AlgaeNymph

A good place to start is that the demon has absolutely no concern for anyone but themselves.  If the action will not benefit them in some way they simply will not do it.  If something will result in a minor benefit to them, but causes major disaster to everything else they will do it.   They can and will pretend to do something nice, but in the end it will benefit them.  
 
Next they look at all others as competitors and they always try to screw their competitors. They use every opportunity to reduce someone else’s plans and resources in case they would be used against them.  Anything another creature has can be a threat to you, so never let anyone get ahead. You never allow anyone to gain more from something than you do if you can help it.  
 
Last is the utter lack of trust in anyone.  You are a monster and so is everyone else, no matter what they say.  Everyone is going to turn on you so doing it first is just being smart.   Good is an illusion that only the weak fall for.  There is no joy and the only comforts you can have are those you take for yourself. You are utterly alone because everyone is going to betray you.     
 

A 4th ed. version of Aratron, the Demon of Saturn, appears on p. 94 of Creatures of the Night: Horror Enemies. That version is 335 points, at a time when PCs supposedly began at 250; but the standard for supervillains was already well beyond that. Since each edition brought further point inflation, a 6th ed Aratron should probably be about 600 points for "an intermediate power demon lord who might be summoned as a powerful wizard's enforcer." This would still be well below the 950-point Greater Demon in the 5th ed HERO System Bestiary, and far below the Demon Princes in that book, but I have a different design theory and esthetic in these matters.
 
As a point of unmitigated pedantry, the grimoire that describes Aratron et al, the Arbatel of Magic, calls them Olympian Spirits rather than demons, and claims to be a work of White Magic. In making them demons, I was guided by three principles: Arthur Edward Waite's observation that the methods and goals of supposed White Magic and Black Magic grimoires tend to be identical; that I didn't want to try explaining Olympian Spirits or creating a Champions Universe role or explanation for them; and that I could do something cool with a set of Planetary Demons, such as creating Astralle. The Seven are, shall we say, a creative misinterpretation of the source material.
 
Since writing Creatures of the Night, though, I've learned more about Hermetic magical theory. A separate class of planetary spirits would actually work quite well. Fitting them into the  of the CU mightky, though. The best home for them, since Dante's Divine Comedy portrayed a Heaven mapped onto the planetary spheres of Ptolemaic astronomy.
 
Dean Shomshak

Honestly, I just picked Universal Rejection because I like stories involving V'han.  They're all good ideas, though.  : )

I've voted for the least problematic option to my mind. (Past the Cold War, worried about politics, kind of cool to divine origins in general.) I actually liked the "Team Mutant" option in your last poll, Hermit, even if it didn't quite scratch my itch for "secret history" stories, which is the way I wish that particular subgenre had gone to start with.
 
, , , 
 
"Oh, good. You're awake. I've never actually had to tase someone before. I didn't think it was supposed to knock someone unconscious!"
 
Dylan tested his bonds. Not too bad. Easy enough to slip. When he'd learned whatever this guy was going to tell him. Which, according to movies that had nothing to do with real life, would be pretty much everything. "I don't think . . . I. I'm sorry. Who are you again?"
 
"Henry McCoy. Dr. McCoy, but I prefer being called Hank. I'm the Director here at the Sunshine Valley Private Hospital. And you . . I  hope you don't mind a bit of invasion of privacy, are Dylan Lee, aged 21. You graduated from Wisconsin Journalism, last year, which doesn't seem like the world's best career choice in this year of our Lord 2015, but I notice you didn't ask me before you registered your major.  You're  are an intern at the New York Daily Bugle and you have a Master Card and a Visa, which is great, because you can use one to pay off the other and stave off bankruptcy twice as long!"
 
"So you Googled me. Dr. McCoy?"
 
"And searched our wallet. Yes. I was trying to figure out why you were sneaking around the wards in my hospital in a very cool black tactical outfit."
 
"We heard at the News that . . . Britney Spears . . . was an inpatient here."
 
"Baloney. We are an obscure little psychiatric hospital. In the 52 years this place has been open, under the previous director and myself, we have dealt with exactly one kind of patient: Young people who develop psychiatric issues around puberty. We are specialists, and I like to think that our results speak for themselves. While I like to think that we have something to offer celebrity patients, the fact is that our supporting foundation funds a diverse clientele ranging from the lower middle class to upper middle class. The wildest we get is some non-citizens. Two Russians! A Kenyan! One Japanese kid? Oh, wait, two starting next year."
 
Dr. McCoy hesitated, sighed. "Okay, and one celebrity. Allison was B-list back in the day. Still gets enough in residuals to drive a Lexus. Maybe we should advertise?"
 
Dr. McCoy shook his head, unconvincingly pretending to regret something. "Maybe not. Frankly, a  solid career at an obscure little hospital in a Catskills resort town has done very well for me. I made a lot of money, I have a nice house and a private plane. The children and grandchildren of former patients cut my grass. Hope is the cutest little thing. Laura is not. Life has been pretty sweet."
 
Crap. McCoy was just going to stick with the cover story. Like a sane person would. The movies did lie! Dylan slipped his restraints and hit that mental turboboost that sped up his reflexes until everyone around him was standing still. This place. Could it be? When Director Lang explained the mission, all he'd been thinking about was his student loans. No way was this lead, the latest in sixty years of bad leads going to pan out. But then they took him down, and he knew that wasn't something they could do with a taser. Well, they weren't going to blindside him again!
 
Until they did. A solid thump, and he was down, wind knocked out, a solid looking man in a jumpsuit above him, the restraints back around his wrist. He'd never been hit like this. Was this what superheroes felt like all the time? Well, let him catch his breath and this donnybrook was back on!
 
"Looks like he's going to be back  up in a second, Hank," the second man said. Where had he even come from?
 
"Put this on him, Tom."
 
"Is that what I think it is?" Tom asked.
 
"Don't get all high and mighty, Tom. These things work on 80% of us, detectors 80%. Dylan doesn't show up on our detectors. If the collar doesn't work, odds are he's not, you know. But if it does . . ."
 
And just like that, a smooth metal something was going around Dylan's throat, followed by a click and the worst headrush Dylan ever had. Or more than that, because suddenly his hands and feet were asleep and his stomach was trying to jump through his mouth. He tried to open his mouth, like you do when you're about to throw up, and somehow even that didn't work. 
 
Dr. McCoy fished his phone out of his pocket, answered it. Apparently. Dylan's eyes weren't focussing very well, either. "Crap," Dr. McCoy said. "Nate's getting a headache. Get that thing off him before Chuck picks it up. The Old Man is fragile enough as it is."
 
The barest blur, and the collar was gone. 
 
Dr. McCoy knelt down, held out his hand. "Here. I'll help you into that chair if  we can agree that you're not going to fight your way out of here, Dylan. Agent Lee." 
 
"I'm not a real agent," Lee said. "CIA does interns, too. At least they pay, unlike The Bugle."
 
"SENTINEL, Dylan, not CIA."
 
"I'm sorry?"
 
"Dr. McCoy means that you're an agent --an intern-- for a shadow agency within the CIA. SENTINEL. It is tasked with hunting people like us." Tom talked very fast.
 
"Us? I'm nothing like you, Speedy Gonzalez. You're the X-Men, a bunch of super-terrorists going back 60 years. I'm a vaguely patriotic Millennial who really needs a safe civil service job to have any hope of paying off his student loans." But inside, Dylan's stomach was going out again. They knew what he was. And in that moment he understood just how much he had always wanted to know the same. 
 
Dr. McCoy sighed again. "How much do  you know about speciation theory in evolution?"
 
"I thought you were a psychiatrist?" Crap. For a moment, Dylan had thought he might belong. But this sounded like gibberish.
 
"I'm a supergenius. Just like you have totipotent reflexes. Because you were born that way. Because you are a mutant. Which means that if  your employers ever figure out how you got your powers, you're going to find out what the inside of an extermination camp looks like."
 
"I . . . what? The government isn't running some secret Holocaust for movie monsters! That's crazy!" Although Dylan was willing to believe a lot of things about Director Lang. It had always been hard to believe that a man with so much hate inside him could be running his own division. 
 
"The government isn't doing anything. There are 416 mutants on this entire planet, and a good third of them were picked up by us long before SENTINEL noticed them. Which means that your agency thinks that it is quietly dealing with a problem on a scale of one to two people born a year. All antisocial and dangerous, incidentally. The CIA has kept bigger secrets. But you know what isn't a secret that they could keep? An enclave of 99 mutants, all living in commuting distance of New York and staffing their own superteam. We really need to keep it that way for a very, very long time. Like, say, 800 years at the current rate of natural increase. We also really don't want them finding out that detectors and inhibitors aren't 100% reliable. It's shocking enough to find out that CEREBRO isn't."
 
