aﬀ ected As 
  Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼) 0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 OECV with Ego Attack
  4 
  +2 OCV with Low Kick
  2 
  KS: Pharmaceuticals 11-
  1 
  Paramedics 8-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  176
  Total Cost:  283
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Dependence:  must take special pain-
  relieving drugs at least once per day or 
  suﬀ er 3d6 damage (Uncommon)
  20 
  Hunted:  VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fear Of Pain 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Apathetic 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Jeﬀ  Bald-
  win) (Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Unluck 1d6
  Total Disadvantage Points:  300 (see text)
  Background/History:  Jeﬀ  Baldwin was born prema-
  turely in 1984 to a poor couple living in Los Ange-
  les. Aft er a desperate struggle to keep the infant 
  alive succeeded, doctors informed his parents he 
  had suﬀ ered irreparable brain damage and would 
  be mentally handicapped. Unable to aﬀ ord the care 
  necessary for a child with special needs, his parents 
  placed him for adoption and he was moved to a 
  special care center.
  By 1989 it was clear the doctors had misdiag-
  nosed young Jeﬀ rey, who was in fact very bright but 
  suﬀ ered from a freakish brain disorder that left  him 
  in constant agony. His nerves would ﬁ re at random, 
  inﬂ icting a ghostly pain that migrated around his 
  body and did not respond to any conventional 
  form of treatment. He lived in a series of hospitals 
  for the next several years, as scientists attempted 
  to determine how to alleviate his condition. In the 
  meantime, he was put on a series of drugs which 
  only dulled the pain.
  In 1993, Sebastian Poe learned of Jeﬀ ’s con-
  dition and oﬀ ered to help. (In fact, he suspected 
  a psychic origin for the pain and hoped to learn 
  how to control and even create such a condition in 
  others.) Within a few months, Poe and his assistant 
  Dr. Hurtado had developed a chemical that relieved 
  the pain. As they suspected, Jeﬀ  was also a psi and 
  the combination of activating drugs administered 
  to him also gave him the power to broadcast the 
  pain he felt into other people’s minds.
  Around this time, Psimon and Medusa 
  betrayed Poe to the authorities, and they took Jeﬀ  
  with the group when it went underground. With 
  the help of Dr. Hurtado, Psimon and Medusa brain-
  washed Jeﬀ , withholding his medication if he failed 
  to cooperate. By 1998, Jeﬀ  had become a reluctant 
  ﬁ eld agent for PSI under the codename Torment.
  Personality:  Torment has given up ﬁ ghting against 
  PSI’s brainwashing and serves them apathetically 
  out of fear of losing access to the drugs he needs. 
  Aft er spending his entire childhood in pain, he 
  will do just about anything to avoid the return 
  of the agony. A few years ago he made a couple 
  of attempts to steal the drugs and run away, but 
  both times he failed and was severely punished. 
  Jeﬀ  is now a gloomy and resigned individual who 
  no longer feels any joy in life; he follows orders 
  mechanically and disinterestedly.
  Quote:  “Don’t make me hurt you any more — 
  neither of us would like it.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Torment has one power — the 
  ability to project excruciating pain into the minds 
  of others. When he uses it, his focus is fully on his 
  target; to a certain extent they become “joined,” 
  though it is not in any sense a telepathic commu-
  nication. His mental wards are naturally strong; 
  TORMENT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Torment builds up a 
  tolerance to his drugs, 
  eventually reaching the 
  point where he’s in such 
  agony he broadcasts it 
  to others for hundreds 
  of yards around him. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ gure 
  out what’s going on, help 
  him, and put a stop to 
  PSI’s eﬀ orts to use his 
  powers for evil.
  Torment decides to ﬁ nd 
  out who his real parents 
  were. Maybe knowing 
  more about them, and 
  their medical histories, 
  can help him cure his 
  condition. Will he have 
  to enlist the PCs’ help 
  with the investigation 
  (no one at PSI will help 
  him, certainly, and 
  they’d probably try to 
  stop him)? What if his 
  parents are now famous, 
  rich, or even superhe-
  roes?
  Torment increases his 
  martial arts training 
  regimen to help himself 
  cope with his pain and 
  situation, even enter-
  ing some local tourna-
  ments. In the process he 
  meets a PC, perhaps in 
  his Secret Identity, and 
  develops a relationship 
  which could develop 
  into many diﬀ erent 
  subplots.
  
  100 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  though he has gone through the stan-
  dard PSI training, he did so without 
  enthusiasm and his defenses reﬂ ect no 
  particular study on his part. His martial 
  arts training began while he lived in 
  the clinic, as an eﬀ ort to build mental 
  discipline and pain-management 
  techniques. He found that the 
  intensive exercise and study 
  involved at least helped take 
  his mind oﬀ  the pain, and 
  has continued his kickbox-
  ing program into adult-
  hood, a practice PSI 
  approves of.
  In combat, Tor-
  ment does as he’s 
  told. He has no 
  desire to hurt, 
  much less kill, 
  anyone, but he’ll unleash 
  his pain on whoever Psimon tells him 
  to. He rarely dodges or tries to avoid 
  attacks.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for 
  general information. Heroes who learn of 
  Torment’s condition might be moved to help 
  him. Th e eﬀ orts of a PC scientist to duplicate 
  Hurtado’s pain drugs might succeed, in 
  which case Jeﬀ  would certainly show no 
  loyalty to PSI and might be moved to help 
  the heroes take the team down (and perhaps, 
  later, become a superhero himself). It would take 
  a great deal of eﬀ ort at this point to get Jeﬀ  to open 
  up to concerned PCs, but the results would cer-
  tainly be worth it.
  Torment is still relatively young and inex-
  perienced. He has 17 unspent Character Points, 
  plus the potential to acquire up to 50 more points’ 
  worth of Disadvantages as he grows into his powers 
  (don’t consider him a “starting character” until he 
  reaches the 350 point level). You can use these to 
  give him additional powers and Skills as the game 
  progresses.
  To make Torment more powerful, give him 
  more psionic abilities — maybe the power to trans-
  fer pain from one person to another (an odd Drain-
  Aid combination), the ability to alleviate pain in 
  others (Aid, Healing), or creating a naked Area Of 
  Eﬀ ect Advantage he can sometimes apply to Share 
  My Pain. To make him less powerful, decrease his 
  dice of Ego Attack.
  Torment doesn’t Hunt heroes. Even if ordered 
  to by Psimon, he’ll ﬁ nd a plausible way to botch the 
  job.
  Appearance:  Jeﬀ  is a half-Hispanic male in his late 
  teens, in excellent physical shape at 5’11” and 160 
  pounds, and dirty blonde hair that goes well with 
  his complexion. He wears a PSI costume with a 
  “shards of agony” pattern on the front.
  PSI SUPPORT TEAM
  The six villains depicted here aren’t the only 
  members of PSI. Others, whom the group can 
  call on if it needs them, include:
  Deuce:  A young and frightened girl with the abil-
  ity to manifest her “sinful spirit” as a dark, malevo-
  lent entity of psychic energy. She passes out when 
  this occurs, awakening only when the “spirit” re-
  merges with her body.
  Inquisitor:  A corpulent and disgusting man with 
  telepathic powers who spends most of his time 
  training PSI recruits... much to the recruits’ regret.
  Soulﬁ re:  A pyrokinetic able to mentally create and 
  control ﬁ re. Young, handsome, and ambitious, he 
  may one day pose a threat to Psimon’s leadership.
  Teke:  Full of energy and mischief, Teke is a teen-
  age boy with psychokinetic powers. Although 
  his psychokinetic strength is not yet great, PSI 
  believes he could someday become one of the 
  most powerful telekinetics on the planet.
  
  101 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Membership:  Binder, Blackstar, Cyclone, Radium, 
  Slick, Thunderbolt I
  B
  ackground/History:  Th e Ultimates are the 
  brainchild of Earl Whitacker, better known 
  to the world as the supervillain Binder. Aft er 
  stealing his prototype technology from his 
  former employers at UNTIL and embarking on 
  a career of crime, Binder realized that since the 
  heroes work in teams, he’d better do the same — as 
  amazing as his weaponry is, it isn’t enough to take 
  on a group of superheroes. Binder switched to low-
  key crimes and began keeping his eyes and ears 
  open for word of other supervillains who might ﬁ t 
  the group he had in mind.
  He got his ﬁ rst break when he and Blackstar 
  both tried to rob the same jewelry store. Th e two 
  might have come to blows, but before a ﬁ ght could 
  break out, a group of superheroes found them. 
  By working together, the two criminals were able 
  to defeat several of their foes and escape. Th at 
  gave Binder the opportunity to make his pitch. 
  Impressed by Binder’s tactical skills and intel-
  ligence, Blackstar agreed to team up with him and 
  form “the Ultimates.”
  Th rough his contacts in the scientiﬁ c com-
  munity, Binder heard about Bernard Ivey, a scientist 
  who, like him, had been robbed of the fruits of his 
  inventive genius and turned to crime. It didn’t take 
  much for Binder to track Cyclone down and, by 
  telling his own story, convince the new supervillain 
  to join up with the Ultimates.
  Now they were three, but Binder wanted more. 
  When Cyclone heard about the disastrous results 
  of a government superhuman soldier experiment 
  called Project Sunburst, Binder decided to check 
  out the things. Sneaking into a military complex at 
  night, he found a “dormitory” where several sur-
  vivors were kept tightly guarded. Among the few 
  survivors was one who could not speak, but who 
  used gestures to beg Binder to get him out of there. 
  Sensing a kindred soul — and one whose body was 
  bursting with radiation — Binder broke him out of 
  the facility and brought him back to the team’s base. 
  Th ere he and the other two designed a costume to 
  restrain the new recruit’s ambient radiation ﬁ eld, 
  and christened him Radium.
  Unlike the other members, Slick sought the 
  group out and asked to join. He’d already been 
  beaten and captured twice by superheroes, and 
  he didn’t want it to happen again. He got in touch 
  through underworld contacts and oﬀ ered his ser-
  vices. Aft er talking with him and testing out his 
  powers, Binder oﬀ ered him membership right away. 
  Slick’s inability to be restrained seemed a perfect 
  complement to Binder’s ability to restrain almost 
  anyone.
  On the other hand, the Ultimates recruited 
  their last member by tracking him down. Blackstar 
  heard reports of a new supervillain destroying 
  magnetohydrodynamic power plants around the 
  country. Th e team staked one out and waited. When 
  Th underbolt arrived, they tricked him into thinking 
  some superheroes were approaching, then helped 
  him destroy the plant and “escape.” Impressed with 
  their skills, Th underbolt accepted an oﬀ er to join 
  the group.
  With their number stabilized at six for several 
  years, the Ultimates have become a major thorn 
  in the side of law enforcement and superheroes. 
  Powerful and tactically experienced, the group has 
  proven to be a danger both to conventional author-
  ities and superpowered foes. Th e Department of 
  Defense has ranked it as a Delta-class threat in its 
  Superhuman Survey for almost every year since 
  1993, when the ﬁ rst three members assembled.
  Group Relations:  By and large, the Ultimates get 
  along well together. Many of them share a common 
  sense of having once been picked on, snubbed, 
  ignored, or scorned, and want to strike back at the 
  society that “rejected” them — and get rich and 
  powerful in the process, of course. None of them is 
  suﬃ  ciently powerhungry or unstable to want to try 
  to take Binder’s place as team leader.
  Th e Ultimates has a heavy complement of sci-
  entists, and the four scientiﬁ cally adept members of 
  the group oft en spend a lot of time together, argu-
  ing theories, conducting experiments, or building 
  devices for use in their next series of crimes. Slick 
  and Radium, who couldn’t care less about such 
  things, hang out together and watch TV or play 
  video games.
  Th e Ultimates has a hidden base in Millen-
  nium City built on 450 points (similar to the Urban 
  Base on page 106 of Champions, but with much 
  more extensive scientiﬁ c facilities and a better com-
  puter); each member contributes 15 points to the 
  cost of this base. It also has a fast ﬂ ying vehicle, the 
  Starbird, which is detailed below.
  Tactics:  Th e Ultimates have worked together for 
  several years now, and have a lot of battleﬁ eld expe-
  rience. Several of the members have the Tactics and 
  Teamwork Skills, and they make use of them.
  Th e Ultimates are fast and mobile, with two 
  speedsters (Cyclone and Slick) on the team, and 
  only two members without signiﬁ cant movement 
  powers (Blackstar and Radium). Many of the team’s 
  tactics, including combined Move Bys and Grab 
  THE ULTIMATES
  ULTIMATES 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Binder decides it’s time 
  to make a bid for true 
  power and plans an 
  attack on Washington, 
  D.C. to take over the 
  U.S. government. Th e 
  plan requires a small 
  team of hired mercenar-
  ies and a cache of spe-
  cial weapons (some of 
  which Binder can build, 
  others the team has to 
  buy from the Warlord or 
  Wayland Talos). Will the 
  PCs ﬁ nd out about the 
  plot in its early stages in 
  time to keep the Ulti-
  mates from threatening 
  America’s leaders?
  Cyclone ﬁ nally tires of 
  the team’s violent crimi-
  nal lifestyle and begins 
  working undercover for 
  PRIMUS as a way to 
  earn a pardon aft er the 
  team’s arrested. Aft er 
  several weeks of regular 
  reports, he drops out 
  of contact. Th e PCs are 
  called in to investigate 
  and, hopefully, rescue 
  him.
  Aft er several clashes, the 
  Ultimates challenge the 
  PCs to a knock-down, 
  drag-out, no holds 
  barred battle to deter-
  mine who’s the best. If 
  the Ultimates win, the 
  PCs must agree to leave 
  them alone for a year; 
  if the heroes win, the 
  Ultimates will go to jail 
  peacefully. Is the oﬀ er 
  legitimate — and if not, 
  what is Binder plan-
  ning?
  
  102 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Bys to toss a foe toward a waiting Blackstar, depend 
  on speed and mobility. Slick is working on a way to 
  grant Blackstar and Radium the ability to move on 
  frictionless ﬁ elds the way he does, but has had no 
  success so far.
  Th e team also relies, to an unusual degree, on 
  Entangles. Both Binder and Slick have powers that 
  involve immobilizing people, and the other team 
  members have learned to play oﬀ  that. Th eir tactic 
  “Home Run,” in which either Binder or Slick stops 
  a target from moving so Blackstar can wallop him 
  with a large club, has frequently proven to be highly 
  eﬀ ective. Both Binder and Slick can also restrain 
  multiple foes at once, a good way to improve the 
  group’s chances to escape if necessary.
  Tactically, the group has two weak links. Th e 
  ﬁ rst is Cyclone, who’s considerably less violence-
  prone than the others and may hold back in a cru-
  cial situation. Th e other is Th underbolt, who doesn’t 
  particularly like taking orders and may directly or 
  indirectly ignore or disobey them.
  Th e Ultimates tend to spend a lot of time and 
  eﬀ ort researching, preparing for, and planning their 
  crimes. Practice makes perfect, as Binder oft en 
  reminds them. Th ough Blackstar and Slick would 
  deﬁ nitely prefer a more action-oriented approach, 
  no one on the team can quibble with results, and 
  Binder’s plans usually lead to success.
  Campaign Use:  Th e Ultimates are an intriguing foe 
  for most superhero teams. Rather than simply slug 
  it out with Energy Blasts and high STR, the Ulti-
  mates use Entangles and other unusual attacks to 
  accomplish their tactical objectives. Th ey’re experi-
  enced  and cagey, diﬃ  cult to predict or capture.
  Th e Ultimates don’t go out of their way to 
  Hunt heroes, but can be driven to do so by the right 
  chain of circumstances — including simply being 
  beaten or humiliated by the same hero once too 
  oft en. Blackstar, with his eagerness for ﬁ ghting, may 
  drag the team into a Hunting situation by refusing 
  to stop pursuing a hero for “a rematch.” As Hunters, 
  the Ultimates make use not only of their powers, 
  but their scientiﬁ c skills. Th ey won’t just attack the 
  target mindlessly; they’ll observe and plan, gather-
  ing data to help them determine when and how 
  best to strike.
  If the Ultimates are too weak for your super-
  heroes, beef them up with a few more direct, 
  damaging attacks. You might even consider adding 
  another member — probably an energy projector 
  or mentalist — to round out their combat eﬀ ective-
  ness. If they’re too tough for your heroes, get rid of 
  a member or two, and remove or tone down powers 
  that make the group particularly eﬀ ective against 
  the PCs.
  BINDER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   23 INT 
  13 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   4 COM 
  -3 
  10-
   8 PD 
  5 
  Total:  17 PD (9 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
  Total:  17 ED (9 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 10 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  126
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  18”/36”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  56 
  Glue-Gun:  Multipower, 90-point reserve, 
  32 Charges for entire reserve (+¼); all 
  OAF (-1) 
  [32]
  4u 
  1)  Narrow Glue-Beam:  Entangle 6d6, 8 
  DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take 
  Damage (+¼); OAF (-1)
  4u 
  2)  Wide Glue-Beam:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (5” Radius; +1), Entangle 
  And Character Both Take Damage (+¼); 
  OAF (-1)
  4u 
  3)  Glue-Stream:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (20” Line; +1), Entangle 
  And Character Both Take Damage (+¼); 
  OAF (-1)
  4u 
  4)  Glue-Blob:  Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; +½), Entangle And 
  Character Both Take Damage (+¼); 
  OAF (-1)
   
  Martial Arts:  Generic
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀ ects 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  4 
   Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6 Strike
  3 
   Th row 
  +0 
  +1 
  3d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  18 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (9 PD/9 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Polarized Faceplate:  Sight Group Flash 
  Defense (10 points); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Helmet Air Supply:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing); OIF (-½) 
  0
  24 
  Jetboots:  Flight 18”; OIF (-½) 
  4
  6 
  Helmet Communicator:  HRRP; OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Group As 
  Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Heat Detection Lenses:  Infrared 
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Base:  Contribution to Ultimates base
  10 
  Vehicle:  Contribution to Starbird
  BINDER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Binder invents a third 
  compound, Resin C, that 
  makes his Glue-Gun 
  even more powerful and 
  gives him more control 
  over Bind-All. He goes 
  on a rampage, using 
  his increased powers 
  to commit crime aft er 
  crime and hold oﬀ  
  entire teams of super-
  heroes. Th e PCs have to 
  ﬁ nd a way to counteract 
  Resin C and defeat him.
  To get back at his former 
  employers, Binder 
  concocts an elaborate 
  attack on UNTIL’s space 
  station, GATEWAY. 
  But to get there, he has 
  to modify the Starbird 
  for outer space ﬂ ight, 
  and that means he has 
  to steal some parts and 
  plans. Unless the PCs 
  ﬁ gure out what’s going 
  on and stop him, he’ll be 
  able to invade GATE-
  WAY and make oﬀ  with 
  a lot of cutting-edge 
  UNTIL technology — or 
  maybe even crash the 
  station into Earth!
  Binder decides to ﬁ nd 
  out if advances in plas-
  tic surgery have made 
  it possible to repair 
  his ravaged face. He 
  kidnaps all of the most 
  renowned reconstruc-
  tive surgeons in the 
  world and forces them 
  to work on him, with 
  the threat of a painful 
  death hanging over their 
  heads if they fail. Th e 
  heroes have to track him 
  down and put a stop 
  to his plans... but once 
  they ﬁ nd him, they may 
  discover that some of 
  the doctors genuinely 
  want to help the scarred 
  supervillain.
  STUCK On You?
  ‘I have to admit to a certain 
  grudging respect for Binder. 
  Not only is he a scientiﬁ c 
  genius and a canny ﬁ ghter, but 
  who’d’ve thought you could do so much with 
  super-glue?’
  — Defender of the Champions
  
  103 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Glue-Gun Multipower
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Piloting 13-
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Cryptography 14-
  3 
  Demolitions 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  3 
  Inventor 14-
  1 
  CK: Geneva 8-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  3 
  KS: Literature 14-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 14-
  2 
  KS: UNTIL 11-
  1 
  Language:  French (basic conversation; 
  English is native)
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  2 
  PS: Play Chess 11-
  3 
  Security Systems 14-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 14-
  3 
  Tactics 14-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  4 
  TF: Combat Aircraft , Helicopters, Large 
  Planes, Small Planes
  3 
  Scientist
  4 
  1)  SS: Adhesives & Solvents 16-
  2 
  2)  SS: Biology 14-
  2 
  3)  SS: Chemical Engineering 14-
  2 
  4)  SS: Chemistry 14-
  2 
  5)  SS: Computer Science 14-
  2 
  6)  SS: Mathematics 14-
  2 
  7)  SS: Nuclear Physics 14-
  2 
  8)  SS: Physics 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  267
  Total Cost:  393
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Facial Scarring 
  (Concealable With Eﬀ ort; Always Noticed, 
  Major Reaction)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Inferiority Com-
  plex Tinged With Paranoia (Very Common, 
  Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Sensitive About 
  His Looks (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  wanted and dangerous 
  supervillain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Earl 
  Whitacker) (Frequently, Major)
  78 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  393
  Background/History:  Although he was a gift ed sci-
  entist, respected by many of his colleagues, Earl 
  Whitacker wasn’t satisﬁ ed. He felt underappreci-
  ated, overworked, and ignored. He wasn’t paid 
  nearly enough, and his moronic supervisors in 
  the UNTIL laboratories never listened to him the 
  way they ought to. Determined not to put up with 
  their abuse anymore, he began spending his spare 
  time working on a secret project — a new super-
  adhesive that would make him rich — even though 
  personal use of agency resources was unauthorized. 
  Lacking the funding he needed for the work (since 
  his ungrateful siblings wouldn’t even bother to loan 
  him some money), he had to cut corners and com-
  promise on safety measures.
  Everything was going ﬁ ne... until an unex-
  pected chemical reaction caused the entire project 
  to blow up in his face. Blinded and scarred, he stag-
  gered out of the lab, fell unconscious, and awak-
  ened later in the hospital. Th e doctors told him the 
  loss of eyesight was temporary, but the scarring, 
  unfortunately, was permanent. Plastic surgery 
  might alleviate some of it, but never all of it. Th en 
  UNTIL announced it was ﬁ ring him, which meant 
  he didn’t have the medical coverage for even that 
  much reconstructive surgery.
  Th e worst scars were the ones the doctors 
  couldn’t see. Whitacker lost some of his grip on 
  sanity, becoming convinced that his failure was the 
  result of UNTIL’s refusal to help him, his family’s 
  refusal to help him, and society’s general overlook-
  ing of his genius. He realized they were out to get 
  him — he had to strike back!
  Aft er checking himself out of the hospital, 
  Whitacker bluﬀ ed his way back into UNTIL to get 
  his notes and equipment, then went into hiding. 
  Aft er reviewing the data gained from his last 
  experiment, he discovered he had succeeded! His 
  “Resin A” and “Resin B,” when combined, made a 
  revolutionary form of adhesive, which he called 
  
  104 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  “Bind-All.” He had once intended to make money 
  selling his new super-glue, but now he had a better 
  idea. He designed a riﬂ e that used Bind-All as a 
  weapon, and built himself an armored costume and 
  a jetpack. Th e world had ignored and mistreated 
  Earl Whitacker — but Binder would make them all 
  sit up and take notice!
  Personality/Motivation:  Binder comes across as dis-
  ciplined and confrontational, but in truth he’s oft en 
  wracked by self-doubt. He covers up his feelings 
  of inferiority with bluster and aggression, since he 
  thinks that if he shows weakness, no one will ever 
  listen to him again. Th is sometimes pushes him 
  into situations he’d rather not be in — he bites oﬀ  
  more than he can chew, then has to ﬁ nd a way out 
  of the dilemma.
  Exacerbating this tendency is his paranoia. He 
  trusts his teammates (more or less), but he thinks 
  the rest of the world is out to get him, to exploit 
  him, to use him up and then throw him away. He 
  has diﬃ  culty distinguishing genuine oﬀ ers of help 
  from attempts to trick him; he thinks it’s all an 
  elaborate plot by “them” (though he’s careful not 
  to articulate his suspicions in ways that make him 
  look delusional).
  Binder remains sensitive about his scarred 
  face; he rarely takes his helmet oﬀ . References to his 
  looks, particularly expressions of sympathy, may 
  anger him. At least insults and mockery are honest.
  Despite his mental problems, Binder is actu-
  ally a competent and eﬀ ective villain team leader. 
  He’s disciplined, keeps his head in a crisis, and has 
  good tactical sense. He’s also adept at planning and 
  executing missions.
  Quote:  “Tie this one on, hero!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Binder is more of a tactical leader 
  and planner than a frontline combatant, but he can 
  hold his own in a ﬁ ght if need be — he’s even had 
  some martial arts training. His primary weapon is 
  his Glue-Gun, which can spray Bind-All in a vari-
  ety of conﬁ gurations. Th e riﬂ e keeps the Resin A 
  and Resin B components separately, mixing them 
  only in the ﬁ nal stream aft er they leave the barrel.
  Binder usually takes a support roll in combat, 
  Entangling enemies to keep them out of the way of 
  his comrades. Whenever possible, he tries to use his 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect Entangles to disable multiple oppo-
  nents. He knows that bricks and natural energy 
  projectors can usually get out of his Entangles 
  quickly, so he focuses on martial artists, gadgeteers, 
  and other such characters ﬁ rst. He can also create 
  barriers of solidiﬁ ed glue to cut oﬀ  pursuers or 
  provide some cover for his team; his Glue-Stream is 
  particularly good for this.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Binder more powerful, 
  increase the strength of his Entangles to the point 
  where they can hold the typical brick or energy 
  projector, at least for a few Segments. You could 
  also give him more weapons and gadgets. If he’s too 
  powerful for your game, reduce the Active Points in 
  his Multipower reserve to 75 or 60.
  Binder’s smart enough not to get caught up in 
  Hunting heroes very oft en. If he does start Hunting 
  one — perhaps because of a few too many insults 
  or defeats — he’ll approach the situation methodi-
  cally, with plans and contingency plans to increase 
  his chances of success.
  Appearance:  Binder wears a suit of light battlear-
  mor, gold with green trim. His Glue-Gun is also 
  gold, and obviously not a normal ballistic ﬁ rearm 
  or a standard blaster. His helmet’s faceplate is 
  divided in two vertically, giving it a vaguely insec-
  tile appearance.
  When he’s not wearing his helmet, Whitacker’s 
  horriﬁ cally scarred, almost completely bald head 
  can be seen... not that anyone looks at him any 
  longer than they have to.
  BLACKSTAR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   28 CON 
  36 
  15-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   12 PD 
  8 
   
  Total:  24 PD (24 rPD)
   12 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  24 ED (24 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   12 REC 
  4
   56 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  124
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Density Control Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  45 
  1)  Heightened Density:  Density Increase 
  (400,000 kg mass, +60 STR, +12 PD/ED, -12” 
  KB), Costs Endurance To Activate (+¼) 
  6
  30 
  2)  Intangibility:  Desolidiﬁ cation (aﬀ ected 
  by force, gravitic, or magnetic attacks), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  40 
  3)  Selective Gravity:  Telekinesis (40 STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Only To 
  Pull Objects Directly To Him And/Or 
  “Stick” Th em To Him (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Superhuman Form:  Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) on up to 80 STR (4 END) 
  0
  24 
  Cohesive Physical Form:  Damage 
  Resistance (up to 24 PD/24 ED) 
  0
  7 
  Mask Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); IIF (-¼), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Base:  Contribution to Ultimates base
  10 
  Vehicle:  Contribution to Starbird
  BLACKSTAR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Blackstar’s powers begin 
  to feed back on him. 
  He becomes weaker 
  and wimpier, and more 
  importantly his Selec-
  tive Gravity ability goes 
  haywire. He’s wreaking 
  environmental havoc by 
  altering gravity wher-
  ever he goes. If the PCs 
  don’t stop him and cure 
  him, he’s likely to cause 
  citywide devastation.
  Blackstar works with a 
  sleazy promoter to set 
  up a secret “Superhu-
  man Toughman Com-
  petition” so he can prove 
  he’s the strongest, tough-
  est guy around. Th e PCs 
  may want to take part, 
  or try to stop it to keep 
  anyone from getting 
  hurt.
  One of Blackstar’s 
  density experiments 
  accidentally breaches a 
  dimensional barrier and 
  brings some strange, 
  demonic-looking aliens 
  to Earth. Th ey steal 
  Blackstar’s power and 
  start using it themselves 
  to attack and conquer 
  Earth. Th e PCs have to 
  work with Blackstar to 
  return his power to him 
  and defeat the aliens.
  
  105 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Skills
  20 
  +4 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Computer Programming 12-
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  3 
  Inventor 12-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  5 
  KS: Super-Strength Superhumans 14-
  2 
  KS: Movies 11-
  3 
  KS: Television 12-
  5 
  SS: Density Physics 14-
  3 
  SS: Gravitics 12-
  3 
  SS: Physics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  276
  Total Cost:  400
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Grey Skin 
  (Concealable With Eﬀ ort; Always 
  Noticed, Major Reaction)
  15 
  Enraged:  if insulted (Common), go 11-, 
  recover 14-
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To Fight 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fear Of Heights 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  wanted and dangerous 
  supervillain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (James 
  Carson) (Frequently, Major)
  65 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  400
  Background/History:  Overweight, ugly, socially 
  maladjusted, and acne-covered, James Carson had 
  only one redeeming feature as a child:  his brain. He 
  was highly intelligent, with a real gift  for science. 
  But that was small consolation for the universe of 
  taunts, insults, and bullying he endured.
  Th ings didn’t improve much in college, though 
  by that point the abuse mostly took the form of 
  people leaving him alone and whispering insulting 
  comments behind his back. But his researches into 
  gravitics and density earned him his doctorate, and 
  attracted the attentions of several major corpora-
  tions. Th ey didn’t care what he looked or acted like, 
  as long as he could produce proﬁ table new tech-
  nologies.
  Carson took a job with Multitrex Incorpo-
  rated. Hoping to ﬁ nd acceptance among the scien-
  tiﬁ c staﬀ  there, he was rudely disappointed as his 
  colleagues rejected his radical, cutting-edge theo-
  ries about gravitics. He became angrier and angrier 
  over the way he was treated, and his work began to 
  suﬀ er.
  Finally, in an eﬀ ort to prove that his theories 
  were valid, Carson pushed forward with an experi-
  mental procedure to produce a density altera-
  tion device. Unfortunately, in his desire to show 
  results, he went too far, too fast — his technology 
  wasn’t ready for practical trials yet. Th e machinery 
  exploded, bombarding Carson with gravitic waves. 
  But instead of killing him, the waves somehow 
  altered his body. Almost instantly, he became taller, 
  athletically proportioned, handsome, and stronger. 
  He soon discovered he had the ability to alter his 
  density — he could make himself intangible, or 
  weigh hundreds of thousands of kilograms.
  Now the shoe was on the other foot! Now 
  he could take what he wanted, and no one could 
  stop him. He smashed his way out of Multitrex, 
  making sure to destroy the other scientists’ pre-
  cious experiments on his way out, and launched 
  a career of crime as Blackstar. Not long aft er that, 
  he met Binder and became the ﬁ rst member of the 
  Ultimates.
  Personality/Motivation:  Blackstar’s primary motivat-
  ing factor is his love of ﬁ ghting. He likes nothing 
  better than mixing it up with other superhumans 
  (particularly super-strong ones) and proving that 
  he’s the best — it’s his way of getting back at the 
  world for the abuse and scorn he suﬀ ered as a child. 
  He never retreats or surrenders, but keeps ﬁ ghting 
  until he wins, gets Knocked Out, or his teammates 
  drag him away. He gets even angrier if someone 
  insults him (that reminds him of the bad old days 
  when he was a wimp), and gladly picks that person 
  out for some special punishment.
  Blackstar suﬀ ers from a signiﬁ cant fear of 
  heights (dating from several unpleasant let’s-
  
  106 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  dangle-the-nerd-out-the-window incidents from 
  his childhood). Th is restricts his combat tactics 
  somewhat; he rarely makes prodigious leaps like 
  most “bricks,” and won’t let his ﬂ ying teammates 
  carry him very far oﬀ  the ground unless it’s abso-
  lutely necessary.
  Quote:  “C’mon, get up and ﬁ ght! Even a wimp like 
  you should ﬁ ght better than that.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Blackstar’s powers involve control 
  over his own density. He can become so diﬀ use as 
  to be intangible (handy for breaking into vaults and 
  such), or so dense that he weighs 400,000 kilograms 
  and is immensely strong. He has to be careful 
  where he uses his Density Increase, though; only 
  solid ground or a similarly reinforced surface can 
  support his weight.
  Despite the Reduced Endurance on his STR, 
  Blackstar can easily run into END use problems 
  when he’s fully powered up. However, when he gets 
  wrapped up in battle, he doesn’t care, and oft en 
  starts burning STUN for END just to keep pound-
  ing on someone.
  In addition to his standard powers, Blackstar 
  possesses an unusual “selective gravity” power. He 
  can increase his personal gravitic attraction to draw 
  people to him, or hold them to him even without 
  using his hands. He sometimes uses this ability to 
  hold a foe motionless while he and his teammates 
  beat the poor victim to a pulp.
  A favorite Ultimates tactic is for Cyclone to 
  pick Blackster up at his normal weight, and then 
  make a “fastball special” or similar attack, with 
  Blackstar increasing his density in mid-ﬂ ight. (See 
  Champions, page 154, for more information.) Th e 
  only restriction on this tactic is Blackstar’s fear of 
  heights; he’s not likely to let Cyclone carry him up 
  high and then drop him.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. If Blackstar is too tough for your 
  campaign, reduce his Density Increase a little, so 
  he’s not as strong or powerful at the upper end. 
  You might also consider getting rid of his Selec-
  tive Gravity power. To make him more powerful, 
  increase his END and REC so he can keep ﬁ ghting 
  at full Strength for a much longer time.
  Blackstar happily Hunts anyone who annoys 
  him too much; he particularly likes to pursue other 
  bricks so he can show his superiority by beating 
  them up. His Hunting isn’t subtle; he simply picks 
  an appropriate moment and attacks (taking care to 
  choose battleﬁ elds where he can employ all of his 
  Density Increase).
  Appearance:  Blackstar wears a dark grey costume 
  with a black star on the chest, and a matching star 
  on his belt buckle. His gloves, boots, and belt are 
  gold, but his mask matches the rest of his costume. 
  He sometimes wears a high-collared cape, though 
  even when he does wear it, he oft en takes it oﬀ  
  before going into battle so it won’t get in his way 
  while he smashes superheroes.
  CYCLONE
   Val 
  Char 
  Cost 
  Roll 
  Notes
   15+25 STR 5+12*# 12-/17- Lift  200 kg/6,400 kg; 
  3d6/8d6 [1/4]
   15+10 DEX 15+15*# 12-/14- OCV:  5/8/DCV:  5/8
   15+15 CON 10+15*# 12- (15-)
   10 
  BODY 
  0 
  11-
   18 
  INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   12 
  EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV: 4
   20 
  PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 
  COM 
  0 
  11-
   
  7 
  PD 
  4 
  Total:  22 PD (15 rPD)
   
  7 
  ED 
  4 
  Total:  22 ED (15 rED)
   3+3 
  SPD 
  5+20* 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12/2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   
  6 
  REC 
  0
   30 
  END 
  0
   30 
  STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  131
  *:  OIF (Powered Armor; -½)
  #:  No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  24”/96”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  27 
  Power Pack:  Endurance Reserve 
  (200 END, 20 REC); OIF (-½) 
  0
  60 
  Compressed-Air Weaponry:  Multipower, 
  90-point reserve; all OIF (-½)
  6u 
  1)  Cyclone Blast (Focused):  Energy Blast 
  10d6, Double Knockback (+¾); OIF (-½) 9
  4u 
  2)  Cyclone Blast (Wide-Beam):  Energy 
  Blast 9d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (10” Cone; +1); 
  OIF (-½), No Range (-½) 
  9
  4u 
  3)  Cyclone Eﬀ ect:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), Requires A 
  DEX Roll (-½), Random Knockback 
  (see Champions, page 153; -0) 
  9
  1u 
  4)  Cyclone Punch:  HA +2d6; OIF (-½), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  1
  35 
  Miniaturized Jet Engine:  Multipower, 
  53-point reserve; all OIF (-½)
  3u 
  1)  Standard Flight Mode:  Flight 24”, x4 
  Noncombat; OIF (-½) 
  5
  1u 
  2)  Mach Speed Mode:  Flight 5”, MegaScale 
  (1” = 1 km; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  1
  30 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (15 PD/15 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Polarized Faceplate:  Sight Group Flash 
  Defense (10 points); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Helmet Air Supply:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Helmet Communicator:  HRRP; OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Group As 
  Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Heat Detection Lenses:  Infrared 
  Perception (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Multi-Angle View:  Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees) for Sight 
  Group; OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Telescopic Lenses:  +6 versus Range 
  Modiﬁ er for Sight Group; OIF (-½) 
  0
  13 
  Radar Array:  Radar (Radio Group), 
  Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  CYCLONE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Cyclone starts dating 
  a fascinating woman 
  named Maxine. Th en 
  she steals his armor! It 
  turns out he was spend-
  ing time with Black 
  Diamond, who was just 
  setting him up so GRAB 
  could get its hands on 
  his armor. Now GRAB is 
  using his invention, and 
  he’s getting all the blame. 
  He doesn’t dare tell his 
  teammates about this, so 
  he decides to trick the 
  PCs into helping him 
  recover his property.
  While he’s conducting 
  tests to improve the eﬃ  -
  ciency of his Miniatur-
  ized Jet Engine, Cyclone 
  accidentally loses con-
  trol of the device and 
  ﬁ nds himself thrust into 
  outer space! Fortunately, 
  a Hzeel scout ship is 
  nearby and picks him up 
  before he runs out of air. 
  In exchange for some 
  information, the Hzeel 
  provide him with tech-
  nology to upgrade his 
  armor. Aft er ﬁ nding out 
  how much more power-
  ful he is, the PCs have 
  to determine why, and 
  learn where he got his 
  new “improvements.”
  Drake-Victoria, Inc. tires 
  of Cyclone’s attacks on 
  its facilities and hires 
  a team of supervillains 
  (GM’s choice) to elimi-
  nate him. Now these vil-
  lains and the Ultimates 
  are ﬁ ghting a war, with 
  lots of innocents caught 
  in the crossﬁ re. It’s up to 
  the PCs to put a stop to 
  the battles.
  
  107 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Perks
  15 
  Base:  Contribution to Ultimates base
  10 
  Vehicle:  Contribution to Starbird
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Compressed-Air Weaponry 
  Multipower
  8 
  +4 with Flight
  3 
  Combat Piloting 12- (14-)
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  Inventor 13-
  2 
  CK: Houston 11-
  3 
  KS: History Of Spaceﬂ ight 13-
  1 
  KS: Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 13-
  2 
  PS: Build Model Rockets 11-
  3 
  SS: Aeronautical Engineering 13-
  2 
  SS: Physics 11-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 12- (14-)
  4 
  TF: Combat Aircraft , Helicopters, Large 
  Planes, Small Planes
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  299
  Total Cost:  430
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Showoﬀ  
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  wanted and dangerous supervil-
  lain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Bernard 
  Ivey) (Frequently, Major)
  125 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  430
  Background/History:  Bernard Ivey was a pilot and 
  engineer in the Aviation Division of Drake-Vic-
  toria, Inc. Hired for his expertise with jet engines, 
  he was soon sidelined by the company’s scientiﬁ c 
  establishment when it became apparent to them 
  that his ideas about engine miniaturization were a 
  pipe dream.
  Nothing could have enraged Ivey more. He 
  was a genius; he knew it, everyone at school had 
  known it. All he needed was the chance to prove 
  himself. But again and again, he found his proj-
  ects cancelled, his budgets slashed, and his work 
  scorned.
  Th en he developed a breakthrough the com-
  pany could actually use — a small, lightweight, 
  but incredibly powerful jet engine that was cer-
  tain to revolutionize the ﬁ eld of unmanned aerial 
  vehicles. Ivey expected lavish praise, a big raise, 
  and increased budgets for all the rest of his work. 
  What actually happened was that his bosses stole 
  the credit for his work. Th ey got the raises; he got 
  the shaft .
  Th at was pretty much the last straw. Rather 
  than turn over his notes and prototypes, Ivey took 
  them and ﬂ ed, becoming a fugitive. Well, if Drake-
  Victoria wanted to arrest him, ﬁ ne. He’d give them 
  a real reason to arrest him! Over the next several 
  months Ivey designed a special armored suit for 
  himself, one tough enough to withstand the g-
  forces generated by his miniaturized engine. He 
  equipped it with several weapons using compressed 
  air. Inspired by those weapons, he took the name 
  Cyclone.
  He started his criminal career by attacking 
  several Drake-Victoria facilities, stealing valuable 
  technology, data, and materials. His “cyclone blasts” 
  were so destructive that he soon earned a reputa-
  tion as a dangerous super-criminal, though he actu-
  ally went out of his way to minimize casualties as 
  much as possible.
  When Binder heard about Bernard Ivey, 
  it didn’t take long for him to put two and two 
  together and realize who Cyclone really was. Ivey 
  was surprised to return to his “headquarters” (an 
  old warehouse he’d rented) one day to ﬁ nd Binder 
  waiting for him. Sharing his own tale of oppres-
  sion and institutional theft  of his hard work, Binder 
  made Cyclone a friend and ally — and soon, a 
  member of the Ultimates.
  Personality/Motivation:  Cyclone’s career as a super-
  villain stems from being angry at the world. Like 
  Binder, he feels as if he’s been cheated, overlooked, 
  and snubbed by people all his life, and he’s ﬁ nally 
  
  108 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  gotten so sick of it he intends to show them just 
  who’s boss. If given the opportunity to strike back 
  at anyone he considers a former tormentor, he’ll 
  almost certainly take it (even if it means endanger-
  ing a mission).
  Cyclone isn’t really “into” the supervillain 
  game, and it shows. He doesn’t have much of a 
  grasp of tactics or criminal common sense; he oft en 
  spends more time showing oﬀ  (ﬂ ying rings around 
  his opponents, announcing just how powerful his 
  attack will be before he makes it, wasting a Phase 
  marveling at how cool his armor is) than he does 
  trying to achieve his objectives. Binder is working 
  with him to correct this fault, but it will take time.
  Unlike some of his teammates, Cyclone is 
  a pretty mild-mannered and nonviolent guy. He 
  doesn’t like the idea of seriously hurting (much less 
  killing) anyone, and always tones down his attacks 
  when he uses them on security guards and other 
  normals. Blackstar considers him a wimp; Slick 
  thinks he’s a square. Binder recognizes his potential, 
  though, and is quite willing to spend the time it 
  takes to nurture him along.
  Quote:  “Getting a little too breezy for you?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Cyclone wears a suit of powered 
  armor designed for speed and eﬃ  cient movement. 
  With his engines at maximum, Cyclone can reach 
  speeds of nearly 5,600 miles per hour, and even in 
  his “standard mode” of ﬂ ight he’s pretty fast. Th e 
  suit’s steering jets and systems allow him to turn 
  and maneuver much more quickly than most ﬂ yers 
  can, which sometimes gives him the ability to make 
  a Surprise Move in combat against ﬂ ying superhe-
  roes.
  Cyclone’s weapons use compressed air weap-
  ons that generate blasts that scatter targets like 
  tenpins. His Area Of Eﬀ ect attacks are particularly 
  eﬀ ective, but he reserves them for just the right 
  moment because of their destructiveness. In battle, 
  he keeps to the air, putting his Skill Levels with 
  Flight into DCV if he doesn’t have a better use for 
  them, and attacks ﬂ ying foes. Once he has com-
  mand of the air, he helps his teammates take out 
  targets on the ground. Cyclone’s Sight and Radar 
  both work in 360 degrees, which makes him dif-
  ﬁ cult to surprise in combat. 
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Cyclone more powerful, 
  you can either emphasize his “speedster” aspects 
  (increase his standard Flight and his SPD) or his 
  “powered armor” aspects (give him more weaponry, 
  including some attacks with diﬀ erent special eﬀ ects 
  than “compressed air blasts”). For appropriate 
  scenarios, you might also expand his capabilities 
  to allow him to operate in outer space. To weaken 
  him, reduce his movement and cut his Multipower 
  back to a 75-point reserve.
  As a Hunter, Cyclone is intelligent and danger-
  ous, though sometimes prone to making mistakes 
  because of his inexperience at such matters. At ﬁ rst 
  he’ll use his technical skills to bedevil and attack his 
  quarry indirectly, and slowly work his way up to a 
  direct confrontation.
  Appearance:  Cyclone’s silver-colored armor is a 
  model of aerodynamic eﬃ  ciency. Airfoil “wings” on 
  his back help him maintain control and speed, and 
  most of the armor’s features, including its weapons, 
  are built into it so they don’t interfere with the air-
  ﬂ ow around the suit.
  Out of his armor, Bernard Ivey is an average-
  looking black man in his late 20s, 5’10” tall with a 
  bald head but well-groomed moustache and beard. 
  Since becoming a criminal, he’s taken to wearing 
  expensive clothes and driving fast sportscars.
  RADIUM
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  18 PD (12 rPD)
   12 ED 
  7 
   
  Total:  24 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   12 REC 
  10
   66 END 
  10
   40 STUN 13 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  136
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  60 
  Radiation Powers:  Multipower, 
  60-point reserve
  6u 
  1)  Radiation Blast I:  Energy Blast 12d6 
  6
  5u 
  2)  Radiation Blast II:  Energy Blast 9d6 
  plus Drain CON 1d6, Ranged (+½); 
  Linked (-½) 
  6
  6u 
  3)  Radiation Blast III:  Energy Blast 6d6, 
  NND (defense is LS [Safe Environment: 
  High Radiation]; +1) 
  6
  6u 
  4)  Withering Radiation:  Drain CON 
  4d6, Ranged (+½) 
  6
  6 
  Heavy Radiation Blast:  Energy Blast +4d6 
  (adds to Radiation Blast I); Extra Time 
  (Full Phase; -½), Increased Endurance 
  Cost (x5 END; -2) 
  10
  35 
  Intensely Radioactive:  Drain CON 1d6, 
  Damage Shield (+½), Continuous (+1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), 
  Persistent (+½) 
  0
  24 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (12 PD/12 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  30 
  Quasi-Energy Form:  Energy Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 50% 
  0
  23 
  Quasi-Energy Form:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing, Diminished Eating: 
  no need to eat, Diminished Sleep: only has 
  to sleep eight hours per week, Safe Envi-
  ronments: High Radiation, High Pressure, 
  Intense Cold, Intense Heat, Low Pressure/
  Vacuum) 
  0
  RADIUM 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Radium decides there 
  might be Project Sun-
  burst data a doctor 
  could use to cure him, 
  so he starts breaking 
  into military facili-
  ties where he thinks 
  the Army might keep 
  the data, hurting and 
  sickening many people 
  in the process. Th e All-
  American asks for the 
  PCs’ help to stop him.
  Defeated in his ﬁ rst 
  attempt to gather data 
  about Project Sunburst, 
  Radium ﬁ gures he can 
  accomplish the same 
  thing by exposing the 
  Project to the public 
  (and then he could sue 
  the government for big 
  bucks!). He kidnaps 
  a prominent news 
  reporter, but since he 
  can’t talk, has trouble 
  communicating what he 
  wants. As an Army “hit 
  squad” controlled by the 
  renegade generals who 
  created Project Sunburst 
  closes in, the PCs have 
  to decide what to do 
  — do they help Radium 
  (assuming they even 
  understand his actions), 
  or just bring him to jus-
  tice once more?
  Radium’s powers begin 
  to increase, and the 
  Ultimates kick him 
  out “so you won’t give 
  us all cancer, freak.” 
  Despondent, he decides 
  to commit “suicide by 
  superhero” and goes on 
  a rampage, not caring 
  that he’ll take a big 
  chunk of the city with 
  him when he dies.
  
  109 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Perks
  15 
  Base:  Contribution to Ultimates base
  10 
  Vehicle:  Contributions to Starbird
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Radiation Powers Multipower
  2 
  KS: Movies 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  2 
  KS: Television 11-
  2 
  PS: US Soldier 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  245
  Total Cost:  381
  200+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  unique Geiger 
  counter signature (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Enraged:  if teased or taunted about his 
  condition (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Physical Limitation:  Mute (All Th e Time, 
  Greatly Impairing)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Must Always Wear 
  Containment Clothes (Infrequently, Slightly 
  Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vindictive 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates People Who 
  Talk A Lot (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  wanted and dangerous supervil-
  lain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Jason 
  Matthews) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Susceptibility:  to taking BODY, 1d6 damage 
  instantly (Common)
  26 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  381
  Background/History:  In 1994, Jason Matthews, a pri-
  vate in the U.S. Army, volunteered for a “wargame” 
  called Project Sunburst so he could earn some extra 
  pay. In fact, the unscrupulous generals running the 
  “wargame” were actually conducting an experi-
  ment to evaluate the eﬀ ects of nuclear war on the 
  average soldier. Matthews lined up for the wargame 
  preparations like everyone else, and suddenly saw 
  a bright light oﬀ  in the distance. As the light got 
  closer, he passed out.
  He woke up, days later, in a secured military 
  hospital. Something had happened to him; he 
  couldn’t talk! Th e doctors explained to him that 
  he’d been subjected to a minor nuclear blast, and 
  that the radiation had somehow burned out his 
  vocal chords. Th ey were conducting tests to ﬁ nd 
  out if there were any other eﬀ ects.
  Matthews soon discovered he was one of the 
  lucky ones. All around him, dozens of other Sun-
  burst test subjects were slowly and painfully dying 
  of radiation sickness. But he began to feel better 
  and better — more energetic, more alive, than ever 
  before. Th en came the day when the doctors real-
  ized he was emitting radiation... enormous amounts 
  of it, through some biologically-controlled process. 
  To keep themselves safe from him, they designed a 
  containment suit he had to wear night and day. He 
  didn’t like that very much.
  Further tests determined that he could actu-
  ally project bursts of radiation on command, caus-
  ing damage to both living and unliving matter. He 
  kept practicing, and soon developed other abilities. 
  Now he knew the Army would never let him go; it’d 
  make him one of its pet superheroes. He liked that 
  even less.
  One night, Matthews was awakened by a 
  strange ﬁ gure in an armored costume. “Do you 
  want to get out of here?” the person asked him.
  Matthews frantically nodded his head and ges-
  tured toward the door.
  “Th ere’s a lot of security between here and the 
  outside world. If I take a chance on you, will you 
  work for me? I can design a better suit for you, help 
  you cope with your condition — and make you 
  rich.”
  “Rich” sounded good. Rich he liked. He 
  nodded again. A half an hour and a lot of glued-up 
  soldiers later, Binder led him to a waiting vehicle 
  and they sped oﬀ  into the night. Soon Radium was 
  a full-ﬂ edged member of the Ultimates.
  Personality/Motivation:  Radium is bitter and angry 
  about his condition. Cut oﬀ  from normal human 
  interaction because his radioactive body harms 
  
  110 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  people if he takes oﬀ  his containment suit, he isn’t 
  even able to talk to other people. He’s become 
  vindictive and cruel, taking out his frustrations 
  on other people at the slightest opportunity. (His 
  gratitude to Binder, who has made his life as good 
  as possible, keeps him from treating his teammates 
  this way.) He particularly hates chatterboxes, and 
  will gladly shut them up... permanently.
  Although he’s glad to help out with Ultimates 
  missions, beyond that Radium doesn’t have much 
  ambition or drive. He spends most of his time 
  watching TV and rented movies. Slick oft en hangs 
  out with him and watches, too. He talks too much, 
  but it’s better than watching alone.
  Quote:  None. Radium cannot speak. He communi-
  cates through gestures, writing, and the occasional 
  grunt.
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e Project Sunburst experiment 
  bombarded Radium’s body with high-intensity 
  radiation, which for unknown reasons his body 
  somehow “metabolized.” Radium’s ﬂ esh is actually 
  part-energy now, which makes him unusually resis-
  tant to energy damage and protects him from other 
  forms of harm (he no longer needs to breathe or 
  eat, for example). In addition to his body’s ambient 
  radiation (which temporarily sickens anyone who 
  touches him), he can emit destructive blasts of pure 
  radioactive energy.
  Radium has to wear his containment suit at all 
  times. If his suit is removed or signiﬁ cantly dam-
  aged, increase his Intensely Radioactive power to 
  a Drain CON 2d6, and make it aﬀ ect a 2” radius 
  around him, until he can replace the suit. Even 
  worse, if he is reduced to 0 BODY by physical or 
  energy attacks, there’s a danger he will explode. 
  For each Turn he’s at 0 BODY, the GM should roll 
  11- on 3d6, with a -1 to the roll for every 2 BODY 
  below zero. If the roll fails, Radium explodes, which 
  kills him and inﬂ icts an RKA 10d6, Explosion (-1 
  DC/4”) on the area around him.
  In battle, Radium usually focuses on enemy 
  energy projectors, since he has so much protection 
  from energy damage. If his normal Radiation Blast 
  won’t work, he can vary it so it causes sickness and 
  weakness, or temporarily boost its power.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. If Radium is too strong for your cam-
  paign, reduce his Multipower to a 50 Active Point 
  reserve, get rid of the Heavy Radiation Blast, and/or 
  decrease his Damage Reduction to 25%. If he’s not 
  quite tough enough, boost the Multipower to a 75 
  Active Point reserve, improve his Damage Shield, 
  and/or increase his Damage Reduction to 75%.
  Radium doesn’t Hunt heroes; he just doesn’t 
  care that much. He’ll do his job, and follow any 
  orders Binder gives him, but left  to his own devices 
  he’ll just go back to watching television.
  Appearance:  Radium wears a featureless skintight 
  red containment suit that covers his entire body. 
  When he uses his powers, they manifest with a 
  sickly green light phenomenon.
  SLICK
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   28 DEX 
  54 
  15- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   22 CON 
  24 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   11 INT 
  1 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   10 PD 
  7 
   
  Total:  18 PD (8 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  18 ED (8 rED)
   7 SPD 
  32 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12
   10 REC 
  6
   44 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  147
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  32”/64”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  38 
  Friction Control:  Elemental Control, 
  76-point powers
  40 
  1)  Personal Friction Manipulation:  
  Running +26”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  38 
  2)  Friction Manipulation (Focused):  
  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, Takes No Damage 
  From Attacks (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼); Cannot Form Barriers (-¼), 
  Vulnerable (to any attack that creates a 
  physical eﬀ ect which gives the victim 
  something to grab hold of; -½) 
  4
  41 
  3)  Friction Manipulation (Wide-Area):  
  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Area Of Eﬀ ect (7” 
  Radius; +1), Takes No Damage From 
  Attacks (+½), Reduced Endurance (½ END; 
  +¼); Cannot Form Barriers (-¼), 
  Vulnerable (to any attack that creates a 
  physical eﬀ ect which gives the victim 
  something to grab hold of; -½) 
  5
  33 
  4)  Slickness Control:  Telekinesis (40 STR), 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex Accurate; +½), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); Aﬀ ects 
  Whole Object (-¼), Only For Slickness 
  Eﬀ ects (-¾) 
  4
  41 
  5)  Slickness Field:  Change Environment 
  32” radius, -6 to all DEX Rolls and DEX-
  Based Skill Rolls, Personal Immunity 
  (+¼), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  21 
  6)  Personal Slickness:  +60 STR, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Only To Escape 
  Entangles And Grabs (-1½) 
  6
  16 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Concealed Wrist Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); IIF (-¼), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Base:  Contribution to Ultimates base
  10 
  Contacts:  10 points’ worth in California 
  drug, surﬁ ng, and cars subcultures
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
  SLICK PLOT SEEDS
  Slick unknowingly ﬁ nds 
  himself attracted to a 
  male PC’s girlfriend 
  or wife and begins hit-
  ting on her. Wackiness 
  ensues.
  Slick discovers that 
  the drug which gave 
  him his powers was 
  an ARGENT experi-
  ment. Now he wants to 
  ﬁ nd out if ARGENT 
  deliberately gave him 
  the drug (in which case, 
  he wants revenge), or if 
  getting his hands on the 
  drug was an accident (in 
  which case, he wants to 
  learn more about it, in 
  the hope of improving 
  his powers). Unable to 
  take on ARGENT by 
  himself, he decides to 
  trick the PCs into help-
  ing him.
  Wouldn’t it be cool to be 
  a movie star? With his 
  good looks and charm-
  ing personality, Slick 
  ﬁ gures he can break into 
  the movies easy. Some-
  where along the line he 
  encounters one of the 
  PCs, and events spin out 
  from there, as he even-
  tually gets fed up with 
  Hollywood and decides 
  to teach those idiot pro-
  ducers a lesson.
  
  111 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  10 
  Vehicle:  Contribution to Starbird
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Friction Control Elemental Control
  4 
  +2 with Running
  10 
  +2 DCV
  3 
  Acrobatics 15-
  3 
  Breakfall 15-
  13 
  Contortionist 20-
  3 
  Combat Driving 15-
  3 
  Combat Piloting 15-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  2 
  AK: California Beaches 11-
  2 
  CK: Los Angeles 11-
  2 
  KS: California Surfer Subculture 11-
  2 
  KS: Cars 11-
  2 
  KS: Illegal Drugs 11-
  1 
  KS: Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  Persuasion 12-
  3 
  Seduction 12-
  3 
  Stealth 15-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 15-
  4 
  TF: Hanggliding, SCUBA, Surﬁ ng, Water 
  Skiing
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  401
  Total Cost:  546
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fear Of Being 
  Bound Or Conﬁ ned (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  wanted and dangerous supervil-
  lain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Rick 
  Powell) (Frequently, Major)
  226 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  546
  Background/History:  Born and raised in southern 
  California, Rick Powell grew up on the beach, 
  swimming, surfing, playing frisbee and vol-
  leyball, and flirting with beautiful women. To 
  keep himself supplied with surfboards, fast cars, 
  and spending money, he got into dealing drugs 
  — just pot at first, but soon he branched out into 
  harder drugs. Convinced that if he could find 
  “the next crack,” he’d be set for life, he began 
  concentrating on designer drugs. As a point of 
  pride, he personally tested each one, so he could 
  describe its effects to his clients. It paid off; he 
  built a big customer base and was raking the 
  money in.
  Then one of his suppliers sold him an all-
  new drug. “Hot stuff, man,” the guy said. “Fresh 
  from the lab — no one else has this.” Rick gave it 
  a try, figuring this might be the one to give him 
  the big break he’d 
  been looking for. 
  It did... but not 
  in the way he 
  expected.
  The experi-
  mental drug 
  (he never did 
  learn its name 
  or where it came 
  from) interacted 
  in a very unusual 
  way with his 
  metabolism. 
  Instead of get-
  ting him high, 
  or simply killing 
  him, it altered 
  his molecular 
  structure, giving 
  him the power 
  to control fric-
  tion. Terrified at 
  first, he got over 
  it when he began 
  to realize what 
  he could do with 
  these strange 
  new abilities. 
  He could skate 
  without skates! 
  He could break 
  in anywhere! He 
  could become 
  rich!
  Slick (as 
  he christened 
  himself) had a 
  few successes 
  early on, but his 
  confidence got the better of him. He took on 
  some jobs that were more than he could handle, 
  and got beaten badly by superheroes because of 
  it (though he did manage to escape them and 
  stay out of jail). He realized he couldn’t do it all 
  by himself; he needed some friends to back him 
  up. He read about the Ultimates and decided 
  they were the ones for him. Some underworld 
  contacts put him in touch with them, and after a 
  brief probationary period, he was accepted into 
  the group.
  Personality/Motivation:  Compared to the rest of 
  the Ultimates, Slick is a pretty normal guy — laid 
  back, friendly, interested in good old-fashioned 
  American male pursuits like fast cars and beauti-
  ful women. He’s the most stable and personable 
  member of the team, and can be seductive and 
  friendly if he wants. While the others spend time 
  in their laboratories, or in their rooms brooding 
  and scheming, he hangs out with Radium and 
  watches TV, or slides into town to spend time 
  (and a lot of money) at the trendiest nightclubs, 
  where he’s known as “Ricky.”
  Slick’s one big hang-up (besides his overconﬁ -
  dent nature) is his fear of being conﬁ ned or tied up 
  
  112 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  in any way. It’s not claustrophobia, but an intense 
  hatred of being denied his freedom of movement. 
  Th e longer he’s conﬁ ned, the more anxious and 
  desperate he’ll get. Th e thought of spending time 
  in prison terriﬁ es him. Fortunately, it’s hard to keep 
  him restrained for long.
  Quote:  “Get a grip, dude! — not that it’s gonna help 
  you much.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Slick has the power to control fric-
  tion, both as it applies to himself and as it aﬀ ects 
  others. By decreasing the friction between himself 
  and what he’s touching, he can “skate” along at 
  tremendous speeds, or slip eﬀ ortlessly out of the 
  tightest bonds. By radically increasing or decreas-
  ing friction, he can stop other people from moving 
  (even over a wide area), or make it much harder for 
  them to hold onto things and keep their footing. 
  His Slickness Control power, for example, uses Tele-
  kinesis to represent how hard it is for someone to 
  hold on to a completely frictionless object — a wet 
  bar of soap seems like a handlebar by comparison.
  In combat, Slick moves around a lot. He rarely 
  performs Move Th roughs or Move Bys (he doesn’t 
  enjoy hurting himself in the process), but a Grab 
  By, particularly in conjunction with a little Slick-
  ness Control, is a great way to disarm his enemies. 
  (Consider this a multiple-power attack, and just 
  add the telekinetic STR to Slick’s own STR and 
  STR from velocity to determine if he can Grab the 
  object successfully.) He also makes extensive use of 
  his Entangles, which leave the enemy wide-open for 
  his teammates’ attacks.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. To make Slick more powerful, increase 
  the Active Points in his powers (perhaps apply-
  ing Personal Immunity to them, so he can skate 
  through the aﬀ ected area without being aﬀ ected). 
  A little more defense would also be helpful, par-
  ticularly in conjunction with some Combat Skill 
  Levels for Grab By. To weaken him, do the opposite 
  — decrease the Active Points in his powers (maybe 
  even get rid of one or two), and decrease his Run-
  ning and SPD.
  Slick doesn’t Hunt heroes; it’s just not his style. 
  He might steal a hero’s girlfriend just for spite, but 
  nothing more.
  Appearance:  Slick wears a purple-blue bodysuit 
  with a silver swirl design on it. He doesn’t wear a 
  mask, but he moves around so much people nor-
  mally can’t get a good look at his features anyway.
  THUNDERBOLT I
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6[2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   10 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  25 PD (15 rPD)
   15 ED 
  11 
   
  Total:  40 ED (25 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   9 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  140
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Teleportation: 20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Electricity Attacks:  Multipower, 
  75-point reserve
  7u 
  1)  Lightning Blast I:  Energy Blast 15d6 
  7
  7u 
  2)  Lightning Blast II:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  7u 
  3)  Lightning Blast III:  RKA 4d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  7u 
  4)  Ball Lightning:  Energy Blast 7d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (4” Radius; +1) 
  7
  4u 
  5)  Lightning Punch:  HA +6d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); Hand-To Hand 
  Attack (-½) plus Sight Group Flash 6d6; 
  No Range (-½), Linked (-½) 
  4
  4u 
  6)  Electrical Control:  Mind Control 
  10d6 (Machine class of minds), Telepathic 
  (+¼), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  No Range (-½), Requires An Electronics 
  Roll (-½) 
  3
  30 
  Electrical Composition:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  30 
  1)  Electrical Form:  Force Field (15 PD/25 
  ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  20 
  2)  Lightning-Riding:  Teleportation 20”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  Only Between Conductors Or Th rough 
  Wires (-½) 
  0
  45 
  Electrical Form:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Base:  Contribution to Ultimates base
  10 
  Vehicle:  Contribution to Starbird
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Electrical Attacks Multipower
  3 
  Computer Programming 12-
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  3 
  Inventor 12-
  2 
  KS: Sports 11-
  2 
  PS: Play Golf 11-
  3 
  SS: Electricity 12-
  3 
  SS: Physics 12-
  THUNDERBOLT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th underbolt’s attempt to 
  keep his Secret Identity 
  secret wasn’t entirely suc-
  cessful. A survivor of his 
  initial attack is trying to 
  blackmail him. Unable to 
  strike back directly, Th un-
  derbolt plans to try to 
  trick the PCs into elimi-
  nating this pest for him.
  In a terroristic extortion 
  attempt, Th underbolt 
  takes control of the power 
  grids in Millennium City 
  and threatens to short 
  them all out if he’s not 
  paid a $10 billion ransom. 
  How can the PCs stop 
  him without creating a 
  disaster?
  During an Ultimates 
  attack on the PCs’ base, 
  Th underbolt, while tele-
  porting, is accidentally 
  caught in a security sub-
  routine and shunted into 
  the base’s computers, from 
  which he cannot escape. 
  Now he has to ﬁ nd his 
  way out — and hopefully 
  commit a little mayhem 
  in the process (or proces-
  sor, as the case may be).
  SPEED Kills?
  ‘Moving fast isn’t all it’s cracked 
  up to be, if you don’t know how 
  to use it. We were ﬁ ghting the 
  Ultimates once, and Slick tried 
  to “skate” by and take my billy 
  club. All I had to do was pivot a couple inches 
  to the side and stick out my arm at neck level. 
  The cops told me it was two days before he 
  could speak clearly.’
  — Nighthawk of the Champions 
  
  113 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  286
  Total Cost:  426
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Dependence:  must recharge with electricity 
  at least once per hour or take 2d6 damage 
  (Very Common)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Dislikes Taking 
  Orders, Being Talked Down To, Or Being 
  Insulted (Common, Moderate)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Showoﬀ ; Enjoys 
  Using His Powers (Very Common; Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  wanted and dangerous supervil-
  lain, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Dr. 
  Howard Reeves) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Susceptibility:  to being restrained with 
  metal, 2d6 damage per Phase (Uncommon)
  5 
  Unluck 1d6
  15 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x STUN from Metal 
  Attacks (Very Common)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Metal Attacks 
  (Very Common)
  46 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  426
  Background/History:  Howard Reeves, a skilled elec-
  trical engineer, was working on a new high-voltage 
  power transmission line at an experimental magne-
  tohydrodynamic (MHD) power plant. Unfortunately, 
  not all the workers there were as conscientious as he. 
  Suddenly, an improperly-tightened valve burst open, 
  spraying Reeves with liquid oxygen. Staggering back, 
  he fell over the catwalk railing and down into the 
  main generator just as it was building to full capacity. 
  Th ere was an incredible ﬂ ash of light, followed by an 
  explosion that wrecked the generator. Reeves disap-
  peared. Rescue workers assumed he’d been annihi-
  lated by the blast, but suddenly, all the metal railings 
  and ﬁ xtures around them began sparking. With a 
  second ﬂ ash of light, Howard Reeves was reborn — as 
  a living thunderbolt!
  Reeves discovered he’d been transformed from a 
  being of ﬂ esh and blood to one composed of “organic 
  electrical energy.” People touching him got unpleasant 
  shocks, and until he learned to control himself, tiny 
  bolts of lightning oft en arced between him and metal 
  objects. Soon he was able to project lightning bolts 
  deliberately, and could even travel instantaneously 
  down wires or between conductive objects!
  Reeves soon realized this was a big opportunity. 
  A man with powers like his could do anything! He 
  could become a famous crimeﬁ ghter, the idol of mil-
  lions and a savior of humanity — or a super-criminal, 
  feared and hated, but extremely wealthy. Th ere was no 
  choice. Who cared about the adulation of the masses? 
  Money and power were better than that! A supervil-
  lain he would become. It never occurred to him that 
  the accident might have unhinged his mind a little.
  Th e ﬁ rst step was to make sure his secret stayed 
  a secret. He slagged the power plant, destroying it 
  utterly, and killing everyone he could ﬁ nd who knew 
  about him. Th en, aft er adopting the costumed identity 
  of Th underbolt, he began traveling across the country, 
  wrecking other MHD power plants so no one could 
  duplicate the accident that created him. Th at was 
  how the Ultimates found him, trashing a power plant. 
  When he needed help escaping from superheroes, 
  they provided it, and in return he joined the group.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th underbolt spent years slav-
  ing away for other people, and now he’s in control 
  as far as he’s concerned. He does what he wants, and 
  he hates having to take orders (which makes him 
  something of a tactical weak link in the Ultimates). 
  He takes himself quite seriously, so condescension or 
  mockery infuriate him and usually provoke a violent 
  response.
  Even aft er years of having superpowers, Th un-
  derbolt still can’t get enough of them; he’s endlessly 
  fascinated by his own abilities, and loves to show them 
  oﬀ . Th is doesn’t do much for his tactical eﬀ ectiveness 
  either, especially when some hero goads him into a 
  “contest of power” to prove who’s the best. But he wins 
  such contests more oft en than not; he can generate 
  some mighty impressive voltage.
  Th underbolt has a deep and abiding loathing of 
  Th underbolt II, whom he regards as having “stolen” 
  his name. Th ey have yet to meet, but when they do, 
  sparks will ﬂ y... literally.
  Quote:  “You think you’ve got power? Here’s a real jolt 
  for you!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Since joining the Ultimates, Th un-
  derbolt has achieved a much ﬁ ner control over his 
  powers. Once he could only project bolts of electricity, 
  
  114 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  create an electrical ﬁ eld around himself for protection, 
  and use wires and conductive materials to “teleport.” 
  Now he can take control of computers and many 
  other types of electricity-using machines, blast his foes 
  with ball lightning, and use his electrical energy to 
  enhance his punches (he really enjoys using the latter 
  attack; it look ﬂ ashy and makes him feel tough).
  Unfortunately for him, since Th underbolt’s 
  powers derive from having a quasi-electrical body, 
  he also suﬀ ers some signiﬁ cant restrictions. Metallic 
  attacks which pierce his form do extra damage to 
  him, causing an impressive discharge of electrical 
  sparks. If he’s restrained with metal — handcuﬀ ed, 
  in a solid metal cage, caught in a wire-cable Entangle 
  — he suﬀ ers damage as his body begins to “ground 
  out.” If he doesn’t “recharge” himself from a source of 
  electricity (such as a household outlet) at least once 
  an hour, he starts to lose cellular cohesion; he’ll die if 
  he goes too long without a shot of “juice.”
  Th underbolt attacks aggressively in combat, 
  especially if he senses a weakness in his foe that he 
  can exploit. He usually opens up with his Lightning 
  Blast I, hoping for an easy, early victory, but he’ll 
  switch to less END-intensive attacks if the battle 
  starts to drag out. He’s gotten pretty skilled at making 
  Teleportation Half Moves to gain Surprise Move 
  bonuses.
  Campaign Use:  See introductory text for general 
  information. If you want to make Th underbolt more 
  powerful, increase his Multipower’s reserve to 90 
  Active Points, bump his SPD up a point or two, or 
  give him some additional powers (such as an RKA 
  2d6 Damage Shield). To diminish his power, reduce 
  his Multipower to a 60 Active Point reserve, and his 
  Elemental Control to 40 Active Point powers.
  Th underbolt makes a fairly competent Hunter 
  for a heroic PC. He won’t go out of his way (i.e., 
  Hunt someone on more than an 8-), but if suﬃ  -
  ciently angered or humiliated will ﬁ nd a way to get 
  back at his tormentor. Straightforward attacks are his 
  most common tactic, but he may also resort to nui-
  sance attacks (like shorting out his quarry’s power, 
  again and again).
  Appearance:  Thunderbolt’s costume is a char-
  coal black bodysuit with red boots, belt, gloves, 
  and a red T on his chest. His mask covers his 
  entire face, but not the top of his head, leaving 
  his blonde hair visible. He’s 5’9” tall and weighs 
  approximately 190 pounds.
  The Starbird
  When the Ultimates need to travel to or from 
  the scene of a crime quickly, they use the Starbird, 
  a ﬂ ying vehicle built by them with plans stolen 
  from UNTIL. Fast and maneuverable, the Starbird 
  launches from a hangar hidden beneath a junkyard 
  near the team’s secret headquarters.
  THE STARBIRD
   Val 
  Char Cost Notes
   55 
  STR 
  15 Lift  50 tons; 11d6 [0]
   16 
  BODY 0
   4” x 2” Size 
  30 Mass 6.4 tons; -6 KB; -4 DCV
   12 
  DEF 
  30
   20 
  DEX 
  30 OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   4 
  SPD 
  10 Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   
   
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  115
  Movement: 
  Ground:   
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  40”/2,560”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
  105 
  Jet Engines:  Flight 40”, x64 Noncombat, 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily 
  refueled; 1 Day; -0) 
  [1cc]
  16 
  Sealed Environment:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing, Safe Environment: 
  Low Pressure/Vacuum, Intense Cold, 
  Intense Heat) 
  0
  19 
  Radar Array:  Radar (Radio Group), 
  Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees), Telescopic (+14 
  versus Range Modiﬁ er); OIF Bulky (-1) 
  0
  6 
  Communications System:  HRRP; OIF 
  Bulky (-1) 
  0
  52 
  Additional equipment chosen by the GM var
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  198
  Total Vehicle Cost:  313
  Value Disadvantages 
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  the Ultimates’s 
  super-plane (Not Concealable; Noticed 
  And Recognizeable)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  15
  Total Cost:  298/5 = 60
  
  115 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  T
  he third part of Conquer-
  ors, Killers, And Crooks 
  describes nearly four dozen 
  independent or “solo” vil-
  lains — supercriminals who usu-
  ally commit crimes on their own. 
  Th ey may go to work for more 
  powerful villains, or team up with 
  some of their confederates to form 
  temporary teams, but they have 
  no long-standing aﬃ  liation or alli-
  ance with anyone else. (Of course, 
  as GM you can combine them 
  into new teams if you prefer.)
  
  116 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ANKYLOSAUR
   Val 
  Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10+30 STR 15# 
  11-/17- Lift  100 kg /6,400 kg; 
  2d6/8d6 [1/4]
   10+11   DEX 16# 
  11-/13- OCV: 3 /7/DCV: 3/7
   10+15 CON 15# 
  11-/14-
   10 
  BODY 0 
  11-
   10 
  INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 
  EGO 0 
  11- 
  ECV: 3
   10+10 PRE 
  7* 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 2d6/4d6
   10 
  COM 0 
  11-
   
   4 
  PD 
  2 
  Total:  26 PD (22 rPD)
   4 
  ED 
  2 
  Total:  26 ED (22 rED)
   4 
  SPD 
  20 
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 
  REC 
  8
   30 
  END 5
   40 
  STUN 20 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  110
  *:  OIF (battle armor; -½)
  #:  OIF (as above) plus No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  17”/34”
   
  Leaping: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  50 
  Grenade Launcher:  Multipower, 75-point 
  powers; all OIF (battle armor; -½)
  1u 
  1)  Tail:  +30 STR; OIF (-½), Only With 
  Extra Limb (-½) 
  3
  3u 
  2)  Blast Grenade:  Energy Blast 15d6; 
  OIF (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  3u 
  3)  Fire Grenade:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  3u 
  4)  Frag Grenade:  RKA 3d6, Explosion 
  (+½); OIF (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  3u 
  5)  Concussion Grenade:  Energy Blast 
  10d6, Explosion (+½), Stun Only (-0); 
  OIF (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  3u 
  6)  Flashbang Grenade:  Sight and Hearing 
  Group Flash 9d6, Explosion (+½); OIF 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  7)  Smoke Grenade:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 5” radius; OIF (-½), 4 Continuing 
  Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-½) 
  [4cc]
  3 
  Tail:  Extra Limb; OIF (-½), Limited 
  Manipulation (-¼) 
  0
  44 
  Battle Armor:  Armor (22 PD/22 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  14 
  Flashbang Protection:  Sight and Hearing 
  Group Flash Defense (10 points each); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Oxygen Supply:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing); OIF (-½) 
  0
  15 
  Motility Servos:  Running +11” (17” total); 
  OIF (-½) 
  2
  8 
  Motility Servos:  Leaping +12” 
  (20” forward, 10” upward); OIF (-½) 
  1
  3 
  Visual Sensors:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Visual Sensors:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  Auditory Sensors:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Onboard Radar:  Radar (Radio Group); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Communicator System:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight 
  And Hearing Group As Well As Radio 
  Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Talents
  8 
  Onboard Computer:  Absolute Range 
  Sense, Absolute Time Sense, Bump Of 
  Direction, Lightning Calculator; OIF (-½)
   
  Skills
  11 
  Combat Analyzer:  +2 with All Combat; 
  OIF (-½)
  6 
  Combat Analyzer:  +3 versus Range with 
  all attacks; OIF (-½)
  3 
  +1 with Grenade Launcher Multipower
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Climbing 11- (13-)
  3 
  Combat Driving 11- (13-)
  1 
  Electronics 8-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  1 
  KS: UNTIL 8-
  1 
  KS: VIPER 8-
  3 
  Streetwise 11- (13-)
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  240
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vengeful 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Th e 
  Police And Authority Figures (Common, 
  Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  violent supercriminal, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Paul 
  Bressler) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Unluck 3d6
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Sonic attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Sonic attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  20 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  How lucky can one guy get?
  All his life, Paul Bressler couldn’t get a break. 
  He was born into a poor family where no one really 
  understood him. He got expelled from school 
  because of a tiny misunderstanding about what he 
  and the principal’s daughter were doing. He got 
  tossed into juvie for just a little joyriding and a 
  couple of burglaries. Nothing ever turned out right. 
  But the way Paul ﬁ gured it, sooner or later he was 
  due for a big break to make up for all the rotten 
  luck.
  One day, the local VIPER Nest hired Paul, his 
  buddy John MacDougal, and some of their other 
  
  117 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  pals to help out with a job. Paul ﬁ gured this was his 
  big break — a chance to get in good with VIPER! 
  He was right, but not in the way he expected.
  Paul and his friends had a simple part to play. 
  All they needed to do was make a lot of noise and 
  stage a diversion outside one of UNTIL’s research 
  facilities, so the VIPER teams could inﬁ ltrate the 
  place and steal some stuﬀ . Piece a’ cake, right? 
  Wrong. UNTIL responded more quickly, and with 
  more force, than VIPER expected. Paul and John 
  panicked, running into the facility instead of away 
  from it, and once inside quickly became separated.
  Almost before he knew it, Paul found himself 
  in some sort of warehouse, hiding 
  behind a bunch of big crates. 
  Having nothing better 
  to do (besides pray 
  to God no one 
  would ﬁ nd 
  him), 
  Paul 
  pulled 
  out a 
  pen and 
  substituted 
  his address for 
  the one on the shipping 
  labels. Th en, slowly 
  but surely, the 
  sounds of battle 
  faded away, and 
  Paul snuck out 
  and got the hell 
  away from there.
  To his aston-
  ishment, a few 
  days later a big 
  delivery van 
  pulled up to 
  his apartment 
  and dropped 
  oﬀ  the crates! 
  He crowbarred 
  them open, 
  hoping to ﬁ nd 
  something he could sell, and saw a 
  glistening suit of powered armor, fresh from the 
  factory and styled to look like some kind of dino-
  saur or something. He couldn’t believe his luck!
  It took him about half a day to put the 
  battlesuit together and ﬁ gure out how it 
  worked — and just in time. All of a sudden 
  a squad of UNTIL agents showed up on his 
  doorstep, having traced the delivery aft er the 
  prototype Ankylosaur armor didn’t show 
  up at its intended destination. A few grenades 
  and an all-too-short ﬁ stﬁ ght later, and Paul had 
  completely trashed the squad.
  Ever since then, the Ankylosaur has been a free-
  lance supercriminal, sometimes pulling his own jobs, 
  sometimes working for other villains. He may not 
  come out the winner every time, but he’s a lot better 
  oﬀ  than he used to be, and now he gets to pound on 
  the cops, not the other way around. All in all, it pretty 
  much makes up for those ﬁ rst eighteen years.
  Personality/Motivation:  Paul is nothing more than a 
  thug and a bully with a lot of power to back up his 
  aggressive impulses. He likes to be big and tough, 
  and to have a fat roll of bills in his pocket for nights 
  on the town, and being Ankylosaur gives him those 
  things. He’s not an educated man or a deep thinker 
  (it took him months just to learn how to pronounce 
  the armor’s name properly), and is impressed by 
  those who are, making it easy for master villain 
  types to recruit him.
  Years of “oppression” by the cops, courts, and 
  other authority ﬁ gures have given Ankylosaur a 
  bitter hatred of “the man.” Anytime he gets the 
  chance to beat the snot out of policemen, UNTIL 
  agents, or anyone else like that, he’ll take it (much 
  to the annoyance of his employers). If he’s in a 
  tough spot and needs to grab a hostage, he’ll go 
  for someone who looks “oﬃ  cial” 
  every time.
  Quote:  “Ready for a 
  pounding, hero?”
  Powers/Tactics:  
  Ankylosaur’s 
  powers 
  come 
  entirely 
  from the 
  prototype 
  powered 
  armor suit 
  he stole 
  from UNTIL; 
  without the suit, 
  Paul Bressler’s little 
  more than a garden-vari-
  ety street thug. In addition 
  to its defensive capabili-
  ties, the suit enhances his 
  strength and reﬂ exes, and 
  comes equipped with a 
  combination artiﬁ cial tail/
  grenade launcher which 
  ﬁ res several diﬀ erent types 
  of explosive missiles. Th e suit 
  also augments his strength, particu-
  larly when he’s using the tail.
   At the start of a battle, Anky-
  losaur mainly relies on grenades, 
  hoping to take out as many enemies 
  as possible (besides, it’s fun to blow stuff 
  up). When the melee gets too mixed for 
  grenades, he leaps into the fray and starts 
  battering heroes into submission with his tail. 
  He enjoys a good fight, and won’t back down 
  even from a serious challenge, but if the situa-
  tion becomes hopeless he’s got no qualms about 
  making a break for it.
  Th e Ankylosaur armor is unusually susceptible 
  to sonic damage, which causes painful feedback via 
  its cybernetic controls. UNTIL has never found a 
  way around this problem, which is one of the rea-
  sons it never tried to rebuild the suit. But it takes 
  advantage of this weakness whenever it catches up 
  with Ankylosaur.
  
