SKJAM!

Kurogiri (Black Mist) Shigaraki's right hand man, and bartender at the small pub that acts as the Villain Alliance's hideout. He appears to be an experienced criminal who has worked with the secret leader of the Alliance for years. Kurogiri has PS: Bartender, Conversation, and other bartender-related skills; he might have High Society. He's experienced in the use of his powers, but has little to no physical training. Quirk: Warp Gate looks like black mist, but is actually a teleportation portal. Kurogiri can use it to teleport himself or others, and can teleport multiple people to multiple destinations at the same time. He can also close the portal when an object is partway through, severing that object. When in combat, Kurogiri covers himself with his portal, so that he appears to be simply a cloud of mist. However, a physical piece of his body must be present at each active gate, and if an opponent can spot it, they can attempt to attack that. Kurogiri is a calm, collected fellow who gets along well with his colleagues. He is often called upon to remind Shigaraki of their actual goals, advise him on plans, and calm the leader down. Kurogiri is very loyal to the secret leader, and would presumably betray Shigaraki if ordered to. He enjoys dressing well, and wears a snazzy white suit when not in combat. Distinctive Features: Uncertain. We have never seen Kurogiri without his head being covered in black mist, but it is possible he can turn off or suppress the effect to go out in public. (Black Mist is primarily a villain support character to allow continuing opponents to escape when the plot demands it. As always, use him sparingly to avoid ticking the players off.)

Go right ahead! Part of the fun will be figuring out how drastically society changes with this starting point (which is why I usually set the divergence point no more than one generation back.)

Let's have some villains! The Villain Alliance is the largest and best known villain group, although only a handful of their members are considered truly dangerous; they fill out their ranks with mook-level career criminals with minor quirks (usually enhanced strength, armor or natural weapons.) They've only recently been brought together, as the efforts of heroes broke the previous villain organization thoroughly and it took a long time for their secret leader to recover. The Villain Alliance has a special mad on for All-Might, as he is the world's greatest superhero and the symbol of all they hate. Tomura Shigaraki The field leader of the Villain Alliance, it's been implied that he discovered his quirk by killing his parents...possibly an accident. He's a flamboyant figure that makes a good figurehead. Shigaraki has some hand-to-hand skill (he only needs to touch you, after all), Oratory and KS: Video Games. Quirk: Anything Shigaraki touches with all five fingers will disintegrate (Armor Piercing RKA, No Range, must touch with all five fingers of his hand.) Even a slight brush will cause significant damage, and if he can keep holding on.... Shigaraki has been described as a "man-child." He's immature and loses his temper easily, treats combat like a video game, and is a poor planner. The one person he truly respects is the secret leader of the Villain Alliance, who he calls "Sensei." Often, Kurogiri must remind Shigaraki of their actual goals or what would be a wiser course of action. However, he's great at making speeches about how heroes are not any better than villains, and that society is rotten so why not go ahead and be evil? Shigaraki especially hates All-Might for being a symbol of justice, and also hates Stain for upstaging him without even trying (or wanting to.) Distinctive Features: Shigaraki is an albino, but it's his facial expressions that really make people notice him; give him Striking Appearance: Hella Creepy. Instead of a costume as such, in combat Shigaraki wears artificial severed hands clinging to his body, including one clamped to his face. It's not clear if they have a second purpose.

One I've played with off and on is Amazon Earth. For whatever reason, the genes that allow superpowers only express themselves in people with a double X. Thus all superhumans are women. The few male superheroes are your badass normal types, with no super-technology. At first, the true nature of the issue was hidden thanks to a couple of shapeshifters, women who disguised themselves as male in their super identity, and people with rare genetic conditions.

Cellophane (Hanta Sero) The final member of Class 1-A, and another background character. Sero has Breakfall, Climbing and some CSLs with his powers; he doesn't perform as well as could be hoped in combat, give him a die or two of Unluck. Quirk: "Tape" allows Cellophane to shoot a substance strongly resembling cellophane tape from his elbows, which look like tape dispensers. It appears to be far stronger than ordinary cellophane tape. He can use this to entangle foes, create traps, and swing from high places. He is presumably immune to his power's own stickiness. Sero is a bit whiny and defensive about his combat record, otherwise he's a normal teenager. Distinctive Features: Cellophane's elbows look like tape dispensers. This is Easily Concealable with a loose-fit long-sleeved shirt, but he won't be able to use his powers if his elbows are covered. Any thoughts or comments?

