SKJAM!

For Green Lantern, I'd go more for the Golden Age version--Powerful, yes, but not cosmic level, and more prone to use his fists than his ring when fighting mooks.

Perhaps a bit overly constrained, but to start us off... ​Lady Schadenfreude was once known as Antje Drossen, nicknamed "the girl in seat 3E" for her forgettability. She passed largely unnoticed in school and elsewhere, which suited her just fine, as it allowed her to play cruel pranks on people without ever being suspected. Her Falsestone gives her the ability to inflict Unluck in a growing radius around her and absorb energy from those suffering pain or misfortune in that radius to feed to Queen Nightmare. She seldom attacks directly, preferring to lure her opponents to dangerous areas such as construction sites or swamps and letting unnature take its course. Lady Schadenfreude's greatest weakness is a tendency to "twist the knife", going one step too far in order to increase a victim's suffering and thereby leaving herself open to attack.

Americat is better known to most superhero fans as Fatso, the pet of Melting Pot of the Capitol Patrol. An orange tabby, he was normal until the day a villain tampered with Melting Pot's powers, causing her to fuse Fatso and Captain Justice into one being temporarily. Captain Justice seems to have come out of it with no lasting effects, but Fatso was changed forever. He is now as strong as a lion, and can run as fast as a cheetah. He also has a red, white and blue tuft of hair on each ear. Americat has a square-jawed hero kind of personality, which comes off really weird in a cat, and is more or less the leader of the team. Oh, and somehow he's no longer fixed, but no one tell his mistress, okay?

Connections to the Culinary Institute of Assassins, perhaps? Hi no Gaki (Hungry Ghost of Fire) In Japanese folklore, a gaki (hungry ghost) is formed when a person dies with an overwhelming desire for something. The ghost seeks out this substance to consume it, but can never be filled. The Hi no Gaki was once a Japanese peasant living in the mountains of Hokkaido; he got lost in a blizzard and froze to death only a few yards from a hut where a jolly party was gathered around a warm fire. It no longer remembers his name or details of his life, but constantly seeks out fire and heat to devour them. It was a frequent hazard to travelers in that area until a Japanese mystic tracked it down and managed to seal it in a thermos bottle. He intended to lay the ghost to rest, but the thermos and several other items were stolen and sold on the black market. It bounced from owner to owner until it fell into the hands of the Gourmand who figured out how to open the seal without permanently breaking it. Now it is bound to fulfill the thermos owner's commands...to an extent. Hi no Gaki appears to be an emaciated Japanese man with a swollen belly and blueish skin, clad only in a dirty loincloth. When moving about, its feet disappear and it appears to be floating. It can open its mouth as wide as necessary to consume a flame, but this is a "special effect" only. It is healed by flame and heat, but takes double damage from ice and cold. It cannot be harmed by normal weapons, but any religious magic affects it. While it will generally follow instructions, Hi no Gaki has no tactical sense. It will proceed directly towards open flame or the largest heat source in the area that its master has not specifically told it not to eat. Body heat will do in a pinch, and if left alone in a closed space, it will consume the ambient room temperature. When not in use, it is usually kept sealed up in the thermos to prevent accidents.

Indeed, Coulson may want Skye in-house so that he knows exactly where the Rising Tide mole is. And if he can feed her info to get Rising Tide to work on SHIELD's behalf by doing what they want to do, so much the better.

We haven't done a team of pets as such, no. Ruffian started out as a Bad Dog. A nondescript mutt of average size, he was trained to steal on his master's command (Do we have a dog-training villain in the Villain Team thread?) Ruffian's treatment by his old master was cruel, so when he was rescued by 2nd Chance, Inc., their good treatment of him won his loyalty. Now, Ruffian may still be as skilled a thief and escape artist as it's possible to be without opposable thumbs or actual superpowers, but he uses his talents to be a Good Boy. Well, mostly good. Good over half the time. When interacting with his fellow pets, Ruffian is a raffish charmer, always ready with a joke or an acrobatic trick. He can fight if he has to, but he prefers not to as he knows the dogs his old master trained to kill did not in fact get to retire to a nice farm. "Pets that kill don't get to live." That said, Ruffian is the member of the team that's most likely to give a "bad" animal the benefit of the doubt, or a second chance to prove their good nature. He's quite the flirt, but is only actually attracted to other dogs.