  118 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Campaign Use:  Ankylosaur is a perfect mercenary 
  villain when you need to provide another super-
  criminal with some backup, or form an impromptu 
  team of solo villains. He’s a born follower. And 
  who knows what might have happened to John 
  MacDougal or any of the other friends he was with 
  that night? He hasn’t heard from them since or 
  been able to ﬁ nd out anything. Obviously there was 
  something mighty strange going on at that UNTIL 
  lab....
  As a Hunter, Ankylosaur is brutal and 
  straightforward. He’s got a vicious vengeful streak, 
  and won’t hesitate to pursue a hero he thinks has 
  humiliated him. Once he ﬁ nds his quarry, he’ll start 
  lobbing grenades and then leap forward to get in a 
  few good tail-swings and punches. Subtlety is not 
  his thing.
  If Ankylosaur’s not tough enough to stand up 
  to your heroes, boost his STR by 10-20 and his SPD 
  by 1-2; give him some more grenades, too, if other 
  types of attacks will help. On the other hand, if he’s 
  too tough, scale down the extra STR when using his 
  Tail, and get rid of one or two types of grenades.
  Appearance:  Ankylosaur wears a suit of steel grey 
  powered armor patterned aft er the dinosaur of 
  the same name. Sharp spikes stud the shoulders, 
  gauntlets, helmet, and other parts of it, and it has 
  an artiﬁ cial tail, with a large spiked knob on the 
  end, attached to a backpack-like structure. Th e tail 
  functions as a grenade launcher as well as a way to 
  smash superheroes.
  Out of his armor, Paul Bressler is only 5’8” tall 
  (as opposed to 6’3” in it). He has dirty brown hair, 
  watery green eyes, and the beginnings of a gin blos-
  som. He dresses like a man with a lot more money 
  than taste.
  ANUBIS
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   22 DEX 
  36 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   22 CON 
  24 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   10 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  28 PD (18 rPD)
   12 ED 
  8 
   
  Total:  30 ED (18 rED)
   6 SPD 
  28 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   9 REC 
  0
   44 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  167
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  87 
  Ankh-Staﬀ :  Multipower, 87-point reserve
  9u 
  1)  Fire Of Th e Gods:  Energy Blast 14d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  8u 
  2)  Hand Of Th e Gods:  Telekinesis (36 
  STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  5u 
  3)  Curse Of Scorpions:  RKA 1d6, NND 
  (defense is appropriate Life Support 
  [Immunity] or being in a hermetically-
  sealed environment like a Force Field or 
  powered armor suit; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
  Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½); Limited Range (10”; -¼) 
  0
  3u 
  4)  Curse Of Blindness:  Major Transform 
  5d6 (sighted human into blind human; 
  heals back on Anubis’s command or if eyes 
  are bathed in the waters of the Nile during 
  a special ceremony); Limited Target 
  (humans; -½), All Or Nothing (-½), 
  Limited Range (10”; -¼) 
  7
  8u  
  5)  Pathway Of Th e Gods:  Teleportation 
  24”, MegaScale (1” = 1 km; +¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  100 
  Armies Of Th e Dead:  Summon 4 395-point 
  mummies (see HERO System Bestiary, page 
  122), Slavishly Devoted (+1), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); Arrives Under 
  Own Power (-½), Summoned Being Must 
  Inhabit Locale (-½) 
  9
  54 
  Shield Of Th e Gods:  Force Field (18 PD/
  18 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0
  60 
  Wings Of Th e Gods:  Flight 20”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Ankh-Staﬀ  Multipower
  2 
  AK: Egypt 11-
  2 
  AK: Millennium City University 11-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  3 
  KS: Ancient History 12-
  5 
  KS: Egyptian Myth & Legend 14-
  5 
  KS: Egyptology 14-
  2 
  SS: Anthropology 11-
  ANKYLOSAUR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Hey, sometimes light-
  ning strikes twice, right? 
  Ankylosaur breaks into 
  a research corporation’s 
  labs and substitutes his 
  address for one on the 
  crates there, hoping to 
  get some other neat 
  toys delivered to his 
  doorstep. Unfortunately, 
  this particular lab is a 
  front for Teleios, and the 
  crates in question con-
  tain some young mon-
  stersaurs (see Champi-
  ons Universe, page 138) 
  in stasis. Almost before 
  Ankylosaur can get into 
  his armor, the deadly 
  beasts smash his apart-
  ment and go on a ram-
  page through the city.
  Ankylosaur’s sick and 
  tired of working for 
  other villains and get-
  ting half the loot for 
  twice the risk. He’s got 
  what it takes, he’s form-
  ing his own gang! Pick 
  three or four other vil-
  lains without enough 
  sense to resist his 
  “recruiting pitch” and 
  let them launch some 
  fantastic scheme for the 
  PCs to stop.
  Ankylosaur ﬁ gures that 
  with all the money pro 
  athletes make, they’d 
  pay a fortune not to 
  get hurt. Right before a 
  major game, he crashes 
  into the Millennium 
  City Lions locker room 
  and announces he’s 
  holding all the players 
  hostage until each one 
  pays a two million dollar 
  ransom. Th e PCs have 
  to defuse the situation 
  without wrecking the 
  stadium or hurting any 
  of the football players.
  Round & Round He Goes...
  ‘Man, that Ankylosaur is tough! 
  His armor’s so strong I can’t 
  hurt him. Instead, I have to 
  ﬁ nesse him. The last time he 
  showed up in Millennium City, I spun him 
  around so fast he couldn’t even see straight. 
  Sure, he got his licks in — I’m lucky he didn’t 
  take my head off with that tail of his — but 
  by the time I was done, he was so dizzy he 
  couldn’t even stand up!’
  — Kinetik
  
  119 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  SS: Archaeology 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  367
  Total Cost:  534
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mystic Aura (Not Con-
  cealable; Always Noticed; Detectable Only 
  With Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Fulﬁ ll Th e 
  Will Of Set (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Broadcasts Inten-
  tions In Combat (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  destructive supervillain, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Ethan 
  Neritski) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Life/Holy 
  Magics (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Life/Holy 
  Magics (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Water 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Water 
  (Uncommon)
  169 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  534
  Background/History:  Ethan Neritski used to be noth-
  ing more than a graduate student in the Archaeology 
  Department at Millennium City University. Disgrun-
  tled and bitter aft er years of having his somewhat... 
  unusual theories about Egyptology casually dismissed 
  by more established archaeologists and historians, he 
  slowly but surely drift ed from being a true scholar to 
  being more of a looter of tombs and seller of antiqui-
  ties on the black market.
  One season, while on an expedition in Egypt, 
  Neritski would sneak away from the camp at night 
  to do some digging of his own, hoping to ﬁ nd some 
  valuable artifacts he could keep for himself and sell 
  when he returned home. By dumb luck — or perhaps 
  the touch of fate — he found what he was looking 
  for. He accidentally stumbled into a cleft  in the rocks, 
  where he found a well-hidden tunnel that led deep 
  into a hill. Aft er carefully opening several doors, he 
  found his way to a lavish inner chamber.
  Although the chamber was ﬁ lled with many 
  valuable items, Neritski had eyes only for the two on 
  the ivory table in the center:  a gold mask, in the style 
  of a funerary mask, shaped like the jackal head of 
  Anubis, god of the dead; and a tall staﬀ  of lapis lazuli 
  with an ankh on top. Th ose two items alone would 
  make him rich beyond his wildest dreams.
  For fun, Neritski put the mask on his head. As 
  the sides of it settled ﬁ rmly onto his shoulders, he 
  felt something — some strange presence — enter his 
  mind. Dazed and reeling, he tried to remove the mask, 
  but it wouldn’t come oﬀ ! Unable to withstand the 
  assault on his mind, Neritski collapsed.
  He awoke, hours later, with a new sense of pur-
  pose. No longer was he Ethan Neritski, 
  scorned Egyptologist — he was the 
  avatar of the god of the dead! Somehow, 
  the mask and ankh-staﬀ  had given 
  him awesome power — the power to 
  destroy, to take what he pleased, 
  to humble his enemies before 
  him! A long, chill laugh of evil 
  escaped his lips as he ﬂ ew 
  away from the now-
  meaningless tomb to 
  work his will in the world.
  Personality/Motivation:  Ethan 
  Neritski thinks he has become 
  the avatar of Anubis, the 
  Egyptian psychopomp and 
  funerary god. He believes 
  the gods of ancient Egypt 
  have granted him vast 
  power to do as he wishes. 
  So far, his wishes have 
  run to simple crimes 
  — the acquisition of 
  luxuries and riches, 
  the humbling of 
  those who would 
  insult, belittle, or 
  humiliate him, 
  and so on.
  What 
  Neritski does not 
  know is that the 
  mask he wears and staﬀ  he 
  bears were not the habita-
  tion of an avatar-spirit of Anubis 
  — they were the prison of an 
  avatar-spirit of Set, god of evil. 
  Anubis has actually been bound 
  to Set, to do whatever the dark 
  god chooses, though Set has not 
  yet revealed this to him. For now, 
  Set is content to let his servant go 
  his own way in the world, creat-
  ing what casual evil he will... until 
  Set is truly ready to unleash tor-
  ment upon Earth.
  Quote:  “Th e power of the gods 
  is mine! Now you will feel 
  their ﬁ re!”
  Powers/Tactics:  
  Anubis is not particu-
  larly tactically astute, as supervillains go. He prefers 
  to rely on sheer power and destructiveness instead of 
  subtle maneuvering, and in fact has a tendency to tell 
  his opponents what he’s going to do to them before he 
  takes his Action.
  Anubis’s powers all work through his lapis Ankh-
  Staﬀ , but none of them take the Focus or OIHID Limi-
  tations because he can summon the Staﬀ  to himself at 
  will — if a hero snatches it away from him, it vanishes 
  from the hero’s grasp and re-appears in Anubis’s hand 
  whenever he wants it to. Anubis may allow the PCs 
  to think they’ve stripped him of his power for a few 
  Segments, then call the Staﬀ  back to him and get a 
  
  120 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Surprise Move bonus. Th e only way to take the Ankh-
  Staﬀ  from him permanently is to seal it behind potent 
  Egyptian magical wards.
  Anubis’s favored power is the Fire Of Th e Gods, 
  a blue-colored blast of ﬁ re-like energy capable of 
  damaging most superhumans. However, that’s not all 
  he can do; he can also move objects without touching 
  them, or, if an opponent is close enough, Anubis can 
  simply blind him or cover his body in stinging scor-
  pions. If he’s anywhere near mummies (or similarly-
  preserved bodies), such as in a museum or cemetery, 
  he can call forth up to four mummies to ﬁ ght on his 
  behalf (see page 122 of the HERO System Bestiary for 
  a mummy character sheet, or create your own).
  Anubis oft en ﬂ ies in combat; he regards it as 
  a majestic and useful manifestation of his divine 
  powers. For quick escapes, he can open a doorway to 
  the realm of the gods, step through, and emerge miles 
  away (i.e., use his MegaScaled Teleportation).
  Campaign Use:  Anubis makes a good general vil-
  lain for a number of plots, but he works best as a 
  springboard for a story arc focusing on the destruc-
  tive will of the god Set. Eventually the PCs (and 
  Anubis himself) should discover his link with Set, 
  and in turn ﬁ nd out the consequences of opposing 
  such a powerful deity....
  In his Secret Identity of Ethan Neritski, Anubis 
  spends most of his time at Millennium City’s uni-
  versities and museums, poking around in the dusty 
  parts of research libraries and Egyptology displays. 
  Player characters of academic bent may encounter 
  him from time to time without ever knowing he’s 
  really a powerful supervillain.
  As a Hunter, Anubis pursues his target in a 
  straightforward fashion. No skulking about or 
  deceptive schemes for a scion of the gods! He’ll 
  simply ﬂ y to the heroes’ headquarters and start 
  blasting things until his enemy accepts a chal-
  lenge to single combat. If defeated or driven away, 
  he returns, again and again, oft en at inconvenient 
  times, until he has utterly humbled his foe.
  To make Anubis more powerful, increase his 
  STR to 40 or 50, and add a few slots to his Multi-
  power (be careful not to strain his END use too 
  much), and perhaps boost the Armies Of Th e Dead 
  power to let him Summon more mummies at once. 
  To weaken him, reduce his Multipower reserve (to 
  75 or 60 points), get rid of his Armies Of Th e Dead 
  power, and consider lowering his SPD to 5.
  Appearance:  Anubis wears an Egyptian-style 
  golden mask/helmet in the shape of a jackal’s head 
  with evilly-glowing red eyes, a gold Egyptian kilt, 
  gold bracers, and gold sandals. His chest, arms, 
  and legs are bare. In his right hand he carries the 
  Ankh-Staﬀ , a six-foot tall staﬀ  with an ankh on top; 
  the entire weapon is carved out of a single piece of 
  lapis lazuli.
  ARMADILLO
   Val Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10+40 STR 
  20# 
  11-/19- Lift  100 kg/25 tons; 
  2d6 (10d6) [1/5]
   10+8 DEX 12# 
  11-/13- OCV: 3/6/DCV: 3/6
   10+18 CON 18# 
  11-/15-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV: 4
   10+5 PRE 
  3* 
  11-/12- PRE Attack: 2d6/3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 
  PD 
  4 
  Total:  26 PD (20 rPD)
   4 
  ED 
  2 
  Total:  24 ED (20 rED)
   2+3 SPD 
  20* 
  Phases:  6, 12/3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   9 
  REC 
  10
   20 END 
  0
   45 STUN 20 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  124
  *:  OIF (battle armor; -½)
  #:  OIF (as above) plus No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Leaping: 
  10”/20”
   
  Tunneling: 
  12”/24”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  24 
  Power Supply:  Endurance Reserve 
  (160 END, 20 REC); OIF (-½) 
  0
  40 
  Blaster Array:  Multipower, 60-point 
  powers, all OIF (battle armor; -½)
  3u 
  1)  Palm Blasters:  Energy Blast 12d6; OIF 
  (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  6
  3u 
  2)  Wrist Blasters:  RKA 2d6, Armor 
  Piercing (x2; +1); OIF (-½), Activation 
  Roll 14- (-½) 
  6
  3u 
  3)  Shoulder Blasters:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½); OIF (-½), 
  Activation Roll 14- (-½) 
  6
  4u 
  4)  Tunneling Mode:  Tunneling 12” 
  through 12 DEF material; OIF (-½) 
  6
  20 
  Battle Claws:  HKA 1d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½) (2d6 with STR), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  9 
  Battle Armor:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing; Safe Environments:  
  Low Pressure/Vacuum, High Pressure); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  40 
  Battle Armor:  Armor (20 PD/20 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  14 
  Flashguard Helmet:  Sight and Hearing 
  Group Flash Defense (10 points each); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Defense Field:  Power Defense (5 points); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Defense Field:  Lack Of Weakness (-10) 
  for Resistant Defenses; OIF (-½) 
  0
  13 
  Tactical Computer:  Find Weakness 11- with 
  Blaster Array and Battle Claws; OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  IR Sensors:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  UV Sensors:  Ultraviolet Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Communications Suite:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight/Hearing 
  Group As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  ANUBIS 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Anubis goes on a crime 
  spree, stealing Egyptian 
  artifacts from around 
  the world. Each artifact 
  holds the avatar of other 
  Egyptian gods allied 
  with Set, and Anubis 
  uses them to manifest 
  a divine army to serve 
  his dark lord. Th e 
  “good” Egyptian gods 
  (Ra, Horus, Isis, Th oth, 
  and so on), seeking to 
  oppose this scheme 
  (because its success 
  would mean their per-
  manent deaths), grant 
  the PCs countervailing 
  powers, and the battle 
  is on!
  In his researches, Ethan 
  Neritski uncovers the 
  details of a special Set-
  worshipping ceremony. 
  Anubis performs the 
  ritual and opens a tiny 
  dimensional portal to 
  Set, who reveals his role 
  in Anubis’s origin and 
  multiplies his servant’s 
  powers threefold. Now 
  Anubis seeks to open 
  the portal wider, and 
  unleash Set upon the 
  Earth. If the heroes don’t 
  stop him, ﬁ rst Millen-
  nium City, and then the 
  Earth, will be destroyed!
  Anubis “discovers” that a 
  female PC is the reincar-
  nation of some Egyptian 
  princess or goddess, 
  and tries to “reawaken” 
  her that she may be his 
  consort.
  
  121 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Talents
  8 
  Onboard Computer:  Absolute Range Sense, 
  Absolute Time Sense, Bump Of Direction, 
  Lightning Calculator; OIF (-½)
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Blaster Array Multipower
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  1 
  KS: Professional Sports 8-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e U.S. Army 8-
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  2 
  PS: Soldier 11-
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 11- (12-)
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  226
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Enraged:  if insulted or battle armor insulted 
  (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  30 
  Hunted:  U.S. Army 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Announces 
  His Actions Before Taking Th em (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Sucker For A 
  Pretty Face (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Randall 
  Gordon) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Ego Attacks 
  (Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Magnetic 
  Attacks (Uncommon)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  In 1993, fresh out of the 
  Juvenile Detention Center, Randall Gordon 
  decided to join the Army. He had no illusions; he 
  knew that, one way or another, people were going 
  to be ordering him around for the rest of his life. 
  He figured he might as well get paid for it.
  Eager to make some extra bucks following 
  basic training, Gordon volunteered for some-
  thing called Project Sunburst, a wargame of some 
  sort. It turned out to be an unscrupulous experi-
  ment to test soldiers’ ability to survive and con-
  duct military operations in a nuclear war. When 
  the blast hit, Gordon passed out. He awakened in 
  the hospital, where he learned from the doctors 
  that he was one of the lucky ones — most of the 
  other guys involved had died right away. To their 
  puzzlement, they couldn’t find a thing wrong 
  with him at all — just some minor changes in his 
  brainwave patterns.
  An astute Army scientist heard about this 
  and suggested that the changes to his neuro-
  chemistry might make Gordon perfect for the 
  Man Amplification Project, the Army’s effort 
  to develop cheap, practical powered armor for 
  soldiers. So far MAP personnel had had no suc-
  cess creating a suit the ordinary ground-pounder 
  could use, due to limitations in the cybernetic 
  technology they’d invented. Maybe with Gordon 
  it would be different. Sensing the possibilities, 
  Gordon agreed.
  It worked like a charm. Somehow, his modi-
  fied brain was able to control the armor. While 
  the MAP scientists were slapping each other on 
  the back and talking about how much good they 
  could do with the armor, Gordon turned the 
  blasters on them. Do good? Ha! With a weapon 
  like this, he was going to grab all he could for 
  himself. After smashing his way out of the 
  MAP facilities, he stalked off into the night and 
  became the supervillain Armadillo.
  Personality/Motivation:  After nearly ten years 
  as Armadillo, a decade mixing successful crime 
  sprees with periodic stays in prison, Gordon 
  still gets a big kick out of being Armadillo. He 
  loves all the powers the suit gives him, and usu-
  ally can’t resist announcing what he’s about to 
  do to the rest of the world (so everyone will 
  be impressed, naturally). Despite the problems 
  this causes him, he still does it, time and again. 
  Eventually he’ll learn not to (i.e., spend some 
  Experience Points to buy off that Psychological 
  Limitation).
  Armadillo’s other big weakness is his inabil-
  ity to withstand the charms of women. He’s got 
  no problems fighting superheroines — they 
  can give as good as they get, after all — but any 
  woman who smiles at him sweetly can often twist 
  him around her little finger. (At the GM’s discre-
  tion, treat this as a bonus to appropriate Persua-
  sion or Presence Attacks by women with COM 
  12 or higher.)
  Randall chose the name “Armadillo” because 
  of his suit’s tunneling capability (and armadilloes 
  do sort of have armor, too). Anyone who laughs 
  at the name, or mocks him and his armor, gets 
  blasted.
  Quote:  “Now I’m gonna knock you right through 
  that wall with my Wrist Blasters!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Armadillo’s powers all come 
  from his suit of battle armor, which is equipped 
  with three different blasters (located in the 
  palms, on the wrists, and on the shoulders), 
  the ability to burrow through the earth at tre-
  mendous speeds (and likewise to tear or tunnel 
  through thick walls and the like), and various 
  defensive and sensory systems. He’s become 
  pretty skilled at using the suit, and years of 
  repairing and modifying it have made him a 
  pretty good tinkerer.
  Armadillo takes full advantage of his suit’s 
  ability to dig tunnels. Not only is it a great way to 
  escape, but by making his tunnel twist and turn 
  he can set up ambushes for pursuing heroes and 
  then collapse the tunnel on them. In battle, if 
  there’s no cover available and he doesn’t need to 
  be mobile, he’ll tunnel down about ½” and thus 
  create some cover for himself.
  ARMADILLO 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Armadillo ﬁ nally 
  decides to ﬁ x his armor 
  to get rid of its Vulner-
  abilities. Unfortunately, 
  he’s a little short on 
  cash right now, and the 
  person doing the work 
  for him (Brainchild, 
  ARGENT, whoever) 
  won’t take an I.O.U. 
  Instead, he wants Arma-
  dillo to do a little job for 
  him... and that eventu-
  ally attracts the attention 
  of the PCs.
  Armadillo hears a 
  rumor that Radium is 
  looking to kill all the 
  generals responsible for 
  Project Sunburst. He has 
  no idea why Radium 
  would want to do that, 
  but the way he ﬁ gures 
  it, those generals did 
  him a favor, so he owes 
  them. Th is could lead to 
  a battle between Arma-
  dillo and Radium, and 
  since Armadillo doesn’t 
  know about what hap-
  pens if Radium is killed, 
  the PCs had better ﬁ nd 
  a way to stop the ﬁ ght 
  from taking place.
  While burrowing away 
  from the scene of a 
  crime or super-battle, 
  Armadillo uncovers a 
  valuable archaeological 
  site. He starts to plunder 
  it for valuable artifacts 
  and sell them on the 
  black market. Th e PCs 
  have to ﬁ nd out where 
  this ﬂ ood of priceless 
  artifacts is coming from 
  and preserve the site for 
  posterity.
  
  122 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Unfortunately, the Armadillo suit has some 
  weaknesses. The cybernetic systems that control 
  it aren’t as efficient or well-protected as they 
  should be, so magnetic attacks or certain mental 
  attacks cause the wearer to suffer agonizing 
  headaches. Armadillo hopes to get this problem 
  fixed eventually (i.e., when he can buy off his 
  Vulnerabilities with Experience Points).
  In combat Armadillo usually relies on his 
  Palm Blasters, switching to the other blasters 
  only when he needs to cut through heavy armor 
  (Wrist Blasters) or take out large numbers of 
  relatively lightly-protected foes (Shoulder Blast-
  ers). If he doesn’t need to move, he’ll use his Tac-
  tical Computer to locate the weakest point in his 
  target’s defenses before firing. He’s not much of a 
  tactician; he just starts blasting away at the most 
  convenient target, or does whatever his employer 
  orders him to do.
  Campaign Use:  Armadillo is a pretty straightfor-
  ward mercenary villain. He’ll work for anyone 
  who can pay him, or give him a reasonable shot 
  at some major loot, so you can easily work him 
  into other superteams, or have a more powerful 
  villain hire him for “backup.” His ties to Proj-
  ect Sunburst might also provide some scenario 
  fodder, especially if a PC also has some connec-
  tion to that ill-fated experiment.
  If Armadillo needs to be more powerful for 
  your game, you have several options. First, you 
  could increase his STR, making him more of a 
  “brick” than he is now. (You may also need to 
  bump up his defenses a bit.) Second, you could 
  give his suit more weapons, or make the ones he 
  already has more powerful. Right now he’s just 
  got a lot of blasters, which doesn’t give him too 
  many tactical options. Third, you could give him 
  the Tactics and Teamwork Skills and just make 
  him a smarter combatant. To weaken him, reduce 
  his defenses some, drop his Tunneling to 8” (or 
  less), and maybe reduce his Multipower to a 50 
  Active Point reserve.
  Appearance:  The Armadillo armor is a simply-
  styled, fairly big and bulky suit of powered 
  armor, with a barrel helm-like helmet and a scale 
  mail-like configuration in front. Its colors are 
  silver, gold, and green. The Palm Blasters are evi-
  dent at all times; the Wrist and Shoulder blasters 
  pop out from obvious compartments in the suit 
  when Armadillo needs them. He often wears a 
  satchel to carry loot in, since he needs his hands 
  free to tunnel. 
  Randall Gordon himself is 5’11” tall and 
  weighs about 200 pounds — he’s no muscleman, 
  but he doesn’t have a lot of fat on him either; he’s 
  mostly big-boned and beefy. He has blonde hair 
  and blue eyes, sports a moustache, and usually 
  wears casual clothes.
  OPPOSING ARMORED
  SUPERCRIMINALS
  Our agents 
  frequently 
  encounter 
  supercriminals 
  whose powers 
  derive not from natural superpowers, but from 
  high-tech suits of armor — “powered armor,” as 
  it’s commonly called. Powered armor “villains” 
  are tough opponents, since their armor not only 
  protects them, but provides weapons, a means of 
  travel, and many other abilities. Here are some 
  suggestions for ﬁ ghting them, gleaned from agents’ 
  ﬁ eld reports:
  Disable, don’t destroy:  Instead of making futile 
  eﬀ orts to destroy part of a criminal’s armor, try to 
  just disable it, even temporarily. A glue-grenade 
  may not hold an armored criminal, but it might 
  clog his boot-jets and prevent him from ﬂ ying 
  away.
  Electrical overload:  Large amounts of electric-
  ity can oft en overload a suit of powered armor, 
  rendering the wearer helpless and harmless. Th e 
  PRIMUS Electricity Riﬂ e has been designed 
  expressly for this purpose; requisition one if you 
  expect to face the likes of Ankylosaur or Armadillo.
  Cybernetic interference:  Most powered armor 
  suits have cybernetic controls that respond to 
  the wearer’s thoughts. If you can jam, disable, or 
  otherwise interfere with the cybernetic circuitry, 
  the suit becomes useless. PRIMUS scientists are 
  working on weapons to exploit this weakness, but 
  resourceful agents can oft en ﬁ nd their own ways to 
  accomplish this.
  
  123 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  BLACK HARLEQUIN
  Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  16 PD (8 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  16 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   12 REC 
  10
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 12 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  164
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  11”/22”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  56 
  Look What I Made!:  Variable Power Pool 
  (Gadget Pool), 45 base + 22 control cost; 
  Focus (all powers bought through VPP must 
  have at least -½ worth of this Limitation; 
  -½), Can Only Be Changed In Black 
  Harlequin’s Laboratory (-½) 
  var
  30 
  Fiendish Toychest:  Multipower, 
  60-point powers; all OAF (-1)
  2u 
  1)  Attack Toys:  RKA 1d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Continuous (+1), Indirect (+¾); OAF 
  (-1), 6 Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-¼) [6cc]
  2u 
  2)  Cherry Bomb:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OAF (-1), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  2u 
  3)  Confetti:  Sight Group Flash 12d6; OAF 
  (-1), Does Not Work Against Desolidiﬁ ed 
  Characters (-¼), Limited Range (2”; -¼), 
  8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  1u 
  4)  Jacks:  RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (One 
  Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled 
  (removable by spending a Full Phase to sweep 
  them aside; +½); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 
  14- (-½), 2 Recoverable Charges (-1), No 
  Knockback (-¼), Only Aﬀ ects Characters 
  Moving On Th e Ground (-¼), DEX Roll 
  Cancels Eﬀ ect (-¼), Automatically Targets 
  Hit Location 18 (-0) 
  [2rc]
  2u 
  5)  Not-So-Silly String:  Entangle 6d6, 
  6 DEF; OAF (-1), Limited Range (20”; -¼), 
  8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  2u 
  6)  Giggle Gas:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, 
  Takes No Damage From Attacks (+½); 
  OAF (-1), 8 Charges (-½), Limited 
  Range (6”; -¼) 
  [8]
  25 
  Jester’s Cane:  Multipower, 50-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1)  Bodacious Wallop:  HA +7d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  3
  2u 
  2)  Sleepy-Gas:  Energy Blast 5d6, NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing]; +1); OAF (-1), Limited Range 
  (2”; -¼), 6 Charges (-¾) 
  [6]
  16 
  Armored Jester’s Motley:  Armor (8 PD/
  8 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Devilishly Fast:  Running +5” (11” total) 
  1
   
  Talents
  4 
  Double-Jointed
   
  Skills
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  3 
  Acting 14-
  3 
  Contortionist 14-
  3 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  3 
  KS: Jokes, Riddles, & Puzzles 14-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 14-
  3 
  KS: Toys & Games 14-
  3 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  Mechanics 14-
  3 
  Mimicry 14-
  3 
  Security Systems 14-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 14-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  3 
  Ventriloquism 14-
  9 
  Weaponsmith (all categories) 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  228
  Total Cost:  392
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Sociopathically 
  Macabre Sense Of Humor (Common, Total)
  20 
  Reputation:  sadistic superhuman killer, 14- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Rinaldo 
  Maretti) (Frequently, Major)
  92 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  392
  EXAMPLE POWERS FOR LOOK WHAT I 
  MADE! POWER POOL
  Here are some examples of devices the Black 
  Harlequin might build with his Gadget Pool:
  Chattering Teeth:  Th is “novelty item” bites onto a 
  victim and just keeps chewing until turned oﬀ  or 
  destroyed.
  RKA 1d6, Armor Piercing (+½), Continuous 
  (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (45 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼). Total cost:  20 points.
  Choo, The Sad Little Train:  Choo is sad, because he 
  can’t make proper train sounds like all the other 
  locomotives. But the sound he can make has an 
  oddly hypnotic eﬀ ect on people, causing them to 
  become sleepy.
  Ego Attack 2d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect (8” Line; +1) (40 
  Active Points); OAF (-1). Total cost:  20 points.
  Jackknife-In-The-Box:  Th is ﬁ endish jack-in-the-
  
  124 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  box has a wickedly sharp knife to stab people with 
  when he pops out.
  RKA 3d6 (45 Active Points); OAF (-1), Extra 
  Time (Full Phase; -½), Limited Range (3”; -¼), 1 
  Recoverable Charge (-1¼). Total cost:  11 points.
  Raggedy Aneurysm:  Th is seemingly cuddly rag doll 
  clamps onto a victim and generates sonic waves 
  that cause painful internal bleeding.
  RKA ½d6, Continuous (+1), NND (defense 
  is ED Force Field; +1), Does BODY (+1) (40 
  Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼). Total cost:  18 points.
  Rickity Rocket Jetpack:  It belches smoke, 
  makes funny noises, and looks like it might 
  fall apart any second — but 
  it works. And it’s enough 
  to let the Black Harle-
  quin make his escape 
  when things get tight.
  Flight 22” (44 Active 
  Points); OIF (-½). Total 
  cost:  29 points.
  Tears Of A Clown:  People splashed 
  with this caustic liquid have plenty 
  to cry about themselves.
  RKA 1d6, Armor Piercing (+½), 
  Continuous (+1), Penetrating (+½) 
  (45 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range 
  Based On STR (-¼), 8 Charges last-
  ing 1 Turn each (-0). Total cost:  20 
  points.
  Background/History:  
  “Rinaldo, you get down 
  into the basement right 
  now!”
  “But, Momma....”
  “But, nothing! I’ve seen the way 
  you’ve been looking at your 
  sisters — they’ve seen it too. 
  You’re making everyone uncom-
  fortable, you little pervert. Since 
  you can’t behave yourself properly 
  around other people, I’m not going 
  to let you be around other people. 
  From now on, you live in the basement.”
  “But, Momma....”
  Th at was when she slapped him. When she was 
  done slapping him, she dragged him over to the 
  basement door, shoved him down the stairs, and 
  slammed the door shut.
  It took a little groping around to ﬁ nd the light-
  switch, but eventually the weak bulb hanging over 
  his father’s old workbench ﬂ ickered on. A thick 
  coating of dust lay over everything; no one had 
  used the bench or the tools since Poppa died a few 
  years ago. Some half-completed toys still sat there, 
  crippled and forlorn.
  Wiping away his tears, Rinaldo pulled out a 
  shaping knife and decided to make something. He 
  still remembered some of what Poppa had taught 
  him. If the girls didn’t want him around, ﬁ ne. He’d 
  make his own world, full of people who did.
  Case Report 57J-23815, Rinaldo Maretti, 
  parents deceased. Subject, aged 16, was remanded 
  to the care of the state aft er his mother and sis-
  ters were found brutally murdered in their home, 
  assailants unknown. Th e decedents displayed 
  numerous tiny slash and stab wounds 
  throughout their bodies, and bled to death 
  following 
  the brutal attacks. Subject 
  had been living in 
  his family’s base-
  ment, with only 
  a 
  large collection 
  of self-made models and puppets to 
  keep him entertained. When asked 
  why he was living in the base-
  ment, subject responded, 
  “Because Momma told 
  me to.” Inquiries are 
  being made regard-
  ing a foster home.
  Th e 
  foster 
  home 
  didn’t 
  quite 
  work 
  out. Th e 
  Reynolds were nice 
  enough people, he 
  supposed, but so 
  serious! Th ey never seemed 
  to have any fun, and they tried 
  to take away his toys. 
  He didn’t stay there for 
  very long. Aft er all, the 
  Oﬃ  cial People wouldn’t 
  be likely to let him go if 
  they found him around a 
  second set of bodies. And there 
  were so many other games to 
  play, he didn’t want anyone to 
  stop him. Th e world was such 
  a fun place!
  All he really needed were a few supplies, and 
  the Escapades could begin.
  “Th e city was shocked today by the daring 
  daylight robbery of Hanson’s Jewelry Store by a 
  troop of toy soldiers. An oﬃ  cial police statement, 
  issued earlier this aft ernoon, indicated that the sol-
  diers, actually small robots, were armed with deadly 
  miniature guns, and killed four people during the 
  course of the robbery. Th e robber, whoever he 
  really is, made oﬀ  with gems and jewelry worth 
  over three million dollars.”
  Th e police weren’t a problem. Th ickwitted and 
  slow, they never could manage to stop one of his 
  BLACK HARLEQUIN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Toyco Toy Manu-
  facturing Company is 
  sponsoring a big new 
  ﬂ oat in the Millennium 
  City Th anksgiving Day 
  Parade. Wouldn’t it just 
  be a shame if all the toys 
  on the ﬂ oat came to life 
  and started attacking the 
  spectators?
  All those lovely con-
  struction cranes — they 
  look just like giant 
  ﬁ ngers, waiting to hold 
  equally giant yo-yos, 
  and send them spinning 
  down to the ground to 
  smash buildings and 
  crush people....
  Reprogramming the air 
  traﬃ  c control comput-
  ers could be a lot of fun. 
  Look at all the men in 
  ties, scrambling around 
  trying to keep the planes 
  from crashing into one 
  another!
  
  125 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Escapades before he was done. Th ose costumed 
  crimeﬁ ghters, though — they were another thing 
  altogether. Th ey looked so pretty, almost like big 
  wind-up dolls, but they were no fun at all. Th e 
  ﬁ rst time he met one, he barely got away; none of 
  his little toys would hurt the big, annoying fellow. 
  But he was learning to be more careful. Th ey just 
  wanted to lock him up, like Momma did, and he 
  didn’t want any of that. Th ere are too many Esca-
  pades yet to have!
  Personality/Motivation:  Utterly sociopathic thanks 
  to being raised by a repressed, domineering mother, 
  the Black Harlequin expresses his antisocial ten-
  dencies through his twisted, macabre sense of 
  humor. To him, a Joke isn’t really a Joke unless the 
  punchline hurts someone, and an Escapade (as he 
  calls his crimes) isn’t really an Escapade unless it 
  involves death and destruction. Unpredictable and 
  manic, he may caper and jig one moment, singing a 
  merry tune all the time, and the next casually slash 
  a few throats because his “accompanists” weren’t 
  singing along loudly enough. He particularly hates 
  to see people sad or upset. Everyone should be jolly 
  around a harlequin! Melancholy expressions tend 
  to attract his attention — which is never pleasant. 
  Oft en the hapless victim winds up dead, a bloody 
  smile carved into his cheeks by one of the Black 
  Harlequin’s knives.
  Quote:  “Laugh, and the world laughs with you... 
  unless you’re laughing at other peoples’ suﬀ ering, in 
  which case the world is never as amused as I am.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e Black Harlequin does his ﬁ ght-
  ing with gadgets, most of which resemble children’s 
  playthings. (His Jester’s Cane is obviously a weapon, 
  even if the heroes don’t realize it until they’ve been 
  on the receiving end of a Bodacious Wallop.) He’s 
  best known for his Attack Toys, tiny robots in wick-
  edly whimsical forms — toy planes armed with real 
  bombs, teddy bears wielding butcher knives, robots 
  with little built-in guns, and so on. In game terms, 
  these function as an Indirect attack, since they can 
  approach the target from just about any angle. Th e 
  Harlequin can carry six of them, but their wind-up 
  motors only last for one Turn each. Th ey are Break-
  able OAFs, and as such have 11 DEF, so a single 
  attack that does 12 BODY to one is enough to 
  destroy the toy (causing the Black Harlequin much 
  anguish).
  Many of the Black Harlequin’s attacks have 
  Limited Range; he has to be within 2-5” (depend-
  ing on the gadget) to hit a target with them. Since 
  he’s averse to suﬀ ering pain, he usually keeps his 
  Combat Skill Levels in DCV on these occasions.
  Campaign Use:  Th e Black Harlequin works best 
  in a sort of quasi-master villain role. He doesn’t ﬁ t 
  in with most teams of villains, but he’s too weak 
  by himself to challenge most superhero teams. So, 
  you need to provide him with the right resources 
  — thuggish henchmen, hidden bases, gadgets and 
  gizmos — to make him a good match for the PCs. 
  Alternately, you can arrange the scenario so the 
  Black Harlequin outthinks the heroes and controls 
  the action from the get-go, dragging them willy-
  nilly all over the city in response to his bizarre clues 
  and threats.
  As a Hunter, the Black Harlequin employs 
  his macabre humor to the full. He strikes through 
  practical jokes and other such surprises, rather than 
  attacking directly, so his “playmate” soon becomes 
  extremely paranoid. A “joke” with a double-twist 
  to it is even more fun. For example, he might send 
  the hero a pie-in-the-face-o-gram, but before the 
  messenger sets out to make the delivery, substitute 
  a pie with acidic toppings for the normal delightful 
  dessert. If the heroes attack and harm the innocent 
  messenger, the Harlequin wins twice over.
  To make the Black Harlequin more power-
  ful, increase the size of his Gadget Pool (thus 
  increasing his ﬂ exibility), and maybe allow him to 
  change it in combat instead of just at his laboratory. 
  Increasing his SPD to 6 might also be worth con-
  sidering. To weaken him, get rid of the Gadget Pool 
  altogether.
  Appearance:  Th e Black Harlequin is a tall, almost 
  scarecrow-thin man. He wears either jester’s motley 
  in black and dark red, or a tuxedo-like outﬁ t in the 
  same colors. His face is concealed by greasepaint in 
  a style that gives him a rather devilish grin, and he 
  has a jester’s cap on top of his head. He carries his 
  Jester’s Cane, and his pockets are stuﬀ ed full of his 
  gimmicked weapons and deadly toys.
  Where Does He Get 
  Those Marvelous Toys?
  ‘Look at this thing! It’s a piece 
  of genius engineering, that’s for 
  sure. See, there’s this memory-
  metal coil in here that slowly unwinds, provid-
  ing power to augment the battery so the robot 
  can keep ﬁ ghting for maybe ten or twelve 
  seconds. These gears and internal parts are so 
  well-designed, the movement of the arms and 
  legs is about as frictionless as a machine can 
  get these days. And check out the CO2-pow-
  ered guns in the arms, and these little ﬂ ech-
  ettes — not much good against my armor, 
  of course, but they could kill an unprotected 
  person easily. God help us if the Harlequin 
  ever learns about nanotechnology....’
  — Defender of the Champions
  
  126 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  BLACK PALADIN
  The Knight of the Crow
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   28 CON 
  36 
  15-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV: 5
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack: 5d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   8 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  22 PD (14 rPD)
   8 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  22 ED (14 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   12 REC 
  0
   56 END 
  0
   50 STUN 
  6 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  167
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Teleportation: 15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  16 
  Crusher Of Hope:  HA +8d6; OAF 
  (enchanted mace; -1), Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½) 
  4
  97 
  Eater Of Shadows:  Multipower, 194-point 
  reserve, all OAF (sword, -1)
  7u 
  1) Blade:  HKA 1½d6 (3d6+1 with STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF 
  (-1) plus Major Transform 7d6 (ordinary 
  human into human with Unluck 3d6 and 
  Distinctive Features [no shadow], heals back 
  through special arcane ceremony) (standard 
  eﬀ ect:  21 BODY), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½); OAF (-1), Linked (-¼), Only 
  Works If HKA Does BODY (-½) 
  0
  4u 
  2) Shadow Blast:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1) 0
  27 
  Blinding Fog Spell:  Darkness to Sight Group 
  4” radius; Gestures (-¼), Incantations (-¼) 
  4
  28 
  Armor Of Arcane Pathways:  Armor 
  (14 PD/14 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  16 
  Enchanted Shield:  Multipower, 24-point 
  reserve; all OIF (shield; -½)
  1u 
  1) Protection:  Armor (+8 PD/+8 ED); 
  OIF (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½), Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  2
  1u 
  2) Defense:  Combat Skill Levels (+4 DCV); 
  OIF (-½), Costs Endurance (-½) 
  2
  1u 
  3) Deﬂ ection:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all 
  Ranged attacks); OIF (-½), Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  2
  5 
  Immortality:  Life Support (Longevity:  
  Immortality) 
  0
  30 
  Armor Of Arcane Pathways:  Teleportation 
  15”, x4 Noncombat, x2 Increased Mass, 
  Position Shift ; OIF (-½) 
  4
  6 
  Swift -Limbed:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  32 
  Eye Of Souls:  Detect Souls 12- (no Sense 
  Group), Discriminatory, Range, Sense, 
  Targeting 
  0
   
  Talents
  30 
  Premonitions:  Danger Sense (immediate 
  vicinity, any danger) 12-
   
  Skills
  20 
  +4 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Fast Draw (Common Melee Weapons) 14-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  3 
  AK: France 12-
  3 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 12-
  3 
  KS: Medieval Culture 12-
  3 
  KS: Medieval History 12-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂ uent; Old 
  French is native)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂ uent)
  3 
  Oratory 14-
  3 
  Riding 14-
  2 
  PS: Professor 11-
  2 
  SS: Archaeology 11-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 14-
  5 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Lances, 
  Staﬀ s, Whips
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  369
  Total Cost:  536
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mystic Aura (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only With Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of 
  Christianity (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To Gloat 
  and Torment Prisoners (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Reputation:  occult-powered killer supervil-
  lain, 14- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Giles de 
  Morphant/John Black) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Susceptibility:  to holy water, takes 2d6 per 
  Phase (Uncommon)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Electrical 
  Attacks (Very Common)
  151 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  536
  Background/History:  Long centuries ago, in the time 
  of good King Arthur, one of the greatest enemies 
  of Camelot and the knights of the Round Table 
  was the House of de Morphant, a family of French 
  knights so black-hearted and cruel that people said 
  Quand il pleut, le monde pleure pour les méfaits de 
  Morphant (“When it rains, the world is weeping for 
  the de Morphant’s deeds”). And the most wicked of 
  all the scions of de Morphant was Giles, known far 
  and wide as the Black Paladin for his dark armor 
  and even darker soul. Many of Arthur’s best and 
  
  127 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  strongest knights came against the Black Paladin 
  only to have their bloody heads sent back to the 
  King. With his deadly mace Broyeur D’Espoir 
  (“Crusher Of Hope”), his terrible sword Consam-
  mateur des Ombres (“Eater Of Shadows”), and an 
  enchanted suit of armor that let him vanish from 
  one spot and appear somewhere else, the Black 
  Paladin was virtually invincible.
  When King Arthur heard that Giles de Mor-
  phant was marching on a French abbey to sack 
  and pillage it, he sent his greatest knight, Sir 
  Lancelot, at the head of a column of noble 
  knights to stop the Black Paladin once and 
  for all. Th e clash between Lancelot and 
  de Morphant was ﬁ erce; mighty blows 
  were given and received by both 
  knights. Aft er a day of ﬁ ghting, the 
  two parted, exhausted and bloody, 
  but the Black Paladin had the 
  better of the battle. His men routed 
  Lancelot’s knights, and though 
  badly injured himself, he had dealt 
  Lancelot so great a wound he felt 
  certain his foe would die. Exultant 
  despite his pain, he proceeded to 
  the abbey. Finding that the nuns 
  had ﬂ ed because of how Lance-
  lot delayed him, he ﬂ ew into a 
  rage and ordered the entire 
  building put to the torch.
  Meanwhile, the 
  ﬂ eeing nuns came to 
  Lancelot’s encampment, 
  where the tender min-
  istrations of one of 
  them, Elaine, healed 
  Lancelot’s wound. 
  By the time the Black 
  Paladin and his army 
  returned, Lancelot was 
  ready for them. And this 
  time de Morphant’s power 
  and black magic did not avail 
  him — Lancelot triumphed, 
  leaving the Black Paladin face 
  down in the muck of the battleﬁ eld.
  But de Morphant did not die. Th rough malice 
  he clung to life. Aft er the battle had passed away, 
  his lover, the witch Chantal, possessed of power-
  ful sorcery, came to him. Unable to heal him as 
  fully as Elaine had Lancelot, she worked a spell to 
  preserve him, unchanged, until “he who is as your 
  brother shalt awaken thee.” Th en she placed him 
  in his secret tomb, long prepared against just such 
  a day, and in despair and anguish took her own 
  life.
  Fast forward to 1993. John Black, an archae-
  ology professor from Marquette University, was 
  backpacking across France when he discovered 
  something in a dark, tiny patch of forest — a 
  tomb! It was old and ruined, with a fallen ceiling 
  and all the walls partially collapsed, but clearly it 
  was someone’s sepulchre. Had he bothered to talk 
  to the local people, he would have learned he was 
  in La Forêt du Chevalier Noir, the Forest of the 
  Black Knight, and that they shunned it as cursed 
  ground and a place of great evil.
  Eager to ﬁ nd out more, Black clambered 
  through the ruins until he found the coﬃ  n. With a 
  little bit of struggling, he managed to get the stone 
  lid oﬀ . Inside was a corpse — an amazingly well-
  preserved one. As he brushed dirt and dust oﬀ  the 
  face, he tried to translate the inscription on the 
  inside of the coﬃ  n, speaking it out loud to make 
  it easier. With a start, the corpse’s eyes opened! 
  Before Black could react, Giles de Morphant’s 
  powerful right hand was about his throat.
  Th e next several hours were a haze of 
  pain, as the Black Paladin tortured 
  him. De Morphant discovered, to 
  his satisfaction, that his lover’s spell 
  had prepared him for his new life; he 
  could speak the man’s strange English. 
  And the prophecy had run true; the 
  man was almost his twin. When 
  he had learned enough to 
  impersonate John Black, 
  de Morphant slew him 
  and walked out into a new 
  world — a world of knights 
  armored in gaudy skin-
  tight clothes with powers 
  exceeding even his lover’s 
  wizardry. But he had slain 
  the knights of his own day, 
  and could just as easily slay 
  these.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th e 
  Black Paladin is ﬁ endishness 
  personiﬁ ed. No deed is 
  too evil for him, no 
  sin too black. He 
  has no respect for 
  the sanctity of human life, 
  the beauty of women, the piety of 
  holy men, or anything else other 
  than himself. He particularly 
  enjoys tormenting his foes, 
  whether it be with the rack 
  and pincers or the simple knowledge of their own 
  inevitable defeat and death at his hands. Gloating 
  comes naturally to him; in his overconﬁ dence he 
  rarely hesitates to explain his schemes to his soon-
  to-be-dead foes.
  Remembering the Christian purity and 
  devotion of Arthur’s knights, the Black Paladin 
  reserves an especial hatred for Christianity and 
  anyone associated with it. Many of his crimes have 
  involved the desecration of churches, the violation 
  of nuns, and the destruction and looting of Chris-
  tian charities and institutions.
  Th e Black Paladin aﬀ ects a noble and honor-
  able nature when treating with his foes, though 
  neither mercy, honesty, nor faithfulness support 
  his words. He speaks courteously (even if his 
  words drip with malice), and in a tone and style 
  reminiscent of when he ﬁ rst lived. Try to roleplay 
  his “nobility” and speech patterns when using him 
  in a game.
  
  128 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Quote:  “You who stand against me shall fall 
  deeper than the pits of Hell, for not even Lancelot 
  can come against the Black Paladin and escape 
  untouched. Th e sight of your life’s-blood spilling 
  upon the ground shall be sweet to me, sweeter than 
  the singing of nightingales.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e Black Paladin is a skilled, 
  vicious knight armed with several magical weap-
  ons. His favorite is a mace, Crusher Of Hope, which 
  inﬂ icts devastating blows powerful enough to shat-
  ter castle walls. He also carries a sword, Eater Of 
  Shadows. Not only is its 
  blade deadly in its own 
  right, but if the victim 
  takes so much as a single 
  point of BODY, the sword 
  tries to consume his 
  shadow. A person without 
  a shadow suﬀ ers extraor-
  dinary misfortune (and 
  looks quite odd to boot). 
  Th e only way to get the 
  victim’s shadow back is 
  to perform a magic ritual 
  in which the sword itself 
  is used to carve arcane 
  symbols (engraved on its 
  ricasso) on the victim’s 
  chest. Eater Of Shadows 
  can also project a potent 
  Shadow Blast, using the 
  shadows it has stolen to 
  destroy the Black Paladin’s foes. Because he carries 
  a shield in his left  hand, the Black Paladin can only 
  wield one of these fearsome weapons at a time.
  Th e Black Paladin’s well-craft ed suit of black 
  plate armor also carries a potent enchantment:  it 
  allows him to move from one place to a nearby 
  place without crossing the space in between. He 
  makes skilled use of this in combat, oft en teleport-
  ing behind a foe to obtain a Surprise Move bonus, 
  or teleporting from enemy to enemy to keep any 
  one of them from mounting a sustained attack 
  against him.
  Th e Black Paladin also has a few magical abili-
  ties, spells learned from his lover, the witch Chantal. 
  He can conjure a thick fog to blind his foes, and 
  then use his Eye Of Souls ability to keep track of 
  where they are so he can attack them without dif-
  ﬁ culty.
  De Morphant also possesses several Skills 
  needed for his role as John Black, archaeology pro-
  fessor. His knowledge of modern civilization and 
  history is fairly complete, though he may occasion-
  ally slip (particularly when using High Society).
  Campaign Use:  You can use the Black Paladin in 
  several ways. First, if you construct a scenario 
  properly or beef up his powers, he can serve as a 
  sort of master villain, launching schemes to obtain 
  power and wealth. Second, he works well as an ally 
  of other villains with arcane powers, such as Dark 
  Seraph, Talisman, or even the Slug. Th ird, he might 
  take a job as “retainer” to a powerful master villain, 
  though even then he’s likely trying to ﬁ nd a way 
  to betray his “master” and turn the situation to his 
  own advantage.
  If you want to strengthen the Black Paladin, 
  perhaps to turn him into 
  more of a “master villain” 
  or character capable of 
  taking on an entire PC 
  team, you can increase his 
  defense, give him more 
  spells and abilities, or 
  perhaps provide him with 
  a dragon (or other fell 
  beast) as a steed. If you do 
  the latter, also provide him 
  with the Lance Of Unvan-
  quished Pain, a spear-
  like weapon that inﬂ icts 
  intense agony (Drain 
  DEX with a long recov-
  ery period) if it draws so 
  much as a drop of blood.
  To weaken the Black 
  Paladin, get rid of his 
  Teleportation, remove 
  some of his spells, reduce his sword’s HKA to 1d6 
  (or remove the sword altogether, or at least take 
  away its Transform power), reduce Crusher Of 
  Hope to an HA +6d6, and take away or weaken his 
  Danger Sense.
  As a Hunter, the Black Paladin is a cold and 
  implacable foe. With military precision, he spies 
  out his enemy’s ways and strengths, then strikes 
  at his moment of greatest vulnerability. Attacking 
  the hero in a public place, where there are lots of 
  innocents to menace or use as hostages, is another 
  favorite tactic.
  Appearance:  Th e Black Paladin wears ﬁ nely-craft ed 
  black plate armor and matching helm, with a 
  blood-red surcoat and cape and Eater Of Souls 
  usually in a scabbard at his left  hip. In his right 
  hand he typically carries Crusher Of Hope, and in 
  his left  he has a shield with his device, a crow sinis-
  ter, emblazoned upon it.
  Giles de Morphant (or “John Black” as he’s nor-
  mally known in this time) is a tall, well-muscled, 
  dark-haired man with dark eyes and a short, well-
  trimmed black beard. Even in his civilian identity 
  he has a certain malevolent air that puts people oﬀ .
  BLACK PALADIN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Black Paladin 
  decides that a particu-
  larly noble and honor-
  able powered armor 
  hero is the reincarna-
  tion of Sir Lancelot. 
  Determined to avenge 
  himself on his foe, he 
  plans to attack and kill 
  the hero in front of 
  the audience at a gala 
  charity ball where the 
  hero is to accept an 
  award. Th e PCs have to 
  ﬁ nd out about this and 
  stop it (particularly if 
  the armored hero is a 
  member of their team!).
  Th e heroes awaken one 
  morning to ﬁ nd a large 
  ﬂ ock of crows sitting 
  outside their head-
  quarters. Th e crows are 
  completely silent, and all 
  stare ominously at the 
  building. When the PCs 
  go outside to confront 
  them, they ﬂ y away, 
  leaving behind a vellum 
  scroll. Written on the 
  scroll is a message from 
  the Black Paladin, chal-
  lenging the leader of the 
  team to single combat in 
  the park. Is the challenge 
  for real, or some sort of 
  trap?
  Th e Black Paladin dis-
  covers that his lover, the 
  witch Chantal, likewise 
  provided for her own 
  return aft er death. He 
  believes Witchcraft  
  (or some other mystic 
  female in your cam-
  paign) is his long-dead 
  love, and kidnaps her 
  to “awaken her memo-
  ries” with certain spells. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ nd 
  and rescue the helpless 
  superheroine. But what 
  if the Black Paladin is 
  correct?
  The BLACKEST Heart?
  ‘There’s no question of the 
  Black Paladin’s evil; he’s cruel 
  and merciless. But I can sense 
  something more to him. Deep 
  down, so deep even he is unaware of it, I 
  think there’s a tiny spark of the true nobility 
  and honor of a knight — the qualities Arthur’s 
  knights, whom he professes to hate so much, 
  possessed in such great measure. Maybe his 
  evil grows, in part, from a frustrated desire 
  to be better than the role circumstances cast 
  him in.
  ‘Can anyone ever reach this “better person” 
  inside him? I doubt it. He’s been too evil for 
  too long to change now. But they say that 
  while life remains, so does hope....’
  — Witchcraft of the Champions
  
  129 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  BLOWTORCH
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  18 PD (12 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  18 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  91
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  78 
  High-Tech Flamethrower:  Multipower, 
  67-point reserve, 125 Charges for entire 
  reserve (+¾); all OIF (-½) 
  [125]
  4u 
  1)  Concentrated Firestream:  RKA 3d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OIF (-½)
  3u 
  2)  Fireball:  RKA 3d6, Explosion (+½); OIF 
  (-½), Requires 3 Charges Per Use (-½)
  3u 
  3)  Rapid-Fire Mini-Fireballs:  RKA 1d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½), Area Of Eﬀ ect (One 
  Hex; +½), Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +1½); OIF (-½), 
  Requires 2 Charges Per Use (-¼)
  2u 
  4)  Cone Of Fire:  RKA 2d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (7” Cone; +1); OIF (-½), No Range (-½), 
  Requires 3 Charges Per Use (-½)
  3u 
  5)  Fuel Stream:  RKA 1d6, Armor Piercing 
  (x2; +1), Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled  
  (removable by any means that snuﬀ s the 
  ﬁ re; +½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); OIF (-½), Limited Range (10”; -¼), 
  Requires 3 Charges Per Use (-½)
  17 
  Mini-Incendiary Grenades:  RKA 2d6, 
  Explosion (-1 DC/2”; +¾); OAF (-1), 
  Range Based On STR (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾) [6]
  20 
  Flamethrower Mastery:  Find Weakness 11- 
  with High-Tech Flamethrower Multipower 0
   
  Martial Arts:  Generic
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀ ects 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6 Strike
  30 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (12 PD/
  12 ED), Hardened (+¼); OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  Fast Runner:  Running +1” (7” total) 
  0
  3 
  IR Mask Lenses:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with High-Tech Flamethrower Multipower
  5 
  Accurate Sprayﬁ re
  5 
  Concentrated Sprayﬁ re
  3 
  Demolitions 12-
  6 
  KS: Incendiary Weapons 15-
  1 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 8-
  1 
  KS: PRIMUS 8-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  KS: U.S. Army 11-
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  2 
  PS: Soldier 11-
  5 
  Rapid Attack
  5 
  Rapid Autoﬁ re
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  5 
  Skipover Sprayﬁ re
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Flamethrowers, Grenade 
  Launchers
  15 
  Weaponsmith (Firearms, Incendiary Weap-
  ons) 18-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  258
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Psychotic Pyro-
  maniac; Loves To Watch People And Th ings 
  Burn (Common, Total)
  20 
  Reputation:  supervillainous arsonist, 14- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Perry 
  Johnson) (Frequently, Major)
  25 
  Susceptibility:  to having his fuel tank rup-
  tured by an attack that can ignite its fuel, 
  takes 2d6 per Segment until he can douse the 
  ﬂ ames (Uncommon)
  20 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Perry Johnson got his start as 
  a pyromaniac early. As a child, he frequently started 
  small ﬁ res just for the fun of watching them burn, 
  and chased aft er ﬁ re trucks on his bike to see the 
  towering sheets of ﬂ ame as beautiful, precious ﬁ re 
  claimed another tribute in the form of an oﬃ  ce 
  building or home. Even today he oft en spends his 
  “recreation time” listening for reports of ﬁ res and 
  driving over to watch his “good friends” in the Fire 
  Department at work.
  Aft er high school, Perry joined the Army, 
  hoping to have the chance to learn about and use 
  incendiary weapons. He got his chance, and aft er he 
  helped test some new models the Army was experi-
  menting with, he made some insightful and useful 
  suggestions to the development team.
  Th en the MPs caught him setting a little ﬁ re in 
  the mess hall late one night. Despite his protesta-
  tions that he’d found the ﬁ re and was trying to put it 
  out, he was court-martialed and dishonorably dis-
  charged. Disconsolate, he obtained a job as an arson 
  investigator for an insurance ﬁ rm, but that didn’t 
  work out — he only got involved with ﬁ res aft er 
  they happened. He saw the aft ermath, but not the 
  birth or the ﬂ owering, and he couldn’t stand that.
  Finally, Perry’s pyromania reached the point 
  where he realized he should be setting the ﬁ res, not 
  BLOWTORCH 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Aft er stopping one of 
  Mechanon’s schemes, 
  the PCs are left  with a 
  big pile of dangerously 
  toxic waste and no way 
  to dispose of it. Th e 
  government says a hot 
  enough ﬁ re, using the 
  right kinds of exotic 
  fuels, could incinerate 
  it cleanly and safely. 
  Unfortunately, they don’t 
  have an incendiaries 
  expert anywhere near 
  as good as Blowtorch, 
  who’s currently in an 
  asylum for the crimi-
  nally insane. If the PCs 
  arrange for Blowtorch 
  to be released into their 
  custody, with the prom-
  ise of special consider-
  ations if he helps with 
  this job, can he behave 
  himself long enough to 
  do a good deed for once 
  in his life... or will he 
  ﬁ nd a way to turn the 
  tables on the heroes and 
  escape?
  A string of unusual, 
  and oddly colorful, ﬁ res 
  destroys several build-
  ings in Millennium City. 
  Blowtorch is the obvi-
  ous suspect, but when 
  captured he claims, with 
  regret, that “this won-
  derful work” is not his 
  own. He oﬀ ers to use his 
  unique insight into the 
  arsonist’s mind to help 
  the PCs track the perpe-
  trator down — but so he 
  can ditch the heroes and 
  team up with the other 
  arsonist!
  During a battle, Blow-
  torch’s tank is ruptured 
  and explodes, engulﬁ ng 
  him in ﬂ ames from his 
  new, experimental fuel 
  mixture. Somehow a 
  miracle happens — he 
  doesn’t die, he gains ﬁ re 
  powers! Now he can 
  really show the world 
  the beauty of ﬁ re. Use 
  Feuermacher’s charac-
  ter sheet (page 71), but 
  make Blowtorch two to 
  three times as powerful.
  
  130 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  just watching them. Th at way he was sure to be in 
  on all the glorious action! He snuck back onto the 
  Army base where he’d been stationed, broke into 
  the laboratory, and stole one of the experimental 
  ﬂ amethrowers and some other equipment. A wave 
  of destructive building ﬁ res soon announced that 
  Blowtorch had arrived on the supervillain scene.
  Personality/Motivation:  Blowtorch is a psychotic 
  pyromaniac who loves to watch things burn — 
  including people. Anything that feeds his beloved 
  ﬂ ames is acceptable as fuel. Th e screams and smell 
  of burning human ﬂ esh please him almost as much 
  as seeing a towering skyscraper engulfed in ﬂ ames 
  from head to toe.
  Blowtorch’s aﬀ ect and mood vary. When 
  he’s on a roll or succeeding at things (including 
  combat), he tends to rhapsodize ﬁ re, shouting 
  paeans of praise to it and even singing snatches 
  of rock-’n’-roll songs that mention it. He’ll giggle 
  and caper, sometimes wasting a Phase for the sheer 
  joy of it. If things aren’t going so well, he tends to 
  stare deeply into the ﬂ ames, becoming morosely 
  wrapped up in how wonderful they are. (In game 
  terms, if things are going very well or very poorly 
  for Blowtorch, the GM should have him make an 
  EGO Roll; if he fails, he spends one Phase doing 
  these things.)
  Quote:  “Blaze and burn, twist and turn, glorious 
  ﬁ re, higher and higher!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Blowtorch uses a highly modiﬁ ed 
  high-tech ﬂ amethrower. Th e weapon has a variety 
  of settings he controls by pressing buttons with 
  his thumb or carefully 
  squeezing the variable-
  use trigger. He can ﬁ re 
  a concentrated 
  stream of ﬂ ame, 
  larger balls or 
  cones of ﬂ ame, 
  or a series of 
  large gouts of 
  ﬂ ame. Perhaps 
  most interest-
  ingly, he can 
  soak a person 
  in unburned 
  fuel, then with 
  the tiniest ﬂ ick of 
  the trigger, send a 
  spark down the fuel 
  stream to immolate 
  the target. (Th is is 
  bought as a Continu-
  ous Uncontrolled 
  attack, with 
  Reduced Endur-
  ance even though 
  the Flamethrower 
  uses Charges, to 
  represent how the 
  victim keeps burn-
  ing until the ﬁ re is 
  put out.)
  Th e Flame-
  thrower uses a special form of highly-concentrated 
  jet fuel, but in a pinch, Blowtorch can ﬁ ll the tank 
  with ordinary gasoline to replenish his Charges 
  (reduce each slot’s damage by 1-2 DCs, or per-
  haps more, to simulate the lower-quality fuel). 
  Unfortunately, the weapon can be as dangerous to 
  Blowtorch as to his enemies. If it takes even a single 
  BODY of damage past its defenses (DEF 23) from 
  an energy attack (or any other attack that could 
  ignite the fuel), it bursts into ﬂ ame, causing Blow-
  torch to take 2d6 damage every Phase (no defense) 
  until the ﬂ ames are extinguished.
  In combat, Blowtorch normally relies on his 
  Concentrated Firestream attack most of the time, 
  switching to the others only when he can take 
  out multiple targets or obtain some other tactical 
  advantage — the other settings all use up fuel much 
  more quickly. If he loses his ﬂ amethrower, he can 
  fall back on his martial arts training.
  Campaign Use:  For the most part Blowtorch is a 
  run-of-the-mill mercenary villain who hires him-
  self out for jobs where he might have the chance to 
  start ﬁ res. (Th is includes, of course, any arson job; 
  he’s a highly sought-aft er expert at those.) However, 
  his pyromania puts an interesting spin on things; 
  he may compromise his employer’s mission if he 
  can’t resist the opportunity to start a little ﬁ re.
  If Blowtorch isn’t strong enough to stand up 
  to the heroes in your game, give him some more 
  incendiary weapons — maybe even ones built into 
  his costume so they can’t be taken away from him 
  or destroyed easily. Some more Armor might help 
  him, too. If he’s too strong or dangerous, tone down 
  his High-Tech Flamethrower until he’s a viable, but 
  not overwhelming, opponent.
  Blowtorch doesn’t have the presence of mind 
  to Hunt heroes. He’d rather spend his time starting 
  ﬁ res, watching ﬁ res burn, planning arson jobs, star-
  ing lovingly at the ﬂ ames licking at the logs in his 
  ﬁ replace....
  Appearance:  Blowtorch wears a charcoal-grey cos-
  tume with a dark orange “ﬂ ame” design licking up 
  his arms and legs from his boots and gloves. His 
  half-face mask is also dark grey, with the ﬂ ame-
  orange around the eyes. His ﬂ amethrower’s fuel 
  tanks are strapped to his back, and connect to the 
  riﬂ e via an armored hose.
  Out of costume, Perry Johnson is a short (5’6”) 
  man of average appearance in his late 20s. He has 
  sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a runner’s build. 
  He usually carries a few cigarette lighters and has 
  a nervous habit of ﬂ icking them on, staring at the 
  ﬂ ame for a couple of seconds, then ﬂ icking them oﬀ .
  True EVIL
  ‘The media often describes 
  villains such as Takofanes, 
  the Slug, or Dark Seraph as 
  “the most evil being who ever 
  lived,” or something like that. But if that’s 
  true, what can you say about a man like Blow-
  torch, who sets children on ﬁ re for fun?’
  — Ironclad of the Champions
  
  131 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  BRAINCHILD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11- 
   30 INT 
  20 
  15- 
  PER Roll 15-
   25 EGO 
  30 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  18 PD (12 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  20 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  22 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   56 END 
  10
   30 STUN 
  6 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  147
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  40 
  Psionic Powers:  Multipower, 40-point 
  reserve
  4u 
  1)  Brain Blast:  Ego Attack 2d6, 
  Continuous (+1) 
  4
  3u 
  2)  Mental Control:  Mind Control 4d6, 
  Cumulative (48 points of eﬀ ect; +¾) 
  3
  3u 
  3)  Mind Games:  Mental Illusions 6d6 
  3
  3u 
  4)  Telepathy:  Telepathy 6d6 
  3
  3u 
  5)  Brain Scan:  Mind Scan 6d6 
  3
  1u 
  6)  Brainlink:  Mind Link (any one mind) 0
  3u 
  7)  Psychokinesis:  Telekinesis (10 STR), 
  BOECV (+1) 
  3
  25 
  Molecular Destabilization Pistol:  
  Multipower, 50-point reserve; all OAF (-1)
  2u 
  1)  Partial Destabilization:  Energy Blast 
  10d6; OAF (-1), No Knockback (-¼), 12 
  Charges (-¼) 
  [12]
  2u 
   2)  Disintegration:  RKA 3d6; OAF (-1), 
  No Knockback (-¼), 12 Charges (-¼) 
  [12]
  24 
  Force Field Belt:  Armor (12 PD/12 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Mindward:  Mental Defense 
  (15 points total) 
  0
  7 
  Force Field Belt:  Power Defense (10 points); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Jetpack:  Flight 15”; OIF (-½) 
  3
  6 
  Communications Array:  HRRP; OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing Groups 
  As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight:  Ultraviolet Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  3 
  Computer Programming 15-
  3 
  Electronics 15-
  3 
  Inventor 15-
  1 
  AK: Millennium City 8-
  2 
  KS: Current Events 11-
  3 
  KS: General Knowledge & Trivia 15-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  KS: World Literature 11-
  3 
  Security Systems 15-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 15-
  3 
  Scientist
  2 
  1)  SS: Anthropology 15-
  2 
  2)  SS: Biology 15-
  2 
  3)  SS: Chemistry 15-
  2 
  4)  SS: Physics 15-
  2 
  5)  SS: Psychology 15-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  203
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Conceal-
  able; Always Noticed; Detectable Only By 
  Unusual Senses)
  15 
  Enraged:  if tricked, fooled, or out-thought 
  (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Enraged:  if insulted, belittled, or mocked 
  (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted: VIPER 8- (More Powerful, NCI, 
  Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (More Powerful, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation: Intellectual Arro-
  gance (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Inferiority 
  Complex; Must Prove His “Superiority” 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Harold 
  Jenkins) (Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Harold Jenkins can’t remember a 
  time when he didn’t have mental powers. When he was 
  in elementary school and junior high, he used them 
  to keep bullies away from him — and he was already 
  smart enough to conceal his powers while he did it. In 
  high school he used his powers to get straight As, and 
  girls, who couldn’t withstand the force of his powers of 
  mental domination. All in all, the good life.
  Already well-versed in many scientiﬁ c subjects 
  due to his innate intelligence and interest in such 
  matters, Harold didn’t bother with college. Instead, he 
  went straight out into the working world — or, more 
  precisely, the working underworld, since he realized he 
  could use his powers to get money the same way he’d 
  used them to get girls. He arrogantly christened him-
  self “Brainchild” and set about robbing banks. His ﬁ rst 
  few robberies were an astounding success; he ﬂ ashily 
  mind controlled the guards and loudly demanded 
  money from the tellers, who just handed it to him, aft er 
  which he walked out the door. Th en he tried to rob a 
  bank when Alexander Caldwell (the Drift er of the Jus-
  tice Squadron) happened to be nearby. A few minutes 
  later, the Drift er was posing heroically for the cameras 
  and giving a post-battle interview while Brainchild 
  was being taken by emergency vehicle to the nearest 
  mental ward.
  Humiliated and badly injured, Harold began to 
  rethink his approach. He didn’t like pain — in fact, he 
  absolutely loathed it — and had little interest in getting 
  BRAINCHILD 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Brainchild thinks he’s 
  located one of Dr. 
  Destroyer’s secret bases, 
  not far from Millen-
  nium City. He knows 
  the Doctor understands 
  Psionic Engineering. 
  If he could only ﬁ gure 
  out a way to sneak in 
  there and tap into his 
  computers.... Hmmm, 
  what if he manipulated 
  the PCs into distracting 
  Destroyer long enough 
  for him to ﬁ nd out what 
  he needs to know?
  Brainchild decides it’s 
  time to avenge his ﬁ rst, 
  and greatest, defeat by 
  destroying the Drift er. 
  Given the Drift er’s 
  weird extradimensional 
  powers, that’s going to 
  require a big, powerful 
  variant of his Molecular 
  Destabilization Pistol. 
  Building a big, powerful 
  variant of his Molecular 
  Destabilization Pistol is 
  going to require lots of 
  parts and classiﬁ ed data 
  from various defense 
  contractors and cut-
  ting-edge research labo-
  ratories. Time for some 
  burglaries.
  Brainchild wants to 
  begin assembling an 
  art collection — start-
  ing with the valuable 
  Impressionist paint-
  ings at the prestigious 
  DeWitt Museum of 
  Fine Art. Th e PCs have 
  to ﬁ gure out that he’s 
  planning a caper at the 
  Museum, determine 
  what he’s aft er (since it 
  contains hundreds of 
  valuable objects), and 
  then stop him without 
  damaging anything.
  
  132 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  involved with the usual sorts of battles people with 
  superpowers seemed to participate in. He could make 
  more money by using his mental and scientiﬁ c talents 
  to supply the underworld with goods and services. 
  Th at would be nice, safe, and proﬁ table.
  Aft er his mind had recovered from the Drift er’s 
  powers, and his body had healed, Brainchild served 
  the rest of his term, was released, and then simply van-
  ished. For a while he went to work for VIPER, but that 
  turned out badly; no one there recognized his inherent 
  brilliance, and his inability to follow orders or get along 
  with his lab-mates led to a rather abrupt parting of the 
  ways in which Brainchild walked oﬀ  with several giga-
  bytes of valuable VIPER data. Now UNTIL and other 
  law enforcement agencies are looking for him because 
  he violated the terms of his parole, and VIPER wants 
  to kill him and get its data back. But he’s smarter 
  than all of them put together, and intends to stay 
  far away from jail — or the business end of any 
  VIPER blasters.
  Personality/Motivation:  For a men-
  talist, Brainchild is a relatively 
  normal guy. All he asks out 
  of life is to be left  alone 
  to accumulate as much 
  money as possible so 
  he can live like a king. 
  Th e fact people 
  want to stop 
  him from 
  doing 
  this 
  because 
  he steals the 
  money annoys him 
  considerably. Th e way he sees 
  it, he’s entitled to some money, 
  since he doesn’t use his mental 
  powers to conquer the world or anything, 
  like Menton and those other villains. He’s 
  doing the world a favor, and he ought to be 
  compensated for it.
  Brainchild’s goal as a criminal is to amass 
  as much wealth as possible. He has very expensive 
  tastes he likes to indulge; whenever possible, he lives 
  in expensive hotel rooms and penthouses, eats the best 
  food, drink the ﬁ nest wines, and dates the most beauti-
  ful women (whether they’ll date him of their own free 
  will or not). If he doesn’t have money, you can bet he’s 
  scheming to get some, somehow. If he ever hit a really 
  big score, he would probably retire from crime — at 
  least until the money ran out.
  Quote:  “I think I’ve got just the thing for you....”
  Powers/Tactics:  Brainchild is a mentalist with an aver-
  age range of low-strength mental abilities. However, 
  he tends to make his money with his talents as an 
  electronics wizard and inventor — he supplies other 
  criminals with gadgets or advice to help their crimes 
  run better. Occasionally he hires himself out to help 
  criminal groups; he does still commit a few crimes on 
  his own, but they tend to be very low-risk ones.
  Brainchild is a coward, though not an abject one. 
  His ﬁ ght with the Drift er taught him just how painful 
  superpowered combat can be, and he has no desire 
  to repeat the experience. He’ll run rather than ﬁ ght 
  if confronted by superheroes. Th e only exception to 
  this is that he absolutely cannot stand to be insulted 
  or taunted; it brings back unpleasant memories of 
  his childhood as an “egghead.”  He’s likely to turn on 
  anyone throwing insults at him and try to teach him a 
  lesson.
  Coward or not, Brainchild is a criminal, and can 
  display a rather vicious streak. He will make sneak 
  attacks or use “dirty blows” to gain a quick advantage, 
  and he loves to torment his enemies when they’re 
  down (or to take unpleasant forms of revenge on 
  them if they hurt or capture him). Superheroes who 
  approach him simply as a cowardly little 
  gadgeteer are in for a surprise.
  Brainchild usually carries a large 
  selection of gadgets (and sometimes the 
  spare parts with which to build other gadgets). 
  He is really more dangerous as a gadgeteer than 
  as a mentalist, a fact his enemies sometimes 
  forget. His favorite gadget is his Molecular 
  Destabilization Pistol, which cancels the 
  bonds between molecules, with eﬀ ects up 
  to and including total disintegration of the 
  target. (He plans to increase the weapon’s 
  power soon.) He would desperately like to 
  learn SS: Psionic Engineering so he can build 
  devices into his helmet that augment his Mental 
  Powers, but so far those secrets elude him.
  Campaign Use:  Brainchild is a mercenary villain with 
  a twist — one who’d rather supply equipment or help 
  with planning a crime than carry out the crime 
  himself. He could easily get mixed up with some 
  people too powerful or evil for his own comfort, 
  and need to turn to the PCs for help. Or, with 
  some minor changes to his modus operandi, 
  you could make him a member of GRAB.
  If you want Brainchild to be more 
  powerful (perhaps so he can serve as the focus of a 
  scenario), give him a Gadget Pool. Alternately, you 
  could boost his Psionic Powers Multipower to a 60 
  Active Point reserve, and all the slots to 40 Active 
  Points or more. (You could also let him learn 
  SS: Psionic Engineering and enhance his 
  Psionic Powers with gadgetry.) If he’s too 
  powerful or capable for your PCs, get rid 
  of some of his gadgets.
  Brainchild won’t bother to Hunt heroes; it’s a waste 
  of his time. Th e only reasons he’d change his mind is if 
  he thinks a hero has data on Psionic Engineering, or if a 
  particular hero repeatedly triggers his Enrageds.
  Appearance:  Brainchild is an average-looking Cauca-
  sian man in his early 30s, about 5’10” tall with short, 
  dark brown hair. He wears a dark blue jumpsuit sort of 
  costume, with orange-red boots, belt, and gloves. Th e 
  belt is clearly a high-tech gadget (it generates a force 
  ﬁ eld), and attached to it on the right hip is an orange-
  red holster holding his Molecular Destabilization Pistol. 
  On his back he wears an orange-red jetpack, and on 
  his head there’s an orange-red open-face helmet with 
  goggles.
  
  133 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  BULLDOZER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   50 STR 
  40 
  19- 
  Lift  12.5 tons; 10d6 [5]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   8 INT 
  -2 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   24 PD 
  14 
   
  Total:  24 PD (14 rPD)
   24 ED 
  18 
   
  Total:  24 ED (14 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   20 REC 
  8
   60 END 
  0
   70 STUN 10 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  199
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  12 
  Supertough Skin:  Hardened (+¼) 
  for 24 PD, 24 ED 
  0
  17 
  Supertough Skin:  Damage Resistance 
  (14 PD/14 ED), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  30 
  Ha! You Th ink Your Stupid Attack Can 
  Hurt Me?:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all Ranged 
  attacks), +5 OCV 
  0
  8 
  Strong Legs:  Running +4” (10” total) 
  1
   
  Skills
  15 
  +3 HTH
  2 
  KS: Motorcycles 11-
  2 
  KS: Professional Wrestling 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  2 
  PS: Construction Worker 11-
  2 
  TF: Construction And Agricultural Vehicles, 
  Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles 
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  91
  Total Cost:  290
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Enraged:  if mocked or not taken seriously 
  (Very Common), go 11-, recover 14-
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Relentlessly 
  Macho; Th inks He’s God’s Gift  To Women 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Arachnaphobia 
  (Fear Of Spiders) (Uncommon, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Brad 
  Powers) (Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  290
  Background/History:  “Ladies and gentlemen... the 
  all-time wrestling champion of the world... unde-
  feated in over three hundred matches... the holder 
  of all heavyweight belts and titles... BULLLLLL-
  DOZER!”
  As the roar of the crowd built to a crescendo, 
  louder even than the “Rock You Like A Hurricane” 
  blaring from the speakers, the champion himself 
  stepped out into the arena, and the cheers got even 
  louder. Tall, broad-chested, devilishly handsome, 
  incredibly muscled, he lift ed the ropes and stepped 
  into the ring.
  “Outta my way, you... PATHETIC... loser!” he said, 
  shoving the announcer to the side as he grabbed 
  the microphone. “Hey, people! It’s great to be here 
  tonight in Nashville!” More cheers from the home-
  town crowd.
  “I bet you’re all wonderin’ how it is that Bulldozer 
  got to be the biggest, baddest, toughest, meanest, 
  strongest wrestler the world has ever seen! All these 
  other jabronies here tonight would love to know 
  my secret, but since there’s no way they’ll ever be as 
  good as me, I’ll tell you!
  “I used to be an ordinary guy, like all’a you. I 
  worked construction, drivin’ — you guessed it — a 
  bulldozer! And no one was as good at bulldozin’ as 
  me!
  “One day my crew and I were cleaning up the 
  wreckage of one of these supervillain labs. You 
  know the kind of guy — a pencil-neck geek in a 
  labcoat who couldn’t get a woman on his best day, 
  sitting around designing killer robots. Well, I spent 
  all day bulldozing that junk, and I guess there 
  must’ve been something weird left  lying around 
  that those tight-wearing pansy superheroes didn’t 
  ﬁ nd — some radioactive crap or a mutant virus or 
  something.
  “I spent all day — all day — bulldozing that stuﬀ  
  around. Any stupid magazine tells you otherwise is 
  lying! No one makes Bulldozer quit, no one! When 
  my eight hours were done, I got down oﬀ  the ’dozer 
  and headed over to the bar to have a few brewskis. 
  Yeah, that’s right, beer! None of those fancy wine 
  coolers or stupid umbrella drinks those heroes 
  drink; I drink a man’s drink — beer!” More cheer-
  ing from the crowd. He paused to let the roar die 
  down a little.
  “So here I am, driving home on my Harley, and this 
  woman in this beat-up old station wagon comes 
  across the yellow line and slams into me! I know 
  those magazines say I was the one who lost con-
  trol, but they’re WRONG! Bulldozer NEVER loses 
  control! I can ride better and ﬁ ght better than any 
  Hell’s Angel! She was checking out my fabulous 
  form and stopped watching the road, that was what 
  happened!
  “So, the impact knocked me and my hog into this 
  tree. Any other guy would’ve been dead as disco, 
  but Bulldozer DON’T KILL THAT EASY! I wasn’t 
  even knocked unconscious! Th e police say diﬀ erent, 
  but they’re liars! Th ey’re just jealous of this amazing 
  bod of mine!” More cheers, mostly from women 
  this time. He already had three women coming up 
  to his hotel room later, but there were a few more in 
  the crowd who were going to get an invitation. And 
  no woman ever turned down the ’Dozer!
  “I got sick of lying there, so without thinkin’ I pried 
  apart what was left  of my bike and walked away. 
  I was ALWAYS strong and tough, but now I was 
  the strongest, toughest guy there ever was! I crush 
  BULLDOZER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e villain whose lab 
  Bulldozer was clean-
  ing up when he got his 
  powers gets in touch 
  with him and oﬀ ers to 
  increase his strength. 
  Always willing to be 
  stronger and tougher, 
  Bulldozer takes him up 
  on it. Now he really is 
  as tough as he thinks, 
  which may cause prob-
  lems for heroes who 
  consider him a joke and 
  try to ﬁ ght him accord-
  ingly.
  Bulldozer plans to 
  “crash” the Miss Planet 
  beauty pageant, since 
  he knows all those hot-
  lookin’ women have a 
  thing for him. Th e PCs 
  have to prevent him 
  from ruining the event, 
  hopefully without dam-
  aging the sets too much 
  or hurting any of the 
  women.
  Bulldozer decides to 
  teach the “wimps” at 
  SuperWorld Magazine 
  not to print “lies” about 
  him. He smashes his 
  way into their oﬃ  ces to 
  bust a few heads. Fortu-
  nately, one of the heroes 
  happens to be there for 
  an interview.
  