"If  you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I'm out," Tom said. "I think Laura has her Dad's number if  you need it. Or Emma?"
 
Dr. McCoy shook his head. "No, I'm not. Dylan's a mutant and he's stable. The community can't lose him. Demographically speaking. In fact, I'm tempted to drag this boy down to the Guthries right now. There's a lot of girls there who really don't want to marry a cousin. And boys, too, pardon your brother's patience with an old-fashioned Boomer. And we need to find out how CEREBRO missed him, and who else it might have missed."
 
Dr. McCoy hesitated for a second. "Dylan, would you like a job? Because I could really use a secret agent man on my action team."

I've got a few more ideas that will probably never get used by me because my TT game days are over, but I'm still brainstorming so I thought I'd spill this out there and see what others thought was doable and which THEY thought would be most fun/interesting. I got stuck on the theme of 'a new start to a new super life'. Take a look, go to the poll, and pick your favorite. If you want to be extra kind, also post here why you liked which ever most or even rank them! Much appreciated. 
 
The Price of Dreams (Teen Champions)- Maybe you came to the USA's southern border from Honduras after a harrowing trip through Mexico with your family. Maybe your father sided with the Americans in Afghanistan as a guide and now his life is on the line if you can't get him haven in. Perhaps you want to escape a war torn nation in Africa. If you were ordinary, there would be a good chance you'd be refused. But you're not ordinary, you have gifts, super powers. And thanks to you, your family is going to a fast track to citizenship. Of course, there's a price. The government has a program for super teens that they hope to make into useful supers of American society. This isn't some super secret school for the gifted. It's a trade. You want a chance to save your family. Uncle Sam wants you... to eventually wear a cape. You're going to learn to control and develop your abilities (Which maybe a relief if they were getting wild) And you have no idea going in if this is a boot camp to turn you into a living weapon for the system, or maybe a true hero looking out for your new fellow citizens. Maybe nothing is that clear.
 
Turncape: The Defectors (Cold War period Champions)- It's the early 70s, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has a relentless grip on it's superheroes, including you. Do you have family? Of course you do. How is your son anyway? Your mother? One hopes they are in good health. The Party takes good care of them, and you. You should be grateful, da? In some ways, it's even worse for you than it is the average Soviet citizen. After all, the Kremlin made sure that there is a telepathic handler for your team, to ensure no slips in loyalty. Your nonpowered peers at least have their thoughts. In a team of 13 supers, you're pretty sure you're not the only one who wants to defect to the West but some, maybe even most, are diehard loyalists. Then, you get a lucky break. That damn telepath ends up in a car accident of all things. He'll be out of operation for weeks. This maybe your chance for you (And your fellow PCs) to get your family and yourself out of the USSR. All you have to do is find a way to remove the tracker they've implanted (Did you really think they counted just on the telepath?) , avoid the suspicion of your Party Loyal team mates until you can either elude or over power them, then  transport your family safely, and get in contact with the Western Government of your choice. Maybe not in that order. You hear Canada is very beautiful.
 
Universal Rejection (Champions)- It was a losing battle against Istvatha V'han, but that didn't mean you didn't fight her conquest of your Earth. She called you terrorists, you preferred the term superhero. There were times you thought you might have crossed the line but you always tried to spare innocent lives even those who welcomed V'han with open arms. More and more governments in your world cut deals with the Empress, surrendering their freedom for security or profit. You destroyed Imperial communication grids, you broke political prisoners out of confinement, you did what you could to stop her soldiers from abusing citizens in the shadows. Then it happened, one of V'han's top scientists lured you into a trap and infused your very quantum matrixes so that your universe's frequency was toxic to you. There was no time for a cure, so you did what you could and fled to a new Earth, THIS Earth. Your old world is death to you now. So like it or not, you're out of the fight for it. Now you have to make a home for yourself in a world filled with superheroes like yours used to be. They seem noble, they play by rules you yourself had to abandon. You can't decide if you think they're naïve, or if seeing them makes you feel ashamed.. Of course,  that's only the tip of the ice berg. The people you knew have doubles here, with slight or extreme changes. Villains you fought there are heroes here, and those you called allies have taken a dark path. Some are different in age, or backgrounds, others are so exact to those you knew that it's alarming. You yourself may have a double here. You might have never been born here but have duplicates of loved ones who do not know you here. Welcome to Earth whatever number it is. You have a new life to make.
 
Wrongfully Convicted, Divinely Conscripted (Champions)- Perhaps before you were empowered, you didn't know much about Mesopotamian mythology. Not like a lot of people really study up on it. No, all you knew before Utu (aka Shamash) came into your life that you were in jail for a crime you didn't commit. Maybe you were set up by enemies, maybe the local police in your area needed a fall guy, maybe the prosecuting attorney with held evidence but you couldn't prove it. It didn't change the fact that even in a world with superheroes, sometimes innocent people get screwed. And you weren't alone. Assigned at a big prison to serve time for a crime you didn't commit, you found many who claimed to be innocent, and you later learned that a group of them weren't lying. Long story slightly shorter? Some mystical villain tried to open a path for Tiamat (yeah, not just for Dungeons and Dragons? Who knew?) to create destruction on his behalf and was going to use all the folks in the prison facility as a sacrifice. Fortunately, there are heroes in the world. This incredibly attractive superhero lady was also a mystic used the open portal to call on any god of good for aid. Utu peeked past 'the barrier', saw you and others who had been screwed over by the 'Justice System' and bestowed powers on you! It felt great! Suddenly you were young, powerful, and most importantly free! Even the most bitter of you didn't want a whole city nearby to DIE so you fought and turned the tide. Then the Sun God of Justice or whatever said 'Fight for True Justice, never become the villains they claimed you were, or I Shall take back what I have given" and he withdrew! Now you're barely recognizable (Or maybe not even that) but you're also a free man and out of the system. As far as the authorities know, you were killed by the supervillain. If you had religious convictions to monotheism before, this is HELLA awkward. But you're free, and you're going to do Justice right.
 

At various times I've mentioned here that, since the official Champions Universe is a hobby of mine, I found myself becoming a sort of unofficial "lore-master" to the Champions Online player community, answering their questions on the game's forums about elements of the setting. That has sometimes prompted me to compile information on particular topics for their easy reference. Occasionally I've transcribed some of that info here for our tabletop gaming community when I thought it might be of general interest, and that has been received positively.
 
The Champions Universe, being inspired by the major mainstream comics companies, embraces the full range of classic super character origins you see in those comics: mutagenic accidents, genetic mutation, radical scientific inventions, mystic martial arts, aliens, sorcery, gods and supernatural creatures, cosmic entities, etc. However, there are a number of origin concepts described in Champions  books that IMHO are more original and distinctive to the setting, but don't require characters with backgrounds so unusual that players would need a lot of information or elaborate setup to use them. Even if you don't use the official CU, these origin concepts can be inserted into most original four-color super campaign worlds without much effort. So I thought outlining origins in that category might inspire some of my fellow Champions gamers.
 
I'd be happy to flesh out more details on any of these origins if anyone asks; but every entry cites the published books in which folks can read more about them. I hope some of you find this useful.
______________________________________________________
 
Alien Gene-Tampering:  Superhuman powers resulting from aliens mucking with Human DNA is a well-established comic-book trope. On Champions Earth the repeatedly-invasive Qularr are one likely candidate. The main reason the Qularr invaded Earth in the first place was so they could study the Human genome on a large scale, to understand why and how Humans manifest superpowers with greater frequency and average power than nearly any other species, including the Qularr. They hope to engineer that capacity in themselves. At least one experiment along those lines has yielded a super-powered hybrid, although by accident. It's highly likely other similar experiments are being conducted by Qularr currently on Earth, or perhaps on Humans kidnapped and brought back to Qularr space.
What virtually no one knows is that one reason Humans do manifest powers more often, is because that genetic potential was placed in them by incredibly ancient and advanced aliens called the Progenitors. Two million years ago the Progenitors advanced the evolution of Humanity's ancestor species to the next stage of sapience. Half a million years ago they experimented on Homo erectus, creating the first of the ageless superhuman Empyrean race. Champions Universe suggests they might also be responsible for the creation of the Birdpeople of Thaar twelve thousand years ago.
In any case, the Progenitors still exist, continuing their experiments and periodically monitoring the progress of past ones. It's not unreasonable to assume that they would do some "followup" work on Human DNA.
You can read much more about the Qularr and Progenitors in Champions Beyond. The Birdpeople of Thaar are described in Champions Universe.

