GestaltBennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos Dark Prowler Player: Val Char Cost 13/25 STR 3 15/30 DEX 15 15/25 CON 10 15/20 BODY 10 18 INT 8 12 EGO 4 15/25 PRE 5 12 COM 1 12/24 PD 9 10/20 ED 7 3/6 SPD 5 9 REC 6 50 END 10 30/50 STUN 0 16" RUN02" SWIM02 1/2"/4 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 93 Cost Power END 83 Embraced By The Night: +12 STR (12 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) plus +15 DEX (45 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) plus +10 CON (20 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) plus +5 BODY (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) plus +10 PRE (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) plus +3 SPD (30 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) plus +20 STUN (20 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) 2 20 Find Weakness 13- with Punch/Snap Kick 0 22 Extra Night Protection: Armor (12 PD/10 ED) (33 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) 0 13 Mental Defense (22 points total) (20 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) 0 13 Running +10" (16" total) (20 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) 2 7 Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Works At Night (-1/2) 0 6 Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) for up to 25 Active Points of STR (6 Active Points) 1 5 Nightvision 0 5 UV Perception (Sight Group) 0 Powers Cost: 174 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver Karate 4 1) +1 HTH Damage Class(es) 4 2) Atemi Strike: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 2 1/2d6 NND 4 3) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 4) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 28 STR / 40 STR to Disarm roll 4 5) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 6) Knifehand Strike ("Chop"): 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 1d6 / HKA 1 1/2d6 3 7) Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 4 1/2d6 / 7d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 8) Punch/Snap Kick: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 5 1/2d6 / 8d6 Strike 5 9) Side/Spin Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 7 1/2d6 / 10d6 Strike 1 10) Weapon Element: Karate Weapons 1 11) Weapon Element: Staffs Martial Arts Cost: 38 Cost Skill 20 +2 Overall 3 Acrobatics 12- (15-) 3 Breakfall 12- (15-) 3 Climbing 12- (15-) 3 Computer Programming 13- 3 Concealment 13- 3 Contortionist 12- (15-) 3 Forgery 13- 3 Lockpicking 12- (15-) 3 KS: Criminal Underworld 12- 4 KS: The Paranormal World 13- 4 PS: Photographer 13- 3 Security Systems 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Streetwise 12- (14-) 3 Sleight Of Hand 12- (15-) 3 Stealth 12- (15-) 3 Systems Operation 13- Skills Cost: 73 Cost Perk 5 Contact: Good Fence (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has very useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity) 12- Perks Cost: 5 Cost Talent 6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) 31 Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Function as a Sense) 17- Talents Cost: 37 Total Character Cost: 420 Val Disadvantages 5 Enraged: when hit with Flash Attacks (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14- 15 Hunted: Duchess Industries 14- (As Pow, NCI, Watching) 10 Hunted: IHA 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 15 Hunted: Local Police 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 5 Hunted: The Media 11- (Less Pow, NCI, Watching) 10 Physical Limitation: Multiple Personality Disorder (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing) 15 Psychological Limitation: Dislikes Daylight (Very Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Kleptomaniac (Common, Moderate) 20 Psychological Limitation: Loves To Mock, Especially Authority Figures (Very Common, Strong) 20 Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Many Enemies) Frequently (11-), Severe Disadvantage Points: 125 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 95 Total Experience Available: 95 Experience Unspent: 0 Background: Scene: Eight years ago, the head oddice of Duchess Industries, Monarch City. The Duchess Henrietta Van Drotte sat back in her chair and barely suppressed a laugh. Her best bodyguards were unconscious on the floor - and Lord knows how many he'd knocked out before he made it to the office - but the Duchess instinctively knew that she was not in any serious danger. "Why Crusader," she addressed the veteran vigilante, holding the pictures that he had just thrown on her desk, pictures that showed two Duchess Industries guards were knocked unconscious - while transporting some illegal African blood diamonds. "Are you saying that I have a discipline problem among my personnel?" she purred demurely. "Your men are getting sloppy, Duchess," Crusader replied. "It's arrogance. You think that there's nothing you can't do after dark, but you're wrong. I rule the darkness, Henrietta." "Do you really?" "Test me," Crusader said, as he opened a window and propelled himself off a swing line. The Duchess watched the departing hero and smiled. She liked a challenge. She pushed a button on her phone system, and calmly said: "Manny, contact the technical division. I have a job for them." ### Eleven weeks later, Crusader again burst into the Duchess's office. He tossed several badges and pieces of computer circuitry onto her desk. "You're losing your touch, Duchess," he sneered. "Did you think that Russian stealth technology theft would go unnoticed? All it accomplished was to make your agents more overconfident and careless." "More internal corruption. I had nothing to do with it, of