  134 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  buildings! I throw 
  cars the way other 
  men throw baseballs! 
  Th ere’s NO ONE AS... 
  TOUGH... AS... ME!” 
  Th e cheers were so 
  loud he could barely 
  hear himself talk, but it 
  was time for the wrap-up. 
  “I’m the envy of every man 
  — and the fantasy of every 
  woman!”
  “Hey! — Bulldozer!” Th e 
  sound of a nightstick on the 
  bars of his cell brought him back to reality. Guard 
  Kowalski wanted something.
  “Hey there, sweet thing; you ﬁ nally ready to spend 
  some time with a real man?”
  “Shut up, you pig. Get ready; you’re being trans-
  ferred to the Class C ward; we need this maximum-
  security cell for someone who’s actually dangerous.”
  Personality/Motivation:  Bulldozer is one of the most 
  overbearing, obnoxious villains in the Superhuman 
  World. He thinks he’s the strongest, toughest, most 
  unbeatable guy there is, despite the fact he’s almost 
  never won a ﬁ ght against another super-strong 
  person. His ambition is to be the greatest pro wres-
  tling villain ever, and he acts like it; he desperately 
  hopes someone will start a superhuman wrestling 
  league so he can prove just how good he is.
  Bulldozer is relentlessly macho, insulting 
  anyone weaker than him (“wimps”) and coming on 
  to any woman who’s even remotely attractive (“Th ey 
  all want a piece of the ’Dozer”). He doesn’t take 
  women seriously at all, even superheroines. Th e ﬁ rst 
  time a female superhero hits him in HTH Combat, 
  he may take extra damage from the shock — though 
  he’ll quickly bounce back to “put her in her place.”
  Quote:  “You think you can take me 
  on, wimp?!?? Get ready to 
  feel what pain is really like!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Bulldozer is 
  a classic “brick,” with super-
  human strength and resis-
  tance to injury. If he’s ready 
  for the impact, he can bounce 
  the most powerful attacks oﬀ  
  his super-tough skin. Th at’s 
  about all he’s got going for 
  him.
  In combat, Bulldozer 
  looks for the biggest, toughest 
  male on the opposite side and 
  selects him for “a beating he’ll never 
  forget!” He constantly talks trash, oft en open-
  ing the battle not with a punch but with a feat 
  of strength and a Presence Attack — that way he 
  not only impresses the ladies, he lets the other guy 
  know who’s about to pulp him. Insults like “geek,” 
  “wimp,” “loser,” “bookworm,” and “dweeb” pepper his 
  conversation, making it all the more enjoyable to 
  beat him.
  Campaign Use:  Bulldozer works best as a source of 
  humor and entertainment, particularly in otherwise 
  grim or serious games. His overinﬂ ated ego and 
  non-stop posturing make it all the more satisfying 
  for heroes to beat the daylights out of him. He’s 
  nowhere near tough or competent enough to 
  take on an entire superteam; he works best 
  as a master villain’s hireling or part of a 
  villain team (though who’d want to be 
  teammates with him remains a mystery).
  Making Bulldozer more powerful 
  doesn’t always work well, because it’s more fun for 
  him to be so obnoxious even though he’s not as strong 
  as many bricks. But you can easily boost his STR and 
  defenses if necessary, and perhaps even give him some 
  “brick trick” abilities (though nothing too sophisti-
  cated or requiring any ﬁ nesse). Making him weaker 
  involves reducing his STR and defenses.
  Bulldozer oft en Hunts heroes — mostly super-
  strong ones who’ve beaten him, so he can get “a 
  rematch” — but not very eﬀ ectively. He simply con-
  fronts them in public, again and again, always con-
  vinced when he loses that “the wimp cheated!” and 
  that next time he’ll show him who the toughest man 
  is.
  Appearance:  Bulldozer is a big guy — about 6’5” tall 
  — with the broad shoulders and the extraordinarily 
  well-developed musculature of a super-strong human. 
  He shaves his head, and has the word “BULLDOZER” 
  tattooed down his right arm. He usually wears noth-
  ing more than cut-oﬀ  jeans and workboots — aft er all, 
  he knows how much women enjoy the unobstructed 
  view of his rippling muscles.
  Clueless?
  ‘ “The fantasy of every 
  woman?” Have you looked in 
  the mirror lately?’
  — Sapphire of the Champions
  
  135 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  CAPTAIN CHRONOS
   Val Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 
  PD 
  4 
  Total:  39 PD (33 rPD)
   6 
  ED 
  2 
  Total:  39 ED (33 rED)
   5+3 SPD 20+20* Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12/2, 3, 5, 6, 
  8, 9, 11, 12
   10 REC 
  8
   40 END 
  0
   30 STUN 5 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  145
  *:  OIF (chronosuit; -½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Teleportation: 30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Temporal Manipulation Powers:  Multipower, 
  112-point reserve; all OIF (chronosuit; -½)
  7u 
  1)  Temporal Acceleration:  RKA 1½d6, 
  NND (defense is temporal/dimensional 
  manipulation powers or Life Support 
  [Longevity]; +1), Does BODY (+1), 
  Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7u 
  2)  Temporal Disharmony:  Energy Blast 
  6d6, NND (defense is temporal/
  dimensional manipulation powers or 
  Life Support [Longevity]; +1), Continuous 
  (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7u 
  3)  No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn:  Energy Blast 
  9d6, NND (defense is temporal/
  dimensional manipulation powers or 
  Life Support [Diminished Sleep]; +1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  7u 
  4)  Age Manipulation:  Major Transform 
  4d6 (anything into older/younger/newer 
  version of itself; heals via the application 
  of any chronal manipulation power), 
  Improved Result Group (+¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7u 
  5)  Temporal Ambush:  Energy Blast 10d6 
  (physical), Indirect (+¾), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  5u 
  6)  Fast Time Bubble:  Aid SPD 7d6, 
  Ranged (+½), OIF (-½), Recipient Must 
  Spend 2 END Per Point Of Extra SPD 
  Used While Aid Remains In Eﬀ ect (-½) 
  0
  7u 
  7)  Slow Time Bubble:  Drain SPD 5d6, 
  Ranged (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  1u 
  8)  Stop Time Bubble:  Entangle 1d6, 
  1 DEF, NND (defense is temporal/dimen-
  sional manipulation powers, see 
  text; +1), Takes No Damage From Attacks 
  (+½); OIF (-½), Costs Endurance To 
  Maintain (-¼), Increased Endurance 
  Cost (x5 END; -2) 
  10
  7u  
  9)  Rapid Healing:  Simpliﬁ ed Healing 
  9d6, Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  OIF (-½) 
  4
  47 
  Time Shift  Field:  Force Field (20 PD/
  20 ED), Hardened (+¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  60 
  Time Travelling:  Multipower, 90-point 
  reserve; all OIF (chronosuit; -½)
  5u 
  1)  Time Travel:  Extra-Dimensional 
  Movement (any date or place in time), 
  x4 Increased Mass; OIF (-½) 
  6
  6u 
  2)  Rapid Transit:  Teleportation 30”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 0
  4u 
  3)  Walkin’ To Jerusalem:  Teleportation 
  10”, MegaScale (1” = 10,000 km, can scale 
  down to 1” = 1 km; +1½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  4 
  Gone Out For Food:  Life Support 
  (Diminished Eating:  No Need To Eat), 
  Usable Simultaneously (up to 8 people 
  at once; +1); OIF (-½) 
  0
  42 
  Chronogoggles:  Precognitive and 
  Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight and 
  Hearing Groups), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½), Precognition/
  Retrocognition Only (-1) 
  0
  17 
  Th e Best Omnichronometer Ever Made:  
  Detect Time 25- (no Sense Group), 
  Discriminatory, Analyze; OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Th e Best Omnichronometer Ever Made:  
  HRRP (Radio Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected 
  As Sight And Hearing Groups As Well As 
  Radio Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Timesense:  Absolute Time Sense
  21 
  Chronogoggles:  Danger Sense (immediate 
  vicinity, out of combat, Sense) 18-; OIF (-½)
  3 
  Fast Math:  Lightning Calculator
  30 
  Split-Second Time Shift :  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  
  +20 DEX to act ﬁ rst with All Attacks
  8 
  Fast Reading:  Speed Reading (x1000)
  13 
  Linguistic Training:  Universal Translator 
  13-; Earth Languages Only (-½)
   
  Skills
  12 
  Chronogoggles Picture-Within-A-Picture:  
  +5 DCV; OIF (-½), Requires A Danger 
  Sense Roll (-½)
  15 
  +5 with Temporal Manipulation Powers
  3 
  Combat Piloting 13-
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  15 
  Cramming (x3)
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  15 
  KS: Earth Culture 1970-2020 25-
  10 
  KS: History 20-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 13-
  3 
  PS: Watchmaker 13-
  3 
  SS: Physics 13-
  3 
  SS: Dimensional Physics 13-
  8 
  SS: Temporal Physics 18-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  CAPTAIN CHRONOS 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Captain Chronos comes 
  to the PCs, asking that 
  they help him round up 
  every Gemini in the city, 
  take them to the local 
  stadium, and keep them 
  there for 2.509271934 
  days. “Dammit, there’s 
  no time to explain why 
  — literally! Just do it, 
  OK?”
  Captain Chronos starts 
  to attack every mall 
  in the city, seemingly 
  trying to destroy them 
  with high-powered 
  explosives. What’s he 
  up to?
  Captain Chronos shows 
  up to help VIPER ﬁ ght 
  the PCs, and refuses to 
  say why. What’s going 
  on?
  
  136 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  504
  Total Cost:  649
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  discomﬁ ting 
  “aura” (Not Concealable; Noticed And 
  Recognizable)
  25 
  Hunted:  the Time Elemental Entropus 11- 
  (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Save Reality 
  (Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Scientiﬁ c Curios-
  ity (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity:  Prof. 
  Tempus Carlson (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to being Teleported or moved 
  through time by someone else, takes 3d6 
  damage instantly (Uncommon)
  20 
  Vulnerability:   2 x Eﬀ ect from Drains 
  (Common)
  289 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  649
  Background/History:  Suddenly, there was a blinding 
  ﬂ ash! — and then a funny-looking man in a silver 
  lamé jumpsuit was standing in the middle of the 
  street, where no one had been before.
  He stood there for a few seconds, looking all 
  around him while passersby gawked. Some laughed, 
  but he didn’t pay any attention. Th en he took a careful 
  look at some gizmo he had on his left  arm. “Perfect!” 
  he exclaimed. “2002, just as planned. I only hope I’m 
  not too late....” And then he vanished, as if he’d never 
  been there.
  Personality/Motivation:  Captain Chronos claims to be 
  from the future — the very distant future, thousands 
  of years from the present day. According to what he’s 
  told both heroes and reporters, he’s come back in time 
  (or been sent back) “to prevent the collapse of the 
  time-stream and save all reality.” He refuses to say any 
  more, claiming that if he gives people from this time-
  frame too much information, it could have “a negative 
  eﬀ ect on history.”
  Th ough most people think he’s simply a nut, he’s 
  not lying. He is from the future, and he did come back 
  to save reality. In his time, it’s well-known that an early 
  twenty-ﬁ rst century disaster involving superpowered 
  humans wrecked Earth’s time-stream so badly man-
  kind was nearly wiped out — it took centuries for 
  humanity to recover.
  He’s also correct when he says he can’t tell anyone 
  about his mission, for two reasons. First, he’s not 
  entirely sure what his mission is. Due to the devas-
  tation, historical records from this time period are 
  spotty, so he’s not aware of exactly what caused the 
  collapse of reality. He suspects either Dr. Destroyer or 
  Mechanon is somehow involved, but he’s simply got 
  to ﬁ nd out for himself. Second, giving people glimpses 
  of their own future could change that future, and that 
  could be the cause of the whole problem. So, Captain 
  Chronos oft en ends up having to do things that seem 
  weird, mysterious, or even criminal or evil — but with 
  the best of intentions, and for the best of reasons. He 
  just can’t tell anyone why he’s doing them.
  As a scientist/historian, Captain Chronos has 
  a strong streak of scientiﬁ c curiosity, and this some-
  times sidetracks him in the middle of an adventure 
  — he’s fascinated by the things he sees and people he 
  meets, and sometimes can’t resist learning more:  “Hey, 
  you’re Ironclad! Wow, it’s great to meet you. I’ve read 
  all about you in my history books!” He oft en starts 
  to describe a famous event from another person’s 
  life, realizes that event hasn’t happened yet, and stops 
  halfway through a sentence. People who spend a lot of 
  time around him may soon ﬁ nd this a little annoying.
  Given the precision with which he times every-
  thing he does, Captain Chronos gets really annoyed 
  with people who are habitually late, or who dawdle. 
  He’s got things to do, and doesn’t want someone who 
  doesn’t understand what’s at stake wasting his time. 
  He oft en gives people like that advanced chrono-
  graphs of his own making, programmed to beep them 
  with reminders when he wants them to be somewhere 
  or do something.
  Quote:  “Wow, that was great! It was just like the time 
  you beat Firewing with... oh, wait, hasn’t happened yet. 
  Never mind!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Captain Chronos wears a Chronosuit 
  which gives him the ability to manipulate the pas-
  sage of time. Besides giving him the power to travel 
  through time (Extra-Dimensional Movement), this 
  allows him to achieve many other eﬀ ects, such as:
  Temporal Acceleration:  Captain Chronos acceler-
  ates a person through time so rapidly the victim 
  ages, withers, and eventually dies/collapses.
  Temporal Disharmony:  Captain Chronos “jerks” 
  the target backward and forward through time, 
  stressing the target’s system to the point where he 
  passes out.
  No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn:  Captain Chronos rapidly 
  accelerates the target through time for about a day, 
  until the target is too sleepy to remain awake.
  Age Manipulation:  Captain Chronos reverses or 
  accelerates the ﬂ ow of time around a person or 
  object, making it younger or older.
  Temporal Ambush:  Captain Chronos stops time 
  throughout reality, puts a big physical object (like 
  a rock) over his target’s head, slightly redirects an 
  attack or moving object, or otherwise puts his 
  target in harm’s way. Th en he returns to where he 
  was standing and starts time again. Th e rock falls 
  (or the like), hurting the target. To the target and 
  everyone else, it’s as if the rock appeared out of 
  nowhere to fall on him!
  
  137 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Fast Time, Slow Time Bubbles, Rapid Healing:  
  Captain Chronos can put a person in a bubble of 
  fast time (to make him move much more quickly, 
  though this tires the subject out quickly) or slow 
  time (to keep him from moving at his normal 
  speed). He can also put someone in a bubble of 
  fast time so they heal from their injuries in the 
  blink of an eye.
  Stop Time Bubble:  Captain Chronos can put the 
  target in a bubble of stopped time, preventing him 
  from moving or doing anything. Only people with 
  temporal or dimensional manipulation powers 
  can escape until Captain Chronos chooses to dis-
  perse the bubble. [Designer’s note:  this is bought 
  as an NND Entangle, which is an egregious rules 
  violation — but it’s all in the sake of fun. If you 
  don’t want to open up this can of worms, though, 
  just ignore this attack.]
  Rapid Transit:  Captain Chronos stops time 
  throughout reality, walks up to 30” from where 
  he started, and then starts time again. To others, 
  he seems to have vanished from his starting point, 
  and reappeared instantly at his destination.
  Walkin’ To Jerusalem:  Captain Chronos stops 
  time throughout reality, walks across Earth to 
  get to wherever he wants to go, and then re-starts 
  time. If he wants to cross the ocean, he selectively 
  reverses time around Earth until he reaches the 
  point where the continents are joined together, 
  walks to where he wants to be, and then fast-for-
  wards time back to the present day.
  By manipulating time, Captain Chronos can 
  also perform incredibly fast mathematical calcula-
  tions, move before anyone else in combat, and so 
  forth. Many of Captain Chronos’s powers won’t work 
  against someone who also has temporal manipula-
  tion powers, or dimensional manipulation powers 
  (such as many forms of Teleportation).
  Additionally, Captain Chronos wears two 
  important gadgets. Th e ﬁ rst is his Chronogoggles, 
  which allow him to view the past or the future 
  without actually having to travel there. In his spare 
  time he uses them, in conjunction with his HRRP, to 
  watch episodes of classic TV shows on the date they 
  were originally broadcast. Th rough their precogni-
  tive function, the Chronogoggles let him perceive, 
  and thus avoid, dangerous situations just about to 
  occur. Th e second is his Omnichronometer, the most 
  advanced and accurate timepiece ever created. It not 
  only tells him what time it is right now, it tells him 
  what point in time he’s at in the entire timestream, 
  can keep track of the time between or until multiple 
  events, and so on. Even though the Captain is natu-
  rally attuned to the basic passage of time, the Omni-
  chronometer is invaluable to him.
  In combat, Captain Chronos is a reasonably 
  eﬀ ective ﬁ ghter. Not only does his unusual set of 
  powers give him plenty of attack options, he can use 
  Fast Time to make his allies even more dangerous 
  than normal. His Time Shift  Field (which advances 
  everything inside it by about a picosecond, creating 
  a nearly impenetrable protective barrier) protects 
  him from counterattack. He typically uses Temporal 
  Ambush, Slow Time, Fast Time, and Stop Time the 
  most, saving his more unusual attacks for unusual 
  circumstances.
  Because he’s not from this time period, there’s 
  something subtly “wrong” about Captain Chronos, 
  even when he’s in his Secret Identity. Most people 
  notice this discomﬁ ting feeling, though they 
  can never explain exactly what it is.
  Campaign Use:  Captain Chronos is a walk-
  ing plot device. He can show up anywhere 
  and do just about anything. Since he 
  has to keep his motives mysterious, 
  he’s likely to clash with the heroes as 
  much as help them — “Hey, why’s 
  Chronos all of a sudden trying to 
  kidnap the Senator?” Since he can’t 
  explain why it’s crucial to reality 
  that the Senator be elsewhere in 
  3.729571846 hours, he ends up 
  looking like a villain.
  Th en there’s the whole issue of 
  what the seemingly lunatic Captain 
  is doing in this timeframe at all. What’s 
  this big, cosmically-important event he 
  keeps vaguely alluding to? Why was he 
  sent back in time to stop it, and who sent 
  him?
  If you need to make Captain Chronos 
  more powerful, the best way is to increase 
  the strength of his defenses until he’s almost 
  impossible to hurt — his powers are already 
  eﬀ ective (and strange) enough (though you 
  could add some Active Points to them if you 
  wanted). You could also get rid of his OIF and 
  turn all his powers into natural abilities. Making 
  him less eﬀ ective is tricky, but you can shave 
  some points oﬀ  of his various chronal powers if 
  you take care not to make him completely inef-
  fective.
  Captain Chronos would only Hunt a hero 
  if he were convinced the hero was somehow 
  crucial to preventing the temporal disaster he’s 
  here to save the world from. If that’s the case, 
  though, he’ll stop at nothing (short of killing) to 
  remove the hero from the picture, or make sure 
  he’s where he must be at a given point in time.
  Appearance:  Captain Chronos wears a silver 
  lamé bodysuit sort of thing, seemingly 
  patterned aft er the aviator outﬁ ts worn 
  by some pulp-era heroes. Th e right glove 
  and both boots are ﬂ ared; the left  glove is not ﬂ ared 
  because most of his left  forearm is encased in what 
  looks like a mini-computer (it’s actually the most 
  advanced chronometer in existence for the next ﬁ ft y 
  or sixty centuries). Th e costume covers his head, but 
  leaves the face open, and there’s a little silver wing 
  on either side of his head. Across his eyes he wears 
  his Chronogoggles, big goggles with dark blue lenses 
  that have a vertical arc of electricity slowly zapping 
  back and forth across them. On his back he wears a 
  slim pack of some kind that attaches at the shoul-
  ders and waist.
  
  138 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  CATERAN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   50 STR 
  40 
  19- 
  Lift  25 tons; 10d6 [5]
   26 DEX 
  48 
  14- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   40 CON 
  60 
  17-
   25 BODY 30 
  14-
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   20 PD 
  10 
   
  Total:  20 PD (14 rPD)
   20 ED 
  12 
   
  Total:  20 ED (14 rED)
   7 SPD 
  34 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12
   20 REC 
  4
   80 END 
  0
   70 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  291
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  11”/22”
   
  Swimming: 
  4”/8”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  18 
  Claymore:  HKA 2d6 (4d6 with STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF 
  (-1), No Knockback (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼) 0
  12 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (½ END; 
  +¼) on 50 STR (2 END) 
  0
   
  Martial Arts:  Wrestling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Damage/Effect
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  2d6 NND(2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  65 STR vs. Grabs
  3 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 60 STR 
  for holding on
  4 
  Reversal 
  -1 
  -2 
  STR 65 to 
  Escape; Grab
  3 
  Slam 
  +0 
  +1 
  10d6 +v/5; 
  Target Falls
  3 
  Take Down 
  +2 
  +1 
  10d6 Strike; You 
  Fall, Target Falls
  14 
  Tough Skin:  Damage Resistance 
  (14 PD/14 ED) 
  0
  11 
  Mutant Physiology:  Healing 2d6 
  (Regeneration; 2 BODY per Hour), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), 
  Persistent (+½); Self Only (-½), Extra 
  Time + Increased Time Increment 
  (2 BODY per Hour; -2¼) 
  0
  10 
  Strong-Willed:  Mental Defense 
  (14 points total) 
  0
  5 
  Mutant Physiology:  Power Defense 
  (5 points) 
  0
  5 
  Immortal:  Life Support (Longevity:  
  Immortality) 
  0
  10 
  Swift -Limbed:  Running +5” (11” total) 
  0
  2 
  Strong Swimmer:  Swimming +2” (4” total) 0
   
  Perks
  30 
  Contacts of a picturesque and intriguing 
  nature (various, all over the world, to be 
  deﬁ ned by the GM)
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  International Driver’s License
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Passport
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  15 
  Combat Sense 14-
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  20 
  +4 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Acting 14-
  3 
  Animal Handler (Bovines, Equines) 14-
  3 
  Climbing 14-
  3 
  Disguise 14-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 14-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  2 
  KS: World History 11-
  2 
  Lifespan Of Centuries:  +4 to KS: World 
  History; Only For Events Since 1650 (-1)
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂ uent; Gaelic 
  is native)
  1 
  Language:  Arabic (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Mandarin Chinese (basic conver-
  sation)
  1 
  Language:  French (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Portuguese (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Russian (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Spanish (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Turkish (basic conversation)
  3 
  Mimicry 14-
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 14-
  3 
  Oratory 14-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  3 
  Riding 14-
  3 
  Seduction 14-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  3 
  Trading 14-
  7 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  SCUBA, Small Planes, Small Rowed Boats, 
  Small Wind-Powered Boats, Snow Skiing
  7 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Missile Weapons, Small Arms, Staﬀ s
  2 
  Weaponsmith (Muscle-Powered HTH) 14-
  3 
  Traveler
  1 
  1)  AK: Africa 11-
  1 
  2)  AK: Th e British Isles 11-
  1 
  3)  AK: China 11-
  1 
  4)  AK: Europe 11-
  1 
  5)  AK: India 11-
  1 
  6)  AK: Th e Middle East 11-
  1 
  7)  AK: Russia 11-
  2 
  8)  AK: Scotland 14-
  1 
  9)  AK: Th e United States 11-
  1 
  10)  CK: Edinburgh 11-
  1 
  11)  CK: London 11-
  1 
  12)  CK: New York City 11-
  1 
  13)  CK: Paris 11-
  1 
  14)  CK: San Francisco 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  279
  Total Cost:  570
  CATERAN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Doctor Destroyer, as 
  part of his ongoing 
  quest to ﬁ nd ways to 
  extend his own lifes-
  pan, learns of Cateran’s 
  immortality. He decides 
  he must capture her so 
  he can conduct research 
  — which will probably 
  involve vivisecting her. 
  As a relatively sympa-
  thetic ﬁ gure (hopefully 
  one who’s already estab-
  lished some good con-
  nections with the player 
  characters), Cateran will 
  need the PCs’ help to 
  survive this time.
  Much to her own 
  amazement, Cateran 
  ﬁ nds herself romanti-
  cally attracted to a male 
  PC. She starts to hang 
  around, always jump-
  ing in to help him in 
  superﬁ ghts and oth-
  erwise getting in the 
  way. Of course, some of 
  the “crimes” she helps 
  him stop are ones she’s 
  secretly staged herself 
  by hiring villains to 
  commit them, but hey, 
  anything for love, right?
  Cateran suddenly starts 
  aging for some reason. 
  Terriﬁ ed, she seeks out 
  the PCs’ to help her ﬁ nd 
  out why, and to stop it.
  
  139 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Concealable; 
  Always Noticed; Detectable Only By Unusual 
  Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Honorable 
  (Common, Total)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates To Be 
  Conﬁ ned, Restrained, Or Told What To Do 
  (Uncommon, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Heather 
  McGowrie) (Frequently, Major)
  275 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  570
  Background/History:  Heather McGowrie has never 
  found a place or time she could truly call her own. 
  Born in Scotland in 1644, she was a woman trapped 
  in a man’s world. Th ough she grew up 
  tall and lanky and strong — stronger 
  than any of her brothers or their 
  friends — she was forced into 
  a woman’s lifestyle. Sewing and 
  cooking and tending to small 
  children wasn’t what she wanted, 
  though. She wanted to ride, 
  and wield a sword, and ﬁ ght, 
  and have adventures!  Th e 
  only time she truly felt alive 
  was when the old men were 
  telling stories and tales and she 
  could shut her eyes and feel as if 
  she were taken away into another 
  world.
  When she got old enough that 
  young men were coming ‘round to 
  court her, she’d ﬁ nally had as much 
  as she was going to take. Th ey 
  were all so weak, soft -seeming, 
  and close-minded that she just 
  couldn’t stand the thought of being 
  with any of them. Th ey weren’t truly 
  men, they were boys playing at it, 
  and damned if she’d play along with them. 
  Finally she stole a horse and rode away, 
  thinking to ride to Edinburgh or London or 
  some other city and make her fortune there.
  She was stopped by a band of brigands 
  and freebooters, or caterans as they were 
  called then in the Highlands, before 
  she’d ridden half a day. Her pretty 
  horse, and pretty self, were rich prizes 
  indeed for those men. But the pretty 
  girl had fangs, as they found out 
  when she broke the arms of two 
  of them and crushed the skull 
  of another with a blow from her 
  ﬁ st. Almost before they knew it, 
  she’d convinced them to let her 
  join them.
  She liked the life of a brig-
  and — it oﬀ ered her a freedom like 
  none she’d ever experienced before. 
  She learned how to ﬁ ght, and ride, and kill, and 
  take what she wanted. Soon she was leading the 
  brigands herself, and the “Men of the Heather” 
  became a group to be reckoned with. More and 
  more outlaws, hearing of her band’s exploits, came 
  to join her. But it was too good to last. Th e lairds 
  of the clans could no longer stand for her depreda-
  tions and pillaging, and came against the Men with 
  a small army of Highlanders. Seeing no reason to 
  stay and die, Cateran took to her horse and left  her 
  men to their fate.
  She spent the next few years roaming about 
  Scotland and the British Isles, enjoying her free-
  dom. It was during this time she discovered just 
  how strong she was — why, she lift ed the Stone of 
  Dunleavy easily with but one hand, that had not 
  been lift ed by anyone at all in seventy-ﬁ ve years!  
  Th e biggest, burliest men were no match for her in 
  contests of strength. And she realized something 
  more — she didn’t seem to be growing old. Her face 
  and form showed twenty years, but she’d been on 
  this Earth twoscore or more.
  Th at last thought scared her. Had she been 
  cursed by the Devil somehow to walk the Earth 
  forever like the Wandering Jew?  Feeling her mortal 
  soul was in peril, she rode to the nearest abbey and 
  asked to be admitted. Seeing the 
  trouble that lay upon her soul, 
  the Mother Superior admitted 
  her as a lay sister.
  Th e religious life lasted 
  about a month for Heather. She 
  soon found she couldn’t stand 
  it. Every minute of the day 
  and night was regimented, 
  ordered, and regulated. What 
  a waste!  She quickly came 
  around to thinking of her lon-
  gevity not as a curse from the 
  Devil, but as a gift  — from God 
  or from whom, she didn’t know, 
  and she didn’t really care any-
  more. She just decided to make 
  the best of it.
  She spent the next two 
  centuries wandering the world. 
  She saw the glittering spires of 
  London, and visited the king’s 
  court in the noble garb of a 
  lady. She explored the Black 
  Forest and wrestled bears in 
  the Russian taiga. She watched 
  Schliemann excavate Troy. In 
  disguise, she crept into Mecca, 
  and later explored the Ottoman 
  Empire in the same guise. She 
  learned how to sail, and trav-
  eled the length and breadth of 
  the British Empire, from Africa 
  to India to China. And then, at 
  long last, she came to America.
  Th e 1920s and ’30s found 
  her in New York City. Now 
  here, she thought, here is a 
  country where people know 
  
  140 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  how to live!  No centuries-old traditions, no caste 
  system, and rules that let just about everyone do 
  anything he — or she — wanted. She took to it like 
  a ﬁ sh to water. Whenever she needed money, a little 
  bit of robbery or theft  did the trick nicely.
  Th en came World War II. She’d managed to 
  avoid the First World War by staying in the Orient, 
  but this time she wanted to get involved. She went 
  back to Europe and, in disguise, joined a Scottish 
  regiment. She acquitted herself nobly and well, and, 
  when the war ended, decided to return to America. 
  Th is time she tried the West Coast.
  She found San Francisco to her liking. Th ere 
  were a few of these “heroes” out there who some-
  times tried to keep her from robbing banks, but 
  she never had much trouble with them — fancy 
  clothes aren’t enough to overcome three hundred 
  years of experience. She decided to join in their fun, 
  and adopted the name “Cateran” for her brigandish 
  exploits.
  Since then, Cateran’s been a supervillainess, 
  mostly in California, but drift ing from time to 
  time to other cities as suits her mood. Lately she’s 
  been spending a lot of time in Millennium City; it 
  has a new and vibrant air to it like none she’s ever 
  experienced before. She’s not as well known to the 
  public as other, ﬂ ashier, villains, but she’s having a 
  ﬁ ne time and doing well for herself, so she doesn’t 
  mind one bit.
  Personality/Motivation:  Cateran is very much a free 
  spirit. Not only does she intensely dislike being 
  conﬁ ned, bound, or restrained in any way, she 
  won’t take orders, do what people expect from “a 
  lady,” or restrict her options at all if she can help it. 
  She’s her own woman, and no one else’s. She’ll do 
  as she pleases, and damn those who don’t like it. 
  She enjoys her freebooting, high-living lifestyle and 
  wouldn’t trade it for any in the world.
  Although this attitude has led her to a life of 
  crime, at heart Cateran is an honorable, oft en rather 
  peaceable, person. She doesn’t ﬁ ght for no reason, 
  doesn’t inﬂ ict needless pain, attacks from surprise 
  only when there’s no other way to win to freedom, 
  and won’t go back on her word once she’s given it. 
  Despite centuries of experience as a warrior, Cat-
  eran prefers not to ﬁ ght, or to kill, if there are other 
  options. Fighting’s stupid if you can grab the swag 
  and run away, aft er all. And killing doesn’t usually 
  do much but start feuds. Oh, she’s killed before, 
  dozens or hundreds of times, in battle and out of it, 
  but she’d just as soon not slash someone with her 
  sword if a blow from her ﬁ st will knock him out of 
  the ﬁ ght.
  Now over 350 years old, Cateran has devel-
  oped a somewhat fatalistic view of life. People, 
  places, ideas — they all grow old and pass away 
  sooner or later, all but her. For this reason she 
  avoids becoming attached to people or to objects; 
  she knows she’ll lose them eventually, and doesn’t 
  want the pain of loss. As a result, she oft en comes 
  across as world-weary, cynical, and coldly unsym-
  pathetic, even though for the most part she’s none 
  of those things.
  Cateran has an annoying habit of calling all 
  men “lad” unless they’re noticeably elderly (e.g., old 
  wizards with long white beards).
  Quote:  “You might want to be reconsidering that 
  course of action, lad.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Cateran is a mutant with much 
  greater than normal human strength, resilience, 
  and reﬂ exes. Had she lived millennia ago, she’d 
  probably have come down to us in legend and folk-
  lore as some sort of goddess, but in today’s world 
  she’s had to settle for the life of a supervillainess.
  Cateran is a smart and cagy combatant with 
  years of ﬁ ghting experience. She won’t simply wade 
  in and start slugging her foes unless that seems to 
  be the quickest way to end the ﬁ ght. She’ll use her 
  environment, Hold her Actions and react appro-
  priately, and otherwise ﬁ ght intelligently. Her high 
  SPD gives her a real edge in many battles; she 
  sometimes “plays possum” and ﬁ ghts like a typical 
  slow “brick” (i.e., limits herself to SPD 4) until she 
  can catch her foe oﬀ -guard with a Surprise Move.
  Cateran carries a two-handed Scottish clay-
  more for use in battle if she needs it, but she 
  prefers “roughhousing” and ﬁ sticuﬀ s more than 
  cutting people to ribbons — she’s not a killer, she’s 
  a freebooter. She’ll only draw the sword if some-
  one makes her angry, is resistant to her strength, 
  or draws a weapon on her ﬁ rst. She doesn’t even 
  bother to bring it along on a lot of missions.
  In many ways, Cateran’s out of combat skills 
  are more important than her strength. She’s been 
  all over the world, speaks several languages, and 
  knows how to do all kinds of things. She’s especially 
  adept at disguising herself; she’s lived half her life 
  walking in “someone else’s shoes.”
  Campaign Use:  Cateran makes a good villain for 
  plots involving robbery and theft ; she oft en allies 
  herself with GRAB. She’ll work as straight hired 
  muscle if she must, but prefers to be her own boss 
  as much as possible — and she’ll never work for 
  someone who wants her to act dishonorably.
  Cateran might serve well as a potential love 
  interest for a male PC. Th e right inﬂ uence could 
  appeal to the romantic side of her personality and 
  steer her away from crime and into a life of hero-
  ism and adventure.
  If Cateran is too powerful for your campaign, 
  reduce her SPD to 5 or 6, get rid of her Claymore, 
  and reduce her DEX to 20. If she’s not powerful 
  enough, increase her STR and defenses until she is.
  Cateran is only going to Hunt someone who 
  severely harms or insults her. She’d rather just 
  outlive her enemies — in the long run, she knows 
  they’ll go the way of all ﬂ esh, while she remains 
  untouched by the years.
  Appearance:  Cateran looks pretty good for a 350-
  year-old:  red hair cut short so that it frames her 
  face — the face of a beautiful 30 year-old woman 
  — and a trim, muscular, well-built ﬁ gure. But she’s 
  also 6’4” tall, and thus rather imposing. She usually 
  wears a sort of blousy white shirt, cut to accentu-
  ate her ﬁ gure, a kilt-like skirt of tartan (no sporran, 
  though), and black boots. When she carries her 
  claymore, it’s in a back sheath.
  
  141 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  CYBERMIND
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   30 INT 
  20 
  15- 
  PER Roll 15-
   24 EGO 
  28 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  10 PD (6 rPD)
   6 ED 
  3 
   
  Total:  12 ED (6 rED)
   4 SPD 
  15 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   25 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  100
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Cyberkinesis:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  45 
  1)  Machine Control:  Mind Control 12d6 
  (Machine class of minds), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  45 
  2)  Machine Images:  Mental Illusions 12d6 
  (Machine class of minds), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  45 
  3)  Machine Communications:  Telepathy 
  12d6 (Machine class of minds), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  15 
   4)  Machine Manipulation:  Telekinesis 
  (20 STR), Fine Manipulation, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Only To Control 
  Machines And Machine Parts (-1) 
  0
  20 
  Speed Of Th ought:  +3 SPD; Only To Use 
  Mental/Telekinetic Powers (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Wideband Senses:  HRRP (Radio Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  13 
  Computer Programming 20-
  3 
  Electronics 15-
  3 
  KS: Computer Games 15-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  PS: Computer Gamer 15-
  3 
  Systems Operation 15-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  250
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  DNPC:  Melissa Renwick (girlfriend; 
  Unaware of Cybermind’s Social Limitation: 
  Secret Identity) 11- (Normal)
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Mechanon 11- (Mo Pow, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hacker’s Ego; 
  Can’t Resist A Challenge To His Abilities 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with another hacker)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity 
  (Dan Simanowitz) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Mental Powers 
  (Very Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Ever since he can remember, 
  Dan Simanowitz has been a whiz with comput-
  ers. As a little kid, he’d sneak into his father’s 
  oﬃ  ce and play around with Dad’s computer, even 
  though he wasn’t supposed to — that just made 
  it all the more fun. By the time he was 13, and 
  his parents had ﬁ nally bought him a computer 
  of his own, he’d found out something amazing. 
  He could make the computer work without even 
  touching it! Somehow he could reach “inside” the 
  machine with his mind, making it do whatever he 
  wanted. He could rewrite the programs, change 
  the images on the screen, make it run subrou-
  tines, and more... all without touching either 
  the keyboard or the mouse. He could even turn 
  machines on and oﬀ  by mental control.
  It wasn’t long before “DanMan” was one of 
  the hottest hackers in cyberspace, penetrating 
  secure computers with ease thanks to his cyberki-
  netic powers. But he was still young and inexpe-
  rienced, and it wasn’t long before the FBI caught 
  up to him. Tried, arrested, and convicted, he was 
  sentenced to a juvenile detention facility. Th at 
  slowed him down a little; he had almost no access 
  to computers there, though he could sometimes 
  mess around with a secretary’s desktop machine 
  if he got close enough to get a glimpse of it.
  By the time he was 18, Dan had learned a 
  few things from the other young criminals incar-
  cerated with him (including some other, more 
  experienced, hackers). He hadn’t reformed at all, 
  but he was determined not to get caught so easily 
  next time — or, if he did things right, caught at 
  all. Knowing his superpowers would be a sell-
  ing point, he created the identity of Cybermind, 
  superhacker supreme. Since then he’s become 
  the bane of computer security personnel around 
  the world, and even once accidentally penetrated 
  some of Mechanon’s computer systems (thus 
  earning the ﬁ endish robot’s undying hatred). He’s 
  young, powerful, successful, and having the time 
  of his life.
  Personality/Motivation:  Now in his early 20s, 
  Cybermind is still pretty much a kid. Even in 
  juvie, he never had to do too much growing up, 
  take much responsibility for himself, or learn to 
  respect others. His way of thinking is, if I can get 
  away with taking something, the owner didn’t 
  deserve it anyway. Penetrating computer security 
  is a big game to him, a test of his powers and a 
  way to earn “bragging rights” in the hacker com-
  munity. Any suggestion that he can’t crack a par-
  ticular computer system is likely to make him all 
  the more determined to try, and to succeed.
  Quote:  “Keyboard? I don’ need no steenkin’ key-
  board, senyor.”
  CYBERMIND 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Cybermind and several 
  hackers compete to 
  see who’s the best. Th e 
  challenge:  steal from as 
  many Millennium City 
  computers as they can 
  in 24 hours. Th e winner 
  is the one who cracks 
  into the most computer 
  systems (the money 
  obtained is just icing 
  on the cake). Th e PCs 
  have to ﬁ gure out what’s 
  happening, and stop it, 
  before a major ﬁ nancial 
  panic erupts.
  While casually exploring 
  the Internet, Cybermind 
  accidentally interfaces 
  with a computer system 
  that’s been set up by 
  the Hzeel to monitor 
  Earth. Th e bizarre alien 
  technology warps his 
  mind, increasing his 
  powers and sending him 
  on a destructive ram-
  page. Th e heroes have 
  to stop him, then track 
  the problem back to its 
  source and shut down 
  the Hzeel computer.
  Aft er being badly 
  injured in a superbattle, 
  Cybermind’s body is 
  rebuilt with cybernetic 
  systems that make him 
  much stronger, tougher 
  and more powerful. He 
  wakes up at home, now 
  a cyborg, with no idea of 
  who did this to him — 
  and unsure of whether 
  he should be happy or 
  sad about it. Th e heroes 
  now have a more power-
  ful, angrier Cybermind 
  to deal with....
  
  142 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Powers/Tactics:  Cybermind is a cyberkinetic, a 
  person who can operate machines with his mind. 
  He can interface with computers and similar 
  technology, taking control of them, and some-
  times even displaying false images on them or 
  the like. His Computer Programming and Systems 
  Operation Skills are reﬂ ections of his powers 
  more than legitimate skills; he’s never formally 
  studied computer science, engineering, or 
  anything else. For such an accomplished 
  hacker, he oft en displays an odd ignorance of 
  common hacker terms, practices, and equip-
  ment.
  Cybermind isn’t really a combatant; he 
  doesn’t like to ﬁ ght, and would never even think 
  about killing or hurting someone else. In danger-
  ous situations, he’ll probably break and 
  run unless he has a way to ﬁ ght back 
  — and sometimes even then. He’s 
  in it for the money and thrills, not 
  the chance to get beaten up by some 
  superhero. Th e only time he’s likely 
  to be of any use in a ﬁ ght is in high-tech envi-
  ronments where he can use his cyberkinetic 
  powers to take control of weapons and security 
  systems. In the right circumstances, or against 
  the right types of heroes (like gadgeteers, 
  powered armor wearers, or robots), he can be 
  an eﬀ ective opponent.
  Cybermind is fairly fast physically, but 
  mentally he can act much more quickly. 
  In game terms, he has +3 SPD with his 
  cyberkinetic powers. He gets Phases on 
  Segments 2, 4, and 7 on which he can only 
  use his cyberkinetic powers. (See Menton’s 
  description, page 30, for information on 
  how this works.)
  Campaign Use:  Depending on the nature 
  of your PC group, Cybermind could be 
  the focus of a major story arc (as com-
  puter-oriented heroes pursue him through 
  cyberspace, or the team tries to prevent him from 
  conducting some sort of high-tech robbery) 
  — or he could just be a henchvillain hired by a 
  master supercriminal to help with some plot. In 
  the hands of the likes of Dr. Destroyer or Binder, 
  Cybermind could become a major threat to 
  humanity. He could penetrate military computers 
  to steal secrets, take over missile launch systems, 
  and casually wreck jetliners by interfering with 
  air traﬃ  c control equipment.
  If you want to make Cybermind more pow-
  erful, or more combat-capable, you can expand 
  his Mental Powers to aﬀ ect the Human class of 
  minds as well, or you could supply him with some 
  weapons and gadgets. To make him less powerful, 
  simply decrease the Active Points in his cyberki-
  netic powers.
  Cybermind won’t Hunt heroes; that’s not his 
  style. If a hero challenges his technical prowess, 
  he’ll gladly show him who’s top dog, but having 
  proven himself 
  he’ll let the 
  matter be 
  unless the 
  hero keeps 
  harassing him.
  Appearance:  Cyber-
  mind wears a lightly-
  armored costume con-
  structed to look like some-
  what heavier armor, in blue 
  and gold:  blue breastplate, legs, 
  gauntlets, belt, and helmet; gold 
  stomach/thighs, boots, arms, and 
  backpack. Th e backpack has gold 
  coils leading to his helmet and 
  gauntlets, but that’s all for the sake 
  of misdirection — a hero who 
  thinks to disable him by taking 
  away his “weapons” will quickly 
  learn the backpack is just for 
  carrying things. Cybermind’s 
  powers oft en manifest with 
  an accompanying light phe-
  nomenon of dark-colored 
  spots around his hands 
  and/or head.
  In his civilian iden-
  tity, Dan Simanowitz 
  is 5’9” tall, with short 
  brown hair, dark eyes, 
  and the build of 
  someone who exer-
  cises regularly.
  Who’s The BEST?
  ‘Cybermind, he’s not so great. Yeah, you see 
  him online all the time, bragging about pen-
  etrating military computer systems and satel-
  lites and all, and saying how rich he is. Well, 
  so what? If I had superpowers, I could do that, 
  too. In fact, I could do it a helluva lot better. 
  He doesn’t know jack about actual computer 
  hacking; I can get into a lot of the systems he 
  can, too, without any fancy powers, which just 
  goes to show how stupid he is.’
  —Naut, well-known computer hacker, just a few 
  minutes before his entire computer system crashed
  
  143 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  ESPER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   18 BODY 16 
  13-
   23 INT 
  13 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   23 EGO 
  26 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  18 PD (10 rPD)
   10 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  20 ED (10 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  4
   46 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  172
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Psychic Powers:  EC, 60-point powers
  30 
  1)  Psychic Assault:  Ego Attack 5d6 
  (Human and Alien classes of minds) 
  6
  30 
  2)  Psychic Control:  Mind Control 10d6 
  (Human and Alien classes of minds) 
  6
  30 
  3)  Seeking:  Mind Scan 10d6 (Human 
  and Alien classes of minds) 
  6
  24 
  Force Field:  Force Field (8 PD/8 ED), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  4 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (2 PD/2 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Unimind Manifestation:  Duplication 
  (creates one 150-point Duplicate; see 
  text); Costs Endurance (-½) 
  3
   
  Skills
  2 
  AK: Milky Way Galaxy 11-
  2 
  KS: Radical Feminism 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  Navigation (Space) 13-
  2 
  PS: Farming 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  178
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Distinctive Features:  alien voice (Not Con-
  cealable; Always Noticed, Causes Major 
  Reaction [fear/disgust])
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  NASA 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  PSI 11- (Mo Pow, Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loathing For 
  Humanity (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Lust For Wealth 
  And Power (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Ruth 
  Erickson) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to telepathic contact not initiated 
  by her, takes 2d6 per Turn (Uncommon)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Chemicals/
  Gases/Poisons (Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  For untold centuries, a swarm 
  of tiny motes had traveled through space, seeking a 
  new home. Resembling a cloud of energy, it was in 
  fact alive. Intelligent and malevolent, it journeyed 
  from planet to planet, seeking a species suitable 
  to serve as host bodies. When it found one, it took 
  over someone’s mind, then began to breed, creat-
  ing more motes that in turn entered and controlled 
  other minds, until the entire planet was under its 
  dominion. It stole whatever it wanted from that 
  helpless world, ravaging it until too little was left  
  to support its hosts. Th en it departed, leaving its 
  former puppets to starve and die.
  It had been in space for long this time, much 
  longer than ever before. Weak and desperate, it 
  ﬁ nally found a proper home — a green and pleas-
  ant world its inhabitants called Earth. Descending 
  through the atmosphere, the swarm picked out the 
  best host it could quickly ﬁ nd:  a female, lonely, 
  bitter, and angry for reasons the swarm could not 
  comprehend. She lived by herself, far from anyone 
  else.
  Th e swarm entered her mind and began to 
  assert its control. Suddenly, the woman fought 
  back! Contact with the swarm had awakened 
  her latent psychic powers, and in her panic she 
  struggled against the invaders. Weak aft er so long 
  in space, the swarm was unable to establish total 
  control. Instead, what it achieved was synthesis — a 
  melding of itself and the woman’s strange body. No 
  longer would it sail the solar winds over the course 
  of millennia. Now it would conquer and rule this 
  pitiful world, establishing its dominion over the 
  miserable masses of humanity. And in time, per-
  haps it would reach for the stars once more....
  Personality/Motivation:  Esper’s thoughts and feel-
  ings are no longer entirely human. Her personality, 
  a melding of the alien mind of the swarm and her 
  own disturbed psyche, combines her longstanding 
  dislike for other people (particularly men) and the 
  swarm’s instinct for conquest and wealth. (She has 
  a tendency, though not a universal one, to refer to 
  herself in the plural because of this.) It’s possible 
  someone could get through to her, and force her 
  human personality to become more dominant, but 
  that would take a lot of hard work.
  Driven by the swarm’s preference for close 
  contact with others, Esper has left  behind her 
  hermit’s life and returned to the cities, though she 
  makes no eﬀ ort to get to know anyone, or even to 
  talk to them (because her voice betrays who she is). 
  As much as she hates humanity, she still somehow 
  feels more comfortable around other people than 
  by herself.
  Quote:  “Our powers are far beyond your compre-
  hension. But you need not understand them to fall 
  before me.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e fusion of the powerful energy-
  based mind of the swarm, with Esper’s own latently 
  psychic brain, has created a mentalist with a small, 
  but powerful, suite of abilities:  mental control of 
  others, inﬂ icting pain psychically, and locating 
  other minds. She can also generate a ﬁ eld of energy 
  to protect herself from harm. Additionally, she has 
  ESPER PLOT SEEDS
  Aft er spending some 
  time in Esper’s body, the 
  swarm becomes domi-
  nant, squelching her 
  human personality. Now 
  able to unlock more of 
  her powers, and create 
  other swarms to take 
  over other humans, it 
  begins its standard plan 
  of conquest — but this 
  time with an extremely 
  powerful mentalist to 
  help things along! Th e 
  PCs have to stop the 
  swarm before it “infects” 
  everyone on Earth.
  Powerful alien bounty 
  hunters come to Earth 
  in pursuit of the evil 
  swarm. Th ey insist the 
  authorities turn Esper 
  over to them, or they’ll 
  take her by force. What 
  will the PCs do?
  Tired of NASA’s relent-
  less pursuit, Esper plans 
  to strike back by crip-
  pling one of the Space 
  Shuttles as it launches. 
  Th at should give the 
  jerks from Cape Canav-
  eral other things to 
  worry about than her.
  
  144 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  become tougher and more impressive than she 
  was as an ordinary human; her physical 
  Characteristics and PRE reﬂ ect this. Her 
  Skills are a mingling of the remnants of 
  the swarm’s knowledge, and what she 
  can dimly remember from her pre-
  superhuman life.
  Esper’s most unusual power is 
  the ability to partly release the alien 
  mind-force from her body and cause it 
  to manifest as a separate being. Th is 
  “Unimind Manifestation” is a 150-
  point character with normal human 
  Characteristics (except for 12 STR, 
  23 INT, and 23 EGO), an Elemental 
  Control with the ﬁ rst two slots of 
  Esper’s own EC, and a Force Field 
  also identical to Esper’s. Th e Mani-
  festation resembles Esper, except 
  that it’s got a shiny glow to it that 
  clearly indicates it’s made of energy 
  more than matter. Esper does 
  not create the Manifestation oft en, 
  preferring to try other powers in most 
  cases.
  Unfortunately, not all the eﬀ ects of the 
  joining were beneﬁ cial. Her voice sounds 
  strange now, like a movie special eﬀ ect, 
  clearly marking her as not entirely human. 
  If other people initiate telepathic contact 
  with her, it causes intense pain. (Th e GM 
  deﬁ nes “telepathic contact,” but it includes 
  most forms of Telepathy, Mind Link, and Mind 
  Control with the Telepathic Advantage.)
  Esper remains somewhat weak in certain 
  respects, particularly END. She has to watch her 
  END usage carefully, oft en spending Phases in 
  combat to Recover. In time she should over-
  come this by decreasing the END cost of her 
  main powers, or buying up her END and/or 
  REC.
  Campaign Use:  Esper is a good villain for use 
  as a master criminal’s hireling or member 
  of an impromptu team, but she also comes 
  equipped with plenty of story hooks of her 
  own. What exactly is the swarm, and where 
  does it come from? Does she have the 
  potential to “breed” more swarms and 
  take over other people? What happens if 
  she teams up with PSI and Psimon and 
  his followers learn how to harness the 
  swarm to augment their own powers?
  Making Esper more powerful 
  involves having her become more 
  comfortable with the alien joining. As 
  her body and mind become accustomed 
  to it, she will manifest more, and stronger, 
  powers — she’ll buy oﬀ  her Susceptibil-
  ity, buy more Elemental Control slots, 
  and increase the power of the slots she 
  already has. Her Unimind Manifestation 
  may become stronger as well. On the other 
  hand, if you need her to be weaker, perhaps 
  her body and mind start to reject the swarm, 
  costing her some of her powers (particularly 
  her Duplication).
  Esper is unlikely to start Hunting a hero; 
  she’s not really that focused on anything besides 
  acquiring wealth and power. If suﬃ  ciently 
  angered, though, she might start Hunting a PC, 
  typically by using her Mind Control to force 
  others to make him miserable.
  Appearance:  Esper is a beautiful woman 
  with long blonde hair; she appears to be 
  in her mid-20s. Her costume is fairly 
  simple — a light-colored short jacket over 
  a short black skirt and black top, plus boots and a 
  black choker. She doesn’t wear a mask, and her eyes 
  glow when she uses her powers.
  Point...
  ‘Okay, what about that blonde 
  girl, what’s her name, Esper? 
  She seems pretty powerful.’
  ‘So? A lot of people in PSI aren’t exactly 
  normal. She’s got a lot of mental power. That 
  trick she does, where she separates part of 
  her mind into an energy-being so she doubles 
  her effectiveness in combat? — that’s pretty 
  interesting. Maybe she can teach some of us 
  how to do that.’
  Counterpoint!
  ‘I dunno... she looks kind of 
  weird. Something about her 
  just doesn’t seem right. Ever 
  heard her voice? Give you the 
  creeps.’
  ‘Maybe. But even if she can, will she? We 
  can’t even get Hypnos to show us his belt-
  jets! Besides, who’s to say she’s even inter-
  ested in joining? Even with all our powers, 
  it wouldn’t exactly be easy to take over her 
  mind and force her to do what we want.’
  — Medusa and Psimon of PSI 
  discussing possible new recruits
  
  145 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  FENRIS
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   25 DEX 
  45 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   18 BODY 16 
  13-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV: 4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   12 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  23 PD (11 rPD)
   10 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  21 ED (11 rED)
   6 SPD 
  25 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   11 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   45 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  160
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  12”/24”
   
  Leaping: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Claws:  HKA 1d6, Armor Piercing (+½) 
  (2d6 with STR), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Rapid Healing:  Healing 1d6 (Regeneration; 
  1 BODY/Turn), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½); Self Only 
  (-½), Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼) 
  0
  30 
  Resilience:  Physical and Energy Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  16 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Wolfen Muscles:  Running +6” (12” total) 
  1
  9 
  Wolfen Muscles:  Leaping +9” 
  (15” forward, 8” upward) 
  1
  9 
  Heightened Senses:  +3 PER with all 
  Sense Groups 
  0
  5 
  Nightsight:  Nightvision 
  0
  5 
  Tracking Scent:  Tracking with Normal
  Smell 
  0
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  15 
  Combat Sense 12-
  4 
  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  +4 DEX to act ﬁ rst with 
  Claws
   
  Skills
  8 
  +4 OCV with Claws
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  6 
  Animal Handler (Canines) 15-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Climbing 14-
  3 
  Contortionist 14-
  10 
  Defense Maneuver IV
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  3 
  KS: Werewolf Legends 12-
  3 
  KS: Wolves 12-
  3 
  SS:  Biology 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  2 
  Survival (Temperate) 12-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  190
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Enraged:  if takes BODY damage (Common), 
  go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Justice Squadron 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Casual Killer 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wolf Nature 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Frederick 
  Rice) (Frequently, Major)
  40 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  As a young biologist work-
  ing for a prominent zoological park, Frederick 
  Rice became fascinated by the legend of the 
  werewolf — the man who could transform him-
  self into a beast. Even in their faux-natural cages, 
  the wolves at the zoo were majestic and proud, 
  uncompromising in their savagery and love of 
  life. What man wouldn’t want to share in such 
  feelings?
  With samples taken from the zoo’s wolves, 
  Rice began to study human and wolf DNA, look-
  ing for similarities so he could create a “werewolf 
  serum” that would allow a person to take on the 
  shape of a wolf at will. He was convinced there 
  had to be some factual basis for the werewolf 
  legends, and after many long nights in the labo-
  ratory, he found it!
  Data in hand, Rice manufactured the first 
  batch of lycanthrope serum. Certain it would 
  work, and unwilling to wait any longer, he 
  injected himself, and then waited breathlessly for 
  the transformation to occur. Soon he felt it — he 
  was changing! But unfortunately, it was not the 
  sort of change he thought would take place. Pain 
  began to rip through his body, as human flesh 
  was altered by lupine DNA. He yelled, and then 
  howled, in pain, but no one was around to hear 
  him. Eventually he passed out.
  He awakened to find his experiment a par-
  tial success. He had taken on some wolf charac-
  teristics. He was faster, stronger, and tougher, and 
  his senses had become particularly acute. But his 
  mind had changed as well. Lurking behind his 
  facade of humanity was the Wolf, savage in its 
  desire to hunt, to kill, to triumph. Only his strong 
  will could keep the Wolf in check, and even then 
  not forever.
  Knowing he could no longer hold down a 
  civilian job, Rice killed a security guard, dressed 
  the corpse in his own clothes, and staged a 
  laboratory fire to fake his own death. Then he 
  fashioned a set of metal claws and a wolf-like 
  costume. Choosing the name Fenris, after the 
  unstoppable giant wolf of Norse mythology, he 
  became a supervillain and mercenary, always 
  eager for the next job so the Wolf could run free 
  again.
  FENRIS 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Monster hunter Aric 
  Roston Rhodes (Cham-
  pions Universe, page 88) 
  comes to town to track 
  down Fenris and prove 
  whether he’s “man or 
  monster!” Can the PCs 
  keep the two of them 
  from killing each other... 
  and harming a lot of 
  innocent bystanders in 
  the process?
  Rice develops a formula 
  he thinks will diminish 
  his Wolf nature while 
  leaving his powers 
  intact. But he doesn’t 
  want to take it untested 
  this time. His experi-
  ments on homeless 
  people and other kid-
  napees have resulted 
  in packs of “wolfmen” 
  stalking the city. Th e 
  PCs have to ﬁ nd the 
  source of this wave of 
  monsters, and stem it.
  Loki, the Norse god of 
  mischief, is invoked by 
  DEMON, and while 
  partly manifested on 
  Earth, for a lark gives 
  Fenris some fragment of 
  the power of his son, the 
  real Fenris. Now a gigan-
  tic wolf-man, Fenris 
  rampages through the 
  city, giving the Wolf free 
  rein to kill and devour. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ nd 
  out what happened, and 
  stop him.
  
  146 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Personality/Motivation:  Frederick Rice’s 
  once normal, if scientiﬁ cally geeky, 
  personality has been almost com-
  pletely subsumed by what he calls 
  “the Wolf” — the wolf-like nature he 
  acquired by mingling his DNA with 
  that of lupines. He is aggressive, 
  cruel, eager for bloodshed and 
  combat, full of the spirit of 
  the wild. Some supervil-
  lains prefer not to work 
  with him, because of his 
  tendency to kill, but the 
  Wolf is a pack creature, 
  ready and able to join with 
  others to hunt greater prey.
  Rice has actually 
  become a little scared of 
  the Wolf. He’s concerned it’s 
  getting stronger, and that 
  eventually he won’t have 
  the capacity to control it 
  at all. He’d like to ﬁ nd a 
  way to regain more of his 
  humanity — but he’s not 
  as intelligent or skilled 
  as he once was, so his 
  research has yielded no 
  solution... yet.
  Quote:  “Th ere’s a little bit 
  of Wolf in all of us, you see. 
  Unfortunately for you, there’s 
  more in me.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Fenris’s powers result from the 
  mingling of human and wolf biological mate-
  rial within his body. He’s faster, stronger, more 
  savage, and tougher than an ordinary human. 
  He has a wolf’s senses, and can track other 
  people by scent. When attacking, he uses metal 
  claws which he built; they can inﬂ ict vicious 
  wounds, particularly against unarmored foes. If 
  his claws or punches don’t have any eﬀ ect, he’ll 
  switch to another opponent, or try to maneu-
  ver for a Surprise Move bonus.
  Campaign Use:  Fenris makes a good 
  addition to villain teams that need 
  some extra muscle; he prefers to work 
  “with a pack.” As a solo, he can’t stand 
  up to a hero team for very long.
  Making Fenris more 
  powerful typically means 
  heightening his Wolf 
  nature. He becomes 
  more bestial, and that 
  means stronger and 
  faster. He might also 
  grow claws of his own, 
  ones superior to his manufactured claws, 
  or gain the ability to summon and con-
  trol wolves. To make him less powerful, 
  reduce his SPD to 5, and cut down on his 
  defenses.
  Fenris is a predator, quite willing 
  to Hunt heroes who somehow attract 
  his attention (typically by defeating him 
  thoroughly). He Hunts with cunning and 
  savagery, carefully stalking his prey with 
  Stealth and then pouncing on him to rip 
  and tear with his claws.
  Appearance:  Fenris wears a costume that 
  makes him look like a man-wolf hybrid:  a 
  grey bodystocking with a wolf-fur chestpiece 
  and a headpiece that looks like a wolf’s head. 
  Th e eyes of the headpiece are red.
  Frederick Rice himself is in his late 
  20s, 6’1”, with green eyes and long brown 
  hair. Usually he looks like an average guy, 
  but at times the Wolf shows through.
  ANIMAL VILLAINS
  Fenris, Hornet, and Menagerie aren’t the only villains 
  with animal-inspired or -based powers. Some of the 
  others include:
  Al, an “alligator-man” who supposedly haunts the Ever-
  glades and has been blamed for several vicious attacks on 
  tourists. Some authorities are skeptical of his existence, 
  blaming the attacks on ordinary alligators instead.
  Arachne, a highly-trained female acrobat who wears a 
  costume and uses gadgets and weapons with a “spider” 
  theme.
  The Basilisk, a professor of medieval studies who gained 
  powers of petriﬁ cation and reptile control aft er reading a 
  magical formula hidden a thirteenth-century bestiary.
  Mantisman, a supercriminal with an insect-themed suit 
  of light powered armor. He can project globs of sticky 
  goo, shoot deadly needle-like spines, and use several 
  insect-derived chemical weapons. Th e suit also allows 
  him to ﬂ y and cling to walls.
  Python:  Th e result of a freak lab accident, this half-rep-
  tile, half-man supervillain has superhuman strength 
  sometimes said to be on par with Grond’s, and a vicious 
  mind and foul temper to boot.
  The Saurian, an Argentinian mutant with the power to 
  assume the shapes of various types of dinosaurs, includ-
  ing a triceratops, a pteranodon, and a tyrannosaur.
  El Tiburón, a Mexican supervillain with shark powers. He’s 
  never been captured, so it’s unclear whether his powers 
  are natural (perhaps the result of mutation or genetic 
  splicing) or derive from some sort of “organic suit.”
  Vesper, a man with the ability to transform himself into a 
  fearsome man-bat hybrid creature, and to summon and 
  control bats.
  White Rhino:  A “were-rhinoceros” from Central Africa, 
  able to transform into an immensely strong (and equally 
  durable) human-rhino hybrid.
  
  147 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  FIREWING
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6.4 tons; 8d6 [4]
   30 DEX 
  60 
  15- 
  OCV: 10/DCV: 10
   45 CON 
  70 
  18-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV: 7
   40 PRE 
  30 
  17- 
  PRE Attack: 8d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   20 PD 
  12 
   
  Total:  40 PD (20 rPD)
   20 ED 
  11 
   
  Total:  40 ED (20 rED)
   7 SPD 
  30 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12
   25 REC 
  16
   90 END 
  0
   80 STUN 22 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  326
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  105 
  Fiery Attacks:  Multipower, 105-point powers
  10u 
  1)  Flame Bolt I:  Energy Blast 20d6 
  10
  10u 
  2)  Flame Bolt II:  Energy Blast 16d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  10u   3)  Flame Bolt III:  Energy Blast 14d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10u 
  4)  Flame Bolt IV:  RKA 4d6, Armor 
  Piercing (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  10u   5)  Cutting Fire:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  10u   6)  Dimension-Fire:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Aﬀ ects Desolidiﬁ ed (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  10u   7)  Fireball:  Energy Blast 12d6, Explosion 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼)  4
  10u 
  8)  Withering Heat:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  NND (defense is LS: Safe Environment 
  [Intense Heat]; +1) 
  10
  35 
  Mastery Of Fire:  Elemental Control, 
  70-point powers
  35 
  1)  Fire Shield:  Force Field (20 PD/20 ED), 
  Hardened (+¼), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  55 
  2)  Fiery Flight:  Flight 30”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  100 
  3)  Self-Immolation:  RKA 3d6, Continuous 
  (+1), Damage Shield (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  79 
  4)  Wall Of Fire:  Force Wall (0 PD/10 ED), 
  Transparent (physical, +½), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) plus RKA 2d6, 
  Continuous (+1), Damage Shield (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  Linked (-¼) 
  5
  37 
  Fiery Eyes:  Sight Group Flash Defense 
  (30 points), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  45 
  Resilience:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  28 
  Hyperﬂ ight:  FTL Travel (1 LY/day) 
  0
  5 
  Fiery Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Fiery Attacks Multipower
  20 
  +2 Overall
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂ uent; 
  Malvan is native)
  2 
  Navigation (Space) 13-
  3 
  PS: Gladiator 15-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  641
  Total Cost:  967
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Enraged:  by treachery, betrayal, or 
  unfair combat tactics (Uncommon), 
  go 14-, recover 11-
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Hunted:  Mechanon 8- (As Pow, Kill)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  No Knowledge Of 
  Earth Culture (Frequently, Greatly 
  Impairing)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Of Honor 
  (Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dent, 
  Arrogant, And Determined To Win (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  20 
  Reputation:  supervillain of 
  world-threatening power, 14- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity 
  (Ariax Th one, Malvan super-gladiator) 
  (Frequently, Major)
  597 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  967
  Background/History:  Far, far away, on the other 
  side of the Milky Way Galaxy from Earth, lies the 
  planet Malva. Civilization on Malva is ancient; 
  when Humans were still living in crude castles and 
  whacking each other with sharpened metal sticks, 
  the Malvans were traversing space in faster-than-
  light ships and establishing a vast galactic empire. 
  Ruling over all Malvans, and their conquests, was 
  the Phazor, an absolute autocrat and scion of a 
  great dynasty.
  But no civilization lasts forever. As their power 
  increased, so did the Malvans’ arrogance and deca-
  dence. In time they forgot about conquest and 
  imperial ambition, gradually letting their empire 
  slip away, planet by planet, as they found other 
  amusements.
  By what would be known on Earth as the 
  twentieth century, the most popular entertainment 
  on Malva was gladiatorial combat. In the Phazor’s 
  arenas, warriors from a thousand worlds came to 
  pit their prowess against others, hoping to win the 
  fat purses oﬀ ered as prizes by the Phazor and the 
  Malvan nobility. Greatest of all the gladiators were 
  those who relied not on weapons, but on the simple 
  strength of their arms and the other powers they 
  possessed. Superpowered gladiatorial duels brought 
  the Malvans to the arenas by the hundreds of thou-
  sands.
  In recent years, of all the gladiators, ordinary 
  MALVAN 
  GLADIATORS
  Despite the loss of three 
  of the most popular 
  gladiators, on Malva the 
  duels in the arena con-
  tinue; the Phazor and 
  his people must have 
  diversions!
  Th e typical Malvan 
  gladiator is, at best, a 
  Heroic character built 
  on about 150 Character 
  Points. He doesn’t pos-
  sess any superpowers, 
  but instead uses natural 
  ﬁ ghting skills and weap-
  ons. But though most 
  of the gladiators ﬁ t this 
  description, they pale in 
  power and popularity to 
  the superhuman gladi-
  ators, whose names and 
  likenesses are known all 
  over the planet. Most of 
  these are built on about 
  200-250 Character 
  Points, similar to Low-
  Powered Superheroic 
  characters.
  A select few Malvan 
  gladiators, the best of 
  the best, are built on 
  250-350 Character 
  Points, making them 
  a match for a typical 
  Earth superhero. Usually 
  there are no more than 
  one or two dozen of 
  these active on the ﬁ ght-
  ing circuit at any given 
  time, but it varies from 
  year to year. Right now, 
  with the loss of Th one, 
  Lar, and Dazeur, and the 
  increasing use of poten-
  tially deadly combat-
  enhancing drugs, the 
  superpowered ranks 
  are suﬀ ering, and the 
  Phazor is determined 
  to replenish them. He 
  might even consider 
  kidnapping Earth super-
  humans to take part in 
  his bloody games....
  See page 158 for a few 
  examples.
  
  148 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  and superpowered, three stood out as the most 
  powerful and skilled of all:  a Fassai named Tren 
  Tarrec Dazeur, who was not only strong but gift ed 
  with metabolic leeching powers; a Dorvalan named 
  Drogen Lar, whose “living iron” body and muscles 
  made him the strongest of all the gladiators; and 
  Ariax Th one, a Malvan who augmented his enor-
  mous strength and agility with minor ﬁ re powers. 
  As a Malvan, Th one was by far the favorite of the 
  crowds; his victories and élan made him one of the 
  most popular people on all Malva. Th ough other 
  gladiators had the power to oﬀ er a serious chal-
  lenge to any of these three, none of them lost oft en 
  — except to each other.
  But Th one had a secret:  though he pretended 
  to follow the high and ancient Malvan concepts 
  of honor and glory, in truth he would do anything 
  — anything — to win. On more than one occasion, 
  he maintained his edge over his rivals by taking spe-
  cial drugs. With his special “enhancements,” Th one 
  could withstand Dazeur’s and Lar’s powers better, 
  and triumphed over them more oft en than not. 
  Both suspected Th one of cheating, but neither could 
  prove it.
  Gradually, the games became bloodier and 
  bloodier, something none of the three champions 
  cared for. Th e Phazor wanted greater and greater 
  spectacle, and he demanded that the gladiators pro-
  vided it. Blood, in dozens of colors, soaked the sands 
  more and more oft en.
  Disgusted with what he had become, Drogen 
  Lar found a way to steal a spacecraft  and leave 
  Malva forever. Dazeur left  soon aft er. Th one was 
  dismayed. When would he ﬁ nd other opponents 
  so truly worthy of him? It would take years, even 
  decades. Who could challenge him now?
  He soon learned. Th rough means unknown 
  to Th one, the Phazor found out about the special 
  drugs he used, and demanded that Th one provide 
  him with them. Ever obedient to his Phazor, Th one 
  did so — and the Phazor improved upon them, 
  giving them to other gladiators so that they became 
  more and more powerful, but their lives shorter and 
  shorter, as the drugs burned through their bodies. 
  Now it was Th one’s turn to feel disgust; he rejected 
  the drugs entirely, and soon was one of the weakest 
  of the superpowered gladiators.
  Despairing, Th one sought out the Wisdom 
  Stones. For millennia, the bodies of the wisest Mal-
  vans were preserved in special calciﬁ ed formations, 
  that they might communicate their learning and 
  advice to Malvans still living through strange tele-
  pathic processes.
  <<What can I do?>> Th one asked. <<Th ere is no 
  honor here, and I lack the power to ﬁ ght and win!>>
  <<Th e corruption of your soul has spread through-
  out the arena, Ariax Th one, so speak to us not of 
  honor!>> the Stones replied. <<You seek power, 
  power to triumph over your enemies, and nothing 
  else. Your honor has ever fallen to the wayside in your 
  pursuit of victory.>>
  <<And what of it?>> Th one said hotly. <<Without 
  victory, honor is a meaningless sop. I ﬁ ght to win!>>
  <<It was not always so,>> the Stones sighed. <<But 
  you speak the truth of it in this late day. Very well, if it 
  is power our people want, power they shall have. Walk 
  into the Fire and be cleansed.>>
  Th one hesitated. <<Th e... Fire? Surely you cannot 
  mean....>>
  <<Yes, Ariax Th one. Th e Furnace of the First Ones. 
  You know the legend of the Firewing as well as we.>>
  <<But... will I become a Firewing, then?>>
  <<Who can say? We are not prophets — though if 
  we were, we would say that you shall die, as all others 
  who have sought to fulﬁ ll the legend have. But if you 
  seek power, that is the only route to true power left  on 
  this corrupt and ancient world.>>
  <<So be it,>> said Th one. <<Without victory in the 
  arena, life lacks savor anyway.>>
  Th one left  the Wisdom Stones and traveled to 
  the Grand Temple of Malva, one of the wonders of 
  the Universe. Inside, in the very heart of the Temple, 
  was the Furnace of the First Ones, a vast ﬂ ame 
  which some said was the life’s-ﬂ ame of the Malvan 
  people — when it died, so too would they. Legends 
  also told of the Firewing, a man who enters the 
  ﬂ ame to emerge, his impurities burned away, with 
  great power. Hoping his own ﬁ re powers would pro-
  tect him, Th one climbed the steps and walked into 
  the conﬂ agration. 
  Pain. Great pain. Th e pain of a thousand sins, a 
  thousand imperfections, burning away in minutes. 
  Th e pain of being forged into a living weapon the 
  likes of which the Malvans had never seen.
  Suddenly a great gout of ﬂ ame, the largest Fire 
  ever witnessed by any living Malvan, erupted from 
  the Furnace, turning night into day for dozens of 
  miles around the Grand Temple. And from it soared 
  Ariax Th one — the Firewing.
  Th e Fire had brought to Th one power such 
  as he had never dreamed of, burning away his old 
  weaknesses and abilities and replacing them with 
  ones far greater. With power came clarity. He knew 
  no one on Malva could challenge him anymore. 
  Th e Wisdom Stones’ hope — that he would reignite 
  the ﬁ res of conquest and glory in the hearts of all 
  Malvans — was a foolish one. What he needed was 
  a challenge worthy of him. He thought of his old 
  rivals, Lar and Dazeur. Th e Phazor had told him 
  both had found their way to a strange planet its 
  inhabitants called “Earth,” a world with even more 
  superpowered people than Malva. Th ough his power 
  now dwarfed both of theirs, perhaps on Earth a 
  proper challenge awaited him. With the residue of 
  the power of his transformation, he opened a gate-
  way in space and ﬂ ew through without a second’s 
  hesitation.
  And suddenly, below him, lay Earth. Th ere he 
  would ﬁ nd challenges aplenty.
  Personality/Motivation:  Firewing is a complex 
  individual of shift ing priorities. On the one hand, 
  he talks arrogantly about his honor — about how 
  a Malvan deals fairly with his opponents, never 
  attacking from surprise or behind, never refusing 
  a challenge, never using powers beyond his own 
  FIREWING 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Phazor decides he 
  wants Firewing back. He 
  sends a squad of heav-
  ily-armed Malvan sol-
  diers who begin tearing 
  Earth apart looking for 
  “citizen Th one.” Th e PCs 
  have to decide whether 
  to help these insuf-
  ferably arrogant (but 
  extremely well-armed) 
  alien troopers, or try to 
  stop them.
  In his quest to learn 
  more about his new 
  home, Firewing tries to 
  understand what “love” 
  is. Unfortunately he tries 
  to get a female PC to 
  teach him.
  Firewing issues an “all 
  comers” challenge to 
  Earth’s superhumans, 
  oﬀ ering to take them 
  all on in the middle of 
  the Sahara Desert. Who 
  shows up, and what hap-
  pens?
  
  149 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  that his opponent lacks. 
  Because of his honor, 
  and his power, he 
  holds himself 
  up as some-
  thing greater 
  and more 
  important 
  than any 
  human, 
  even a 
  super-
  powered 
  one. But on 
  the other 
  hand, Firew-
  ing’s desire for 
  victory — his 
  overwhelming 
  need to win, to prove 
  his superiority, to 
  defeat all who 
  would dare to 
  challenge his 
  might — wars 
  with this honor 
  to which he sin-
  cerely aspires. 
  Whenever 
  Firewing is 
  confronted with 
  the possibility 
  of losing a ﬁ ght, 
  make EGO Rolls 
  for both Psycho-
  logical Limitations, as if 
  engaging in a Skill Versus 
  Skill Contest. If his Determined To 
  Win has the best roll, he’ll cheat to win if he has to. If 
  his Code Of Honor wins, he’ll stick to it... for now.
  One of the most personally powerful supervil-
  lains in the Champions Universe, Firewing is on 
  Earth for one reason:  to experience the challenge 
  of combat. Few superhumans can truly challenge 
  him, at least not until they team up with others, 
  but Firewing will accept almost any invitation to 
  combat. Some villains have tricked him by playing 
  on this trait, but that’s a dangerous game, for Firew-
  ing’s wrath when he ﬁ nds out he’s been played for a 
  fool is terrible to behold.
  But of course, one cannot ﬁ ght all the time. 
  Th ough he remains largely ignorant of Earth culture 
  and customs, Th one is intelligent and curious, and 
  tries to learn about them. He particularly enjoys this 
  thing called “opera.”
  Quote:  “Even defeat is an honor, if it comes aft er a 
  noble struggle against a superior foe. And so shall I 
  honor you now.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Firewing’s powers involve the con-
  trol and manipulation of a quasi-magical Malvan 
  ﬂ ame. He can produce many diﬀ erent types of 
  ﬁ re-blasts, ﬂ y, shield himself from attacks, sheathe 
  himself in ﬂ ame, and erect walls of ﬁ re. His power is 
  enough to give anyone, even Dr. Destroyer, pause.
  In battle, Firewing usu-
  ally relies on his Flame 
  Bolts, switching to other 
  powers only if they prove 
  ineﬀ ective. He’s aggressive 
  more than tactical — while he 
  didn’t survive the arenas for 
  so many years by being a fool, 
  these days he’s more inclined 
  to rely on sheer power instead 
  of clever maneuvering. Unless 
  he has trouble hitting targets 
  with his ordinary OCV, he keeps 
  most of his Skill Levels in DCV.
  Firewing prefers one-
  on-one battles whenever 
  possible (though some-
  times he deliberately 
  invites more than one 
  person to ﬁ ght him). 
  If superheroes gang 
  up on him without 
  his consent, and the 
  ﬁ ght begins to go badly, 
  he’ll accuse them of acting 
  “dishonorably” and withdraw 
  until he can take them on 
  individually.
  Campaign Use:  Firewing 
  should be powerful enough to 
  represent a challenge to entire 
  PC teams — though he’s not truly 
  a “master villain,” since he has 
  no interest in conquest, he 
  should be close to them in 
  terms of power. If he doesn’t 
  meet this description, increase 
  his defenses and powers until he 
  does; perhaps give him some 
  Damage Reduction and a few additional attacks (like 
  a Flash, or a high END cost bonus to his basic Flame 
  Bolt). On the other hand, if he’s too powerful, you 
  should decrease the DCs in his attacks until he’s only 
  terrifying.
  Firewing does not voluntarily work for other 
  villains; he doesn’t consider that honorable or a good 
  use of his time. He can sometimes be tricked into it, 
  but as mentioned above, this is, literally, playing with 
  ﬁ re — if he ﬁ nds out, he’s almost certain to become 
  Enraged and burn his tormentor to a cinder.
  Firewing Hunts heroes, but only ones with the 
  strength and ability to give him a good ﬁ ght. His 
  Hunting method consists of showing up where the 
  hero is and challenging him to battle. If he won’t 
  ﬁ ght voluntarily, Firewing goads him into it with 
  a few well-placed blasts, or threats to innocent 
  bystanders. He cares little how much destruction 
  and death he causes, provided he gets a good ﬁ ght.
  Appearance:  Firewing wears a costume of brown 
  and gold-orange with a stylized sort of raptor motif 
  in the front. Flames ﬂ icker from his eyes and the top 
  of his head, and when he’s ﬂ ying or in battle, wings 
  of ﬁ re sprout from his shoulderblades.
  