Coruscations of Power:  In the worldwide accidental cataclysm which devastated the alien planet Ashraal centuries ago, and gave birth to the awesome cosmic villain Xarriel, discreet bursts of energy from the main explosion were cast across space and time, emerging in random locations in the space-time continuum. To date at least five of these "coruscations of power" have appeared on or near the Earth in recent years, and affected humans in their vicinity, creating the supervillains Photon, Stareye, Sunspot, and Vector, and the superhero Victory.
The coruscations can manifest as bursts of light from space, but in the past have been mistaken for solar flares or lightning storms. Powers induced by them can, but not must, include various forms of energy projection, flight (usually very fast), mind-affecting abilities, enhanced physical strength, speed, and durability, and the ability to survive in hostile environments (even space).
Xarriel is fully detailed in Champions Beyond, while the other villains mentioned are in the Champions Villains trilogy, and Victory in Champions Universe.

DEMONic Experiments:  One of the classic superhero origins is the person unwillingly subjected to villainous scientific experiments who uses their newly-gained powers to escape. In the CU quite a few official supers came about that way, particularly due to actions by VIPER and ARGENT. But DEMON, the worldwide supernatural villain org, often conduct their own magical analogues to scientific research, which have spawned magical superhumans.
One official villain, named Riptide, was a young runaway girl before a member of DEMON found her and turned her over to his Morbane. The Morbane attempted a magic experiment to bind the girl to a water elemental, hoping to create a strong but mentally pliable minion. But Riptide's crazed fear at what was done to her was now backed with elemental powers, enabling her to force her way to freedom. The supervillain now called Morningstar was the result of a tactic that DEMON often uses since it became estranged from the rulers of Hell: forcing a summoned demon to temporarily occupy the human body of a DEMON Brother, giving the Brother a measure of demonic power but with the human personality in control. For unknown reasons, Morningstar's possession proved permanent. He fought DEMON's enemies for some time, under enchantment to ensure his loyalty, until a battle with magical heroes severed the control spell and returned his free will. Morningstar left DEMON to become an independent supervillain. (Both characters are detailed in Champions Villains Vol. 3.)
Another villain in the service of DEMON, Professor Samedi, was a minor DEMON member, and lackluster musician, before his Morbane had him try to play an enchanted fiddle the Morbane had acquired. Samedi found he could cast several potent spells with the fiddle's music, but it changed him physically, making him look almost skeletally gaunt; and changed his personality, to more actively, confidently malevolent. So there's precedent for a Morbane to have one of his disposable minions "test drive" a magic item. Perhaps a given item would change the wielder's personality in a more positive way. (Prof. Samedi is detailed in DEMON: Servants Of Darkness.)

Department 17:  Since World War II, the United States government has researched ways to safely and reliably create superhumans, as well as to more effectively control them, with few successes. Their efforts have often resulted in severe, even fatal physical and mental side effects to their subjects, and produced as many supervillains as superheroes. During WW II the US military set up Project Rainbow for this purpose, at Fort McLaughlin (now McLaughlin Air Force Base) near the small town of Haynesville, Kansas. After the war the Project was declassified and officially shut down, and McLaughlin AFB appears nearly abandoned today.
This was a ruse. Project Rainbow was never shut down. Still secretly based at McLaughlin, what is now titled Department 17 is the Defense Department's hub for research into superpower generation and superhuman control. Under its current director, General Clarence Smith, it conducts a wide variety of research involving drugs and chemicals, radiation treatments, genetic engineering, and other exotic methods. Much of the Department's current research focuses on refining the Cyberline procedure used for PRIMUS's Avenger program. The Department's scientists are also very interested in investigating any reports of new manifestations of superpowers.
General Smith might go to great lengths to keep 17's existence and activities secret.  He's also used some "creative" accounting to keep his department funded. Department 17 is described in Champions Universe, as are PRIMUS and Cyberline.

"Divine" Intervention: In the Champions Universe, all the gods and demons of myth and religion that humans still remember actually exist. Although very powerful in their home astral dimensions, a metaphysical barrier called the Ban prevents them from manifesting on Earth with their full power. But there are a few ways divine beings can create lesser-powered Earthly agents to champion their causes.
One of these ways is to infuse some of their power, and sometimes personality, into a deserving human host, creating a superhuman reflecting the qualities of his or her patron deity. Quite a few official Champions heroes and villains have been empowered in this way. In keeping with comic-book origin conventions, their empowerment typically comes under unusual and dramatic circumstances, often at a key turning point in the life of the hero. For example, the first Johnny Hercules was given an amulet by an "apparition" of Zeus when the circus he worked for toured Greece, containing the "Hercules Force," the power of Hercules as a demigod which he abandoned when he became fully a god. The Nigerian hero Ogun gained power over metal after being beaten near to death by criminal thugs, when he received a vision of the Yoruba god of the forge of the same name.
Ogun is thoroughly detailed in Champions Worldwide, while the current Johnny Hercules is featured in the PDF book The Hercules Force, available from the Hero Games website store. Much more on CU gods and the Ban can be found in The Mystic World.

Empyrean Heritage:  For hundreds of thousands of years, the immortal superhuman offshoot of humanity called Empyreans have existed alongside their human cousins. While they maintain their own city of Arcadia in Antarctica, hidden from human discovery by advanced devices, the majority of Empyreans choose to live incognito among humanity. The general population is ignorant of their existence; only a few superheroes have been trusted with the secret, although the Lemurians know of Arcadia and have been enemies of the Empyreans for many millennia. A few Empyreans have acted as superheroes or villains in the modern era.
Empyreans sometimes have children by humans, who are always either normal humans or full Empyreans. These children may grow up unaware of their true heritage; but the Empyreans' leaders scan the world for any new Empyrean offspring, and when they discover one induct him or her into their society. But individual Empyreans can follow whatever activities they like, provided they don't reveal their race's existence to mankind.
All Empyreans are ageless, physically superhuman to a greater or lesser extent, and can fly. They can manifest a wide range of mental or energy powers, although the type and degree varies based on innate ability and the interest a given Empyrean has in developing specific powers, usually related to their preferred pastimes. The Empyreans and Arcadia are extensively described in Hidden Lands.

Golden Age Legacies:  In the real world the earliest comic-book superheroes appeared starting in 1938, and continued to be created over the course of World War II. Champions Earth's first actual superhumans also began to appear during this period. Most of those heroes eventually retired, to be replaced by newer generations; but often those newer heroes were inspired by their predecessors, in many cases even to the point of adopting their code names as an homage. Most such "legacy heroes" were either the relatives or proteges of the originals, or sought their blessing to carry on their names. However, certain lineages originating in the Golden Age have been particularly fertile in continuing to produce new heroes to uphold the family tradition.
In the winter of 1939 Kiril Lenskii was a young officer in the Soviet army serving in his country's war against Finland. Badly wounded in an attack that wiped out the rest of his unit, and overcome by the severe winter cold, Lenskii collapsed unconscious over underground caverns which released strange gasses. As they entered his lungs his body began to change. He awoke to discover that not only was his body healed and stronger than before, but he was now immune to the cold, and could even create intense cold, snow, and ice over limited areas. Given the code name, General Zima ("winter"), over the course of World War II Kiril Lenskii became the Soviet military's leading superhero, and remained so for many years.
The three sons of fisherman and former naval sailor Morimoto Takashi (by a mysterious woman who may have been a supernatural spirit) were each born with extraordinary abilities: enormous strength and durability (Ichiro); incredible speed (Jiro); and probability manipulation (Saburo) manifesting as phenomenal luck for himself, and phenomenal misfortune for his opponents. The three young men were recruited by the Japanese government to fight their country's foes, first China in the 1930s, and later the Americans and their allies during WW II. They were among Japan's most prominent superhuman champions during and after the war.
Each of the three Morimoto brothers had more than one superhuman offspring, while all seven of General Zima's children developed super powers. Today there are over two dozen "super" members of the extended Morimoto family, and descendants of General Zima, active in their respective homelands. It would be reasonable to expect a few of their relatives to have emigrated to other countries at some point.
Although the histories of these characters don't explicitly state it one way or the other, there's no reason to assume superhumans from their lineages necessarily manifest the same types of powers as their ancestors. The mutations of all three original Morimoto brothers were radically different from each other; while General Zima's origin implies his abilities resulted from his body adapting to a specific environment.
The full write-ups for General Zima and the Morimoto brothers appear in the latest edition of Golden Age Champions (for Hero System Sixth Edition).