course." the Duchess dismissed the charge. "Have you ever considered cleaning up politics?" "You already own half the politicians in this town," Crusader replied. "Only half?" the Duchess wondered. "I need to increase the budget. Good day, vigilante." Unable to tie her directly to the crime, Crusader departed. Sometimes it was better to be an irritant than to strike the killing blow. And certainly the Duchess now considered him an irritant. She tapped her fingers on her desk for a few minutes, and picked up her phone again. "Cassandra, I need to speak to Special Operations," she said. #### Four weeks later, Crusader returned to the Duchess's office once again. "You've made a big mistake this time, Duchess," he declared. "The government doesn't look kindly on the illegal transport of experimental pathogens. You may be able to avoid prison time, but I expect the fine to be in the millions. Even in *this* adminstration." The Duchess sighed. "What mistake did I supposedly make *this* time?" she asked. "You thought by attuning those holograms to the ultraviolet spectrum, you could keep me from noticing your operation. Holograms always look *too* perfect, Duchess. I could tell what you were doing at a glance. Big mistake." "Of course it was," the Duchess's eyes narrowed slightly. "After all, you rule the night." The Crusader might have agreed with the assessment, had he not already departed from the scene, leaving behind an open window and a wind that flapped the curtains like a flag. The Duchess, one fist clenched, banged on her speaker phone. "Get me Stroessen!" she barked. "But your grace," the recipient replied. "You said that you'd rather be dead than be forced to work with 'that preening egotistical maggot' again..." "The number..." Henrietta Van Drotte said, snarling slightly. "Now!" #### "He is, I must note, a true mongrel," Telios explained, pointing out the naked figure on the slab. "Many superhuman anamolies were needed to encode his gene sequence with the unusual specifications you requested." "I suppose it could not be helped," the Duchess replied. "I did not use 'Mongrel' as a perjorative," Telios replied. "Purity is highly imperfect. Trust someone who knows. As alloys make superior metals, mongrels make superior animals. They adapt. They are the foundation of the superior species." "My father would have had a fit if he heard someone say that in the old days," the Duchess replied. She had not thought about the old Nazi in a long time - and any thoughts of those days were a sentimental waste. Even if they were watching the birth of his father's genetic grandson. The industrialist turned her attention to that superhuman, her progeny, who lay stretched out before them. "How does he work? This odd scientific lycanthrope of yours?" Telios never allowed a smile to crease the perfection of his face, but the question pleased him. He began to explain the inner workings of his creation. "That is a poor choice of words, your grace. Lycanthropy implies magic, but there is none at play here. I suspected that I might have to taint him with demonic influences, but fortunately I managed to come across a very interesting non-magical genetic specimen. The Scavenger's powers are neither photocentric nor magiogenic in nature, but attuned to the day/night cycle of the Earth." "So *he* will rule the night?" the Duchess asked. Telios shook his head. "I thought you had a scientific mind," he said. "Such melodrama is unworthy of a trained intellect." "So speaks the perfect man?" the Duchess gently mocked. Telios turned around, hands behind his back, not bothering to hide the irritation he felt. "I did as you instructed. I deliver to you one superhuman, attuned to the planet's night cycle, using a superhuman male and your own DNA as its baseline. I take no responsiblilty for the weaknesses given to him either through inferior training he is about to receive, or the genetic imperfections of his mother. Let us hope, for example, that he is not given to mocking those who have helped him." ### Scene: Six years later. Imperial City, the Wharf District, shortly after midnight. "Don't you clowns ever learn?' Crusader asked, shaking his fist slightly to get rid of the sting. It was a foolish question - he should have inquired about it before he knocked out two of the Duchess Industries security guards. Nobody's perfect, he told himself, then he sensed someone behind him, pivoted, and performed a perfect shield block. "Another clown," he stated, refusing to acknowledge that whoever his attacker was, he'd gotten more of a drop on him than anyone had in years - another second, and Crusader would have been caught with his guard down. "The name is Scavenger." the masked agent replied gruffly. "And I know who you are. You're Cru-sadist." "Not yet, I haven't even gotten started. the veteran hero replied, ignoring the opponent's attempt to rattle him. From the reaction time, he could tell that "Scavenger" was clearly a superhuman, which meant that he didn't need to hold back. He caught the Duchess Industries enforcer with a perfect legsweep. His opponent performed a deft somersault and immediately sprang back to his feet. "Lucky shot," Scavenger sneered. "But by the time I'm finished bashing your brains in, they're going to be calling you Drool-sader..." Crusader said nothing, but caught him in his solar plexus with the point of his shield, then followed up with a solid uppercut to the chin. Scavenger's knees buckled, and Crusader finished him off with a knockout gas pellet. "You got the order wrong, kid." he remarked. "First you fight, then you talk." #### The Duchess sat in her chair, staring at the Scavenger's mask in pure fury. She had given her DNA