Need powerful speedster villian ideas

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Hi all,

 

In an upcoming session, I want my team of heroes to face a speedster villain. I'm mainly looking at some kind of upgrade to the Kinetik character from Champions Universe but not sure how to go about it. I'd like the speedster to be able to....if not win...give them an entertaining fight. Point cost isn't a big deal. I'm playing with between 700-800 points. My PCs consist of:

 

Bedlam: STR 75 Brick...hard to hurt.

Spiritwalker: Supermage. posesses teleportation and some mental powers...along with energy projection

Dark Sun: Jedi clone...

Seraph: Semi brick(STR 40) with martial arts and a decent Find Weakness roll.

SHIELD: Powered armor hero in the Defender mold....but also posessing limited Cyberkinesis.

Brimstone: Reserve member.....more or less a Human Torch clone.

 

The key here is how to make the fight not a complete wash...as speedsters are notorius in hero for generally being wimpy. What can I do? Help!

 

Thanks,

Rob

[Ghost who Walks]

Couple ways to do it.

 

General comment: Speedsters in the comics tend to be really, really fast. I suspect they are actually cries for help from overworked writers...complaining to their editors about deadlines.

 

Ideas/comments

1) Perhaps the speedster isn't really going faster, he just has the power to slow everyone else. (Drain on Speed, most likely). Give him some semi normal people, and he can be a challenge.

 

2) Give the speedster a vehicle of some kind, have him try to run over the heroes.

 

3) A "straight speedster" (Flash/Quicksilver) usually doesn't have martial arts or guns. In short...he doesn't do anything that you or I would do if we had super-speed. Consider ciolating this.

 

4) From the point of air resistance/friction, speedsters should need a lot of defenses/super strength. A superfast brick might pose a challenge.

 

5) One villain I use in my campaign is actually a speedster. As a speedster he also has heightened mental functions (faster brain). This gives him a bunch of sciences, mental talents/perks, and the ability to say really long speeches in a very short period of time. he can also heal very quickly, has a ridiculous amount of recovery, and has heightened sense (so he can see when going at superspeed).

 

6) When in doubt, the speedster should always be able to run away. His plan has been foiled...why stay around any longer anyway? A cowardly villain can be very fun to play, actually.

[Crusader108]

I had a speedster in my campaign who really gave my players anxiety. His name was Wildfire and he was a cross speedster and energy projector. He had twin flamethrowers and could project AE line EBs and RKAs. The team had to spend half their time fighting/chasing him and the other half putting out the fires/treating the injured (Wildfire had little regard for the safety/welfare of others).

[freakboy6117]

speedrazor think quicksilver crossed with the shredder from teenage mutant ninja turtles.even bricks shoudl be intyimidated by run through with adamantium blades moving at the speed of sound add throwing knives and a various limpet mines say emp for dealing with power armour etc.

[Ghost Archer]

A Thousand Throats: 1d6+1 Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand (HKA) (2d6 Total Damage) ; Area Of Effect - Selective Target (Radius): 16" Radius, +2; Increased Area (×8): +¾

 

A thousand throats can be cut in a single night by a running man.

 

One of my villains, Scorpio, is a speedster. She uses this to cut the throats of a group of normals. Even if it doesn't kill it will sure keep an entire hero team busy so she can get the hell out of there.

 

Note: with an OCV base of 12 the odds are pretty good she'll hit a normal exactly where she wishes.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Ghost Archer,

 

Your "Thousand Cuts" idea is cruel, sadistic, and just plain evil. In other words, I love it. That's an amazing power for a speedster...though you have to count on players not simply "taking the chance" as they often do. Nonetheless, definitely an idea I'll probably clone...if you don't mind.

 

Rob

[levi]

These have all been great ideas.

 

A really powerful Speedster with a high SPD (10+), CV, Martial Arts (Passing Stike, etc...), Hyper-Velocity thrown weapons, anti-tech weapons and a couple of NND attacks that the PCs have no defense for (such as the Sonic Finger Snap or The Dizzying Spin Out) will definitely put them on their heels.