Hzeel Biomatter:  Champions Earth has experienced several alien invasions in the past, and is currently dealing with renewed intrusions by the Gadroon and Qularr. What no one on Earth knows yet, is that another aggressive species, the Hzeel, also have the Earth in their sights. These short, blue-skinned humanoids have scouted Earth for nearly two decades, wanting it as an advance staging area in their war against the Dorvalans (Ironclad's race).
At least two Hzeel scout craft have crashed on Earth and been discovered by humans. One of these was salvaged by Roger Warwell, aka the Warlord, and its technology became the basis for his own weapon designs. Hzeel technology is partly biological, and can have radical unpredictable effects when it comes in contact with human tissue. Two humans, the solo supervillain Howler, and the Warlord's minion Warcry, gained superhuman vocal powers when Hzeel communications devices were implanted in their throats (this happening spontaneously on contact in the case of Howler).
The effect also extends to tissues from Hzeel themselves; VIPER's staff supervillain Oculon gained his powerful eyebeams from eyes from an Hzeel corpse transplanted to his sockets. (Hzeel don't have eyebeams, they're the result of interaction between the two species' biologies.) Anyone using recognizable Hzeel materials would undoubtedly be of interest to both the Hzeel and the Warlord.
The Hzeel have a whole chapter in Champions Beyond,  as do the Qularr and Gadroon, and the Dorvalans are also described there. The other villains mentioned are in the Champions Villains trilogy, except Oculon who's written up in VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent. Ironclad and the rest of the Champions superhero team get full write-ups for their beginning careers in the Champions genre book, with more experienced versions in Champions Universe.

Kelvarite:  This mysterious, green-glowing extraterrestrial mineral has been found in meteorites from several falls. It's a powerful source of energy, but is extremely unstable and prone to explosion when disturbed. Some people who have been bombarded by radiation or fragments from exploding kelvarite have gained superhuman powers, typically (but not exclusively) superhuman strength and durability, and some type of enhanced movement capability, e.g. super-running or -leaping, flight, or teleportation. They also acquire a susceptibility to radiation from other samples of kelvarite. Known superhumans with this origin include the solo villains Tachyon and Thunderbolt II,  Dr. Destroyer's servant Meteor (all in the CV trilogy), and the African superhero Gazelle (in Champions Worldwide).
Large organizations such as the US government and UNTIL have secured all the kelvarite they can find, but sometimes lend samples to research laboratories. Other kelvarite meteorites remain to be discovered. However, what no one is aware of is that what they call kelvarite is actually impure samples, which is why it's unstable. Pure kelvarite doesn't resemble the impure mineral, and is extremely rare on Earth. Its energies respond to the will of intelligent beings in physical contact with it, allowing them to wield formidable and versatile energy-projection powers. (It isn't obvious that the power comes from the kelvarite itself.) The only pure kelvarite discovered so far was made into rings worn by the four men who have used the superheroic identity, Meteor Man.
Kelvarite is described in Champions Universe, while the first Meteor Man is written up in Golden Age Champions.

Martial-Arts Temples:  For centuries, hidden enclaves have existed in the Far East where dedicated monks have practiced the most advanced physical and spiritual martial-arts techniques, including virtually superhuman abilities for those with the skill and determination to master them. Several official Champions heroes and villains were trained at such enclaves. The most legendary of these sites among  knowledgeable martial artists are Yengtao Temple, somewhere in the mountains of China; and the city of Shamballah, in a cave beneath a mountain in the Himalayas. Both sites are hidden from the outside world both physically and magically, so that only those already highly disciplined in body and mind can find them. But those who do can study almost any martial art that has ever existed, and perhaps achieve abilities like the heroes of legend.
Various students at Yengtao Temple have returned to the outside world to become heroes, or villains. In the present day the Millennium City superhero Nightwind, his bitter rival Jade Phoenix, and the Hong Kong hero Golden Dragon Fist, all learned their extraordinary skills and ch'i powers from Yengtao. Jade Phoenix was responsible for the destruction of Yengtao Temple and murder of the monks in 1996, but there may be other former students alive in the world. And Shamballah, second only to Yengtao as a repository of mystic martial-arts secrets, still stands.
But Shamballah also guards a dark secret even further beneath the mountain: its evil twin city, Agharti, prison of the Dark Monks, also extraordinarily skilled but utterly corrupt. While the Shamballans prevent the Dark Monks from escaping, they don't forbid outsiders from visiting the city, or leaving afterwards. The villain Zhua Teng ("grasping vine") received training in Agharti.
The story of Yengtao Temple, and description of some of its unique techniques, appear in Champions Universe. Shamballah and Agharti are described in considerable detail in Hidden Lands. Nightwind's latest write-up is in Millennium City, while Jade Phoenix is in Champions Villains Volume Three. Zhua Teng is fully written up in Martial Enemies Volume 1.
 
Mythic Forces: Under the entry for "Divine" Intervention, above, is the story of how circus strongman Johnny Hercules received the Hercules Force in an amulet bestowed by Zeus. Johnny died in the Battle of Detroit, and his amulet, apparently powerless, was buried with him. But the Hercules Force continued to exist, and over a decade later "chose" another human vessel for its power, a student of Classical culture, who became the second and current Johnny Hercules. One of his greatest foes is the monstrous Typhon, once a bitter, angry archaeologist who was the recipient of the Typhon Force, a sort of balance to the Hercules Force.
The PDF book, The Hercules Force, which fully writes up both characters, suggests that other "forces" could exist based on other gods, demigod heroes, or divine-level monsters. The examples imply that these would be mythic figures who are either dead or imprisoned, e.g. Achilles, Python, Baldur, or Ymir. Powers granted would be consistent with the legendary abilities of those entities. The forces are most likely drawn to people with personalities similar to the original source being and/or familiarity and strong attachment to the culture it comes from. They would differ from empowerment directly by a mythic god in that there would be no potential meddling in the character's life by their patron divinity.

Professional Armorers:  One of the staples of the superhero genre is the gadget-using super, with no actual super-powers but employing equipment made of special materials and/or incorporating advanced technology. Most comic-book heroes build their own gadgets, or have them designed for them by benevolent patron inventors or agencies. Some heroes acquire prototype devices by accident, including "liberating" them from their villainous makers (often earning them pursuit by the vengeful villain). But it's not unheard-of in comics for a scientist -- usually one of criminal bent -- to sell his technological services to whoever will pay.
In the official Champions Universe there are several possible sources of scientific expertise for hire to aspiring supers. Most of these are considered criminals by most world law-enforcement, so don't typically contract with anyone of obvious heroic bent who might cause them trouble. But for another criminal, or a mercenary or vigilante of grey morality, they're often the route to quick super status.
Millennium City is the home base of Wayland Talos, a brilliant inventor with a pathological hatred of superheroes. To strike back at them he supplies villains with everything from questionite hand weapons, to energy blasters or jet packs, to full suits of powered armor. He's considered one of the underworld's premier armorers, with few individual competitors. One of those competitors is known as Brainchild, a telepathic gadgeteer who primarily supplies tactical and technical support to other criminals, rather than take the risk of committing his own crimes.
On the international front, the Warlord is a powered-armor villain and would-be conqueror who's also a major dealer in high-tech armaments, and who has created super-class weaponry and armor for individuals for the right price. The unscrupulous corporation called ARGENT does a thriving business in service to criminals; not just supplying gadgetry, but even physically augmenting a person through bionic implants or experimental biochemical treatments. The independent city-state of Larisagrad was once a center for the USSR's classified scientific research, including advanced weaponry, and experiments to create true superhumans. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and thus their funding, the scientists of Larisagrad chose to freelance to the highest bidder.
The only truly benign inventor engaged in remotely similar activity is named Ralph Polarewski. Formerly the full-time technical supervisor to the famous Sentinels superhero team, Ralph left them after a bitter argument with the team's leader. He's become a well-known freelance contractor to members of the superhero community who use gadgets but have no technical skills of their own. As written he primarily works for people already established as heroes (and would never sell his services to someone of questionable morality), but would be well able to supply an equipment-based origin to someone who could convince him of their sincerity and dedication.
ARGENT  and Larisagrad are described in Champions Universe. The Warlord and his organization are fully written up in Volume One of the Champions Villains trilogy, while Brainchild and Wayland Talos get the same treatment in Volume Three. Ralph Polarewski is detailed in the book, Everyman.