to Telios so she would have a direct bearing in Scavenger's victory over Crusader. The possibility that her "son" would fail had never occurred to her. Worse, it had been Crusader who had thrown the mask in her face, while her son rotted in prison. "He is still young," the commander informed her. "With a little more training, we'll see a different outcome, I promise." The Duchess continued to stare at the mask and finally shook her head. "We've coddled him," she stated. "The environment in which he's been training is too antiseptic, too controlled. That's not the way to turn someone into a man." "With all due respect your grace," the commander said. "He's proven extremely dificult to control. He mocks us constantly, is always sneakng around the facility, stealing anything that looks like it might be even remotely valuable..." The Duchess silenced her subordinate with a glance. She was not known for her bad temper, but this was the last straw as far as she was concerned. Her son couldn't have made such a brutally stupid error. She couldn't have lost to the man they'd spent years training him to fight, not without a good reason. "We've coddled him!" she finally exclaimed, inoring the commander's protest. She slammed a fist on her desk. "That ends now. The Scavenger needs to grow, and experience real risk. He needs to face the real world." "How shall it be done?" the subordinate asked. "We'll hire a telepath to remove his memories," the Duchess said. "Once he's purged of his previous training, we'll send a team to hunt him down. He will survive on instinct, and grow as a natural man." "But your grace!" the commander protested. "No 'buts'. My son needs to learn about life and death," the Duchess declared. "He must suffer as I have suffered, and grow as I have grown. Only adversity will hone him into an instrument that will destroy the Crusader." #### Scavenger escaped from prison, only to be hunted down and mind-wiped by the best telepath that Duchess Industries could hire. Teams of agents hunted the Scavenger - or Dark Prowler, as he now called himself - and made his life a constant game of cat and mouse. In between chases, he stole items. He liked stealing things/ It was a natural impulse. And he mocked anyone he met, friend or foe, called them childish names, laughed at them when they were down. That was a natural impulse too. When he stole jewels from a newspaper magnate's wife, he suddenly grabbed all the headlines: "Dark Prowler, Threat or Menace?" "Dark Prowler, Public Enemy Number One". He decided to mock that too. Under the name "Peter Palmer" Prowler worked as a freelance photographer for that magnate's flagship paper, spying on him so Dark Prowler could play tricks on him. He got the idea from a comic book. Prowler's education from the school of hard knocks was certainly better than anything he'd received from Duchess; unfortunately he also discovered there was one problem with learning from the school of hard knocks - the hard knocks. Dark Prowler was never killed by that Duchess Industries attack squad that hunted him, but his life was hardly a picnic: agents hunted him, superheroes beat on him and lectured him, rival supervillains tried to kill him, and he was sent to prison so many times that he lost count. While Prowler always managed to escaped, eventually he tired of being treated like the world's most despicable human being. Eventurally Prowler decided to take a break from his criminal identity, so he forged a new identity as a superhero... the Blue Phantom! It was both a career change, and a statement about the corniness of classic superheroes. Yet somehow Blue Phantom managed to defeat many of the opponents who had pummelled Dark Prowler, and won the respect of the community that despised Dark Prowler so completely. Unfortunately, life as a superhero put a serious cramp iin his larcenous style. He *liked* being a burglar, he enjoyed climbing the walls of tall buildings and stealing treasures, and surrounding himself with beautiful things, and mercilessly mocking anyone ho got in his way. So Prowler bounced back and forth between identities, both public and secret. Increasingly he became embroiled in the conflicts of the local superhero community. He made many enemies (including Green Dragon) and many rivals (including the supervillain team PLUNDER). However, his most dangerous enemy was a man named William Donaldson, known to many as the supervillain Silencer. Silencer was an assassin, but a perverse one. He liked to destroy people's lives before he delivered the final shot. And now Silencer had been assigned by the Duchess to lead the team that was hunting Prowler down and make his life a living hell. Prowler was Silencer's masterpiece - he transformed the persecution of his quarry into an artform and began to piant with Rembrandtian strokes. After his "collection" had been stolen for the fifth time and his apartment blown to smithereens (again), Dark Prowler had finally had enough of William Donaldson. He wanted him dead. So did most of the local heroes, who had been caught in the crossfire of Silencer's battle with Prowler (even the ones who'd sorn never to take a life). Some guys just get under your skin. Prowler tried to eliminate Silencer, but every time he tried, it backfired. After months of frustration, Telios approached Prowler with an unusual offer - Donaldson, as the supervillain Silencer, had stolen some genetic research from Telios for the Duchess. Telios wanted to get revenge by blowing Silencer to bits. He handed Prowler a bomb, and informed him that he could eliminate him by plantinv it on an airliner which Silencer was about to board. Prowler agreed. He hated Donaldson *that* much. However, a