  150 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  FOXBAT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  19 PD (11 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  17 ED (11 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  112
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  8”/16”
   
  Gliding: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  25 
  Th e Amazing Ping-Pong Ball Gun:  
  Multipower, 50-point reserve; all OAF (-1)
  2u 
  1)  Explodoball:  EB 8d6; OAF (-1), 
  8 Charges (-½) plus Sight Group Flash 2d6; 
  OAF (-1), Linked (-½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  2u 
  2)  Hardball:  EB 10d6 (physical); 
  OAF (-1), Stun Only (-0), 8 Charges (-½) [8]
  2u 
  3)  Glueball:  Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF; OAF 
  (-1), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  2u 
  4)  KOball:  EB 5d6, NND (defense is Life 
  Support [Self-Contained Breathing]; +1); 
  OAF (-1), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  2u 
  5)  Smokeball:  Darkness to Sight Group 
  4” radius, Personal Immunity (+¼); OAF 
  (-1), 8 Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-0) 
  [8]
   
  Martial Arts:  Generic
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀ ects 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  8d6 Strike
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6 Strike
  3 
  Th row 
  +0 
  +1 
  4d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  16 
  Foxbatcostume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Run!:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  4 
  Bound!:  Leaping +4” (8” forward, 
  4” upward) 
  1
  13 
  Fly!:  Gliding 20”; OIF (glider-wings; -½) 0
  3 
  Foxbatmasklenses:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Foxbatmasklenses:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Foxbatmasklenses:  +6 versus Range 
  Modiﬁ er for Sight Group; OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  Foxbatearpiece:  Ultrasonic Perception 
  (Hearing Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Foxbatearpiece:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
  30 
  Fortune Of Fools:  Luck 6d6
   
  Perks
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  10 
  +1 Overall
  12 
  +4 with Amazing Ping-Pong Ball Gun 
  Multipower
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Contortionist 14-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  1 
  High Society 8-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  1 
  KS: Bats 8-
  5 
  KS: Comic Books 15-
  5 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 15-
  3 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  Mimicry 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 14-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  238
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  the supervillain he’s most recently 
  annoyed 8- (Mo Pow, Administer A Sound 
  Th rashing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Th inks He’s Living 
  In A Comic Book (Very Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  10 
  Reputation:  lunatic supervillain, 11-
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with whichever hero 
  or villain he’s currently obsessing over)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Frederick 
  “Freddy” Foswell) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x Eﬀ ect from Presence 
  Attacks (Very Common)
  10 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  “Penhurst! Bring me some more 
  issues of Justice Squadron; I’ve ﬁ nished all these.”
  “I’m sorry, Master Frederick, but your mother has 
  instructed me to purchase no more sequentially illus-
  trated stories on your behalf.”
  “What!??!? Why not?”
  FOXBAT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Foxbattlebots:  Foxbat 
  builds a veritable 
  armada of robot weap-
  ons with which to 
  conquer the world. Th is 
  is the last stage of his 
  Master Plan, and it’s 
  sure to succeed! Morgan 
  Fairchild will be his at 
  last! Bwah hah ha... no, 
  wait, that’s Pulsar.
  Foxbat-Gnop:  Foxbat 
  becomes enchanted by 
  the idea of Knockback. 
  He adds gadgets to his 
  Ping-Pong Ball Gun 
  that allow all the slots to 
  do Double Knockback, 
  making the weapon an 
  oversized monstrosity of 
  a ﬁ rearm (he can barely 
  lift  it). With such awe-
  some weaponry at his 
  command, the world is 
  sure to fall to his Master 
  Plan! Bwah hah hah hah 
  hah!!!
  Foxbat sponsors Th e 
  Great Foxbat Look-Alike 
  Contest, with fabulous 
  cash prizes for the 
  winner. His Master Plan 
  is to kidnap the par-
  ticipants and brainwash 
  them, so that a veritable 
  Army of Foxbats can 
  fan out and conquer the 
  world! Bwah hah hah 
  hah hah!!!
  
  151 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  “I’m sure I don’t know, sir.”
  “Moooommmm!”
  “Yes, dear?”
  “Penhurst says I can’t have any more comic books!”
  “Yes, dear, I’m afraid he’s right.”
  “Why not? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
  “Th ings aren’t going very well in your father’s business, 
  dear. We don’t have any more money for things like 
  comic books.”
  Oh, no! But in the crucibles of misfortune, great 
  destinies are forged.
  Aft er a few despondent days, Freddy realized 
  something — this wasn’t a setback, it was the start of his 
  origin story! It was time for him to step up and join the 
  ranks of superhumanity as he knew he always would 
  one day. But should he become a hero, or a villain? He 
  waﬄ  ed back and forth a long time, but a tragedy such 
  as he had suﬀ ered could only embitter a man, and turn 
  him toward the dark side. A villain he would become. 
  Heroes were a stupid, boring lot. Th erefore, he would 
  be... a Foxbat!
  Aft er raiding his trust fund for seed money, 
  Freddy began an intensive training regimen. Gymnas-
  tics and martial arts alternated with studying electron-
  ics and practicing his criminal skills. When he was 
  ready, he started designing the amazing Foxbatgadgets 
  with which he would terrorize all humanity! Well, or 
  rob the Freezy Delight downtown, whichever seemed 
  like more fun at the time. Ice cream....
  And at last the time came to assume the mantle 
  that destiny has woven for him — the mantle of Foxbat, 
  greatest villain the world has ever seen! Standing on 
  a rooft op, silhouetted against the setting sun, Foxbat 
  casts his dark shadow over a world that shall tremble in 
  fear at the very sound of his name! Although his ﬁ rst 
  crime, an attempt to steal the Empire State Building in 
  1993, didn’t quite work out as expected, no doubt his 
  latest Master Plan will bring the heroes of Earth to their 
  knees!
  Personality/Motivation:  Not exactly the most well-bal-
  anced individual to begin with, Freddy Foswell came 
  completely unhinged when he found out his family had 
  lost its fortune and he could no longer live a life of idle 
  luxury, spending all of his time reading comic books. 
  He’s convinced he’s actually living in a comic book — a 
  grand story in which he is the major ﬁ gure, almost hero 
  and villain both. His crimes have no rhyme or reason, 
  though the ones that succeed are oft en proﬁ table; he’s 
  just trying to act the way a supervillain should act.
  Foxbat goes through other delusions the way 
  normal people change their clothes. He oft en ﬁ xates on 
  a particular hero, “Hunting” him for a time, then revers-
  ing course and trying to become his sidekick. He con-
  ducts bizarre scavenger hunts in which he, for example, 
  tries to acquire every Volkswagen Beetle in the city. He 
  threatens public oﬃ  cials with the Noogie-o-Matic. He’s 
  crackers.
  Since this whole supervillain thing is all for fun, 
  Foxbat has no desire to hurt anyone. What good is that? 
  But unfortunately, sometimes Freddy’s warped percep-
  tions lead to tragic consequences. People in the real 
  world don’t always heal as fast as they do in the comics.
  Quote:  “I’m the bad guy, right?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Despite his lunacy, or perhaps because 
  of it, Foxbat is a surprisingly skilled individual with the 
  general strength and build of someone who engages 
  in regular intensive exercise. He’s also good with 
  his hands, able to pick locks (or pockets) and 
  wiggle his way into or out of tiny spaces.
  In combat, Foxbat relies mainly 
  on his Amazing Ping-Pong Ball Gun, 
  which can ﬁ re several diﬀ erent types 
  of gimmicked ammunition. He 
  can also use his martial arts skills, 
  but that’s not nearly as exciting as 
  shooting people!
  Foxbat’s main goals in 
  combat are to look good and have 
  fun, which are a far cry from being 
  tactically eﬀ ective or winning. For 
  example, he loves to ﬂ y (sure, it’s 
  really gliding, but try telling him 
  that), and oft en wastes one or two 
  Phases per Turn just making dra-
  matic glides across the battleﬁ eld. 
  He also enjoys soliloquizing about his 
  Master Plan.
  Campaign Use:  Foxbat is intended 
  primarily as a humorous break from 
  otherwise serious Champions stories 
  and adventures. He works best by 
  himself, in a quasi-master villain role in 
  which the GM supplies him with what-
  ever gadgets, vehicles, and henchmen he 
  needs to accomplish his current Master 
  Plan. When running him, use his 
  Luck liberally — sometimes as 
  much as every Phase, particularly 
  if it helps to keep him from becoming seriously 
  hurt.
  As a Hunter, Foxbat is even more of an insuﬀ er-
  able nuisance than normal. If insulted or made to look 
  a fool, he’ll start to pick on the oﬀ ending superhero 
  endlessly, singling him out for pranks and annoying but 
  harmless “attacks” reminiscent of gags seen in comics 
  and on television. Nighthawk is a favorite butt of Fox-
  bat’s bizarre jokes.
  You can easily make Foxbat less powerful by 
  reducing the Active Points in his gun or stripping away 
  Skills and reducing Characteristics. As long as he’s still 
  an appropriately humorous foil for the PCs, it doesn’t 
  matter. If, for some bizarre reason, you want to make 
  him a serious threat, increase his Amazing Ping-Pong 
  Ball Gun to a 75 Active Point reserve (and improve the 
  slots to match), or even give him a Gadget Pool.
  Appearance:  Foxbat wears a two-tone brown costume, 
  with light brown on the legs, sides, arms, and mask and 
  dark brown for the trunks, center chest, and shoulders. 
  His boots and gloves, belt, the glider wings under his 
  arms, and the ﬂ ares on his mask are dull yellow. He car-
  ries the Amazing Ping-Pong Ball Gun in a dull yellow 
  holster attached to his belt.
  Freddy Foswell is 5’10” tall and weighs 160 
  pounds. He has the build of a young man who engages 
  
  152 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  in intensive regular exercise.
  GARGANTUA
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  15 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV: 3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   15 PD 
  10 
   
  Total:  40 PD (20 rPD)
   15 ED 
  11 
   
  Total:  40 ED (20 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   15 REC 
  12
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  140
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6” (36”)/12” (72”)
  Cost Powers 
  END
  94 
  Th e Gargantua Eﬀ ect:  Growth (at full 
  power, Gargantua becomes 32” tall, 
  weighs 3 million kg, and gains +75 STR, 
  +15 BODY, +15 STUN, -15” KB, +16” 
  reach, and is at -10 DCV and +10 to PER 
  Rolls to perceive him), Costs END Only 
  To Turn On (+¼) 
  7
  25 
  Tirelessness:  Reduced Endurance (½ END; 
  +¼) for up to STR 100 (5 END) 
  0
  60 
  Gargantuan Fists:  Area Of Eﬀ ect (One 
  Hex; +½) for up to STR 100, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Linked to 
  Growth (only applies at 60 points’ worth 
  of Growth or more; -¼) 
  0
  29 
  Gargantuan Physique:  +25 CON; No 
  Figured Characteristics (-½), Linked to 
  Growth (-¼) 
  0
  40 
  Gargantuan Physique:  +25 PD and ED; 
  Linked to Growth (-¼) 
  0
  20 
  Impressiveness:  +25 PRE; Linked to 
  Growth (-¼) 
  0
  20 
  Gargantuan Resilience:  Damage 
  Resistance (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  30 
  Gargantuan Resilience:  Physical and 
  Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  60 
  Gargantuan Legs:  Running +30” 
  (36” total), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼); Linked (to Growth; -¼) 
  3
   
  Perk
  6 
  Contact:  a VIPER Nest Leader 11- 
  (extremely useful resources, access to major 
  institution)
  7 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  8 
  +4 with Punch
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  1 
  KS: VIPER 8-
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  417
  Total Cost:  557
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Hunted:  Sentinels 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Th inks He’s 
  Invulnerable (Common, Total)
  15 
  Reputation:  destructive supervillain, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Th omas 
  Russell) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Susceptibility:  to involuntary alterations 
  of his size or density, takes 2d6 instantly 
  (Uncommon)
  242 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  557
  Background/History:  Th omas Russell was big, even 
  as a kid — so big he killed his mother when she 
  gave birth to him. By the time he was four years old, 
  he was the size of a ten-year-old; at twelve he was as 
  tall and muscled as a full-grown man. It didn’t take 
  long for him to learn he could push the other chil-
  dren around and bully them. With his size, he rarely 
  had to hit anyone, the threat of it was enough. Even 
  his teachers were a little scared of him.
  By the time he was a teenager, Russell discov-
  ered there was more to his size than met the eye:  
  he could alter it, growing even bigger and stronger 
  for short periods of time. Th e more he practiced 
  with this power, the taller he got and the longer he 
  could maintain the eﬀ ect. But he wasn’t as stupid 
  as he was big. He didn’t have any intention of using 
  his powers “for the good of all mankind”; he was 
  going to use them for himself, and himself alone. 
  To do that he had to keep them secret.
  Russell’s size and muscle soon attracted the 
  attention of the local VIPER Nest, which recruited 
  him as an agent-in-training. He enjoyed the experi-
  ence, even learning a thing or two about being a cat 
  burglar, but quickly decided it wasn’t for him. Fol-
  lowing orders and being part of a private army just 
  wasn’t what he had in mind for himself.
  It wasn’t long aft er Russell ﬁ nished high school 
  that a new costumed criminal, calling himself Gar-
  gantua, appeared on the scene. At ﬁ rst he worked 
  mainly for VIPER, but aft er a couple of years he 
  branched out, pulling solo jobs and teaming up 
  with other villains and organizations. Over the 
  past half-decade he’s built a reputation as a power-
  ful, dependable, professional super-criminal. He’s 
  made a lot of money and had a great time ﬁ ghting 
  superheroes, and he plans to be around for a long, 
  long time.
  Personality/Motivation:  For a supervillain, particu-
  larly a super-strong one, Gargantua is intelligent 
  and thoughtful, even philosophical. He’s no dummy, 
  GARGANTUA 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A corrupt contractor 
  builds a skyscraper 
  without obeying the 
  proper safety codes. 
  One day, the build-
  ing starts to collapse. 
  Gargantua oﬀ ers to 
  help — he can easily 
  stabilize it and hold it up 
  until engineers can ﬁ x 
  things — but he wants 
  a full pardon from the 
  governor in exchange. 
  Will the PCs be will-
  ing to work with him 
  fairly and honestly? Will 
  he keep his side of the 
  bargain?
  Gargantua ﬁ nds he’s get-
  ting bigger and bigger 
  in his normal form. He 
  used to shrink back 
  down to 7’1”, but now 
  he’s 7’6”. He’s afraid this 
  may continue. What’s 
  going on — and who 
  will he turn to for help?
  Aft er suﬀ ering a tre-
  mendous blow to the 
  head during a superbat-
  tle, Gargantua becomes 
  unconscious and lapses 
  into a coma. But his 
  Growth powers don’t 
  shut oﬀ ; he keeps getting 
  larger and larger, knock-
  ing over buildings in the 
  process. Th e PCs have 
  to use super-science to 
  shrink themselves to the 
  size of giant molecules 
  and go inside his body 
  to ﬁ nd and remove the 
  cause of the problem.
  
  153 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  and it angers him when people treat him as if he 
  is (especially when they simply assume that “he’s 
  strong, so he can’t be bright”). He never went to 
  college, but he enjoys reading “deep books” and 
  discussing them, a trait that earns him a measure of 
  respect from master villains who ordinarily dismiss 
  the “hired help” as morons.
  Gargantua’s size, strength, and experiences 
  as a supervillain have given him a healthy dose of 
  overconﬁ dence. He has yet to suﬀ er a serious defeat 
  or signiﬁ cant injury, and at this point practically 
  thinks he’s invulnerable. He’ll take on anyone or 
  anything.
  Quote:  “Ready to be crushed, little man?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Gargantua’s powers derive from 
  his ability to grow to tremendous heights (at his 
  maximum, 32”, or about 200 feet, tall). Generally 
  he can only use his full Growth out-
  doors 
  and on other strong sur-
  faces, since otherwise 
  his weight makes him 
  crash through ﬂ oors 
  and get stuck in small 
  spaces (though he does 
  enjoy using all his 
  Growth at once to 
  “explode” a building 
  from the inside out). 
  Because his Growth is 
  Constant and he uses 
  it so much, he only 
  gets a -¼ value for 
  the Linked Limita-
  tion on his associated 
  abilities.
  But that’s not 
  the limit of his abilities. 
  His training as a thief 
  gives him capabili-
  ties most big, strong 
  villains lack (though 
  usually he can only use 
  them when he’s at or near 
  normal human size; in par-
  ticular, the PER Roll bonuses to see 
  him when he’s Grown tend to make Stealth 
  pointless).
  Gargantua is intelligent, and ﬁ ghts 
  that way. In combat the ﬁ rst thing he 
  does is try to get to a place where he 
  can use his full Growth powers (or as much 
  of them as possible); that usually means taking the 
  ﬁ ght outside. When he’s ready, he’ll pick out the 
  enemy he’s most capable of dealing with (usually 
  another “brick,” or a ﬂ ying character other people 
  have trouble hitting), and smash him. If he can’t 
  simply crush someone with his gargantuan ﬁ sts, 
  he’ll pick that person up and throw him as far as he 
  can, hopefully removing him from the battle.
  Campaign Use:  Gargantua is a change of pace from 
  the usual brick, and should be played that way. 
  Not only does his enormous size give him certain 
  abilities most bricks lack, but he doesn’t mindlessly 
  smash his enemies. He ﬁ ghts cleverly, with a good 
  head for tactics. Similarly, he’s not easy to trick or 
  manipulate; he knows full well what he can do, and 
  what his services are worth, and doesn’t take risky 
  or pointless jobs.
  If Gargantua is too weak for your game, 
  increase his Damage Reduction to 50% 
  and increase his normal STR 
  and CON (so that he’s able 
  to hold his own better 
  in situations where 
  he can’t use his 
  Growth). If he’s too 
  tough, scale back 
  on the Growth, 
  and the Char-
  acteristics and 
  abilities Linked 
  to it — 30-45 
  points’ worth of 
  Growth and associ-
  ated abilities may 
  work better for you.
  Gargantua 
  doesn’t see much point 
  in mindless vendettas, so 
  he’s unlikely to Hunt 
  a superhero. If one of 
  them, particularly a 
  rival “brick,” got 
  him angry 
  enough, 
  he might 
  make a 
  point of 
  tracking 
  them 
  down, 
  though. His 
  early forays 
  against the foe 
  will involve his cat burglar skills, but eventually a 
  knock-down-drag-out ﬁ ght, in public so everyone 
  can see him win, has to take place.
  Appearance:  Gargantua’s costume consists of a 
  brown and green high-collared jacket-like top, 
  brown pants, green gloves and boots, and a brown 
  GARGANTUA’S GROWTH CHART
   Points of 
   Growth 
  STR 
  CON 
  BODY 
  PRE 
  PD 
  ED 
  STUN 
  KB 
  Height
   
  15 
  40 
  25 
  18 
  25 
  20 
  20 
  43 
  -3 
  2”
   
  30 
  55 
  30 
  21 
  30 
  25 
  25 
  46 
  -6 
  4”
   
  45 
  70 
  35 
  24 
  35 
  30 
  30 
  49 
  -9 
  8”
   
  60* 
  85 
  40 
  27 
  40 
  35 
  35 
  52 
  -12 
  16”
   
  75 
  100 
  45 
  30 
  45 
  40 
  40 
  55 
  -15 
  32”
  *:  Gargantua’s hands achieve their Area Of Eﬀ ect: One Hex at this point.
  For each 15 points’ worth of Growth, Gargantua gains +5 CON, +5 PRE, +5 PD, +5 ED, 
  and +6” Running.
  
  154 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  half-face mask that leaves his dirty blonde hair and 
  short beard visible. At normal size, he’s 7’1” tall and 
  massively built.
  GROND
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   90 STR 
  80 
  27- 
  Lift  25 ktons; 18d6 [9]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   50 CON 
  80 
  19-
   30 BODY 40 
  15-
   5 INT 
  -5 
  10- 
  PER Roll 10-
   8 EGO 
  -4 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   40 PD 
  22 
   
  Total:  40 PD (40 rPD)
   30 ED 
  20 
   
  Total:  30 ED (30 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   28 REC 
  0
   100 END 
  0
   100 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  287
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Leaping: 
  28”/56”
   
  Swimming: 
  12”/24”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  22 
  Horns:  HKA 1d6 (2d6 with STR), Armor 
  Piercing (+½) 
  2
  35 
  Super-Tough Skin:  Damage Resistance 
  (40 PD/30 ED) 
  0
  10 
  Super-Tough Skin:  Lack Of Weakness 
  (10 points) for Normal Defenses 
  0
  4 
  Super-Strong Lungs:  Life Support (Extended 
  Breathing:  1 END per 20 Minutes) 
  0
  10 
  Super-Strong Legs:  Leaping +10” 
  (28” forward, 14” upward) 
  0
  10 
  Super-Strong Swimmer:  Swimming +10” 
  (12” total) 
  0
  6 
  Four Arms:  Extra Limbs (2), Inherent (+¼) 0
  6 
  Four-Armed Combatant:  +2 SPD; 
  Activation Roll 11- (-1), Costs 
  Endurance (-½), Only To Punch (-1) 
  2
   
  Skills
  20 
  +4 Hand-To-Hand
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  123
  Total Cost:  410
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  big, ugly mutated 
  green body (Not Concealable, Causes 
  Extreme Reaction [abject fear])
  35 
  Enraged:  Berserk when realizes he’s 
  been tricked, or thinks he’s been tricked 
  (Common), go 11-, recover 8-
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Big And Heavy (is 
  always 12 feet tall and weighs approximately 
  1,000 kg; -2 DCV, +2 to PER Rolls to per-
  ceive) (Infrequently; Slightly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Childishly Naive 
  And Prone To Tantrums (Very Common, 
  Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Fire 
  (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Reputation:  dangerous and destructive out-
  of-control monster, 14- (Extreme)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Sidney 
  Potter) (Occasionally, Minor)
  10 
  Unluck 2d6
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Ego Attacks 
  (Common)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Fire Attacks 
  (Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  420
  Background/History:  Th ree-time loser Sidney Potter 
  ﬁ gured he’d ﬁ nally caught a break. Th e warden 
  had asked for volunteers for some special medi-
  cal experiments; anyone who participated would 
  earn substantial “good conduct” reductions in his 
  sentence. Sidney was more than willing to let a 
  few eggheads poke him with needles if it meant he 
  could get out of prison early.
  Th ings didn’t quite work out. When he heard 
  the medical technician say “Oops,” he began to panic. 
  When he learned the tech had injected him with the 
  wrong serum — some sort of reptile-derived immune 
  factor booster instead of the experimental cold 
  remedy — he became agitated and started to leave. 
  Th e tech tried to stop him, and a struggle ensued. 
  Sidney was thrown into a shelf-full of medicines and 
  chemicals; dozens of sera and formulae entered his 
  body through the cuts the glass bottles made. But he 
  escaped, ﬁ ghting his way past the guards with manic 
  strength. Screaming with terror, he ran outside, right 
  into the middle of a thunderstorm. With the guards 
  in hot pursuit, he dove right into a heavily polluted 
  river... just as lightning struck!
  No one ever saw Sidney Potter again. Th e 
  prison oﬃ  cials assumed he’d drowned and his body 
  had been washed downstream. Th ey were unpleas-
  antly surprised when, a few days later, a huge, 
  green-skinned, four-armed monster calling himself 
  “Grond” went on a rampage downtown. It took 
  three teams of superheroes to stop him, and tests 
  soon conﬁ rmed that this man-monster was once 
  Sidney Potter. But no one could ﬁ nd a way to trans-
  form him back; the doctors didn’t even understand 
  how he’d been turned into Grond in the ﬁ rst place!
  Grond has become a well-known member of 
  the Superhuman World. Oft en tricked and manipu-
  lated by supervillains, he’s caused billions of dollars’ 
  worth of property damage and hundreds of deaths. 
  But somewhere, deep inside his tiny mind, Sidney 
  Potter is still screaming to get out.
  Personality/Motivation:  Grond’s personality can be 
  summed up in two words:  childish rage. He’s got 
  the tolerance for frustration of a four-year-old, 
  combined with an almost constant state of anger 
  that simply shift s focus from time to time. Unfortu-
  nately his lack of intelligence also makes him gull-
  ible; a clever supervillain can easily soothe him for 
  a few minutes and then convince him to go smash 
  something the villain wants smashed.
  GROND PLOT SEEDS
  Th e classic Grond plot:  
  a supervillain some-
  how gains control of 
  him (ﬂ attery, neural 
  implants, Mind Control, 
  whatever) and unleashes 
  him on the city. While 
  the heroes stop the 
  rampaging man-mon-
  ster, the true villain of 
  the piece is committing 
  some other crime across 
  town.
  Something happens to 
  restore Grond’s intel-
  ligence and willpower... 
  without aﬀ ecting his 
  strength or resilience. 
  Now he’s really danger-
  ous, because he can act 
  on his own. What will 
  he do? Will the heroes 
  be able to stop someone 
  with Grond’s strength 
  and the smarts to use it 
  in tactically clever ways?
  Teleios gets his hands 
  on samples of Grond’s 
  tissue and clones him. 
  Th e faux Gronds aren’t 
  quite as strong and 
  tough as the real thing, 
  but they’re more than 
  enough to give the PCs 
  (and the world) real 
  problems. But how will 
  Grond react when he 
  ﬁ nds out?
  
  155 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Grond doesn’t employ pronouns when refer-
  ring to himself (or other people, usually), but 
  instead uses his proper name (or theirs).
  Quote:  “Grraarrr!!! Grond will hammer skinny 
  human! No man is mightier than Grond!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Grond isn’t smart or clear-headed 
  enough to have any real grasp of tactics; mostly 
  he just smashes people who annoy him again and 
  again until they stop moving or something distracts 
  him. Th e closest he comes to a clever tactic is to 
  Grab someone with two of his arms, then use his 
  other two arms to pummel them while they’re at 
  reduced DCV. He avoids enemies with ﬁ re-based 
  powers or attacks, which scare him and do extra 
  damage to him.
  Because he has four arms, Grond 
  can get in a lot more punches than most 
  hand-to-hand ﬁ ghters do. Th is is repre-
  sented by his Four-Armed Combatant 
  power. At the beginning of each 
  Turn, the GM should make the 
  Activation Roll. If the roll suc-
  ceeds, it means events work out 
  that Turn for Grond to get in a 
  couple of extra punches — give 
  him two additional Phases (either 
  shift  his Phases in Segments 3 
  and 9 to 2 and 8, and make the new 
  Phases 4 and 10, or simply choose the 
  two extra Phases randomly). If Grond’s two extra 
  arms are somehow disabled, or he uses them to Grab 
  a target, he can’t use this power.
  Campaign Use:  Grond is a “cannon fodder” villain, 
  intended simply to give the PCs a tough ﬁ ght. In the 
  event he can’t, you can increase his power by 
  giving him Damage Reduction (and perhaps 
  Hardening his PD and ED) (on the other 
  hand, if he’s too tough for your game, reduce 
  his STR, CON, and defenses until he’s at a 
  proper level of power). However, a clever GM 
  might weave some interesting stories around 
  Grond — make him a monster deserving of 
  sympathy and help, rather than simply a force 
  of nature for the PCs to defeat and restrain. Treated 
  properly, and with increased INT and EGO, it’s even 
  possible Grond could one day become a hero.
  Grond does not Hunt anyone; he lacks the intel-
  lect to think in an extended fashion that way. Once an 
  annoyance is out of his sight, it’s out of his mind.
  Grond receives fewer points for his Social 
  Limitation (Public Identity) than normal, because 
  he’s a full-time (and mindless) supervillain. Th e fact 
  that it’s easy to ﬁ nd out his real name doesn’t usu-
  ally inconvenience him much.
  Appearance:  Grond is a huge, green-skinned 
  human; he stands twelve feet tall, and weighs a 
  metric ton. What’s even more distinctive is that he 
  has four massively-muscled arms, with only four 
  ﬁ ngers on each hand. He has no visible outer ear, 
  and two white horns (one large, one small) jut from 
  his forehead. To some people, his appearance is 
  vaguely reptilian. His costume is nothing more than 
  a pair of navy blue pants.
  
  156 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  HERCULAN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   20 BODY 20 
  12-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV: 5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack: 3d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   15 PD 
  7 
   
  Total:  21 PD (6 rPD)
   15 ED 
  9 
   
  Total:  21 ED (6 rED)
   6 SPD 
  26 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   14 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  0
   55 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  199
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  10”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  45 
  Metabolism Leeching:  Multipower, 
  45-point reserve
  4u 
  1)  Strength Leeching:  Transfer 3d6 
  (target’s STR to Herculan’s STR) 
  4
  4u 
  2)  Agility Leeching:  Transfer 3d6 
  (target’s DEX to Herculan’s DEX) 
  4
  4u 
  3)  Stamina Leeching:  Transfer 3d6 
  (target’s STUN to Herculan’s STUN) 
  4
  41 
  Modiﬁ ed Fassai Space Armor:  Multipower, 
  62-point reserve, all OIF (-½)
  4u 
  1)  Gauntlet Blazer:  EB 10d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  2
  4u 
  2)  Blinding Pulse:  Sight, Hearing, And 
  Radio Group Flash 10d6; OIF (-½) 
  6
  2u 
  3)  Jetpack:  Flight 10”, x4 Noncombat, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  OIF (-½) 
  1
  12 
  Modiﬁ ed Fassai Space Armor:  Armor 
  (6 PD/6 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  4 
  Modiﬁ ed Fassai Space Armor:  Life Support 
  (Safe Environments:  High Radiation, 
  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/Vacuum); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Fassai Eyes:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 with Punch
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  1 
  Language:  English (basic conversation; 
  Fassai is native)
  1 
  AK: Malva 8-
  2 
  KS: Earth’s Superhumans 11-
  2 
  Navigation (Space) 13-
  2 
  PS: Gladiator 11-
  2 
  PS: Fassai Military Commander 11-
  3 
  Tactics 13-
  2 
  TF: Science Fiction And Space Vehicles
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  151
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  30 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Knows Little Of Earth 
  Culture (Frequently, Slightly)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fassai Code Of 
  Honor (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overly Aggressive; 
  Can’t Show Weakness, Refuse A Challenge, 
  Or Accept Defeat (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hunting Ironclad 
  (Uncommon, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Tren 
  Tarrec Dazeur of the Fassai) (Frequently, 
  Major)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Mental Powers 
  (Very Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Far from Earth, on the other 
  side of the Milky Way’s galactic core, lies the 
  Velarian Confederation, a union of several species 
  and dozens of inhabited worlds. By the time of 
  Earth’s late twentieth century, the once-peaceful 
  Confederation was wracked by interstellar civil 
  war. Two species, the Renghadi and the Fassai, 
  were ﬁ ghting with three other species for political 
  and economic control of the Confederation.
  Unfortunately, the war was not going well for 
  the allies. To make up for their losses of ships and 
  men, the Hundred Houses of the Fassai embarked 
  on a program of genetic mutation to create super-
  powered soldiers. Each House agreed to volunteer 
  one of its children for the program, so that their 
  sacriﬁ ce would inspire the people to ﬁ ght harder.
  House Dazeur, a proud and ancient family 
  fallen on hard times in recent centuries, chose 
  Tren Tarrec, fourth son of the Dazeur patriarch. A 
  computer scientist by profession, Tren Tarrec had 
  no interest in becoming a soldier, but his honor 
  and obligation to his family dictated that he obey 
  without question.
  He reported to the United Fassai Army 
  Medical Complex and was sent to a lab. Th e tech-
  nicians strapped him down, injected him with 
  certain chemicals, bathed him with special muta-
  tive rays, and sat back to watch the results. Within 
  three hours, Tarrec’s muscle mass had increased 
  exponentially, and he’d developed the power to 
  leech an enemy’s strength, agility, or stamina into 
  his own body! Christened Du’sai Gett’ta (roughly, 
  “Sergeant Strength”), Tarrec was given a costume 
  and sent to the front.
  One taste of battle was all Tren Tarrec 
  needed. Terriﬁ ed by the sounds of blaster ﬁ re, 
  the screams of the wounded, and the thunder of 
  artillery, he ran to an escape capsule, punched in 
  a random direction code, and left  the Velarian 
  Confederation behind forever as he drift ed oﬀ  
  into cold sleep.
  Years later, he awakened to ﬁ nd that his 
  journey had brought him into what was once the 
  territory of the Malvan Empire, but was now a 
  HERCULAN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Brainchild gets in touch, 
  and claims he can build 
  Herculan a new star-
  ship... in exchange, of 
  course, for Herculan 
  performing a few 
  “favors” for him. Does 
  Herculan really want to 
  go home? Is it worth the 
  trade? If it is, what does 
  Brainchild have in mind, 
  and can he really build a 
  starship?
  Long-term exposure 
  to Earth’s pollutants 
  is starting to sicken 
  Herculan. He kidnaps 
  some prominent xeno-
  biologists from L’Institut 
  Th oth and forces them 
  to work on a cure. Can 
  the PCs ﬁ nd them and 
  rescue the hostages? 
  Will the hostages even 
  want to be “rescued”?
  A sleazy ﬁ ght promoter 
  tries to arrange a tele-
  vised battle between 
  Ironclad and Herculan. 
  But what happens if 
  they both decide to 
  accept the oﬀ er?
  
  157 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  lawless hinterland — the Malvans had long ago 
  abandoned their empire to devote themselves to 
  hedonistic pursuits. Tarrec soon learned one of 
  these “pursuits” was watching gladiatorial com-
  bats... and that superpowered gladiators were in 
  great demand.
  Th e battleﬁ eld was frightening, but with his 
  powers, Tarrec had no diﬃ  culty participating in 
  one-on-one duels against other superpowered 
  foes. Before long he was one of the most popular 
  of the combatants, with only the Dorvalan metal-
  man, Drogen Lar, and the ﬁ re-wielding Malvan, 
  Ariax Th one, to rival him. Tarrec grew 
  to hate them both, particularly Lar, 
  who handed him several humiliating 
  defeats. Still, these were good times.
  But good times always come 
  to an end. As the years passed, the 
  gladiatorial battles became 
  bloodier and bloodier, as the 
  Phazor of Malva demanded 
  greater spectacle. Tarrec 
  became disgusted; he 
  may have abandoned his 
  honor to ﬂ ee his home-
  land, but this was not for 
  him. He could tell that 
  his rivals felt the same 
  way.
  It was not long aft er-
  ward that Drogen Lar stole 
  a Malvan starcraft  and escaped 
  from the Phazor’s clutches. 
  Realizing that if Lar could 
  do it, he could, too — and 
  unwilling to let his hated 
  rival leave him behind 
  — Tarrec formulated 
  his own plan. Late one 
  night he overpowered 
  some guards, then 
  used their security 
  passes to get into a 
  restricted area and 
  steal a starship. Th e 
  Malvan security 
  grid tried to stop him, damaging his ship in the 
  process, but he escaped.  Programming his ship to 
  follow Lar’s energy wake, he found himself hur-
  tling across the galaxy at speeds far greater than 
  any Fassai had ever attained before.
  As he approached the end of Lar’s journey 
  — a blue-green planet its inhabitants called Earth 
  — he discovered to his horror that the damage 
  from the Malvan attack was more serious than 
  he’d thought. He was going to crash! It took all 
  his strength, agility, and luck to land the one-man 
  scout ship without destroying it or injuring him-
  self.
  With proper military discipline, the ﬁ rst 
  thing he did was go look for the replacement 
  parts he’d need to ﬁ x his ship. All he got was 
  stares of disbelief and terror; people on this 
  world weren’t used to seeing aliens. Nor was their 
  technology advanced enough for him to use. He 
  returned to where he’d left  his ship, only to ﬁ nd 
  a group of these primitive natives demolishing it 
  — apparently they thought it was part of an “alien 
  invasion” or something.
  Angered to see them destroying his one 
  way oﬀ  this planet, he struck one of them. To his 
  dismay, they proved as fragile as they were stupid; 
  he nearly killed the man. Soon the newspapers 
  and television reporters were talking about “hos-
  tile aliens,” and somehow his strength earned him 
  the nickname “Herculan” (whatever that meant).
  Well, so be it! No one insults a Fassai 
  of House Dazeur! If that’s how they were 
  going to treat him, he’d show them what 
  an “alien invasion” was like — and in the 
  process show Drogen Lar who was 
  truly the better warrior.
  Personality/Motivation:  Aggres-
  sive, touchy, and hostile, Herculan 
  is quick to take oﬀ ense at sup-
  posed insults and resort to force 
  whenever he perceives a “chal-
  lenge” of any sort. Th e truth 
  is, though, that he’s angry 
  at himself more than the 
  world. He ran from his 
  family and his obligations 
  because of his cowardice, 
  and he just can’t con-
  sciously face up to that dis-
  grace. His criminal career results 
  from too much bravado, a 
  refusal to look “weak,” and 
  an unwillingness to ever 
  accept defeat gracefully 
  — all of which make him 
  easy to manipulate.
  Th e fact that Her-
  culan holds Humans 
  in such low regard 
  doesn’t help matters. 
  His ﬁ rst contact 
  with them did not 
  exactly go well, and 
  further interaction hasn’t improved his opinion of 
  the “barbarians.” He ﬁ nds their primitive conduct 
  faintly ridiculous (at best) or suicidal (at worst) 
  — things like smoking, professional sports, and 
  movies don’t make much sense to him. He some-
  times entertains hopes of enlightening these poor, 
  dim-witted fools.
  Herculan tries to follow the traditional Fassai 
  code of honor, which dictates that he must not 
  settle for anything less than the best he deserves. 
  Th at means he’s always striving to prove himself 
  as a warrior, so he can feel he “earned” whatever it 
  is he feels like stealing (or the money an employer 
  pays him). If does not believe he’s earned his 
  reward, he won’t take it. Furthermore, Fassai war-
  riors do not kill their enemies, unless the enemy 
  refuses an oﬀ er to surrender, so Herculan is will-
  ing to accept requests for mercy, and expects his 
  (should he ever have to make one) to be honored 
  as well.
  
  158 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Quote:  “Even barbarians such as you must be 
  fought honorably.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Herculan is a mutated alien with 
  three distinct sets of powers. Th e ﬁ rst are his gen-
  erally enhanced Characteristics; he’s much stron-
  ger, faster, and tougher than the average Human 
  (or Fassai). Second, he can, by touching another 
  person, cause the victim’s strength, stamina, or 
  agility to transfer to him (thus increasing his STR, 
  DEX, or STUN). Th ird, he wears a suit of Fassai 
  Space Armor, which Fassai technologists modiﬁ ed 
  to draw oﬀ  his own personal energy instead of a 
  built-in battery. Th e suit allows him to ﬂ y, ﬁ re force-
  blasts, or project a multi-spectral “blinding pulse.”
  His military training and years of gladiatorial 
  experience make Herculan a cagey, eﬀ ective com-
  batant. He prefers to ﬁ ght hand-to-hand, using his 
  Strength to punch and crush. He uses his Strength 
  Leeching against other “bricks,” his Agility Leeching 
  against martial artists and energy projectors, and 
  his Stamina Leeching against just about anyone. A 
  Grab, followed by Strength or Stamina Leeching, is 
  a favorite tactic.
  Like all Fassai, Herculan’s mind is unusually 
  susceptible to the eﬀ ects of Mental Powers. He’s 
  well aware of this problem, and tries to hide from 
  or avoid mentalist foes.
  Campaign Use:  Herculan makes a good mercenary 
  villain or villain team member. It shouldn’t be too 
  diﬃ  cult for a clever villain to ﬁ nd a way to play on 
  Herculan’s honor or other emotions to get him to 
  follow a particular course of action. Additionally, 
  Herculan can tie in to many plots or story ideas 
  involving aliens; maybe he wants to ﬁ nd a ship he 
  can use to get home, or the Fassai somehow track 
  him down.
  If Herculan isn’t tough enough to challenge 
  your PCs, increase his STR or the number of dice 
  in his Transfer. You might even consider making 
  the Transfer a Ranged attack. If he’s too tough, get 
  rid of his Modiﬁ ed Fassai Space Armor Multipower, 
  and maybe reduce his Transfers to 2d6 each.
  Herculan Hunts Ironclad, hoping to one day 
  defeat his old enemy once and for all. He doesn’t 
  Hunt anyone else; Ironclad takes up all of his focus.
  Appearance:  Herculan is a Fassai, a humanoid spe-
  cies with dark skin, noted for the furrowed ridges 
  and relative lack of hair on their heads. He wears a 
  black and grey suit of modiﬁ ed Fassai space armor 
  with prominent blasters and jetpack.
  Professional Rivalry?
  ‘Yes, I remember “Herculan,” or 
  Tren Tarrec Dazeur, as I knew 
  him. He belongs to a spe-
  cies called the Fassai that my 
  people have never heard of or had contact 
  with; I’m not even sure they have FTL travel 
  capability. I don’t know much about them; 
  Dazeur and I didn’t exactly talk about things 
  like that.
  ‘In fact, we usually didn’t talk much at all; 
  we only interacted in the Malvan arena. Even 
  back then, he was powerful; his leeching 
  powers made it difﬁ cult to come to grips with 
  him, much less defeat him. The longer the 
  ﬁ ght lasts, the better he gets and the worse 
  you get; eventually, the balance tips and he 
  wins. The best way to beat him, I found, was 
  to goad him into attacking too quickly too 
  soon, and then try to ﬁ nish him off while he’s 
  still relatively weak. His natural strength and 
  speed make that difﬁ cult, but it’s better than 
  the alternative.
  ‘Dazeur was one of the Phazor’s great favor-
  ites. I got the idea the Phazor saw him as 
  some sort of half-bestial proto-Malvan, like 
  what his people were hundreds of thousands 
  or millions of years ago. Dazeur was his 
  “noble savage,” as I believe you Humans put 
  it.’
  — Ironclad of the Champions
  SUPER-GLADIATORS OF MALVA
  Page 147 describes the gladiators who ﬁ ght in the Malvan 
  arenas, including a few who, like Herculan, have super-
  powers. Some of the most prominent of these superhu-
  man warriors (with stage names translated into English, if 
  appropriate) include:
  Dr’zheem:  An alien of unknown species, with multiple 
  tentacle-like arms and a ﬂ exible, stretchable body. Even 
  the strongest gladiators ﬁ nd it diﬃ  cult to get a grip on 
  him... or to escape his grasp.
  Frostbite:  A mutant Malvan with ice powers. Frostbite 
  was once a great rival of Ariax Th one, given the dia-
  metrically-opposed nature of their abilities, but Firewing 
  dwarfs him in power.
  Jaa’lu Darkmaw:  An Ackálian with the ability to assume 
  various bestial and half-bestial forms. Strong and swift , 
  his powers allow him to adapt his ﬁ ghting style to diﬀ er-
  ent opponents.
  Malachite:  A super-strong alien made of green rock. 
  Although a favorite of the crowds due to his general bon-
  homie, he loses as oft en as he wins.
  Shomak:  An alien of unknown species who claims that 
  his powers of invisibility and befuddlement derive from 
  his mastery of occult lore.
  Steelhand:  A Toractan with metal-control powers, able 
  to sheath himself in super-dense metal, instantly form 
  blades and clubs to hit his opponent with, and so forth.
  Terala Shain:  One of the few female super-gladiators. 
  Although not truly super-strong, she’s much stronger 
  than her fellow Malvans, deadly accurate with her 
  punches and kicks, and at times blindingly fast.
  Whirlwind:  A mentalist/psychokinetic with powers 
  that can only aﬀ ect his body and people he touches, 
  renowned for his ability to “whirl” himself and hurl his 
  opponents across the arena.
  
  159 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  HOLOCAUST
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   27 DEX 
  51 
  14- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   23 INT 
  13 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   30 PD 
  22 
   
  Total:  32 PD (18 rPD)
   30 ED 
  24 
   
  Total:  32 ED (18 rED)
   8 SPD 
  43 
   
  Phases:  2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
   20 REC 
  12
   100 END 
  20
   70 STUN 15 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  332
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Flight: 
  30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  100 
  Eyebeams:  Multipower, 100-point reserve
  10u 
  1)  Power-beams:  Energy Blast 20d6 
  10
  9u 
  2)  Basic Eyebeams:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  9u 
  3)  Focused Eyebeams:  Energy Blast 12d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½) 
  9
  7u 
  4)  Cone Eyebeam:  Energy Blast 10d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (11” Cone; +1); No Range (-½) 
  10
  9u 
  5)  Homing Eyebeams:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Indirect (always originates with character, 
  but can attack from any angle; +½), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  30 
  Telekinetic Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  30 
  1)  Kinetic Manipulation:  Telekinesis 
  (40 STR) 
  6
  60 
  2)  Telekinetic Flight:  Flight 30”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  11 
  Spiked Gauntlets:  HKA 1d6, Armor 
  Piercing (+½); OIF (-½), No STR 
  Bonus (-½) 
  0
  60 
  Energy Conversion:  Variable Power Pool 
  (Absorption Pool), 50 base + 25 control 
  cost; Only For Absorption (-1½) 
  0
  16 
  Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (16 PD/16 ED) 
  0
  60 
  Energy Control:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% 
  0
  4 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (2 PD/2 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Swift  Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  42 
  All-Sense:  Detect Physical Objects 
  and Energy 14- (no Sense Group), 
  Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees), Range, Sense, 
  Targeting 
  0
   
  Perks
  32 
  Contacts:  various, in American government 
  and high society
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
   
  Skills
  15 
  +5 with Eyebeams Multipower
  6 
  +3 with Flight
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Conversation 15-
  3 
  High Society 15-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  2 
  CK: Washington, D.C. 11-
  2 
  KS: American Politics 11-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 14-
  3 
  Oratory 15-
  3 
  Persuasion 15-
  3 
  Riding 14-
  3 
  Seduction 15-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  4 
  TF: Large Motorized Boats, SCUBA, Snow-
  mobiles, Snow Skiing
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  568
  Total Cost:  900
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Enraged:  by insults, sarcasm, or not being 
  taken seriously (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/
  Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Megalomaniac; 
  Determined To Rule Th e World (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Casual Killer 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Geoﬀ rey 
  Haganstone) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Unluck 2d6
  565 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  900
  Background/History:  Geoﬀ rey Haganstone was born 
  to power — in more ways than one.
  Th e son of Senator Albert Haganstone of 
  Pennsylvania and his socialite wife Clarice, Geof-
  frey was a precocious child, far more intelligent and 
  active than his years would indicate. Born into a 
  family of wealth and privilege, he lacked for noth-
  ing; many people predicted he would succeed to his 
  father’s Senate seat one day.
  When he was a teenager, Geoﬀ rey manifested 
  mutant powers — the ability to control and project 
  energy. Concerned about “scandal,” the Haganstone 
  family kept his superpowers secret, thus allowing 
  him to develop his abilities without hindrance.
  By the time he ﬁ nished college, Geoﬀ rey’s 
  combination of power, privilege, and wealth had 
  combined to make him haughty and condescend-
  ing. He realized he, and he alone, was ﬁ t to lead the 
  peoples of the world — and with his abilities, he 
  could conquer them. Th e thought of ruling Earth 
  soon came to obsess him, but he knew even he, by 
  himself, would ﬁ nd it hard to conquer humanity if 
  HOLOCAUST 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Holocaust steals some 
  biological weapons from 
  the stockpiles of the 
  former Soviet Union, 
  and threatens to attack 
  Millennium City with 
  them if the President 
  does not turn control 
  of America over to him. 
  Th e PCs have to track 
  him down and stop 
  him... without damaging 
  any of the germ can-
  nisters.
  Holocaust walks into 
  the main generator for 
  Millennium City and 
  begins absorbing energy. 
  When he’s reached his 
  maximum, he departs, 
  seething with power, to 
  destroy the PCs’ head-
  quarters and kill them 
  all.
  Holocaust and Gravi-
  tar have a brief aﬀ air. 
  Th ey’re frightening 
  enough as a couple, but 
  the breakup is worse 
  — since they take their 
  anger out on each other 
  by battling in the middle 
  of New York City. Th e 
  PCs have to stop this 
  “lover’s spat.”
  
  160 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  people did not fear him. Only through fear could 
  his lessers learn the obedience and discipline they 
  so badly needed.
  Fashioning a costume and choosing a name 
  — Holocaust — designed to inspire fear, Geoﬀ rey 
  started his supervillain career by attacking the 
  Empire State Building in 1983. Th e Justice Squad-
  ron defeated him, but only barely, and he escaped 
  at the last minute. He has tried to destroy major 
  landmarks and institutions, or conquer the world, 
  many times, never succeeding — but never being 
  captured, either. He’s convinced it’s only a matter of 
  time before he ﬁ nds a way to triumph.
  Personality/Motivation:  Holocaust is an overween-
  ing megalomaniac, arrogantly certain he’s superior 
  to everyone else on Earth and destined to rule the 
  planet. He has so little regard for his “future sub-
  jects” that he’ll kill them for the slightest reason 
  — defying him, not obeying him fast enough, spill-
  ing his coﬀ ee. His lack of restraint has caused him 
  problems in the past (it’s hard to get information 
  from a dead person, for example), and undoubtedly 
  will again in the future.
  Despite his general attitude, Holocaust does 
  feel some stirrings of noblesse oblige. One of the 
  easiest ways to manipulate him is to appeal to his 
  “honor” or his “concern for your people.” Th at 
  doesn’t always work, but sometimes he falls for it.
  Quote:  “On your knees! I intend to rule this world, 
  and those who obey me will 
  ﬁ nd themselves rewarded. 
  Th ose who do not will be 
  punished.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Holocaust 
  is a mutant with extensive 
  energy control powers. In 
  addition to projecting pow-
  erful force-bolts from his 
  eyes, he can move objects 
  telekinetically, absorb 
  any type of force 
  and convert it to 
  enhance any 
  of his abili-
  ties (his 
  Energy 
  Conversion VPP), diminish the energy of attacks 
  against him, or ﬂ y.
  In combat, Holocaust relies on his Eyebeams. 
  His Homing Eyebeams allow him to alter the direc-
  tion of the energy so it arcs around to attack an 
  enemy from behind, turns corners to hit someone 
  trying to hide behind cover, and so forth. He’ll 
  set his Energy Conversion VPP to work oﬀ  of his 
  enemies’ most common type of attack, and usually 
  have it feed into his STR, STUN, or Eyebeams.
  Because he uses END so quickly, due to his 
  high SPD, Holocaust oft en takes Recoveries during 
  a Turn (particularly on his Phases in Segments 9 
  and 11). If he expects a long ﬁ ght, he may use his 
  Absorption to feed his END, too (half to END, half 
  to STUN is a favorite combination).
  Campaign Use:  Holocaust is a master villain of the 
  second water. He lacks the Skills and true power to 
  conquer the world on his own, though he’s deter-
  mined to keep trying. He oft en hires other villains 
  to help him carry out his plans and provide combat 
  support. He should be able to stand against the PCs 
  by himself for at least a few Phases, if not an entire 
  combat.
  Making Holocaust more powerful is easy. 
  All you have to do is think of other ways he could 
  “control energy,” and then give him the appropri-
  ate powers. A large Variable Power Pool for Energy 
  Control eﬀ ects wouldn’t even be out of the ques-
  tion. If you want to make him weaker, reduce the 
  Active Points in his Multipower reserve to 90 or 
  75, give him a single type of Absorption (with the 
  Varying Eﬀ ect Advantage), decrease or remove his 
  Telekinesis, and reduce his SPD to 6.
  Holocaust readily Hunts heroes. It takes little 
  to anger him to the point where he considers a 
  particular hero (or team) an enemy ﬁ t only to be 
  destroyed. He’ll launch schemes of world conquest 
  speciﬁ cally arranged to attract his enemy’s atten-
  tion, then ambush him while he tries to stop the 
  plan.
  Appearance:  Holocaust’s costume is a red bodysuit, 
  with purple boots, trunks, gloves, and gorget that 
  also have a scale motif to them. His belt is gold, and 
  there are gold patches on the inner wrists of his 
  gloves. Spikes on the knuckles of his gloves make 
  his punches deadlier than normal. He covers his 
  head with a purple helmet that has a lightning bolt-
  like yellow design on top, and a green eyebar from 
  which he projects his Eyebeams. Th e helmet leaves 
  his mouth exposed. He also wears a purple cape.
  Geoﬀ rey Haganstone is a handsome, athletic 
  man in his 30s, with a winning smile and somewhat 
  arrogant demeanor. He’s well-known on the Ameri-
  can social circuit.
  
  161 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  HORNET
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   22 DEX 
  36 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   14 BODY 8 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   15 PD 
  9 
  Total:  15 PD (5 rPD)
   12 ED 
  7 
  Total:  12 ED (5 rED)
   5 SPD 
  18 
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   11 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   41 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  145
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Insect Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  30 
  1)  Sting:  Drain STUN 6d6 
  6
  30 
  2)  Sting Blast:  Energy Blast 12d6 
  6
  20 
  3)  Wings:  Flight 20”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Restrainable (-½) 
  0
  30 
  4)  Insect Size:  Shrinking (.032 m tall 
  [about 1 inch], .0004 kg mass, -12 to PER 
  Rolls to perceive character, +12 DCV, 
  takes +18” KB) 
  6
  5 
  Exoskeletal Skin:  Damage Resistance 
  (5 PD/5 ED) 
  0
  5 
  Multifaceted Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  10 
  Multifaceted Eyes:  Increased Arc Of 
  Perception (360 Degrees) for Sight Group 0
  10 
  Wallcrawling:  Clinging (normal STR) 
  0
   
  Talents
  22 
  Insect Senses:  Danger Sense (self only, out of 
  combat, Sense) 13-
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 with Sting
  3 
  SS: Biology 12-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry 12-
  3 
  SS: Entomology 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  205
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Enraged:  in combat (Common), go 11-, 
  recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted: UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted: VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted: Th underbird 8- (As Pow, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Constant Bit-
  terness; Feels Th e World Owes Him (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of 
  Humanity (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Gerald 
  Byrne) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Unluck 2d6
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Chemicals/
  Poisons/Drugs (Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Aft er watching his mother die 
  slowly of cancer, Gerald Byrne was determined to 
  ﬁ nd some way to keep that sort of tragedy from 
  aﬀ ecting others. He began to study medicine, but 
  an interest in entomology eventually sidetracked 
  him into becoming a research biologist instead of a 
  doctor.
  One day, he heard about a tribe of Indians in the 
  Amazon Jungle that suﬀ ered from almost no diseases 
  because of their diet, which included several types of 
  unusual insects. Intrigued, and thinking perhaps he 
  might yet ﬁ nd the cure for cancer he’d always sought, 
  Byrne journeyed deep into Amazon to ﬁ nd this tribe 
  and learn if the rumors were true.
  Before he encountered the tribe, he came to a 
  strange clearing in the jungle, ﬁ lled with mounds that 
  looked like crosses between the nests of wasps and 
  termites. Intrigued, he investigated, only to arouse the 
  inhabitants. A bizarre form of ﬂ ying insect, unlike 
  anything he’d ever seen before, swarmed out of the 
  mounds and began stinging him. Crazed with pain 
  and fear, he ran until he came to a spring, then dove 
  in and remained submerged until the bugs ﬂ ew away.
  By the time he crawled out of the spring, he 
  was already feeling ill. Th e next several days were a 
  blur of pain and misery. Finally, his symptoms began 
  to subside, and with them much of his humanity 
  ebbed away as well. Somehow the insects’ venom had 
  transformed Byrne into a man-insect hybrid. He no 
  longer felt sympathy or compassion; now he regret-
  ted all his attempts to help others, and decided the 
  world owed him for all his eﬀ orts.
  Returning to civilization, he became the Hornet, 
  a fearsome costumed criminal. He worked with 
  VIPER for a while, but eventually left ; now VIPER 
  wants him back so it can experiment on him and 
  perhaps ﬁ nd a way to give its agents some of his 
  powers.
  Personality/Motivation:  Hornet is ﬁ lled with a bit-
  terness, hatred, and rage whose causes he can’t fully 
  articulate (primarily because they come from his 
  half-insect nature, not any legitimate grievance). He 
  feels he’s been taken advantage of and abused, and 
  that he’s entitled to hurt people and steal to make 
  up for it. He doesn’t take any responsibility for bad 
  things that happen to him, or even just shrug them 
  oﬀ  as unlucky breaks; he ﬁ nds a way to blame some-
  one for his every misfortune.
  At times (particularly in battle), Hornet’s general 
  loathing for humanity takes control of him, making 
  him lash out with his most powerful attacks. Once or 
  twice he’s ruined an employer’s plans by succumbing 
  to these impulses, giving him a poor reputation in 
  the supervillain community.
  Quote:  “Not bugging you, am I?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Ordinarily, Gerald Byrne looks like 
  HORNET 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Hornet creates a swarm 
  of giant, mutant wasps 
  (see the HERO System 
  Bestiary, page 92). He 
  plans to loot the city’s 
  banks while the heroes 
  are busy dealing with his 
  “pets.”
  Hornet kidnaps several 
  people, mutates them 
  with an extraction of 
  the insect venom that 
  gave him his powers, 
  and forms them into 
  the Swarm, a supervil-
  lain team under his 
  leadership. Now he can 
  take over the world and 
  transform everyone into 
  bug-men!
  People killed by Hornet’s 
  stings begin to “return 
  to life” as horrible half-
  man, half-insect zom-
  bies. Th e only way for 
  the PCs to stop them is 
  to develop a “counter-
  agent” from Hornet’s 
  own blood. But where 
  is he?
  
  162 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  an ordinary person. When he activates his power, 
  he unleashes his “insect nature” and becomes a half-
  human, half-insect hybrid. His skin becomes hard 
  and chitinous, his eyes bulge out and become mul-
  tifaceted, and wings sprout from his shoulderblades. 
  As the Hornet, he can ﬂ y, shrink down to insect size, 
  and “sting” his enemies by touch or from a distance. 
  His other insectile powers include the ability to see 
  all around him, detect minute changes in air pat-
  terns which alert him to danger, and cling to walls 
  and ceilings. Unfortunately, his altered metabolism 
  is much more susceptible to chemical weapons, 
  including drugs and poisons, than a normal 
  human’s.
  Hornet prefers to remain in the air 
  during combat and attack with his 
  Sting Blast; he’ll only get close 
  to his enemies if he has to 
  use his Sting. He usually 
  activates his Shrinking 
  as well, though he has to 
  be careful because it’s 
  pretty END-intensive 
  in combination with his 
  attacks. If ﬁ ghting in a 
  group, he keeps an eye on 
  the entire battleﬁ eld with 
  his 360 Degree vision, and alerts 
  his teammates to potential surprise 
  attacks.
  Campaign Use:  Th e Hornet is a useful 
  mercenary villain for some scenarios, 
  but can also serve as the main villain of 
  a story if you give him the resources 
  he needs to take on an entire team 
  (like a horde of giant insects). Th is 
  Hornet is not related in any way 
  to the Hornet, the infamous 
  superhero active in New York 
  City during the 1960s and 
  ’70s, but you could design 
  a scenario that exploits any 
  confusion about the two of 
  them.
  To make the Hornet 
  more powerful, give him more 
  insect powers:  stings with deadly venom (RKA, 
  NND, Does BODY, No Range), the ability to spit 
  or spin sticky goo (Entangle), powers derived from 
  stink bugs or bombardier beetles, and so forth. In 
  time, he may become more and more insect-like, 
  eventually losing the ability to return to normal 
  human form at all. If he’s too strong for your game, 
  reduce the Active Points in his Multipower reserve 
  (or at least some of the slots) and get rid of his 
  Danger Sense.
  Appearance:  Th e Hornet wears a costume patterned 
  aft er his namesake. It’s a yellow-gold bodysuit, but 
  at about the sternum the gold ends in an upward-
  pointing chevron shape, and the upper chest, shoul-
  ders, and arms are black. Th e boots are black, and 
  the gloves yellow-gold. He wears no mask, his hair 
  is a buzz cut, and his eyes are bulging, multi-faceted 
  insect type eyes.
  HOWLER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift  150 kg; 2½d6 [1]
   26 DEX 
  48 
  14- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   13 EGO 
  6 
  12- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   7 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  27 PD (20 rPD)
   7 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  27 ED (20 rED)
   5 SPD 
  14 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  121
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Sonic Powers:  Elemental Control, 60-point 
  powers; all OIF (amulet; -½)
  20 
  1)  Sonic Scream I:  Energy Blast 12d6; 
  OIF (-½) 
  6
  47 
  2)  Sonic Scream II:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Variable Advantage (+½ Advantages; +1); 
  OIF (-½) 
  var
  40 
  3)  Sonic Scream III:  Energy Blast 6d6, 
  Variable Advantage (+1 Advantages; +2); 
  OIF (-½) 
  var
  22 
  4)  Deafening Scream:  Hearing Group 
  Flash 14d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  20 
  5)  Sonic Screen:  Force Field (20 PD/
  20 ED), Hardened (+¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  2
  20 
  6)  Riding Th e Soundwaves:  Flight 20”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  32 
  Pump Up Th e Volume:  Absorption 4d6 
  (energy), all Sonic powers simultaneously 
  (+2), Delayed Return Rate (points fade at 
  the rate of 5 per Minute; +¼); OIF (amulet; 
  -½), Limited Phenomena (sonics only; -½) 
  0
  30 
  Sonic Immunity:  Energy Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 75%; OIF (amulet; 
  -½), Only Works Against Sonics (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Enhanced Hearing:  Ultrasonic Hearing 
  (Hearing Group) 
  0
  6 
  Enhanced Hearing:  +3 PER with Hearing 
  Group 
  0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Perfect Pitch
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Sonic Powers EC Attacks
  5 
  Mimicry 13-
  2 
  AK: Africa 11-
  2 
  AK: Th e Middle East 11-
  2 
  AK: Millennium City University 11-
  4 
  KS: Ancient History 13-
  
  163 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  KS: Th e Archaeological World 12-
  2 
  PS: Archaeologist 11-
  2 
  PS: Professor 11-
  3 
  PS: Singing 13-
  2 
  SS: Archaeology 11-
  2 
  SS: Sonics 11-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  5 
  Ventriloquism 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  306
  Total Cost:  427
  200+ Disadvantages
  40 
  Dependence:  must 
  remain in contact 
  with her amulet or 
  take 2d6 damage 
  per Turn (Uncom-
  mon)
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  
  sultry voice (Easily 
  Concealable, Noticed And 
  Recognizable)
  20 
  Hunted:  Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Supersti-
  tious (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Xenopho-
  bia; Fears Aliens Will Try To Take 
  Amulet Away (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with another 
  archaeologist)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity 
  (Susan Sonderheim) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Electricity 
  (Common)
  52 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  427
  Background/History:  In 1991, Susan Sonderheim was 
  an archaeologist working on a dig in the African 
  jungle, where a survey team had found the remains of 
  some interesting structures that didn’t seem to ﬁ t any 
  other known civilization native to that region. While 
  working on an outlying mound by herself, she heard 
  a loud noise — almost like a machine — oﬀ  in the 
  jungle. Curious, she left  her worksite to see what was 
  causing the disturbance.
  She crept up through the jungle and came upon a 
  most intriguing scene. A group of men, being led by a 
  tall, strong-looking man carrying a riﬂ e, were using a 
  diesel crane to move a strange object. At ﬁ rst she took 
  it for some sort of airplane, but she soon realized it 
  was actually an alien spaceship! She watched the men 
  work, careful not to reveal her presence, but keeping 
  her eyes open for a way to obtain something from the 
  ship for herself. An alien artifact would be the ﬁ nd of a 
  lifetime. She’d get tenure. She’d get rich!
  Soon her watchfulness paid oﬀ . As the ship was 
  lift ed out of the crater it had made in the jungle, she 
  saw a small object fall from inside. While the men’s 
  attention was focused on getting the ship safely onto 
  a ﬂ atbed truck, she darted out from her hiding place, 
  snatched the object from the ground, and got back 
  behind cover. She stuﬀ ed it in her pocket and snuck 
  away as quietly as she could.
  When she decided she’d gotten away without 
  anyone noticing her, she took the object out of her 
  pocket and looked at it. It was... odd. Deﬁ nitely an 
  amulet or necklace of some sort, she ﬁ gured, but 
  nothing from any Earth culture she’d ever heard of. 
  Intrigued, she unclasped it and put it on.
  As soon as she had it settled around her neck, 
  she felt it tighten and seize onto her. Th e amulet 
  was bonding with her, attaching itself to 
  her ﬂ esh. As she reached to tear it away, a 
  cacophony of images ﬂ ooded into her 
  mind, causing her to clutch her head in 
  pain. Finally the agony in her skull 
  became too much 
  to handle, and she 
  screamed.
  As the scream 
  — the most intense 
  she’d ever uttered — 
  died away, so did the 
  pain. She looked 
  around, and saw 
  that her scream 
  had shattered, 
  and in places 
  almost 
  liquiﬁ ed, 
  a nearby 
  tree. 
  As the 
  amulet 
  contin-
  ued to 
  interact 
  with her 
  mind, she realized it had given her 
  superpowers — she could control sound! She laughed 
  — a throaty, melodic laugh far richer and more vibrant 
  than she’d ever laughed. Th e amulet was hers now, and 
  she wasn’t going to let the aliens, or anyone else, take it.
  Since then, Sonderheim, as Howler, has used her 
  sonic powers to commit crimes. Th ough she still works 
  as a professor to maintain some semblance of a normal 
  life, she’s not the woman she once was. She’s something 
  far, far better.
  Personality/Motivation:  Howler’s once ordinary (if some-
  what self-centered and greedy) personality has been 
  signiﬁ cantly warped by her contact and merging with 
  the Hzeel amulet (a communications system central 
  processing link, normally worn by a starship’s pilot or 
  communications oﬃ  cer). She’s become suspicious and 
  paranoid, especially where aliens (or anyone who looks 
  like he might be an alien) are concerned — xenophobia 
  in the true sense of the word. She’s particularly scared 
  that the aliens, or even someone else, will take the 
  amulet away from her, which would lead to her death 
  (see below). She’s even become extremely superstitious, 
  planning crimes for “lucky days” and cancelling jobs at 
  the least little “dark omen.” She has a skilled astrologer 
  cast a horoscope for her at least once a month.
  HOWLER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Unbeknownst to 
  Howler, every time she 
  uses her powers, she 
  sends signals to the 
  Hzeel homeworld. Even 
  now, a Hzeel raiding 
  ship, protected by stealth 
  technology, is approach-
  ing Earth to kill her and 
  recapture the amulet. 
  Th e heroes have to 
  ﬁ gure out what’s going 
  on when Hzeel hunter-
  seeker teams begin 
  criss-crossing the city to 
  ﬁ nd Howler, and then 
  keep them from starting 
  a battle royale that could 
  kill dozens of innocent 
  people.
  Howler decides that 
  since the number 13 
  is unlucky for normal 
  people, it must be 
  lucky for her. She plans 
  a series of 13 crimes 
  centered around the 
  number 13. Th e heroes 
  have to ﬁ gure out who’s 
  behind this strange 
  crime wave and stop it.
  Howler hears about a 
  strange artifact, simi-
  lar to her amulet, that 
  was recovered from an 
  archaeological dig in 
  Egypt. Is it something 
  that could augment her 
  powers... or another type 
  of device altogether?
  
  164 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Quote:  “Want to hear what pain feels like?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Howler’s sonic powers derive from the 
  alien amulet she wears. Once a part of a Hzeel scout-
  ship’s communications system, it has merged with her 
  Human body and, in the process, granted her the abil-
  ity to project powerful blasts of focused sound, deafen 
  others with an appropriately-tuned scream, protect 
  herself with a sonic force-ﬁ eld, and even use sonic pro-
  jections to propel herself through the air! She can also 
  absorb sonic attacks, thus increasing her own powers, 
  and is virtually immune to damage from such attacks.
  Unfortunately, her powers did not come without a 
  price. Th e Hzeel amulet (which she works into a neck-
  lace to disguise it in her civilian identity) has actually 
  merged with her physically and altered her physiology. 
  Not only would removing the amulet cause her a minor 
  wound (1 BODY), but because she’s become physically 
  dependent upon it, she’ll quickly lapse into a coma and 
  die without it. Th e changes to her biology and the pres-
  ence of the necklace have also made her more vulner-
  able to electricity attacks.
  Unlike Warcry (page 41), whose powers derive 
  from a similar source, but are much more limited, 
  Howler is a versatile combatant, and relies on that ver-
  satility in combat. She’ll usually start out with a straight-
  forward Energy Blast, using her Variable Advantage 
  attacks to switch to NNDs, Armor Piercing or Penetrat-
  ing blasts, and Explosions of focused sound if necessary. 
  She’s been in plenty of super-battles and knows how to 
  handle herself; she won’t react foolishly or hot-headedly 
  unless her paranoia gets the better of her.
  Campaign Use:  Although Howler sometimes forms her 
  own gang, she usually works best as part of a more pow-
  erful villain’s team of henchmen. Th e trick to recruiting 
  her is overcoming her paranoia and xenophobia. Th at 
  in itself could make for an interesting plot development 
  point. Her connection to the Hzeel also provides fodder 
  for scenarios; she might switch sides and become a 
  hero for a while to stop Hzeel invaders or prevent other 
  “aliens” from taking her amulet.
  To make Howler more powerful, increase the 
  points in her Elemental Control slots, making each one 
  75 or 90 Active Points, or even replace the EC with a 
  Variable Power Pool. You could also add slots, perhaps 
  drawing upon Warcry’s powers for inspiration. To 
  weaken her, get rid of her Flight and Absorption, and 
  decrease most of her attack abilities to 50 Active Points.
  Howler won’t normally get involved with Hunting 
  heroes, but might if she somehow concluded a particu-
  lar hero was out to steal her amulet — she’d get him 
  before he could get her. If so, she’ll attack ruthlessly and 
  oft en (i.e., probably Hunt on at least an 11-).
  Appearance:  Howler is a beautiful woman with long, 
  dark hair and dark eyes. Her costume is dark red; it con-
  sists of a central piece sort of like a strapless one-piece 
  bathing suit, thigh-high boots, and gloves that reach a 
  little more than halfway up her forearms. She also wears 
  a red cloak, clasped at the throat with her alien amulet 
  (which has actually melded with her ﬂ esh, making it 
  diﬃ  cult to remove). She does not wear a mask, and 
  is certain to lose her Secret Identity one of these days 
  when someone recognizes her or she’s captured.
  LADY BLUE
   Val Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   20+7 DEX 30+10# 13-/14- OCV:  7/9/DCV:  7 /9
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11- 
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   6 
  PD 
  4 
  Total:  26 (20 rPD)
   8 
  ED 
  4 
  Total:  28 (20 rED)
   4+1* SPD 10+7* Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12/3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 
  REC 
  4
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 15 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  139
  *:  OIF (battlesuit; -½)
  #:  OIF (as above; -½), No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  40 
  Force Projection System:  Multipower, 
  60-point powers; all OIF (battlesuit; -½)
  4u  
  1)  Power Blast I:  Energy Blast 12d6; 
  OIF (-½) 
  6
  4u  
  2)  Power Blast II:  Energy Blast 8d6, Red-
  uced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½) 
  0
  4u 
  3)  Auto-Blast:  Energy Blast 8d6, Auto-
  ﬁ re (5 shots; +½); OIF (-½) 
  6
  3u 
  4)  Strength Augmentation:  +40 STR, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  OIF (-½) 
  2
   
  Martial Arts:  Generic
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀ ects 
  All Attacks, Abort
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  6d6 Strike
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  4d6 Strike
  3 
  Th row 
  +0 
  +1 
  2d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  55 
  Force Field:  Force Field (20 PD/20 ED/10 
  Sight Group Flash Defense/5 Mental 
  Defense), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (battlesuit; -½) 
  0
  20 
  Magnetic Field Manipulation:  Flight 15”; 
  OIF (battlesuit; -½) 
  3
  6 
  Mask Radio:  Radio Perception/
  Transmission (Radio Group); OIF (-½), 
  Aﬀ ected As Hearing Group As Well As 
  Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  6 
  Reputation:  celebrity supervillainess 
  (among Americans; 11-) +3/+3d6
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Force Projection System Multipower
  8 
  +4 with Flight
  3 
  Acrobatics 13- (14-)
  3 
  Breakfall 13- (14-)
  LADY BLUE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Lady Blue receives 
  a secret EPA report 
  accusing the Wildson 
  Corporation of caus-
  ing excessive cancer 
  rates in Fredericksville, 
  Michigan with illegal 
  pollution. Determined 
  to make Wildson pay, 
  she begins a crime 
  campaign against them, 
  distributing the pro-
  ceeds to the citizens of 
  Fredericksville. But what 
  happens when she, and 
  the PCs, ﬁ nd out one of 
  Wildson’s competitors 
  tricked her with a phony 
  report?
  Lady Blue is sched-
  uled to appear on the 
  nationwide morning 
  talk show, Get Up And 
  Going!, by broadcast-
  ing from a secret loca-
  tion. Will the PCs try 
  to trace the broadcast 
  and arrest her? If not 
  them, how about some 
  supervillains whom 
  she’s angered by robbing 
  them? — and if so, will 
  the PCs arrive in time to 
  save her?
  Holocaust develops a 
  “crush” on Lady Blue 
  and decides she must be 
  his consort. He begins 
  pursuing her — and 
  he won’t take no for an 
  answer. Unable to fend 
  him oﬀ , Lady Blue turns 
  to the PCs for help.
  
  165 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  2 
  KS: Current Events 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  2 
  PS: Public Relations 11-
  3 
  SS: Physics 14-
  3 
  SS: Force Field Physics 14-
  3 
  Stealth 13- (14-)
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  211
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  30 
  Hunted: Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  30 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation: Th rillseeker 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Concerned 
  With Th e Welfare Of Th e Poor And 
  Disadvantaged (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Tara 
  Lemick) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to high-intensity magnetic 
  ﬁ elds or when attacked with magnetic 
  powers while wearing battlesuit, takes 3d6 
  instantly (Uncommon)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Born to an impoverished family 
  living in a poor neighborhood, Tara Lemick never felt 
  neglected or deprived. Her parents didn’t have much 
  money, but they had lots of love to shower on her. 
  Th riving in such a supportive environment, Tara did 
  excellently in school. Even aft er she started working to 
  support the family, she continued to get straight As.
  Tara’s hard work won her a full scholarship to a 
  prestigious university, where she majored in Electronic 
  Engineering. Her specialty was force ﬁ elds, and in her 
  senior year she invented a revolutionary new form of 
  force ﬁ eld technology. At ﬁ rst she considered selling 
  it and making a fortune, but her conscience nagged at 
  her. How would that help people? She was lucky — she 
  had enough smarts and support to get into college and 
  make something of herself. Too many people never 
  had that kind of opportunity.
  Determined to make a diﬀ erence, Tara used her 
  technology to build a skintight “battlesuit” that would 
  allow her to ﬂ y, and even project bolts of energy. Th us 
  armed, she decided the best thing she could do for 
  others was to emulate Robin Hood:  rob from the rich, 
  give to the poor. And that’s what she’s been doing ever 
  since. Beautiful, kindhearted, popular, and careful in 
  her choice of robbery targets, she’s not only distributed 
  millions of stolen dollars to America’s poor, but man-
  aged to do it while maintaining a popularity rating as 
  high, or higher, than most superheroes’.
  Personality/Motivation:  Lady Blue genuinely cares 
  about the poor and disadvantaged, not only in 
  America but elsewhere. Helping them is her primary 
  motivation for committing property crimes. But truth 
  to tell, she also gets a big kick out of it — not just the 
  helping people part, but the action, the excitement, the 
  thrills. Even the ﬁ ghts against superheroes are fun 
  (though sometimes painful), and she takes care 
  not to inﬂ ict any serious harm with her force 
  blasts. She boasts of having never hurt an inno-
  cent person in any of her crimes, and while 
  that’s not entirely true, it’s so close to true that 
  the public believes her. Th at fact, and some of the 
  best criminal defense attorneys available, have 
  kept her out of prison so far.
  Quote:  “If you’re not part of the solu-
  tion, you’re part of the problem. 
  Stop being part of the problem and 
  leave me alone, OK?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Lady Blue’s powers derive from 
  her battlesuit, which incorporates a unique 
  form of force ﬁ eld technology she invented. 
  Th e suit’s ﬁ eld protects her, allows her to ﬁ re 
  diﬀ erent types of force blasts, and can even 
  “thrust” against the Earth’s magnetic ﬁ eld 
  to let her ﬂ y. However, exposure to intense 
  magnetic ﬁ elds, or magnetic blasts like those 
  Lodestone generates (see page 170), cause 
  painful short circuits in the suit.
  Lady Blue loves thrills and excitement, but 
  she prefers not to ﬁ ght too much — someone 
  might get hurt. She’ll ﬁ ght to get away, but she 
  won’t linger over the battle any longer than 
  she has to. Unless she knows her opponent 
  can take it, she’ll start with lower-powered 
  force blasts before unleashing her battlesuit’s full oﬀ en-
  sive capabilities.
  Campaign Use:  Lady Blue should present an interest-
  ing moral dilemma for most superheroes. On the one 
  hand, her actions are unquestionably criminal. She 
  steals, and in some cases she endangers lives. On the 
  other hand, her motives are entirely unselﬁ sh. She gives 
  away all the money she doesn’t need to maintain her 
  battlesuit, and has genuinely helped dozens of people 
  to better themselves. Putting her in jail might cause 
  more harm than good.
  Lady Blue usually works alone, but she might 
  team up with villains who have reasonably similar 
  motives. She’s worked with GRAB before, and is good 
  friends with Bluejay. She doesn’t like Cheshire Cat at 
  all, though; he comes on too strong for her taste. On 
  the other hand, the possibility of romance with a sym-
  pathetic male PC deﬁ nitely exists....
  If Lady Blue isn’t strong enough to hold her own 
  in your campaign, increase the size of her Multipower 
  reserve, and her slots to match. You could also give her 
  more slots — other force blast conﬁ gurations, or even 
  diﬀ erent powers like Force Wall, Entangle, Telekinesis, 
  or Missile Deﬂ ection. If she’s already too powerful, 
  reduce her Multipower to a 50 Active Point reserve, 
  trim 2-5 points oﬀ  each category of defense her Force 
  Field provides, and reduce her Flight to 15”.
  Appearance:  Lady Blue’s costume is a battlesuit is a 
  pleasing blend of light blue and green, with a half-face 
  mask that let her long blonde hair ﬂ ow free. When her 
  powers are active, a gold glow surrounds her.
  
  166 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  LAZER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11- 
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   10 PD 
  7 
   
  Total:  24 PD (14 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  22 ED (14 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  2
   36 END 
  0
   40 STUN 13 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  118
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  45 
  Laser Riﬂ e:  Multipower, 60-point reserve, 
  64 Charges for entire Multipower (+½); all 
  OAF (-1) 
  [64]
  3u  
  1)  Primary Laser:  Energy Blast 12d6; 
  OAF (-1), No Knockback (-¼)
  3u  
  2)  Focussed Laser:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OAF (-1), No 
  Knockback (-¼)
  2u  
  3)  X-Ray Laser:  Energy Blast 9d6, 
  Invisible To Sight Group (source of power 
  not invisible, only the beam itself; +¼); 
  OAF (-1), No Knockback (-¼)
  3u  
  4)  Sniping Laser:  Energy Blast 8d6, No 
  Range Modiﬁ er (+½); OAF (-1), No 
  Knockback (-¼)
  3u  
  5)  Pulse Laser:  Energy Blast 8d6, Autoﬁ re 
  (5 shots, +½); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-¼)
  3u  
  6)  Modulated Laser:  Energy Blast 6d6, NND 
  (defense is ED Force Field; +1); OAF (-1)
  3u 
  7)  High-Intensity Laser:  RKA 4d6; OAF 
  (-1), No Knockback (-¼)
  3u  
  8)  Wide-Beam Laser:  Sight Group Flash 
  12d6; OAF (-1)
  15 
  Laser Pistol:  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-¼), 
  Beam (-¼), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6 Strike
  4 
  Karate “Chop” -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR)
  4 
  Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  +1 Damage Class (already added in)
  28 
  Armor:  Armor (14 PD/14 ED); OIF (-½) 0
  3 
  Armor:  Lack of Weakness (5 points) for 
  Resistant Defenses; OIF (-½) 
  0
  14 
  Flare and Acoustic Compensation:  Sight 
  and Hearing Group Flash Defense 
  (10 points each); OIF (-½) 
  0
  20 
  Jetpack:  Flight 15”; OIF (-½) 
  3
  6 
  Fleet-Footed:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  6 
  Communications Array:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight And 
  Hearing Sense Groups As Well As Radio 
  Sense Group (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight:  Ultraviolet Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  15 
  +5 with Laser Riﬂ e Multipower
  4 
  +2 with Flight
  3 
  Computer Programming 12-
  3 
  Demolitions 12-
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  3 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 12-
  2 
  KS: Th e Espionage World 11-
  2  
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  3 
  Paramedics 12-
  1 
  SS: Lasers 8-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  232
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted: Th e Warlord 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture/Kill)
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation: Greedy (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Of Th e 
  Mercenary (Common, Total)
  10 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Mechassassin, 
  Seeks To Harm/Kill Rival)
  10 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Steel 
  Commando, Seeks To Harm/Kill Rival)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Emil 
  Nelson) (Frequently, Major)
  25 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  With Emil Nelson, it always 
  boiled down to:  what’s in it for me? As a young kid, 
  he got started running numbers for the local gangs, 
  and gradually worked his way up to more serious 
  crimes. Soon he attracted some serious attention 
  from the police, and to get away from them, he 
  joined the Army.
  It turned out to be the best decision he ever 
  made. Not only did he learn about weapons and 
  ﬁ ghting, he found out that there was a lot of cor-
  ruption he could take advantage of. He supple-
  mented his salary by dealing drugs, arranging for 
  shipments of guns to “accidentally and not on pur-
  pose fall oﬀ  the backs of trucks,” and selling stolen 
  Army gear on the black market.
  When his hitch was up, he put his experiences 
  and skills to work by becoming ﬁ rst a supplier of 
  mercenaries and mercenary companies, and later 
  a merc himself. As much fun as running his own 
  LAZER PLOT SEEDS
  Holocaust hires Lazer, 
  along with several other 
  mercenary villains, to 
  attack and loot the Dia-
  mond Exchange while 
  he (Holocaust) pulls oﬀ  
  a much more important, 
  much less ﬂ ashy crime 
  elsewhere. Th e heroes 
  show up, and a major 
  ﬁ ght ensues. But how 
  will Lazer react when he 
  discovers there are no 
  diamonds — that Holo-
  caust played him for a 
  patsy?
  Someone in Lazer’s 
  armor, using Lazer’s 
  gun, just put a laser bolt 
  through the Vice Presi-
  dent. Lazer insists he 
  didn’t do it, and asks the 
  PCs to help him clear 
  his “good” name.
  Th e Army decides it 
  wants its laser riﬂ e back, 
  and asks the PCs to 
  recover it. But what if it’s 
  not really the Army, but 
  an unscrupulous general 
  who wants to manufac-
  ture it for the interna-
  tional arms market?
  