Project Sunburst:  In 1994 a group of American "rogue generals" assigned over 200 volunteer soldiers to what they were told was a war game. In fact the generals were experimenting to try to create superpowered soldiers resistant to radiation, by detonating a nuclear device near them while they wore protective suits. Most of the volunteers soon died of radiation poisoning, while a handful slipped into comas. Most of the comatose were placed into a secret holding facility, codenamed "The Crypt," while a few were stored at other sites.
In the intervening years, several of these survivors have developed superhuman physical and energy powers. A few, such as the master villain Sunburst and his follower Radium, awakened spontaneously. Others, like Dr. Destroyer's security chief, Gigaton, were aroused with help from other villains. Some escaped the Crypt on their own, while others were "liberated." All the active survivors except Gigaton and the powered-armor villain, Armadillo, have joined Sunburst. However, the remaining comatose subjects are still being kept in secret in the Crypt, not just from the public but from the generals' own superiors.
Most of these villains are fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains, although Armadillo is in Vol. 3

Radium-X:  This radioactive element has been known to science on Champions Earth since at least the 1930s. It's well known for its radiation's mutagenic properties, able to induce radical, even super-empowering mutations in living organisms under certain conditions. For example, it's a critical component of Dr. Phillippe Moreau's process for creating Manimals. The late superhero Tiger, a former leader of the famous Sentinels superhero team, was a former UNTIL agent who became a man-tiger hybrid through accidental exposure to radium-X and some of Moreau's chemicals during a raid on the Doctor's lab. In 1940 a Bulgarian laboratory researcher gained formidable magnetic powers after the failure of an experimental magnetron being powered by radium-X flooded her lab with radiation. She took the code-name Leitstern ("lodestar") and was drafted to fight with Germany during WW II.
The preceding examples suggest that the specific mutations caused by radium-X are thematically linked to the environmental conditions applying at the time. The origin of Leitstern also highlights another major use for radium-X, as a concentrated high-energy power source for various devices. The Golden Age villain Liquifier needed that element to power his Matter-Liquifier Ray, which could change any inanimate solid matter to a liquid state. It's possible that other radical technology can only be powered by radium-X's unique radiation.
Radium-X can be purchased legally. Various research laboratories are noted as studying or using it. However, the clear implication of references to it is that it's rare and expensive, leading to attempts to steal it by people with less than upright intentions for it.
Dr. Phillippe Moreau and his followers are fully written up in Champions Villains Volume One: Master Villains, while both Leitstern and Liquifier are detailed in Golden Age Champions. Tiger has never been given a full background story or Hero System character sheet, but is mentioned and briefly described in CV Vol. 1, Champions Universe, and Book Of The Destroyer.

The Swords of Nama:  During the Dark Ages the serpent-god Nama, who is today the patron deity of VIPER, set out to become a great power among Men. He gathered six mighty warriors from across Eurasia to be his agents and generals, to conquer an empire in his name. For each warrior he forged a powerful enchanted sword. But before they could achieve any major successes the warriors quarreled, which ultimately led to all their deaths. The Swords of Nama were scattered. Over the intervening centuries some of these legendary swords reappeared, and a few were destroyed; but others remain to be discovered in ruins across Eastern Europe.
The story of the six "vipers upon the land" appears as a small part of the history of Nama and VIPER, on p. 6 of the book, VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent. Aside from being called "serpent-blades" the Swords of Nama aren't described, nor are any of their qualities defined, which leaves a player free to imbue a particular sword with any powers desired. Note that Nama is neither good nor evil, and has helped heroes or villains as the mood struck him; so there's no inherent reason for his Swords to be one or the other.

Teleios, the Perfect Man:  The foremost genetic engineer on Champions Earth today, Teleios is infamous for being a cloner of people, and a creator of animalistic monsters, but the range of his genetic expertise goes far beyond that. More than half a dozen official supers, villainous and heroic, owe their powers or very existence to The Perfect Man.
Teleios has the skill to induce almost any super power in any human, whether or not that person already has powers or the potential for them. Teleios will do this for pay, or in exchange for services or favors, as he did for the supervillain-turned-hero Flashover (Champions Universe: News Of The World), and her brother, the villain Hurricane (Champions Villains Vol. 3: Solo Villains). Teleios has been known to bestow powers on someone on a whim, whether or not they want them, like after a dalliance with the Indian woman now known as Monsoon (Champions Worldwide).
The Perfect Man can grow completely original, humanoid or human-looking superhumans with any abilities he chooses. He sometimes sells his creations, as when he supplied VIPER with the powerful monster named Obelisque (Champions Worldwide). Sometimes Teleios turns a creation loose in the world uncontrolled (although not unmonitored), to see how it responds and develops. He did this with the beings labeled the Landsman, and the Lodge (both in Champions Of The North).
The master geneticist can program his creations with whatever skills he or his employer desires. He can even implant elaborate false memories, to the point where the person has no idea he or she is artificial or has any connection to the Perfect Man. This is how Teleios programs the cloned soldiers he sells to other villains and groups. The superheroine called the Teen Dream (Teen Champions), whom Teleios designed as an experiment in social manipulation, is unaware of her real origin and considers herself a true hero. When he makes a creature Teleios implants controlling genes that make it psychologically impossible for that creature to harm him, or may even make it a loyal follower (although those controls have been known to fail on very rare occasions). Those controls can be so subtle that a person isn't consciously aware of them. Although the lore doesn't specify it, it may be possible for Teleios to do this to humans he augments. He definitely is known to build exploitable secret weaknesses into their genetic code, should they turn against him.
Teleios is fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains.

Vandaleur Bloodline:  Founded a thousand years ago by their immortal progenitor, Adrian Vandaleur, this widespread clan of sorcerers is one of the premier occult dynasties in the Western world. Although the majority of Vandaleurs have no more talent for magic than most people, the gift for spell casting is far more common among them than in the general populace; and their ranks include some of the most powerful mages in the world.
Members of the family are aware of each other, and sometimes cooperate, sometimes conflict. But Adrian Vandaleur, whose power dwarfs that of his kin, keeps any factionalism from descending into violence. Otherwise individual Vandaleurs are free to follow whatever activities they like. Their personalities and morality vary widely. Some are benevolent, even heroic; others are amoral and ruthless, up to megalomaniacal psychopaths. Most are simply concerned with their own interests.
Any Vandaleur with magical ability and desire to develop it could find family members able and willing to train him. The Vandaleur family are described in detail in Champions Villains Vol. 2: Villain Teams.

The Vita-Man Clan:  Percy Yates was born in Los Angeles in 1910. Brilliant but sickly throughout his youth, he studied biology, chemistry, and nutrition to find ways to improve his own health. In 1939 he discovered a compound which when administered in a pill had a miraculous effect on him, transforming his body to one of perfect health and exceptional physical vigor. Further experimentation led to additional pills granting him true super-powers, including X-ray vision, invisibility, flight, growth to giant size and strength, or shrinking to the size of a mouse.
Yates's discoveries had two major drawbacks. Their effects were only temporary -- his main vitalizing pill lasted about an hour per dose, while his additional abilities endured for only a minute. Yates was also unable to make them work for anyone else -- they interacted with his own unique physiology. Nonetheless he used his new abilities to fight crime under the costumed identity of Vita-Man. Vita-Man was recruited by the Drifter as one of the founding members of the Justice Squadron superhero team, protecting the west coast of the United States during WW II.
Percy Yates's health continued to deteriorate over time, leading to his retirement as Vita-Man in 1948, and his death in 1964. But in the intervening years he learned that several of his family members shared the biological factors which would allow them to use his empowering treatments. Today half a dozen of his kin are using "variations of his discoveries" (wording suggesting that other powers are possible).
Vita-Man's full background and character sheet are included in the Golden Age Champions Secret Files, a PDF collecting outtakes from the manuscript for the latest edition of Golden Age Champions.