few minutes after he placed the explosive, Prowler suddenly wondered what the hell he had just done. The regretful superhero he sprinted back to the airport to undo his action. Telios, who figured Prowler would recant, detonated the bomb a few minutes earlier than scheduled. Nearly a hundred people died, including Donaldson - along with Prowler's sometime ally, a local superhero named Guardian. Prowler had dealt with previous defeats through denial and mentally rewriting history until he was sure he'd won. This time, however, he couldn't "spin doctor" his guilt away. It profoundly affected him to the point where a new identity emerged, a cynical, amoral identity, one which didn't care much about life, riches, or witty rejoinders: he was a simple mercenary for hire. For reasons Prowler didn't understand, this persona called itself "the Scavenger". When he first became Blue Phantom, Dark Prowler was still in control of his life, but now the multiple identities were taking their toll. He bounced back and forth between the three personas; unable to cope with any unexpected setback or failure, whenever Prowler suffered a defeat which he couldn't explain away, out came one of the other identities. It's a development that his mother finds most fascinating, and worthy of further study. Personality: Dark Prowler's personality depends on which persona drives him. The Dark Prowler persona is the most dominant; he's a greedy, annoying, self-aggrandizing jerk who never shuts up and is either mocking other people or congratulating himself on being so clever and good at everything. No insult is too low for Prowler, even if often he sounds like an adult trying to imitate a six year old on the playground. However Prowler does have a social conscience, and doesn't like to physically hurt people (with the notable exception of the Donaldson incident), and he has a soft spot for people in need. Blue Phantom is a deliberate parody of a classic Silver Age superhero. Many people who know him well find him almost as annoying as Prowler, though he often does a lot of good. Scavenger is a quiet, brooding, amoral creep - almost the exact opposite of Prowler. He's not a senseless killer - and doesn't take assassination missions - but he has even less regard for the suffering his actions cause. Overall, however, Prowler's personalities are driven by a fear of failure. The idea that he can never fail in his mission has been driven so deeply into his psyche that he's developed a lot of defense mechanisms to try to cope with any possibility of failure, from the merciless, almost desperate mocking of his opponents, to his multiple personality disorder. Quote: "Hi, I'm Dark Prowler, and you're not! That's too bad for you, but at least you get to watch a superior being in action! I'm sure you'll find it instructive the next time you're having trouble beating up a twelve year old!" Powers/Tactics: Technically, Dark Prowler's a mutant. He's a genetic composite of a number of superheroes who are active at night, a talent which transforms him from a capable normal to a true human after sunset. In combat, Prowler likes to use his wall-climbing skills (his clinging) to his advantage. If forced into a fight, he'll try to eliminate light sources and fight his opponent in pitch darkness. If it's obvious he's in a tough fight, Prowler will run away. The other personas are much less cowardly. The identity of Prowler's genetic father is deliberately being kept a mystery. Find someone suitable in your campaign, and have fun. Appearance: Both Prowler and Scavenger wear black bodysuits, though Prowler's has dull yellow-brown trim. Blue Phantom wears a blue bodysuit with a short blue cape and "BP" in a shield on his chest. Prowler is 5'11", an athletic 160 lbs., with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. Notes: This writeup is actually a simplification of an already mangled origin, (with several names replaced with characters who are more familiar to fans of the Champions Universe). Thanks to Alex Palmer, Prowler's player, for the character; and to Steve Sloane, Prowler's other GM (the twisted mind behind Silencer and Guardian) for his valuable contribution to the Prowler mythos.

For Mike, and fans of Mike's work, a link of interest: http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1057&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Scott Bennie

Re: Agent combat.... That's a really nifty table. Thanks AA! Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos Next up will be Dark Prowler. I'll try to do one per week, depending on my progress on Villainy Amok and other projects (and on public interest, of course). Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos Mechastar Player: Val Char Cost 50 STR 10 28 DEX 24 30 CON 20 15 BODY 10 18 INT 8 14 EGO 8 18 PRE 8 18 COM 4 9/21 PD 5 8/20 ED 4 5 SPD 12 10 REC 4 40 END 0 35 STUN 0 6" RUN02" SWIM010" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 117 Cost Power END 68 Modified Peacekeeper Armor Weapons: Multipower, 120-point reserve, all slots OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 6u 1) Blaster iWth Advanced Laser Target: EB 10d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 0 5u 2) Neuro-Laser with Advanced Targeting: RKA 2d6+1, +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Armor Piercing (+1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 0 6u 3) Concussion Grenade Launcher: EB 10d6, 16 Charges (+0), Explosion (+1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) [16] 6u 4) Modified Vari-Cannon: EB 9d6, Variable Special Effects (set group: sonics, fire/heat, ice/cold, radiation; +1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), No