Guido Malmanchi is a descendant of Egeria, goddess of fountains and springs. http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/aegeria.html As such, he is able to bring forth water from anything connected to the Earth and is an expert plumber. In combat he usually works with Alexandria to power up her abilities, and out of combat he works with Adam to repair buildings. He also has the ability to ease childbirth, but prefers not to mention this in public.

The recent Hulu series "The Awesomes" had three parallel Earths: Earth-4 (the one shown) was the mirror reality where the villains are heroes and vice-versa. (Our heroes did not catch an important clue here.) Earth-Two was "everyone is fat." And Earth-Three was where the Nazis won World War Two...only to be conquered by intelligent apes, who now rule supreme.

Advantages: Not being Hunted by Law Enforcement at the Kill/Imprison level. Being able to get through government red tape when that's an issue. Having your arrests stick. Disadvantages: Having to follow rules. Having to follow orders. You're a lot easier to Watch.

"A Wilder Rose" by Susan Wittig Albert. It's a fictionalized account of the life of Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, focusing on the 1930s and how the Little House books came to be written. Interesting stuff, but a little one-sided due to being based on Rose's letters and journals. Also, my blog, http://www.skjam.com is having a book giveaway right now. Please drop by!

"Dead But Still Ticking", a Buckeye Barrister mystery. Did you know that Columbus, Ohio has the second-largest population of Somali immigrants in the US? http://www.skjam.com/2013/09/07/book-review-dead-but-still-ticking/ (Also please check out my other reviews and if you see one you like, hit a social media button. Thanks!)

"Wrapped in the Flag: A Personal History of America's Radical Right", the autobiography of Claire Conner, who was raised by fanatical supporters of the John Birch Society. More on that at my review blog: http://www.skjam.com/2013/08/26/book-review-wrapped-in-the-flag-a-personal-history-of-americas-radical-right/

Nope, this was a couple of issues later.

Another JSA story has all the heroes except Black Canary confined, because she still had her "working undercover as a crook" cover story and managed to sucker the villain into thinking she'd backslid. A little Acting and the right backstory can also help.

I'd go with Doctor Destroyer having died in Detroit--but suddenly he's back!? And all the sensors indicate he's the real thing? Eventually, our heroes will piece enough clues together to realize that yes, this is Dr. Destroyer...from the past. A year or two before Detroit, he finally made a time machine that would allow him to visit the future, gain the technology he would have invented in the meantime, then head back to the Twentieth Century to conquer it in a stable time loop. Except that something (he's thinking sabotage by time-traveling heroes) went wrong with the device in transit. With the result that he's stuck in the here and now, with most of his minions and gadgets and bases seized over the last couple of decades. He's working hard to acquire the new supertechnology so he can be thirty years ahead again, and rebuilding his organization. The question is, if the real Dr. Destroyer is here, who died in Detroit? Is he destined to go back and die--Dr. Destroyer will do anything (evil) necessary to prevent that outcome!

Hey, email notification is back on!