[Speedball]

For a while now my main character has been a speedster. Granted, my character doesn't have the point totals you're talking about, but here are a few ideas to go along with the others (particularly Ghost Archer's):

*Desolid--the speedster can vibrate himself out of phase. This can really frustrate those who might otherwise be able to take him out.

*Double-knockback move-through combined with armor that only protects the wearer against damage from movethroughs/movebys This might not really hurt your brick, but it could cause him to be buried under a building or two if he doesn't have serious knockback resistance.

*RKA OAF-sharp objects of opportunity. Like Ghost Archer's idea--a whirling dervish of sharp objects found on any construction site.

*Give the speedster a 10 speed and a 35 dex and watch your characters try and figure out where the hell he is when he performs move-throughs on your weaker members, disappearing into the distance after clocking them.

*If you want to get *really* eve-eel (as opposed to the regular 'evil'), you can come up with a double penetrating HKA based on the speedster grabbing a character, phasing him or her out of synch, dropping a few inches, and then letting go of him or her while he or she is in the pavement. Not just an HKA, but also a pretty nifty entangle!

*Dex drain or Con drain from a hyper-velocity spin, as Levi mentioned. These can be particularly effective. Maybe give it a few hexes radius is you want to simulate the 'guy spinning 5 plates on poles' effect. This has the added benefit of humiliating your team without causing any serious harm.

Just a few things to keep you busy...I'd love to see the character sheet when you're done designing. I've always suggested that high-point speedsters are among the most potentially dangerous if they're willing to be devious and ruthless.

[farik]

JUst a suggestion but a unique speedster in my opinion was Reflex from DC's Soveriegn 7. He was a brick but he had super reflexes. The effect was he was always faster than his opponent but otherwise he was just quick. You could decrease the cost of theextra SPD with a limitation "only 1 SPD faster than the fastest person present" the value of the limitation will depend on how fast the average character is in your game. Throw on lightening reflexes in case someone else actually has SPD 12. give him the standard gamut of Missile deflection, rapid fire punches, AoE punches, Must cross intervening space teleport, etc. The villain is now a memorable tactical challenge for the party.

[Bengal]

If you put the villain's SPD, OCV, PD, and REC at fantastic levels, you can perform multiple move-bys in a turn and wreck havok ping by ping.

 

But really, you need AoE selective targets to make a difference. Ghost Archer is right there. Don't forget about HKA or Major Transform: Focus to Dust... Sounds like at least half your party would cry if their focuses were disassembled in their hands at near the speed of light.

 

Some other things to apply AoR Selective Targets to:

 

DEX Drain (Spin your heroes at 1000 RPM, lather, repeat)

EB PD (a rain of punches)

Entangle (OIF: Objects of Opportunity)

Tunnelling, Useable as an Attack (Buried Alive)

 

And remember, if any of your heroes have any sort of Adjustment Powers, add scads of Power Defense.

 

Marvel had a guy named Speedfreek who was a speedster in an admantium battlesuit. His arm-blades were able to cut the Hulk due to their sharpness and hardness. You could think about 1d6 HKA Str Does Not Add Penetrating x2 AP x2... 45 active points, 30 real points.

 

In fact, you may wish to put many of these powers into an EC and then make a seperate Naked Advantage (AoE: Any Area, Selective Targets, O End cost) which can apply to any of the aforementioned attack powers. It's a neat idea I really ought to follow up on for my own heroes.

[farik]

And don't forget Drain "Focus based powers"

[Gary]

I had a character named Darkling with a Flash Damage Shield usable offensively. He could blind an entire enemy team with a single Sweep or Multiple Move-By.

[megaplayboy]

Deathstreak is a supervillain with speed powers based partially on manipulating friction. Like Speedrazor, he has pop out blades he can deploy to lethal effect, but his major shtick is igniting the air behind him as he runs(basically an area effect hexes equal to x inches of running).