  167 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  little criminal empire was, being a merc was better; 
  he found he really came alive on the battleﬁ eld.
  One day, Nelson’s contacts back in the Army 
  gave him a hot tip about an experimental laser 
  weapon DARPA was about to test. Sensing the 
  potential for proﬁ t, he snuck onto the base, bluﬀ ed 
  his way into the control center, and stole the 
  weapon, along with a jetpack and body armor that 
  went with it. At ﬁ rst he planned to sell the whole 
  package, but the more he examined it, the more he 
  thought about keeping it. With a weapon like this, 
  he could really make a name for himself. Th ere 
  was even enough ﬁ repower here for him to move 
  beyond the African battleﬁ elds and start taking on 
  superheroes! He soon decided to keep the equip-
  ment for himself.
  Choosing the name “Lazer,” Nelson hit the 
  Superhuman World with a vengeance, pulling oﬀ  
  three major jobs and killing the superhero Ballistik 
  all in the year 1993. Since then, his reputation and 
  skills have only improved. In fact, he’s so good the 
  Warlord has issued him an ultimatum:  join my 
  organization, or die. So far he’s managed to stay 
  one step ahead of the world’s most powerful arms 
  dealer, and he knows he can’t rest if he wants to 
  keep it that way.
  Personality/Motivation:  Lazer is the ultimate merce-
  nary supervillain:  there’s almost nothing he won’t 
  do for money, and he’ll withstand just about any 
  form of interrogation, up to and including hard tor-
  ture, before he reveals anything about his employer. 
  He’s never betrayed an employer, and rarely failed 
  to complete his assigned missions, which means 
  he doesn’t have to look for work much — it comes 
  looking for him.
  Lazer tends to have a low opinion of many 
  superheroes. He regards them as pajama-wear-
  ing adolescents who don’t really understand how 
  to do their jobs. Th is has gotten him in trouble a 
  time or two when a superhero proved smarter than 
  he expected. He’s developed a healthy measure of 
  respect for heroes like Nighthawk, who have as 
  much tactical sense as he does.
  Quote:  “Did that hurt? Don’t worry — the next 
  one’s gonna take aaallll the pain away... perma-
  nently.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Lazer is a tough, highly-trained 
  mercenary equipped with a sophisticated experi-
  mental laser riﬂ e (he also carries a laser sidearm 
  Wayland Talos built for him). He can vary the 
  width and intensity of the beam to achieve many 
  diﬀ erent eﬀ ects; his riﬂ e is a lot more versatile than 
  many heroes give it credit for.
  In battle, Lazer is intelligent, clever, and tacti-
  cally aware. He usually opens up with his Primary 
  Laser, but he’ll quickly switch to other conﬁ gura-
  tions if that’s not the right setting. He makes full 
  use of his every asset, including his ability to ﬂ y and 
  see in the dark. He has a natural gift  for combat, 
  and should be played accordingly.
  Campaign Use:  Lazer works perfectly as a master 
  villain’s henchman, or a member of a team of vil-
  lains assembled to pull oﬀ  a particular crime. Addi-
  tionally, his ongoing rivalry with Steel Commando 
  and Mechassassin regarding which one of them is 
  the best could provide fodder for a few adventures. 
  See Mechassassin (page 174 of this book) and Steel 
  Commando (Champions Universe, page 122) for 
  more information.
  If you need to make Lazer more powerful, you 
  have lots of options. First, you can give him more 
  weapons — some grenades, a laser-sword, lasers 
  built into his armor, and so on. Second, you can 
  beef up his Martial Arts, giving him more maneu-
  vers and more Extra DCs. Th ird, you can increase 
  his Skill selection; he could have learned all sorts 
  of things during his career as a mercenary. Or, of 
  course, you 
  can try some 
  combination of 
  these alterna-
  tives. On the 
  other hand, if 
  he’s too tough 
  already, reduce 
  his Laser Riﬂ e’s 
  Charges from 
  64 to 32 (or 
  16), reduce the 
  Riﬂ e’s Active 
  Point reserve 
  to 50 points, 
  and/or reduce 
  his SPD to 4.
  Lazer is 
  a dangerous 
  Hunter. He 
  stalks his target 
  like a predator 
  pursuing prey, 
  striking from 
  ambush when 
  least expected 
  and not pulling 
  any punches. 
  A High-Inten-
  sity Laser 
  blast when the 
  target is in the 
  middle of a 
  family event 
  or social function works best, he’s found. But he’s 
  smart enough to know there’s not much money in 
  vendetta, so he tries to avoid letting his personal 
  likes and dislikes interfere with his work.
  Appearance:  Lazer wears a suit of bronze-colored 
  light body armor (including helmet) with a jetpack 
  on his back. His main weapon is a laser riﬂ e in the 
  same colors, and he also carries a laser pistol side-
  arm in a holster on his left  hip. He carries himself 
  with an air of conﬁ dence, competence, and eﬃ  -
  ciency.
  Out of his armor, Emil Nelson is an average-
  looking white male in his early 30s standing 5’11” 
  tall and weighing about 190 pounds. He has a trim, 
  athletic build, dark hair cut short, and dark eyes.
  
  168 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  LEECH
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   28 CON 
  36 
  15-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   5 INT 
  -5 
  10- 
  PER Roll 10-
   8 EGO 
  -4 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   2 COM 
  -4 
  9-
   30 PD 
  22 
   
  Total:  30 PD (14 rPD)
   20 ED 
  14 
   
  Total:  20 ED (14 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   14 REC 
  0
   56 END 
  0
   50 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  170
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Swimming: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Leeching:  Multipower, 30-point reserve; all 
  Only Works On Grabbed Victims (-½)
  4m 
  1)  Strength Leeching:  Drain STR 3d6, 
  Only Works On Grabbed Victims (-½) 
  3
  4m 
  2)  Agility Leeching:  Drain DEX 3d6, 
  Only Works On Grabbed Victims (-½) 
  3
  4m 
  3)  Stamina Leeching:  Drain CON 3d6, 
  Only Works On Grabbed Victims (-½) 
  3
  4m 
  4)  Life Leeching:  Drain BODY 3d6, 
  Only Works On Grabbed Victims (-½) 
  3
  4m 
  5)  Stun Leeching:  Drain STUN 3d6, 
  Only Works On Grabbed Victims (-½) 
  3
   
  Martial Arts: Leechﬁ ghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  5 
  Grasp 
  +0 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 50 STR
  4 
  Strangle 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Wriggle Free 
  +0 
  +0 
  55 STR vs. Grabs
  14 
  Tough Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (14 PD/14 ED) 
  0
  14 
  Leech Resistance:  Power Defense 
  (14 points) 
  0
  10 
  Aquatic Adaptation:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing) 
  0
  8 
  Aquatic Adaptation:  Swimming +8” 
  (10” total) 
  1
  10 
  Leechtouch:  Clinging (normal STR) 
  0
  5 
  Heatsense:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) 
  0
  9 
  Leech Senses:  +3 PER with all Sense Groups 0
  5 
  Leechform:  Stretching 1” 
  1
  20 
  Adaptive Camouﬂ age:  Invisibility to Sight 
  Group, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  Chameleon (-½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  5 
  AK: Millennium City Sewer System 14-
  5 
  AK: Millennium City Area Waterways 14-
  9 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 15-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  180
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  leech-man body (Not 
  Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction [fear/
  disgust])
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Mute (All Th e Time, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Limited Manipulation 
  (Frequently, Slightly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Beau-
  tiful People And Th ings (Very Common, 
  Total)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to direct sunlight, takes 1d6 
  per Minute (Very Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Light-Based 
  attacks (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Magical Mind 
  Control (Uncommon)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Frank Winston was a cabbie 
  in Millennium City. He’d seen it all — drunks and 
  druggies, the destruction of Detroit, the rebuilding, 
  superbattles, you name it — and survived. He was a 
  tough guy; nothing fazed him.
  One night he picked up a guy in a long, black 
  cloak. He couldn’t really make out the guy’s face, 
  but so what? His money would spend as good 
  as any other fare’s. He drove the guy out of the 
  city, into the country, and ﬁ nally along a twisting, 
  winding dirt road leading deep into a dark forest. 
  Th e road came to a large, eerie-looking mansion 
  perched atop a cliﬀ  over a body of water Frank 
  didn’t recognize.
  “I suppose you wish to be paid now,” his passenger 
  said.
  “Yeah, I gotta get back to the city, pal. My shift  ends 
  soon.”
  “Very well. But tonight you shall be paid in a coin 
  of a diﬀ erent color.” Th e man ﬂ ashed a weird-look-
  ing gold coin in front of Frank’s eyes. Instantly 
  mesmerized, he couldn’t do anything but stare at 
  the coin.
  “Come,” the man said, getting out of the cab. Frank 
  couldn’t help but follow. Th ey walked into the 
  house, down some stone stairs, and into the base-
  ment. Frank could see tables full of glassware, a 
  shelf full of thick, old books, and a pentagram on 
  the ﬂ oor. Th e man gestured, and Frank went over 
  and lay down in the pentagram, spread-eagled.
  “I have need of a servant to perform... errands for 
  me,” the man said, in a voice that now had a hiss to 
  it. “You shall do perfectly for my purposes; no one 
  would miss a common simpleton such as yourself.”
  With that, the man performed an arcane ritual. 
  Frank screamed and begged for mercy as his body 
  LEECH PLOT SEEDS
  In mid-attack, Leech 
  spontaneously reverts 
  to Frank Winston. 
  What happened? Is 
  the eﬀ ect permanent? 
  Can the PCs use this 
  to track down Leech’s 
  creator and bring him 
  to justice? Or is it all an 
  elaborate ruse on the 
  wizard’s part, to lure the 
  PCs into a trap?
  Aft er being thrown into 
  a vat of biochemical goo 
  while attacking the PCs 
  at a research lab, Leech 
  begins to grow... and 
  grow... and grow. Soon a 
  gigantic Leech-Monster 
  is threatening the entire 
  city!
  Leech begins to regain 
  some of his human 
  intelligence and con-
  science. Th ough it’s hard, 
  he tries to do the right 
  thing sometimes, even 
  once saving a little girl 
  from drowning. But the 
  authorities interpret this 
  as an attack, and mount 
  a massive manhunt for 
  him. Will the PCs help 
  capture him, or some-
  how ﬁ nd a way to com-
  municate and learn his 
  true intentions?
  
  169 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  painfully began to change form. Th ey were the 
  last words he would ever utter. A little while later, 
  Frank Winston was gone, and in his place stood the 
  Leech, an unquestioning servant of evil.
  Personality/Motivation:  Leech’s personality is that of 
  a servile predator. He hunts and captures people for 
  his master (and in fact is prone to obeying anyone 
  who exerts mystical Mind Control over him). 
  Beyond basic thoughts of food, survival, and the 
  like, he doesn’t have much intelligence, though he 
  does display a devilish cunning.
  Memories of what he once was have given 
  Leech a burning hatred of beauty, especially beauti-
  ful people. Even if he’s not hungry, he may attack 
  an attractive person just to use Life Leeching on 
  them and make them a little weaker and uglier for 
  a while.
  Quote:  None. Leech is mute; at most he can make 
  gibbering, burbling sounds of acquiescence or rage.
  Powers/Tactics:  Leech is a hand-to-hand combat-
  ant; he has no ranged powers (though his ability to 
  stretch his body and limbs sometimes makes for a 
  good Surprise Move). Usually he tries to Grab his 
  victim, then apply Leeching; the Grab eﬀ ect from 
  his Strangle maneuver is suﬃ  cient for him to start 
  Draining his victim. He oft en makes multiple-
  power attacks with two or more slots (note that all 
  the slots are Multis), or combining Strangling and 
  Leeching. He targets beautiful opponents ﬁ rst in 
  most cases.
  Leech prefers to attack from ambush at all pos-
  sible. He either lurks near the water’s edge and then 
  leaps onto his prey (strangling it as he drags it back 
  into the water), or he uses his Adaptive Camouﬂ age 
  to get close enough to unwary people to Grab them. 
  He usually spends his days in deep water or the 
  sewers; he loathes sunlight.
  Campaign Use:  Typically superheroes are likely 
  to encounter Leech as he goes on errands for 
  his master, but that’s not a full-time job. In his 
  “spare time,” he can do other things, like hunt 
  for food (people) or join/be coerced 
  into working with other 
  supervillains.
  Th e major story 
  hook connected 
  with Leech is:  who 
  transformed him 
  and now uses 
  him as a servant? 
  Was it a 
  member of 
  the Circle 
  of the Scar-
  let Moon? 
  A Morbane 
  of DEMON? 
  Th e Black 
  Paladin, 
  or Dark 
  Seraph? Or 
  someone else 
  altogether?
  To make 
  Leech more 
  powerful, con-
  sider adding 
  some Damage 
  Reduction, or 
  increase the reserve 
  on his Multipower. To 
  make him less powerful, 
  reduce his STR to 30, his SPD to 4, and get rid of 
  two or three of his Leeching powers.
  Appearance:  Th e Leech is a hideous mockery of 
  humanity, a merging of leech and man. His body 
  is a mottled grey-brown, with other putrid colors 
  showing through here and there. His mouth has 
  been subsumed into a mass of mucousy ﬂ esh, and 
  where he once had hands and feet, he now has 
  suckers surrounded by a fringe of cilia. His eyes are 
  dark red and glare malevolently at almost every-
  thing.
  The Leechoids Are Coming!
  ‘I saw on SNN the other night where this pro-
  fessor from Harvard was claiming that Leech 
  is really an alien from another planet. He’s 
  here as part of a “scouting mission” to size up 
  Earth for conquest by his alien masters. When 
  the time is right, he’s going to grow to this 
  enormous size and then divide into hundreds 
  of himself, and on and on, until there’s this 
  entire invading army. Then they’re going to 
  come up out of the water and attack, leeching 
  away our strength and eating our intestines. 
  I’m ready, though... those freaks try to come 
  after me, and they’ll have to say hello to the 
  business end of my 12-gauge.’
  — Rick Forrest, carpet cleaner
  
  170 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  LODESTONE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1] 
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   16 EGO 
  12 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  28 PD (20 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  30 ED (20 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  10
   35 STUN 
  7 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  126
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  60 
  Magnetism Powers:  Multipower, 
  60-point reserve
  6u 
  1)  Magnetic Blast I:  Energy Blast 12d6 
  6
  6u 
  2)  Magnetic Blast II:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Reduced Endurance Cost (0 END; +½) 
  0
  3u 
  3)  Th e Big Wrap-Up:  Entangle 6d6, 6 
  DEF; Requires Ferrous Metals (-1) 
  6
  6u 
  4)  Ferrous Disruption:  Dispel 16d6, any 
  Ferrous Metal-based power one at a 
  time (+¼) 
  6
  6u 
   5)  Magnetic Wall:  Force Wall (10 PD/
  10 ED, 3” long and tall) 
  6
  30 
  Magnetism Manipulation:  Elemental 
  Control, 60-points powers
  70 
  1)  Magnetokinesis:  Telekinesis (60 STR), 
  Reduced Endurance Cost (0 END; +½); 
  Only Versus Ferrous Metals (-½) 
  0
  30 
  2)  Magnetic Shield:  Force Field (20 PD/
  20 ED), Reduced Endurance Cost 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  30 
  3)  Magnetic Force Riding:  Flight 20”, 
  Reduced Endurance Cost (0 END; +½) 
  0
  25 
  Magnetic Repulsion:  Missile Deﬂ ection (bul-
  lets/shrapnel), Ranged (+1); Only 
  Works Against Ferrous Attacks (-1) plus 
  Missile Reﬂ ection (at any target); Only 
  Works Against Ferrous Attacks (-1) 
  0
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Magnetism Powers Multipower
  3 
  Computer Programming 12-
  3 
  Power:  Magnetism Powers 13-
  3 
  PS: Student 12-
  5 
  SS: Magnetism 14-
  3 
  SS: Physics 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  304
  Total Cost:  430
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  DNPC:  Belinda Huang (wife) 8- (Normal; 
  Unaware of character’s Social Limitation:  
  Secret Identity)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation: Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation: Greedy (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (William 
  Huang) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Vulnerability:   2 x STUN from Electrical 
  attacks (Common)
  20 
  Vulnerability:   2 x BODY from Electrical 
  attacks (Common)
  75 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  430
  Background/History:  William Huang was once 
  a poor but diligent physics student at Millen-
  nium City University who was conducting some 
  advanced experiments with electromagnetism. 
  Unfortunately, in his zeal to earn good grades and 
  acquire a prestigious job, he ignored his professors’ 
  safety warnings and kept working during a thun-
  derstorm.
  Th e next thing William remembered was 
  waking up on the other side of the lab, his body 
  one big ache. Th e window was shattered, rain was 
  blowing inside, and his equipment was in smolder-
  ing ruins. Trying to save his notes, but too weak 
  to stand up yet, he gestured feebly at the lab table 
  — only to have a metal test tube stand ﬂ y oﬀ  the 
  table and right into his grasp.
  He tried it again, this time snagging a couple 
  of tools hanging on the wall nearby. Th e notes were 
  soon forgotten as he tested the extent of his control 
  over magnetism. Before long, he could not only 
  attract or repel ferrous objects, but emit blasts of 
  magnetic force, protect himself with a magnetic 
  shield, and even ﬂ y!
  And that was the end of William Huang’s 
  academic career. Who needs knowledge to get 
  rich when you have superpowers? Aft er creating 
  a simple costume and christening himself “Lode-
  stone,” William embarked on a robbery spree that 
  only ended when Sapphire and Nighthawk helped 
  PRIMUS capture him. A minor slip in PRIMUS’s 
  security routine let him escape. Now he’s back on 
  the street and ready for more action... and money!
  Personality/Motivation:  Lodestone’s goal as a super-
  villain is simple:  get rich. He grew up poor, and 
  he doesn’t intend to ever be poor again. He mostly 
  commits robberies, though he’ll gladly sign up to 
  work for another supervillain if the pay is good, 
  he’s treated well, and he doesn’t have to do any-
  thing distasteful like kill or maim other people. He 
  hasn’t done a good job of saving his money so far 
  — he mostly throws it away on gambling, presents 
  for his wife (who thinks he’s gotten a good job at 
  LODESTONE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Several major bank 
  heists take place one 
  night. Forensic analysis 
  shows that the vault 
  doors were ripped apart 
  by magnetic force. 
  However, when tracked 
  down and captured, 
  Lodestone protests 
  vociferously that he 
  didn’t do it — and he 
  has two drinking bud-
  dies from that night to 
  back up his story. Is he 
  lying? If so, why hang 
  around aft er the job 
  instead of just ﬂ eeing 
  the city with his loot? If 
  not, who committed the 
  robberies?
  Lodestone takes a job 
  working as a merce-
  nary supervillain for an 
  employer he thinks is a 
  faction of ARGENT. In 
  fact, it turns out to be 
  part of DEMON, and 
  refuses to let him out of 
  his contract. Terriﬁ ed 
  but unable to simply 
  ﬂ ee, Lodestone starts 
  feeding the PCs tidbits 
  of information secretly, 
  in the hope they’ll stop 
  DEMON’s scheme and 
  free him.
  GRAB approaches 
  Lodestone about join-
  ing, but requires him to 
  take an “initiation test” 
  — he has to commit 
  several major robberies 
  in one week to qualify. 
  Th e GRABbers promise 
  to run interference with 
  the PCs so Lodestone 
  can ﬁ nish his “scavenger 
  hunt” without interrup-
  tion.
  
  171 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  a research lab), and needless luxuries — but he’s 
  enjoying himself immensely, so he doesn’t care 
  what happens, as long as he can stay out of 
  prison.
  Quote:  “Kind of hard to shoot me with a bent 
  gun barrel, isn’t it?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Lodestone’s powers derive 
  from his ability to control magnetism. 
  Many of them only work on fer-
  rous objects — for example, he 
  can only Missile Deﬂ ect ferrous 
  attacks (which would not include 
  many bullets), and his Dispel 
  (representing his ability to shred or 
  otherwise disrupt a metallic object) 
  only aﬀ ects powers involving iron, steel, 
  and the like (such as most super-technol-
  ogy gadgets). Other powers, such as his 
  Magnetic Blasts, suﬀ er from no such 
  restriction.
  Lodestone hasn’t learned much in 
  the way of super-combat tactics. He 
  tends to pick one foe he knows he can 
  aﬀ ect and sticks to attacking that 
  person until he defeats him or is 
  defeated. In time he could become 
  a clever tactician, but he’s not there 
  yet.
  Campaign Use:  Lodestone is a 
  mercenary supervillain with just 
  enough conscience to make him 
  interesting. He’s not callous and 
  cruel, like so many supervillains; 
  he doesn’t like to hurt people 
  at all. He just wants as much money 
  as he can possibly get his hands on. 
  But if push comes to shove, he’ll 
  hurt someone rather than let him-
  self get captured. If the GM is 
  looking to expand the ranks of 
  GRAB, Lodestone would make 
  an excellent candidate. He ﬁ ts 
  their modus operandi and atti-
  tude perfectly.
  Lodestone should ﬁ t into 
  most Standard Superheroic Champions 
  campaigns pretty well. Increasing his 
  power usually means increasing the value 
  of his Multipower reserves and slots, and 
  sometimes boosting his DEX, CON, 
  and/or SPD. To weaken him, reduce the 
  Active Points in his powers.
  Lodestone generally doesn’t Hunt 
  heroes — there’s no proﬁ t in it. He might 
  develop a Rivalry with another super-
  powered thief, though.
  Appearance:  Lodestone’s costume is 
  gold and grey. Th e torso has a gold hour-
  glass sort of pattern covering from his 
  shoulders to his belt, and his half-face 
  mask is gold as well. Th e legs, trunks, 
  belt, sides, and arms are grey; the 
  boots and gauntlets are gold.
  Out of costume, William Huang 
  is a handsome young man of Chinese 
  descent. His hair is black and cut short, 
  and his face oft en has an infectious 
  grin... especially when he’s just made a 
  big score and can aﬀ ord to party.
  FUN WITH MAGNETISM
  Here are a few examples of minor “power stunts” or other 
  abilities the GM might let Lodestone manifest by using his 
  Power:  Magnetism Powers Skill. Generally, he shouldn’t 
  use any of these abilities more than once or twice during 
  the campaign; if he wants to use them on a regular basis, 
  he should buy them with Character Points.
  Gauss Blast:  Lodestone picks up a small ferrous object 
  (such as a nail) and hurls it at a target at superfast veloc-
  ity. Th is causes RKA 1d6 Penetrating damage, +1 DC per 
  point by which he makes the Skill Roll.
  Magnetic Pinning:  If a character has a watch, wrist radio, 
  metal claws, or jewelry with ferrous metal in it, Lode-
  stone can temporarily “pin” that object to another metal 
  object (such as the side of a car or a lamp-post) with a 
  jolt of magnetic energy, and thus keep the character from 
  moving that limb. Th is works roughly like an Entangle 
  2d6 2 DEF, +1d6 and +1 DEF for every two points by 
  which he makes the Skill Roll; it only applies to the spe-
  ciﬁ c limb(s) wearing the metal items.
  Mini-EMP:  A quick, focused, intense burst of magnetic 
  energy can disrupt most electronic devices temporar-
  ily. Th is works roughly like a Dispel 6d6, any electrical 
  device power one at a time, +1d6 for every point by 
  which Lodestone makes his Skill Roll. Th e disruption 
  only lasts for 1-2 Segments, however.
  Peekaboo:  Lodestone picks up a small ferrous object and 
  holds it directly in front of someone’s eyes, so they can’t 
  see. Th is has a similar eﬀ ect to a Sight Group Flash, but 
  Lodestone has to beat the target in a Skill Versus Skill 
  Contest pitting his Magnetism Powers against the target’s 
  DEX Roll to keep the object in position. Making this roll 
  (and thus maintaining the eﬀ ect) requires a Half Phase 
  Action, and he can’t keep it up for more than 1-3 of his 
  Phases at most.
  
  172 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  MASQUERADE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  9 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   31 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  106
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  8”/16”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  85 
  Shapechanging:  Shape Shift  (Sight, Hearing, 
  Radio, Smell/Taste, and Touch Groups; any 
  humanoid form), Cellular, Imitation, Instant 
  Change, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  20 
  Assassin’s Arts:  Multipower, 30-point 
  reserve; all OIF (sharp/hard objects of 
  opportunity; -½)
  1u 
  1)  Melee Assassination:  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR); OIF (-½) 
  1
  2u 
  2)  Ranged Assassination:  HKA 1d6+1 
  (2d6 with STR), Ranged (+½); OIF (-½) 
  3
   
  Martial Arts:  Karate
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Atemi Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND(1)
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 35 STR
  4 
  Dodge 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge all 
  attacks, Abort
  3 
  Legsweep 
  +2 
  -1 
  6d6; Target Falls
  4 
  Knifehand Strike -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Punch/
   
  Snap Kick 
  +0 
  +2 
  7d6 Strike
  5 
  Side/Spin Kick -2 
  +1 
  9d6 Strike
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  4 
  Fast Runner:  Running +2” (8” total) 
  1
  15 
  Lucky Bastard:  Luck 3d6
   
  Perks
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ 
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  30 
  +3 Overall
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Criminology 13-
  3 
  Demolitions 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  Forensic Medicine 13-
  4 
  Forgery (Documents, Money) 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  KS: Current Events 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Espionage World 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 13-
  3 
  KS: Recent History 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 13-
  3 
  KS: World Politics 13-
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Tracking 13-
  5 
  TF:  Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Helicopters, Snow Skiing, Two-Wheeled 
  Motorized Ground Vehicles
  8 
  WF:  Common Martial Arts Weapons, 
  Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Missile Weapons, Small Arms
  3 
  Linguist
  2 
  1)  French (completely ﬂ uent; English is native)
  2 
  2)  German (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  3)  Japanese (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  4)  Mandarin Chinese (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  5)  Russian (completely ﬂ uent)
  2 
  6)  Spanish (completely ﬂ uent)
  3 
  Traveler
  1 
  1)  CK: Beirut 11-
  1 
  2)  CK: Berlin 11-
  1 
  3)  CK: London 11-
  1 
  4)  CK: Millennium City 11-
  1 
  5)  CK: Moscow 11-
  1 
  6)  CK: Munich 11-
  1 
  7)  CK: New York City 11-
  1 
  8)  CK: Paris 11-
  1 
  9)  CK: Tokyo 11-
  1 
  10)  AK: Th e United States 11-
  1 
  11)  CK: Washington, D.C. 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  332
  Total Cost:  438
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  CIA (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  VIPER (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Amoral And 
  Casually Cruel (Very Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Of Th e Mer-
  cenary (Common, Total)
  158 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  438
  Background/History:  In 1968, a lonely old woman 
  went outside one morning and found that some-
  one had left  a baby on her doorstep. Th ere was 
  something wrong with it — the baby appeared mal-
  formed or crippled, with arms and facial features 
  MASQUERADE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e President begins to 
  act somewhat erratically 
  — among other things, 
  he keeps threatening 
  war against several 
  former Soviet republics 
  over trivial diplomatic 
  diﬃ  culties. Has Mas-
  querade managed to 
  replace the world’s most 
  powerful man, and if so, 
  why? And how will the 
  heroes get close enough 
  to ﬁ nd out?
  Th e team’s new 
  housekeeper/butler/
  mechanic/pet gorilla is 
  behaving oddly — he 
  keeps poking around 
  parts of the base where 
  he has no business 
  being. Has Masquerade 
  inﬁ litrated the team’s 
  staﬀ , or is it just a tab-
  loid reporter?
  Masquerade slips poison 
  into the PCs’ food (as 
  well as their DNPCs’ 
  food), and refuses to 
  give anyone the anti-
  dote unless they help 
  him/her obtain certain 
  information he/she has 
  been hired to acquire. 
  Can the PCs ﬁ nd a way 
  to stop him/her, and get 
  the antidote in time?
  
  173 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  that weren’t fully formed. Moved to pity, the woman 
  took the baby in and raised it herself.
  Oddly, as the baby aged, its features became 
  more and more precise. By the time the child was 
  old enough to walk and talk, it was apparent that 
  he/she wasn’t a normal human — he/she had the 
  power to change shape. One day, he/she was a girl, 
  the next day a boy, the day aft er that a disturb-
  ing blend of male and female features... whatever 
  seemed to catch the child’s fancy at the moment.
  Terriﬁ ed, but unwilling to abandon a child 
  she’d come to love, the woman raised him/her 
  as best she could, trying to teach him/her to use 
  his/her abilities. She kept the child with her, home 
  schooling him/her 
  until he/she was 
  old enough to 
  understand the 
  nature and 
  implication of 
  his/her powers 
  and why he/she 
  shouldn’t use 
  them casually in 
  public.
  Th e 
  child con-
  tinued to 
  grow, now 
  mingling 
  with other 
  people, but 
  feeling no 
  connection 
  with or interest 
  in them. He/she 
  learned he/she 
  could ﬂ aw-
  lessly imitate 
  anyone’s 
  appearance, 
  and derived 
  much pleasure 
  from using this 
  power to get his/
  her classmates in 
  serious trouble. As 
  he/she got older, he/she realized he/she could use 
  his/her abilities to make money — lots of money 
  — in all sorts of ways. He/she started with petty 
  theft  and con games, and soon began to commit 
  more serious crimes. Th e ﬁ rst time he/she was 
  nearly caught, he/she had to kill a man to keep his/
  her secret, and found this no more disturbing or 
  upsetting than his/her juvenile mischief-making.
  Th e day he/she graduated from high school, 
  his/her “mother” died, leaving him/her alone in 
  the world. But he/she didn’t care; by then he/she 
  had made connections with organized crime and 
  was earning real money. Soon the CIA got word of 
  him/her, and he/she made entry into the world of 
  espionage. Aft er a few years working for the CIA, 
  just for the experience, he/she betrayed his/her 
  handlers (arranging their deaths in the process) 
  and became a freelance spy commanding the high-
  est fees. In certain rariﬁ ed and dangerous circles, 
  the person called Masquerade has become known 
  as one of the most skilled and deadly agents in the 
  world, the one to turn to when no one else can get 
  the job done.
  Personality/Motivation:  Although at least nomi-
  nally human, Masquerade feels no more sympathy, 
  compassion, or mercy for his/her “fellow” humans 
  than a shark does for lesser ﬁ sh. His/her powers 
  and attitude disconnect him/her from other 
  people, making it easy for him/her to commit the 
  most heinous and bloody crimes without feeling 
  so much as a twinge of guilt. He/she enjoys using 
  his/her powers and skills to 
  inﬂ ict casual cruelties on 
  others, ranging from 
  verbal abuse, to inter-
  fering with jobs and 
  credit ratings, to 
  breaking up roman-
  tic relationships. As 
  good an actor as he/she 
  is, he/she oft en trips 
  him/herself up because 
  he/she can’t resist the 
  opportunity to work 
  some petty evil 
  just for fun.
  Despite this 
  trait, Masquer-
  ade has learned 
  to follow the code 
  of the mercenary. 
  He/she might be the 
  best spy in the world, 
  but if employers don’t 
  trust him/her, he/
  she won’t get any 
  work. Loyalty to 
  his/her employers 
  has done as much 
  to cement his/her 
  reputation as his/
  her matchless inﬁ l-
  tration abilities.
  Quote:  “Good morning, 
  Senator. Here’s what’s on 
  your schedule for today....”
  Powers/Tactics:  A highly skilled assassin and spy, 
  Masquerade possesses the ability to alter his/her 
  shape to any other humanoid form. He/she has 
  no deﬁ ned gender or appearance; he/she has 
  never deﬁ ned a “true shape” that he/she returns 
  to in times of relaxation — he/she simply changes 
  shape the way other people change clothes. His/
  her change works right down to the cellular level, 
  making it possible for him/her to trick ﬁ ngerprint 
  checks, retina scanners, and DNA tests. When he/
  she assumes another person’s form, all he/she lacks 
  is that person’s memories and personality, which 
  he/she can usually imitate or bluﬀ  his/her way 
  through with Acting. (He/she also cannot imitate 
  superpowers, unless he/she uses technology pre-
  pared in advance.)
  
  174 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Masquerade’s skills include hand-to-hand 
  combat and weapons use, plus the ability to turn 
  any sharp or hard object into a lethal attack, but 
  he/she prefers to avoid open combat. He/she has 
  the advantage in situations where he/she can trick, 
  fool, and confuse people, not on the battleﬁ eld.
  Campaign Use:  Although he/she’s not necessarily 
  the most skilled combatant, and certainly lacks 
  the raw power of a Dr. Destroyer or a Takofanes, 
  in some ways Masquerade is the most danger-
  ous villain in the Champions Universe. Able to 
  assume any human form ﬂ awlessly right down to 
  the cellular level, he/she can inﬁ ltrate almost any 
  installation, obtain almost any information, and 
  compromise almost any security. If there’s anyone 
  who scares politicians more than Menton, it’s Mas-
  querade.
  You should use Masquerade carefully in 
  scenarios. He/she isn’t much fun if he/she simply 
  walks away with the prize and the heroes never 
  have a chance to stop him/her. Unless the PCs 
  at least suspect his/her presence or involvement, 
  you’re not getting as much mileage out of the 
  character as you can. But at the same time, the 
  PCs mustn’t have too easy a time uncovering Mas-
  querade; it should require some eﬀ ort and clever 
  roleplaying. Th e best way to trip him/her up is with 
  knowledge he/she lacks, but he/she can also be 
  detected with Mental Senses (he/she can’t change 
  her brainwaves or mental thought patterns).
  Masquerade doesn’t have a “Secret Identity” 
  because he/she has no deﬁ ned “true identity” 
  — and even if he/she did, ﬁ nding out any informa-
  tion about it would be next to impossible (barring 
  the use of Mental Powers). Since he/she suﬀ ers 
  no signiﬁ cant restrictions because of his/her 
  “secret,” he/she’s not entitled to a Disadvantage for 
  it. However, the story of where he/she came from, 
  who his/her parents are, and the source of his/her 
  powers could make for interesting plot points the 
  GM can exploit.
  To make Masquerade more powerful, give 
  him/her a Mimic Power Pool so he/she can imitate 
  superheroes’ powers, or Mental Powers so he/she 
  can copy other peoples’ memories as well. To make 
  him/her less powerful, decrease the usefulness 
  of his/her Shape Shift  — get rid of some Sense 
  Groups, or make changes take a long time. You can 
  also add or remove Skills.
  Masquerade only Hunts heroes if hired to do 
  so; otherwise, he/she has better ways to spend his/
  her time. But if he/she does come aft er a hero, look 
  out! Th e same powers that make it easy for him/her 
  to penetrate high-security government installations 
  make it just as easy for him to get close to a super-
  hero — close enough to slip a knife between his 
  ribs when he feels safe and secure.
  Appearance:  Masquerade can have any appearance 
  he/she desires — man or woman, young or old, rich 
  or poor, healthy or ill. Indeed, he/she can change 
  his/her appearance from second to second, as he/
  she chooses.
  MECHASSASSIN
   Val Char Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20+15 STR 10+7# 13-/16- Lift  400/3,200 kg; 
  4d6/7d6 [2 /3]
   20+8 DEX 30+12# 13- /15- OCV:  7/9/DCV:  7/9
   20+10 CON 20+10# 13- (15-)
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV: 5
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14-  
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   8 
  PD 
  4 
  Total:  23 PD (15 rPD)
   8 
  ED 
  4 
  Total:  23 ED (15 rED)
   4+2 SPD 10+13* Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12/2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 
  12
   10 REC 
  4
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 5 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  170
  *:  OIF (battlesuit; -½)
  #:  OIF (as above; -½), No Figured Characteristics (-½)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  56 
  Electric Pistol:  Multipower, 75-point 
  reserve, 64 Charges for entire Multipower 
  (+½); all OAF (-1) 
  [64]
  4u 
  1)  Standard Setting:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OAF (-1)
  2u 
  2)  Boosted Gain Setting:  RKA 3d6, 
  Penetrating (+½); OAF (-1), Requires 3 
  Charges Per Use (-¾)
  30 
  Right Gauntlet Tanglecoil Launcher:  
  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF; OIF (-½), 
  8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  25 
  Gauntlet Slashers:  HKA 1½d6 (2d6+1
  [3d6+1] with STR), Armor Piercing (+½);
  OIF (-½) 
  4
  60 
  Grenades:  Multipower, 90-point reserve; 
  OIF (grenade belt; -½)
  3u 
  1)  Concussor Grenade:  Energy Blast 
  12d6, Explosion (+½); OAF (-1), 
  3 Charges (-1¼) 
  [3]
  3u 
  2)  Tranq Gas Grenade:  Energy Blast 6d6, 
  NND (defense is Life Support [Self-Con-
  tained Breathing]; +1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” 
  Radius; +1); OAF (-1), 3 Charges (-1¼) [3]
  3u 
  3)  Enhanced Smoke Grenade:  Darkness 
  to Sight, Radio, and Mental Groups 6” 
  radius, Personal Immunity (+¼); OAF (-1), 
  3 Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-¾) 
  [3]
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
  Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  6d6/9d6 + v/5, 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Boxing Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  8d6/11d6
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  3d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  45/60 STR vs. 
  Grabs
  4 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 40/55 STR
  
  175 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  4 
  Judo Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 40/55 
  STR
  4 
   Karate “Chop” -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  30 
  Armor:  Armor (15 PD/15 ED); OIF (-½) 0
  13 
  Shield:  Multipower, 20-point reserve; all 
  OIF (shield; -½)
  1u 
  1) Protection:  Armor (+6 PD/+6 ED); OIF 
  (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½), Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  2
  1u 
  2) Defense:  Combat Skill Levels (+3 DCV); 
  OIF (-½), Costs Endurance (-½) 
  1
  u 
   3) Deﬂ ection:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all 
  Ranged attacks); OIF (-½), Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  2
  7 
  Polarized Helmet Lenses:  Sight Group 
  Flash Defense (10 points); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Air Supply & Rebreather:  Life Support 
  (Self-Contained Breathing); OIF (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Springboots:  Leaping +8” (15” forward, 8” 
  upward); OIF (-½) 
  1
  6 
  Fast Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  6 
  Communications Array:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight And 
  Hearing Groups As Well As Radio 
  Group (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Nightsight:  Ultraviolet Perception (Sight 
  Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  12 
  Contacts:  various, in the Military/Merce-
  nary/Terrorist World
  8 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  10 
  +1 Overall
  24 
  +3 with All Combat
  3 
  Breakfall 13- (15-)
  3 
  Bribery 14-
  3 
  Bugging 12-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13- (15-)
  3 
  Combat Piloting 13- (15-)
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  2 
  AK: Europe 11-
  3 
  KS: Th e Espionage World 12-
  3 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 12-
  3 
  KS: Politics 12-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 12-
  2 
  Language:  German (ﬂ uent conversation; 
  English is native)
  2 
  PS: Soldier 11-
  7 
  Security Systems 14-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13- (15-)
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  7 
  Tactics 14-
  3 
  Teamwork 13- (15-)
  6 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades, General Purpose/
  Heavy Machine Guns, Grenade Launchers, 
  Shoulder-Fired Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  430
  Total Cost:  600
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Dependence:  character must replace the 
  rare high-tech parts in his armor with new 
  ones every Day, or begin to suﬀ er malfunc-
  tions resulting in an 11- Activation Roll for 
  Powers derived from it (Uncommon)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Eurostar 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation: Greedy (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Of Th e 
  Mercenary (Common, Total)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Th e Best And 
  Knows It (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  deadly super-mercenary and 
  terrorist, 11- (Extreme)
  10 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Lazer, Seeks To 
  Harm/Kill Rival)
  10 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Steel Com-
  mando, Seeks To Harm/Kill Rival)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Craig 
  Vandersnoot) (Frequently, Major)
  250 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  600
  Background/History:  Craig Vandersnoot was a 
  major in the U.S. Army assigned as a liaison to 
  NATO. His good looks, charming demeanor, mas-
  ter’s degree in political science, and take-charge 
  attitude made him popular and respected, and 
  before long he was put in command of a NATO 
  research project to develop a light battlesuit for 
  use by the military and law enforcement.
  Th e project was going well under Vanders-
  noot’s supervision when his “moonlighting” came 
  to light:  he’d been working as a security consul-
  tant and troubleshooter for several organized 
  crime groups and terrorist organizations, accept-
  ing huge sums of money to keep them safe from 
  the cops. He even helped plan and execute crimes, 
  applying his tactical knowledge to make the “mis-
  sions” go as smoothly as possible.
  Th ree MPs were sent to arrest Vandersnoot 
  quietly, so the press wouldn’t get wind of things. 
  He killed all three of them, snuck back into the 
  research complex, and put on the battlesuit. 
  Th en he murdered every project scientist and 
  technician he could ﬁ nd, stole all the plans and 
  specs, and trashed the lab. When he was done, he 
  escaped from the facility with ease.
  Since then, Vandersnoot, operating under the 
  codename “Mechassassin,” has established an envi-
  able reputation in the Mercenary World. Known 
  for his skill, power, discipline, and ability to get 
  even the toughest jobs done, he’s made millions as 
  he loots and pillages his way across the globe. He 
  also works as a security chief and military trainer 
  for master villains.
  Personality/Motivation:  Mechassassin is cool, 
  collected, eﬃ  cient, professional, and deadly. His 
  self-conﬁ dence borders on arrogance; he knows 
  MECHASSASSIN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Despite being rivals 
  with Lazer and the Steel 
  Commando, Mechas-
  sassin sometimes ﬁ nds 
  himself having to work 
  side-by-side with them 
  when the same villain 
  hires them both. It’s hap-
  pened again — both he 
  and Lazer are in the pay 
  of Holocaust, who’s put-
  ting together an army of 
  mercs and low-powered 
  villains to back another 
  one of his bids for 
  world power. Together, 
  Lazer and Mechassassin 
  are a deadly, eﬃ  cient 
  combination; can the 
  PCs ﬁ nd a way to use 
  their mutual animosity 
  against them?
  Mechassassin needs 
  a constant supply of 
  expensive parts for his 
  battlearmor, and he’s 
  getting sick of having 
  to buy them. He plans 
  a series of raids against 
  high-tech companies in 
  and around Millennium 
  City to steal enough 
  parts to keep him sup-
  plied for over a year. If 
  the PCs don’t ﬁ nd out 
  about this and stop him 
  in time, he’ll be able 
  to eliminate one of his 
  major weaknesses.
  Another mercenary, 
  wearing light battlear-
  mor almost identical to 
  Mechassassin’s, appears 
  on the superhuman 
  scene. What’s going on? 
  Have some of the NATO 
  scientists gone to work 
  for themselves, selling 
  armor to the under-
  world? Mechassasin’s 
  not sure, but he’s deter-
  mined to ﬁ nd out — and 
  to eliminate anyone 
  involved.
  
  176 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  he’s the best, and that when you put him on a job, 
  the job’s as good as done. Proud without being 
  stupid, ruthless without being sadistic, disciplined 
  without being a machine, he epitomizes the super-
  mercenary in the modern world.
  Like any mercenary worthy of the name, 
  Mechassassin keeps his employers’ identities and 
  related information conﬁ dential. He’ll go to prison 
  or take a bullet in the head before he reveals any-
  thing he’s supposed to keep secret.
  Quote:  “When you’re the best, you can get 
  away with murder.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Mechassassin’s suit 
  of light battlearmor comes 
  equipped with numer-
  ous weapons that give 
  him enough of an edge 
  in combat to stand up 
  against superheroes. 
  Th ey include a pow-
  erful electric pistol 
  with two settings 
  (regular and crispy), 
  a launcher in his right gaunt-
  let that projects a strand of 
  tanglecoil to trap opponents, 
  blades that pop out from his 
  gauntlets, and a selection 
  of grenades with numer-
  ous tactical applica-
  tions. He also carries 
  a shield with which to 
  deﬂ ect enemy attacks. 
  Th e suit requires daily 
  maintenance and 
  parts replacement, or 
  it soon begins to mal-
  function.
  But Mechassassin’s 
  greatest weapons are his 
  mind and body. A soldier 
  with years of experience 
  in just about every sort of 
  combat imaginable, he has a 
  high degree of tactical 
  awareness. He never 
  ﬁ ghts stupidly, under-
  estimates his opponents 
  (especially superpowered ones), or takes foolish 
  risks. He usually has at least two backup plans for 
  every mission, and one standard and one alternate 
  escape route.
  Mechassassin’s choice of weapons and tactics 
  depends on who he’s facing. If he’s confronting a 
  group of foes, or enemies he can’t hit with normal 
  attacks, he’ll use his Tranq Gas Grenades, or “pop 
  smoke” and take advantage of the fact he can 
  see through the stuﬀ  and they (hopefully) can’t. 
  Against “bricks” and energy projectors, he’ll use 
  his shield for protection and shoot with his Elec-
  tric Pistol, oft en Rapid Firing if he has enough 
  cover to compensate for the reduced DCV. Gadge-
  teers, weaponmasters, and other characters using 
  Accessible Foci get the tanglecoil, followed by 
  tranq gas.
  Campaign Use:  Like Lazer and the Steel Com-
  mando, Mechassassin is a “super-mercenary” 
  (though a somewhat more powerful one), suitable 
  for employment by just about any other villain. 
  He works well with groups, whether as a leader or 
  follower.
  If you need to make Mechassassin more 
  powerful, augment his battlearmor. Give it some 
  more Armor, and maybe some additional fea-
  tures, like a jetpack or a Force Wall projector. 
  You can also give him more weapons:  
  built-in gauntlet blasters, other types 
  of grenades, maybe an energy car-
  bine or riﬂ e. If he’s too tough for your 
  heroes, get rid of some of his martial 
  arts, tone his weapons down to 75 or 60 
  Active Points, and decrease his Char-
  acteristics a bit (including reducing 
  his SPD to 5).
  Mechassassin rarely Hunts 
  heroes (unless someone pays him to), 
  but when he does, he’s a tough and tena-
  cious foe. He approaches his goal — to kill 
  the hero — as if it were a military target. 
  He gathers as much intel as he can, then 
  plans attacks for the maximum chance of 
  scoring a kill with the least amount of 
  risk possible.
  Appearance:  Mechassassin wears 
  a suit of light battlearmor col-
  ored dull red and grey (both 
  nonreﬂ ective); he some-
  times changes the suit’s 
  colors, if appropriate for 
  a given mission. It con-
  sists of grey knee-high 
  boots, belt, chestplate, 
  shoulders, gauntlets, 
  and helmet; and 
  red legs, sides, 
  and arms. On 
  his right hip 
  is a grey hol-
  ster holding an energy pistol. Built into his right 
  gauntlet is a tanglecoil launcher. He also carries a 
  dull red lozenge-shaped metal-and-plastic shield 
  on his left  arm.
  Out of his armor, Craig Vandersnoot is 6’3”, 
  220 pounds, blonde, blue-eyed, and handsome. He 
  wears expensive casual clothes, drives well-built 
  sportscars, and tends to throw a lot of money 
  around.
  
  177 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  MENAGERIE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  9 ED (3 rED)
   6 SPD 
  27 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  6
   40 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  121
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  80 
  Animal Forms:  Multiform (change into 
  eight animal forms of up to 300 points 
  each, see text; true form is human form), 
  Instant Change 
  0
  6 
  Swift :  Running +3” (9” total)  
  1
  3 
  Strong Leaper:  Leaping +3” (6” forward, 
  3” upward) 
  1
  5 
  Animal Senses:  Nightvision 
  0
  5 
  Animal Senses:  Tracking for Normal Smell 0
  9 
  Animal Senses:  +3 PER with all Sense 
  Groups 
  0
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acrobatics 14-
  24 
  Animal Handler (all 13 categories) 17-
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Climbing 14-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Zoo World 11-
  2 
  PS: Veterinarian 11-
  3 
  SS: Biology 12-
  5 
  SS: Veterinary Medicine 14-
  7 
  SS: Zoology 16-
  5 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  10 
  Survival (Desert, Marine, Mountains, Tem-
  perate/Subtropical, Tropical) 12-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  192
  Total Cost:  313
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Conceal-
  able; Always Noticed; Detectable Only By 
  Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  Teleios 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Protective Of 
  Animals And Th e Environment (Common, 
  Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Pyrophobia (Fear 
  Of Fire) (Common, Mild)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Megan 
  Munro) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Mental 
  Powers that aﬀ ect Animal minds (Uncom-
  mon)
  13 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  313
  Background/History:  As a child, Megan Munro 
  loved animals. Her walls were covered with pic-
  tures of horses and elephants, her shelves with 
  books about the creatures of the world, and her bed 
  with the plush animals her parents gave her every 
  Christmas. And animals liked her, too; the family 
  dog and cat spent most of their time with her, and 
  whenever her parents took her for pony rides or to 
  the zoo, the animals would nuzzle her and eat right 
  out of her hand.
  As she approached adolescence, Megan began 
  to have dreams about being an animal. Some nights 
  she imagined herself a tiger, stalking through the 
  jungle, some nights a shark cruising tropical waters, 
  sometimes a fantastic creature like a dragon or a 
  pegasus. Th en one morning she woke up — and her 
  dreams had come true. She was a housecat! Terri-
  ﬁ ed, she huddled under the covers, wishing she was 
  a girl again... and suddenly, she was.
  Terror soon gave way to curiosity, and she 
  discovered she could turn back and forth from 
  a cat at will. Aft er about a month of practice, she 
  found she could turn into a rattlesnake, too. Over 
  the course of her teenage years, other shapes fol-
  lowed as she became more and more comfort-
  able with her shapechanging powers. But as her 
  powers improved, she became more animal-like as 
  a human, at least in thought and attitude — more 
  aggressive, more confrontational, more territo-
  rial. Most of her forms were dangerous, predatory 
  animals, and somehow their instincts aﬀ ected and 
  interwove with her personality.
  Th en came the day when her arch-rival, 
  Heather Townsend, beat her out for homecoming 
  queen. Unable to resist the fury within her, that 
  night Megan transformed into her tiger shape and 
  went hunting. In the morning, Heather’s parents 
  were horriﬁ ed to ﬁ nd that some animal had mauled 
  their daughter to death while she walked the family 
  schnauzer. Th e police claimed it was “wild dogs,” 
  but the truth was they had no clues at all.
  Megan made it through college, and then vet-
  erinary school, without much diﬃ  culty. To pay her 
  bills and keep herself in the style to which she was 
  quickly becoming accustomed, she used her animal 
  power to commit crimes, and eventually even hired 
  herself out as a spy, burglar, and sometimes even 
  assassin. She also committed acts of vandalism, 
  sabotage, and assassination against people and cor-
  porations she felt were despoiling the environment 
  or harming animals.
  Today, Megan maintains a secret identity as a 
  MENAGERIE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Aft er a scandal erupts 
  at a major zoo over sup-
  posed neglect of the ani-
  mals, several keepers are 
  found mauled to death 
  near various predators’ 
  cages. Is this Menagerie 
  punishing the “animal 
  abusers,” a villain with 
  animal control powers 
  making the creatures 
  ﬁ ght back against their 
  masters, or something 
  even stranger?
  Th ere are reports of 
  a “big cat” attacking 
  joggers in the park. 
  Is Menagerie up to 
  something, or has a lion 
  escaped from the zoo?
  Teleios has long pursued 
  Menagerie; he wants 
  samples of her DNA and 
  tissues to experiment 
  with. Now he contacts 
  her, explaining that with 
  her help, he may be 
  able to re-create several 
  extinct species, like 
  the passenger pigeon. 
  Intrigued, she agrees 
  to help, but it’s a trick 
  — instead, Teleios cre-
  ates giant shape-shift -
  ing animals and sets 
  them loose on the city. 
  Menagerie has to help 
  the PCs stop the mon-
  strous creatures, and 
  then convince them it 
  wasn’t her fault.
  
  178 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  veterinary consultant to zoos all around the world; 
  her rapport with animals is legendary among the 
  zoological community. But at night she stalks the 
  city as Menagerie, eager for the taste of warm blood 
  in her mouth and the scent of her prey’s fear.
  Personality/Motivation:  Although she usually seems 
  like a nice, ordinary person, Menagerie has an ani-
  malistic, predatory streak to her personality — one 
  she normally conceals so people don’t suspect who 
  she is. Aggressive, sometimes even vicious, she sees 
  other people as potential prey, either for their riches 
  or in the more literal sense of the term. Her code 
  is the law of the jungle:  anyone not strong, swift , 
  or smart enough to avoid her deserves whatever 
  happens to him. On the other hand, her animalistic 
  side gives her a mild version of animals’ fear of ﬁ re.
  Menagerie feels somewhat protective toward, 
  and even possessive of, animals, and the environ-
  ment in general. She loathes anyone who mistreats 
  or abuses animals, and will go out of her way to 
  hurt them. Th is may include superheroes with 
  “pets” whom she feels are demeaned by their rela-
  tionship with the hero. She also enjoys punishing 
  polluters, companies and stores who destroy the 
  rain forest or other precious ecosystems, and the 
  like.
  Quote:  “Everyone has to obey the law of the 
  jungle... I just understand it better than you do.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Menagerie is a mutant with the 
  power to assume the shapes and attributes of cer-
  tain animals. At present she can only assume eight 
  shapes:  great white shark, Bengal tiger, crocodile, 
  bull, falcon, housecat, rattlesnake, and rat. However, 
  at ﬁ rst she could only assume one form, and gradu-
  ally learned the others; it’s likely her repertoire of 
  forms will keep growing.
  Menagerie’s animal forms are slightly better 
  than normal animals. Use the standard HERO 
  System Bestiary writeups for them, but add up to 
  +50 points to make their INT, EGO, PRE, and per-
  haps SPD match her natural Characteristics, boost 
  their senses to match her “Animal Senses” power if 
  necessary, and so forth. You could even give some 
  of them the Red In Tooth And Claw martial arts 
  style from page 14 of the Bestiary.
  In combat, Menagerie shift s to the most appro-
  priate shape (typically tiger or bull for land battles, 
  shark or crocodile for water battles) and attacks 
  aggressively. She can change shape as a Zero-Phase 
  Action, allowing her to adapt to changing combat 
  conditions quickly. Her smaller, faster forms make 
  for easy escapes if necessary. Because most of her 
  forms aren’t heavy on defense, she oft en dodges, 
  uses cover, or tries to ﬁ nd other ways to compen-
  sate.
  Campaign Use:  Menagerie makes a good antagonist 
  for many types of stories. First, because her powers 
  let her vary her methods and style of attack, she’s a 
  good villain for mysteries involving strange mur-
  ders or robberies. Second, she’s useful as “muscle” 
  for villains of greater power, whether they need her 
  for combat duty, spying, or assassination.
  To make Menagerie more powerful, give 
  her additional animal forms, and/or increase the 
  power of the forms she can already assume. As she 
  becomes more experienced, her animal forms may 
  likewise become stronger and tougher, have larger 
  claws and better reﬂ exes, and so forth. She might 
  even develop some half-woman, half-animal forms, 
  like a lycanthrope. If she’s already too powerful 
  for your campaign, take away some of her animal 
  forms; the fewer she has, the more of a one-trick 
  pony she becomes.
  While Menagerie is a skilled hunter in the 
  normal sense of the word, she’s not likely to Hunt 
  heroes too oft en — vengeance isn’t really a part of 
  the law of the jungle, so it’s not a big part of her 
  personality, either. If she did start to Hunt a hero, 
  she probably wouldn’t do so on more than an 8-, 
  and would pursue him as she would any other prey.
  Appearance:  Menagerie is a dark-haired woman in 
  her late 20s, with a trim, athletic ﬁ gure. She doesn’t 
  wear a costume, preferring everyday clothes that 
  allow her to blend in with ordinary people, but 
  oft en uses a headband to keep her long hair out of 
  her eyes. Depending on her mood, she might sub-
  consciously take on very slight feature traits from 
  one of her animal forms (such as developing an 
  almost unnoticeable point to her ears when she’s 
  feeling “catty” or fussy).
  
  179 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  MIRAGE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   23 INT 
  13 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  12 PD (6 rPD)
   7 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  13 ED (6 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  123
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  107 
  Bag Of Tricks:  Variable Power Pool (Gadget 
  Pool), 80 base + 40 control cost; VPP Can 
  Only Be Changed In Lab/Arsenal (-½) 
  var
  91 
  Illusions:  Multipower, 114-point reserve; 
  all IIF (-¼)
  18m 1)  Hologram Generator:  Sight, Hearing, and 
  Smell/Taste Group Images, -5 to PER Rolls, 
  Increased Size (32” radius; +1¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½); 
  IIF (-¼) 
  0
  4m 
  2)  Hallucination Spray:  Mental Illusions 
  20d6; IIF (-¼), Based On CON (-1), Does 
  Not Provide Mental Awareness (-¼), No 
  Conscious Control (-1), Normal Limited 
  Range (3”; -½), 8 Charges (-½) 
  [8]
  6u 
  3)  Cloak Of Illusion:  Invisibility to Sight, 
  Hearing, and Smell/Taste Groups, No 
  Fringe, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), 
  Persistent (+½); IIF (-¼)
  56 
  Illusionary Disguise:  Shape Shift  (to Sight 
  Group; any humanoid form), Instant 
  Change, Imitation, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½); IIF 
  (Hologram Generator; -¼) 
  0
  12 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Observant:  +2 PER with all Sense Groups 0
   
  Perks
  3 
  Anonymity
  4 
  2 Deep Covers
  8 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Acting 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Bugging 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 14-
  3 
  Concealment 14-
  3 
  Conversation 14-
  3 
  Demolitions 14-
  3 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  Electronics 14-
  8 
  Forgery (Documents, Money, Art Objects, 
  Commercial Goods) 14-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  3 
  Inventor 14-
  2 
  CK: Toronto 11-
  2 
  CK: Vancouver 11-
  2 
  KS: Poetry 11-
  4 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 15-
  3 
  KS: Superpowers 14-
  3 
  Mimicry 14-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry 14-
  3 
  SS: Holography 14-
  3 
  SS: Optics 14-
  3 
  SS: Physics 14-
  3 
  Security Systems 14-
  3 
  Seduction 14-
  3 
  Shadowing 14-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  7 
  Stealth 15-
  3 
  Systems Operation 14-
  3 
  Tactics 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  435
  Total Cost:  558
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates Superhu-
  mans (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Utility)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Jesse 
  Turnbull) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to electrical attacks, takes 1d6 
  instantly while wearing her costume (Very 
  Common)
  268 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  558
  Background/History:  “What do you mean, I’m being 
  ﬁ red?!??”
  “I’m sorry, Jess, but that’s the way it’s gotta be.”
  “Why? I’m the best special eﬀ ects and stunts person 
  you’ve got! I can run rings around those other guys.”
  “Yeah, you’re right. But you’re not superhuman, are 
  you?”
  “Well... no.”
  “See, that’s the thing. Th ere’s this agency now that hires 
  out low-powered superhumans for stunts and things. 
  You may be good, but you can’t survive a fall from the 
  top of a building with no safety net, the way these guys 
  can. Even with all your tricks, you can’t fake that sort of 
  thing. Besides, we get an enormous break on our insur-
  ance if we replace you with these SuperStunts guys.”
  “Fine. If that’s how it is, go right ahead and hire those 
  freaks. But you’re going to regret it!” As she left , she 
  slammed the door so hard that pictures fell oﬀ  the wall.
  Damn superhumans! It was getting so an ordi-
  MIRAGE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Mirage and Utility have 
  had a friendly rivalry 
  going for years; both 
  want to prove their 
  superiority to super-
  humanity in some way. 
  Th ey decide to have a 
  contest to see who can 
  capture and/or humili-
  ate the most Millennium 
  City superheroes in a 
  month, with the loser 
  having to do whatever 
  the winner wants.
  Representatives from 
  the Institute for Human 
  Advancement approach 
  Mirage to oﬀ er her a job 
  as a “consultant” on “the 
  superhuman menace.” 
  But it’s not a legitimate 
  job; they really just want 
  to capture her, steal her 
  technology, and use it 
  to kill lots of mutants. 
  With most of her equip-
  ment in the IHA’s hands, 
  Mirage has to humble 
  herself and ask the PCs 
  for help getting it back... 
  or maybe just trick them 
  into getting it for her....
  Th e PCs receive a 
  request from a local 
  news station to allow a 
  camera crew to ﬁ lm a 
  “day in the life” docu-
  mentary about the team. 
  Th e “crew” is actually 
  Mirage and her hench-
  man, armed with knock-
  out gas weapons. Th e 
  PCs soon wake up in 
  one of her deathtraps.
  
  180 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  nary person, even a talented one, couldn’t 
  do anything without having some super-
  human come along and replace him. Well, 
  they weren’t so tough or smart — and she 
  was going to prove it!
  Personality/Motivation:  Mirage is driven by 
  her contempt for superhumans to prove 
  that she’s better than they are. She com-
  mits crimes only to obtain the money she 
  needs to fund her latest scheme to make 
  a monkey out of some prominent hero or 
  villain. As far as she’s concerned, if they can’t 
  ﬁ gure out her puzzles or get out of her traps, 
  they’re not really so super aft er all, and they 
  deserve what they get.
  Quote:  “Not so tough now, huh, hero?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Mirage’s powers derive from holo-
  graphic and optical technology built into her costume. 
  Th ese devices allow her to project highly realistic 
  images with visual, audio, and olfactory components. 
  Th ey’re obviously fake if touched, but she’s extremely 
  clever at setting them up to fool heroes and hide traps. 
  Mirage can also use her illusions to “change shape” to 
  hide in a crowd or look like someone else, or make it 
  appear as if she’s not even there. Additionally, she’s got 
  her Hallucination Spray, a mist so ﬁ nely atomized it 
  gets through even hermetically-sealed protection (i.e., 
  having Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing] oﬀ ers 
  no defense). It causes the victim to experience vivid, 
  and oft en terrifying, hallucinations; Mirage cannot 
  control what the victim “sees and experiences” during 
  these episodes.
  Mirage can’t possibly stand up to a superhero in 
  one-on-one combat, and she knows it. But that doesn’t 
  bother her — her whole raison d’etre is to prove that 
  ordinary humans can be just as good as supers even 
  without powers. She uses her wits and elaborate plans 
  to lure heroes into traps where she can threaten and 
  humiliate them. To set up her traps, Mirage has her 
  Bag Of Tricks Variable Power Pool. With it she can 
  construct deathtraps like the ones on pages 121-22 of 
  Champions (though with fewer Active Points, unless 
  you choose to ignore the standard rules in the interest 
  of the story), robots to attack the PCs, and so forth. 
  She also uses it for gadgets and weapons speciﬁ cally 
  designed to overcome an opponent’s powers. Try to 
  think of clever, creative uses for it.
  If discovered or overcome, Mirage attempts to 
  ﬂ ee by covering herself with an illusion (i.e., activat-
  ing her Invisibility) and creeping away with Stealth. 
  She loathes the thought of losing to pompous cos-
  tumed jerks, so she always tries to have multiple 
  escape routes available. She realizes she won’t win 
  every time, but as long as she isn’t captured she counts 
  it as a moral victory.
  Because Mirage’s costume contains so much 
  gadgetry, exposure to electricity causes short circuits 
  and feedback which hurt her. She’ll do her best to stay 
  out of the way of any lightning-powered superheroes.
  Campaign Use:  Mirage is good for a change of pace 
  from the usual conquer-the-world or rob-the-bank 
  sorts of supervillains. She’s not interested in money 
  or power; she wants revenge against a Superhuman 
  World that she genuinely believes is far more harmful 
  to ordinary humans than most people think. She’ll 
  create elaborate schemes to snare the PCs and draw 
  them into her web of traps and terror so she can show 
  them how weak and helpless they really are. Since 
  she normally works by herself, give her whatever she 
  needs — Bases, Vehicles, robots, or the like — to make 
  her a challenging opponent, even if she runs out of 
  Gadget Pool points.
  To make Mirage more powerful, give her some 
  additional abilities, such as:  a fully Indirect (+¾) 
  Energy Blast Linked to her Illusions power, so her 
  holograms can ﬁ re energy beams at targets from any 
  direction; a teleporter (Teleportation); or an Intangi-
  bility Web built into her costume (Desolidiﬁ cation). 
  Of course, you could simply let her build these with 
  her Bag Of Tricks, but that tends to make her more 
  of a “combat machine” than she’s supposed to be. 
  To make her weaker, reduce her Gadget Pool to 50 
  points, get rid of some of her Skills (or convert them 
  to Familiarities), and reduce the Active Points in her 
  Multipower reserve.
  Mirage is a tough and determined Hunter, but 
  at least she’s not vicious enough to try to kill a hero 
  outright (in fact, humiliating a hero is usually better 
  than killing him anytime). A PC who’s Hunted by 
  her simply gets selected as the target of more of her 
  schemes and traps than other heroes.
  Appearance:  Mirage’s costume covers her entire 
  body, so that she can project holograms that cover 
  her entire form. It’s a royal blue bodysuit, with a 
  collar high enough to come up to her nose, a full-
  face mask with goggles, and a blue cape somewhat 
  like an Inverness cloak.
  Out of her costume, Jesse Turnbull is a pretty 
  woman in her late 20s with the build and muscles 
  of a disciplined athlete. Her hair is long and light 
  brown (fading to blonde-ish in the summertime), and 
  her eyes green. She still has just a trace of her native 
  Canadian accent and speech patterns.
  
  181 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  THE MONSTER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   60 STR 
  50 
  21- 
  Lift  100 tons; 12d6 [6]
   30 DEX 
  60 
  15- 
  OCV:  10/DCV:  10
   40 CON 
  60 
  17-
   30 BODY 40 
  15-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   4 COM 
  -3 
  10-
   25 PD 
  13 
   
  Total:  25 PD (25 rPD)
   25 ED 
  17 
   
  Total:  25 ED (25 rED)
   6 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  0
   80 END 
  0
   100 STUN 20 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  317
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  40 
  Blood-Drenched Claws:  HKA 2½d6 
  (5d6+1 with STR) 
  4
  90 
  A Mind Too Evil To Comprehend:  Ego 
  Attack 3d6, Does BODY (+1), Continuous 
  (+1), Damage Shield (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½); 
  Always On (-½) 
  0
  12 
  Monstrous Form:  Hardened (+¼) for 
  25 PD/25 ED  
  0
  31 
  Monstrous Form:  Damage Resistance 
  (25 PD/25 ED), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  60 
  Monstrous Form:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% 
  0
  10 
  Monstrous Form:  Lack Of Weakness (-10) 
  for Normal Defenses 
  0
  8 
  Heavy And Sturdy:  Knockback 
  Resistance -4” 
  0
  18 
  Fast:  Running +9” (15” total) 
  2
   
  Talents
  15 
  Combat Sense 11-
  22 
  Danger Sense (self only, out of combat, 
  Sense) 11- 
  0
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Climbing 15-
  11 
  Concealment 15-
  11 
  Shadowing 15-
  3 
  Stealth 15-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  344
  Total Cost:  661
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Distinctive Features:  monstrous visage 
  (Concealable With Eﬀ ort; Causes Extreme 
  Reaction [abject fear])
  40 
  Enraged:  Berserk when struck (Very 
  Common), go 14-, recover 11-
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Th e Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates Everyone 
  (Very Common, Total)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Inspire 
  Fear, Wreak Havoc, And Spill Blood (Very 
  Common, Total)
  20 
  Reputation:  murderous monster, 14- 
  (Extreme)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Sonic attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  276 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  661
  Background/History:  No one knows who — or what 
  — the Monster is, where it came from, or who sent 
  it. It simply appeared, one dark and stormy night, 
  and began its reign of bloodshed and terror. Its 
  skull-like face, glowing an evil green, is the last 
  thing many people see. With claws that drip blood, 
  it has left  scores of corpses in his wake. Th e last 
  time it ravaged the city, superheroes barely stopped 
  it; next time they may not be able to contain it at 
  all....
  Personality/Motivation:  Th e Monster is pure, unwav-
  ering evil. It exists only to destroy, kill, maim, and 
  wreak havoc. Its mind is so full of evil thoughts and 
  images that telepaths who establish psychic contact 
  with it experience severe pain.
  Quote:  None. Th e Monster rarely communicates 
  with anything except a roar of anger or a deep-
  throated chuckle of ﬁ endish glee.
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e Monster attacks quickly, 
  aggressively, and persistently. It usually opens 
  the battle with a Presence Attack, espe-
  cially in favorable conditions (e.g., 
  while standing on a rooft op, silhou-
  etted by the moon), then takes advan-
  tage of its victims’ hesitation by ripping 
  into them with its claws. Sweep attacks 
  with its claws are not uncommon. If it 
  can’t close to HTH Combat distance, 
  it uses its STR to throw the heaviest 
  objects it can ﬁ nd.
  If the battle goes 
  against the Monster, 
  it tries to seize a hos-
  tage (a woman, if pos-
  sible) and force the PCs 
  to pursue it to get her 
  back, or save her while 
  it escapes. Sometimes 
  it does this just for fun, 
  carefully concealing the 
  fact that it’s already 
  injured the victim 
  so badly the 
  heroes haven’t 
  a prayer of 
  saving her even if they 
  manage to get her 
  back.
  THE MONSTER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Monster attacks a 
  charity fundraiser and 
  kidnaps the First Lady! 
  Th e PCs must get her 
  back, unharmed — and 
  that means ﬁ nding the 
  Monster, chasing it 
  down on its own turf, 
  and defeating it.
  DEMON casts a spell to 
  bring the Monster under 
  its control, then turns 
  it loose to slaughter the 
  PCs, any NPCs known 
  to be important to them, 
  and anyone else who 
  happens to get in its way. 
  But what if the Monster 
  is only pretending to 
  obey DEMON for its 
  own inscrutable pur-
  poses?
  Th e Monster is in 
  Stronghold — but a 
  virtually identical being 
  has been disembowel-
  ling people in Denver. 
  Could there be more 
  than one of it?
  
  182 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Campaign Use:  Th e Monster is a “gothic super-
  horror” type of villain, and you should use it 
  accordingly. Adventures involving it should take 
  place in dark, haunted mansions, on stormy moun-
  taintops, in shadowy alleyways, and other such 
  places. Its appearance in the game should cause not 
  only concern, but terror, on the part of the PCs. If 
  it’s not tough enough to challenge them, increase 
  its STR, SPD, and HKA until its name becomes 
  synonymous with death and fear. (On the other 
  hand, if it’s already powerful enough to gut all the 
  PCs eﬀ ortlessly, tone it back a little by reducing its 
  STR and HKA; it should be really tough, but not 
  unstoppable.)
  Th e primary plot hook connected with the 
  Monster is what it is and where it comes from. It 
  could be a demon, a man possessed by a demon, 
  a robot, a golem, a mutant, an alien, or some com-
  bination of the above. You should also decide who 
  created/unleashed it, and why; its actions don’t 
  seem to indicate any purpose other than commit-
  ting evil acts, but there may be a pattern the heroes 
  cannot yet perceive.
  Appearance:  Standing nearly seven feet tall, the 
  Monster is huge and frightening. Its face looks like 
  an evilly-glowing green skull, and its large hands 
  are tipped with sharp claws that seem to drip blood 
  constantly. It wears clothes, including a ﬂ oppy hat 
  and large cloak, that appear to be made of charred 
  leather.
  MORNINGSTAR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   50 STR 
  40 
  19- 
  Lift  25 tons; 10d6 [5]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   25 BODY 30 
  14-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   25 PD 
  15 
   
  Total:  25 PD (18 rPD)
   25 ED 
  19 
   
  Total:  25 ED (18 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  8
   60 END 
  0
   65 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  237
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  11”/22”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  12 
  Morningstar:  HA +6d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  3
  33 
  Brick Tricks:  Variable Advantage (+½ 
  Advantages) on 50 STR; Requires A 
  Brick Tricks Roll (-½) 
  5
  18 
  Demonic Armor:  Damage Resistance 
  (18 PD/18 ED) 
  0
  5 
  Demonic Body:  Power Defense (5 points) 0
  10 
  Demonic Limbs:  Running +5” (11” total) 
  1
  5 
  Demonic Eyes:  Infrared Perception (Sight 
  Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  4  
  +2 OCV with Morningstar
  15 
  +3 Hand-To-Hand
  2 
  KS: DEMON 11-
  3 
  Power:  Brick Tricks 19- 
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  113
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Aura Of Utter Evil 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [abject fear])
  20 
  Enraged:  if his morningstar is taken from 
  him (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  25 
  Enraged:  Berserk if takes BODY (Uncom-
  mon), go 11-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  DEMON 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Trismegistus Council 8- (As Pow, 
  Capture)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Love Of Battle 
  (Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hunger For Power 
  And Riches (Common, Moderate)
  30 
  Susceptibility:  to holy places/objects, takes 
  2d6 STUN and BODY per Turn (Uncom-
  mon)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Fear of EVIL
  ‘The Monster is probably the 
  most terrifying opponent I’ve 
  ever faced in personal combat. 
  Its claws can cut through 
  even my armor, and its strength rivals Iron-
  clad’s. But even worse than that is the fear 
  it inspires. Something about it reaches into 
  your mind and makes you want to run away 
  and hide — it’s a primal evil that will kill you 
  if you can’t get away. Standing up to that 
  feeling is one of the hardest things I’ve ever 
  done.’
  — Defender of the Champions
  Blood and Guts?
  ‘It’s not some demon or ghost 
  or anything, jerkwad. It’s a 
  robot, I’m telling you. I’m a 
  cyberkinetic, I know these 
  things. Just looking at pictures of it, I can 
  almost feel the computer brain in that head 
  working at billions of calculations a second 
  as the nanogears, artiﬁ cial muscles, and 
  hypermotors inside its shell move the arms 
  and legs. It’s a marvel of engineering, not 
  some stupid fairy-tale reject.
  ‘I have no idea who built it, though.’
   
  —Cybermind
  
  183 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Background/History:  “Brother Germaine, kneel 
  before the Inner Circle!”
  On trembling legs, Stephen Germaine knelt. 
  His whole body was shaking. To be summoned 
  before the Inner Council itself! What had he done? 
  What were they going to do to him?
  “Brother Germaine, the Inner Circle has need 
  of you. Th e Morbanes have cast horoscopes, and 
  their divinations show that you were born at just 
  the right moment to be the subject of our latest 
  Ritual of Imbuement. You will go at once with these 
  Initiates to the Sacriﬁ cial Chamber, that the ritual 
  may be performed.”
  “I hear, and obey,” said Germaine, hardly 
  daring to believe his good fortune. He wasn’t being 
  punished at all! Th e Morbanes were going to give 
  him great powers — temporary ones, to be sure, but 
  powers nonetheless.
  Th e Ritual went as it had a hundred times 
  before, though Germaine had no way of knowing 
  that. When the pain subsided, he found that his 
  body had been merged with that of some diabolic 
  entity. Gone was his puny human ﬂ esh, replaced by 
  demonic sinew of great strength. In his right hand 
  was a chain, and at the end of that chain a large, 
  spiked metal ball — a morningstar.
  Th e Morbanes soon discovered that 
  something unusual had happened. 
  Instead of fading away aft er a few hours, 
  Germaine’s powers remained. Some-
  how, the temporary eﬀ ects of the Ritual 
  had become permanent! Th ey didn’t 
  understand it, but they knew how to 
  make use of this new weapon that 
  had fallen into their hands. From that 
  point forward, Brother Germaine — or 
  Morningstar, as he was now called 
  — served DEMON even more faithfully 
  than before, for the Ritual bound him 
  to DEMON’s service with chains not even 
  his great strength could break. He smashed 
  what the Morbanes told him to smash, slew 
  those upon whom they pronounced 
  their doom, and battled the so-called 
  “superheroes” who would destroy 
  his masters. But he soon began to 
  chafe at this slavery; someone with 
  his power should be free to do as he 
  chose!
  And then, a wondrous thing 
  happened. While battling UNITY 
  with several other DEMON supervillains, 
  he and the Morbane in charge of the group 
  were attacked by Dr. White and Dr. Black, the 
  UNTIL superteam’s resident mystics. Somehow, 
  the attack severed the control spell DEMON main-
  tained on him; all at once, he was free! Without 
  a second thought, he ﬂ ed into the night, eager to 
  escape the clutches of DEMON and begin ﬁ ghting 
  for his own gain.
  Personality/Motivation:  When Stephen Germaine’s 
  petty human mind was merged with that of a war-
  devil in DEMON’s Ritual of Imbuement, he gained 
  much of the devil’s nature to go along with his 
  existing criminal tendencies. Instead of possessing 
  a simple desire for lots of money and an easy life, 
  he now hungers for conquest, riches, glory, and 
  power. Battle, and triumph in battle, are the keys to 
  these things, and he ﬁ ghts with a ﬁ erce joy. He oft en 
  has diﬃ  culty leaving a ﬁ ght (even if he’s losing and 
  knows he should ﬂ ee) because he revels in combat 
  so much.
  Quote:  “A bothersome ﬂ y such as you needs swat-
  ting.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Morningstar’s powers are a result 
  of the merging of a human form with the body and 
  spirit of a war-devil through a DEMON ritual. Th e 
  result is a hybrid being possessing the enormous 
  strength and resilience of the devil, with the intel-
  ligence and cleverness of the human.
  In battle, Morningstar typically relies upon his 
  namesake weapon, using it to smash anyone who 
  gets in his way. It’s an Unbreakable Focus, and he 
  values it above all other things; he typically ﬂ ies 
  into a berserk rage and attacks anyone who takes 
  it from him. But that’s not all he can do. He’s well-
  versed at using his enormous strength for “power 
  stunts”; this ability 
  is simulated by 
  applying the 
  Vari-
  MORNINGSTAR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  DEMON wants Morn-
  ingstar back. He used 
  to be one of their most 
  successful superpowered 
  Brothers, and he will 
  be again if the Inner 
  Circle has anything to 
  say about it. Rather than 
  risk its own people, the 
  Circle assigns two Mor-
  banes to trick the PCs 
  into tracking down and 
  capturing Morningstar 
  — and then kidnap him 
  from them!
  Talisman oﬀ ers to 
  enchant Morningstar’s 
  weapon so it’s even more 
  powerful, if he’ll just 
  do one little favor for 
  her. Th at favor? Kill her 
  sister Witchcraft ! In fact, 
  she’ll place a temporary 
  enchantment upon it 
  now, to show what she 
  can do, and to make it 
  easier for him to slay 
  her hated sister....
  Using an ancient Egyp-
  tian black magic ritual, 
  the Circle of the Scarlet 
  Moon catches Morn-
  ingstar and binds him 
  to its service. Now he’s 
  trapped again! How can 
  he turn the tables on 
  the Circle and alert the 
  PCs to what’s going on, 
  in a way that gets him 
  free but not captured 
  by the heroes?
  