Range Modifier (+1/2); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 0 7u 5) Electro-Cage Launcher: (Total: 120 Active Cost, 68 Real Cost) Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) (Real Cost: 34) plus RKA 1d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Uncontrolled (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Continuous (+1) (60 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) (Real Cost: 34) 47 Battle Armor Enhancers: (Total: 90 Active Cost, 47 Real Cost) +30 STR (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 15) plus +10 CON (20 Active Points); OIF (-1/2), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2) (Real Cost: 10) plus +10 DEX (30 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 15) plus +1 SPD (10 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 7) 3 30 Armor: Armor (12 PD/12 ED), Hardened (+1/4); OIF (-1/2) 0 3 Armor: Power Defense (5 points); OIF (-1/2) 0 5 Flare Compensation: Sight Group Flash Defense (8 points); OIF (-1/2) 0 5 Noise Compensation: Hearing Group Flash Defense (8 points); OIF (-1/2) 0 7 Life Support System: LS (Self-Contained Breathing), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge lasting 3 Hours (+0); OIF (-1/2) [1 cc] 35 Jetpack: Flight 15", x4 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); OIF (-1/2) 0 6 Communications Uplink: HRRP (Radio Group); OIF (-1/2), Sense Affected As Sight And Hearing As Well As Radio Group (-1/2) 0 3 Lowlight Lenses: Nightvision; OIF (-1/2) 0 2 Hearing Enhancement System: Ultrasonic Perception (Hearing Group); OIF (-1/2) 0 Powers Cost: 241 Cost Martial Arts Maneuver UNTIL Combat Training 4 1) Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 2) Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 60 STR to Disarm 4 3) Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 4) Choke: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND 4 5) Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 65 STR vs. Grabs 5 6) Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 14d6 Strike 4 7) Punch: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, 12d6 Strike 4 8) Restrain: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Three Limbs, +10 STR 3 9) Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 10d6 +v/5, Target Falls Martial Arts Cost: 36 Cost Skill 6 +2 with Modified Peacekeeper Armor Weapons 8 +1 with All Combat 3 AK: Cyprus 12- 3 Acrobatics 15- 3 Breakfall 15- 3 Combat Piloting 15- 3 Computer Programming 13- 3 Criminology 13- 3 Electronics 13- 3 Inventor 13- 3 KS: International Law And Law Enforcement 13- 2 KS: The Superhuman World 11- 2 KS: The United Nations 11- 2 KS: UNTIL 11- 2 KS: World Politics 11- 2 Language: Greek (fluent conversation) 3 Mechanics 13- 2 PS: Football 11- 3 Systems Operation 13- 3 Scientist 2 1) SS: Aeronautics 12- (3 Active Points) 2 2) SS: Cybernetics 12- (3 Active Points) 1 3) SS: Mathematics 11- (2 Active Points) 2 4) SS: Physics 12- (3 Active Points) 3 Tactics 13- 3 Teamwork 15- 1 TF: Parachuting, Basic, Small Planes 3 PS: UNTIL Agent 13- 1 WF: Peacekeeper Armor Weapons 3 WF: Small Arms, Knives Skills Cost: 83 Total Character Cost: 477 Val Disadvantages 20 Enraged: Berserk Adrenal Rush, When Forced To Use 40+ STR (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 11-, Berserk 15 Hunted: Cincinatti Superhero 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 15 Hunted: UNTIL 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 10 Psychological Limitation: Ambitious (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Egotist (Common, Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Thunks The Worst Of Others (Common, Moderate) 5 Rivalry: Professional (Other Battle Suit Wearers), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry 10 Rivalry: Professional and Romantic (Terastar), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity Frequently (11-), Major Disadvantage Points: 110 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 167 Total Experience Available: 167 Experience Unspent: 0 Background: High school were the glory days for Terry Kellogg. He ruled the campus: straight A grades, high school quarterback, and even a girflriend who was gorgeous, funny, and brains to spare. What's not to love? His parents spent most of their time smiling at him. And when he got a football scholarship to Brown University, he expected even better things to follow. When you're 17 and king of high school, no one thinks about the Peter Principle. College was a kick in the teeth, in more ways than one. IIn his first year, Terry made third string quarterback, and saw action on three plays - he was sacked on one of them. His nemesis was Carl Murphy. Murphy was tall, athletic, and gregarious, his arm was a rocket launcher, and his sprinting speed might have qualified him for the Olympic team (with a little practise). He made all the friends that Terry didn't, and his grades were better too. Terry had to console himself with life as a second stringer. His parents still smiled at him, but they seemed a little more forced than before. Terry graduated with a degree in Engineering, did a year's work in graduate studies in cybernetics, and watched Murphy get drafted by the Cincinatti Bengals. He was recruited by another winning team too - UNTIL. Terry trained or a year, choose to forgo the technical services, and ended up as a Peacekeeper Agen\ stationed in Cyprus for several years. After his tour (which had been quite boring) had finally expired, Terry took a job in UNTIL's engineering corp, transferred to a lab in Maryland, and spent the next several years working on Project Taloned Dove, the development of the next generation of Peacekeeper