Tail Man (Mashirao Ojiro) A background character who's way more impressive than he looks. His quirk is minimal, but he has put in the effort to become a superior hand-to-hand combatant. Ojiro is a superior martial artist whose style fully incorporates his tail. He is fast on his feet and acrobatic (+2" Running, Breakfall, Climbing, Stealth.) Quirk: Tail Man has a thick, strong tail. (Extra Limb, no Fine Manipulation) That's it. Ojiro is a quiet, reserved lad with a strong sense of honor; he will not take unfair advantage in contests. Distinctive Features: Ojiro has a thick tail that's going to be very hard to hide. He looks more stereotypically "Asian" than many of the other students, perhaps in reference to his martial artist archetype.

Anima (Kouji Kouda) A shy lad who looks like he is made of rock (inherited from his mother's side.) Kouda's rock-like skin gives him extra PD & ED; it's not known if it's Resistant. He has at least Familiarity with Zoology. He's also surprisingly eloquent when commanding animals; give him Oratory. Quirk: Anima can tell animals to do things, and they will, within their normal abilities. He must speak aloud to use the power, but can make himself understood to all animals. Kouda is an exceptionally shy boy who prefers communing with nature to interacting with other humans. He communicates using gestures and hand signals when not using his power. He's afraid of bugs, despite being able to command them. Distinctive Features: His skin looks like it's made of rock. (He'd make a good guest star on a mission where the team has to get past animal guards.)

Tsukuyomi (Fumikage Tokoyami) Another student usually seen in the background of panels. Tokoyami is a decent student, but is not as physically fit as some of the others--he's been told to exercise more and maybe learn some hand-to-hand combat skills. Quirk: "Dark Shadow" is seemingly a separate dark energy being that lives inside Tsukuyomi and extends out from him to fight. It has considerable range, at least a hundred feet. In bright light conditions Dark Shadow is weak and timid, but easy to control and do fine work with--In absolute darkness, it's incredibly strong and quite aggressive, but hard to control, with in-between light conditions moderating its abilities. GMs might want to keep him an NPC so they can fudge the calculations. Tsukuyomi's regular body is not affected by damage to Dark Shadow, and Dark Shadow can reform pretty much instantly from being shattered. But if you can get past Dark Shadow to attack Tsukuyomi himself.... Tokoyami is cool-headed and no-nonsense. Despite his dark powers, Tokoyami has shown himself to be considerate and pleasant to be around. Distinctive Features: Tokoyami has a head that looks like a cartoon bird of prey's head, This apparently has nothing to do with his main quirk. He could probably use his beak as a weapon in a pinch, but has normal human teeth inside, and no bird-related powers. It's no big thing on his world, but other settings might find him getting a lot of attention.

Earphone Jack (Kyouka Jirou) Jirou has not been a focus character, but has shown some combat leadership. Earphone Jack has shown some facility with Tactics, and is both observant and quick-witted. Quirk: "Earphone Jack" is also the name of her quirk; her elongated earlobes look like jack plugs, and allow her to amplify sounds (+x to Hearing Perception Rolls, Targeted Hearing), the earlobes can stretch several feet, and are somewhat prehensile, but not at all strong. She can also reverse the process, emitting her internal sounds (usually her heartbeat.) By plugging the jacks into special amplifiers on her legs, Earphone Jack can use her heartbeat as a concussive blast. She can also set up vibrations in objects for several minutes by touching them with her jacks--she did this to Mineta's eyeball at one point. (Not so much painful as hella distracting.) Earphone Jack is vulnerable to other people's sonic-effect attacks due to her sensitive hearing. Jirou is a practical person who's quick to spot tactical advantages, and is not afraid to put her teammates in the line of fire to achieve the mutual goal. She's rather sharp-tongued and has a dry wit. Jirou was a tomboy in her younger years, but has become more interested in stereotypically feminine clothing and activities as puberty hit. She's something of a late bloomer, and is sensitive about that. Distinctive Features: In addition to having long earlobes that look like jack plugs, Jirou has teardrop-shaped marks on her cheeks (it's not known if this is natural or fashion) and streaks in her hair that look like EKG lines (likewise.)

Took a break, but here's some more students. Sugar Man (Rikidou Satou) Another background character--we didn't even know what his power was for months. Satou is a large, burly-looking fellow even before his powers activate, give him a high normal STR. He's apparently bright-normal before using his powers. Quirk: "Sugar Dope" allows Sugar Man to instantly become five times stronger (and a bit physically larger) for three minutes for each ten grams of pure sugar he ingests. There is no known upper limit to his strength; however each dose also reduces his cognitive functions (Side Effect: Drains INT) so he has to be careful not to overdose. Satou is a quiet, steady sort with little imagination. Distinctive Features: Satou has unusually large, prominent lips.