The Zodiac Working:  In 1979 the late master villain Archimago, greatest sorceror of the Twentieth Century, attempted this fearsome ritual, to impregnate twelve women by twelve powerful demons. The resulting hybrid children could be used by the demons as hosts to incarnate themselves on Earth with all their power. The ritual was interrupted and the women rescued by the superhero team, the Fabulous Five. The women seemed unharmed and weren't pregnant, so returned home.
Two years later one of these women married and gave birth to a girl who later manifested powers of destructive energy, as well as a propensity for rage and vandalism. She grew up to become the supervillain Frag (fully written up in CV Vol. 3). She has no knowledge of her true origins, thinking herself a mutant. Although she usually appears human, when enraged her form becomes more demonic-looking.
Another of these women gave birth to a son, who now acts as the superhero Pagan (described in the book The Ultimate Mystic). In his superhero identity (resembling a satyr) he's physically superhuman and can project powerful mystic light. Pagan discovered his true heritage when his demonic father Belial attempted to seduce him to his service. Although his diabolical inclinations are strong, Pagan's inherent decency has so far won out.
To date nothing has been revealed about the other ten victims of the Zodiac Working.

Any thoughts about an "Euroguard" organization to counter Eurostar?

My guess (and I hint a little at this in Champions International: Transnistria) is that they are suffering from a bit of Nostalgiya. (If I say that, does it make it cannon?)
 
Oh, and they still want to take over Europe, even in comic-book-slowed middle age. But most megalomaniacs want to take over Europe. It's just that they have superpowers.
 
 

I told you exactly what material I gave them - the 4E Classic Enemies entry on Eurostar and 6E Villains Volume 2: Villain Teams entry on Eurostar. I let them go over the canon presentations as written and simplify solicited ideas of how they could be used with actual European viewpoint. Nothing more, nothing less. I've simply relayed their remarks back. And, just in case it isn't obvious my interaction was with each of them individually and there was no group discussion between us. In your first reply you've flat out said they must be defensive and/or don't understand things because they don't have a superhero tradition. I called you out on that already. So let's not keep attacking people you don't know, much less interact with. Stick to discussing the topic.
 
My own use of Eurostar, clearly shows I've tried to use them pretty straight out of the books with a few changes from how they've worked out in canon to fit my needs, but I've explained those changes and why and they're not particularly super different. I do find it difficult to label them as pure terrorists because... well honestly, they've got no particular ideology other than Fiacho's desire to rule Europe and make it the pre-emanant power in the world. If you read the rest of the group in either 4E or 5/6E aside from Mentalla and Ultrasonique, they're all thugs of various stripes, only united because Fiacho (and Mentalla) manipulating them or giving them an outlet for their thuggery. Mentalla as I said before, joined the group for protection because Eurostar thugs are powerful enough to presumably protect her from Doctor Destroyer. Ultrasonique is the odd man out considering his severe mental disease - he's certainly dangerous and quite capable of destruction but he's doing it because Fiacho's manipulations of his condition than out of a desire to commit thuggery that the others are. They have no subtlety, no base of followers, etc to work with. All their plot seeds and history show they've got very little substance as a group. They're a steam hammer being tasked with forging a new order and only capable to smashing everything to bits. Fiacho is supposed to be smarter than anyone else right? There's very little evidence of this in progression of the Champions Universe story.
 
Professor Muerte, if we're going to use him as a counterpoint I'd say is not too different than Fiacho except Fiacho has managed for all his negative traits not be prone to melting down like Professor Muerte was. Both are men who've focused themselves, using technology for death and destruction but Professor Muerte always came across as a flawed, lesser Doctor Destroyer (which is I believe the point!) - a man who views himself as a God of Death, where Fiacho is more a man driven to see his will done, brutal and vicious but still considerably more grounded than Professor Muerte.

Let's start with the easy ones. Bora is the exact stereotype of a demanding, extremely vain Italian blonde, Le Sone / Ultrasonique is French paranoia personified, Durak is a big dumb angry Slav and Scorpia is the murderous red hair, pale beauty Irish terrorist stereotype. We've all seen these stereotypes in popular culture and media. Digging deeper, Fiacho is seen as a joke character, no matter how "serious" you present him because of his schtick of trying to shove Esperanto down people's throats. Esperanto, being a made up language that has gone precisely nowhere since it's introduction except diehard nerds keeping it "alive" much in the same way diehard Star Trek nerds keep the phony Klingon language alive. I'm not going to try and relay precisely why Pantera was found to be insulting but it's basically comes down to a sexual innuendo joke. Now that one might be a stretch, but I'll accept it.
 
As for them finding offense, it boils down to the same kind of offense I feel when Canadians get stereotyped for talking slowly, say "yeah buddy" allot and have flappy heads as per South Park. It's funny, I guess in a low-hanging fruit sort of way, and kept in short bursts but if it keeps up especially if you're trying to present something in a more serious tone it quickly gets annoying and eventually insulting. The idea that Europeans don't have superhero comics/culture is false from the get go. It's not as rabid or developed as it is the USA but it certainly exists, and all the people I spoke with are familiar with Marvel/DC/Image superhero comics - far more than we are of theirs, because American media content believe it or not, is shown there. Shocking! I know! (Light sarcasm :D)
 
Beyond that, the notion they're terrorists is pretty thin. Fiacho wants to lead a United Europe. Okay, fine. That's it to his motivation. No reasons why Europe would be better under him, no policies explained or detailed. Bow before Fiacho coz that's all that's there. Pretty much everyone else in the group is there as muscle, except Mentalla who's there because of the protection Eurostar's muscle provides. Most terrorist groups are divided between ethnic or economic, or some combination of both. Us vs them. They have a cause that they use to appeal to people who they think, think like them and hope they'll join up while at the same time, dividing and demoralizing the opposition in order to achieve their goals. Thing is, most groups at least have an agenda a bit broader than just "Hey, Fiacho's our leader now. Be praised!" That's the problem with Eurostar. They're really a group of thugs led by a smarter than the rest thug. Their goal is so broad that it's impossible to achieve and what little guidance that is given, these guys are subtle as a rock. At the end of the day, they're more destructive pests than anything that'd drive people to wanting their rule or even be willing to work with them.

I suspect there may be a measure of defensiveness and denial to their protests. I remember the Red Brigades in Italy. I remember ETA in Spain and France. I remember ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. That's not even bringing up the examples in Germany and Ireland that everyone thinks of. Anyone who believes that violent extremism can't return to Europe hasn't been paying attention to what's happening to global societies.
 
One protest that has some clear validity, though, is an American perspective. Superheroes are an American cultural invention with no comparable tradition in Europe. Your friends may not consider that with superpowers, a small group of fringe extremists like Eurostar can gain the power to cause harm out of all proportion to their numbers.
 
To flesh out Eurostar I would start with the personalities and motivations of the individual members, particularly Fiacho. Then I'd look at the campaigns of real-world terrorists such as those mentioned on this thread.

You hit the nail on the head. 
 
Most terrorist groups operate in unfriendly territory. They have to commit the act then scatter unless they're planning on being martyrs to the cause. Otherwise massive amounts of authority figures pile into the area whether FBI, Interpol, UNTIL, local police, intelligence services, military, or some combination thereof.
 
There's a few places like Palestine or Northern Ireland where terrorists could commit acts then at least be on a neutral playing field of finding civilians and people in authority who'd look the other way or give them shelter. In those places, terrorists could try something convoluted or cute.
 
Eurostar has the power to not care about the massive number of officials who could flood into the area chasing after them. Any force large enough to be a serious threat to them would also be a serious threat to flatten the city or at least do more in collateral damage than Eurostar did themselves.

There's been some evolution in terrorism. IIRC, the PLO was pretty big on taking hostages before making demands,. That's an instance of putting pressure on authorities in hopes that said authorities will be blamed for the resulting deaths if the demands are not met. (As Opal says, the whole "See what you made me do" thing is fallacious, but people aren't always rational about this.) Al Qaeda, OTOH, seems more into just causing destruction and death for its own sake: They'll stop (presumably) when their demands are met, but I haven't heard of specific operations being tied to specific demands.
 
Considering Eurostar's origins, though, IRA and Red Brigade might be a better "style guide," with super-powers letting Eurostar magnify the atrocities to comioc-book scale. But I don't know so much about their deeds. And I think Red Brigade is dead.
 
Dean Shomshak

Not upset at all, I apologize if I gave that impression. It's just that your OP asked for what Eurostar does, how they go about operating. The way they're officially defined, they're terrorists. That's one of the things that sets them apart from other supervillains, that makes them unique in this setting, why one might use them in lieu of the Ultimates or the Crimelords. My "insistence" was just trying to keep to what you appeared to ask for, that folks seemed to keep missing. Of course you can modify Eurostar in any way that would be more satisfying for the games you want. But then this becomes a thread about modifying Eurostar. If that's what you prefer, that's fine.