  184 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  able Advantage Advantage to his 50 STR. For 
  example, he can clap his hands together to create 
  a seismic shockwave (Explosion), use his ﬁ sts in a 
  way that breaks through armor more easily (Armor 
  Piercing), hit someone multiple times (Auto-
  ﬁ re), and so on. As a default, he assigns the Vari-
  able Advantage to Reduced Endurance (0 END) 
  (though he won’t do that if he plans to Push, of 
  course).
  Morningstar looks, and oft en acts, like a fright-
  ening, mindless brute, which leads his opponents to 
  underestimate him. In truth, he’s clever and tacti-
  cally aware, with a healthy dose of human smarts 
  tinged by diabolic guile. He may “play dumb” to get 
  a foe in position for a Surprise Move, but otherwise 
  he ﬁ ghts intelligently and well.
  Morningstar no longer has a human form; he’s 
  trapped in his quasi-demonic shape forever. For 
  this reason, he has no Social Limitation regarding 
  his identity; it’s neither public nor concealable.
  Campaign Use:  Morningstar is a good mercenary 
  villain, suitable for employment by more power-
  ful supercriminals (like Holocaust) or allying with 
  other villains. A team lacking a “brick” might ﬁ nd 
  him a perfect candidate for membership. If you 
  want to use him as the focus of a story, you might 
  delve into how he broke free from DEMON’s con-
  trol (that sort of thing hasn’t happened before, or 
  since), or deal with the consequences of his diabolic 
  half becoming more powerful (and thus more out 
  of control).
  To make Morningstar more powerful, increase 
  the Advantages for his Brick Tricks power (to +1, or 
  more), or give him some additional “brick tricks” 
  built with other powers. You could also make his 
  morningstar do Double Knockback, or increase his 
  STR or SPD. If he’s already too tough for your cam-
  paign, reduce his defenses, SPD, and HA, or get rid 
  of the Brick Tricks ability.
  As a Hunter, Morningstar usually tries to get 
  his foe into a position where he cannot refuse a 
  challenge to single combat. He may kidnap one of 
  the hero’s DNPCs, or confront him in a situation 
  where he can’t back down without losing face.
  Appearance:  Morningstar is a strange, and in many 
  ways hideous, cross between man and war-devil. 
  His head and face have a look sometimes described 
  as “demonically leonine,” with a thick mane of black 
  hair surrounding features with a slightly feline cast 
  to them (including two tiny upward-pointing fangs 
  visible even when his mouth is shut). His body 
  looks like a burly, heavily-muscled human form 
  with reddish-grey skin, garbed in a sort of rusty 
  demonic plate armor, but in fact the “armor” is his 
  demonic skin. Th e “armor” does not have gauntlets; 
  it ends in bracer-like formations on the wrist. He 
  carries his morningstar, a heavy chain about four 
  feet long with a large spiked ball on the end, in his 
  right hand.
  NEBULA
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   12 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  27 PD (15 rPD)
   15 ED 
  10 
   
  Total:  30 ED (15 rED)
   6 SPD 
  27 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   11 REC 
  0
   80 END 
  15
   40 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  167
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  33 
  Duress Gauntlets:  Multipower, 50-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½)
  3u 
  1)  Imprisonment:  Extra-Dimensional 
  Movement (single location in Duress; see 
  text), Usable As Attack (see sidebar; +1), 
  Ranged (+½); OIF (-½) 
  5
  3u 
  2)  Tractor Beam:  Telekinesis (20 STR), 
  Fine Manipulation, Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼); OIF (-½) 
  2
  62 
  Th rombalic Energy Manipulation:  
  Multipower, 62-point reserve
  4u 
  1)  Merciful Th rombalic Sword:  Energy 
  Blast 12d6; No Range (-½) 
  6
  4u 
  2)  Deadly Th rombalic Sword:  RKA 4d6; 
  No Range (-½) 
  6
  6u 
  3)  Th rombalic Blast:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  5u 
  4)  Nebula Field:  Drain STUN 2d6, 
  Ranged (+½), Area Of Eﬀ ect (4” Radius; 
  +1), Personal Immunity (+¼) 
  5
  30 
  Force-Shield:  Force Field (15 PD/15 ED), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF 
  (costume; -½) 
  0
  3 
  Force-Shield:  Mental Defense (7 points 
  total); OIF (costume; -½) 
  0
  3 
  Force-Shield:  Power Defense (5 points); 
  OIF (costume; -½) 
  0
  30 
  Force-Shield:  Life Support:  Total; OIF 
  (costume; -½) 
  0
  30 
  Force-Flight:  Flight 15”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); OIF (costume; -½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  4 
  +2 with Flight
  3 
  Computer Programming 12-
  3 
  Criminology 12-
  2 
  AK: Andromeda Galaxy 11-
  2 
  KS: Shreegasha Music 11-
  3 
  KS: Criminals Of Th e Andromeda Galaxy 12-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂ uent; 
  Yuun’ta is native)
  NEBULA’S 
  IMPRISONMENT 
  POWER
  As with any other 
  Usable As Attack power, 
  Nebula’s Imprisonment 
  ability has certain pro-
  tections that defend 
  against it completely. 
  Th e best defense, though 
  one only known to a few 
  Andromedan criminals 
  who guard the secret 
  pretty closely, is a bio-
  electric Force Field 
  “tuned” to the right “fre-
  quency.” Some special 
  eﬀ ects of Power Defense 
  similarly “attuned” might 
  also apply. Additional 
  defenses would include 
  having the ability to 
  cross dimensional barri-
  ers on one’s own (Extra-
  Dimensional Movement, 
  possibly some special 
  eﬀ ects of Teleportation), 
  dimensional-energy 
  based forms of Deso-
  lidiﬁ cation, “astral form” 
  Duplication, or the 
  innate ability to move 
  faster than the speed of 
  light (FTL Travel, some 
  forms of MegaScaled 
  movement)...
  ...and of course anything 
  else the GM feels like 
  adding based on the 
  nature of his campaign 
  and how he intends 
  to use Nebula. Since 
  Nebula is not a PC, how 
  she functions in the 
  story is really the most 
  important thing when 
  it comes to deciding 
  exactly how her powers 
  work, so as always, 
  adjust to suit.
  
  185 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  PS: Galactic Law Enforcement Oﬃ  cer 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  265
  Total Cost:  432
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Enraged:  if someone tries to stop her 
  from doing her duty to enforce the law 
  (Common), go 11-, recover 14-
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  NASA 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Knows Little Of Earth 
  Culture (Frequently, Slightly Impairing)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Utterly Alien 
  Physiognomy (-10 to all medical and 
  related rolls to heal or help her) 
  (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Enforce Her 
  People’s Laws (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hunting Vibron 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (u-Vareeta 
  Hoki) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Milky Way 
  Galaxy Chemicals/Gases/Poisons (Common)
  77 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  432
  Background/History:  A ﬁ ve-year investigation was 
  ﬁ nally coming to an end. Five years of high-speed 
  pursuits, endless stakeouts, boring labwork, and 
  countless interviews with snitches and lowlifes. It was 
  all about to pay oﬀ . Tayina Mathet u-Vareeta Hoki 
  activated her Force-Shield and smashed in the door.
  “Freeze, Shamareeth!” she yelled, her Th rombalic 
  Blasts at the ready. “I arrest you in the name of the 
  Republic!”
  Shamareeth was across the room, standing in front 
  of some... portal. Th at was the only word she could 
  think of for it. It was an asymmetrical arch, ﬁ lled 
  with corruscating purplish energies. Banks of equip-
  ment stood nearby; the technicians monitoring them 
  quickly raised their arms. Shamareeth, looking blurred 
  as usual, laughed. “Not this time, I think, Mathet. I 
  have found a way to escape you and your foolish 
  comrades forever. My only sadness is that I shall never 
  again know the joy of tormenting you with your 
  inability to stop me. Farewell!” With that he turned 
  and headed straight for the archway.
  “No!” Hoki shouted, swooping toward him with her 
  Force-Flight. She grabbed him, intending to pull him 
  back from the brink, but as he struggled, he slipped, 
  and suddenly they both plunged through the purple 
  veil.
  Colors, thousands of them, colliding in her brain. 
  Sounds, a cacophony of them, shrieking in her ears. 
  Dizziness, disorientation, nausea, pain. Th en a tre-
  mendous impact, and nothing.
  She awoke a few minutes later... or it seemed like 
  a few minutes, she couldn’t really tell. Shamareeth was 
  nowhere to be seen — but that wasn’t surprising, he’d 
  been prepared for this trip and had no doubt recov-
  ered more quickly.
  She became aware that some... people... were 
  staring at her. Th ey looked very odd, nothing like any 
  Republic species she had ever seen or heard of. Some 
  were very short; children, perhaps?
  One of the children took a step toward her. “Are you 
  a superhero?” he asked, with what she assumed was 
  his face contorting oddly. She was amazed she under-
  stood him; somehow the passage through the portal 
  had changed her mind so she could speak the lan-
  guage of this place.
  “No, child, I am but a humble crimeﬁ ghter,” she said, 
  staggering to her feet to look around. She saw stone-
  and-glass buildings, moving metal things belching 
  smoke, humanoids wearing what appeared to be 
  organic clothings. Clearly, she was far away from 
  home.
  “A superhero!” the child said, obviously pleased and 
  not understanding what she’d said. Maybe she didn’t 
  speak this garish language as well as she thought.
  Just then an alarm when oﬀ  at the bank across the 
  street. With a mad cackle, a red-and-black garbed 
  ﬁ gure smashed his way out through a transparent 
  wall, with a bag in each of his hands.
  “Blackﬁ re!” someone shouted, and the crowd began 
  to run away, screaming for help. Even on this strange 
  world, it took no special intuition for Tayina Mathet 
  Hoki to know when duty called.
  “Halt, evildoer!” she shouted. “Surrender, and your 
  time in Duress shall be short. Fight, and you shall 
  never again be seen in this reality.” Only a fool would 
  choose the second option, knowing (as did everyone 
  in the Republic) the powers of the Tel’narian Guard.
  “Stuﬀ  it, sister!” the man in the black and red clothing 
  replied. “No one stops Blackﬁ re!” Dropping the bags, 
  he pointed his arms at her and shot a bolt of ﬁ re. She 
  stepped to the side, avoiding the brunt of it, her Force-
  Shield absorbing the rest.
  “So be it. By the power of Republic and the authority 
  of the Tel’narian Guard, I sentence you to Duress for 
  eternity.” With ﬁ st clenched, she pointed her gauntlet 
  at him. Strange energies began to shimmer around it, 
  then around him.
  “Hey, what... no, wait... Noooooooooo!!!” he shouted, 
  as he suddenly ﬂ ashed like a photographic nega-
  tive... and then vanished. Th e few wisps of smoke that 
  marked his passing were quickly blown apart by the 
  breeze. She ﬂ ew away, eager to ﬁ nd the nearest Guard 
  station and resume the hunt for Shamareeth.
  It didn’t take long for her to realize she wasn’t on 
  Debrel IV anymore. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if she 
  was in the right galaxy anymore. Th is just didn’t feel 
  like “home.”
  It only took a little while longer for one of this 
  world’s champions to approach her. Garbed as gaudily 
  as the criminal she’d sentenced, he asked to speak with 
  her. Word of her confrontation with the criminal had 
  apparently spread — by newsnet, no doubt — and he 
  NEBULA 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Nebula comes to the 
  heroes for help. She 
  believes the Duress 
  dimension is starting 
  to break down on or 
  around Earth, because it 
  wasn’t meant to be used 
  so much in this part of 
  space. If it’s not “shored 
  up,” thousands of super-
  human criminals from 
  the Andromeda Galaxy 
  will ﬂ ood the planet. 
  She and the PCs have to 
  make a perilous journey 
  there, repair the “weak 
  spots” while fending oﬀ  
  the inmates, and then 
  return home safely.
  Nebula discovers that 
  a VIPER Nest is using 
  Yuun’ta technology! 
  How did they get it? Th e 
  problem has become 
  widespread enough 
  already that she’ll need 
  the PCs’ help to investi-
  gate and stop this inter-
  galactic scheme.
  A beloved ally of the 
  heroes lies dying of 
  some mysterious illness. 
  Nebula suggests that 
  Yuun’ta medical tech-
  nology might be able 
  to cure him — but of 
  course it’s all 2,200,000 
  light-years away. Th e 
  PCs have to ﬁ nd a way 
  to get there, get the 
  technology, and get 
  home before their friend 
  passes away.
  
  186 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  wanted to know what had happened. As she gave her 
  report, the funny look on his face became more and 
  more extreme. Perhaps he was not feeling well.
  “You... sent him to... another dimension?” he ﬁ nally 
  managed to stammer when she’d ﬁ nished.
  “Yes, to Duress, pursuant to my powers as a member 
  of the Tel’narian Guard.”
  “And when does he... return?”
  “Never. Th e penalty for attacking a member of the 
  Guard is eternal exile.”
  “And in this “Duress” place, what happens to him?”
  “Th e Keepers inﬂ ict pain upon him, in 
  accordance with the Repub-
  lic’s Code of Supreme 
  Justice.”
  “So you sentenced 
  him to eternal 
  torment... for a 
  bank robbery?”
  “No, the robbery only entails 
  a penalty of 50 years. He 
  received the maximum 
  sentence for attacking a 
  member of the Guard, 
  as I said.”
  Th e discussion 
  only went downhill from there. He was 
  apparently oﬀ ended by something she’d 
  said or done, and he tried to apprehend 
  her — “for her own good,” he said. 
  Another attack. She conﬁ ned him to Duress 
  as well.
  A few more days in this strange place, 
  studying the local customs and conditions, con-
  vinced her Shamareeth had journeyed to some 
  barbarian backwater, and brought her along. 
  Th ese people were primitive in the extreme; 
  they certainly didn’t understand the Supreme 
  Code, or the need for it, at all — which was all 
  the more odd because crime seemed rampant 
  here. Th ere were more costumed people, some 
  of whom seemed similar to the Guard, though 
  much less disciplined or eﬀ ective. She soon 
  learned these people were called “superhe-
  roes.”
  Lacking any means to get home on her 
  own, Hoki decided to become one of these 
  “superheroes” as she looked for Shama-
  reeth, who might know how to create 
  another portal and return to Debrel. But 
  it soon became apparent the costumed 
  heroes didn’t know much about police work. Th ey 
  kept getting upset when she sentenced criminals to 
  Duress; many of them even tried to stop her! Th at’s 
  when she realized it was going to take a long time to 
  enlighten these barbarians....
  Personality/Motivation:  Nebula (the name comes from 
  the starry-ﬁ eld appearance of one of her powers) is an 
  alien from the Andromeda Galaxy. She is a member 
  of the Tel’narian Guard, a group of superpowered 
  police oﬃ  cers working for a government she refers to 
  simply as “the Republic.” Th rough advanced genetic 
  and bioneural engineering, the Republic has hard-
  wired her to understand and enforce the Code of 
  Supreme Justice (a.k.a. “the Supreme Code”), a body 
  of criminal and penological laws that prescribe harsh 
  punishments for even the most trivial of oﬀ enses. 
  She believes, with a faith as strong as that of the most 
  pious saint, and logic as inviolable as a computer’s, that 
  she is appointed and authorized to enforce 
  the Supreme Code. Th e draconian nature 
  of the Code — which allows her to 
  administer death via combat or execu-
  tion, or sentence oﬀ enders to a hellish, 
  torment-ﬁ lled artiﬁ cial dimension called 
  the Duress — puts her at odds with 
  most superheroes on Earth. 
  Many of them have tried to 
  capture or stop her; more 
  than a few of them have 
  found themselves in Duress 
  for “assaulting a duly autho-
  rized member of the Tel’narian 
  Guard.”
  For her part, she’s shocked and dismayed 
  that her new home has so little understanding 
  of the law, or what must be done to enforce 
  it; she regards Humans and Human institu-
  tions as childlike (at best). She’s put a lot of 
  eﬀ ort into understanding Earth culture 
  and customs (not an easy thing to 
  do when you’re both trying to cap-
  ture criminals, and trying not to be 
  captured yourself), but as far as she’s 
  concerned, the “primitive Humans” need 
  to be show, by her example, how to go about 
  enforcing the law and ensuring public safety.
  Quote:  “By the power of Republic and the author-
  ity of the Tel’narian Guard, I sentence you to 
  Duress for eternity.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Nebula is a mutant member of a 
  species she calls the Yuun’ta. She does not register 
  on Human mutant detectors because she is not 
  Human. In fact, her physiology is so diﬀ erent from 
  that of Humans, or Milky Way Galaxy species in 
  general, that even experienced xenobiologists have 
  diﬃ  culty analyzing or treating her. Her powers 
  involve the manipulation of thromba, a sort of 
  personal energy ﬁ eld natural to her people. Most 
  Yuun’ta have barely-detectable thromba ﬁ elds; 
  hers is so strong she can form energy-swords 
  from it, project energy bolts, and even 
  create ﬁ elds of thrombalic energy that 
  weaken everyone in them.
  As a member of the Tel’narian Guard, Nebula 
  wears a special costume interwoven with technology 
  that generates a protective energy-screen around her 
  body and allows her to ﬂ y. But her most important piece 
  of equipment are her Duress Gauntlets, with which she 
  transports criminals to an alternate dimension called 
  Duress. As she explains it, Duress was constructed by 
  Yuun’ta engineers decades ago as the ultimate prison. 
  No one sent there has ever found a way to leave it before 
  his sentence has expired. While there he cannot die from 
  starvation or exposure, but the Keepers (guards) impose 
  
  187 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  tortures related to the crimes he committed. Addi-
  tionally, the “inmates” oft en ﬁ ght among themselves, 
  sometimes maiming or killing each other. Th e Duress 
  Gauntlets are Unbreakable Personal Foci; only Nebula 
  can use them. (Th e same applies to her costume, which 
  generates a protective force-shield.)
  In combat, Nebula prefers to rely upon her 
  Th rombalic Energy powers, particularly her Merciful 
  Sword. If she can’t close to HTH Combat range, she’ll 
  use her Th rombalic Blast or Tractor Beam instead, or 
  sometimes perform Move Bys/Th roughs. Th e Duress 
  Gauntlets are to be used only aft er she has the opportu-
  nity to pass sentence, which requires a Phase of solemn 
  pronouncements.
  Campaign Use:  Nebula should present an interesting 
  moral dilemma for most PCs. She is unquestionably a 
  hero; her life-risking conduct to save innocents from 
  harm should demonstrate that to them. But because she 
  allocates to herself the power to act as judge, jury, and 
  executioner — and to impose a punishment that seems 
  extraordinarily harsh to most “four-color” superheroes 
  — they’re likely to ﬁ nd themselves at odds with her. 
  What to do?
  Nebula could also serve as a plot hook for adven-
  tures involving Vibron, or perhaps other criminals from 
  the Andromeda Galaxy. He might not be the only one 
  who devises a method to “get way from it all.” Since the 
  Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.2 million light-years from 
  Earth, it’s pretty much a one-way trip, leaving Earth’s 
  heroes to deal with a bunch of villains from beyond.
  If Nebula isn’t powerful enough for your campaign 
  (an important consideration if you intend to pit her 
  against the entire PC team for at least one scenario), 
  increase her Characteristics (STR 50, DEX 30, CON 30, 
  SPD 8) and her Multipower reserve and slots (to 90-120 
  points); you could also give her more slots, and perhaps 
  some other stand-alone powers. If she’s too tough, try to 
  scale her down to about 350 total points by decreasing 
  her Characteristics (STR 20, DEX 20, CON 20, SPD 5) 
  and other powers.
  Nebula isn’t going to Hunt superheroes; even 
  if they ﬁ ght her, she’s not such a slave to the Code of 
  Supreme Justice that she’s going to go out of her way 
  to exile them to Duress (she might very well do that in 
  combat, though). She spends most of her time trying to 
  track down Vibron (and other Andromedan criminals, 
  if you create them), and generally ﬁ ghting crime and 
  doing good deeds.
  Appearance:  Nebula is a female of the reddish-skinned 
  Yuun’ta species of the Andromeda Galaxy, humanoid 
  but clearly not Human, beautiful not only aft er the fash-
  ion of her own people but to most Human eyes as well. 
  Her Tel’narian Guard uniform is a black bodysuit with 
  gold boots, belt, and helmet. On her hands and arms she 
  wears her dreaded Duress Gauntlets. Made of a gold 
  metal, they reach most of the way up to her elbow, but 
  are slightly longer on top than on bottom. On the top, 
  near the back end, is set an oval-shaped, facetless blue 
  gem about 2” on its long axis; the gem glows eerily when 
  the Gauntlets are in use. Her thrombalic energy powers 
  have a purple or purple-silver color, though this may 
  vary slightly depending on her mood.
  OGRE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   65 STR 
  55 
  22- 
  Lift  200 tons; 13d6 [6]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   33 CON 
  46 
  16-
   23 BODY 26 
  14-
   5 INT 
  -5 
  10- 
  PER Roll 10-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   30 PD 
  17 
   
  Total:  30 PD (30 rPD)
   24 ED 
  17 
   
  Total:  24 ED (24 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   20 REC 
  0
   66 END 
  0
   73 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  210
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Leaping: 
  23”/46”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  13 
  Devolutionized Body:  Hardened (+¼) 
  for 30 PD/24 ED  
  0
  34 
  Devolutionized Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (30 PD/24 ED), Hardened (+¼) 
  0
  5 
  Devolutionized Body:  Lack Of Weakness 
  (-5) for Normal Defenses 
  0
  10 
  Super-Strong Legs:  Leaping +10” 
  (23” forward, 12” upward) 
  1
  23 
  Super-Strength Smash-Th rough:  Tunneling 
  1” through 15 DEF material; Requires A 
  STR Roll (-½), Walls Only (-½) 
  5
  6 
  Animalistic Senses:  +2 PER with all 
  Sense Groups 
  0
   
  Skills
  15 
  +3 Hand-To-Hand
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  107
  Total Cost:  317
  200+ Disadvantages
  30 
  Enraged:  Berserk in combat (Very 
  Common), go 11-, recover 14-
  25 
  Enraged:  Berserk when takes BODY 
  damage (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-
  25 
  Hunted:  ARGENT 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Devolutionized 
  Memory (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates “Bullies” 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  stupid, destructive super-strong-
  man, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (James 
  “Jack” Stevens) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Mental Powers 
  (Very Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  395 (see text)
  OGRE PLOT SEEDS
  Ogre continues devo-
  lutionizing, become 
  more and more brut-
  ish — both stronger 
  and stupider. Eventu-
  ally he’s strong and 
  tough enough to make 
  Grond look puny, and 
  touchier than a bull with 
  a toothache. Once he 
  starts rampaging across 
  the city, it may take 
  the combined eﬀ orts 
  of America’s greatest 
  superheroes to stop him!
  Grond has his heart set 
  on a vacation rampage 
  through Acapulco, but 
  recently DEMON used a 
  magic spell to take con-
  trol of him and make 
  him destroy Iowa City, 
  so he feels the need to 
  express his dismay at 
  their shameful violation 
  of his personal rights. 
  He decides to trick 
  Ogre into going aft er a 
  Demonhame in Millen-
  nium City so that he can 
  still catch his plane to 
  Mexico.
  ARGENT believes the 
  Devolutionizer Ray 
  could still work, but 
  since all the data on the 
  project was destroyed 
  by Ogre during his 
  escape, it needs to gather 
  new data before it can 
  proceed. Rather than 
  waste money hiring 
  mercenaries, it plans to 
  antagonize Ogre, let the 
  PCs capture him, then 
  kidnap him from the 
  police.
  
  188 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Background/History:  In need of a random group of 
  test subjects for its latest invention, a Devolution-
  izer Ray designed to turn ordinary humans into 
  super-strong quasi-australopithecines, ARGENT 
  kidnapped a couple dozen people from a sporting 
  event in Denver. One of the victims was Jack Ste-
  vens, a computer programmer.
  One by one, Jack saw his fellow prisoners led 
  out of the room, and soon heard the agonizing 
  screams as their captors did... something to them. 
  Th en the guards came in and motioned to him. 
  Th ey took him into a laboratory and strapped him 
  down, smashing him in the side with a riﬂ e butt 
  when he tried to break free. Th en Jack heard an 
  odd-pitched whine and saw bizarre 
  lights inside his brain. Pain ripped 
  through his body. He screamed 
  and screamed, it seemed like 
  forever, but then the pain 
  slowly faded away and 
  he passed out.
  And that’s 
  the last time 
  Jack Stevens 
  remembered 
  anything. 
  Th e Dev-
  olution-
  izer Ray 
  worked 
  on 
  him, at 
  least 
  par-
  tially. It 
  transformed 
  him into a brut-
  ish proto-humanoid, 
  strong enough to rip 
  cars in two or punch 
  through armor plat-
  ing, but dumb as a 
  bag of hammers. 
  It wiped out most 
  of his memories 
  of his old life, 
  leaving only the 
  recollection 
  of being cap-
  tured, forced 
  into a lab, and 
  tortured. Th e 
  thought of the 
  torture enraged 
  him. He snapped 
  the restraints the ARGENT scientists had put him 
  in, smashed through one of the lab’s walls, and 
  proceeded to destroy the entire facility as a way 
  of punishing the “bullies.” Slightly calmer aft er so 
  much “exercise,” he wandered oﬀ  into the night 
  before the cops arrived. Soon “the Ogre” (as one of 
  his early employers dubbed him) was a well-known, 
  and easily-manipulated, ﬁ gure on the supervillain 
  scene.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th e Devolutionizer Ray 
  aﬀ ected Ogre’s mind as well as his body, making 
  him intensely stupid. He has diﬃ  culty remember-
  ing things (particularly complicated subjects, like 
  detailed attack plans). When he’s involved in a sce-
  nario, at some point the GM should make an EGO 
  Roll for him; if he fails, he’s forgotten an important 
  fact; once he realizes this, his frustration may make 
  him do something destructive.
  In one respect, Ogre’s memory is quite good. He 
  vividly recalls being captured and tortured (though 
  he doesn’t know by who, exactly). Th is has left  him 
  with a strong dislike of “bullies,” his term for anyone 
  who tries to hurt other people, force other people 
  to do things they don’t want to, make fun of other 
  people, or the like. “Bullies” also include just about 
  anyone who tries to stop Ogre from doing some-
  thing Ogre wants to do (unless they use very gentle 
  persuasion and somehow appeal to his “good side”). 
  Many supervillains have exploited Ogre by tricking 
  him into thinking a particular hero is a “bully.”
  Quote:  “You not stop Ogre! Ogre smash all bullies!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Ogre lacks the intelligence to for-
  mulate any sort of sophisticated tactics. Typically 
  he picks an opponent — the most “bully”-like one, 
  or the one who’s hurt him the most in the current 
  or past combats — and smashes him with all his 
  strength. He particularly enjoys Haymakering his 
  Punch, and will do so whenever there’s a reasonable 
  chance he’ll succeed (for example, if his opponent is 
  Stunned).
  Campaign Use:  Ogre is a straightforward brick, 
  useful as a hireling or patsy for a more intelligent or 
  sophisticated villain. However, Jack Stevens was an 
  ordinary, even upstanding, citizen; if a way could be 
  found to reverse the Devolutionizer Ray’s aﬀ ects on 
  Ogre’s intelligence, he’d probably switch gears and 
  become a superhero — or a super-strong volunteer 
  worker.
  Ogre has 78 Character Points unspent from his 
  Disadvantages (or only 33 if you want to limit him 
  to 150 points’ worth of Disadvantages). Th ese come 
  into play aft er the game begins if you want; you 
  could spend them on additional “brick trick” abilities 
  Ogre develops during the game, or other powers that 
  arise as his body devolutionizes further.
  To make Ogre more powerful, increase his 
  STR or SPD, or give him some Damage Reduction. 
  You could also add a few more “brick tricks,” like his 
  Super-Strength Smash-Th rough. To weaken him, 
  reduce his STR and defenses.
  Ogre really isn’t smart enough to Hunt heroes; 
  he doesn’t have the intelligence or memory needed 
  to formulate a Hunting plan and carry through on 
  it. He’s good at holding grudges, though; if a hero 
  (particularly another super-strong character) has 
  defeated him repeatedly, he’ll always go aft er that 
  “bully” ﬁ rst.
  Appearance:  Ogre is a huge, thick-limbed man with 
  a face whose prominent brow-ridges, skull-ridge, 
  and pointed ears betray his proto-human nature. 
  He usually wears a dark, short-sleeved bodysuit and 
  grey boots.
  
  189 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  PHOTON
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   30 DEX 
  60 
  15- 
  OCV: 10/DCV: 10
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   22 COM 
  6 
  13-
   7 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  27 PD (20 rPD)
   18 ED 
  13 
   
  Total:  38 ED (20 rED)
   8 SPD 
  40 
   
  Phases:  2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   50 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  177
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  79 
  Lightﬁ re:  Multipower, 79-point reserve
  7u 
  1)  Lightblast:  Energy Blast 12d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  7u 
  2)  Brightblast:  Sight Group Flash 12d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  7u 
  3)  Brightﬁ eld:  Sight Group Flash 7d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (4” Radius; +1) 
  7
  5u 
  4)  Brightcone:  Sight Group Flash 7d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (8” Cone; +1); No Range (-½) 
  7
  7u 
  5)  Maxbright:  Sight Group Flash 10d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½) 
  7
  8u 
  6)  Laser-Eyes:  RKA 3d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 3
  30 
  Lightform Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers
  30 
  1)  Prism-Field:  Force Field (20 PD/
  20 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 0
  60 
  2)  Lightﬂ ight:  Flight 30”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  36 
  3)  Lightspeed I:  Teleportation 11”, 
  MegaScale (1” = 10,000 km; can scale 
  down to 1” = 1 km; +1½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  30 
  4)  Lightform:  Desolidiﬁ cation (aﬀ ected 
  by light and darkness attacks), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10 
  Lightspeed II:  FTL Travel (1 LY/year) 
  0
  25 
  Brighteyes:  Sight Group Flash Defense 
  (25 points) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Lightﬁ re Multipower
  1 
  Computer Programming 8-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  2 
  PS: Graduate Student 11-
  2 
  SS: Astronomy 11-
  2 
  SS: Optics 11-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Systems Operation 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  362
  Total Cost:  539
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Accidental Change:  when she experiences 
  signiﬁ cant stress, frustration, or aggravation 
  11- (Common)
  20 
  DNPC:  Greg Betts (boyfriend; Unaware of 
  Photon’s Social Limitation: Secret Identity) 
  11- (Normal)
  15 
  Hunted:  California Patrol 8- (Mo Pow, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Amoral 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Colleen 
  Dewey) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Susceptible:  to Darkness to Sight Group, 
  takes 1d6 per Phase (Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Darkness 
  attacks (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Darkness 
  attacks (Uncommon)
  179 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  539
  Background/History:  Colleen Dewey was a gradu-
  ate student pursuing a Ph.D. in astronomy. To 
  improve her ability to study the stars, she learned 
  how to design new, improved lenses for her tele-
  scopes. Her peers scoﬀ ed at her, but she claimed her 
  lenses made the heavens come through much more 
  clearly.
  Late one evening, Dewey was scanning the 
  heavens on her normal schedule, using an all-new 
  lens she’d just created that day with some new pro-
  cedures and supplies she’d never tried before. Sud-
  denly, she chanced across something... odd. Smack 
  in the middle of Orion, where it had no right to 
  be, there was an unusual patch of bright light. It 
  didn’t look quite like a star, or anything else she’d 
  ever seen. She focused in on it, watching intently, 
  wondering if she’d just discovered something that 
  would get her name in the journals.
  Th en the light ﬂ ared, and there was a white 
  ﬂ ash inside Dewey’s mind, and she passed out.
  She awakened several hours later. At ﬁ rst she 
  thought dawn was breaking, but then she realized 
  she was the one glowing, not the eastern horizon. 
  Her whole body was emitting a ﬁ eld of soft , yellow 
  light. Panic started to rise within her mind — what 
  had happened to her? — and it only increased as 
  the ﬁ eld began to get brighter. Soon she was curled 
  into a ball, her hands pressed over her eyes, trying 
  to shut out the light, but it was too bright.
  Something snapped in Dewey’s mind that 
  night. Maybe whatever changed her physically 
  aﬀ ected her psychologically as well, or maybe her 
  conscious and subconscious terror over what had 
  happened to her did the trick, but the result was the 
  same. She went from being an ordinary, law-abid-
  ing graduate student to a callous criminal. With 
  her incredible light-based powers to help her, she’s 
  committed numerous robberies and various other 
  forms of mayhem, not hesitating to blast the police 
  PHOTON 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A rogue Star Guard-
  ian, Velat na Karýth, 
  contacts Photon. He 
  claims the light she saw, 
  and that gave her her 
  powers, was from his 
  Star-Staﬀ , whose consid-
  erable power he has aug-
  mented with long-lost 
  Malvan technology. He 
  wants to enlist her help 
  in his planned conquest 
  of Earth. Is he telling the 
  truth... or is there more 
  here than meets the eye?
  Photon and Tachyon 
  meet, fall in love, and 
  begin a Bonnie and 
  Clyde-like crime spree 
  across the country. Who 
  else might join them 
  for the thrill of it? How 
  will the PCs ﬁ nd them 
  and stop them? What 
  will Photon’s former 
  boyfriend Greg do about 
  the situation?
  Photon begins to 
  mutate, with her powers 
  slowly altering away 
  from the spectrum of 
  visible light and into 
  the ultraviolet. Soon the 
  radiation she’s giving 
  oﬀ  will be enough to 
  endanger everyone 
  around her. Why is this 
  happening, and what 
  steps will she take to 
  stop it?
  
  190 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  or any superheroes who got in her way. Th ough 
  she does not pose as much of a threat as the likes 
  of Gravitar or Firewing, she’s still a force to be 
  reckoned with, and every year she seems to get 
  more powerful.
  Personality/Motivation:  Photon is callous, amoral, 
  arrogant, and greedy. Where once she only cared 
  about her studies, friends, and family, these days 
  she ignores all those things (except for her boy-
  friend Greg) in favor of stealing and being a part 
  of the Superhuman World. She doesn’t want to kill 
  or seriously harm anyone, but otherwise she’s only 
  concerned with herself and what she can take. She 
  ﬁ gures she deserves anything she can get; aft er all, 
  the light in the sky made her a “freak” who can’t 
  ever really be a part of anyone’s life anyway.
  Quote:  “Time to light this place up!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Photon’s body was 
  infused by a strange light from the 
  sky, whose origin and nature 
  she remains utterly ignorant 
  of. As a result, she gained 
  powers relating to light 
  and brightness. She can 
  project blasts of light 
  in various forms 
  (from deadly 
  lasers, to concus-
  sive blasts, to blind-
  ing ﬂ ashes), protect 
  herself with a force 
  ﬁ eld of shift ing 
  prisms and planes 
  of light, and even 
  transform her body into 
  a mostly-light form (her 
  Desolidiﬁ cation). When she 
  ﬁ rst became a supervillain, she 
  only had some of these powers, 
  and she could easily develop more 
  (see below) over time.
  In combat, Photon has to watch 
  her END usage carefully; she doesn’t 
  have enough END to go full-tilt every Phase, Turn 
  aft er Turn. With her high SPD, she can oft en aﬀ ord 
  to spend a Phase or two each Turn taking Recov-
  eries to make up for the lack. For some reason, 
  despite her experience, she’s never undergone any 
  increase in stamina.
  With her Lightspeed I power, Photon can go 
  pretty much anywhere on Earth in the blink of 
  an eye (though of course, if she hasn’t been there 
  before, she’s going to have to slow down and search 
  for her precise destination; she doesn’t have any 
  heightened senses that function with her Mega-
  Scaled Teleportation). It’s a great power for escap-
  ing from the scene of a crime. With her Lightspeed 
  II power, she could journey around the near 
  regions of Earth’s solar system easily — but she 
  hasn’t yet developed a way to so wholly transform 
  her body into light that she can survive in outer 
  space (i.e., have Life Support). No doubt she’ll 
  learn to do so in time (i.e., aft er earning some 
  more Experience Points).
  Photon still does not entirely have control 
  over her powers; if she’s in her normal human 
  form and gets frustrated or upset, she may sponta-
  neously transform into her superhuman persona. 
  She’s also vulnerable to darkness-based attacks, or 
  ﬁ elds of darkness which cut oﬀ  her access to out-
  side light.
  Campaign Use:  Photon makes a good mercenary-
  type villain whom master villains can employ, 
  or she can team up with similar super-criminals 
  to form impromptu teams. Additionally, you can 
  explore the question of her origin — what was that 
  mysterious light from space? Why did it aﬀ ect her 
  and not someone else?
  Photon might make a good potential member 
  of GRAB. Like that 
  group’s members, she’s 
  not a killer and mostly 
  interested in money. She 
  is a bit harder-edged than most 
  of the GRABbers, more prone 
  to frustration and angry 
  outbursts, which might 
  cause friction within 
  the team. Another pos-
  sibility is that she and 
  Tachyon might start 
  a relationship; their 
  mutual interest in 
  astronomy would 
  draw them together 
  as much as their 
  common career as 
  supervillains.
  To make Photon 
  more powerful, give her 
  some additional abilities, 
  either as part of one of her 
  Power Frameworks, or bought 
  separately. Examples include:  the 
  ability to bend light (allowing her 
  to become invisible, or to see around 
  walls); the ability to transform herself so 
  fully into light that she gains Life Sup-
  port; the ability to control machines 
  with ﬁ ber-optic technology (Mind 
  Control versus the Machine class of 
  minds); the power to shape light into solid forms 
  (Force Wall, Entangle, and various other powers). 
  To make her less powerful, decrease her SPD to 
  6 or 7, and her Multipower’s reserve to 60 Active 
  Points.
  Photon is not a particularly imaginative 
  Hunter, and rarely Hunts anyone on more than 
  an 8-. Her methods are simple:  she occasionally 
  attacks her quarry, particularly during sensitive 
  moments. Th at’s about the limit of her tactical 
  thinking in this situation.
  Appearance:  Photon’s costume is a bodysuit with 
  sunset-pink torso, thighs, and arms, and sunset-
  gold legs, boots, and gloves. She does not wear a 
  mask, but conceals her identity through minor 
  light-manipulations that subtly alter her features 
  and make her eyes look pupilless. Her hair is long 
  
  191 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  and dark.
  RIPTIDE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   24 DEX 
  42 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   12 PD 
  8 
   
  Total:  18 PD (6 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  16 ED (6 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  113
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Swimming: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  80 
  Water Powers:  Multipower, 80-point reserve
  8u 
  1)  Water Blast I:  Energy Blast 9d6, 
  Double Knockback (+¾) 
  8
  8u 
  2)  Water Blast II:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Area Of Eﬀ ect (16” Line; +1) 
  8
  7u 
  3)  Water Blast III:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  6u 
  4)  Filled Lungs:  Energy Blast 6d6, NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Expanded 
  Breathing: Breathe Underwater or Self-
  Contained Breathing]; +1) 
  6
  5u 
  5)  Splash In Th e Face:  Sight and Hearing 
  Group Flash 6d6, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  18  
  Water Form:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED) 
  0
  45 
  Water Form:  Physical Damage Reduction, 
  Resistant, 50% plus Energy Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  13 
  Aquatic Adaptation:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing, Safe Environment: 
  High Pressure, Intense Cold) 
  0
  27 
  Liquid Intangibility:  Desolidiﬁ cation 
  (aﬀ ected by cold or ﬁ re); Cannot Pass 
  Th rough Solid Objects (-½) 
  4
  18 
  Superb Swimmer:  Swimming +18” 
  (20” total) 
  2
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 with Swimming
  2 
  KS: Barbie Dolls 11-
  2 
  KS: Rock Music 11-
  2 
  PS: Singing 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  245
  Total Cost:  358
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  DEMON 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy; Out For 
  All She Can Get For Herself (Very Common, 
  Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Marjorie 
  Preston) (Frequently, Major)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Presence 
  Attacks (Very Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Cold Attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Cold Attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  13 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  358
  Background/History:  Convinced she could make 
  it big as a singer, Margie Preston ran away from 
  her home in Iowa to the Big City shortly before 
  her eighteenth birthday. Unfortunately, what 
  awaited her was not stardom, but poverty and 
  misery. With just ten dollars in her pocket when 
  she arrived, she was easy pickings for a hand-
  some guy at the bus station who offered to “help 
  her out.”
  Unlike so many girls trapped in these des-
  perate circumstances, Margie didn’t wind up 
  working the streets. The man she met was a 
  member of DEMON, and he gleefully turned her 
  over to his masters for their dark rituals. Seeing 
  her as good fodder for “an experiment,” one of 
  the Morbanes cast a spell that bonded her with 
  a water elemental. He hoped to obtain a servant 
  with the powers of the elemental, but the pliabil-
  ity of the scared and easily-dominated girl.
  What he got was a superhuman too power-
  ful for him to handle. Crazed with fear and new-
  found power, Margie smashed her way out of the 
  Demonhame and into the streets. Somehow she 
  eluded capture by both DEMON and the police 
  long enough for her wits to return. She realized 
  she could never go back home now — and she 
  couldn’t become a rock star, either. But as long as 
  she had superpowers, she intended to live the life 
  of luxury she’d always dreamed of!
  Personality/Motivation:  Margie — or Riptide, as 
  she now prefers to be called — is still in many 
  ways a naive and insecure girl. Her only motiva-
  tion is greed; she grew up poor, so she uses her 
  powers to steal all kinds of luxuries she’s never 
  had before (and all the collector’s Barbie dolls 
  she can carry, to replace the ones she left behind 
  in Iowa). She doesn’t think of much besides crea-
  ture comforts and money. Her insecurity makes 
  her easy pickings for anyone with enough force 
  of personality to seduce or bully her, and as a 
  result she’s worked for a lot of more experienced 
  supervillains and come away with little or noth-
  ing to show for it. Someday, she may become 
  confident in her abilities, at which point anyone 
  RIPTIDE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Riptide robs a museum, 
  stealing some valuable 
  jewelry that caught her 
  eye one day. Unfor-
  tunately, Mechanon 
  wants one of the gems 
  for a laser cannon, and 
  DEMON thinks the 
  necklace is an enchanted 
  talisman, and the Ulti-
  mates had their eyes on 
  that particular stash. 
  Now they’re all aft er her; 
  terriﬁ ed, she turns to the 
  PCs for help.
  Th e PCs happen to meet 
  Margie’s parents on the 
  street; they’ve come to 
  the city looking for their 
  “lost daughter.” Surely, 
  the heroes won’t hesitate 
  to oﬀ er their assistance 
  to so heartbroken an old 
  couple....
  Th e local Morbane 
  works a special ritual 
  to bind Riptide to 
  DEMON’s service, as 
  was originally intended. 
  She now ﬁ nds herself 
  serving some of the 
  most evil men on the 
  planet, forced to commit 
  all sorts of heinous acts 
  she’d never even con-
  sider on her own. She 
  needs to get free and 
  clear her name... but 
  how?
  
  192 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  who tries to use her as a doormat or patsy had 
  better watch out.
  Quote:  “Sorry to be such a wet blanket....”
  Powers/Tactics:  Riptide’s powers are water-based, 
  and derive from the fact that she was bonded 
  with a water elemental as part of a magic 
  ritual. She can project blasts of water, choke a 
  victim by filling his lungs with water or blind 
  and deafen him with a properly-directed 
  splash. Her semi-liquid form is difficult to 
  damage, and she can become 
  wholly liquid to slip 
  through grates, cracks, 
  and the like. And, of 
  course, she can swim 
  extremely fast.
  Riptide hasn’t learned enough yet to have 
  any sense of tactics. She picks a target and 
  attacks him until he falls down, or she does. 
  She’s discovered the hard way that cold 
  powers cause her a lot of pain, so she 
  avoids cold-using superheroes or, 
  if cornered, attacks in a fury with 
  Pushed Energy Blasts in the hope 
  of getting away.
  Riptide’s inexperience also 
  shows in the fact that she tires 
  easily. Unless she restricts her-
  self to her weakest Water Blast, 
  she can run out of END after a 
  little more than a Turn if she’s 
  not careful (especially if 
  she’s also swimming). She 
  tries to pay attention to 
  this, but hasn’t completely 
  learned her lessons yet.
  Most of Riptide’s abilities are usable only 
  when she’s in her water form. However, since 
  there’s little or no way to stop her from trans-
  forming in most situations, they’re not bought 
  with the Only In Heroic Identity Limitation.
  Campaign Use:  Riptide is a good, basic villain 
  who could work for just about anyone because 
  she’s so easy to manipulate. Given time, as she 
  becomes more powerful and confident, she may 
  start to pull more jobs on her own (or, more 
  complicated jobs — she commits lots of rob-
  beries by herself, though she only takes cash 
  and items she wants to keep, since she 
  doesn’t know any fences). Under the right 
  superheroic influences, she might even 
  reform and become a hero — she’s not 
  a bad person, really, she just wants all 
  the “good things” she’s 
  never had.
  Riptide 
  would never 
  Hunt anyone. If 
  a hero hurts her, 
  she prefers to stay 
  far away from him, not seek 
  revenge.
  If Riptide is too weak for 
  your campaign, increase her 
  SPD to 6, her REC to 15, and 
  her END to 60. You might also 
  add a few slots to her Multip-
  ower. If she’s too strong, knock 
  her SPD down to 4 and reduce 
  her Multipower to a 60 Active 
  Point reserve.
  Appearance:  In her normal 
  human form, Margie 
  Preston is a pretty 
  young woman in her 
  early 20s, with shoul-
  der-length wavy 
  brown hair, brown 
  eyes, and an 
  attractive figure. 
  As Riptide, she 
  has the same 
  figure, but appears to be made entirely of water. 
  She can transform from one state to the other 
  with but a thought. In human form, she some-
  times wears a light blue costume with dark blue 
  highlights.
  THE ELEMENTAL EVILS
  As mentioned in one of Zephyr’s plot seeds (page 216), 
  DEMON might want to create a team of hired villains based 
  around the four classical elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and 
  Water. To ﬁ ll these roles, it would recruit Zephyr, Temblor, 
  Blowtorch, and Riptide.
  While this team would make a powerful opponent for 
  roughly the same number of superheroes, it would also 
  have weaknesses the PCs could exploit. Th e ﬁ rst weak-
  ness is Blowtorch. Since he doesn’t have innate super-
  powers like the others, he could be removed from the 
  ﬁ ght easily if one of the PCs took away his ﬂ amethrower. 
  To get around this diﬃ  culty, DEMON might prefer to 
  create its own ﬁ re-based supervillain with a summoned 
  ﬁ re elemental and a reﬁ nement of the spell that gave 
  birth to Riptide. You could use Feuermacher’s character 
  sheet (page 71) or a true ﬁ re elemental (HERO System 
  Bestiary, page 73) for this character, whom DEMON 
  would name Bonﬁ re.
  Temblor is also a weakness — not because of his powers, 
  but because his foremost obligation is to the Crowns of 
  Krim, not DEMON. He might betray the Elemental Evils, 
  or be lured away by a belief that Dark Seraph needed 
  him for some reason. If DEMON decides he’s too great 
  a risk, they might pay him oﬀ  and, once again, create a 
  villain of their own who’d serve them better. You can use 
  Temblor’s character sheet, but get rid of the OIF Limita-
  tion on most of his powers (and maybe weaken some of 
  them) and change his Disadvantages.
  Of course, the real question is:  what does DEMON want 
  with a team of hired supervillains? It’s never needed to 
  hire an entire team worth of villains on such a long-term 
  basis before. What do the ﬁ endish minds of the Inner 
  Circle have in store for the Elemental Evils?
  
  193 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  SHADOWDRAGON
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   10 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  22 PD (12 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  22 ED (12 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  10
   40 STUN 
  7 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  151
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  10”/20”
   
  Leaping: 
  12”/24”
   
  Teleportation: 30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Darkness Creation:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 5” radius, Personal Immunity (+¼), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  60 
  Darkness Powers:  Multipower, 60-point 
  reserve
  6u 
  1)  Fist Of Darkness:  Energy Blast 12d6 
  6
  5u 
  2)  Shadow-walking:  30” Teleportation; 
  Only From One Area Of Darkness/
  Shadow To Another (-¼) 
  6
  5u 
  3)  Th e Souldark:  Drain BODY 3d6, 
  Ranged (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Only Versus Targets In Dark-
  ness/Shadow (-¼) 
  0
  5u 
  4)  Th e Terror Of Th e Dark:  Drain PRE 
  3d6, Ranged (+½), Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½); Only Versus Targets In 
  Darkness/Shadow (-¼) 
  0
  4u 
  5)  Th e Mantle Of Shadow:  Invisibility to 
  Sight Group, No Fringe, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Only In 
  Darkness/Shadow (-¼) 
  0
   
  Martial Arts:  Hwarang-Do
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Damage/Effect
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  3½d6 NND(2)
  4 
  Finger Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3½d6 NND(1)
  4 
  Hand Strike/
   
  Elbow Strike/
   
  Snap Kick  
  +0 
  +2 
  9d6 Strike
  5 
  Joint Break 
  -1 
  -2 
  Grab One Limb; 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  w/ STR), Disable
  3 
  Joint Lock 
  +0 
  -1 
  Grab One Limb, 
  45 STR for hold-
  ing on
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  11d6 Strike
  5 
  Th row 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR); 
  Target Falls
  12 
  +3 Damage Classes (already added in)
  10 
  Talons Of Th e Shadowdragon:  Find Weak-
  ness 11- with Kick
  24 
  Dark Shield:  Force Field (12 PD/12 ED) 
  2
  10 
  Dark Shield:  Power Defense (10 points) 
  0
  8 
  Swift :  Running +4” (10” total) 
  1
  8 
  Strong Leaper:  Superleap +8” 
  (12” forward, 6” upward) 
  1
   
  Perk
  6 
  Contact:  the Warlord 11- (extremely useful 
  resources, signiﬁ cant Contacts of his own)
   
  Talents
  15 
  Combat Sense 13-
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  6 
  +2 with Darkness Powers Multipower
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  2 
  CK: Seoul 11-
  1 
  CK: San Francisco 8-
  1 
  CK: Millennium City 8-
  2 
  KS: Th e Espionage World 11-
  2 
  KS: Hwarang-Do 11-
  2 
  KS: Korean Healing 11-
  2 
  KS: Korean History 11-
  2 
  KS: Korean Legends & Folklore 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Martial World 11-
  3 
  Paramedics 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  334
  Total Cost:  485
  200+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  eerie voice (Not 
  Concealable, Noticed And Recognizable)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  dragon tattoo on chest 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Shugoshin 8- (As Pow, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Mercenary; Will 
  Do Anything For Money (Very Common, 
  Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fascinated By Evil 
  (Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Reputation:  martial arts mercenary, 11-
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Park 
  Yong-sun) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Susceptibility:  1d6 per Turn from Holy/Con-
  secrated Objects (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Light attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Light attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x Eﬀ ect from Sight Group 
  Flashes (Common)
  120 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  485
  SHADOWDRAGON 
  PLOT SEEDS
  DEMON contacts Shad-
  owdragon and oﬀ ers to 
  double his powers if he 
  agrees to work for the 
  Inner Circle for three 
  years. Shadowdragon 
  accepts — and his ﬁ rst 
  job with his new powers 
  is to kill all the PCs.
  Shugoshin (Champions 
  Universe, page 62) shows 
  up on the PCs’ doorstep, 
  battered, bruised, and 
  coughing up blood. 
  Barely able to remain 
  awake, he stammers out 
  one word, “Sh-shadow...,” 
  before collapsing and 
  falling into a coma. 
  Shadowdragon is the 
  obvious culprit — but 
  when the PCs ﬁ nd him, 
  he claims to have been 
  nowhere nearby during 
  the time of the attack, 
  and that he has wit-
  nesses to prove it. Is he 
  telling the truth? If so, 
  what’s going on?
  Th e Crowns of Krim 
  plan to capture Shad-
  owdragon and sacriﬁ ce 
  him to the Lords of Hell, 
  to bring forth an army 
  of shadow-demons with 
  which to conquer and 
  enslave the world. Th e 
  PCs have to stop the 
  ritual, then work with 
  Shadowdragon to stop 
  the Crowns... only to 
  have Shadowdragon 
  turn on them aft er the 
  ﬁ ght and try to sacriﬁ ce 
  them to the Lords of 
  Hell!
  
  194 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Background/History:  Yong-sun cupped his hands 
  together. Th en he bent over and looked inside 
  them. He looked for a long, long time, then he went 
  to show his mother.
  “Mama! Mama!” he cried excitedly. “Guess what I’ve 
  got,” he said, showing her his clasped hands.
  His mother looked at him, expecting a frog or 
  something equally exciting. “I don’t know, son. 
  What is it?”
  “Guess!”
  “Hmmm. An elephant.”
  “No!  Guess again!”
  “If it’s not an elephant, it must be a mouse.”
  “No!  Look,” Yong-sun said, hold-
  ing his hands up to her.
  She looked, but couldn’t see any-
  thing. “I don’t see it, son, what 
  is it?”
  He looked at her exasperatedly. 
  “It’s darkness, Mama!  Isn’t it 
  pretty?”
  His mother laughed, said 
  that it was, and told him to go 
  play. Yong-sun ran outside, but 
  he couldn’t understand why his 
  mother didn’t see the darkness 
  like he did. It was right there!  
  How could she not see it, how 
  pretty it was?
  Yong-sun’s fascination 
  with darkness lasted through 
  his childhood and into his 
  adolescence. At times he 
  would stay up all night just 
  to feel like he was a part of it. 
  Th en, one day, the darkness 
  in his hands spoke to him!  
  “Wouldn’t you like to see more 
  of me, without having to put 
  your hands together?” it 
  whispered alluringly.
  “Yes!” Yong-sun said excit-
  edly.
  “Th en pull at me — pull with your mind,” the dark-
  ness said.
  Yong-sun concentrated, and thought hard, and 
  pulled and pulled. Eventually he felt a sort of “pop” 
  in his mind, and there it was, right in front of him 
  — a cloudy, dark thing, darker than anything he 
  had ever seen before. It was amazing!
  Yong-sun wanted to create more of these dark 
  things, and asked his new “friend” how to do it. 
  Over the next several nights, the dark thing taught 
  him how to manifest all sorts of darkness powers, 
  in exchange for Yong-sun’s promise to do certain... 
  things. Yong-sun didn’t care about the promises, all 
  he wanted to do was create darkness.
  Since that time, Yong-sun has had the ability to 
  create darkness and manipulate it in various ways. 
  He is constantly trying to develop new darkness 
  powers, and his fascination with his powers only 
  continues to grow. 
  Personality/Motivation:  Yong-sun has used his dark-
  ness powers and hwarang-do training to become 
  the martial artist mercenary and assassin Shadow-
  dragon. He will take any job he feels he can pull 
  oﬀ , no matter how evil or destructive it is — when 
  he sold his soul to the being who gave him his 
  powers, any human kindness, sympathy, or 
  mercy he might have possessed went with it. 
  His heart is as black as the darkness ﬁ elds he 
  generates. Now the thought of evil consumes 
  him; at times he seems determined to test 
  himself, to ﬁ nd out if there’s anything 
  so vile and wicked he will not do it. He 
  has yet to reach his limit.
  Yong-sun is absolutely fascinated 
  by his darkness powers, and by 
  darkness in general. He thinks of 
  it as a living thing, talks to it, and 
  considers it his friend and protector. 
  He always hopes that the darkness will 
  answer him, as it did before.
  Quote:  “My darkness will consume you.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Shadowdragon, in addition 
  to being a competent practitioner of hwa-
  rang-do, is able to manipulate a mysterious 
  “dark force” of some sort. Some martial 
  artists can detect this as a sort of “dark 
  ch’i” or evil life force. He can use it for 
  obvious things (such as blocking his 
  opponents’ vision), or he can ﬁ re 
  darkforce energy blasts, step from 
  one patch of darkness or shadow 
  to another without crossing the 
  intervening space, or use the 
  darkness to drain the life-force 
  of those within it. Whether 
  this ability is a mutation or 
  some sort of “granted” power 
  is debatable; Shadowdragon 
  thinks of it as a “gift ” from 
  the Darkness, and makes 
  sure to “feed” his powers 
  with the Souldark as oft en 
  as possible.
  Shadowdragon is also skilled at making good 
  tactical use of his powers. For example, if he needs 
  to use his hwarang-do, he will usually put a dark-
  ness ﬁ eld around himself and his target(s) so 
  they’re blinded and thus easy prey. He will also set 
  up several darkness ﬁ elds around the battleﬁ eld so 
  he can quickly teleport around; if necessary, he will 
  make them fairly small so that he has to pay less 
  END for them. (Note:  pay close attention to Shad-
  owdragon’s END usage, since many of his powers 
  use a lot of END; if he gets too tired, he’ll ﬂ ee rather 
  than run out of power and be captured.)
  Shadowdragon oft en uses his powers so that 
  the darkness appears to rise from the dragon tattoo 
  on his chest. Th is may lead some heroes to think 
  
  195 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  the tattoo is a kind of Focus; in fact, this is just an 
  eﬀ ect, and the tattoo an ordinary one.
  Campaign Use:  Shadowdragon makes a good mer-
  cenary villain, particularly if you want to vary a 
  team a little from the more typical Lazer-Mechas-
  sassin model of super-mercs. His powers may also 
  provide you with some plot seeds. Th e exact nature 
  of who or what “spoke” to Shadowdragon through 
  the darkness in his cupped hands remains a mys-
  tery; it may be an evil sorcerer, Dark Seraph, or 
  many other beings. Doctor Yin Wu once said, aft er 
  encountering Park Yong-sun, “the Death Dragon 
  has touched him,” so many people believe that to be 
  the source of Shadowdragon’s powers.
  If Shadowdragon isn’t powerful enough for 
  your campaign, increase some of his Characteris-
  tics (primarily DEX, CON, SPD, and REC), up his 
  Multipower to a 75 Active Point reserve and slots 
  (or more), and add more Extra Damage Classes. If 
  he’s too tough already, get rid of his Extra DCs and 
  one or two of his Multipower slots.
  Appearance:  Shadowdragon is a tall (5’10”), mus-
  cular Korean. He wears skintight dark blue pants 
  that end at mid-calf, and matching soft  shoes like 
  many martial artists wear. He goes barechested so 
  the magniﬁ cent dragon tattoo drawn on his chest 
  in dark blue ink can be seen. He is bald except for 
  a long topknot. His voice has a distinctive eerie, 
  unearthly quality.
  SHRINKER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   10 PD 
  8 
  Total:  13 PD (3 rPD)
   10 ED 
  5 
  Total:  13 ED (3 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   50 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  107
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  16”/32”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  100 
  MicroScale:  Shrinking (.008 m tall [about 
  .25 inch], .0000063 kg mass, -16 to PER 
  Rolls to perceive character, +16 DCV, takes 
  +24” KB), Costs Endurance Only To 
  Activate (+¼) 
  8
  27 
  Walking Between Molecules:  
  Desolidiﬁ cation (aﬀ ected by any attack 
  that breaks the object she’s in); Only To 
  Pass Th rough Solid Objects (-½) 
  4
  25 
  Enter Th e Microverse!:  Extra-Dimensional 
  Movement (any location in a single 
  dimension [the Microverse], 
  corresponding to the point she’s at in 
  this dimension) 
  0
  80 
  Microscopic Combat:  Multipower, 
  80-point reserve
  3u 
  1)  Internal Agony I:  HKA 1d6+1, Aﬀ ects 
  Physical World (+2), Penetrating (+½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); Only 
  When Desolidiﬁ ed Inside Target (-1), No 
  STR Bonus (-½) 
  0
  5u 
  2)  Internal Agony II:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Indirect (+½), Transdimensional (from 
  the Microverse to the normal-sized world; 
  +½); No Range (must be “inside” target; -½) 7
  5u 
  3)  Optic Nerve Trampoline:  Sight Group 
  Flash 8d6, Indirect (+½), Transdimensional 
  (from the Microverse to the normal-sized 
  world; +½); No Range (must be “inside” 
  target; -½) 
  7
  2u 
  4)  Surﬁ ng Th e Net:  Teleportation 10”, 
  MegaScale (1” = 10 km, can scale down to 
  1” = 1 km; +¾); Only Th rough Phone 
  Lines (-1) 
  3
  21 
  Microﬂ ight:  Flight 16”; Linked (to 
  Shrinking, gains 2” Flight per 10 points 
  of Shrinking used; -½) 
  3
  20 
  Spatial Correspondence Detection:  Detect 
  Point In Normal-Sized Space Corresponding 
  To Current Position In Th e Microverse 18-, 
  Targeting 
  0
  Who Knows What 
  Darkness?
  ‘Shadowdragon’s been an 
  enemy of mine for years; we’ve 
  fought on many occasions. 
  He’s come after me several times simply to 
  get revenge for the last time I beat him. So far 
  I have defeated him in our every encounter, 
  or at least driven him off from his objective, 
  but my victory has never been a sure or easy 
  one. Shadowdragon’s martial skills alone 
  make him a formidable opponent, but his 
  darkness powers only increase his ﬁ ghting 
  prowess. Without my ability to sense an foe 
  without having to see him, I would have fallen 
  to Shadowdragon long ago. Fortunately, the 
  Seishinhikari of my mystic blades seems to 
  cause him great pain.’
  — Shugoshin
  SHRINKER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  One of the PCs is 
  gravely ill; to cure him, a 
  custom-designed medi-
  cine must be delivered 
  to precisely the right 
  spot. To get it there, the 
  PCs need to work with 
  Shrinker, harness her 
  powers, and use them 
  to travel inside their 
  friend’s body to drop oﬀ  
  the medicine. But that 
  means they have to ﬁ nd 
  Shrinker — and then 
  answer her standard 
  question, “What’s in it 
  for me?”
  Shrinker gets trapped 
  inside the Microverse by 
  some micro-barbarians. 
  She keeps trying to send 
  messages to the PCs in 
  various ways (by stamp-
  ing a message into the 
  photons on their com-
  puter screens, shouting 
  in their ears, and so on), 
  but they’ll have to be 
  pretty clever to ﬁ gure 
  out what’s going on 
  — and even more clever 
  to ﬁ nd a way to rescue 
  her.
  Shrinker ﬁ nds a way 
  to reverse her powers, 
  so that small things 
  become human-sized. 
  She decides to recruit an 
  army of micro-barbar-
  ians, make them normal 
  size, and conquer the 
  world!
  Green With Envy?
  ‘Shadowdragon? Ha! He is 
  nothing! His martial arts skills 
  are pathetic — all he really has 
  is his darkness powers, and 
  without them he could not stand up to a real 
  ﬁ ghter such as myself, or that fool Shugoshin, 
  or anyone else with even the slightest training 
  for more than a few seconds. Hwarang-do is a 
  weak style, no match for Kung Fu!’
  —Green Dragon
  
  196 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  1 
  Computer Programming 8-
  2 
  SS: Biology 11-
  2 
  SS: Chemistry 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  302
  Total Cost:  409
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  Sentinels 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Enjoys Humiliat-
  ing Opponents (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Easily Oﬀ ended 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Super-
  heroes In General, And Th e Sentinels In Par-
  ticular (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  the villainess who betrayed the 
  Sentinels, 11-
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Diana 
  Whitmore) (Frequently, Major)
  89 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  409
  Background/History:  In the biochemistry 
  labs at Bio-Investiga-
  tions Ltd., Diana 
  Whitmore enjoyed 
  a not particularly 
  pleasant reputation as 
  a prankster and practical 
  joker. She couldn’t stand it if someone 
  played a joke on her, but could never resist 
  the opportunity to make someone else the 
  victim of an elaborate prank.
  One day, she was setting up a prank 
  that would make her stuﬀ y old labmate, Sherry 
  Bridwell, fall on her butt and 
  slide right out into the hall. 
  Unfortunately, she didn’t 
  watch what she was 
  doing, and slipped 
  and fell herself 
  — but slid the wrong 
  way, right into a shelf 
  full of test tubes and beakers. As 
  the shelf collapsed on her, she was 
  doused with the results of Project 
  37B-12, “Analysis of Growth 
  Hormones in Mammals,” 
  and Project 51R-23, “Muta-
  tive Biochemistry.”
  Diana woke up in the 
  hospital. At ﬁ rst everyone thought the acci-
  dent hadn’t had any eﬀ ect — except to cost her her job 
  — but she soon discovered she’d somehow gained the 
  power to shrink down to a quarter of an inch tall! She 
  began experimenting, and soon discovered all sorts 
  of other things she could do with her new superpow-
  ers. It’s amazing what a quarter-inch-tall woman can 
  accomplish if she sets her mind to it.
  Eager for fame and glory, Diana joined the Senti-
  nels as Shrinker, a probationary member. She learned 
  a lot in her months with the team, but she soon began 
  to think the self-sacriﬁ cing life of a hero just wasn’t 
  for her. Th ese guys were all work and no play; it just 
  wasn’t any fun.
  Th en, one day, when the Sentinels battled the 
  Ultimates, Shrinker was nearly disintegrated by one 
  of her own teammates! He claimed he hadn’t known 
  she was so close — aft er all, he couldn’t see things that 
  were so small — but she was pretty sure he’d done it 
  deliberately, to get rid of her. Well, if they didn’t want 
  her, ﬁ ne! In a huﬀ  she quit the team and stormed out.
  She decided it was no big loss. Being a hero was 
  boring. With her powers, she could have a lot more 
  fun as a supervillain! Just to prove how good she’d be 
  at it, she snuck back into Sentinels headquarters, got 
  inside their master computer, and made it activate the 
  sprinkler system while everyone was asleep. Laughing 
  so hard she could barely ﬂ y straight, she beat a hasty 
  retreat.
  Since then, Shrinker’s been doing quite well for 
  herself as a villainess. She ﬁ nds her new “career” a lot 
  more satisfying than being a hero — not to mention 
  a lot more lucrative.
  Personality/Motivation:  Shrinker pretends to be 
  fun-loving and lighthearted, but at heart she’s 
  usually mean-spirited and petty. She’s quick to 
  take oﬀ ense for the slightest of reasons, and 
  not even an abject apology is likely to mol-
  lify her. People who annoy her this way 
  usually become the victim of one of her 
  practical jokes, which range from the 
  elaborate-but-harmless  to the just-shy-
  of-deadly. It’s surprisingly easy to cause a 
  lot of torment when you’re only an inch 
  tall (or shorter).
  Shrinker feels she’s been unfairly 
  victimized and hurt by superheroes, 
  ﬁ rst and foremost the Sentinels (who 
  sneakily tried to kill her rather 
  than just kick her oﬀ  the team). 
  She loves humiliating and hurt-
  ing heroes, and sometimes 
  goes out of her way 
  to get her shots in 
  when she should 
  be concentrating 
  on completing 
  her mission or 
  making her get-
  away.
  Quote:  
  “It’s 
  the little 
  things in life 
  that count!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Shrinker’s powers all revolve around 
  her ability to reduce herself to extremely tiny sizes. She 
  can reach one-quarter inch in height without any sig-
  niﬁ cant eﬀ ort. With a little more work, she can become 
  small enough to walk or ﬂ y between molecules (handy 
  
  197 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  for passing right through walls and ﬂ oors, though any 
  attack that breaks the object she’s in hurts her, too). 
  She can even enter the “Microverse” — the universe 
  of atoms and things not much larger. While there, she 
  remains aware of her position relative to normal-sized 
  space, even though she’s eﬀ ectively in another world 
  and immune from harm (though, in the GM’s discre-
  tion, a suﬃ  ciently powerful Area Of Eﬀ ect or Explo-
  sion attack might eﬀ ectively be considered “Transdi-
  mensional” for purposes of aﬀ ecting the Microverse 
  and its inhabitants). As she shrinks, she can harness her 
  body’s latent energies to ﬂ y (the smaller she gets, the 
  faster she ﬂ ies, up to 16”).
  When it’s time for combat, Shrinker knows how 
  to put her tiny form to good use. Typically, to aﬀ ect an 
  opponent she has to become really tiny and get inside 
  him — either via her own powers (Desolidiﬁ cation or 
  Extra-Dimensional Movement), or perhaps by tricking 
  him into swallowing her or the like. Once she’s inside, 
  she can wreak all sorts of havoc by jumping around, 
  causing severe internal injuries. She can even tempo-
  rarily blind someone by jumping up and down on his 
  optic nerve. Th is attack is more eﬀ ective when she’s 
  just small enough to ﬁ t between molecules (thus, her 
  Penetrating HKA) than when she’s in the Microverse, 
  because then she’s oft en too small to really have an 
  eﬀ ect (thus, it’s only an EB, not Penetrating — but since 
  she’s “inside” the target, the GM may allow it to bypass 
  defenses like powered armor or external force ﬁ elds).
  If Internal Agony won’t work, Shrinker can always 
  try the good old-fashioned trick of growing back to 
  normal height under the target’s chin and punching 
  him in the process — a manever that allows her to 
  do an astounding 18d6 damage! (At the GM’s option, 
  this attack may be too powerful for her to handle; she 
  might break her hand or take partial damage, as if 
  performing a Move By.) She doesn’t like to attain full 
  size during battle, though; her low defenses and lack of 
  attacks makes her too vulnerable.
  Campaign Use:  Shrinker’s powers make her ideal as a 
  spy, cat burglar (ant burglar?), and saboteur for master 
  villains and villain teams — not to mention a pretty 
  successful robber on her own. Her ability to enter the 
  Universe of Really Really Tiny Stuﬀ  may also make for 
  some interesting adventure hooks.
  If Shrinker’s too weak for your game, boost her 
  defenses by providing her with an Armored Costume 
  (8 PD/8 ED, maybe more), up her SPD to 6, and give 
  her a straightforward Energy Blast or two that work on 
  the same energy-harnessing principle as her Flight. If 
  she’s too diﬃ  cult for the PCs to come to grips with, get 
  rid of some of her size-based special powers (but leave 
  her at least one or two).
  Shrinker is quick to start Hunting a hero who 
  oﬀ ends her (not a hard thing for a PC to do), though 
  as a Hunter she’s more of a pest than a real danger. 
  She attacks via pranks and practical jokes, and though 
  they may cause some harm, they’re rarely as much of a 
  threat as an attack by Mechanon or Eurostar.
  Appearance: Shrinker wears a white costume with red 
  bands around the legs and arms, plus a red belt and 
  boots. She does not wear gloves, and hasn’t bothered 
  to wear a mask since her identity was exposed to the 
  public. Her is long, black, and straight; her eyes green.
  LET’S GET SMALL
  Shrinker’s ability to enter the “microverse” — the 
  subatomic “dimension” suﬀ using all of normal 
  space — raises some interesting issues for the 
  GM’s consideration.
  First, how should Shrinker’s attacks work when 
  she’s so small? In some cases, her minuscule state 
  is represented as the special eﬀ ect of a power or 
  Advantage, such as her Penetrating HKA. In that 
  case, the Penetrating Advantage reﬂ ects the fact 
  that she’s “inside” the victim, so he doesn’t get 
  the full eﬀ ect of his normal defenses. With her 
  Indirect Transdimensional attacks, “realistically” 
  speaking the target shouldn’t get any beneﬁ t from 
  defenses that aren’t innate. A super-tough charac-
  ter like Ironclad is just as protected inside as out, 
  but one with powered armor or a force ﬁ eld (like 
  Defender or Sapphire) is not. However, allowing 
  her to bypass defenses entirely, even with that 
  combination of Advantages, may raise game bal-
  ance issues GMs would prefer to avoid, in which 
  case characters should get their normal defenses 
  regardless of “realism.”
  Fiendish GMs could even consider Shrinker’s 
  attacks to be NND Does BODY, though that 
  would require some rewriting and the expenditure 
  of a few points. Th e defense in this case would be 
  to have size- or density-alteration powers, or any 
  form of innate defense that aﬀ ects the entire body.
  Another question is:  how fast can Shrinker 
  travel in the microverse? She has Flight 16” when 
  she’s there (assume she has to use her Shrinking 
  before activating her Extra-Dimensional Move-
  ment power) — but does that translate to 16” of 
  movement in normal-sized space? Dimensions 
  where travel is quicker than in normal space are 
  a staple of comic books (they’re the special eﬀ ect 
  of many forms of Teleportation, for example), so 
  perhaps the microverse is a “dimension” where 
  travel is slower than in normal space. Perhaps 
  every hex (1”) in normal space equals 100” in the 
  microverse, or the like — set the ratio at whatever 
  level you prefer. Th at means Shrinker has to be 
  careful where she is when she activates her Extra-
  Dimensional Movement; otherwise she’ll spend 
  the whole battle traveling!
  
  198 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  SLUG
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   26 DEX 
  48 
  14- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   8 BODY -4 
  11-
   28 INT 
  18 
  15- 
  PER Roll 15-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV: 7
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   4 COM 
  -3 
  10-
   5 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  20 PD (15 rPD)
   5 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  20 ED (15 rED)
   6 SPD 
  24 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   15 REC 
  14
   50 END 
  0
   40 STUN 11 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  185
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Tunneling: 
  9”/18”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  83 
  Worm-Gem:  Multipower, 125-point 
  reserve; all OIF (-½)
  5u 
  1)  Caress Of Th e Worm:  Ego Attack 4d6 
  (Alien and Human classes of mind), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  3u 
  2)  Strength Of Th e Mind:  Telekinesis 
  (30 STR); OIF (-½) 
  4
  5u 
  3)  Paralysis Of Fear:  Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF 
  (Alien and Human classes of mind), 
  BOECV (Mental Defense applies; +1), 
  Works Against EGO, Not STR (+¼), Takes 
  No Damage From Physical Attacks (+¼); 
  OIF (-½), Cannot Form Barriers (-¼), 
  Mental Defense Adds To EGO (-½) 
  0
  4u 
  4) Gem-Blast:  Energy Blast 12d6; OIF (-½) 6
  45 
  Voice Of Th e Worm:  Telepathy 4d6 (Alien 
  and Human classes of minds), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  64 
  Talisman Of Th e Elder Worm:  Major Trans-
  form 2d6 (human Body into Elder Worm 
  Body, heals back through special arcane 
  ritual requiring the Talisman), Continuous 
  (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  OAF (-1), Limited Target (humans; -½), 
  Requires Th e Presence Of At Least One 
  Additional Elder Worm Within 10” (-1), 
  Linked (-½), Limited Range (20”; -¼) plus 
  Major Transform 2d6 (human Mind into 
  Elder Worm Mind, heals back through 
  special arcane ritual requiring the Talisman), 
  BOECV (Power Defense applies; +1), Con-
  tinuous (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); OAF (-1), Limited Target (humans; -½), 
  Requires Th e Presence Of At Least One 
  Additional Elder Worm Within 10” (-1), 
  Limited Range (20”; -¼) plus Major 
  Transform 2d6 (human Spirit into Elder 
  Worm Spirit, heals back through special 
  arcane ritual requiring the Talisman), Con-
  tinuous (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); OAF (-1), Limited Target (humans; -½), 
  Requires Th e Presence Of At Least One Addi-
  tional Elder Worm Within 10” (-1), Linked 
  (-½), Limited Range (20”; -¼) 
  0
  45 
  Path Of Th e Worm:  Tunneling 9” through 
  9 DEF material 
  4
  30 
  Humidity Suit:  Armor (15 PD/15 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  27 
  Humidity Suit:  Life Support:  Total 
  (except for Safe Environments: High 
  Radiation, Intense Heat); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Talents
  4 
  Double-Jointed
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 OCV with Talisman Of Th e Elder Worm
  3 
  Contortionist 14-
  1 
  KS: Arcane & Occult Knowledge 8-
  3 
  KS: Earth History 15-
  3 
  KS: Th e Elder Worm 15-
  2  
  SS: Archaeology 11-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  334
  Total Cost:  519
  200+ Disadvantages
  0 
  Dependence:  must remain in an environ-
  ment of at least tropical jungle/swamp 
  humidity, or suﬀ er 1d6 damage per 6 hours 
  (Very Common)
  20 
  Distinctive Features:  Elder Worm body 
  (Not Concealable; Always Noticed, Causes 
  Major Reaction [fear/disgust])
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Mute (All Th e Time, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Destroy 
  Humanity And Cleanse Th e Earth For Th e 
  Return Of Th e Elder Worm (Very 
  Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dent 
  And Arrogant (Very Common, Moderate)
  20 
  Reputation:  monstrous threat to 
  humankind, 14- (Extreme)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x STUN from Fire 
  attacks (Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x STUN from Magic 
  attacks (Common)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x STUN from Cold 
  attacks (Common)
  149 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  519
  Background/History:  One hundred thousand years 
  ago, when men were not yet truly men, a hideous 
  primeval race called the Elder Worm ruled much 
  of the Earth. None knew where they came from. 
  In places the proto-humans simply served them; 
  in other places they worshipped them; but always 
  the early men were slaves, and fodder, to the Elder 
  Worm.
  But the time of the Elder Races was declining, 
  TYPICAL 
  ELDER WORM
   8  STR 
  15 DEX
   13 CON 
  8  BODY
   10  INT 
  17  EGO
   15  PRE 
  4  COM
   4  PD 
  4  ED
   3  SPD 
  5  REC
   26  END 23  STUN
  Abilities:  Telepathy 4d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 
  END), Communicative 
  Only; Ego Attack 2d6, 
  OIF (Lesser Worm-
  Gem); possibly other 
  mind-powers of about 
  the same Active Points; 
  Tunneling 6” through 
  DEF 6 material; Humid-
  ity Suit (Armor 6 PD/6 
  ED, plus Life Support); 
  Contortionist 14-; 
  Stealth 12-
  Disadvantages:  Depen-
  dence (humid environ-
  ments, as Slug), Distinc-
  tive Features; Physical 
  Limitation:  Mute; Psy-
  chological Limitation:  
  Totally Loyal To Slug; 
  Psychological Limita-
  tion:  Must Destroy 
  Humanity And Cleanse 
  Th e Earth For Th e 
  Return Of Th e Elder 
  Worm; Vulnerability (2 
  x STUN from Fire/Heat 
  and Magic)
  Notes:  Th is write-up 
  represents a typical 
  member of the Elder 
  Worm. Other Elder 
  Worms are power-
  ful warriors, mighty 
  sorcerers, have more 
  (or more powerful) 
  psionic powers, or pos-
  sess unusual magical 
  weapons.
  
  199 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  and the Age of Men beginning. As humans became 
  more sophisticated, they rebelled against their hor-
  rible masters, slaughtering many Elder Worms and 
  driving the others into seclusion. Some say they 
  retreated into the depths of the Earth, to hide in 
  the darkest, most secret places; others claim they 
  returned to the stars from whence they came. But 
  men knew that they were free of the Elder Worm, 
  which was all that truly mattered.
  Eons passed. Lands and civilizations rose and 
  fell. But still, in their crypts and lairs, the remnants 
  of the Elder Worm slept, awaiting the time when 
  they would arise and subjugate mankind once 
  more.
  In 1979, a young archaeologist named Michael 
  Perkins was working on a dig in Oceania. He and 
  his colleagues had discovered an unusually ancient, 
  and unusually advanced, building on an obscure 
  island, and had begun excavating it. Perkins found 
  the thought of making a major new archaeologi-
  cal discovery intoxicating; soon, his name would 
  be known throughout the world! Every evening he 
  continued working long aft er his companions had 
  stopped for the day.
  One night he located a sort of small door. 
  Unwilling to wait for the others, he pried it open 
  and bent over so he could crawl through into the 
  chamber beyond. Th ere he found wonders not even 
  his strangest imaginings could have predicted. An 
  eerie glow lit the room, though he could not tell 
  where it came from. In the center was a stone ped-
  estal, and on the pedestal a small, oval gemstone of 
  a type he did not recognize. On the ﬂ oor around 
  the room were a dozen humanoid ﬁ gures — mum-
  mies of some sort, it seemed, though oddly shaped.
  Th en came a whisper — a whisper in the back 
  of his mind.
  <<Come to me, mortal, and I will give you knowl-
  edge and power beyond your wildest dreams.>>
  Who was speaking? Was it... the gem? Compelled 
  by its beauty and strangeness, Perkins crept closer 
  to it.
  <<...your wildest dreams...>>
  He reached out. He touched the gem.
  <<Dreams that will take your soul away!>>
  A force seized him. He struggled, but in vain. 
  Against his will, the hand holding the gem moved 
  toward his forehead. When the stone touched his 
  ﬂ esh, agonizing pain seared through his body, 
  and he screamed. Soon his screams gave way to 
  liquescent monosyllables, as the gem transformed 
  his body, turning him from ordinary human to 
  Elder Worm. His former personality and memories 
  were shunted to a tiny corner of the Worm-Gem, 
  replaced by the personalities and desires of the 
  Slug, lord of the Elder Worm.
  His transformation complete, the Slug opened 
  a secret panel in the stone pedestal, and from it 
  retrieved an object of even greater power and 
  importance than the Worm-Gem — the Talis-
  man of the Elder Worm. Armed with this greatest 
  weapon of his people, the Slug could revive the 
  survivors of his people, and drive the overevolved 
  apes that now ruled the planet into servitude and 
  extinction.
  All around him, the humanoid ﬁ gures were 
  stirring. Th e Slug undid their wrappings and helped 
  them, the ﬁ rst of his people he had awakened, 
  back to full consciousness. Together they left  the 
  crypt, fell upon the rest of Perkins’s expedition, and 
  slaughtered them for food.
  Th e Slug soon discovered the world was dif-
  ferent than it had been 100,000 years ago — dryer, 
  less swampy. His people needed moisture and 
  warmth to survive and thrive, so he designed spe-
  cial humidity suits for them. In time he would ﬁ nd 
  a way to change the planetary climate, but for now, 
  the suits would do.
  Th e Slug ﬁ rst revealed himself and his purpose 
  to the world later that year, when he and his fol-
  lowers attempted to transform all of the inhabit-
  ants of New York City into Elder Worms. Narrowly 
  defeated by the Sentinels, the Slug escaped, and 
  ever since has been trying to ﬁ nd and revive others 
  of his kind, locate lost Elder Worm artifacts, trans-
  form humans into Elder Worms, and take over the 
  world for his people. Th e people of the world live in 
  fear that he might eventually triumph — and that, 
  at least, he counts as a partial victory.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th e Slug’s thoughts and 
  personality are totally alien; he is now wholly an 
  Elder Worm, retaining tiny fragments of Michael 
  Perkins’s memories and thoughts only for what-
  ever information they might provide. He is totally 
  devoted to the goal of re-awakening the survivors 
  of his people, and subjugating, transforming, and/
  or destroying humanity. Arrogant, and conﬁ dent 
  in his eventual triumph over the “hairless apes,” he 
  cannot be reasoned or negotiated with.
  Quote:  <<You Tongued Ones are a lesser species, ﬁ t 
  only to serve the Elder Worm. Bow down before me 
  or be destroyed!>>
  Powers/Tactics:  Th e Slug’s Characteristics derive 
  from his Elder Worm body (which is better than 
  that of most Elder Worms, for he is their lord), but 
  his powers come mainly from two powerful magi-
  cal artifacts of his people. Th e ﬁ rst is the Worm-
  Gem, which is attached to his forehead; it grants 
  him various powers, many involving the ability to 
  aﬀ ect the mind. (Like the other Elder Worms, he is 
  naturally telepathic.) In most battles he’ll rely pri-
  marily on the Worm-Gem.
  Th e second, and more terrifying, is the Talis-
  man of the Elder Worm, with which he can Trans-
  form a human being into an Elder Worm, body, 
  mind, and soul — the Talisman plays upon and 
  “activates” the tiny portion of Human DNA that 
  results from forced interbreeding with the Elder 
  Worm a hundred thousand years ago, magnifying it 
  until it overwhelms the target entirely. Th is lets him 
  augment the ranks of his followers and reduce the 
  ranks of humanity. Th e Talisman functions unusu-
  ally in game terms. Ordinarily characters shouldn’t 
  Link CV- and ECV-based attacks together, but 
  that’s appropriate in this case. When the Slug uses 
  the Talisman, he uses either his CV or ECV, which-
   SLUG PLOT SEEDS
  While digging the foun-
  dation for a new Millen-
  nium City skyscraper, 
  the workers uncover a 
  strange carved chamber 
  deep in the Earth. From 
  news reports, Slug real-
  izes they’re about to 
  ﬁ nd some members of 
  the Elder Worm, so he 
  shows up to take advan-
  tage of the situation.
  Slug teams with the 
  Lemurians, hoping to 
  use some of their enor-
  mous magical engines 
  to locate and free other 
  pockets of Elder Worm 
  survivors. First, though, 
  he has to get rid of all 
  the hairless apes in Cali-
  fornia, so he can start 
  the search....
  DEMON makes Slug 
  an oﬀ er:  steal these 
  three magical artifacts 
  for us, and we’ll use our 
  magics to ﬁ nd other 
  Elder Worm relics for 
  you. Slug takes the deal 
  and begins a deadly 
  crime spree, transform-
  ing humans into Elder 
  Worms as he goes.
  