Amarillo Armadillo (the Yellow Armadillo) is Alejandro Azteco, a (legal) Mexican immigrant. A brilliant engineer, he had already designed his power armor in his hometown, but was dismayed when he learned that the company building it was owned by a notorious drug-lord. By cooperating with the DEA, Alejandro got a jump on green card processing, but the drug lord's gang has never forgiven him. When not adventuring with the A Team, Amarillo Armadillo is improving his armor or assisting the Anaheim police with combating drug trafficking.

Back to the kids! Tentacole (Mezou Shouji) Another student we know very little about, mostly appearing in the background of scenes. His hero name includes the Japanese word "tako" for octopus. Mezou is a fair hand-to-hand combatant, and has a high STR. Quirk: Tentacole has four tentacles which can replicate any other body part he desires. The default is hands (Extra Limbs) so it appears as though he has six arms. He also can duplicate ears (+4 to Hearing Perception rolls, Targeted Hearing) and eyes (360 Degree Vision, can see around corners); the other body parts are mentioned in the author notes but have not been seen. Mezou is a quiet, unassuming sort but seems competent. Distinctive Features: In addition to his tentacles, Mezou is at least 6'6" tall at age fifteen, and has an oddly-shaped face. We've never seen why his face is oddly shaped as he wears a ninja-style mask that covers everything beneath the eyes, even in civilian clothing.

Mount Lady (civilian name unknown) A professional superhero who made her debut during Deku's last year of junior high. The only thing known about her background is that she did not attend Yuuei High. Mount Lady debuted by "kill-stealing" an opponent of Kamui Wood to grab media attention away from him. Mount Lady is moderately skilled at hand-to-hand combat, and can do an impressive flying kick. She's media-savvy and knows how to work a press conference. As of yet, she has not conquered the habit of causing property damage in her fights; even with hero insurance, she's running in the red. Quirk: Mount Lady is normally 162 centimeters tall (5'3") but can grow to 2062 cm (67'7"), with a proportionate increase in strength and durability. She cannot stop at any intermediate size. Her costume can grow with her, but it is unknown if civilian clothes can do the same. Mount Lady cannot maneuver in spaces smaller than a two-lane street when grown, let alone most indoor spaces. Mount Lady is in the hero business for the fame and money (the latter not doing so well right now.) She is a gloryhound who plays to the cameras if any, and her costume is designed with the male gaze in mind, accentuating her very fine derriere. Away from the cameras, Mount Lady is much nicer and tries to get along with other heroes.

Endeavor (Enji Todoroki) A professional superhero who debuted about the same time as All-Might. Both powerful and competent, Endeavor shot up the rankings, becoming wealthy and popular. However, try as he might, Endeavor could not displace All-Might from the #1 position. He became convinced that this was due to All-Might's "better" quirk, ignoring the other hero's nice guy personality. Enji leveraged his money and power to get an arranged marriage with a woman who possessed a strong ice-based quirk to match his fire-based powers. Endeavor forced himself on his unwilling bride repeatedly, until their fourth child, Shouto turned out to have the extra-strong quirk Enji was looking for. He promptly lost interest in his wife and three older children, and started Shouto on a near-abusive training program. When his wife flipped out and scalded Shouto, Endeavor had her confined to a mental hospital and forgot about her. Ever since, Enji's been raising Shouto to surpass All-Might, as he never could. Endeavor is a highly competent superhero, with many combat skill levels. He is also an effective leader for his large superhero agency. (In the Academia world, they appear not to have hero teams in the usual sense. Instead, they have "agencies" run by a powerful/competent superhero, who employs lesser-powered or inexperienced sidekicks.) Enji has enough social skills to appear to be a decent human being in public. Quirk: Endeavor has a powerful ability to project and control fire (give him a large Elemental Control or themed Multipower.) He has Personal Immunity to his powers, so he can pull tricks like turning his beard and mustache into flames without singeing himself. We have not seen any downside to his quirk. While he's a consummate professional on the job, in private Endeavor is an arrogant, self-centered jerk. He refers to his wife and older children as "it" and Shouto as "my creation." Enji is virulently jealous of All-Might, something All-Might has never caught on to. He considers Shouto's rebelliousness amusing and believes the boy will eventually come around once he realizes that Endeavor was right all along. Endeavor has been known to deliberately manipulate battles to show off--for example, letting an opponent run from an isolated location to a more public one, so that there will be an audience for Endeavor's triumph. Note that Endeavor's actions are technically legal in his own society, in campaigns with more stringent spousal abuse laws, he might have to be more circumspect, or the player characters might be able to get him arrested.