 

So he can literally "burn" PCs who follow too closely:D

[Supreme Serpent]

Originally posted by Ghost who Walks

3) A "straight speedster" (Flash/Quicksilver) usually doesn't have martial arts or guns. In short...he doesn't do anything that you or I would do if we had super-speed. Consider ciolating this.

 

In V&V, one of the Crushers, "Mercury Mercenary" did this - speedster with lots of guns and grenades.

 

Could be fun describing the villain getting off 30 shots in one phase with a single 6-shooter.

[Hugh Neilson]

Teamwork is often the bane of sole opponents. Why should a speedster have to fight the group all at once? Give him a "wake" behind him which allows him to pull others along behind him (either fairly limited Usable Against Others, or just a special effect for extra levels and STR with Grab By.

 

Tack on Desolid Usable Against Others and he can vibrate himself and his victim into a deserted warehouse a few blocks away. This enables him to take the group out one at a time (using some of the excellent ideas already presented).

 

"What was that wind?"

 

"Hey - where did Crimson Cat go?"

 

There is a game drawback, however - only one of your players is in the action, so it can get boring for the others. I suppose a speedster/gadgeteer could get around this - here we have a character who can prepare death traps for specific characters beforehand, then dump them in one by one. Even if he is wimpy in straight up combat, the heroes have to escape the deathtraps to get at him - and if he loses, he can just vibrate desolid and take off faster than they can follow.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Traditionally speedsters rely on high DCV and thus are most vulnerable to Area attacks and Mental powers. With a Supermage with mental powers and a 75 Str Brick who can throw big things you are going to have to compensate for this in some way if you really want him to last.

 

The Desolidification thing is a pretty good idea. You don’t even have to make it vibration, just call it ‘Superdodge’ or something and limit it so that he can’t go thru things. Buy it at the 60 point level and he can ‘Superdodge’ mental attacks too (slipper high speed mind). This would pretty much make him only vulnerable to Area and Mental attacks that also Affect Desolid. To further limit this power you might consider buying it with lasting charges (he can’t dodge like this all day so the heroes can try to outlast him), giving it an activation roll (heroes might get lucky every once in a while), or set it to not work vs. attacks that he doesn’t sense (this only if he also doesn’t have defense maneuver … and I *would* buy him with defense maneuver).

 

‘Faster than the Eye’ Invisibility can also make him a tough target to ‘lock onto’ and might be a good alternative or supplement to ‘Superdodge’.

 

Giving him a ‘Doesn’t take damage’ entangle can be nasty too. It’s a *lot* easier to do a move thru on a target that he has already entangled.

 

Another fun ‘speedster trick’ is an Instant version of Duplication. He will be fast enough to seem to be in more places than one. With four duplicates he can do a move-by, be kneeling behind a hero, grabbing the hero’s focus, and stealing something at the same time.

 

Bottom line, instead of beefing up defenses, IMO the fight will be more memorable if he uses fun ‘speedster tricks’ and uses his high speed intelligently (dodging, rolling with punches, holding actions intelligently, etc.)

[Lord Liaden]

A few classic speedster tricks in the "Flash" tradition:

 

Tornado Winds. The speedster whirls his arm so quickly he creates a powerful funnel of wind to project against opponents (Physical Energy Blast). Make it Area of Effect and No Range for a vortex the speedster creates by running around the target(s). The latter would also work as uni-directional Telekinesis (-1 Lim).

 

In-and-Out Grab. The speedster darts in close to an opponent, grabs an object or Focus, and darts away before the opponent can react. (Telekinesis, Only to Where User Could Physically Move [-1/2].)

 

Shattering Vibrations. The speedster touches a rigid solid object and makes it vibrate at a frequency causing it to shatter. Useful against walls, vehicles and Foci. (HKA, Only vs. Rigid Objects [-1].)

 

Friction Touch. The speedster rubs his hand rapidly against a surface, producing tremendous frictional heat. Can be another HKA or a HA with no Knockback, but also works as a NND (LS: Immunity to Heat), possibly with "Does BODY Damage."