You asking me?  By all means, get political!  Kinda the whole point of Eurostar.
 
I suppose they are more about that than a united Europe.  I recall Confucius saying to judge a person's character by their associates.  Istvatha V'han's closest are principled patriots and rehabilitated rebels.  Dr. Destroyer has brainwashed mercenaries who aren't sadistic so much as selfish.  With Eurostar they're all just plain jerks.
 
Which gets me thinking about an idea I had: a sadistic choice that's also a forced show of character.  Some examples: 
Eurostar threatens to destroy a famous bridge in London during rush hour if they don't get a billion of whatever currency.  When a politician boldly proclaims, from safety, that "we don't negotiate with terrorists," possibly cribbing from Churchill or Henry V for good measure, Eurostar tells them they can either choose which bridge gets destroyed or else they'll wreck both.  Sure, the powers that be can redirect traffic and post guards, but for how long?  Eurostar didn't give a date.  And when people forget about it they strike. If their demands are not met, Eurostar will attack a prominent Muslim community center in Europe on a Friday.  They leave this to linger so as to wear down resources, build up resentment among bigots for Muslims getting "special treatment," and get into position to attack.  Eurostar then strikes a place the could have been defended by a wealthy enough country but wasn't.  "It's Eurostar's fault" will ring hollow to a community that knows they were left to die.  The possibility of gaining right-wing sympathizers is just frosting. An outspoken critic of Eurostar is ordered to give a thorough and humiliating public apology -- or else somebody is thoroughly tortured, and their ordeal publicly broadcast.  It could be a loved one, it could be a random street person; whatever Eurostar thinks will force their critic into the most life-destroying decision.  Failure to comply means Eurostar makes good on their word, with attempts to track down the broadcast only leading to a gruesomely mutilated body and a message to the effect of "you didn't care about me!"  The real victim will be sold off to traffickers. If Eurostar gets their demands met then that's just fine.  But if not then they force an enemy to be an active participant in their evil.

We know that Eurostar are the dangerously competent villains who brag about wrecking economies, but how do they work towards their goals?  What do they ultimately need for endgame success?  How do they support their projects?  What do they prefer to target?  How do they fight that's so different from everybody else?  Questions like that and more.  Might even help me figure out how other practical villains (or heroes) might work as well.

Agreed, I don't see them building anything after they've achieved their goals (whatever that might look like.) Although now I say it I'd like to know Pantera's idea of the correct model for social services, it'd look like Hunger Games and Running Man mashed together.
 
Just thought of something else Eurostar could do - cause trouble at well known flashpoints.  
 
Umm... the following touches heavily on real world politics, so, um, let me know if you want it removed.
 
Eurostar could cause trouble in Crimea, probably in Sevastopol itself, and leave evidence to make make it look like they were operating with Ukraine encouragement. Russia, whether they believed it or not, could use that as a casus belli. 
 
Cyprus is a long standing point of contention between Greece and Turkey. Probably wouldn't take much to set off a war. Assassinate someone important to the peace process (either someone working for it or against it, really wouldn't matter, as it could be spun in whatever way works.)
 
They could send funds to terrorist organisations and let them act as cat's paws and just generally cause trouble.
 
There's countries with long, and in some cases recent, histories of war and hatred. It should be easy to come up with similar plots to the above and apply them to whichever countries you like, real or fictional.
 
And somehow I've forgotten oil and gas. D'oh. Russia is, I'm pretty sure, the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe. Rupture a pipeline! Or better yet, I mean this is Eurostar, destroy a refining centre or an oil rig. Pretend there's an oil rig in a disputed border region. Blow it up!
 
D'oh! 
 
Fill the strait full of hi-tech, homing, stealth sea mines. How will the pot dealers in Morocco get their stash to Spain now?

We know that Eurostar are the dangerously competent villains who brag about wrecking economies, but how do they work towards their goals?  What do they ultimately need for endgame success?  How do they support their projects?  What do they prefer to target?  How do they fight that's so different from everybody else?  Questions like that and more.  Might even help me figure out how other practical villains (or heroes) might work as well.

Some guidance and inspiration might be found in the Motif-Index of folklorist Stith Thompson. This was an attempt to list every goddamn story motif from every form of folk literature in the world, systematically arranged in categories such as "Tests of Identity" or "The Wise and Foolish," so they can be compared across cultures. (Most of the material actually comes from Europe, but since Thompson other folklorists have used his schema to index the other cultures.) One very large section is "Magic." Here's the detailed synopsis.
 
D. MAGIC
 
DETAILED SYNOPSIS
 
D0-D699 TRANSFORMATION
 
D10-D99. Transformation of man to different man
        D10.  Transformation to person of different sex
        D20.  Transformation to person of different social class
        D30.  Transformation to person of different race
        D40.  Transformation to likeness of another person
        D50.  Magic changes in man himself
        D90.  Transformation: man to different man - miscellaneous
 
D100-D199. Transformation: man to animal
    D110-D199. Transformation: man to mammal
        D110.  Transformation: man to wild beast (mammal)
        D130. Transformation: man to domestic beast (mammal)
        D150.  Transformation: man to bird
        D170.  Transformation: man to fish
        D180.  Transformation: man to insect
        D190.  Transformation: man to reptiles and miscellaneous animals
 
D200-D299. Transformation: man to object
        D210.  Transformation: man to vegetable form
        D230.  Transformation: man to mineral form
        D250.  Transformation: man to manufactured object
        D270.  Transformation: man to object - miscellaneous
 
D300-D399. Transformation: animal to person
    D310-D349.  Transformation: mammal to person
        D310.  Transformation: wild beast (mammal) to person
        D330.  Transformation: domestic beast (mammal) to person
        D350.  Transformation: bird to person
        D370.  Transformation: fish to man
        D380.  Transformation: insect to person
        D390.  Transformation: reptiles and miscellaneous animals to persons.
 
D400-D499.  Other forms of transformation
        D410.  Transformation: one animal to another
        D420.  Transformation: animal to object
        D430.  Transformation: object to person
        D440.  Transformation: object to animal
    D450-D499. Transformation: object to object
        D450.  Transformation: object to another object
        D470.  Transformation: material of object changed
        D480.  Size of object transformed
 
D500-D599.  Means of transformation
        D510.  Transformation by breaking tabu
        D520,  Transformation through power of the word
        D530.  Transformation by putting on skin, clothing, etc.
        D550.  Transformation by eating or drinking
        D560.  Transformation by various means
 
D600-D699. Miscellaneous transformation incidents
        D610.  Repeated transformation
        D620.  Periodic transformation
        D630.  Transformation and disenchantment at will
        D640.  Reasons for voluntary transformation
        D660.  Motive for transformation of others
        D670.  Magic flight.
        D680.  Miscellaneous circumstances of transformation
 
D700-D799  Disenchantment
        D710.  Disenchantment by rough treatment
        D720.  Disenchantment by removing (destroying) covering of en chanted person
        D730.  Disenobantment by submission
        D750.  Disenchantment by faithfulness of others
        D760.  Disenchantment by miscellaneous means
        D780    Attendant circumstances of disenchantment
 
D800-D1699.  MAGIC OBJECTS
 
D800-D899.  Ownership of magic objects
        D800.  Magic oblect
    D810-D859. Acauisition of magic obiect
        D810.  Magic object a gift
        D830.  Magic object acquired by trickery
        D840.  Magic object found
        D850.  Magic object otherwise obtained
        D860.  Loss of magic object
        D880.  Recovery of magic obiect
 
D900-D1299. Kinds of magic objects
        D900.  Magic weather phenomena
        D910.  Magic body of water
        D930.  Magic land features
        D940.  Magic forests
        D950.  Magic tree
        D960.  Magic gardens and plants
        D980.  Magic fruits and vegetables
    D990-D1099.  Magic bodily members
        D990.  Magic bodily members-human
        D1010.  Magic bodily members-animal
        D1030.  Magic food
        D1040.  Magic drink
        D1050.  Magic clothes
        D1070.  Magic ornaments
        D1080.  Magic weapons
        D1110.  Magic conveyances
        D1130.  Magic buildings and parts
        D1150.  Magic furniture
        D1170.  Magic utensils and implements
        D1210.  Magic musical instruments
        D1240.  Magic waters and medicines
        D1250.  Miscellaneous magic obiects
 