Midnight (Nemuri Kayama) Known as the "Mature Readers Heroine", Midnight has had a rather checkered career before becoming a teacher at Yuuei High. Her S&M-themed costume is worn with a sheer "nude-colored" body stocking due to public decency laws forbidding her from running around with exposed breasts. Midnight has PS: Teacher, PS: Dominatrix, Weapons Familiarity: Whips, Seduction (or Charm), and a couple of CSLs with her whip. Also a high Comeliness or Striking Appearance: Sexy. Quirk: "Sleep Gas" allows Midnight to exude a perfumed gas from her skin that causes sleep in those that breathe it. (AoE, No Range, Personal Immunity), it's more effective against biologically male humans (+xd6, Only vs. males), and the more exposed skin Nemuri has available, the stronger it is. She will often tear her body stocking to facilitate rapid sleep. Nemuri enjoys kinky sex (off-camera) and plays up to her fetish-object image. Her primary weakness is that she is a sadist in the classic sense--she is aroused by the suffering of others and can be distracted by an opponent's pain or emotional distress, playing with them rather than achieving the goal. Midnight may cause face-palming among more staid heroes.

Amber Waves, Purple Mountain, Alabaster City...The Bill of Rights series (First Amendment has immunity to Darkness and Power Suppression, Second Amendment has big guns, etc.)

Lovebot's name is deliberately ironic. Mary Ronsch was a typical Army Reserve supply sergeant serving in Iraq until the vehicle she was in ran over an IED and she lost most of her limbs and half her face. She got a medical discharge, but wasn't too keen on spending the rest of her life with the relatively primitive prosthetics available to disabled veterans when she saw super-powered cybernetics every day on the news. The legitimate programs have decades-long waiting lists, so Mary was tempted by an offer from the black market which seemed specifically aimed at her. It was. What she didn't know until too late was that this particular research program was run by a man she'd been particularly cruel to in high school and had never matured in his relationships with women. His project was creating consort/bodyguard cyborgs for wealthy third world dictators, and prioritized aesthetics over practicality. Thus Mary found herself rebuilt to look like a horny teenager's idea of a sexy cyborg. Unfortunately for the cyberneticist, the control chip could only force specific actions, not attitudes--the moment he left an opening, Mary disemboweled him and fled. She joined the mercenaries to protect herself from the scientist's backers and law enforcement. Lovebot primarily handles logistics and supplies, but is decent in combat, particularly hand-to-hand. Lovebot still has the control chip in her brain (it can't be removed without causing severe brain damage) and thus is vulnerable to machine-based Mind Control powers.

Let's switch over to the adults again. Present Mic A teacher at Yuuei High, he also acts as the MC of any school event that needs one. He was in the same graduating class as Eraserhead. Present Mic has PS: Teacher and PS: Master of Ceremonies, Oratory, and can speak fluent English. He's the English teacher at the school. He's adept at using his quirk, with several CSLs. Quirk: "Voice" which allows him to amplify his voice to the point it causes physical damage. He wears a special costume with a mouthpiece that gives him better directional control. (Line AoE rather than Cone, if he wants it.) Present Mic is an enthusiastic man who enjoys shouting. His catchphrase is "Everybody Say 'Hey'!" He peppers his dialogue with random English words. (In other settings, you may want to make his second language something else to keep the effect.) Present Mic is afraid of crawling insects.

And because it caters to Zeus' tastes, all the competitions are in the nude.

Been preparing my playlists for the mix CDs I send out every holiday season. Most people will be getting the "Stay Warm" playlist which is primarily fire-related songs, but I'm also doing a Captain Kirk mix for one person--lots of filk music.