armor. And that's where he met Shelley. #### Her name was Shelley Hackett, African-American female, 25, brown hair and as for her eyes, well she could probably write down "intoxicating" on her driver's license and get away witrh it. She and Terry were the only ones under 40 in the lab, so naturally they had a relationship. It was the best time of Bill's life The relationship lasted for six months, lots of laughs, lots of sex, long dinners filled with deep stares and the touching of hands, and late nights making engineering breakthroughs, followed by a breakthrough of another sort. It was that rare sort of relationship that worked on every level. and filled Terry with an ecstacy that seemed to go on without end. At least until the night that Shelley, playing with his chest hair after a hot summer night, casually informed the engineer that she was a VIPER agent, and that VIPER wanted him to defect, along with the project schematics and prototypes. Terry didn't want to betray UNTIL - and Shelley had been the best thing to enter his life in years. He almost told his superiors, but Shelley knew how to work her target. She found out his one great dream - to design the perfect battlesuit, build it, and fly it - and dangled it in front of him like a carrot. She found out how much he had hated his peacekeeping duty in Cyprus and how much he hated the inefficiency of UNTIL's bureaucracy. She used them to manipulate him, and he didn't betray her. "I'm a hardened pragmatist," he said. "And that's why I love you," Shelley replied. But just when Bill thought he had reached a point of stability in his life, things took an unexpected turn. One of his family members had arrived, and things were about to turn into a spectacular mess. Terry and his brother Bill had had a sibling relationship that bordered on the mythological. Like Thor and Loki, or Set and Osiris Terry thought Bill was a sulky, mentally challenged, emotionally stilted, eternally sulking, Grade AAA loser. The kindest thing he ever called him was "the moron" and that was when he was in a good mood. What Bill thought of Terry would probably violate most obsenity restrictions. But despite their near fratricidal relationship, they'd always been there for each other in the clutch. Terry's parents were insistent - Bill needed a job, and Terry had connections. So Bill took a job as a janitor at the facility. And (as far as Terry was concerned) he could barely do *that* right Terry constantly tripped over his brother in the halls. Gossip and Terry's already over-the-top feeling of shame amplified every little mistake he made a hundredfpld, so that Terry was soon embarrassed by the mere sight of him. It was an emotion that Shelley played on; whenever she needed to get him worked up - VIPER would not only help Terry, they'd also make sure his brother was removed from his life. For her part, she was quite friendly to Bill - nothing unsettles a man like a little jealousy, though that emotion had to be played with finesse. She needed to be sure that Terry wanted her. When the time came for VIPER to make its move, everything had to be in place. The moment of truth was not too long in coming. VIPER staged a raid on the facility. The raid was a cover for *their* operation, the complete removal of Project Taloned Dove. Shelley began to download the project specs while Terry put on the prototype Peacekeeper B suit, knowing the time was coming to desert. He was oddly hesitant about it. But before he could make a final decision, Bill burst into the room with a gun in his hand - and was quickly gunned down by a VIPER agent from behind. For a moment Terry forgot about the sibling rivalry and blasted the VIPER agent, and that's then UNTIL agents overran the attackers and stormed the room. Realizing that the operation was blown, Terry pointed an accusing finger at Shelley. "I say her typing in codes - and a snake insignia came up!" he exclaimed. Her treason exposed, Shelley was taken away. Terry was a hero. But he didn't feel like one. He'd never orget the look on Shelley's face when he blasted the VIPER agent. And he'd certainly never forget the final glance Shelley gave him. It was a look of approval, as if his betrayal was the only logical course of action open to him. She really did love him for his pragmatism.. #### Terry continued to talk secretly with VIPER, cultivating enough of a relationship with them that when his brother somehow stumbled into the secret program that turned him into Terastar, Terry was able to set him up with a good criminal lab. But Terry continued to play a dangerous game, never fully severing ties with VIPER but never giving his full allegiance to them either. Perhaps they sensed this: they never made a serious effort to recruit him again. Eventually UNTIL forgot about Terry's "heroism". The lab was turned over to a private sector defense contractor who had no interest in past heroics, new engineers joined the project, and news managers came aboard who wanted to put their stamp on it. Terry was perceived as"yesterday's man". In the end, he received a pink slip and a polite note from UNTIL which said that he was always welcome to rejoin the Peacekeeper service. However, Bill didn't want to go to "Bos-nausea" or some other UN hole, or be subject to anyone's orders. His dream remained the same as it had been when he was working with Shelley: design, build, and fly. Unfortunately it was a bad time for the battlesuit business. Downsizing in the defense industry had caused a glut of Masters and Doctoral level engineers to flood the market. Even VIPER wasn't hiring. Terry had a contingency plan. Hr had also stolen enough parts to construct his own variant Peacekeeper