  200 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ever is lower, and applies it against the target’s CV 
  or ECV, whichever is higher, to ﬁ nd out if he hits. 
  Once he succeeds with an attack, he keeps apply-
  ing the eﬀ ect every Phase until someone stops him. 
  (See page 116 of Champions for a depiction of what 
  happens if someone doesn’t stop him.)
  Like other Elder Worms, the Slug does not 
  tolerate dryness well; he needs his Humidity Suit 
  to keep him comfortable (it also provides some 
  protection against attacks). He takes extra damage 
  from ﬁ re- and cold-based attacks, and also from 
  magic.
  Th e minds of Slug and other Elder Worms 
  count as “Alien” for purposes of Mental Powers (see 
  page 117 of the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised). 
  However, at the GM’s option, Mental Powers that 
  only aﬀ ect Human minds can aﬀ ect Elder Worm 
  minds at half power.
  Campaign Use:  Th e Slug is a sort of “lesser 
  master villain,” a super-criminal who’s more 
  likely to launch his own plots and schemes 
  than to work with or serve others. If neces-
  sary, give him other resources — Elder 
  Worm followers or the like — to help 
  him stand against the PCs on his own. 
  If you want to make him more power-
  ful personally, increase the strength 
  (and number) of his Mental Powers, 
  or give him more Elder Worm weap-
  ons/artifacts to wield. If he’s already 
  too strong for your PCs to handle, 
  reduce the dice in his attacks (or 
  remove Advantages) until he’s 
  tough, but not unopposable.
  Th e Slug’s primary quest is 
  to initiate a new Age of the Elder 
  Worm. Since that takes up all of his 
  time, he’s not likely to start Hunting a 
  hero at all. He’d gladly Hunt a hero who 
  used Elder Worm artifacts, or tried to 
  keep them from him, though.
  Appearance:  Th e Slug is a member and 
  lord of the race of the Elder Worm. 
  Th ough humanoid, he has a quasi-
  reptilian/quasi-annelid form and 
  physical characteristics, rather 
  than mammalian — his head is 
  cone-shaped, he has no mouth, 
  his ﬁ ngers are long and multi-jointed, his hairless, 
  ochre-colored body is extremely ﬂ exible. He wears 
  a Humidity Suit, which covers his entire body but 
  has a clear dome allowing him to see and be seen, 
  to protect himself from the dry, cool atmosphere 
  of modern Earth. His Worm-Gem is set into the 
  center of his forehead between his pupilless eyes; 
  it glows eerily when he uses his mind-powers. He 
  also carries the Talisman of the Elder Worm, which 
  resembles a sort of multi-faceted gem with pulses 
  of evil power shooting through it.
  STORMFRONT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  22 PD (14 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  24 ED (14 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  6
   50 END 
  5
   30 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  114
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  14”/28”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Weather Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  40-point powers
  7 
  1)  Broad Weather Control:  Change 
  Environment 4” radius, -2 to Sight Group 
  PER Rolls, Varying Eﬀ ect (any type of 
  weather; +1), MegaScale (1” = 1 km; +¼); 
  Extra Time (minimum of 1 Turn for 
  changes to manifest, depending on 
  severity, see text; -1¼), Only Aﬀ ects Normal 
  Weather (see text; -½) 
  4
  23 
  2)  Local Weather Control I:  Change 
  Environment 8” radius, -4 to Sight Group 
  PER Rolls, Varying Eﬀ ect (any type of 
  weather that could interfere with vision; +½) 4
  23 
  3)  Local Weather Control II:  Change 
  Environment 8” radius, -4 to DEX Rolls 
  to move on, Varying Eﬀ ect (any type of 
  weather that could make the ground 
  slippery; +½) 
  4
  22 
  4)  Local Weather Control III:  Change 
  Environment 16” radius, +/-4 Temperature 
  Levels, Varying Eﬀ ect (+¼) 
  4
  20 
  5)  Projected Lightning:  RKA 2 ½d6 
  4
  26 
  6)  Miniature Blizzard:  EB 3d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Safe Environment:  Intense 
  Cold], ﬁ re powers, or some other personal 
  source of heat; +1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (One Hex; 
  +½), Continuous (+1); Limited Range
  (20”; -¼) 
  5
  22 
  7)  Windriding:  Flight 14”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  20 
  8)  Wind Manipulation:  Telekinesis (20 
  STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  Aﬀ ects Whole Object (-¼) 
  0
  22 
  9)  Shield Of Th e Winds:  Force Field 
  (14 PD/14 ED), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  4 
  Self-Acclimating:  Life Support (Safe Environ-
  ments:  Intense Cold, Intense Heat) 
  0
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  
  201 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 12-
  2 
  KS: Christian Revival Circuit 11-
  1 
  KS: Christian Folk Th eology 8-
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  SS: Meteorology 12-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  241
  Total Cost:  355
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not Conceal-
  able; Always Noticed; Detectable Only By 
  Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  Institute For Human Advancement 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Looks Out Only 
  For Himself; Doesn’t Trust Anyone Else 
  (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (James 
  Hailey) (Frequently, Major)
  70 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  355
  Background/History:  James Hailey was only eight when 
  his mutant powers began to manifest. His parents, 
  devout Christians, thought that his ability to bring the 
  rain was a gift  from God — and there were others who 
  agreed with them. Soon, a charismatic tent-revival 
  preacher, Reverend Langtree, came to call. He told them 
  James, as a good young Christian, had an obligation to 
  carry his gift  to people everywhere. Aft er considerable 
  thought and prayer, James’s parents let him go with the 
  Reverend.
  So began over a decade of traveling around the 
  country. Reverend Langtree was more scam artist than 
  genuine preacher, and he and his crew taught James the 
  tricks of the trade — how to milk a crowd, how to run a 
  con game, how to cheat at cards. Most importantly, they 
  taught him when and when not to use his powers, and 
  gave him the chance to learn to use them. Th ough the 
  public only saw him calling rain to break droughts, in 
  truth he could do much, much more.
  As he became a young adult, James became 
  increasingly dissatisﬁ ed. He didn’t mind taking money 
  from people — anyone who was that big a sucker 
  deserved what he got! (Or, rather, what he lost.) But he 
  didn’t like being bossed around by Reverend Langtree 
  and the others. He was the star of the show. He was the 
  only true “miracle” the revival could create whenever it 
  needed. He was the one who should be making all the 
  money.
  Aft er his demand for a bigger cut of the proceeds 
  degenerated into an hour-long screaming argument 
  with Reverend Langtree, James decided he’d had 
  enough. Th at night, he brought the rain... and the wind... 
  and the lightning.... When he was done, there was noth-
  ing left  of Langtree’s tents, trucks, or revival show except 
  for scraps of lumber, metal, and canvas. James walked 
  away from the wreckage and into the Superhuman 
  World as Stormfront.
  Personality/Motivation:  Stormfront is self-centered and 
  manipulative. Growing up among grift ers and crooks 
  taught him that the only important things were money 
  and power, that he had to take care for himself, and that 
  no one can be trusted. He’s always looking for an “angle” 
  he can use to get ahead — and he remains so wary of 
  others’ attempts to exploit or trick him that his caution 
  verges on cynical paranoia. As a result, he has a hard 
  time getting along with people, which is one reason why, 
  despite the ﬂ exibility and strength of his powers, he’s 
  never worked for anyone on a long-term basis (much 
  less joined a team).
  Quote:  “Th ere’s a storm brewin’ — and it’s heading 
  straight for you, hero.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Stormfront is a mutant with the ability 
  to alter and otherwise control the weather on both a 
  broad and intensely local scale. His control of large-scale 
  weather patterns allows him to manipulate the weather 
  over a radius of one to four kilometers, but this power 
  comes with certain restrictions, as summarized by the 
  Aﬀ ects Normal Weather and Extra Time Limitations. 
  First, it only allows him to alter the normal weather in 
  the vicinity, not to “create” pockets of weather at will. 
  Th at means, for example, that if he’s indoors and he uses 
  his Broad Weather Control to make it rain, it doesn’t 
  start raining inside — it just rains outdoors, like any 
  other rainstorm. Second, the greater the extent of the 
  change he makes in the weather, the longer it takes to 
  occur. A relatively minor change (altering the tempera-
  ture by about 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit, creating a light 
  rain shower on a sunny day, changing cloudy weather to 
  sunny) usually manifests in about 1 Turn to one minute. 
  A severe change — like changing a bright summer day 
  to a blizzard — can take an hour, or more. (At the GM’s 
  option, severe changes may also require a CON Roll, or 
  cost double END.) Moreover, how long the change lasts 
  aft er he stops paying END is inversely proportional to 
  the severity of the change — a summertime blizzard 
  melts away almost immediately, whereas clouds on a 
  wintry day may last the entire day. Th ird, Stormfront’s 
  changes to the weather cause concommitant changes in 
  nearby regions; if he makes it rain in Millennium City, 
  that means he’s drawing in clouds from the surrounding 
  area, “creating” sunnier and dryer weather there.
  On a local scale, the changes Stormfront can create 
  are much more intense and hazardous. Indoors or out, 
  he can create small (16” radius) changes to the ambient 
  weather of whatever degree he desires, instantly. With 
  the merest thought, a dry night becomes a raging thun-
  derstorm, or winter’s cold turns into summer’s warmth. 
  Depending on the type of weather he chooses to create, 
  he can interfere with others’ vision or ability to walk and 
  stand.
  Stormfront can also create even more dangerous 
  local weather eﬀ ects if necessary. For example, he can 
  blast his enemies with bolts of lightning, or create a 
  mini-blizzard intense enough to make someone pass 
  out. He has a particularly high degree of control over 
  the wind; he can use it to ﬂ y, protect himself, or move 
  things. It’s likely he’ll develop other weather powers (i.e., 
  buy more Elemental Control slots), and strengthen the 
  ones he has, over time.
  In combat, Stormfront usually prefers to ﬂ y, 
  STORMFRONT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Aft er losing to super-
  hero teams a few too 
  many times on his own, 
  Stormfront decides 
  he wants to join the 
  Ultimates. Since they’re 
  not actively recruiting 
  members, he’ll have to 
  do something that really 
  impresses them. When 
  he hears that the PCs 
  have captured them, he 
  decides he’ll prove him-
  self by defeating all the 
  PCs singlehandedly and 
  rescuing Binder and his 
  allies. Of course, to do 
  that, he may need to ﬁ nd 
  a way to increase his 
  power temporarily....
  For fun, Stormfront runs 
  a scam where he bilks 
  a businessman out of 
  $10,000 at the card table. 
  It turns out the “busi-
  nessman” was a VIPER 
  Nest Leader who’s not 
  exactly happy to ﬁ nd out 
  he was cheated. With 
  all of VIPER on his tail, 
  Stormfront needs to ﬁ nd 
  a way to trick the PCs 
  into taking care of the 
  snakes for him.
  With severe drought 
  gripping parts of the 
  Midwest, the govern-
  ment could really use 
  Stormfront’s help to 
  save family farms, and 
  it’s willing to oﬀ er him a 
  partial pardon if he’ll do 
  what it wants. But he’s 
  nowhere to be found, 
  so the All-American 
  asks for the PCs’ help to 
  locate him.
  
  202 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  though he may not if he’s creating storms and wind. He 
  starts by altering the local weather to suit the situation, 
  then begins attacking with lightning bolts, his mini-bliz-
  zard, or his Telekinesis. If he discovers he’s ineﬀ ective or 
  outmatched, he’ll usually ﬂ ee.
  When he ﬁ rst started his supervillain career, 
  Stormfront wasn’t much on ﬁ ghting; it wasn’t the sort 
  of thing he’d been taught. He preferred sneakiness and 
  guile to raw exercises of his power. He’s gotten over 
  that. Th ough he still appreciates the value of deceit 
  and manipulation (particularly when he’s dealing with 
  goodie-two-shoes superheroes), he’s also learned how 
  much fun it can be to cut loose with his powers and 
  ﬁ ght other superhumans toe-to-toe. He doesn’t particu-
  larly want to kill or seriously hurt anyone, but he won’t 
  hesitate to use his most powerful attacks if he feels he 
  has to.
  Despite the fact that his powers give him the 
  means to commit major crimes and steal vast sums of 
  money, Stormfront still enjoys using his grift ing skills. 
  It’s hard to beat the excitement of picking someone’s 
  pocket, cheating at cards, or pulling an elaborate scam... 
  especially when he can just blast people who tumble to 
  what he’s doing, and take their money anyway.
  Appearance:  James Hailey is a tall (6’1”), thin man with 
  a slightly pale complexion, brown hair worn a little 
  longer than most men’s, a short brown beard along 
  his jawline and around his mouth, and piercing green 
  eyes; women consider him handsome. As Stormfront, 
  he wears a black cape, black domino-style mask, black 
  ﬂ ared boots, and black ﬂ ared gloves. His bodystocking 
  is a dark grey, the color of gath-
  ering stormclouds, with a gold 
  lightning bolt arcing 
  across his body 
  from his left  
  shoulder all 
  the way 
  down to 
  his right 
  boot.
  TESSERACT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift  100 kg; 2d6 [1]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV: 5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 3½d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   10 PD 
  8 
   
  Total:  10 PD (0 rPD)
   10 ED 
  6 
   
  Total:  10 ED (0 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  4
   70 END 
  15
   30 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  142
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Teleportation: 30”/60”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  90 
  Tesseract Travel:  Multipower, 
  90-point powers
  9u 
  1)  Lesser Tesseract:  Teleportation 30”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  6u 
  2)  Greater Tesseract:  Teleportation 10”, 
  MegaScale (1” = 10,000 km, can scale 
  down to 1” = 1 km; +1½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  8u 
  3)  Tesseract Gate:  Teleportation 15”, x125 
  Noncombat, x32 Increased Mass 
  8
  112 
  Tesseract Attacks:  Multipower, 
  112-point powers
  11u 
  1)  Involuntary Space Warp:  Teleporta-
  tion 20”, Position Shift , Usable As Attack 
  (not against characters with Teleportation 
  or dimension-manipulation powers; +1), 
  Ranged (+½) 
  11
  10u 
  2)  Tesseract Razor:  RKA 3d6, +2 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+½), 
  Penetrating (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  10u 
  3)  Tesseract Trap:  Entangle 8d6, 8 DEF, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  4
  11u 
  4)  Danger Portal:  Energy Blast 10d6, 
  Indirect (+¾), Variable Special Eﬀ ects 
  (+¼), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 5
  120 
  Tesseract Shield:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% 
  0
  88 
  Tesseract Defense:  Missile Deﬂ ection (all 
  Ranged attacks), +8 OCV plus Reﬂ ection 
  (any target), Indirect (may cause Reﬂ ected 
  attacks to strike targets from any angle; +¾) 0
  17 
  Multidimensional Mind:  Mental Defense 
  (20 points total) 
  0
  51 
  Hyperperception:  Detect Physical Objects 
  16- (no Sense Group), Discriminatory, 
  Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), 
  Range, Sense, Targeting, Telescopic (+10 
  versus Range Modiﬁ er) 
  0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Absolute Range Sense
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
  CAMPAIGN USE: 
  Stormfront makes a 
  good mercenary villain 
  for a wide variety of 
  master villains and vil-
  lain teams. His Weather 
  Powers, while not over-
  whelmingly powerful 
  (yet), oﬀ er a lot of ﬂ ex-
  ibility that smarter, more 
  experienced villains can 
  ﬁ nd many uses for. His 
  grift ing skills also come 
  in handy on many occa-
  sions.
  Stormfront’s not likely to 
  start Hunting heroes; he’s 
  just not that vindictive. 
  If he goes aft er one, it 
  won’t be on more than an 
  8-. He’ll probably use his 
  con artist abilities, not his 
  superpowers, to get the 
  drop on his quarry.
  If you want to make 
  Stormfront more power-
  ful, increase his Elemental 
  Control to 60 Active Point 
  slots (or more), and per-
  haps give him some more 
  slots. To weaken him, get 
  rid of some of his EC slots, 
  or reduce his END and 
  SPD.
  
  203 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  3 
  Lightning Calculator
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Tesseract Attacks
  20 
  +4 DCV
  1 
  Computer Programming 8-
  19 
  Cryptography 20-
  2 
  KS: Th e Mathematics World 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  2 
  Navigation (Dimensional) 12-
  11 
  SS: Mathematics 20-
  3 
  SS: Physics 12-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  626
  Total Cost:  768
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants To Loot, 
  Pillage, And Conquer (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  oddball supervillainess, 11-
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Laura 
  Palamaris) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to being teleported against 
  her will, takes 3d6 instantly (Uncommon)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Magic attacks 
  (Common)
  433 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  
  768
  Background/History:  Laura Palamaris was 
  a graduate student working toward 
  her Ph.D. in mathematics. Her stud-
  ies involved certain advanced 
  mathematical properties and 
  processes with no real practical 
  application, but she enjoyed the 
  work for the sheer intellectual 
  challenge — it was sort of 
  like trying to solve an enor-
  mously complicated puzzle.
  One evening, while she 
  was working on one of the 
  most detailed parts of her 
  chain of calculations, the 
  mathematical permuta-
  tions her mind was going 
  through breached the barri-
  ers to higher-order realities 
  and attracted the attentions of 
  malevolent beings from the Sixth Dimen-
  sion. Sensing an opportunity for conquest, 
  they attempted to travel to Laura’s reality, 
  using her mind as a conduit. Unfortu-
  nately for them, her mind was even more 
  advanced than they thought; when she sensed 
  something wrong was happening, she subcon-
  sciously fought back. Instead of conquering Earth, 
  the invaders wound up trapped — locked inside 
  Laura’s brilliant brain, merged with her conscious-
  ness, subsumed wholly into her self so that they 
  almost ceased to exist.
  Almost... but not quite. While Laura remained 
  physically intact, her personality was warped by 
  contact with the sixth-dimensional lifeforms, 
  taking on their desire for conquest and riches. Th e 
  mingling of their minds with hers expanded her 
  consciousness even further, giving her the power 
  to warp reality through hypermathematics and 
  hyperperception.
  No longer needing to continue her studies 
  — her knowledge of mathematics now exceeded 
  that of all of her professors and colleagues — and 
  eager to get on with her mission to pillage this 
  reality, Laura left her studies behind and became 
  Tesseract, mistress of dimensional manipulation.
  Personality/Motivation:  Tesseract’s personality is 
  no longer entirely human; rather, it’s a mixture of 
  human and sixth-dimensional. She perceives and 
  thinks in ways... beyond those of normal humans, 
  which makes it difficult to understand what she’s 
  talking about or thinking (or even to affect her 
  with psionic powers). Because her personality 
  has been warped by merging with the minds of 
  invaders from the Sixth Dimension, she wants to 
  pillage Earth, and even conquer it, but enough of 
  Laura Palamaris’s psyche remains intact to keep 
  her from wanting to kill anyone in the process. 
  All in all, she’s often rather confused, 
  and it shows.
  Quote:  “No, it’s right there. Can’t 
  you see it?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Tesseract’s 
  powers involve the ability to 
  warp the fabric of reality, often 
  by creating multidimensional 
  structures known as tesseracts 
  (hence her name). She can use tes-
  seract-constructs to travel 
  great distances in the blink 
  of an eye, move people 
  against their 
  will, open up 
  portals into dan-
  gerous areas and 
  substances (bonfires, 
  rockslides, bodies of water) so 
  those substances gush out of 
  the portal and hurt the person 
  standing in front of it, and so forth. 
  She can also trap someone in his own 
  personal tesseract, so that every time 
  he tries to get out, he automatically 
  puts himself back inside! — unless, 
  of course, he exerts enough force 
  to overcome her power thresh-
  old, in which case the tesser-
  act collapses.
  Tesseract’s powers also protect her. She 
  subconsciously shunts most of the force of any 
  attack into alternate realities, so that it doesn’t 
  affect her. In some situations, she can open up 
  TESSERACT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Still eager to conquer 
  Earth’s dimension, but 
  needing help against 
  Earth’s superheroes, 
  Istvatha V’han contacts 
  Tesseract. She convinces 
  Tesseract they’re ide-
  ally suited to working 
  together, and that she 
  (V’han) can even help 
  her (Tesseract) learn 
  to better understand 
  and control her powers. 
  With these two women 
  working together, does 
  Earth stand a chance?
  Th e invaders from the 
  Sixth Dimension contact 
  Tesseract, oﬀ ering to let 
  her command them in 
  an attempt to take over 
  the world. All she has to 
  do is ﬁ nd a way to open 
  a permanent portal to 
  the Sixth Dimension. 
  Th at may require her to 
  steal some equipment....
  With careful psionic 
  surgery, it might be 
  possible to “cut away” 
  the negative (sixth-
  dimensional) parts of 
  Tesseract’s personality, 
  and thus turn her into a 
  superhero. As such, she’d 
  make a great ally of the 
  PCs, and possibly even 
  a romantic interest. But 
  what happens if it’s not 
  possible to make the 
  alterations permanent, 
  and sixth-dimensional 
  urgings begin creep-
  ing into her mind once 
  more?
  
  204 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  a better portal and avoid all of the force of the 
  attack — or even redirect it to affect one of her 
  enemies.
  Tesseract’s perception of reality is actually a 
  form of hyperperception which lets her sense the 
  objects around her, regardless of the existence of 
  intervening physical objects. It’s as if her percep-
  tions work through the Sixth Dimension, and 
  can thus “see around” three-dimensional objects 
  as if they weren’t there. It’s virtually impossible 
  to stop her from “seeing” the world around her; 
  even if her normal eyesight is somehow blinded, 
  she doesn’t lose her ability to perceive things 
  — and to strike back at whoever blinded her.
  In combat, Tesseract usually prefers to use 
  her Involuntary Space Warps to confuse the heck 
  out of her opponents — and possibly put them 
  in position for her allies to attack them more 
  effectively. Alternately, she may move her allies 
  into more advantageous positions. If that’s not 
  enough to get the job done, she’ll use Tesseract 
  Traps and Danger Portals, or even Tesseract 
  Defense if she’s facing enough opponents with 
  Ranged attacks (she loves shooting someone in 
  the back with his own attack!). She’ll only use her 
  Tesseract Razor (which involves opening reality 
  warps inside a target) against unliving targets, or 
  if she has no other option. A lot of her powers 
  have high END costs, so watch her END expen-
  ditures carefully.
  Campaign Use:  In addition to working as a 
  mercenary villain or as part of a team, Tesser-
  act could serve as the focus of stories featuring 
  her periodic, and often half-hearted, efforts to 
  conquer the world, or involving other attempts 
  by the beings of the Sixth Dimension to take 
  over Earth. She may also have some connection 
  with the Japanese villain Teikei (Champions Uni-
  verse, page 75), who claims to be from the Sixth 
  Dimension.
  If you need to make Tesseract more power-
  ful, give her some Armor or other defenses to 
  supplement her Damage Reduction, or increase 
  the dice of her attacks (or the inches she can 
  Teleport someone). Making her weaker is a little 
  trickier, since the way some of her powers are 
  defined, they can’t really be changed much. How-
  ever, you could shave off a few points here and 
  there, or simply get rid of a lot of optional fea-
  tures (like the Indirect and OCV bonuses for her 
  Missile Deflection). You could also decrease her 
  SPD to 4, which reduces her END usage problem 
  a little.
  Appearance: Tesseract’s costume is black, with 
  green gloves and a green T design on the front. 
  She also wears a black cape with a green design 
  along the other edges. She does not wear a mask.
  THORN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   25 STR 
  12* 
  14- 
  Lift  800 kg; 5d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  24* 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   23 CON 
  21* 
  14-
   15 BODY 8* 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  8* 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   15 PD 
  8* 
   
  Total:  21 PD (6 rPD)
   10 ED 
  4* 
   
  Total:  16 ED (6 rED)
   5 SPD 
  16* 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   20 REC 
  16*
   46 END 
  0
   60 STUN 16* 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  148
  *:  OIHID (-¼)
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Tunneling: 
  3”/6”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  48 
  Plant Attacks:  Multipower, 60-point 
  reserve; all OIHID (-¼)
  4u 
  1)  Th orn Spray:  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing 
  (+½), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼); 
  OIHID (-¼) 
  5
  4u 
  2)  Choking Spores:  EB 6d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing]; 
  +1); Limited Range (4”; -¼), OIHID (-¼) 6
  3u 
  3)  Controlling Spores:  Mind Control 12d6 
  (Human class of minds); Cannot Feed END 
  To Maintain Eﬀ ect (-¼), Limited Range 
  (4”; -¼), OIHID (-¼) 
  6
  3u 
  4)  Tangling Growth:  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF; 
  OIF (plants of opportunity; -½), 
  OIHID (-¼) 
  6
  1u 
  5)  Strength Of Th e Trees:  STR +35; 
  Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), 
  OIHID (-¼) 
  9
  24 
  Plant Control Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  60-point powers, all OIHID (-¼)
  18 
  1)  Quicken Plants:  Summon up to 4 
  300-point monstrous plants (use the Giant 
  Carnivorous Plant writeup, HERO System 
  Bestiary page 198; see text); OIF 
  (appropriate plants of opportunity; -½), 
  Extra Time (Full Phase; -½), OIHID (-¼) 6
  24 
  2)  Control Plants:  Mind Control 12d6 
  (Plant class of minds); OIHID (-¼) 
  6
  14 
  Bark-Like Skin:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED); 
  OIHID (-¼) 
  0
  9 
  Burrowing:  Tunneling 3” through DEF 3 
  material; Increased Endurance Cost 
  (x2 END; -½), OIHID (-¼) 
  2
  4 
  Heightened Senses:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIHID (-¼) 
  0
  3 
  Tendrils And Vines:  Extra Limbs (up to a 
  dozen); Costs Endurance (-½), OIHID (-¼) 1
  12 
  Rapid Growth:  Stretching 3”; 
  OIHID (-¼) 
  1
  
  205 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
   
  Talents
  3 
  Environmental Movement:  no penalties in 
  undergrowth
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Plant Attacks Multipower
  1 
  Computer Programming 8-
  2 
  AK: Millennium City University 11-
  2 
  KS: Th e Academic World 11-
  1 
  KS: Roses 8-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  SS: Biology 12-
  6 
  SS: Botany 15-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  202
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Accidental Change:  when he experiences 
  signiﬁ cant stress or becomes Enraged 11- 
  (Uncommon)
  20 
  Enraged:  when sees trees and plants being 
  harmed or destroyed (Uncommon), go 14-, 
  recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Teleios 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Desensitized Touch (-2 
  to all DEX Rolls when in Th orn form) (Fre-
  quently, Slightly)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Human 
  And Animal Life (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Proud; Can’t Stand 
  To Be Outdone Or Humiliated (Common, 
  Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Dr. Law-
  rence Lloyd) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Herbicides 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Herbicides 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  “Doctor Lloyd! Can you tell us 
  more about your new wonder drug?”
  “Doctor Lloyd! When will the drug be avail-
  able?”
  Lawrence Lloyd, doyen of the Millennium 
  City University Department of Botany, waited for 
  the hubbub of questions to die down before he 
  addressed the reporters. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give 
  you any more details at this time. As I announced 
  yesterday, I’m extremely close to a breakthrough 
  toward a revolutionary new heart medicine, based 
  on my researches into certain plant extracts. When 
  more details are available, believe me, I’ll let you 
  know.” With that, he pushed past the shouting 
  reporters and into the quiet of his lab.
  Now he just had to create what he’d promised.
  When he heard the report out of Harvard, 
  about the new drugs their botanists were develop-
  ing, jealousy had consumed him. He was the great-
  est scientist in the ﬁ eld of botany! If some also-ran 
  from New England could create new drugs, he 
  could create better drugs! To keep the Ivy Leagu-
  ers from stealing the spotlight, he made his own 
  announcement... before he’d even begun any exper-
  iments. But he knew he could do it!
  Long hours of work followed, using DNA 
  from many species of plants he’d already studied 
  — including specimens he’d gathered in the Congo 
  rain forest that were unknown to other botanists. 
  But as he worked, he became tired... and careless. 
  While attempting to inject his latest “botano-
  serum” into a guinea pig, he missed and jabbed 
  himself in the hand, pumping his bloodstream full 
  of the strange chemical.
  He panicked, running out of the lab toward 
  the university’s hospital. But as he ran, he felt pain 
  lance through his body. He dropped to the ground, 
  moaning in agony. He began to transform. Skin 
  became bark, hair became leaves, ﬁ ngers became 
  roots. Terriﬁ ed, he crawled into the underbrush 
  beside the road to hide.
  It wasn’t long before his fears had vanished. 
  Somehow the botano-serum had turned him into 
  some sort of man-plant hybrid! His scientiﬁ c curi-
  osity aroused, he began to experiment, discovering 
  he was immensely strong, and had other powers to 
  boot. With a few moments’ concentration, he could 
  even revert back to his normal human form.
  Th e possibilities were intriguing....
  Personality/Motivation:  Once a gift ed (if overly 
  proud and bombastic) scientist, Th orn has under-
  gone a psychological transformation almost as pro-
  found as the changes to his physical form. He used 
  to enjoy the company of the plants in his green-
  house, oft en in preference to the company of other 
  people, but he got along with his colleagues and 
  friends well enough. Now he loathes other humans, 
  and animals to boot — the ones who prey on his 
  beloved plants. He ﬁ nds it diﬃ  cult to tolerate the 
  presence of other people (and even broke up with 
  his ﬁ ancee, Deborah Greaves), and becomes furious 
  if anyone touches him.
  At present, Th orn’s attitude has led him to 
  vandalize farms (to “free” the plants), destroy log-
  ging operations, and engage in other such acts of 
  “eco-terrorism.” As time goes by, his opinions will 
  probably become more and more extreme, until he 
  reaches the point where he’s a botanical counter-
  part to Mechanon who wants to cleanse all human 
  life from Earth so plants can grow unhindered.
  Quote:  “You can’t hurt me, you... mammal. I am the 
  strength of the oak personiﬁ ed!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th orn’s powers result from the 
  experimental botano-serum he accidentally 
  injected himself with. It altered his cellular struc-
  ture, allowing him to transform into a human-plant 
  hybrid. His powers, which only work in his Th orn 
  form, include not only great strength and resilience, 
  but the ability to shoot thorns or various danger-
  ous spore-clouds, to transform ordinary plants into 
  monstrous, gigantic servants, and to cause ambient 
  plant-life to engulf and entangle his foes.
  THORN PLOT SEEDS
  Th e Millennium City 
  Orchid-Fanciers Society 
  announces its annual 
  show. Infuriated at this 
  “plant slavery,” Th orn 
  decides to attend the 
  exhibition and show 
  those old bats just how 
  dangerous plants can 
  be! Fortunately, the PCs 
  happen to also be there 
  to look at the ﬂ owers....
  Th e PCs are approached 
  by Deborah Greaves, 
  Lawrence Lloyd’s ex-
  ﬁ ancée (or perhaps 
  they’re aware of her situ-
  ation because they know 
  her socially). She’s wor-
  ried about Lawrence; his 
  sudden shift  in behavior 
  and “erratic” conduct 
  make him wonder if he’s 
  “been mind-controlled, 
  or something.” Could 
  the PCs please investi-
  gate and ﬁ nd out if he’s 
  all right?
  Several large, old, 
  majestic trees around 
  Millennium City start 
  to die suddenly, for no 
  apparent reason. Despite 
  his skills as a botanist, 
  Th orn can’t ﬁ nd out 
  what’s going on. Desper-
  ate to prevent any more 
  “senseless deaths,” he 
  seeks the PCs’ help. But 
  can he be trusted?
  
  206 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  To represent Th orn’s animated plants, use the 
  Giant Carnivorous Plant writeup from page 198 of 
  the HERO System Bestiary. Alternately or in addi-
  tion, you could use the Treeman writeup (Bestiary, 
  page 119), but in the latter case you might want to 
  make Th orn pay for the Advantage to expand 
  the class of what he can Summon.
  Normally, to transform into Th orn, 
  Lloyd has to expose himself to his botano-
  serum, either by injection or inhalation 
  (he carries a small vial or two of 
  the ﬂ uid with him at all times). 
  But in some cases, when he’s 
  under a lot of stress, or becomes 
  Enraged, he transforms spon-
  taneously. He hopes, in time, 
  to reach the point where he 
  can activate his powers 
  without the serum 
  (i.e., to buy oﬀ  the 
  OIHID Limitation 
  on his powers).
  Th orn prefers 
  to start combat by 
  creating and con-
  trolling some of 
  his plant-creatures 
  (if possible, he’ll 
  do this before the 
  battle begins). Th en 
  he uses whatever Plant 
  Attack powers seem best suited to the 
  situation. He doesn’t like working with 
  others; he will if he has to, but almost 
  never bothers to support, help, or 
  defend his teammates. Aft er all, 
  they’re just people.
  Campaign Use:  Th orn is a good can-
  didate for second-rate-master-villain-
  in-training. He’ll probably never reach 
  the pinnacles of power inhabited by 
  the likes of Firewing and Gravitar, 
  but he could easily become a 
  major threat to humanity. For 
  his initial appearances in the 
  campaign, he probably works 
  best if he either teams up with other villains for a 
  little while, or provides his own combat support 
  through plant-monsters. As time goes by, he can 
  create other plant-oriented villains, forming a team 
  of his own under his direct control. Ultimately, 
  between his servants and his monstrous plants, he’ll 
  be able to give any team a run for its money.
  To make Th orn stronger, you can boost the 
  Active Points in his powers, or you can add new 
  ones. He could, for example, develop other spore 
  powers — such as spores that Transform people 
  into human-plant hybrids under his control, or 
  acidic spores able to eat through metal. Or maybe 
  a little Healing Regeneration, Change Environ-
  ment (make plants bloom and grow), or the like 
  would be what he needs. To weaken him, reduce 
  the Active Points in his Power Frameworks, 
  or remove some of the slots; you could also 
  reduce his STUN and REC.
  Th orn’s overweening pride and 
  dislike of losing could easily drive 
  him to Hunt a hero, especially one 
  with powers he deems dangerous 
  to plant life (such as ﬁ re or earth-
  manipulation powers). Once he 
  ﬁ xates on a target, he’s likely 
  to remain strongly focused on 
  that person (i.e., to Hunt 
  on at least an 11-). Most 
  of his attacks involve 
  sending monstrous 
  plant-creatures aft er his 
  foe.
  Appearance:  Th orn 
  resembles a strange 
  and disturbing cross 
  between man and 
  plant. His skin has 
  become like grey-brown 
  bark, and his ﬂ esh more 
  ﬁ brous and dense. His hair 
  looks more like leaves, and 
  other sprouts of leaves 
  cover his waist or tuft  out 
  here and there in patches. 
  His ﬁ ngers and toes are 
  root-like, slender and 
  gnarled but possessed of 
  great strength. His eyes 
  and mouth resemble 
  knotholes in an old 
  tree as much as any-
  thing. Tiny thorns have 
  sprouted from various 
  places on his body 
  (including, most noticeably, his forearms), and he 
  oft en has vines or tendrils growing out to twine 
  around parts of his form.
  When not in Th orn form, Lawrence Lloyd is 
  an average-looking white man in his early 30s, with 
  short, dark hair, no facial hair, and glasses. He usu-
  ally wears comfortable clothes and a lab coat.
  
  207 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  THUNDERBIRD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   23 DEX 
  39 
  14- 
  OCV:  8/DCV:  8
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   8 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  19 PD (11 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  19 ED (11 rED)
   5 SPD 
  17 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  142
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  40 
  Blaster Arsenal:  Multipower, 80-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1)
  4u 
  1)  Blaster Assault Riﬂ e:  RKA 2½d6, 
  Autoﬁ re (5 shots; +½), 64 Charges (+½); 
  OAF (-1) 
  [64]
  4u 
  2)  Blaster Pistol, Mark I:  RKA 2d6, 
  Armor Piercing (x2; +1), +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiplier (+¼), 32 Charges 
  (+¼); OAF (-1) 
  [32]
  3u 
  3)  Blaster Pistol, Mark II:  RKA 2d6, +4 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+1), Pene-
  trating (+½); OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-¾) 
  [6]
  3u 
  4)  Blaster Carbine with Sniper 
  Attachments:  RKA 2d6, Increased 
  Maximum Range (x5, or 1,500”; +¼), 
  No Range Modiﬁ er (+½), 32 Charges 
  (+½); OAF (-1) 
  [32]
  27 
  Backup Blaster:  RKA 2d6, Armor 
  Piercing (+½), +2 Increased STUN 
  Multiplier (+½); OAF (-1), 12 
  Charges (-¼) 
  [12]
  60 
  Grenades:  Multipower, 90-point reserve; 
  OIF (grenade belt; -½)
  3u 
  1)  Fragmentation Grenade:  RKA 3d6, 
  Explosion (+½), +2 Increased STUN 
  Multiplier (+½); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  3u 
  2)  Tranq Gas Grenade:  EB 6d6, NND 
  (defense is Life Support [Self-Contained 
  Breathing]; +1), Area Of Eﬀ ect (6” 
  Radius; +1); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  4u 
  3)  Smoke Grenade:  Darkness to Sight 
  Group 9” radius; OAF (-1), 4 Charges  
  lasting 1 Turn each (-½) 
  [4cc]
  13 
  Questionite Combat Knife:  HKA 1d6 
  (1½d6 with STR), Armor Piercing 
  (x2; +1); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-¼) 
  1
   
  Martial Arts: Commando Training
   
   Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
   Aikido Th row +0 
  +1 
  6d6 + v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
   Boxing Cross +0 
  +2 
  8d6 Strike
  4 
   Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb, 
  3d6 NND (2)
  4 
   Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  45 STR vs. Grabs
  4 
   Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Th ree 
  Limbs, 40 STR
  4 
   Judo Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 40 STR
  4 
   Karate “Chop” -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR) 
  4 
   Kung Fu Block +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  16 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Tinted Nightsight Glasses:  Sight Group 
  Flash Defense (10 points); OAF (-1) 
  0
  8 
  Fast:  Running +4” (10” total) 
  1
  6 
  Bracer Communicator:  HRRP (Radio 
  Group); OIF (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight And 
  Hearing Groups As Well As Radio 
  Group (-½) 
  0
  2 
  Tinted Nightsight Glasses:  Infrared 
  Perception (Sight Group); OAF (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  6 
  Reputation:  terror of the superhuman 
  underworld (on Earth; 14-) +2/+2d6 
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  5 
  Accurate Sprayﬁ re
  3 
  Breakfall 14-
  3 
  Combat Driving 14-
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  5 
  Concentrated Sprayﬁ re
  3 
  Criminology 13-
  3 
  Demolitions 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  Forensic Medicine 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  3 
  KS: Th e DIA 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Espionage World 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Military/Mercenary/Terrorist World 13-
  3 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 13-
  3 
  KS: Supervillains 13-
  3 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  Paramedics 13-
  2 
  PS: Soldier 11-
  2 
  PS: Spy 11-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  5 
  Skipover Sprayﬁ re
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  3 
  Tactics 14-
  10 
  Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged)
  4 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Helicopters, Two-Wheeled Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles
  7 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms, 
  General Purpose/Heavy Machine Guns, 
  Grenade Launchers, Shoulder-Fired Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  385
  Total Cost:  527
  THUNDERBIRD 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th underbird disap-
  pears for several weeks. 
  His wife, concerned, 
  approaches the PCs and 
  asks them to ﬁ nd him 
  (though she’s careful 
  to conceal her identity 
  from them).
  A local NPC superhero 
  is found in a dirty alley-
  way with a blaster-hole 
  through his head. It 
  looks just like Th under-
  bird’s work. Did he do it, 
  and if so, why?
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ nd a 
  particular supervillain, 
  and fast. Th ey’re aware 
  Th underbird’s been 
  aft er that same villain 
  for a while, and prob-
  ably knows more about 
  him than anyone else. 
  So, they need to get to 
  Th underbird before he 
  kills the villain, then 
  ﬁ nd a way to work with 
  him to track the villain 
  down.
  
  208 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  DNPC:  Barbara Redhorse (wife) 11- 
  (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position)
  20 
  Hunted:  Justice Squadron 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vigilante Mental-
  ity (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Super-
  humans (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  ruthless murderer of supercrim-
  inals, 14-
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Jason 
  Redhorse) (Frequently, Major)
  212 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  527
  Background/History:  While undergoing basic 
  training in the United States Army, Jason Red-
  horse attracted the attention of his superior 
  oﬃ  cers for his combination of discipline, skill, 
  ruthlessness, and intelligence — the perfect attri-
  butes for a spy. He was soon assigned to work for 
  the Defense Intelligence Agency, and quickly rose 
  through the ranks thanks to his impressive track 
  record at completing missions and gathering intel 
  no one else could.
  His accomplishments soon 
  earned him a posting on a presti-
  gious project to gather intelligence 
  on, and ﬁ nd ways to combat, super-
  human criminals and terrorists. For 
  several years, he studied their per-
  sonalities, their crimes, and the 
  eﬀ ects of their activities. Slowly, 
  rage built within him. Th ese... 
  beings (he couldn’t even bring 
  himself to call them men anymore) 
  were like callous gods, ﬂ aunting 
  their powers and not caring who 
  got hurt. Some of them actually 
  expressed contempt for human 
  beings, and went out of their way to harm, 
  abuse, and kill them.
  Eventually, he couldn’t take it any-
  more. Just studying them wasn’t enough. 
  Someone had to do something about 
  this problem. Th e government seemed 
  content to leave the actual ﬁ ghting to the 
  superheroes (amateurs who, in Redhorse’s 
  opinion, usually weren’t much better than 
  the criminals they fought). Since no 
  one else was willing to tackle the job, 
  he’d do it.
  With the support of his wife 
  Barbara, a Millennium City police 
  records oﬃ  cer (and Army veteran 
  herself), Redhorse quit the Army 
  and disappeared. He spent two years 
  training himself and building weap-
  ons for his one-man war on super-
  crime. When he judged himself 
  ready, he donned a distinctive uni-
  form (the better, he thought, to gain a reputation 
  and perhaps ﬁ t in with like-minded superheroes) 
  and hit the streets as Th underbird. And slowly but 
  surely, he began racking up a body count. As of 
  2002, he’s believed responsible for the murders of 
  nearly 15 supervillains, including Tartarus, Fal-
  chion, and two DEMON Morbanes, and he shows 
  no signs of slowing down.
  Personality/Motivation:  Th underbird is a driven, 
  almost obsessed, man. He’s convinced supercrime 
  is an epidemic problem, and that neither the 
  police, the government, nor the world’s superhe-
  roes are truly prepared, logistically or psychologi-
  cally, to deal with it properly. He views himself 
  as the one man who knows how things really are 
  and is capable of doing the work that has to be 
  done. As far as he’s concerned, there’s no supervil-
  lain out there who doesn’t deserve a blaster-bolt 
  through the head, and he’s happy to provide. So 
  great is his hatred of superhumans that he ﬁ nds it 
  diﬃ  cult to work with superheroes (even the few 
  who share his ideals), and will oft en ignore a seri-
  ous crime being committed by normal criminals 
  to pursue a relatively minor supervillain who’s 
  not currently hurting anyone.
  Quote:  “You’ve got to pay the price for your 
  crimes, Falchion. And I’m here to collect.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Th underbird is a highly-trained 
  man, in the peak of physical conditioning, who 
  equips himself with powerful high-tech weaponry 
  to ﬁ ght superhuman crime. He carries ﬁ ve blast-
  ers — an assault riﬂ e-style weapon, three pistols 
  of various conﬁ gurations, and a carbine equipped 
  for sniping — in hip and shoulder holsters, his 
  right boot, slung over his back, and so forth. He’s 
  also got a small arsenal of grenades in his belt 
  pouches, and a questionite combat knife. If neces-
  sary, he can also call on his combat training and 
  ﬁ ght unarmed as well.
  Birds NOT Of A Feather?
  ‘Thunderbird concerns me. His 
  skill and dedication are admi-
  rable, but his methods are not. 
  There’s a time and a place for 
  violence in crimeﬁ ghting, but he doesn’t seem 
  to understand that at all — his response to 
  everything is violent, and that’s a problem. To 
  me, his behavior indicates someone who’s all 
  too close to the edge — how long before he 
  goes over, and starts shooting at anyone he 
  pleases? He’s got to be stopped.’
  — from the private logs of Nighthawk
  Whatever!
  ‘I hate that guy. What a head 
  case! He’s taken shots at me 
  twice now... good thing I’m 
  hard to hit, I don’t think my 
  armor would stand up to those blasters he 
  carries. I hope the cops catch him, and soon.’
  — Bluejay
  
  209 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Th underbird isn’t stupid; he knows how dif-
  ﬁ cult his chosen quarry is to hunt and kill, and 
  he brings every ounce of tactical smarts he has 
  to bear on any combat situation. He prefers to 
  strike from a distance (with his carbine, he can 
  shoot targets nearly two miles away) and/or from 
  ambush, since he lacks the defenses to stand up to 
  most supervillains in a one-on-one battle. If con-
  fronted with more than he can handle, he’ll usu-
  ally drop a smoke grenade and attempt a strategic 
  withdrawal.
  Campaign Use:  Like Nebula and Captain Chro-
  nos, Th underbird is a hero whom the PCs likely 
  will neither completely understand nor agree 
  with. In fact, some of them may regard him as no 
  better than the criminals he kills, and devote a lot 
  of time to trying to capture him. Th at’s perfect; 
  he should evoke strong emotions, and raise in the 
  PCs’ minds questions about law, justice, and the 
  acceptable levels of force they apply when ﬁ ght-
  ing crimes themselves.
  Because he’s likely to work by himself in 
  most scenarios, you may need to give him Bases, 
  Vehicles, or other resources not already listed 
  on his character sheet. He has no objection to 
  applying overwhelming levels of force against his 
  enemies, so bombs, traps, and the like aren’t out 
  of the question — though he’d never knowingly 
  endanger innocent citizens with such things.
  If you want to make Th underbird tougher, 
  the ﬁ rst thing he needs is more defense — and 
  perhaps a point of SPD. Th en you can think about 
  increasing the DCs of his weapons, or even giving 
  him more weapons. A “utility belt” (a Multipower 
  of small gadgets, like the one on Nighthawk’s 
  character sheet [Champions, page 186]) wouldn’t 
  be a bad idea, either. If he’s too tough, your best 
  bet is to scale down his weapons to the point 
  where he’s not quite so deadly.
  Th underbird would never Hunt another 
  hero, even one who interferes with his war on 
  crime, unless he believes that hero is really a vil-
  lain (either because someone tricks him, he gets 
  the wrong impression, or the character has an 
  appropriate Reputation). In that case, he’ll employ 
  his usual methods, and go straight for the kill.
  Appearance:  Th underbird is a tall (6’2”), well-
  muscled man with dark hair. He wears a black 
  bodysuit with red boots, belt, equipment belt, and 
  bracers/gloves, with a red thunderbird symbol 
  on his chest. He doesn’t wear a mask, but instead 
  hides his identity behind red one-way combat 
  glasses.
  THUNDERBOLT II
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   27 DEX 
  51 
  14- 
  OCV:  9/DCV:  9
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack 4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  12-
   20 PD 
  12 
   
  Total:  20 PD (20 rPD)
   20 ED 
  14 
   
  Total:  20 PD (20 rPD)
   8 SPD 
  43 
   
  Phases:  2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
   14 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  0
   50 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  218
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  25”/50”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  47 
  Superspeed:  Running +19” (25” total), 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  7 
  Sleeve Radio:    HRRP (Radio Group); IIF 
  (-¼), Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing 
  Groups As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  2 
  Contact:  fence 11-
  7 
  Contact:  Millennium City VIPER Nest 
  Leader 11- (extremely useful Skills and 
  resources, access to major institutions, sig-
  niﬁ cant Contacts of his own)
   
  Skills
  15 
  +3 Hand-To-Hand
  4 
  +2 with Running
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  CK: Millennium City 13-
  2 
  KS: History 11-
  2 
  KS: Millennium City University 11-
  1 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 8-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Geologist 13-
  3 
  SS: Geology 13-
  3 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  1 
  Systems Operation 8-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  132
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  DNPC:  Aileen Mitchell (girlfriend) 8- 
  (Normal)
  20 
  Hunted: PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Hunted: California Patrol 8- (Mo Pow, Cap-
  ture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation: Selﬁ sh And 
  Amoral (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Tachyon; Rival Is 
  THUNDERBOLT II 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th underbolt decides 
  to have it out with 
  Th underbolt I once and 
  for all, to establish the 
  right to use the name. 
  Th e PCs have to ﬁ nd 
  out about the ﬁ ght, ﬁ nd 
  out where it’s going to 
  be, and then put a stop 
  to it before the two of 
  them destroy a build-
  ing or hurt someone. 
  Unfortunately, each of 
  the combatants brought 
  a few friends along to 
  watch....
  Th underbolt decides he 
  needs to be even faster, 
  so he contacts Teleios 
  to see if the master of 
  biological wizardry can 
  enhance his powers 
  without using kelvarite. 
  Teleios agrees, but only 
  if Th underbolt does 
  some work for him. Th e 
  PCs soon encounter 
  Th underbolt leading a 
  squad of Teleios’s vat-
  grown superhuman 
  warriors....
  Th underbolt runs into a 
  stone wall just a little too 
  hard and ends up giving 
  himself amnesia. Will 
  the heroes take advan-
  tage of his condition to 
  try to reform him and 
  make him a hero? Is that 
  proper? Or will some 
  villain try to turn him 
  into a loyal lackey?
  
  210 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Aware Of Rivalry)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Rob Bles-
  kind) (Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to kelvarite, takes 1d6 damage 
  per Phase (Uncommon) 
  15 
  Susceptibility:  to earth control/manipula-
  tion powers, takes 1d6 damage per Phase 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  1½ x Eﬀ ect from Drains 
  (Common)
  30 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Electrical 
  attacks (Very Common)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  The fourth of eight sons 
  born to a poor St. Louis bricklayer and his wife, 
  Rob Bleskind grew up having to struggle for 
  everything he got. He fought against his brothers 
  to prove he was tough, he beat up neighborhood 
  kids and stole their lunch money, he worked hard 
  at a string of menial jobs to help put food on 
  the family table. His parents taught him to 
  stick up for himself; no one else was ever 
  going to help or protect him.
  But Rob wasn’t just a brute, 
  he was actually pretty smart — so 
  smart he earned a full scholar-
  ship to the new Millennium City 
  University. He planned to study 
  geology and become one of 
  those high-paid petrochemical 
  engineers he’d heard about. He 
  headed off to MCU full of 
  ambition.
  During his second day of 
  classes, he met another student, 
  Steve Maxwell. The two became 
  rivals almost immediately; 
  somehow they really got on each 
  others nerves. Maxwell was just as 
  competitive and smart as he was. 
  More than a few fistfights occurred 
  between them over the next few 
  years.
  When MCU was allowed 
  to examine fragments of a 
  strange meteorite that had 
  landed in Kentucky, Rob 
  was thrilled to be asked to 
  participate. His enthusiasm 
  only dimmed a little when 
  he found out Maxwell was 
  working on the project, too. 
  It was all the two of them could 
  do to be civil 
  to each other when the professors were around.
  And then the professors left the room for a 
  minute to get some equipment. What happened 
  next is a matter of debate. Bleskind has always 
  blamed Maxwell, claiming he began an unau-
  thorized test with equipment he didn’t really 
  know how to use. But it could be that they got 
  into a fight and knocked something over. Or 
  maybe they didn’t do anything. But what hap-
  pened is a matter of public record:  the meteor 
  exploded, blasting them both with tiny particles 
  and fragments of kelvarite. Bleskind, being closer 
  to the meteor when the disaster occurred, was 
  bombarded with more kelvarite than Maxwell.
  When he awakened in a hospital bed, Bles-
  kind felt sick and weak. That changed; he healed 
  with incredible speed, and soon realized the 
  explosion had changed him somehow. When he 
  accidentally bent the metal rail on his hospital 
  bed, he discovered he was much stronger than a 
  normal human. When he was brushing his teeth 
  one day and his hand started moving so fast he 
  could barely see it, he found out he was also a lot 
  faster than any ordinary person.
  A little practice, late at night when no one 
  was looking, was all it took to sound out the 
  extent of his superpowers. He could run faster 
  than an express train, and lift small cars without 
  much effort. Soon his mind went from thinking, 
  “Wow, this is incredible!” to wondering, “How can 
  I make money with this?”.
  Well, he knew lesson number one — grab 
  all you can get for yourself, ’cause no one’s 
  going to help you but you. He was never 
  much of a one for following all the rules 
  anyway. He’d rather make money as a 
  supervillain, than risk his neck as an 
  unthanked, unrewarded superhero.
  It wasn’t long before he quit col-
  lege and became a full-time super-
  villain. Not knowing there was 
  already a super-criminal named 
  Thunderbolt, he chose that name 
  for himself, since it was perfect 
  for his combination of strength 
  and speed. Since then, he’s worked 
  on his own, for VIPER, and with many 
  other villains, and he doesn’t intend to 
  get off the gravy train anytime soon.
  Personality/Motivation:  Thunderbolt’s 
  personality could be the textbook 
  definition of “self-centered.” With 
  him, everything is about me, me, 
  me. His needs, wants, and desires, 
  no matter how trivial, are always 
  more important than anyone 
  else’s. His opinions are correct, 
  and anyone who disagrees with 
  him is wrong, and stupid. Anyone 
  who’s not tough enough to stop 
  him deserves to get flattened 
  and have his stuff taken 
  away. Thunderbolt gets 
  along really well with people who kow-tow to 
  Get Ready To RUMBLE!
  ‘Sooner or later I’ll catch up 
  with that jerk, and he’s going 
  to learn not to steal my name. 
  A few thousand volts ought to 
  be enough to get the point across. By the time 
  I’m done with him, he’s going to be toast... 
  literally.’
  — Thunderbolt of the Ultimates
  
  211 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  him (sycophantic waiters, call girls, toadies), and 
  not so much with everyone else. A lot of master 
  villains would rather not work with him; he’s too 
  much trouble to cope with.
  Thunderbolt remains bitter rivals with Steve 
  Maxwell, who’s now better known as Tachyon 
  (Champions, page 209). Each of them does his 
  best to interfere with the other’s work, taunt 
  him, and make him miserable. They have yet to 
  put their superpowers to the test against each 
  other, but they know it’s only a matter of time. 
  He also sometimes has to deal with Thunderbolt 
  I, who’s not exactly happy about having his name 
  usurped.
  Quote:  “I’m faster than a bullet — and I hit 
  harder, too.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Thunderbolt is a brick-speedster, 
  able to combine his swiftness and his super-
  strength for devastating attacks. He particularly 
  enjoys Move Throughs (16d6 damage!), and uses 
  his Combat Skill Levels for offense so he has 
  OCV 7 when performing one. Grab Bys to snatch 
  Accessible Foci are another favorite tactic. Given 
  his high SPD, he can often afford to spend the 
  time to Haymaker.
  Unfortunately, Thunderbolt suffers from 
  many of the common problems experienced by 
  superhumans with kelvarite-derived powers. The 
  minute bits of the mineral embedded in his body 
  make him experience pain when he’s exposed to 
  larger chunks of kelvarite, or when someone uses 
  earth manipulation powers on him. He also suf-
  fers a greater than normal degree of effect from 
  electrical attacks, or powers that sap his strength, 
  stamina, or other qualities (i.e., Drains).
  Campaign Use:  Thunderbolt is a good member 
  for impromptu superteams or groups of super-
  mercenaries hired by master villains (though his 
  selfish attitude may cause problems). His powers 
  give him a lot of combat flexibility, making him a 
  useful addition to many villain teams.
  If Thunderbolt isn’t tough enough to chal-
  lenge your PCs, you have several options for 
  “powering him up.” First, increase his STR; that 
  way he doesn’t have to depend so much on his 
  movement. Second, give him some CSLs with 
  Move Through and extra defenses that only 
  apply against Move Throughs, so he can start 
  slamming into his opponents without much 
  difficulty. Third, give him some brick or speed-
  ster tricks that don’t necessarily involve hitting 
  people hard. If he’s too tough for your campaign, 
  decrease his velocity, SPD, and/or STR until he’s 
  more in line with your standard villains.
  Appearance:  Thunderbolt’s costume has red 
  flared boots, blue legs and stomach, red arms 
  and shoulders (with the red on the upper chest 
  in a reverse chevron pattern), and blue flared 
  gloves. His red helmet and blue shoulder pads 
  are designed to help protect him from the impact 
  of running into targets. He wears no mask, only 
  blue-tinted goggles.
  UTILITY
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV: 7/DCV: 7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV: 7
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack: 4d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  16 PD (8 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  16 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  4
   50 END 
  5
   40 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  152
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Leaping: 
  7”/14”
   
  Swinging: 
  15”/30”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  80 
  Armory:  Variable Power Pool (Gadget 
  Pool), 60 base + 30 control cost; Can Only 
  Be Changed In Utility’s Armory (-½) 
  Var
  37 
  Omni-Pistol:  Multipower, 75-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1)
  2u 
  1)  Electric Blaster:  Energy Blast 15d6; 
  OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  2)  Laser:  RKA 4d6; OAF (-1), 4 
  Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  3)  Concussion Beam:  Energy Blast 8d6 
  (physical), Double Knockback (+¾); 
  OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  4)  Focused Magnetic Beam:  Energy 
  Blast 10d6, Armor Piercing (+½), OAF 
  (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  5)  Sonic Blast:  Energy Blast 7d6, NND 
  (defense is Hearing Group Flash 
  Defense; +1); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  15 
  Billy Club:  Multipower, 30-point powers; 
  all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1)  HTH Club:  HA +3d6; OAF (-1), 
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  1
  1u 
  2)  Th rown Club:  Energy Blast 6d6; OAF 
  (-1), 1 Recoverable Charge (-1¼), Lockout 
  (prevents use of other Multipower slots 
  until charge recovered; -½) 
  [1rc]
  1u 
  3)  Swingline:  Swinging 15”; OAF (-1) 
  1
  40 
  Wrist Rockets:  Multipower, 60-point 
  powers; all OIF (-½)
  2u 
  1)  Explosive Rocket:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OIF (-½), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  2u 
   2)  Shaped-Charge Rocket:  Energy Blast 
  8d6, Penetrating (+½); OIF (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1) 
  [4]
   
  Martial Arts:  Generic
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Dodge 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀ ects 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  10d6 Strike
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  8d6 Strike
  UTILITY 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Drawn together by their 
  mutual love of humili-
  ating and beating up 
  superheroes, Utility and 
  Shrinker begin a torrid 
  love aﬀ air. Th ey decide 
  to sneak into the PCs’ 
  headquarters, defeat 
  them all, and ﬁ lm the 
  whole thing for public 
  broadcast.
  What could be more fun 
  than defeating a team of 
  superheroes in front of 
  millions? Utility plans 
  to attack the PCs while 
  they participate in some 
  major public event, like 
  the St. Patrick’s Day or 
  Th anksgiving parade, or 
  a charity fundraiser at a 
  stadium.
  Utility doesn’t limit his 
  researches to just super-
  heroes; he’s perfectly 
  happy to defeat super-
  villains, too, if he has to. 
  When they need infor-
  mation to defeat a major 
  supervillain, the PCs 
  have nowhere to turn 
  but Utility. Will he help 
  them, and if so, what 
  will he want in return?
  
  212 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  3 
  Th row 
  +0 
  +1 
  6d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  1 
  Use Art with Clubs
  16 
  Armored Costume:  Armor (8 PD/8 ED); 
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Strong Runner:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  3 
  Strong Leaper:  Leaping +3” (7” forward, 
  5” upward) 
  1
  3 
  Omni-Visor:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Omni-Visor:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Omni-Visor:  Increased Arc Of Perception 
  (360 Degrees) (Sight Group); OIF (-½) 
  0
  6 
  Omni-Visor:  HRRP (Radio Group); OIF 
  (-½), Aﬀ ected As Sight And Hearing 
  Groups As Well As Radio Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ 
   
  Talents
  9 
  Ambidexterity (no Oﬀ  Hand penalty)
  6 
  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  +4 DEX to go ﬁ rst with 
  all attacks
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  9 
  +3 with Omni-Pistol
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Computer Programming 13-
  3 
  Deduction 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  2 
  CK: Millennium City 11-
  4 
  KS: Superheroes 14-
  4 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 14-
  4 
  KS: Superpowers 14-
  4 
  KS: Supervillains 14-
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  3 
  Power: Gadgeteering 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  3 
  Tactics 13-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  390
  Total Cost:  542
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined To 
  Prove Himself Better Th an Superhumans 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Collapses Under 
  Torture/Interrogation (Uncommon, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  clever supervillain, 11-
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with Mirage)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (William 
  Chow) (Frequently, Major)
  207 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  542
  EXAMPLE POWERS FOR ARMORY 
  POWER POOL
  Here are some examples of devices Utility might 
  build with his Gadget Pool:
  Armor Weakener:  Th is device temporarily breaks 
  down the chemical bonds in most substances used to 
  build body armor and powered armor, so that they 
  oﬀ er less protection than normal until the bonds 
  “heal.”
  Drain Armor 4d6, Ranged (+½) (60 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Technological Armors Only (-
  ½),12 Charges (-¼). Total cost:  22 points.
  Cloaking Mesh:  Th is device, built into one of Utility’s 
  costumes, bends light around him so people cannot 
  see him.
  Invisibility to Sight Group, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) (30 Active Points); OIF (-½). Total 
  cost:  20 points.
  Flare Beam:  Th is weapon attaches to the Omni-
  Pistol; it lets Utility blind and disorient his foes.
  Sight Group Flash 12d6 (60 Active Points); OAF 
  (-1), 4 Charges (-1). Total cost:  20 points.
  Knockout Gas Mini-Grenades:  Enemies who can with-
  stand powerful energy bolts oft en have little resis-
  tance to Utility’s knockout gas.
  Drain STUN 3d6, Ranged (+½), Explosion 
  (+½) (60 Active Points); OAF (-1), 4 Charges 
  (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼). Total cost:  18 
  points.
  Springboots:  With these special boots, Utility can leap 
  enormous distances.
  Leaping +13” (20” forward, 10” upward) (13 
  Active Points); OIF (-½). Total cost:  9 points.
  Tanglebomb:  Utility uses this weapon to keep his foes 
  from moving.
  Entangle 4d6, 8 DEF (60 Active Points); OAF (-
  1), 4 Charges (-1), Range Based On STR (-¼). 
  Total cost:  18 points.
  X-Ray Scanner:  Th is device ﬁ ts into Utility’s Omni-
  Visor and lets him see through most physical objects. 
  It’s great for planning ambushes.
  
  213 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  N-Ray Perception (blocked by lead, gold, or Force 
  Fields) (Sight Group) (10 Active Points); OIF (-
  ½). Total cost:  7 points.
  Background/History:  Lots of kids are fascinated by 
  superheroes. Like dinosaurs, they represent some-
  thing larger and more powerful than themselves, but 
  which isn’t threatening. In fact, a lot of kids want to 
  become superheroes, the same way other kids want to 
  become famous athletes or rock stars.
  William Chow was diﬀ erent. He wasn’t inter-
  ested in admiring or emulating superheroes. He 
  wanted to beat them. To him, they represented a 
  challenge. As a young man, he spent a lot of time 
  ﬁ guring out ways to trick or defeat superheroes, 
  overcome their powers, and show them he was better 
  than they are. Th is might have remained little more 
  than a harmless hobby, but then his great aunt died 
  unexpectedly, leaving him a small fortune in her will. 
  Now he could do more than just dream — he had 
  the means to act on his ideas. He used the bequest 
  to fund his initial training, and to buy weapons from 
  the underworld armorer Wayland Talos (he’s since 
  learned how to make his own gadgets).
  His ﬁ rst outing as a supervillain was a complete 
  success. Th e Sentinels never knew what hit them; 
  they thought they were responding to a bank robbery 
  by the Ultimates, but what they were actually walking 
  into was a carefully-planned trap. Seeing one of the 
  world’s most powerful superteams lying unconscious 
  at his feet only conﬁ rmed to him that he was right all 
  along:  just because someone has superpowers doesn’t 
  mean an ordinary human can’t overcome him.
  Since then, Utility has become known as one of 
  the most eﬀ ective and successful super-mercenar-
  ies available. Although his interest in defeating and 
  humiliating superheroes, rather than stealing huge 
  sums of money or completing his assigned mission, 
  sometimes causes problems, his track record speaks 
  for itself and keeps the job oﬀ ers pouring in.
  Personality/Motivation:  Disciplined, calm in crisis, and 
  tactically alert at all times, Utility is a dangerous foe 
  who gives credit for his victories to his attitude and 
  intelligence, not his weapons. Outwitting and defeat-
  ing superheroes is his obsession, but unlike most 
  supervillains he doesn’t broadcast his intentions, 
  gloat over fallen foes, or ruthlessly mock his oppo-
  nents. Th e quiet enjoyment of leaving the battleﬁ eld a 
  winner is enough for him. To other supervillains, he’s 
  something of a paradox:  he likes to beat heroes, but 
  he won’t kill them (or let his allies kill them, either, if 
  he can help it); he’s a skilled planner, ﬁ ghter, and even 
  leader, but doesn’t spend much time with his col-
  leagues-in-crime. Th e truth is, he dislikes most other 
  villains (and people in general). He doesn’t think of 
  himself as a “villain” at all, really, and doesn’t approve 
  of or appreciate their attitudes or actions. Fighting 
  superheroes is about proving who’s best, not about 
  gratuitously hurting people or making one’s self rich.
  Quote:  “All the superpowers in the world aren’t 
  enough to defeat the world’s most powerful weapon 
  — the human brain — if it’s used properly.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Utility is a clever combatant who 
  uses high-tech weapons and gadgets — most oft en 
  his Omni-Pistol, which has a variety of settings, each 
  with a diﬀ erent special eﬀ ect — to overcome super-
  powered opponents and prove he’s better than they 
  are. Since he knows he can’t match their raw 
  power, he plans ahead to take advantage of his 
  enemies’ weaknesses and vulnerabilities. He 
  researches superhumans extensively, and if 
  a hero has shown a Vulnerability, Suscep-
  tibility, or other weakness, it’s likely Utility 
  knows about it — and is ready to exploit it.
  If he’s working with a team of supervil-
  lains, Utility prefers to ﬁ nd cover and act 
  as ﬁ re support, sniping at opponents 
  to soft en them up for his teammates. 
  He may even build gadgets speciﬁ -
  cally designed to enhance or work 
  with his allies’ powers (his Armor 
  Weakener is a particular favorite). If 
  he’s on his own, he tries to arrange 
  the battleﬁ eld to suit himself, even 
  rigging it ahead of time with traps, 
  weapon caches, and anything else 
  he can think of to give him the 
  edge he needs to win.
  Campaign Use:  Utility works 
  well either in a group 
  or on his own, though 
  you’ll probably have the 
  most fun with him as a 
  solo villain. In that case, 
  you have to arrange the 
  scenario so that Utility has enough of 
  an edge to take on the whole team. Th is 
  may involve giving him more equipment 
  and resources than normal (including, 
  perhaps, Computers or Vehicles), but it 
  also means having him do a lot of prepara-
  tory work. He should know the PCs almost 
  as well as they know themselves, and plan 
  things so the battles take place where he 
  wants them to. (On the other hand, some-
  times he sneaks into a team’s headquarters 
  and tries to take them all out in their home 
  territory; that’s just about the best sort of 
  victory he can have.) He should have ways to 
  counteract or avoid just about any power the 
  PCs are known to have, forcing them to rely 
  on their own smarts rather than just raw 
  power.
  Appearance:  Utility’s costume is a 
  brown bodysuit with green boots, 
  belt, gauntlets, and attachments. He 
  carries his Omni-Pistol in a holster on his left  hip, 
  and his Billy Club in a sheath on his right leg. His 
  Wrist Rockets are on his left  wrist. Depending on 
  his current selection of gadgets and weapons, his 
  headpiece is either a helmet with his Omni-Visor 
  built into the faceplate, or a helmet-like mask 
  with a bar-like Omni-Visor attachment over his 
  eyes.
  William Chow is 5’8” tall, weighs 150 pounds, 
  and has the rock-solid build of a muscular athlete 
  and experienced ﬁ ghter. A Chinese-American, he has 
  short dark hair and dark eyes.
  
  214 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  VIBRON
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift  400 kg; 4d6 [2]
   29 DEX 
  57 
  15- 
  OCV:  10/DCV:  10
   28 CON 
  36 
  15-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   13 EGO 
  6 
  12- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   10 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  25 PD (15 rPD)
   8 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  23 ED (15 rED)
   7 SPD 
  31 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12
   10 REC 
  0
   56 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  168
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  61 
  Vibro-Attacks:  Multipower, 61-point reserve
  6u 
  1)  Focused Vibro-Blast:  Energy Blast 12d6 6
  6u 
  2)  Expanded Vibro-Blast:  Energy Blast 
  7d6, Double Knockback (+¾) 
  6
  4u 
  3)  Vibro-Slicing:  HKA 3d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); No STR 
  Bonus (-½) 
  2
  3u 
  4)  Vibro-Punch:  HA +8d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½) 
  2
  3u 
  5)  Vibro-Assault:  Energy Blast 6d6, NND 
  (defense is PD Force Field; +1); No Range 
  (-½), Only Works On Grabbed Targets (-½) 6
  20 
  Vibro-Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  40-point powers
  25 
  1)  Vibro-Field:  Force Field (15 PD/15 ED), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  22 
  2)  Vibro-Gliding:  Running +14” (20” total), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  16 
  3)  Vibro-Phasing:  Desolidiﬁ cation 
  (aﬀ ected by sonic, vibratory, or air attacks); 
  Concentration (½ DCV; -¼) 
  4
  10 
  4)  Vibro-Dodging:  +8 DCV; Costs 
  Endurance (-½), Increased Endurance 
  Cost (x2 END; -½) 
  8
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Vibro-Attacks Multipower
  3 
  Breakfall 15-
  3 
  Climbing 15-
  1 
  AK: Andromeda Galaxy 8-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂ uent; 
  T-ay’maar is native)
  3 
  Stealth 15-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  198
  Total Cost:  366
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  PRIMUS 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Nebula 11- (As Pow, Capture)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Knows Little Of Earth 
  Culture (Frequently, Slightly Impairing)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Utterly Alien Physiog-
  nomy (-10 to all medical and related rolls 
  to heal or help him) (Infrequently, Slightly 
  Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To Outwit 
  And Harass Law Enforcement (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Lh’alsha, 
  Che’na Wumar) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Milky Way 
  Galaxy Chemicals/Gases/Poisons (Common)
  56 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  366
  Background/History:  He’d had a good time, but at 
  last it was all coming to an end. For all his tricks 
  and guile, there was only one way to stay a step 
  ahead of the Tel’narian Guard anymore — he 
  had to leave this galaxy entirely. An old colleague 
  of his had built the Transport Gate for him, and 
  supplied the technicians to run it; it would only 
  work once — and just one way. But in a new 
  home, he’d find new opportunities.
  Suddenly the door was blasted off its hinges. 
  “Freeze, Shamareeth!” Tayina Mathet Hoki yelled, 
  her Thrombalic Blasts at the ready. “I arrest you 
  in the name of the Republic!”
  Shamareeth laughed. “Not this time, I think, 
  Mathet. I have found a way to escape you and 
  your foolish comrades forever. My only sadness 
  is that I shall never again know the joy of tor-
  menting you with your inability to stop me. Fare-
  well!” With that he turned and headed straight 
  for the archway.
  “No!” Hoki shouted, swooping toward him with 
  her Force-Flight. She grabbed him, intending 
  to pull him back from the brink. With a snarl 
  of rage he tried to twist out of her grasp and hit 
  her; he would not be cheated of his final triumph 
  so easily! But he lost his footing on the slick 
  metal floor, and slipped, and suddenly they both 
  plunged through the purple veil.
  Colors, thousands of them, colliding in his 
  brain. Sounds, a cacophony of them, shrieking in 
  his ears. Dizziness, disorientation, nausea, pain. 
  Then a tremendous impact, and nothing.
  He awoke quickly; the technicians had 
  warned him what to expect, so he’d been pre-
  pared. He stood up, looked at the Mathet lying 
  there, and smiled. So she’d been dragged along, 
  eh? Well, at least their game could continue 
  without pause. Now it was time to find out more 
  about his new home and the opportunities it 
  offered. With a mocking salute to the still-uncon-
  scious Guardswoman, he ran off into the city.
  Personality/Motivation:  Lh’alsha, Che’na Wumar, 
  known once as Shamareeth — or Vibron, to use 
  the English name given him by the press soon 
  after he first began committing crimes on Earth 
  — is a superpowered criminal from the Androm-
  VIBRON 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Two of Vibron’s old 
  Andromeda Galaxy 
  cronies have found a 
  way to follow him here 
  to Earth. Th e three of 
  them form their own 
  gang and begin terror-
  izing Millennium City, 
  though some of the 
  crimes they commit are 
  rather... odd. Is it just 
  their alien perspective 
  that’s making them act 
  so strangely, or do they 
  have a plan?
  Vibron approaches 
  the PCs with a request 
  to speak to them. He 
  claims he’s not a crimi-
  nal, but rather a rebel 
  against a harsh and 
  oppressive government 
  back in the Andromeda 
  Galaxy. Nebula isn’t a 
  hero; she’s a member of 
  the secret police, who’s 
  out to kill him. He wants 
  “political asylum,” but 
  that means the PCs 
  have to help him defeat 
  Nebula. Is he telling the 
  truth? What will the 
  PCs do?
  During a superbattle, 
  Vibron collapses. Th e 
  PCs soon learn he’s 
  developing the 
  T-ay’maar equivalent of 
  a heart condition, and 
  could die if it’s not cor-
  rected. Unfortunately, 
  his physiology is so alien 
  Human doctors can’t 
  do anything for him. 
  What will the PCs do to 
  save his life — contact 
  Teleios, attempt a trip to 
  the Andromeda Galaxy, 
  try to build him a super-
  pacemaker?
  
  215 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  eda Galaxy. Like many Human supercriminals, 
  he’s greedy, self-centered, amoral, and annoy-
  ing to be around; he seems to think his powers 
  (vibratory abilities gained when a super-weapon 
  he was stealing exploded in his hands) set him 
  above ordinary people.
  Although Vibron has killed, and will kill 
  again if he must, he takes little pleasure in it. He 
  finds it a lot more fun to try to outwit or escape 
  the police than to kill them, and with his speed 
  and Vibro-Phasing ability, he can lead them on a 
  merry chase indeed. In the past he’s even waited 
  at the scene of the crime until the police (or 
  superheroes) got close enough to see and pursue 
  him before he started to run. He also enjoys 
  harassing them in other ways, like vandalizing 
  police cars while the offi-
  cers are inspecting a 
  crime scene.
  Quote:  “Time to — as 
  you Humans say — 
  shake things up a bit!”
  Powers/Tactics:  A mutate 
  from the Andromeda Galaxy, 
  Vibron possesses the ability to 
  vibrate his body at super-fast 
  speeds, which gives him many powers. He can 
  shoot blasts of “vibro-energy,” punch someone 
  a hundred times in the blink of an eye, slice 
  through objects or people the same way a sonic 
  saw cuts through wood, or shake someone so 
  quickly and thoroughly that dizziness and nausea 
  cause the victim to pass out. He can also run 
  at high speeds, “vibro-phase” his body through 
  solid objects, or dodge so rapidly it’s virtually 
  impossible to hit him.
  Vibron prefers to keep moving during a 
  battle, rarely standing still for more than one 
  Phase. His Vibro-Blasts and Vibro-Assault are 
  favorite attacks; he’ll save his HKA for times 
  when nothing else works, or he needs to damage 
  a nonliving object. He uses his Vibro-Punch in 
  combination with Move Bys mostly. He’ll gladly 
  Abort a Phase to Dodge or Dive For Cover if he 
  can avoid getting hurt.
  Campaign Use:  As a stranger to Earth, Vibron is 
  still working his way into the underworld, build-
  ing a reputation and earning favors by work-
  ing for other villains, or with temporary villain 
  teams. He’d like to join a permanent team, such 
  as the Ultimates, but hasn’t gotten any invitations 
  yet. In the meantime, he can make good money 
  through a combination of mercenary work and 
  independent jobs.
  If Vibron needs to be more powerful to fit 
  into your campaign, increase his Multipower 
  reserve to 75 or 90 points (and the slots corre-
  spondingly), and/or up his defenses and SPD a 
  little. making him weaker usually involves reduc-
  ing his Multipower reserve and cutting his SPD 
  down to 6.
  Vibron isn’t interested in Hunting heroes 
  right now; he’s got to establish himself first. 
  He can pursue such luxuries later on.
  Appearance:  A member of the T-
  ay’maar species of the Andromeda 
  Galaxy, Vibron has an obviously 
  alien body, with a bullet-shaped 
  head, pupilless eyes, 
  grey-green skin, 
  and almost no 
  body hair. 
  He wears 
  a blue-
  grey 
  bodysuit 
  with a 
  stylized 
  V emblem 
  (added by one 
  of his employers) 
  on the left breast; 
  the suit’s sleeves end at 
  his wrists, leaving his hands 
  uncovered. Even when he’s 
  at rest, he vibrates slightly, 
  making it difficult to dis-
  cern his features; when he’s 
  actively using his powers 
  he’s an almost featureless 
  blur. He does not wear a 
  mask.
  ANDROMEDAN SUPERCRIMINALS
  Gamemasters interested in pursuing story pos-
  sibilities relating to the Andromeda Galaxy might 
  want to use some of the following villains. Th e 
  names given are approximate translations of their 
  names in their native Andromedan tongues.
  Backtrack:  A chronomanipulator with the ability 
  to “replay” up to the past ten seconds of time.
  CheetahMan:  A running speedster with certain 
  feline powers.
  Mandala:  A mentalist with perception manipula-
  tion and distortion powers. Sultry and seductive, 
  she oft en manipulates males as much with her 
  beauty as her powers.
  Skylark:  A ﬂ ying speedster, able to move and sur-
  vive both in atmospheres and in outer space.
  Tagteam:  A duplicating character with low-level 
  super-strength and some martial arts abilities. 
  Fast and skilled, Tagteam is/are tough to defeat in 
  hand-to-hand combat.
  Zogoth:  A bizarre merging of some Andromedan 
  elder horror and a humanoid species. Th irty feet 
  tall, immensely strong, and terrifying to look 
  at, Zogoth is one of the most feared villains in 
  Andromeda.
  
  216 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ZEPHYR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   30 DEX 
  60 
  15- 
  OCV:  10/DCV:  10
   23 CON 
  26 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   24 COM 
  7 
  14-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  23 PD (15 rPD)
   12 ED 
  7 
   
  Total:  27 ED (15 rED)
   6 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   46 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  153
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  30”/240”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  81 
  Wind Attacks:  Multipower, 81-point reserve
  8u 
  1)  Wind Blast:  Energy Blast 8d6, Double 
  Knockback (+¾), Reduced Endurance 
  (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  5u 
  2)  Wind Gust:  Energy Blast 8d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (9” Cone; +1); No Range (-½) 
  8
  8u 
  3)  Tornado Blast:  Energy Blast 8d6, Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (4” Radius; +1); Random Knock-
  back (see Champions, page 153; -0) 
  8
  7u 
  4)  Out Of Air:  Energy Blast 6d6, NND 
  (defense is LS [Self-Contained Breathing]; 
  +1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  8u 
  5)  Wind Manipulation:  Telekinesis (36 
  STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½)   0
  50 
  Wind Powers:  Elemental Control, 
  100-point powers.
  90 
  1)  Air Travel:  Flight 30”, x8 Noncombat, 
  Rapid Noncombat Movement (+¼), 
  Combat Acceleration/Deceleration (+¼), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  58 
  2)  Fire Starvation:  Dispel Fire 12d6, all 
  Fire Powers simultaneously (+2)
  40 
  Air Shield:  Force Field (15 PD/15 ED) plus 
  Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing) 
  3
  22 
  Sense Air-Currents:  Spatial Awareness 
  (no Sense Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +3 with Flight
  3 
  Acrobatics 15-
  3 
  Breakfall 15-
  3 
  Climbing 15-
  3 
  KS: Con Games 12-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  3 
  Lockpicking 15-
  3 
  SS: Meteorology 12-
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Stealth 15-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  412
  Total Cost:  565
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mutant (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only By Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Hunted:  Champions 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus 
  Killing (Common, Total)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of 
  Th e Police And Other Authority Figures 
  (Common, Total)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Public Identity (Angela 
  Charles) (Frequently, Major)
  250 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  565
  Background/History:  Angela Charles comes from 
  a family that never exactly embraced wholesome 
  American values. Her great-grandfather was an 
  outlaw in the Old West, her grandfather a bootleg-
  ger working for the Irish mob in Boston during 
  Prohibition, and her father a con artist, burglar, and 
  smuggler. He started to bring Angela along on his 
  burglary jobs when she was only eight years old 
  — a small child can ﬁ t through windows too small 
  for a grown man — and used her in his grift ing 
  schemes, too. It was an interesting education, and a 
  lot more fun than school.
  When Angela found out she was a mutant, 
  with the power to control the air, her father knew 
  they had it made. Th ey didn’t have to bother scal-
  ing walls anymore; she could ﬂ y them both up to 
  the roof, where there were always fewer security 
  systems to bypass. Th ey could carry more loot. And 
  if they had to make a quick getaway, it’s hard to beat 
  being able to ﬂ y at hundreds of miles per hour.
  Everything was going perfectly — until they 
  walked into a police ambush. When they tried to 
  get away, the police opened ﬁ re. Angela’s powers 
  protected her, but she didn’t act quickly enough 
  to get in front of her father, and he was hit several 
  times. She rushed him to an underworld doctor, but 
  it was too late. He died on the makeshift  operating 
  table. Filled with cold fury, Angela ﬂ ew to the pre-
  cinct house and demolished it with tornadoes and 
  wind-blasts. Th en she soared oﬀ  into the night to 
  begin her own criminal career.
  Personality/Motivation:  Zephyr’s never known a 
  normal existence; she’s been a criminal all her life. 
  Th e idea of earning a living in the usual way, by 
  getting a job and working in an oﬃ  ce from eight to 
  ﬁ ve, makes absolutely no sense to her — why work 
  when you can take what you want? Crime comes 
  as naturally to her as ordinary work does to most 
  people.
  Her absolute contempt and hatred for cops, 
  superheroes, and anyone else in authority only 
  makes matters worse. Anytime she gets to outwit, 
  evade, or beat up policemen, she takes it, laughing 
  the whole time. Th ough she’d never kill any of them 
  (that causes a lot more trouble than it’s worth), 
  she’ll gladly hurt them, put them in embarrassing 
  positions, or interfere with their work. She won’t 
  ZEPHYR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  DEMON hires Zephyr 
  to work with Blowtorch, 
  Riptide, and Temblor 
  as part of a team chris-
  tened “the Elemental 
  Evils.” Zephyr soon ﬁ nds 
  out that the Inner Circle 
  plans to cast some pow-
  erful black magic spell 
  related to the team’s 
  activities, and she’s not 
  particularly comfort-
  able with that. How can 
  she tip the PCs oﬀ  to 
  what DEMON’s doing 
  without getting captured 
  herself?
  Zephyr uses her powers 
  to alter the weather 
  patterns around Millen-
  nium City, and threatens 
  to subject the city to a 
  major drought if she’s 
  not paid a $1 billion 
  ransom.
  To her horror, Zephyr 
  ﬁ nds herself romanti-
  cally attracted to a male 
  PC — the sort of person 
  she ordinarily loathes. 
  Can she somehow act 
  on her feelings with-
  out compromising her 
  beliefs? Is it possible 
  some outside force is 
  manipulating her emo-
  tions?
  