D1300-D1599. Function of magic objects
    D1300-D1379.  Magic obiects effect changes in person
        D1300. Magic obiect gives supernatural wisdom
        D1310.  Magic object gives supernatural information
        D1330.  Magic objects works physical change
        D1350.  Magic object changes person's disposition
        D1360.  Magic object effects temporary change in perse
        D1380.  Magic object protects
        D1390.  Magic object rescues person
    D1400-D1439.  Magic object gives power over other persons
        D1400.  Magic object overcomes person
        D1410.  Magic object renders person helpless
        D1420.  Magic object draws person (thing) to it
        D1430.  Magic object pursues or captures
        D1440.  Magic object gives power over animals
        D1450.  Magic object furnishes treasure
        D1470.  Magic object as provider
        D1500.  Magic object controls disease
        D1520.  Magic object affords miraculous transportation
        D1540.  Magic object controls the elements
        D1550.  Magic object miraculously opens and closes
        D1560.  Magic object performs other services for owner
 
D1600-D1699.  Characteristics of magic objects
D1600-D1649. Automatic maeic obiects
        D1600.  Automatic obiect
        D1610.  Magic speaking objects
        D1620.  Magic automata
        D1640.  Other automatic objects
        D1650.  Other characteristics of magic obiects
 
D1700-D2199. MAGIC POWERS AND MANIFESTATIONS
 
D1710-D1799. Possession and means of employment of magic powers
        D1710.  Possession of magic powers
        D1720.  Acquisition of magic powers
        D1740.  Loss of magic powers
        D1750.  Other characteristics of magic power
        D1760.  Means of producing magic power
 
D1800-D2199  Manifestations of magic power
    D1800-D1949.  Lasting magic qualities
        D1810.  Magic knowledge
        D1820.  Magic sight and hearing
        D1830.  Magic strength
        D1840.  Magic invulnerability
        D1850.  Immortality
        D1860.  Magic beautification
        D1870.  Magic hideousness
        D1880.  Magic rejuvenation
        D1890.  Magic aging
        D1900.  Love induced by magic
        D1910.  Magic memory
        D1920.  Other permanent magic characteristic
    D1950-D2049.  Temporary magic characteristic
        D1960.  Magic sleep
        D1980.  Magic invisibility
        D2000.  Magic forgetfulness
        D2020.  Magic dumbness
        D2030.  Other temporary magic characteristic
    D2050-D2099.  Destructive magic powers
        D2060.  Death or bodily injury by magic
        D2070.  Bewitching
        D2080.  Magic used against property
        D2090.  Other destructive magic powers
    D2100-D2149.  Other manifestations of magic powe
        D2100.  Magic wealth
        D2120.  Magic transportation
        D2140.  Magic control of the elements
    D2150-D2199.  Miscellaneous magical manifestation
 
I found the Motif-Index in the library when I was at university, and spent way too much money copying sections of it. I would not be surprised if someoen had not produced a digital version on the internet, though I haven't looked for it. If not, try your local university library.
 
Dean Shomshak

I've been giving this some thought, and if I may answer my own question I'd like to list some common elements I've observed.
Foremost, fairy tale magic has to advance the story.  For example, teleporting oneself to a christening to bestow a curse, but not to reposition oneself during combat. Spells are flashy one-off sort of things.  Fairy tale magic is less of a toolkit and more a set of narrative devices; thus, a generalist spellcaster isn't going to be utilitarian with their repertoire. Anything permanent has a high price, fatal flaw, or escape clause. There could be sociocultural reasons, but I suspect it's more an expedient to give Random Peasant Hero a fighting chance. It can't fight God or Fate, because fairy tales are very much a product of their times.  Though that raises the question of how the magic changes when the times do... Any exceptions to the rules is almost entirely to enhance the aesthetic of the setting, but not to the point of mundane utility.  A remote ice palace is quite doable, but ubiquitous refrigeration no so much. Fairy tale magic, as I understand it, is Romanticism made physically manifest.

One thing that's struck me over the years is that the way magic is used, described and related to in very old sources - like Greek mythology, for instance - is very different from traditional fairy tales, which are very different from modern fantasy, is even different from post-modern fantasy.  And, yes, it makes sense the presentation of magic changes with the times, with how it contrasts to the mundane, with prevailing beliefs, and with the role it plays in the story.
 
In traditional fairy tales, even as they were written down after in the 18th or 19th centuries, there's an impression that they're making sense of a mysterious universe, much like religion and other folk tales.  They were for children, they taught moral and even practical lessons, and they presented a consistency that children need, the same story ends the same way each time, good is rewarded, evil punished, etc, as contrasted with reality which was poorly-understood, arbitrary, tragic and cruel.  
 
In modern fantasy, OTOH, while the universe still seemed more uncaring than ever, it was better understood, faith in science was on the rise, which made even everyday miracles seem mundane. So the emphasis on magic in fantasy shifted from providing justice in familiar, consistent stories, to providing a sense of wonder when science had made the world seem less wonderous.  The fantasy of Dunsany, Lewis, and Tolkien (and in a darker sense that of Poe and Lovecraft) takes wonder associated with magic, and uses it to create a less knowable world, rather than a more just and consistent one.
 
Post-modern fantasy, the fantasy of D&D, video games, movies and TV, and literature on the order of Harry Potter, takes it further, in that it's trying to provide a sense of wonder to audiences jaded by the wonders of technology, so magic is wildly powerful, cleverly and practically employed, so that it can outshine modern marvels.  The stories, told, OTOH, are post-modern stories, full of human failings and innately evil  (for evil's sake) systems in dire need of revolutionary change driven by the young and/or outcast.  I guess it'd be a bit cynical to say that's why classes are so imbalanced in D&D and Hero GMs are reputedly more suspicious of magic VPPs than gadget pools, because magic has to be straight-up OP to seem like it's really magic.
 
 

I've been giving this some thought, and if I may answer my own question I'd like to list some common elements I've observed.
Foremost, fairy tale magic has to advance the story.  For example, teleporting oneself to a christening to bestow a curse, but not to reposition oneself during combat. Spells are flashy one-off sort of things.  Fairy tale magic is less of a toolkit and more a set of narrative devices; thus, a generalist spellcaster isn't going to be utilitarian with their repertoire. Anything permanent has a high price, fatal flaw, or escape clause. There could be sociocultural reasons, but I suspect it's more an expedient to give Random Peasant Hero a fighting chance. It can't fight God or Fate, because fairy tales are very much a product of their times.  Though that raises the question of how the magic changes when the times do... Any exceptions to the rules is almost entirely to enhance the aesthetic of the setting, but not to the point of mundane utility.  A remote ice palace is quite doable, but ubiquitous refrigeration no so much. Fairy tale magic, as I understand it, is Romanticism made physically manifest.

I've been giving this some thought, and if I may answer my own question I'd like to list some common elements I've observed.
Foremost, fairy tale magic has to advance the story.  For example, teleporting oneself to a christening to bestow a curse, but not to reposition oneself during combat. Spells are flashy one-off sort of things.  Fairy tale magic is less of a toolkit and more a set of narrative devices; thus, a generalist spellcaster isn't going to be utilitarian with their repertoire. Anything permanent has a high price, fatal flaw, or escape clause. There could be sociocultural reasons, but I suspect it's more an expedient to give Random Peasant Hero a fighting chance. It can't fight God or Fate, because fairy tales are very much a product of their times.  Though that raises the question of how the magic changes when the times do... Any exceptions to the rules is almost entirely to enhance the aesthetic of the setting, but not to the point of mundane utility.  A remote ice palace is quite doable, but ubiquitous refrigeration no so much. Fairy tale magic, as I understand it, is Romanticism made physically manifest.

The Shadow Queen was one of the major villains in my last Champions campaign. It worked quite well to have Black Paladin as her lieutenant.
 
Because of the faerie tale nature of her realm, I used Disney-esque elements in the encounters with the villains and describing her kingdom. Because it amused the Shadow Queen, one of the heroes became involved in a singing contest with Black Paladin, which the fallen knight wasn’t going to do until she spelled him into it. It later became known in that campaign that Black Paladin has “a marvelous singing voice.”

The Shadow Queen often hires Earthly supervillains for her schemes, particularly supernatural ones who fit her medieval/fantasy motif. For one story arc I gave her a whole cadre of "knights," her Obsidian Table, led by Black Paladin and including Hell Rider, Morningstar, Lightning Man, Matachin, Shadowdragon (from a different culture, but his code-name pleased her), and Harpy (Brangomar's jealousy normally precludes women, but she saw Harpy's bird-form as ugly and therefore non-threatening).