It's been ages since I posted a character, and this one is a little out there.... T.V. Wiggles Player: NPC Val Char Cost 17 STR 7 13 DEX 9 15 CON 10 12 BODY 4 12 INT 2 12 EGO 4 15 PRE 5 12 COM 1 3 PD 0 3 ED 0 3 SPD 7 6 REC 0 40 END 5 35 STUN 6 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 3" LEAP 0 Characteristics Cost: 60 Cost Power 24 Oriental Knockout Hold: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6, No Normal Defense (rigid neck armor or Lack of Weakness; +1) (60 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Must follow successful Grab; -1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, Only to Activate, -1/4) 10 Slippery: Luck 2d6 Powers Cost: 34 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 3 Basic Wrestling Hold: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 27 STR for holding on 3 Strong Arm: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, 5d6 Strike 4 Kick it out of their hands: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 27 STR to Disarm 4 Over and Out: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND ; Target Falls 3 Off the Ropes: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, -1 DCV, 3d6 +v/5 Strike; You Fall, Target Falls; FMove 4 Out from Under: var Phase, -1 OCV, -2 DCV, 32 STR to Escape; Grab Two Limbs 5 Catch the Fist: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, Grab One Limb, Block Martial Arts Cost: 26 Cost Skill 3 Acting 12- 2 AK: wrestling arenas 11- 5 Breakfall 13- 2 CK: Campaign City 11- 3 Climbing 12- 3 Contortionist 12- 3 Electronics 11- 2 KS: Arena lighting systems 11- 2 KS: Firearms 11- 3 KS: Professional Wrestling 12- 3 Lockpicking 12- 3 Persuasion 12- 3 PS: Gangleader 12- 3 PS: Professional Wrestler 12- 2 PS: Wrestling instructor 11- 3 Streetwise 12- 2 WF: Small Arms, Clubs Skills Cost: 47 Cost Perk 15 Follower 25 +25 x3 3 Contact: Underworld suppliers (Contact has useful Skills or resources) 11- Perks Cost: 18 Total Character Cost: 185 Pts. Disadvantage 10 Distinctive Features: Wiggles his body (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Hunted: Police 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 15 Psychological Limitation: Greedy (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Vengeful (Common, Strong) 5 Reputation: Disgraced former wrestler with secret knockout hold (to wrestling fans), 11- (Known Only To A Small Group) Disadvantage Points: 60 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 0 Total Experience Available: 0 Experience Unspent: 0 Background/History: T.V. Wiggles (which may have been an alias) was a champion professional wrestler in the early days of post-WWII television. His good looks and veneer of charm made him a popular "face" (good guy), and he was riding high for a while. He learned a secret knockout hold from an "Oriental" wrestler, and trained Bubbles Anvil in the tricks of the trade, allowing her to become a women's wrestling champion. However, he became enmeshed in gangland activity, eventually being found out and banned from the wrestling federations. Bitter, he threw himself into becoming a gangleader. He first came to the attention of Dick Tracy through a protection racket he ran in which bars and taverns with television sets would pay him money or have corn syrup sprayed inside their sets. A similar device with acid was used for the more recalcitrant barkeeps. He moved up to the big time by shaking down Vitamin Flintheart, then agent of child star Sparkle Plenty, for most of his ten percent. When Flintheart and Tracy turned the tables on Wiggles, he attempted to gain the cooperation of Bubbles Anvil, relying on her gratitude for making her a star performer. She knew him better than he thought, remembering that he had sponged money off her while training her, and refused. In revenge, Wiggles used a rifle to kill her during her next match. He then came up with a plan to murder Sparkle Plenty with a rigged boom mike to get revenge on her family and friends. plot failed thanks to Mugg, Dick Tracy's dog. Managing to get away once again by taking Sparkle hostage, T.V. Wiggles was eventually cornered in a blacksmith shop and crushed under a load of scrap metal (a fate he'd intended for Sparkle), but not before grievously wounding B.O. Plenty. Personality/Motivation: T.V. Wiggles likes to present himself as a friendly, generous person, paying his gang members well and being all charm when he wants something. In reality, he's a bitter, greedy man who takes any setback as a betrayal to be punished. As the story went along, he developed a taste for killing. Quote: "I want MORE business from the bars and more CASH on the barrelhead. Understand?" "Two grand! VERY good! When you work for T.V. Wiggles, you get treated fairly." "Oh, I wish you hadn't said that. Now, I'll be forced to do something I so wanted to avoid." Powers/Tactics: T.V. Wiggles is a trained professional wrestler, whose special technique is a secret knockout hold. He's also pretty slippery at getting out of tight situations, and is good with guns. Wiggles wants to be seen as a suave, friendly fellow who you should give your money to because he's asking nicely. He'll even be polite as he's strongarming you, apologizing for the pain you're making him inflict. Make no mistake, this is only a facade, and he's as ruthless as they come. He generally carries at least one handgun, and will arrange to have a rifle if he's been allowed to plan ahead. As the scenario goes on, he will be more and more willing to go straight to murder as a solution. T.V. Wiggles will Hunt anyone who thwarts him, even small children Campaign Use: T.V. Wiggles was created for the "Dick Tracy" comic strip by Chester Gould in 1950. He's suitable as an opponent for a low-powered Danger International or Dark Champions game set in the appropriate time period. If he needs to be more powerful, give him combat levels,some extra damage dice with his wrestling moves, and perhaps some EGO-based Non-Resistant Damage Reduction. He should be about an even match for your main hand to hand combat player character. If he needs to be less powerful, his Oriental Knockout Hold is kayfabe, just an ordinary nerve strike. Wiggles could also work in a Luchadore Hero campaign with appropriate powering up. In this case, T.V. Wiggles' disgrace up North is unknown in Mexico. As far as any of our heroes know, he is a handsome technico who is on a goodwill tour. Wiggles will fight that way, too, in the ring. Secretly, he is in league with gangsters who want to turn professional wrestling fixed; the syndicate will decide who gets to win each fight and who the champion will be--a terrible dark future to be sure. Why, it would be as if wrestling were nothing more than fake! In addition, he will be scheming to bring a pretty entertainer under his control, preferably a DNPC of one of the heroes. Outside the ring, once his true nature is known, Wiggles will still use technico fighting skills, but resort to rudo tactics, and even the use of guns!