 

After-Images. The character moves so fast that due to persistance of human vision, he appears to create multiple images of himself to confuse opponents. (Images to Sight Group, Area of Effect, Set Effect [images of Self: -1].)

[Bluefire]

Well, I was going to mention the Images thing, but I see its has been covered

 

Now I did start giggling to myself when I started thinking of a teleporting speedster. Think if you will a cross between nightcrawler and the flash.

Scenerio: Blasterboy lines up a shot at Speedster. and Speedster sees this. Speedster teleports over to Blasterboy's teammate and teleports him back to where Speedster was just standing and then waits for Blasterboy to finish his shot!

 

I have the end result, now to just get the mechanics of it worked out

[farik]

A mental defense Flash used (against Grod I believe) would justify a mental damage shield. Basically the Flash was thinking so quickly the mentalist was trapped in his head for what seemed like an eternity until he was exhausted the net effect in the real world was the mentalist laughs maniacally makes contact and then passes out realing from the contact.

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Bluefire

Well, I was going to mention the Images thing, but I see its has been covered

 

Now I did start giggling to myself when I started thinking of a teleporting speedster. Think if you will a cross between nightcrawler and the flash.

Scenerio: Blasterboy lines up a shot at Speedster. and Speedster sees this. Speedster teleports over to Blasterboy's teammate and teleports him back to where Speedster was just standing and then waits for Blasterboy to finish his shot!

 

I have the end result, now to just get the mechanics of it worked out

 

My own take on it would be Teleportation, Usable As An Attack, Only To Where User Could Physically Move. The defense against this would probaby be Strength greater than the speedster's (as the target breaks his grip when grabbed), or weight larger than the speedster could lift.

[Houston GM]

Battlefield, tactics, objective.

 

Battlefield:

 

Choose your battlefield. Since most people cannot attack through brick walls (or even see through them), the Speedster gets a large advantage from having buildings that he can run around/through. I wreaked havoc on my players by sending them against a speedster that started and ended every action behind heavy cover.

 

For realism's sake, don't leave a figure on the table when his action ends. When he's out of sight, they truly should have no idea where he is.

 

Skills:

 

In order to counter AEs, buy him lots of skill levels for Dive For Cover. If he has a respectable chance of successfully diving for cover 30 hexes away, he should be reasonably immune to those attacks.

 

I also recommend the Speedster Martial Arts on p71 of UMA.

 

Power:

 

Clinging (by inertia). We frequently see Flash zip up walls by using his inertia to hold him to the surface.

 

Tactics:

 

Smart villains are the most dangerous. Assume this one is smart. He's done some general research on the team, and knows common knowledge about them (or perhaps even more than that).

 

Determine which PC is the biggest threat. He goes after that one first. If this is an ambush type scenario, he could get the first attack off before the characters know they're being attacked.

 

In your case, the big threats might be Brimstone (can fly up out of range), Spiritwalker (who might be able to target and attack through buildings), and Dark Sun (who might be most capable of overcoming his outrageous DCV).

 

Since Brimstone/Spiritwalker probably have fairly low PD, use a passing grab/throw maneuver to get them off the battlefield and knock them out. As a coup de grat, you can later drag them back onto the battlefield and throw them into other characters as a variant "fastball special".

 

For Dark Sun, use a passing disarm to get his weapon away from him. Ditch the weapon a few blocks away.

 

As soon as the speedster has achieved his objective, run away. If any member of the group follows too closely, they've become vulnerable to attack. Turn around and nail them while they're separated.

 

The Objective:

 

Make the objective something that the villain can achieve. Is he supposed to kidnap one of the players (or someone they're guarding)? Is it a snatch & grab job (perhaps on their Foci)? Is he supposed to publicly humiliate them? Is it just a diversion to draw them away from the real target?

 

Speed is his main advantage. This especially applies to his ability to get away. Don't stay in combat a segment longer than necessary.

 

What is your team's mode of transportation? What sort of defenses does the team's base have?

 

Does the team have a vehicle? Does Spiritwalker teleport them all to the scene?

 

Does the team have substantial defenses on the base besides themselves? Is the base vulnerable when they're gone?