  217 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  obey or cooperate with any law enforcement oﬃ  cer 
  unless forced to.
  Quote:  “You’d have better luck trying to chain a 
  tornado than capture me!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Zephyr is a mutant with the ability 
  to interact with her environment and manipulate 
  it. At present, she only has the power to manipulate 
  the most easily-aﬀ ected part of her surroundings, 
  the air. She’s completely unaware of the fact that, 
  in theory, her powers could extend to aﬀ ecting 
  the ground, plants, water, and just about any other 
  natural substance or phenomenon.
  Zephyr has learned how 
  to alter the ﬂ ow of air in her 
  immediate vicinity to achieve 
  many diﬀ erent eﬀ ects. She can 
  ﬂ y at over 500 miles per hour, 
  create mini-tornadoes and 
  more focused wind-blasts, 
  suck all the air out of some-
  one’s lungs, or use the wind 
  to pick up and move objects. 
  In combat, she prefers to use 
  her Wind Blast or Wind Gust, 
  though if she runs into END 
  use problems she’ll switch to 
  attacks that aren’t so strenu-
  ous. If she knows an oppo-
  nent can take it, she may pick 
  him up with her Telekinesis, 
  carry him along at a high rate 
  of speed with her Flight, and 
  then let him go so he slams 
  into something hard.
  Campaign Use:  Zephyr 
  makes a good addition to 
  many teams of villains; her 
  powers combine versatil-
  ity with a good oﬀ ensive 
  “punch.” She’ll happily work 
  with just about any other 
  criminal, even hardened 
  murderers, despite her own 
  reservations about killing. 
  She prefers the company of 
  other thieves; she’d get along 
  well with GRAB.
  If Zephyr needs to be 
  more powerful to stand up 
  to your PCs, consider expanding her 
  powers to aﬀ ect other aspects of the environment, 
  as described above. Start with water (another rela-
  tively easily manipulated substance), then branch 
  out from there. In theory, she could eventually 
  become incredibly powerful — as powerful as 
  Firewing or Gravitar in terms of raw points, and 
  with a much more ﬂ exible suite of powers than 
  either of them. If she’s already too strong, rein in 
  her Multipower and EC — reduce the Active Points 
  in each by about 25-33%.
  Zephyr would only Hunt a hero who’s pub-
  licly identiﬁ ed as being a police oﬃ  cer or having 
  sanction. She’ll learn as much as she can about her 
  target by spying on him from high up in the sky 
  with binoculars, then attack swift ly and viciously. 
  Many of her attacks will be “ﬂ y by shootings,” giving 
  the target little, if any, opportunity to counterattack.
  Appearance:  Zephyr is a young woman of remark-
  able beauty; she could easily become a model, or 
  an actress, if she wanted to. Her long platinum 
  blonde hair, blue eyes, ﬂ awless skin, and coltish 
  ﬁ gure aren’t soon forgotten by those who see her. 
  As Zephyr, she wears a sleeveless, sky-blue costume 
  with the alchemical symbol for air on it dark blue. 
  She doesn’t wear a mask.
  
  218 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ZIGZAG
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [1]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   12 PD 
  9 
   
  Total:  12 PD (12 rPD)
   9 ED 
  5 
   
  Total:  9 ED (8 rED)
   5 SPD 
  20 
   
  Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  6
   40 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  7 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  117
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  10”/20”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Elastic Body Weaponry:  Multipower, 
  75-point reserve
  2u 
  1)  Wraparound:  Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF, 
  Backlash (+½); Feedback (Zigzag takes 
  all damage done to Entangle by anyone 
  other than victim; -1), Lockout (can only 
  Entangle one person, and while Entangling 
  them cannot use any other Multipower 
  slot; -½), No Range (-½), Cannot Form 
  Barriers (-¼) 
  7
  2u 
  2)  Engulf:  Entangle 6d6, 6 DEF, Stops 
  Sight Group; Feedback (Zigzag takes all 
  damage done to Entangle by anyone other 
  than victim; -1), Lockout (can only 
  Entangle one person, and while 
  Entangling them cannot use any other 
  Multipower slot; -½), No Range (-½), 
  Cannot Form Barriers (-¼) 
  7
  1u 
  3)  Big Spiky Fist:  HA +3d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Hand-To-Hand 
  Attack (-½) 
  0
  7u 
  4)  Spiky Body:  RKA 1½d6, Continuous 
  (+1), Damage Shield (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  20 
  Elastic Body:  Elemental Control, 
  40-point powers
  42 
  1)  Stretchable Body:  Stretching 10”, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  2
  17 
  2)  Resilient Body:  Physical Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Costs 
  Endurance (-½) plus Energy Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 25%; Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  4
  8 
  3)  Flow Th rough Barriers:  Desolidiﬁ ca-
  tion (aﬀ ected by any attack); Cannot Pass 
  Th rough Solid Objects (-½), Does Not 
  Protect Against Damage (-1) 
  4
  21 
  Zigging And Zagging:  Missile 
  Deﬂ ection (all Ranged Attacks), Costs 
  Endurance (-½) plus Missile Reﬂ ection 
  (only back at attacker); Physical Missiles 
  Only (-1), Costs Endurance (-½) 
  0
  8 
  Stretch-Running:  Running +4” (10” total) 1
   
  Perks
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  9 
  Climbing 16-
  2 
  KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  3 
  Power:  Stretching Tricks 13-
  1 
  SS: Biology 8-
  2 
  SS: Chemistry 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  233
  Total Cost:  350
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted: Champions 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Hunted:  VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To Trick, 
  Fool, And Belittle Others (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Harvey 
  Pepper) (Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN from Cold attacks 
  (Uncommon)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Poisons 
  (Uncommon)
  35 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  350
  Background/History:  Harvey Pepper was a chemical 
  technician working for Regor, Inc., a subsidiary of 
  Fordham ChemTech that manufactured plastics. 
  Unfortunately, he was oft en a lot more interested in 
  ﬂ irting with his female co-workers than with actu-
  ally getting his job done, and he didn’t always pay 
  as much attention to his work as he should have. 
  One day, while he was chatting with Miranda from 
  Sales, he accidentally mixed together two chemicals 
  he shouldn’t have. Th e resulting explosion wasn’t 
  strong enough to seriously hurt him, but it did 
  douse him with both chemicals and knock him ﬂ at 
  on his back. Even worse, it weakened the supports 
  holding up a nearby vat of semi-liquid plastic com-
  pound. Th e vat broke free, spilling the plastic all 
  over Harvey.
  Harvey was rushed to the hospital, where he 
  soon seemed to make a full recovery. But a few 
  weeks later, when he was at home and trying to 
  grab something on the other side of the kitchen 
  table, his arm actually elongated! He was so sur-
  prised he fainted dead away, waking up a few min-
  utes later to ﬁ nd that his entire body had changed 
  to some sort of stretched-out, plasticine form. 
  It took him a little while and a lot of concentra-
  tion, but he gradually forced his body back into its 
  normal shape and consistency.
  Over the long weekend, a little experimenta-
  tion taught him how to control his body’s new 
  property of malleability. He could squeeze under-
  neath closed doors, reach out and grab objects sixty 
  feet away, and do lots of other things. With powers 
  like this, who needed those jerks at the plant? Now 
  he could make some real money!
  ZIGZAG PLOT SEEDS
  Teleios contacts the PCs 
  and oﬀ ers them a chem-
  ical weapon that will 
  stop ZigZag’s powers 
  from working, no 
  strings attached. Is the 
  oﬀ er legitimate? Why is 
  Teleios so interested in 
  stopping ZigZag? Will 
  the PCs accept?
  ZigZag accidentally suf-
  focates a policeman with 
  his Engulf power. Filled 
  with remorse, he turns 
  himself in. Th e judge 
  sentences him, in part, 
  to community service 
  consisting of becoming 
  a superhero for a year. 
  He’s assigned to work 
  with the PCs, who have 
  to keep him from escap-
  ing. Can they, through 
  kindness and sympathy, 
  genuinely reform him, 
  or is he destined to slip 
  back into his criminal 
  ways?
  VIPER captures ZigZag. 
  It sends a message to 
  the PCs that it’s going 
  to torture him to death 
  unless they surrender 
  themselves at a place 
  and time to be desig-
  nated. What will the 
  PCs do?
  
  219 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Personality/Motivation:  Harvey Pepper has never 
  exactly taken life very seriously, and being trans-
  formed into ZigZag has only made his lackadaisical 
  attitude even worse. He’d much rather joke around, 
  play pranks on people, and mock other peoples’ 
  eﬀ orts than actually do anything construc-
  tive. Only his desire to become rich has 
  gotten him involved in supercrime at all. 
  In combat he oft en keeps up a non-stop 
  routine of (oft en crude) jibes and insults, 
  which oft en prompts his foes to hit him 
  with high-powered attacks just to shut 
  him up.
  Quote:  “Hey, Duh-fender! Better not 
  bring your girlfriends around to 
  ﬁ ght, or they’ll dump you for a real 
  man — me!”
  Powers/Tactics:  ZigZag has 
  the power to stretch and con-
  tort his entire body, which 
  allows him to do many 
  things. Besides the abilities 
  mentioned above, he can 
  make his hand into a big, 
  spike-covered ﬁ st to smash 
  heroes with, cover his entire 
  body with spikes so that 
  it’s not safe to grab him, or 
  wrap enemies up in his 
  own body (though the 
  latter power sometimes 
  exposes him to injury, so 
  he’s careful about when he 
  uses it). Because he’s so ﬂ exible, it’s hard to hurt 
  him; he can even “bounce” physical projectiles 
  back at the person who threw them.
  ZigZag’s most eﬀ ective attacks are his Entan-
  gles, so he usually tries to support his teammates by 
  “wrapping up” a gadgeteer, martial artist, or some-
  one else who probably can’t break free easily. Th en 
  he’ll use his Stretching to trip other opponents and 
  the like.
  Campaign Use:  ZigZag is a mercenary villain who’ll 
  likely earn your PCs’ wrath because of his non-stop 
  insults and wisecracks (he’s already angered VIPER 
  that way). He’s not really dangerous, and in fact 
  doesn’t really want to hurt anyone at all, but he can’t 
  resist stealing things and mocking people (even 
  people bigger and tougher than himself). He might 
  make a good ally or member of GRAB, assuming 
  the current members could learn to put 
  up with him.
  Th ere are lots of pos-
  sibilities if you want to 
  make ZigZag tougher. 
  Given the special eﬀ ects 
  of his powers, he could 
  easily develop other 
  abilities such as Growth, 
  Force Wall (with Feed-
  back), or Shape Shift ; alternately, he 
  might improve some of the abilities he 
  has now, or increase the Multipower 
  reserve and change the slots to Multis 
  so he can punch people while Entangling 
  other people (that would require getting 
  rid of the Lockout Limitation as well). 
  If you need to weaken him instead, get 
  rid of his Desolidiﬁ cation and Missile 
  Deﬂ ection/Reﬂ ection, and reduce his 
  Multipower to a 60 Active Point reserve 
  and slots.
  ZigZag doesn’t Hunt superheroes; it’s 
  not worth the eﬀ ort. He’s content to insult 
  them when he happens to cross their 
  paths.
  Appearance:  ZigZag is a black man with 
  short dark hair and a matching short beard 
  around his chin and lips. In his normal 
  form, he stands 5’11” tall, but at most times 
  he uses his powers to distort his shape in 
  some way, making it somewhat disturbing to look 
  at him. His costume features a strange pattern of 
  two-tone blue and white.
  I’M FLEXIBLE
  Here are a few examples of minor “power stunts” or other 
  abilities the GM might let ZigZag manifest by using his 
  Power:  Stretching Tricks Skill. Generally, he shouldn’t use 
  any of these abilities more than once or twice during the 
  campaign; if he wants to use them on a regular basis, he 
  should buy them with Character Points.
  Bouncy Bouncy:  ZigZag’s ﬂ exible, rubbery form allows 
  him to leap better than normal (perhaps by shaping him-
  self into a gigantic rubber ball). You can represent this as 
  +2” of Leaping, with an additional +1” for every point by 
  which he makes his Skill Roll.
  Bridgework:  ZigZag stretches his body between two 
  rooft ops, across a chasm, or the like, allowing other 
  people to walk over the gap using his ﬂ attened form as 
  a sort of bridge. His STR indicates how much weight he 
  can hold at once; more than that and he (and whoever’s 
  on him) falls.
  Gotcha!:  When someone hits ZigZag with a ﬁ st or other 
  blunt object, he uses his malleable body to “Grab” it and 
  hold on. Th is works like an Entangle 2d6 12 DEF (Zig-
  Zag’s own PD, in other words), +1d6 per point by which 
  he makes his Skill Roll.
  Poke In The Eye:  ZigZag stretches out one of his ﬁ ngers 
  to poke an enemy in the eye. Th is works like a Sight 
  Group Flash 2d6 (+1d6 per point by which he makes his 
  Skill Roll), but only works against people with unpro-
  tected eyes.
  
  220 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  ZORRAN THE ARTIFICER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift  200 kg; 3d6 [2]
   22 DEX 
  36 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   15 BODY 10 
  11-
   25 INT 
  15 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   24 EGO 
  28 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  26 PD (18 rPD)
   12 ED 
  7 
   
  Total:  30 ED (18 rED)
   6 SPD 
  28 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   10 REC 
  4
   50 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  189
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
   
  Teleportation: 20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  53 
  Philosopher’s Stone:  Major Transform 4d6 
  (anything into anything; heals back when 
  touched by this or another Philosopher’s 
  Stone), Improved Result Group (anything; 
  +1); OAF (-1), 9 Charges (-¼) 
  [9]
  80 
  Arts Arcane:  Multipower, 80-point reserve
  12m 1)  Bolt Of Power:  EB 12d6 
  6
  12m 2)  Th e Livid Lightnings Of Th e Loyal 
  Larethian:  RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing (+½), 
  +2 Increased STUN Multiplier (+½) 
  6
  12m 3)  Iskari’s Invoked Iridescence:  Sight and 
  Hearing Group Flash 7d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12m 4)  Iskari’s Invoked Imaginings:  Sight, Hearing, 
  Touch, and Smell/Taste Images, -3 to PER 
  Rolls, Increased Size (8” radius; +¾) 
  6
  12m 5)  Spell Of Somnolence:  Ego Attack 6d6 
  6
  12m 6)  Mind-Shackles:  Mind Control 12d6 
  6
  8m 
  7)  Speed Of Th e Zephirim:  Aid DEX 4d6 0
  12m 8)  Zorran’s Withering Weakness:  
  Suppress STR 12d6 
  6
  12m 9)  Wizard-Hand:  Telekinesis (40 STR) 
  6
  4u 
  10)  Iskari’s Mantle Of Concealment:  
  Invisibility to Sight Group, No Fringe, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  6u 
  11)  Ascension Of Th e Ætheric Form:  
  Desolidiﬁ cation (aﬀ ected by magic attacks), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  9m 
  12)  A Simple Spell Of Protection:  Life 
  Support:  Total 
  0
  12m 13)  Winds Of Th e Zephirim:  Flight 20”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  12m 14)  Th e Mageroad:  Teleportation 20”, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  69 
  Mantle Of Mastery:  Force Field 
  (18 PD/18 ED/10 Power Defense), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  10 
  Shield Of Th e Mind:  Mental Defense 
  (15 points total) 
  0
  10 
  Demon’s-Head Mask:  Sight Group Flash 
  Defense (15 points); OIF (-½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁ t:  Member of the Lemurian 
  High Nobility
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  35 
  Danger Sense (general area, any danger) 14-
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Arts Arcane Multipower
  3 
  High Society 14-
  3 
  Inventor (see text) 14-
  3 
  AK: Lemuria 14-
  3 
  Mechanics (see text) 14-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  3 
  Power:  Mystic Powers 14-
  2 
  PS: Lemurian Sorcerer 11-
  2 
  PS: Noble 11-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Scholar
  2 
  1) KS: Arcane & Occult Lore 14-
  2 
  2) KS: Demons 14-
  2 
  3) KS: Lemurian History & Culture 14-
  2 
  4) KS: Lemurian Magic
  2 
  5) KS: Th e Mystic World 14-
  1 
  6) KS: Th e Superhuman World 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  472
  Total Cost:  661
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mystic Aura (Not Con-
  cealable; Always Noticed; Detectable Only 
  With Unusual Senses)
  20 
  Hunted:  UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Lemurian nobility 8- (Mo Pow, 
  Limited Geographical Area, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined 
  To Conquer Lemuria And Th e World 
  (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Noble Arrogance 
  (Common, Strong)
  25 
  Susceptibility:  to silver, 2d6 damage per 
  Phase (Common)
  361 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  661
  Background/History:  Millennia ago, when the land 
  of Lemuria sank beneath the waves, almost all the 
  Lemurians drowned. Th e only survivors were the Mole 
  Men, the Lemurians’ brutish servants who were used 
  to living underground, and a few families of Lemurian 
  nobility. Over the centuries, those noble families bred 
  and interbred, maintaining the Lemurian traditions 
  and preserving Lemurian lore as best they could. 
  With no ruler able to control them, they plotted and 
  schemed, each trying to acquire greater power for itself 
  at the expense of its fellows.
  Shortly aft er World War II, a daughter of one of 
  the ancient and powerful noble houses gave birth to 
  a son. Naming him Zorran, she schooled him in all 
  the Lemurian arts, including magic. Th e boy proved to 
  ZORRAN 
  THE ARTIFICER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Zorran learns that an 
  “ancient artifact” recov-
  ered from the Slug 
  by the Sentinels is, in 
  fact, a Lemurian magi-
  cal weapon. He must 
  have it! However, it’s 
  not likely he can steal 
  it from the Sentinels, 
  either by guile or by 
  force. Instead, he’ll have 
  to trick the PCs into 
  obtaining it for him by 
  impersonating a mystic 
  hero and “advising” 
  them that they need it 
  to prevent some world-
  shattering disaster.
  Unbeknownst to Zorran, 
  his “Philosopher’s Stone” 
  is actually a fragment 
  of the mystical “fuel 
  core” that powered 
  the Mandragalore, the 
  awesomely-powerful 
  magical weapon the 
  Lemurians used to try to 
  destroy the Empyreans 
  (but which ended up 
  sinking their own land 
  instead). Th e more he 
  uses it, the more likely 
  he is to unleash some 
  disaster that might sink 
  another continent....
  Shirak the Destructor, a 
  four-hundred-foot tall 
  Lemurian magical con-
  struct used as a weapon 
  against the Empyreans 
  millennia ago, but lost in 
  battle, washes ashore in 
  Africa. Zorran hears of 
  this, steals the Destruc-
  tor, and re-awakens it 
  under his command. 
  Now he’ll destroy all 
  the heroes who dared 
  oppose him... and then 
  turn his people’s weapon 
  against them!
  
  221 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  have great talent for sorcerous pursuits, and soon was 
  able to work magics greater than those of wizards many 
  decades his senior. As Zorran aged into adulthood, he 
  developed a particular aﬃ  nity for the sorcerous engines, 
  automata, constructs, furnaces, and machines so dis-
  tinctive of Lemurian magic, earning the nickname “the 
  Artiﬁ cer.”
  One day, while exploring certain distant regions 
  of Lemuria where no man had gone since the Sink-
  ing, Zorran chanced upon a small cavern, or chamber, 
  that was once a wizard’s workroom. Th ere he found a 
  treasure beyond price — a fragment of Philosopher’s 
  Stone, that most puissant of magical talismans, a thing 
  the debased Lemurian sorcery of his day had long ago 
  lost the secret of making. Taking care to conceal it from 
  his rivals and enemies, he took it back to his laboratories 
  to study. He soon learned he could use it to work won-
  drous transformations. With a gesture and a thought, 
  he could make the Stone turn a person into a statue, or 
  a chair into a platter of food, or solid rock into ephem-
  eral air. With a weapon like this, his family would reign 
  supreme in Lemuria!
  Unfortunately, he underestimated the strength 
  and wisdom of his foes. When they saw the threat he 
  and his house posed, they banded together to oppose 
  him, and aft er several months of struggle defeated him 
  utterly. Unwilling to keep such a dangerous viper in 
  their midst, but equally unwilling to slay one of noble 
  blood, the other houses chose the only course open to 
  them:  exile.
  With his Philosopher’s Stone in hand, 
  and mighty mystic powers at his beck and call, 
  Zorran now walks the wider world. His heart 
  seethes with anger at the Lemurians. He has 
  vowed to defeat them, whatever it takes, and to 
  humble them before him. And aft er he conquers 
  Lemuria, Earth shall be next....
  Personality/Motivation:  Zorran is not a psychologi-
  cally complex villain. He wants power, and he 
  wants it now. He’s interested in both political 
  power (over Lemurians and Humans) and 
  mystical power; he’s not picky. He views 
  himself as a sort of heir to the power of the 
  ancient Lemurian kings, and he’s deter-
  mined to have their throne for himself, too.
  When roleplaying Zorran, try to get 
  his air of “noble condescension” across 
  to the players. Th e way he sees it, no one 
  else is as good as he, and others should be 
  grateful for any attention he pays them 
  or help he provides. Th is attitude has not 
  exactly endeared him to other villains 
  with whom he has worked, much less 
  the heroes he’s fought. Getting him to 
  “humble” himself and admit that he’s done 
  something wrong, or to forgive an insult, is 
  all but impossible.
  Quote:  “Fool! If you dare to oppose me, my 
  magic will strike you down where you stand.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Zorran the Artiﬁ cer is a Lemurian 
  sorcerer of great mystic power. In addition to the many 
  spells he knows, he possesses a poweful magical artifact 
  — a fragment of Philosopher’s Stone, with which he 
  can literally transmute anything into anything else. As 
  his title indicates, he’s also skilled at building Lemurian 
  magical constructs and furnaces. His Inventor and 
  Mechanics Skills are used for that work; he knows noth-
  ing about electronics, internal combustion engines, or 
  the like.
  In combat, Zorran prefers to take the high ground, 
  either by ﬂ ying or by teleporting to a location above 
  the battleﬁ eld. Th en he can use his Stone or spells to 
  strike down his enemies. He’s also learned how to use 
  his Desolidiﬁ cation, Invisibility, and Images to get into 
  position to make a Surprise Move (or to escape). If he 
  knows he’s about to enter battle, he’ll use Speed Of Th e 
  Zephirim to raise his DEX ﬁ rst.
  Zorran tailors his combat magic to suit his foe. 
  Against bricks, he’ll use Suppress STR; against martial 
  artists and speedsters, Mental Powers (no one can 
  outrun or dodge the energies of the mind!); against 
  energy projectors, gadgeteers, and other characters he 
  usually employs straightforward Attack Powers like his 
  Bolt Of Power.
  To keep themselves safe from Zorran, his Lemu-
  rian enemies cursed him with a Susceptibility to silver. 
  He dare not get too close to that metal, much less touch 
  it, or he’ll suﬀ er agonizing pain. He intends to ﬁ nd a way 
  to break the curse (i.e., buy oﬀ  the Disadvantage), but so 
  far a solution has eluded him.
  Appearance:  Like other Lemurian nobles, Zorran is 
  tall and handsome, superﬁ cially resembling Humans 
  but with a distinctive pale color to 
  his skin and hair (which 
  he keeps relatively short). 
  He wears wizard’s robes of 
  purple, with a gold sash 
  and gold high-collared 
  cloak. He conceals the 
  upper half of his face 
  with an iron mask in 
  the shape of a ram’s-
  horned demon’s 
  head.
  CAMPAIGN USE: 
  Zorran the Artiﬁ cer 
  works well as a second-
  tier “master villain” for 
  mystic-oriented scenar-
  ios where you don’t want 
  to bring in demonic evil 
  (such as Dark Seraph) 
  or the likes of Takofanes 
  and his undead armies. 
  He’s the perfect evil 
  wizard for plots involv-
  ing naked greed, grabs 
  for power, and the like, 
  rather than attempts to 
  exterminate human-
  ity. To help him ﬁ ll this 
  role, you may need to 
  give him other powers, 
  such as the ability to 
  Summon servants from 
  beyond, or Lemurian 
  magical engines and 
  devices (an appropri-
  ate addition, given his 
  sobriquet).
  Th e best way to make 
  Zorran more powerful 
  is to give him some of 
  those selfsame magical 
  engines and devices. A 
  Staﬀ  of Power, or a mag-
  ical furnace to provide 
  END for his spells when 
  he’s near it, or a few 
  Lemurian golems could 
  signiﬁ cantly increase his 
  power. If he’s already too 
  strong, remove some of 
  his Multipower slots and 
  reduce his SPD to 5.
  Although he doesn’t 
  like to be distracted 
  from his ultimate goal 
  of conquering Lemuria, 
  Zorran will Hunt heroes 
  who defeat, hurt, mock, 
  or otherwise harass him. 
  Using his spells of con-
  cealment, he’ll spy on his 
  target, then attack when 
  the target is already at a 
  disadvantage. He’s par-
  ticularly likely to Hunt 
  any hero associated with 
  Lemuria, or who pos-
  sesses Lemurian magical 
  artifacts.
  
  222 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  LEMURIAN CONSTRUCTS 
  AND RELICS
  Th e Lemurians were known, in the past, for 
  their skill at creating “magiconstructs” — golems, 
  infernal engines, mechanical beasts, and more, 
  all combining magical energies and powers with 
  a uniquely Lemurian quasi-industrial “aesthetic.” 
  Here are a few examples of Lemurian constructs 
  and devices which Zorran (or some other villain) 
  might create or employ in ﬁ endish schemes.
  SHIRAK THE DESTRUCTOR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   100 STR 
  90 
  29- 
  Lift  25 ktons; 20d6 [10]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   60 BODY 100 
  21-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   0 EGO 
  0 
  — 
  ECV:  N/A
   80 PRE 
  70 
  25- 
  PRE Attack:  16d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   40 PD 
  99 
   
  Total:  40 PD (40 rPD)
   40 ED 
  117 
   
  Total:  40 ED (40 rED)
   4 SPD 
  15 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   22 REC 
  0
   0 END 
  -10
   — STUN — 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  494
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  42”/84”
   
  Swimming: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  150 
  Mystic Eyebolts:  EB 30d6, Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (15” Radius; +1); 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  150 
  Colossal Hands:  Area Of Eﬀ ect 
  (10” Radius; +1) for 100 STR, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  137 
  Reach:  Stretching 32”, Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Always Direct (-¼), No 
  Noncombat Stretching (-¼), No Velocity 
  Damage (-¼) 
  0
  15 
  Construct Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  45 
  Construct Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  50 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on 100 STR 
  0
  42 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Running 
  0
  10 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Leaping 
  0
  10 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Swimming  
  0
  120 
  Construct Body:  Damage Resistance 
  (40 PD/40 ED) 
  0
  45 
  Construct Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  108 
  Heavy:  Knockback Resistance -18” 
  0
  72 
  Colossal Legs:  Running +36” (42” total) 
  7
  18 
  Colossal Form:  Swimming +18” (20” total) 2
  5 
  Magical Senses:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Magical Senses:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  995
  Total Cost:  1,489
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Physical Limitation:  Colossal (400 feet 
  [approx. 64”] tall; -12 DCV, +12 to PER Rolls 
  to perceive) (All Th e Time, Greatly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Obey Con-
  troller (Very Common, Total)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates Empyreans 
  (Very Common, Total)
  1,219 Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  1,489
  Background/History:  Many centuries ago, during 
  one of the Lemurians’ many efforts to conquer or 
  destroy the Empyreans, the great Lemurian sor-
  cerer Kanarak the Bold designed a super-weapon 
  of such mystic power that, he believed, not even 
  the Lemurians would be able to withstand it. 
  Four hundred feet tall, with hands big enough to 
  crush buildings, his gigantic golem was powered 
  by one of the largest mystical furnaces built by 
  the Lemurians in modern times — an engine 
  with enough power to light one of the Lemuri-
  ans’ underground cities.
  Christened Shirak the Destructor, the 
  weapon was transported to Antarctica and 
  turned loose on Arcadia. But Kanarak had 
  underestimated both the Empyreans’ power 
  and their determination to protect their home. 
  Although Shirak wreaked much destruction 
  upon their land, with courage and sacrifice the 
  Empyreans drove it to the edge of the Antarctic 
  ice shelf and into the frigid waters of the South 
  Atlantic, where it sank and froze.
  And so it remained for hundreds upon 
  hundreds of years, frozen in the deep ocean. At 
  times it drifted, at times it lay unmoving on the 
  bottom, but it never awakened. In recent years 
  it has drifted north, into warmer waters, where 
  it may be that it will wash ashore and return to 
  life....
  Personality/Motivation:  With one exception, 
  Shirak has no personality of his own. It simply 
  does what its controller (see below) orders it to 
  do.
  That exception is its hatred of the Empyre-
  ans. Imbued deep within Shirak’s “mind” by the 
  spells of Kanarak is a burning desire to crush 
  and destroy the Empyreans and everything asso-
  ciated with them. Even when it’s responding to 
  other orders given by its controller, if it sees an 
  Empyrean it must make an EGO Roll not to turn 
  aside and attack its hated foe.
  Quote:  None. Shirak does not speak.
  Powers/Tactics:  Shirak is incredibly strong 
  and durable. It fights by smashing things with 
  SHIRAK THE 
  DESTRUCTOR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Th e classic Shirak plot:  
  an appropriate villain 
  (Zorran, Talisman, Dark 
  Seraph, DEMON...) 
  ﬁ nds the inert golem, 
  learns how to awaken 
  and control it, and turns 
  it loose to destroy the 
  campaign city. Th is is 
  a great way to, among 
  other things, bring 
  together new groups 
  of heroes; when Shirak 
  shows up, every super-
  hero for miles around 
  probably responds to 
  stop it.
  For some reason, the 
  Destructor begins to 
  develop a low level of 
  true sentience, self-
  awareness, and will. 
  How will it react to the 
  world around it? Will it 
  be good, or evil? How 
  can the PCs help it to 
  learn more about itself?
  Zorran the Artiﬁ cer 
  claims to have pos-
  session and control of 
  Shirak, and threatens 
  to unleash it on Mil-
  lennium City if he’s not 
  paid a ten billion dollar 
  ransom. Is he telling the 
  truth? If so, how can the 
  PCs stop him and save 
  the city from having to 
  pay the money?
  
  223 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  its huge hands; thanks to their size, it almost 
  never misses. If necessary it can easily uproot a 
  skyscraper and use it as a missile weapon or bat-
  tering ram.
  Shirak follows the orders issued by its 
  controller. In its first days, the controller was 
  the person who held a special control amulet 
  designed by Kanarak, but as far as anyone knows 
  that talisman has been lost for centuries. Today 
  the only way to control the Destructor is with 
  certain rare Lemurian spells. Zorran the Artificer 
  knows these spells, and other Lemurian nobles 
  may also.
  In the event a hero is foolish enough to fly 
  into the magical furnace built into Shirak’s back, 
  he takes 10d6 Killing Damage per Segment. 
  However, if he can withstand that for at least two 
  Segments (more if he’s slower than 40” move-
  ment per Turn), he may be able to penetrate into 
  the golem’s interior, where it’s far more vulner-
  able (DEF 10 only). Efforts to douse the furnace 
  with huge amounts of water, sand, or the like 
  may slow or weaken the Destructor.
  Campaign Use:  Shirak is a destructive force of 
  nature, meant to be used as a tool by powerful 
  supervillains. That is its only use. It does not 
  Hunt heroes unless ordered to.
  If Shirak isn’t powerful enough to challenge 
  your PCs, just keep increasing its size, STR, and 
  defenses until it is. If it’s too powerful (a far 
  more likely situation), scale it down in STR and 
  defenses (but not in size or PRE; it needs to be 
  big, impressive, and scary regardless of what it 
  can actually do).
  Appearance:  Shirak is a four-hundred-foot tall 
  Lemurian golem made of dark grey mystical 
  metals. It’s powered by a gigantic magical furnace 
  built into its back; the dull red glow of the fur-
  nace illuminates it from behind, and the heat the 
  furnace gives off can be felt from dozens of feet 
  away.
  LEMURIAN GOLEM
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   18 BODY 16 
  13-
   5 INT 
  -5 
  10- 
  PER Roll 10-
   0 EGO 
  0 
  — 
  ECV:  N/A
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   9 PD 
  18 
   
  Total:  9 PD (9 rPD)
   9 ED 
  24 
   
  Total:  9 ED (9 rED)
   3 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   10 REC 
  0
   0 END 
  -10
   — STUN — 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  117
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  24 
  Th e Golem’s Embrace:  HKA 1d6, Continuous 
  (+1), Damage Shield (+½), Penetrating 
  (x2; +1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), 
  Persistent (+½); Always On (-½), No STR 
  Bonus (-½), Only Versus Grabbed Foes (-½), 
  No Knockback (-¼) 
  0
  15 
  Golem’s Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  10 
  Golem’s Body:  No Hit Locations 
  0
  45 
  Golem’s Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  20 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on STR 
  0
  6 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Running 
  0
  4 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Leaping 
  0
  1 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Swimming  
  0
  27 
  Body Of Metal:  Damage Resistance 
  (9 PD/9 ED) 
  0
  90 
  Body Of Metal:  Physical and Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  36 
  Heavy:  Knockback Resistance -6” 
  0
  45 
  Golem’s Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  5 
  Golem’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  15 
  +3 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  2 
  Language:  Lemurian
  2 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  350
  Total Cost:  467
  200+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Physical Limitation:  Human Size, Weighs 
  6,400 kg (All Th e Time, Greatly Impairing)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Machine Intelligence 
  (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Obey Con-
  troller (Very Common, Total)
  207 
  Experience Points
  
  224 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Total Disadvantage Points:  467
  Description:  Lemurian golems are “magicon-
  structs” made with the melding of quasi-indus-
  trial “technology” and magic so characteristic of 
  Lemurian artifice. They resemble large (seven 
  feet tall) humanoids made of thick, dark grey 
  metal plates (almost like plate armor crafted 
  in the Lemurian aesthetic). The glow from the 
  internal furnace which runs them can be seen 
  leaking through the gaps between the plates as a 
  dull orange glow. The furnace makes their bodies 
  so hot that when they Grab a foe, they inflict ter-
  rible, often deadly, burns.
  CHALALION
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   8 INT 
  -2 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   0 EGO 
  — 
  9- 
  ECV:  0
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   10 PD 
  24 
   
  Total:  10 PD (10 rPD)
   10 ED 
  27 
   
  Total:  10 ED (10 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   20 END 
  0
   — STUN — 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  143
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  22 
  Spiked Body:  HKA 1d6, Continuous 
  (+1), Damage Shield (+½), Inherent 
  (+¼), Persistent (+½), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½); Always On (-½), Activation 
  Roll 14- (-½), No STR Bonus (-½) 
  0 
  37 
  Chala-Fangs:  HKA 1 ½d6 (3d6+1 
  with STR), Reduced Endurance 
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  24 
  Chala-Claws:  HKA 1d6+1 (2 ½d6 with 
  STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); 
  Reduced Penetration (-¼) 
  0
  30 
  Steel Skin:  Damage Resistance 
  (10 PD/10 ED) 
  0
  36 
  Heavy:  Knockback Resistance -6” 
  0
  15 
  Construct’s Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  10 
  Construct’s Body:  No Hit Locations 
  0
  45 
  Construct’s Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  15 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  for STR 
  0
  9 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Running 
  0
  3 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Leaping 
  0
  1 
  Tireless:  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  on Swimming  
  0
  45 
  Construct’s Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  6 
  Construct’s Legs:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  0
  5 
  Construct’s Eyes:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Construct’s Eyes:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 Hand-To-Hand
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  321
  Total Cost:  464
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Enormous (8m long; 
  -4 DCV, +4 to PER Rolls to perceive) 
  (Frequently, Slightly Impairing)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Machine Intelligence 
  (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Obey 
  Controller (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Very Limited Manipula-
  tion (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
  199 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  464
  Description:  A chala-lion is a magiconstruct built to 
  mimic the extinct Lemurian great cat of the same 
  name. A huge construct of silvery metal plates and 
  coils, its head and body are covered with spikes, so 
  that even attempting to block its ferocious attacks 
  can cause its victim injury. Th ose who know the 
  spells, or possess the artifacts, to control them use 
  them as shock troops and assassins.
  
  225 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  H
  ere’s an example of how to take a villain 
  from Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks and 
  change it to ﬁ t your own campaign.
  Ben has decided to move up from 
  being a player to GMing his own Champions cam-
  paign. He’s worked up a cool background, mostly using 
  the Champions Universe setting, but with a few tweaks 
  and twists of his own. One of these twists is that the 
  Dr. Yin Wu and the Chinese gods (or his own riﬀ  on 
  them) will play a key role in a major campaign story 
  arc. He has no plans to use any Egyptian gods, but he 
  doesn’t want to let Anubis go to waste, and doesn’t 
  want to waste time re-inventing the wheel, since he 
  has a lot of his own villains to create. So, he decides to 
  adapt Anubis’s character sheet to make him Lei Kung 
  the Th underer, god of storms.
  First, Ben takes a look at the Characteristics. 
  Anubis is tough, but a storm-god should be even 
  stronger and tougher. He decides to increase these a 
  bit, making Lei Kung more of a brick, less of an energy 
  projector.
  Moving on to the powers, obviously a Chinese 
  god wouldn’t carry a lapis staﬀ  with an ankh on the top 
  — but Ben likes the idea of a “Focus” that isn’t really a 
  Focus; that should surprise his players. So, he replaces 
  it with the “Jade Rod Of Th under.” Th e powers stay the 
  same (except for Curse Of Scorpions, which he deletes 
  as inappropriate), but some of the names change to 
  make them more Oriental-ﬂ avored. Anubis’s ability to 
  summon mummies gets replaced by Lei Kung’s power 
  to call air elementals — which are more powerful, but 
  also harder to control. Anubis’s Force Field doesn’t 
  quite ﬁ t Lei Kung, who should be naturally tough, so 
  Ben replaces it with Damage Resistance.
  Anubis’s Skills don’t work for Lei Kung at all, since 
  the storm-god has no background as an archaeologist. 
  Ben removes most of them, and replaces a few with 
  Chinese equivalents. He also adds a Power Skill, in case 
  Lei Kung needs to pull a few tricks out of his hat.
  As for Disadvantages, Ben gets rid of most of 
  Anubis’s, since a true god shouldn’t be so trammelled 
  with hindrances. For a Hunter, he replaces the Cham-
  pions with the Tiger Squad (since Lei Kung spends 
  most of his time in China), and changes one of the 
  Psychological Limitations to indicate that Lei Kung’s 
  beholden to the Emperor of Heaven, rather than the 
  god Set. 
  Here’s the ﬁ nal result. As you can see, Lei Kung 
  is a bit more expensive — 588 points as compared to 
  535. However, that’s roughly comparable to Anubis, 
  and many of the powers are virtually identical. With 
  about ten minutes’ work, Ben has taken a character he 
  couldn’t use and converted him into one who’ll play a 
  major role in the forthcoming campaign.
  LEI KUNG THE THUNDERER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift  6,400 kg; 8d6 [4]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   30 CON 
  40 
  15-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   30 PRE 
  20 
  15- 
  PRE Attack:  6d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   30 PD 
  22 
   
  Total:  30 PD (30 rPD)
   30 ED 
  24 
   
  Total:  30 ED (30 rED)
   6 SPD 
  30 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
   14 REC 
  0
   60 END 
  0
   60 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  246
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
   
  Flight: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  87 
  Jade Rod Of Th under:  Multipower, 
  87-point reserve
  9u 
  1)  Divine Th underbolt:  Energy Blast 14d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼) 
  3
  8u 
  2)  Stormwinds:  Telekinesis (36 STR), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  3u 
  3)  Curse Of Blindness:  Major Transform 
  5d6 (sighted human into blind human; 
  heals back on Lei Kung’s command or if 
  eyes are bathed in the waters of the 
  Yangtze during a special ceremony); 
  Limited Target (humans; -½), All Or 
  Nothing (-½), Limited Range (10”; -¼) 
  7
  8u  
  4)  Pathway Of Th e Gods:  Teleportation 
  24”, MegaScale (1” = 1 km; +¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  105 
  Servants Of Th e Storm:  Summon 4 
  473-point air elementals (see HERO System 
  Bestiary, page 70), Friendly (+¼), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); Arrives Under 
  Own Power (-½) 
  19
  30 
  Divine Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (30 PD/30 ED) 
  0
  60 
  Wings Of Th e Gods:  Flight 20”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Jade Rod Of Th under Multipower
  11 
  AK: China 20-
  3 
  KS: Chinese History 13-
  5 
  KS: Chinese Myth & Legend 15-
  ADAPTING VILLAINS 
  TO YOUR GAME
  
  226 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  17 
  Power:  Storm God Powers 20-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  352
  Total Cost:  598
  200+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mystic Aura (Not 
  Concealable; Always Noticed; Detectable 
  Only With Unusual Senses)
  25 
  Hunted:  Tiger Squad 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Fulﬁ ll Th e 
  Will Of Shang Ti (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Broadcasts 
  Intentions In Combat (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  destructive god/supervillain, 
  11- (Extreme)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  288 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  598
  Next, Ben decides he’s going to create Guan Di, 
  the Chinese god of war. He wants an archery-based 
  villain, so in the grand comics tradition of changing 
  mythology around to suit the needs of the story, he 
  decides to make Guan Di a little bit more of a god of 
  archery than of all forms of war. Since Conquerors, 
  Killers, And Crooks has an archery-based character 
  — Warpath — he decides to adapt her character sheet 
  for Guan Di, changing technological items to magical, 
  and discarding arrows and items that aren’t appropri-
  ate even aft er they’re converted.
  Besides replacing tech with magic, the main 
  changes Ben needs to make are to the Characteristics. 
  A god needs much better characteristics than a mortal 
  archer, aft er all! He also changes the Disadvantages, 
  making them more like Lei Kung’s. Th e resulting 
  character has a lot more Character Points than War-
  path — 133 more — but that puts him a little closer in 
  power to Lei Kung. Once again, with just a few min-
  utes’ work, Ben’s found a way to turn a CKC character 
  into something new and distinctive for his game.
  GUAN DI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   30 STR 
  20 
  15- 
  Lift  1,600 kg; 6d6 [3]
   30 DEX 
  60 
  15- 
  OCV:  10/DCV:  10
   25 CON 
  30 
  14-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV: 7
   25 PRE 
  15 
  14- 
  PRE Attack: 5d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   20 PD 
  14 
   
  Total:  20 PD (20 rPD)
   20 ED 
  15 
   
  Total:  20 ED (20 rED)
   7 SPD 
  30 
   
  Phases:  2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12
   15 REC 
  8
   50 END 
  0
   50 STUN 12 
  Total Characteristic Cost:  239
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  20”/40”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  30 
  Magic Bow and Arrows:  Multipower, 
  60-point reserve; all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1)  Deadly Arrow:  RKA 3d6; OAF (-1), 
  4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  1u 
  2)  Armor-Cutting Arrow:  RKA 2d6, 
  Armor Piercing (+½); OAF (-1), 
  4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  3)  Arrow Of Th e Sun:  Sight Group Flash 
  12d6; OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  2u 
  4)  Arrow Of Blinding Vapors:  Darkness 
  to Sight Group 6” radius; OAF (-1), 4 
  Charges lasting one Turn each (removed 
  by high winds or rain; -½) 
  [4cc]
  2u 
  5)  Th underclap Arrow:  Energy Blast 8d6, 
  Explosion (+½); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
  2u 
  6)  Arrow Of Tranquil Mists:  Energy Blast 
  4d6, NND (defense is Life Support 
  [Self-Contained Breathing]; +1), Area 
  Of Eﬀ ect (4” Radius; +1); OAF (-1), 
  4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  22 
  Magic Sword:  HKA 2d6 (3d6+1 with
  STR), Armor Piercing (+½); OAF (-1) 
  3
  40 
  Uncanny Accuracy:  Find Weakness with 
  Bow and Arrows Multipower 15- 
  0
  20 
  Divine Toughness:  Damage Resistance 
  (20 PD/20 ED) 
  0
  12 
  Divine Eyesight:  +6 PER with Sight Group 
  0
  5 
  Divine Eyesight:  Infrared Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  5 
  Divine Eyesight:  Ultraviolet Perception 
  (Sight Group) 
  0
  28 
  Divine Swift ness:  Running +14” (20” total) 
  3
   
  Talents
  15 
  Lightning Reﬂ exes:  +10 DEX to act ﬁ rst 
  with All Powers
   
  Skills
  24 
  +8 with Magic Bow and Arrows Multipower
  10 
  KS: ChineseMyths & Legends 19-
  5 
  KS: Literature 14-
  3 
  KS: Military History 12-
  3 
  Stealth 15-
  9 
  Tactics 16-
  3 
  Trading 14-
  Total Powers & Skill Cost:  244
  Total Cost:  483
  200+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Hunted:  Tiger Squad 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Fulﬁ ll Th e 
  Will Of Shang Ti (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁ dence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Reputation:  destructive god/supervillain, 
  11- (Extreme)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  183 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  483
  
  227 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Ankylosaur 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Anubis 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  534
  Armadillo 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Binder 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  393
  Black Diamond 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Black Harlequin 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  392
  Black Paladin 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  536
  Black Talon suit 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  576
  Blackstar 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  400
  Bloodstone 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  388
  Blowtorch 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Bluejay 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Brainchild 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Bulldozer 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  290
  Captain Chronos 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  649
  Cateran 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  570
  Chala-Lion 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  464
  Cheshire Cat 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  A 
  376
  Cybermind 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  350
  Cyclone 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  430
  Dark Seraph 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  D 
  816
  Destroid robot 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  618
  Dr. Destroyer 
  X 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  O 
  2,516
  MASTER REFERENCE CHART OF VILLAINS
  Alien
  Goal
  Greedy
  Loner
  Master Villain
  Mercenary
  Mutant
  Powerhungry
  Technological
  Thief
  Brick
  Energy Projector
  Gadgeteer
  Martial Artist
  Mentalist
  Metamorph
  Mystic
  Powered Armor
  Speedster
  Weaponmater
  Violent
  Survey
  Points
  Th is summary table provides a quick reference for GMs looking for a particular type 
  of villain for use in a scenario. (Agents and the like are not included.) Th e table includes 
  two categories of information. Th e ﬁ rst is the archetype or archetypes the character 
  belongs to, using the ones deﬁ ned on pages 69-80 of Champions (the Patriot archetype 
  is not included; none of the villains in this book ﬁ t it, since it’s mostly an archetype for 
  heroes). Th e second category includes other types of useful information, as follows:
  Alien:  Th e character is not native to Earth; he comes from another planet or dimension.
  Goal:  Th e character has a speciﬁ c goal, other than those listed elsewhere; see his writeup 
  for information.
  Greedy:  Th e character is motivated by a desire for wealth, luxuries, and the like.
  Loner:  Th e character does not get along well with others, and rarely teams up with other 
  villains.
  Master Villain:  Th e character is powerful enough to threaten entire nations or worlds in 
  the right circumstances.
  Mercenary:  Th e character is a villain-for-hire; he commits crimes for pay.
  Mutant:  Th e character’s powers derive from his mutant physiology.
  Powerhungry:  Th e character lusts for power and control over others.
  Technological:  Th e character uses, or has powers related to, super-technology.
  Th ief:  Th e character’s primary form of crime is stealing.
  Violent:  Th e character is prone to violence, bloodshed, and/or destruction.
  Survey:  Th e character’s typical ranking in the Department of Defense’s Superhuman 
  Survey. From most to least dangerous, the rankings are Omega, Delta, Beta, and Alpha. A 
  character’s ranking may change from year to year, or be debated within the defense com-
  munity.
  Points:  Th e total number of Character Points the character is built with.
  
  228 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Durak 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  412
  Eclipse 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  543
  Esper 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Fenris 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Feuermacher 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  492
  Fiacho 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  D 
  742
  Firewing 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  967
  Force 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  450
  Foxbat 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Gargantua 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  557
  Gigaton 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  D 
  678
  Gravitar 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  O 
  1,000
  Grond 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  410
  Herculan 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Holocaust 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  D 
  900
  Hornet 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Howler 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  427
  Hummingbird 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Hypnos 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Istvatha V’han 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  O 
  716
  Lady Blue 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Lancer 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  375
  Lazer 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Leech 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Lemurian Golem 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  467
  Lodestone 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  430
  Masquerade 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  D 
  438
  Mechassassin 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  600
  Medusa 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Menagerie 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  313
  Mentalla 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  538
  Menton 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  O 
  1,412
  Mind Slayer 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  391
  Mirage 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  558
  The Monster 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  661
  Morningstar 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Nebula 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  432
  Ogre 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  317
  Phoenix 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  512
  Photon 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  539
  Alien
  Goal
  Greedy
  Loner
  Master Villain
  Mercenary
  Mutant
  Powerhungry
  Technological
  Thief
  Brick
  Energy Projector
  Gadgeteer
  Martial Artist
  Mentalist
  Metamorph
  Mystic
  Powered Armor
  Speedster
  Weaponmater
  Violent
  Survey
  Points
  
  229 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Psimon 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  416
  Radium 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  381
  Rakshasa 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  D 
  430
  Riptide 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  358
  Scorpia 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  476
  Shadowdragon 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  485
  Shirak the Destructor X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  D 
  1,489
  Shrinker 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  409
  Slick 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  546
  The Slug 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  D 
  519
  Stormfront 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  355
  Takofanes 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  O 
  1,943
  Temblor 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  468
  Tesseract 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  768
  Thorn 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Thunderbird 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  527
  Thunderbolt I 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  426
  Thunderbolt II 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Torment 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  283
  Ultrasonique 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  B 
  384
  Utility 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  542
  Vibron 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  366
  Warbird 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  A 
  350
  Warcry 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Warhead 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  The Warlord 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  O 
  1,069
  Warmonger 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Warpath 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Zephyr 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  A 
  565
  ZigZag 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  A 
  350
  Zorran the Artiﬁ cer 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  X 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  — 
  B 
  661
  Alien
  Goal
  Greedy
  Loner
  Master Villain
  Mercenary
  Mutant
  Powerhungry
  Technological
  Thief
  Brick
  Energy Projector
  Gadgeteer
  Martial Artist
  Mentalist
  Metamorph
  Mystic
  Powered Armor
  Speedster
  Weaponmater
  Violent
  Survey
  Points
  
  230 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  SUPERVILLAIN SUMMARY TABLE
  Name 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  BODY 
  PRE 
  PD/rPD 
  ED/rED 
  SPD 
  REC 
  STUN 
  OCV 
  DCV 
  MOVE 
  Attacks 
  Page
  Ankylosaur 
  40 
  21 
  25 
  10 
  20 
  26/22 
  26/22 
  4 
  8 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  12” {20”} 
  15d6, 10d6 EX 
  116
  Anubis 
  25 
  22 
  22 
  15 
  25 
  28/18 
  30/18 
  6 
  9 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  6” [20”] !24”MS! 
  14d6, (1d6 NND) 
  118
  Armadillo 
  50 
  18 
  18 
  15 
  15 
  26/20 
  24/20 
  5 
  9 
  45 
  6 
  6 
  6” !12”! 
  12d6, (2d6 AP) 
  120
  Binder 
  15 
  20 
  20 
  12 
  20 
  17/9 
  17/9 
  5 
  7 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  6” [18”] 
  6d6 Ent 
  102
  Black Diamond 
  60 
  20 
  40 
  15 
  20 
  25/25 
  25/25 
  6 
  20 
  65 
  7 
  7 
  9” {20”} 
  12d6 
  81
  Black Harlequin 
  15 
  24 
  20 
  10 
  25 
  16/8 
  16/8 
  5 
  12 
  40 
  8 
  8 
  11” 
  8d6 EX, (1d6 AP) 
  123
  Black Paladin 
  30 
  24 
  28 
  15 
  25 
  22/14 
  22/14 
  5 
  12 
  50 
  8 
  8 
  9” !15”! 
  8d6%, (1 1/2d6%), 12d6 
  126 
  Black Talon suit 
  30 
  20 
  20 
  20 
  25 
  18/18 
  18/18 
  4 
  10 
  45 
  7 
  7 
  11” [15”] 
  (2 1/2d6 AF AP), 12d6 AF 
  19
  Blackstar 
  20/80 
  18 
  28 
  15 
  20 
  24/24 
  24/24 
  4 
  12 
  40 
  6 
  6 
  6” 
  16d6 
  104
  Bloodstone 
  25 
  23 
  23 
  15 
  25 
  20/20 
  16/16 
  5 
  10 
  40 
  8 
  8 
  6” [15”] 
  12d6, (1 1/2d6 NND) 
  56
  Blowtorch 
  15 
  20 
  18 
  10 
  15 
  18/12 
  18/12 
  5 
  7 
  30 
  7 
  7 
  7” 
  (3d6 AP), (2d6 AE) 
  129
  Bluejay 
  30 
  23 
  20 
  10 
  20 
  19/14 
  19/14 
  6 
  7 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  6” [16”] 
  12d6, 4d6 Drn STR, 6d6 Ent 
  82
  Brainchild 
  10 
  18 
  18 
  10 
  20 
  18/12 
  18/12 
  5 
  6 
  30 
  6 
  6 
  6” [15”] 
  2d6 Ego, 4d6 MC, 10d6, (3d6) 
  131
  Bulldozer 
  50 
  20 
  30 
  20 
  20 
  24/14 
  24/14 
  4 
  20 
  70 
  7 
  7 
  10” 
  10d6 
  133
  Captain Chronos 
  10 
  20 
  20 
  10 
  20 
  39/33 
  39/33 
  8 
  10 
  30 
  7 
  7 
  6” !30”! 
  (1 1/2d6 NND), 6d6 NND, 10d6 
  135
  Cateran 
  50 
  26 
  40 
  25 
  25 
  20/14 
  20/14 
  7 
  20 
  70 
  9 
  9 
  11” (4”) 
  10d6, (2d6%) 
  138
  Cheshire Cat 
  30 
  25 
  23 
  10 
  20 
  17/3 
  17/3 
  6 
  11 
  37 
  8 
  8 
  10” {10”} !15”! 
  4d6%, 8d6 
  84
  Cybermind 
  10 
  15 
  15 
  10 
  15 
  10/6 
  12/6 
  4 
  5 
  25 
  5 
  5 
  6” 
  12d6 MC (Machines) 
  141
  Cyclone 
  40 
  25 
  30 
  10 
  20 
  22/15 
  22/15 
  6 
  6 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  6” [24”] 
  10d6 DKB, 9d6 AE 
  106
  Dark Seraph 
  45 
  23 
  25 
  15 
  30 
  35/35 
  35/35 
  6 
  20 
  70 
  8 
  8 
  6” [20”] 
  18d6 EX, 18d6, 9d6 Ego 
  53
  Destroid robot 
  10 
  20 
  10 
  15 
  10 
  10/10 
  10/10 
  5 
  4 
  — 
  7 
  7 
  9” [10”] 
  (3d6 AE), (2d6 DS) 
  18
  Dr. Destroyer 
  80 
  30 
  55 
  30 
  60 
  40/40 
  40/40 
  8 
  30 
  100 
  10 
  10 
  12” [30”] 
  30d6, 20d6 AP, 20d6 EX 
  10
  Durak 
  70 
  23 
  40 
  20 
  25 
  30/30 
  30/30 
  5 
  22 
  75 
  8 
  8 
  6” {24”} 
  14d6 
  69
  Eclipse 
  25 
  23 
  20 
  10 
  20 
  20/20 
  20/20 
  6 
  12 
  50 
  8 
  8 
  6” [15”] 
  12d6, Darkness 
  57
  Esper 
  15 
  20 
  23 
  18 
  25 
  18/10 
  20/10 
  5 
  10 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  6” 
  5d6 Ego, 10d6 MC 
  143
  Fenris 
  30 
  25 
  23 
  18 
  20 
  23/11 
  21/11 
  6 
  11 
  45 
  8 
  8 
  12” {15”} 
  (1d6 AP%) 
  145
  Feuermacher 
  10 
  21 
  25 
  10 
  18 
  22/16 
  34/24 
  5 
  7 
  35 
  7 
  7 
  6” [20”] 
  10d6, 8d6 EX, (3d6), (2d6 DS) 
  71
  Fiacho 
  25 
  23 
  23 
  16 
  25 
  22/14 
  21/14 
  5 
  14 
  45 
  8 
  8 
  11” {10”} 
  (1d6 AF AP), 11d6 
  67
  Firewing 
  40 
  30 
  45 
  15 
  40 
  40/20 
  40/20 
  7 
  25 
  80 
  10 
  10 
  6” [30”] 
  20d6, 12d6 AP, (4d6 AP) 
  147
  Force 
  40 
  21 
  25 
  15 
  20 
  23/23 
  23/23 
  5 
  13 
  50 
  7 
  7 
  6” [15”] 
  12d6, (4d6) 
  59
  Foxbat 
  20 
  23 
  20 
  10 
  20 
  19/11 
  17/11 
  5 
  8 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  9” {10”} !20”! 
  8d6, 5d6 Ent, 5d6 NND 
  150
  Gargantua 
  25/100 
  20 
  20/45 
  15/30 
  20/45 
  40/20 
  40/20 
  5 
  15 
  40/55 
  7 
  7 
  6”/36” 
  20d6 AE 
  152
  Gigaton 
  60 
  23 
  40 
  20 
  30 
  25/20 
  30/20 
  5 
  20 
  70 
  8 
  8 
  9” [15”] 
  14d6, 14d6 EX, 5d6 Ent 
  13
  Gravitar 
  40 
  25 
  30 
  15 
  30 
  54/30 
  54/30 
  6 
  20 
  60 
  8 
  8 
  6” [30”] 
  18d6, (4d6), 9d6 NND 
  21
  Grond 
  90 
  18 
  50 
  30 
  30 
  40/40 
  30/30 
  4 
  28 
  100 
  6 
  6 
  6” {28”} (12”) 
  18d6 
  154
  SUPERVILLAIN SUMMARY TABLE
  Th e following table provides basic information about all the villains described in this book for easy reference. All characters are listed in alphabetical order, without regard for which 
  chapter they appear in. Th e “Attacks” column lists only the character’s most common or prominent attacks, since most villains have too many ways to attack to list them all. See the end of 
  the table for an explanation of the notation used.
  
  231 
  Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks
  Name 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  BODY 
  PRE 
  PD/rPD 
  ED/rED 
  SPD 
  REC 
  STUN 
  OCV 
  DCV 
  MOVE 
  Attacks 
  Page
  Herculan 
  40 
  24 
  30 
  20 
  15 
  21/6 
  21/6 
  6 
  14 
  55 
  8 
  8 
  6” [10”] 
  8d6, 3d6 Transfer 
  156
  Holocaust 
  40 
  27 
  30 
  20 
  30 
  32/18 
  32/18 
  8 
  20 
  70 
  9 
  9 
  9” [30”] 
  20d6, 12d6 AP, 10d6 AE 
  159
  Hornet 
  30 
  22 
  23 
  14 
  20 
  15/5 
  12/5 
  5 
  11 
  41 
  7 
  7 
  6” [20”] 
  12d6, 6d6 Drn STUN 
  161
  Howler 
  13 
  26 
  23 
  10 
  20 
  27/20 
  27/20 
  5 
  30 
  30 
  9 
  9 
  6” [20”] 
  12d6, 10d6/6d6 Var Adv 
  162
  Hummingbird 
  10 
  24 
  18 
  10 
  15 
  16/8 
  16/8 
  5 
  8 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  6” [25”] 
  5d6 Ego, 10d6 MC 
  86
  Hypnos 
  15 
  18 
  18 
  10 
  12 
  16/8 
  15/8 
  5 
  9 
  30 
  6 
  6 
  6” [10”] 
  12d6 MC, 5d6 Ego, 3d6 Drn EGO 
  92
  Istvatha V’han 
  40 
  26 
  24 
  16 
  30 
  25/20 
  25/20 
  6 
  18 
  60 
  9 
  9 
  6” 
  20d6 
  26
  Lady Blue 
  10 
  27 
  20 
  10 
  18 
  26/20 
  28/20 
  5 
  8 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  6” [15”] 
  12d6, 8d6 AF 
  164
  Lancer 
  20 
  21 
  23 
  17 
  20 
  19/8 
  18/8 
  6 
  13 
  39 
  7 
  7 
  7” 
  4d6 Ego, 8d6 
  94
  Lazer 
  15 
  20 
  18 
  10 
  18 
  24/14 
  22/14 
  5 
  8 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  6” [15”] 
  12d6, 8d6 AP, 6d6 NND 
  166
  Leech 
  40 
  20 
  28 
  15 
  30 
  30/14 
  20/14 
  5 
  14 
  50 
  7 
  7 
  6” (10”) 
  Drn 3d6 
  168
  Lodestone 
  15 
  20 
  20 
  10 
  15 
  28/20 
  30/20 
  5 
  7 
  35 
  7 
  7 
  6” [20”] 
  12d6, 6d6 Ent 
  170
  Masquerade 
  15 
  20 
  20 
  13 
  20 
  11/3 
  9/3 
  4 
  7 
  31 
  7 
  7 
  8” 
  (1d6%), (1d6+1%), 9d6 
  172
  Mechassassin 
  35 
  28 
  30 
  15 
  25 
  23/15 
  23/15 
  6 
  10 
  40 
  9 
  9 
  9” {15”} 
  10d6 AP, (3d6 Pen), 6d6 Ent 
  174
  Medusa 
  8 
  16 
  17 
  8 
  20 
  18/14 
  18/14 
  4 
  5 
  30 
  5 
  5 
  6” 
  6d6 BOECV Ent 
  95
  Menagerie 
  15 
  23 
  20 
  10 
  15 
  11/3 
  9/3 
  6 
  10 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  9” {6”} 
  Animal Multiform 
  177
  Mentalla 
  10 
  20 
  20 
  11 
  20 
  24/16 
  24/16 
  6 
  10 
  30 
  7 
  7 
  6” [16”] 
  7d6 Ego, 14d6 MC 
  73
  Menton 
  20 
  24 
  40 
  20 
  35 
  35/20 
  40/20 
  5 
  16 
  75 
  8 
  8 
  6” [20”] !20”! 
  8d6 Ego, 16d6 MC, 16d6 
  28
  Mind Slayer 
  15 
  18 
  19 
  10 
  15 
  40/31 
  30/21 
  5 
  7 
  27 
  6 
  6 
  6” [15”] 
  (4d6), 8d6 
  97
  Mirage 
  15 
  20 
  15 
  10 
  25 
  12/6 
  13/6 
  5 
  6 
  30 
  7 
  7 
  6” 
  Gadget Pool, Illusions 
  179
  The Monster 
  60 
  30 
  40 
  30 
  30 
  25/25 
  25/25 
  6 
  20 
  100 
  10 
  10 
  15” 
  12d6, (2 1/2d6%) 
  181
  Morningstar 
  50 
  20 
  30 
  25 
  25 
  25/18 
  25/18 
  5 
  20 
  65 
  7 
  7 
  11” 
  6d6% 
  182
  Nebula 
  30 
  23 
  25 
  10 
  20 
  27/15 
  30/15 
  6 
  11 
  40 
  8 
  8 
  6” [15”] 
  12d6, (4d6) 
  184
  Ogre 
  65 
  20 
  33 
  23 
  25 
  30/20 
  24/20 
  4 
  20 
  73 
  7 
  7 
  6” {23”} 
  13d6 
  187
  Phoenix 
  25 
  20 
  23 
  13 
  25 
  15/12 
  25/20 
  6 
  15 
  50 
  7 
  7 
  6” [20”] 
  12d6, (4d6), (1d6 DS) 
  61
  Photon 
  10 
  30 
  25 
  10 
  15 
  27/20 
  38/20 
  8 
  7 
  30 
  10 
  10 
  6” [30”] 
  12d6, Sight Group Flashes 
  189
  Psimon 
  13 
  18 
  25 
  15 
  23 
  15/8 
  18/8 
  5 
  15 
  35 
  6 
  6 
  6” 
  12d6 MC, 6d6 Ego 
  91 
  Radium 
  10 
  23 
  23 
  10 
  20 
  18/12 
  24/12 
  5 
  12 
  40 
  8 
  8 
  6” 
  12d6, 6d6 NND 
  108
  Rakshasa 
  20 
  26 
  20 
  10 
  25 
  15/8 
  15/8 
  6 
  8 
  30 
  9 
  9 
  9” 
  12d6 Mental Illusions 
  15
  Riptide 
  20 
  24 
  20 
  10 
  15 
  18/6 
  16/6 
  5 
  8 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  6” (20”) 
  9d6 DKB, 8d6 AE, 6d6 NND 
  191
  Scorpia 
  15 
  24 
  20 
  20 
  20 
  14/8 
  14/8 
  5 
  12 
  38 
  8 
  8 
  9” {6”} !10”! 
  (2d6), (1d6 AF), (4d6 NND) 
  75
  Shadowdragon 
  20 
  20 
  20 
  13 
  20 
  22/12 
  22/12 
  5 
  8 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  10” {12”} !30”! 
  12d6, 3d6 Drn PRE, Darkness 
  193
  Shrinker 
  10 
  20 
  25 
  10 
  20 
  13/3 
  13/3 
  5 
  7 
  30 
  7 
  7 
  6” [16”] !10” MS! (1d6+1 Pen), 8d6 
  195
  Slick 
  15 
  28 
  22 
  10 
  15 
  18/8 
  18/8 
  7 
  10 
  30 
  9 
  9 
  32” 
  6d6 Ent, 4d6 Ent AE 
  110
  The Slug 
  15 
  26 
  25 
  8 
  30 
  20/15 
  20/15 
  6 
  15 
  40 
  9 
  9 
  6” !9”! 
  4d6 Ego, 12d6, Transform 
  198
  Stormfront 
  15 
  20 
  20 
  10 
  20 
  22/14 
  24/14 
  5 
  10 
  30 
  7 
  7 
  6” [14”] 
  (2 1/2d6), 3d6 NND AE 
  200
  Takofanes 
  30 
  25 
  30 
  30 
  60 
  25/25 
  25/25 
  6 
  20 
  80 
  8 
  8 
  6” [20”] 
  Magic Pool, 16d6, 12d6 EX 
  31
  Temblor 
  50 
  20 
  30 
  20 
  25 
  30/20 
  30/20 
  4 
  16 
  60 
  7 
  7 
  6” !8”! 
  10d6, 5d6 Ent 
  62
  Tesseract 
  10 
  23 
  20 
  10 
  18 
  10/0 
  10/0 
  5 
  8 
  30 
  8 
  8 
  6” !30”! 
  (3d6 Pen), 10d6, 8d6 Ent 
  202
  Thorn 
  25 
  20 
  23 
  15 
  20 
  21/6 
  16/6 
  5 
  20 
  60 
  7 
  7 
  6” !3”! 
  (2d6 AP), 6d6 NND, 6d6 Ent 
  204
  Thunderbird 
  20 
  23 
  20 
  12 
  25 
  19/11 
  19/11 
  5 
  8 
  40 
  8 
  8 
  10” 
  (2 1/2d6 AF), (2d6 AP) 
  206
  Thunderbolt I 
  25 
  23 
  20 
  13 
  20 
  25/15 
  40/25 
  5 
  9 
  40 
  8 
  8 
  6” !30”! 
  15d6, (4d6) 
  112
  Thunderbolt II 
  40 
  27 
  30 
  15 
  20 
  20/20 
  20/20 
  8 
  14 
  50 
  9 
  9 
  25” 
  8d6 
  209
  Torment 
  15 
  18 
  18 
  12 
  10 
  18/8 
  16/8 
  4 
  9 
  30 
  6 
  6 
  7” 
  4d6 Ego 
  99
  Ultrasonique 
  15 
  23 
  23 
  12 
  15 
  18/10 
  18/10 
  5 
  8 
  35 
  8 
  8 
  6” (12”) 
  Gadget Pool, 14d6, 7d6 AE 
  77
  
  232 
  HERO SYSTEM 5TH EDITION
  Name 
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  BODY 
  PRE 
  PD/rPD 
  ED/rED 
  SPD 
  REC 
  STUN 
  OCV 
  DCV 
  MOVE 
  Attacks 
  Page
  Utility 
  20 
  20 
  20 
  15 
  20 
  16/8 
  16/8 
  5 
  10 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  9” {7”} !15”! 
  15d6, (4d6), Gadget Pool 
  211
  Vibron 
  20 
  29 
  28 
  12 
  20 
  25/15 
  23/15 
  7 
  10 
  40 
  10 
  10 
  20” 
  12d6, 7d6 DKB, 6d6 NND 
  214
  Warbird 
  20 
  20 
  20 
  12 
  18 
  20/12 
  20/12 
  5 
  8 
  37 
  7 
  7 
  7” [20”] 
  8d6 EX 
  39
  Warcry 
  15 
  20 
  18 
  13 
  15 
  18/12 
  22/12 
  5 
  7 
  35 
  7 
  7 
  9” 
  12d6, 10d6 EX, (4d6) 
  41
  Warhead 
  20 
  23 
  20 
  15 
  20 
  22/12 
  20/12 
  5 
  8 
  35 
  8 
  8 
  6” [15”] 
  (2 1/2d6 EX), 6d6 Ent 
  43
  The Warlord 
  40 
  20 
  25 
  15 
  30 
  34/24 
  32/24 
  5 
  10 
  50 
  7 
  7 
  9” {20”} [20”] 
  18d6, (6d6), 9d6 Ent 
  38
  Warmonger 
  15 
  18 
  18 
  10 
  15 
  18/12 
  20/12 
  5 
  7 
  30 
  6 
  6 
  6” 
  8d6/14d6 MC, 2d6 Ego 
  45
  Warpath 
  15 
  25 
  15 
  10 
  18 
  22/12 
  22/12 
  5 
  10 
  45 
  8 
  8 
  12” 
  (3d6), (2d6 AP), 8d6 EX 
  47
  Zephyr 
  15 
  30 
  23 
  10 
  20 
  23/15 
  27/15 
  6 
  8 
  30 
  10 
  10 
  6” [30”] 
  8d6 DKB, 8d6 AE, 6d6 NND 
  216
  ZigZag 
  15 
  20 
  20 
  10 
  18 
  12/12 
  9/8 
  5 
  10 
  35 
  7 
  7 
  10” 
  5d6 Ent, 6d6 Ent, 3d6% 
  218
  Zorran the Artiﬁ cer 
  15 
  22 
  25 
  15 
  25 
  26/18 
  30/18 
  6 
  10 
  40 
  7 
  7 
  6” [20”] !20”! 
  12d6, (2d6 AP), 6d6 Ego 
  220
  NOTES
  Attacks
  #:  A Normal Damage attack.
  (#):  A Killing Damage attack
  AE:  Area Of Effect
  AF:  Autoﬁ re
  AP:  Armor Piercing
  BOECV:  Based On Ego Combat Value
  DKB:  Double Knockback
  Drn:  Drain
  DS:  Damage Shield
  Ego:  Ego Attack
  Ent:  Entangle
  EX:  Explosion
  MC:  Mind Control
  MS:  MegaScaled
  NND:  No Normal Defense
  Pen:  Penetrating
  Var Adv:  Variable Advantages
  %:  Character can increase the attack’s damage with STR
  Movement
  #”:  Running (ground movement)
  (#”):  Swimming (listed only if character can swim faster than 2”)
  [#”]:  Flight
  {#”}:  Leaping (listed only if character can leap a different distance than indicated by its STR)
  !#”!:  Special mode of movement (e.g., Swinging, Tunneling, Teleportation)
  
  233 
  Champions Universe
  CONQUERORS, 
  KILLERS, AND 
  CROOKS INDEX
  Entries in boldface indicate a 
  page with a character sheet for 
  the character in question.
  Al ............................................... 146
  Anderson, Lisa ............................84
  Andromeda Galaxy185-86, 214-15
  Ankylosaur ...............................116
  Anubis .......................................118
  Arachne ..................................... 146
  ARGENT .........................................
   ..........71, 81, 97, 110, 121, 187-88
  Armadillo .................................120
  Arthur, King ........................126-27
  Backtrack (Andromedan 
  supervillain) ........................... 215
  Basilisk, Th e .............................. 149
  Binder ........................................102
  Bio-Investigations, Ltd. ........... 196
  Black Diamond .......................... 81
  Black Harlequin .......................123
  Black Paladin ............................126
  Black Talon (powered armor 
  suit) ........................................... 19
  Blackstar ...................................104
  Bloodstone .................................. 56
  Blowtorch .................................129
  Bluejay ......................................... 82
  Brainchild .................................131
  Bulldozer ...................................133
  Captain Chronos .....................135
  Cateran ......................................138
  Chantal .................................126-28
  Character sheet notation .............5
  CheetahMan (Andromedan 
  supervillain) ........................... 215
  Cheshire Cat ................................84
  Circle Of Th e Scarlet 
  Moon ................................. 56, 183
  Crowns Of Krim (villain team) .... 
   .....................................52-64, 193
  Cybermind ...............................141
  Cyclone .....................................106
  D-Soldier .................................... 27
  Dark Seraph ............................... 53
  Demon Servitor ......................... 35
  DEMON .......54, 58, 145, 170, 181, 
   ................... 183, 187, 191-93, 199
  deMorphant, Giles 
  (Black Paladin) .................126-27
  Destroid ...................................... 18
  Destroyer Agents (Standard, 
  Heavy Combat) .................. 16-18
  Deuce .................................. 90, 100
  DeWitt Museum of Fine Art .. 131
  Dr. Destroyer .............................. 10
  Dr’zheem (Malvan 
  super-gladiator) ..................... 158
  Dragon Crown ......................31, 34
  Drake-Victoria, Inc. ............106-07
  Durak .......................................... 69
  Eclipse ......................................... 57
  Elder Worm 
  (alien species) ..................198-200
  Elemental Evils (putative 
  DEMON villain team) .. 192, 216
  Esper ..........................................143
  Eurostar (villain team) ........ 65-79
  Fassai (alien species) ............... 156
  Fenris .........................................145
  Feuermacher .............................. 71
  Fiacho .......................................... 67
  Firewing ....................................147
  Flying Fortress 
  (Warlord’s base) ....................... 49
  Force ............................................ 59
  Foxbat ........................................150
  Frostbite (Malvan 
  super-gladiator) ..................... 158
  Gargantua .................................152
  GATEWAY (UNTIL’s space 
  station) .................................... 102
  Gigaton ....................................... 13
  Gladiators, Malvan .......... 147, 158
  GRAB (villain team)
   .............................80-88, 106, 170
  Gravitar ....................................... 21
  Grond ........................................154
  Herculan ...................................156
  Holocaust ..................................159
  Hornet .......................................161
  Howler ......................................162
  Hummingbird ............................ 86
  Hypnos ........................................ 92
  Hzeel (alien species) .......................
   ..................... 36, 42, 106, 141, 163
  Inquisitor ............................ 90, 100
  Institute for Human Advancement 
  179
  Ironwood Industries ...................44
  Istvatha V’han ....................26, 202
  Jaa’lu Darkmaw ........................ 158
  Krim .......................................32, 52
  L’Institut Th oth .................. 78, 156
  Lady Blue ..................................164
  Lancelot .................................... 127
  Lancer ......................................... 94
  Lazer ..........................................166
  Leech .........................................168
  Lemurians ....................199, 220-21
  Lodestone .................................170
  MacDougal, John ................116-17
  Malachite (Malvan super-gladiator) 
  158
  Malvan gladiators ............ 147, 158
  Mandala (Andromedan 
  supervillainess) ...................... 215
  Mantisman ............................... 146
  Masquerade ..............................172
  McNeil Aviation ....................83-84
  Mechassasin .............................174
  Medina family .............................29
  Medusa ........................................ 96
  Menagerie .................................177
  Mentalla ...................................... 73
  Menton ........................................ 28
  Microverse ...........................195-97
  Mind, Incorporated ....................90
  Mind Slayer ................................ 97
  Mirage .......................................179
  Monster, the ..............................181
  Morningstar .............................182
  Nebula .......................................184
  Notations on character sheets .....5
  Oculon .........................................36
  Ogre ...........................................187
  Phoenix ....................................... 61
  Photon .......................................189
  Poe, Sebastian (founder of 
  PSI) .......................................89-90
  PRIMUS .................................... 101
  Project Sunburst .....13-14, 108-09
  PSI (villain team) ..........87, 89-100
  Psimon ........................................ 91
  Python .......................................146
  Radium .....................................108
  Rakshasa ..................................... 15
  Rhodes, Aric Roston ................ 145
  Riptide .......................................191
  Saurian, the ............................... 146
  Scorpia ........................................ 75
  Sentinels (New York superhero 
  team) ....................................... 196
  Shadow Army Soldier 
  (Warlord’s army) ...................... 50
  Shadowdragon .........................193
  Shrinker ....................................195
  Shomak ..................................... 158
  Shugoshin .................................193
  Sixth Dimension .................202-03
  Skarn the Shaper .........................24
  Skylark (Andromedan 
  supervillain) ........................... 215
  Slick ...........................................110
  Slug ............................................198
  Soulﬁ re ................................ 90, 100
  Star Guardians ......................... 189
  Starbird, the (the 
  Ultimates’s airship) ................114
  Steelhand (Malvan 
  super-gladiator) ..................... 158
  Stormfront ................................200
  Sunburst, Project .....13-14, 108-09
  SuperWorld Magazine ............. 133
  T-ay’maar (Andromedan 
  alien species) .....................214-15
  Tagteam (Andromedan 
  supervillain) ........................... 215
  Takofanes the Undying 
  Lord .....................................31, 52
  Teke ..................................... 90, 100
  Teleios ......... 95, 118, 154, 209, 218
  Temblor ....................................... 62
  Terala Shain (Malvan 
  super-gladiator) ..................... 158
  Tesseract ....................................202
  Th orn .........................................204
  Th underbird .............................206
  Th underbolt I ...........................112
  Th underbolt II ..........................209
  Tiburón, El ................................ 146
  Torment ...................................... 99
  Toyco Toy Manufacturing 
  Company ................................ 124
  Trace .............................................90
  Trismegistus Council .................32
  Turakian Age .........................32, 52
  Tyrannon the Conqueror ..........24
  Ultimates, the (villain 
  team) ...................80, 101-14, 201
  Ultrasonique ............................... 77
  United Nations ................45, 94-95
  UNTIL .............79, 83, 102, 116-18
  Utility ........................................211
  Vampires ......................................56
  Varanyi (alien species) ...............30
  Vesper ........................................ 146
  Vibron .......................................214
  VIPER .................10, 23, 45, 60, 68, 
   ............... 70, 81, 91, 135, 185, 218
  War Machine (villain team) ...39-48
  Warbird ....................................... 39
  Warcry ......................................... 41
  Warhead ...................................... 43
  Warlord, the ................................ 38
  Warmonger ................................. 45
  Warpath ...................................... 47
  Whirlwind (Malvan 
  super-gladiator) ..................... 158
  White Rhino ............................. 146
  Wildson Corporation .............. 164
  Yuun’ta (Andromedan 
  alien species) .......................... 186
  Zephyr .......................................216
  Zerstoiten, Albert 
  (Dr. Destroyer) ......................7-10
  ZigZag .......................................218
  Zogoth (Andromedan 
  supervillain) ........................... 215
  Zorran Th e Artiﬁ cer ................220
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Hero System/Hero System - Conquerors Killers and Crooks.pdf