armor, one which have all the systems *he* had designed (which the senior members of the project team had vetoed). Thanks to money that was paid to him by his stupid brother (now a marginally successful criminal), Terry could pursue his dream. So he redesigned the Peacekeeper armor so it'd be unrecognizable, and became a criminal. He called himself MechaStar, and hired himself as an industrial espionage specialist. That was a modestly profitable field (by supercriminal standards, but there was still something missing in his life. He figured it was vengeance, so he decided to get some. He tracked down Carl Murphy, whose successful career with the Bengals was winding down, and crippled him. This proved to be the mistake of his life. Murphy wasn't just a NFL star, he was a community leader with many friends in high places. Including superheroes. Terry was now a hunted man. For the first time, Terry found that he needed protection, so he tracked down his brother and announced that he was joinng his team. Sleeper said "really?", but because he was Terastar's family (and because Phobos and Deimos's desertion had left them undermanned), the villain decided to give him a chance. So far results have been mixed - Mechastar's powers have made a valuable combat asset, but he and Terastar are constantly at each others throats, he has little respect for Sleeper, and he doesn't understand why Silver Dragon hasn't gone to bed with him. He can't guess at his long term future in PLUNDER, but it's not likely to end happily. Personality: Moody and unfriendly, Terry's an egotist who thinks the world revolves around him and that everyone else is either an idiot or exists to serve his needs. He assumes everyone is an enemy - or going to become one in the near future - and believes it's best to make preemptive strikes against them. And Terry can be very petty when he's being preemptive. Terry's ambitious, and he's set his sights on becoming the next Dr. Destroyer, the next battlesuit genius. Unfortunately, he's more of a common bully, for all of his brains and would rather enjoy the fruits of an operation than develop a long-term scheme. Quote: "Did that hurt? Too bad. I'm just getting started." Powers/Tactics: Mechastar has two combat modes. When he's not angry, he likes to play "smart", which is to hover about three meters off the ground, about twenty meters from his target, and play the "my range modifier is better than your range modifier" game. When he's mad, he'll go to close range and start hitting. His suit has one interesting weakness; it's fitted with an adrenal booster that can (in conjunction with the suit's systems) greatly amplify his strength, but when he uses it, he has a chance to go berserk. As Terry's not quite as good an engineer as he thinks, the suit's powers are not as efficient as genuine UNTIL Peacekeeper armor, hence it has an activation roll. Appearance: Terry is a Caucasian male in his early 30s, 6'0' and 210 lbs. He has sandy brown hair that (too his dismay) is starting to recede, and green eyes. His build's still athletic, though there's a small flabby ridge in his mid-section. The Mechastar armor is humanoid in appearance, not terribly different than normal Peacekeeper Armor (see UNTIL p. 61), jet black with gold plating, Out of costume, Terry favors polo shirts, dress slacks, and bomber jackets. His voice is a deep tenor.

Re: Authority, we just need a few good men. Who'd have the right mindset? It needs to be the right combination of sanctimony and a desire for change, combined with a power level where one could impose one's will on the people: I can't think of DC right now, but here's a Marvel list. I know some of these guys are dead, but this is Marvel. Korvac (leader) Moondragon Dr. Druid Flagsmasher Black Panther Hyperion (okay, the Squadron Supreme's a bit of a cheat, since they were the Authority before the Authority, but every team needs a superman) Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos There were no real space limitations. I think the simple truth is that I'm a much better writer than I was sixteen years ago. Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos And now, the supervillain who was almost named after a spice. Scott Bennie ------ Terastar Player: Val Char Cost 18/65 STR 8 13/21 DEX 9 20/40 CON 20 18 BODY 16 10 INT 0 10 EGO 0 25 PRE 15 16 COM 3 13/28 PD 6 13/28 ED 6 3/4 SPD 7 10/22 REC 4 40/80 END 0 37/70 STUN 0 9" RUN02" SWIM03 1/2"/12 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 94 Cost Power END Magio-Mutation, all slots OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 18 1) +20 CON (40 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 21 2) +47 STR (47 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 11 3) +8 DEX (24 Active Points); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 26 4) Armor (15 PD/15 ED) (45 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) [1 cc] 6 5) +1 SPD (10 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 14 6) +12 REC (24 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 11 7) +40 END (20 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 19 8) +33 STUN (33 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 40 9) Control The Earth: Tunneling 9" through 14 DEF material, Fill In (70 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 0 7 10) LS (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing) (13 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 0 5 11) Knockback Resistance -5" (10 Active Points); OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 0 28 12) Telekinesis (20 STR), Fine Manipulation, Area Of Effect (4" Radius; +1), Selective (+1/4) (90 Active Points); Conditional