Grape Juice (Minoru Mineta) Minoru was a short, shy kid in junior high who had no luck with girls. He noticed that professional superheroes tended to be successful with women (and dig those skin-tight costumes on some of the female heroes!) Thus, he applied to and was accepted at Yuuei High. He's found it tougher than he thought, and still has no luck with girls. Minoru has excellent aim with his sticky balls (a couple of CSLs for throwing), and is a good runner. He very pointedly has no points in Seduction (or Charm in Sixth Edition.) Quirk: Grape Juice has the ability to create purple "sticky balls" from his skin, pull them off and throw them. (Entangle, one body part (whatever touches the ball), Sticky, Entangle and character both take damage.) If Minoru's in good health, they will stay sticky up to 24 hours. He has Personal Immunity, and his balls will just bounce off him if they're thrown back. He can only pull off so many sticky balls a day safely, or he starts bleeding (Side Effect: takes Body damage.) It's a high number, however. Generally, Grape Juice prepares a number of balls in advance on his head, resembling a bunch of grapes. Minoru is a massive and open pervert who stares directly at women's breasts, gropes them when he gets a chance and tries to peep on their locker room. He does not connect this at all with his terrible luck with girls. He's also rather cowardly, and his first option in combat is to run away crying. Corner him, however, and he turns vicious. He's working on becoming braver. Distinctive Features: Grape Juice is a good foot shorter than anyone else in class, not counting the balls on his head. Even if they are not there, his hair is still a distinctive shade of dark purple. (Due to cultural differences between Japan and the U.S., Teen Champions GMs may need to tone down his sexual harassment to make him acceptable as someone who hasn't already been kicked out of the school.)

(Name Varies), a small village in Wales, somehow became slightly detached from our spacetime continuum sometime during the Twentieth Century. The best guess is somewhere in the 1940s. Every few weeks, it is replaced by a slightly different version of itself from a random alternate timeline where history went differently. At first, the divergences were hardly noticable, so that people who found themselves in an alternate version of their home town just thought their memory was going, or that they'd had too much to drink. But starting in the 1960s, it became obvious that people in the village remembered things very differently from those outside the village, and that these memories changed every few weeks. Scientific research discovered the effect, but not the cause. Since then, a tourist industry has turned the area around the village into a bustling area. Since the exact timing of the changeover is not yet predictable, tourists are only allowed into the village proper during "safe windows".

This one may have been posted before, but it's still one for getting going.

Thanks for letting me know people are still reading! Froppy (Tsuyu Asui) While we don't have her backstory, Tsuyu has been very clear about her motivation for becoming a superhero; she wants to go into marine rescue. Even when Froppy has not activated the full potential of her quirk, she's a strong swimmer. She's familiar with PS: Marine Rescue, and has some facility at hand-to-hand combat. Quirk: "Frog Form" makes Froppy a humanoid frog, with various frog-like abilities. Her leg muscles give her superior jumping ability, she's a very agile swimmer (and may be fully amphibious), she has a long, strong sticky and prehensile tongue, and excellent peripheral vision. Froppy can secrete a poisonous mucus from her stomach (it's a very mild poison that only stings a bit to normal humans) and swallow then regurgitate items up to at least the size of handcuffs. Tsuyu can control how frog-like she appears, losing some of her top-end ability in exchange for walking normally on land. Tsuyu is a very matter-of-fact person who speaks her mind honestly but not harshly. She is not given to panic or rash decisions, and has a calming influence on her friends (you might want to give her a high Ego Roll.) On the other hand, she's not very tactful and should not be made the party diplomat. There's a running gag of Tsuyu lightly smacking Minoru for his perverted ways. Distinctive Features: Even at her most human-looking, Tsuyu has bulging eyes and a long tongue that is often sticking out of her mouth. In Lovecraft-influenced worlds, she might be mistaken as having Deep One ancestry. Froppy would make a good guest star character in a Teen Champions campaign that is having an aquatic-themed adventure.

Pinky (Mina Ashido; she wanted to be called "Alien Queen" but the school registry thought that was too scary.) Another student who hasn't been focused on, but is very distinctive. Ashido has a high DEX, and some knowledge of chemistry so that she can better use her powers. Quirk: "Acid" allows Pinky to spray a corrosive liquid from her hands; she is able to control its strength and viscosity. One stunt she's learned is spraying a thin layer of acid on the ground to use as a slide ala Iceman's ice slides. Pinky has Personal Immunity to her acid, and her superhero costume is resistant, but her regular clothing is vulnerable to spatters and splash effects. Ashido is a nice friendly girl, but sometimes has less confidence in her career choice than the other students. Her acid is a Killing Attack, and she has Code vs. Killing, so living opponents are a problem for her. Distinctive Features: Ashido has purplish-pink skin, black sclerae and pink irises, white hair (usually quite messy)) and small horns (like a Star Trek Andorian.) In her world, just distinctive, but in others, people are going to be freaking, especially in the Marvel Universe. She could easily pass as an alien.