 

For a fun scenario, have the speedster create a disturbance 10 miles (or some appropriate distance) away. The team is alerted, and responds at their best speed.

 

The disturbance is just a diversion, to draw them away from the base. As soon as they show up, the speedster jumps the transport specialist and knocks them out (and steals the vehicle's keys, if appropriate).

 

As part of the disturbance, the speedster may injure a number of bystanders. This could prompt the team to stop and help the injured.

 

While the team is occupied, the speedster races back to their base. His super speed allows him to overcome their security much faster than other criminals. After breaking in, he steals what he wants, then vandalizes the place. By the time they get back, he's long gone.

[levi]

Originally posted by Bluefire

...Scenerio: Blasterboy lines up a shot at Speedster. and Speedster sees this. Speedster teleports over to Blasterboy's teammate and teleports him back to where Speedster was just standing and then waits for Blasterboy to finish his shot!

...I have the end result, now to just get the mechanics of it worked out

 

I often follow the advise of our resident sage LL, but in this example your effect sounds more like Missile Deflection / Reflection Any Target with the Teleport SFX. This same effect could be gained from running at hyper-velocity using the PCs as slolum pylons.

 

ex: As Speedster zooms around his friends, Blasterboy lines up a shot and just as he pulls the trigger Speedster dodges behind Arcanagirl and she takes the blast in his stead.

[Chromatic]

Typically, a speedster relies on "Not being hit" as the source of his ability to survive. This is usually through high DCV, and staying out of the main mix of combatants (move-by to someplace nearby but not there). This is also usually their downfall, as the opponents set up a trap for them to fall into (Flash trips over rubble on floor, Move-by Guy is painfully martial thrown, Entangle Lass wraps up Speed freak in her bands of suppression).

 

For a change of pace, and to offer up a real challenge, don't do this.

 

Your "speedster" may be fast, but he should be able to stick to his chosen field of battle. Have him able to take a punch, don't relie on him doing move-bys to get out of the area. Instead use a selection of powers that give him tactical advantages with out the "Not being hit" defense.

 

The Tunneling useable as an attack is good, you can combine it with the Dex drain, and Entangle as he spins his victims into the ground.

 

Give him Damage reduction and a large recovery to represent his high metabolism. He won't be one-shotted this way.

 

Desolid with invisible effects is an interesting tactic when combined with a high speed. The heros can't tell when he is vibrating so fast he is out of phase, because he is always vibrating (has a blurry look Distinctive features). Combine this with a damage field: Numbing blast when he is hit, the vibrations transfer to the attacker. (too bad you can't combine it with a disarm manuever- Rachel takes a swing and Big Bad Fastball, her bat connects, then vibrates numbing her hand and she drops it.)

 

Area Effect selective target is a great way to attack all the Heros at once (or all the customers in the Bank).

 

The dragging TK area cone, allows him to concentrate on his victim while the other heros are tumbled along behind helplessly.

 

Lastly, is he really all by himself? Maybe he moves so fast, it looks like there are more than one of him. Either Images: all senses, or maybe real Duplication.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Hey all,

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions. A lot of you mentioned the potential baddie's tactics. On an intellectual level, this guy has above average intellect, but he's only in his early 20''s. He's not dumb, but he's not Captain America(when it comes to tactics) or Reed Richards either. His primary motivation is to personally trash the entire team. He was a former member of the team....who feels he has always been looked down on by the others. Now, his powers have been enhanced, and he intends to show his former team mates just how wrong they are.

 

Rob

[The Maxx]

As another idea, mind both of these are borrowed from previous books. You could also have the character thats a mentalist that just makes everyone think he going that fast. AE Mental illusions or Invisiblity and precise applications of Images.

 

ie "I'm here" shift the illusion as the hero attacks, "no slowpoke here" enjoy the frustration and the vilian literally blurs from spot to spot

 

Or use duplication/summon so that our badguy is so fast that he can be in several places at once.

 

Of course you could just hog wild and give our mentalist above actual speedster powers as well