"The 47 Ronin", a mostly-true tale of honor and sacrifice (soon to be a major motion picture rewritten to star Keanu Reeves, see my review at http://www.skjam.com

"The Cat Sitter's Cradle" by Blaize & Jahn Clement, a murder mystery starring a petsitter. Reviewed and being given away at my blog. http://www.skjam.com/

Stormfront is a weather-controller on a large scale, whose main power limitation is that he's only a weather controller on a large scale. He can't narrow it down to less than a countywide area. His specialty is extortion, threatening to smash crops or even entire cities if he doesn't get paid. He used to be more benevolent, if mercenary, until he was kidnapped and brainwashed by neo-Nazis. He doesn't follow their philosophies since he escaped, but has become much more malevolent.

Golden Scorpion is an ascetic martial artist who has spent decades meditating and training both body and mind. His will is phenomenal, to the point that he can dominate others into doing his bidding merely by staring at them. His nerve strikes pierce armor and can induce death-like comas. His motivation and greatest weakness is a dedication to "the truth." Golden Scorpion never lies (although he can refuse to speak) and despises those who lie to him. He goes after politicians, advertisers, mothers who tell their children "everything's going to be okay" when that's simply not true, etc.

I'm now giving this book away, check it out at http://www.skjam.com

The first couple of episodes of "Attack on Titans", a new anime series (based on a manga). In the indefinite future, humanity is attacked by beings that resemble giant naked people (but no genitalia). The story picks up in the last human city, which has been kept safe for a hundred years by walls that even the titans can't climb. Until it turns out there are even bigger titans. Several children are orphaned by the monsters, and one vows vengeance. He joins the military, but while his spirit is great, his flesh is weak.... Interesting, though since the manga is still ongoing, it's unlikely most of the mysteries (for example, how the titans can even move given the square-cube law) will get explained. As you might expect from a series about giants eating humans, it's pretty gory. Also, "Hissatsu (Sure Death)", a Japanese movie about quirky Edo era assassins that back in the day inspired my Enemies character Hitsusatsu. My review is up at my blog, http://www.skjam.com

"Some Kind of Peace" by Camilla Grebe & Asa Traff. Scandinavian thriller written by sisters. Swedish psychologist Siri Bergman is dealing with losing a pregnancy, the drowning of her husband and her crippling nyctophobia. So she doesn't quite put together some creepy events until one of her patients turns up in her backyard an apparent suicide. Much of the plot is driven by Siri refusing to take basic safety precautions due to her issues. A nice try at justifying slasher movie victim behavior, but still not endearing her to me. Full review will appear at my blog, http://www.skjam.com

Fourth volume is out, and we are introduced to Musashi, Nobuo's ex-fiancee. and latest Hunted. She's scary bloodthirsty; even at age 6 she had no compunctions about whipping people to death.