Power Power Only Affects Earth And Stone (-1), No Range (-1/2), OIF (Focus (chemical serum); -1/2), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Hour (-1/4) 0 6 Running +3" (9" total) 1 Powers Cost: 212 Cost Skill 10 +2 with HTH Combat 4 +2 with Punches 4 KS: Campaign City 13- 3 Breakfall 12- (13-) 3 KS: Paranormals 12- 3 PS: Janitor 12- 3 Paramedics 11- 5 Power (Telekinesis Tricks) 12- 1 SS: Biology 8- Skills Cost: 36 Cost Perk 1 Fringe Benefit: Security Clearance (Low-End UNTILSecurity Installations) Perks Cost: 1 Cost Talent 6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) Talents Cost: 6 Total Character Cost: 349 Val Disadvantages 5 Accidental Change: Any Exposure To A Chemical Mutagen 8- (Uncommon) 5 Enraged: When Accused of Cowardice (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14- 15 Enraged: when friends are injured (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11- 15 Psychological Limitation: Excessivelyt Protective of Silver Dragon (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Loves A Competitive Fight (Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Fear of Flying (Common, Moderate) 5 Rivalry: Professional (Other Bricks), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry 10 Susceptibility: from Drinking Instant Change Formula, 2d6 damage Instant (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN from EGO Attacks (Uncommon) Disadvantage Points: 85 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 64 Total Experience Available: 64 Experience Unspent: 0 Background: It began the earth demon Terasto. UNTIL had mustered four full attack squads, and still the demon kept on coming. The battle didn't turn until UNITY arrived, and finally the demon broke into thousands of little pieces. Score one of the good guys. End of story. Except that humanity is a meddler by nature. Dr. Elias Custer, biochemist and part time mystic, wondered if he could isolate the strength factor of the demon's remains, isolate it from the darker parts of the demonic heritage, and be able to infuse humanity with the power of a major league earth elemental. It as a radical idea, the sort that scientists usually develop just before they're told "no" by their superiors and jump to VIPER in a huff. So this time, the superiors said yes... #### Enter Bill Kellogg. He didn't intend to become a lackey, he was just an average kid with a lot of ambition and a cosmic "kick me" sign permanently attached to his buttocks. When people wanted to pick on someone, they invariably picked on Bill. Adolescence was a lonely, deprressing time, but he managed to survive it. Having an older brother who had been the class measuring stick. Terry Kellogg had been class valedictorian, first string receiver, the works. No matter what Bill tried, he could never hope to match the pearl of the clan. Fortrunately, Bil's parents were supportive; they made sure he knew that no matter how badly he disappointed them, Bill was still loved. After high school, Bill attended community college, studying biology. He had always kept a close eye on superheroes - ever since he was ten years ofl, when he caught a glimpse of Meteor Man III from half a mile away - they'd always fascinated him. He studied biology. hoping that he'd figure out a way to arrange for one of those freak accidents to happen that would transform him into a superhuman. After to years, he managed to get a C average. "But a 'C' is very good, Bill," his parents told him. Meanwhile Bill's brother had joined UNTIL and become Corporal Terry Kellogg, Peacekeeper. After his parents begged Terry to find his brother a job, Bill found himself employed as an UNTIL janitor. Bill was hoping to be an agent. He seethed at the perceived insult. "But Bill," his mother told him sympathetically. "UNTIL needs janitors as well as agents." Bill spent three years attending to UNTIL's janitorial needs, mostly ignored by the other janitorial staff - the agents usually gave him funny looks and walked.away when they tried to strike up a conversation. One day, his facility was attacked by a VIPER squad. Bill immediately put don his pail, grabbed a blaster from a downed VIPER agent and joined the firefight. He ended up getting in the way of the UNTIL defenders and was shot twice. While recovering in the infirmary, Bill's parents berated him for his foolishness, and Terry told him the next time he tried such a "stupid stunt", he wouldn't pull strings to keep his job. Bill was near his breaking point, but hadn't reached it yet. That occurred when Dr. Custer brought the remains of Terasto into the base and began experimenting on them. In a few weeks, he'd developed a serum that could, theoretically, give a human being the strength and powers of an earth elemental. Custer called for volunteers, UNTIL offered him some agents who had contracted terminal cancer. This wadn't good enough for the doctor, so Custer secretly tested people at the base for compatibility. Bill was the best match. Naturally Custer wanted Bill, and the two men collaborated on faking a psych test so he could be admitted into the program. He received his first injection, and it worked! Bill received superhuman strength for nearly an hour. The treatment toughened Bill up even when he wasn't under the direct influence of the drug. Unfortunately Bill was the only person who didn't suffer serious side effects from the formula and for UNTIL, one success wasn't good enough. They shut down the program, and transferred Custer to their alien autopsy division where they could keep a closer eye on him. But before he left, Bill managed to steal several vials of Custer's formula. A few days after the project was disbanded, Terry approached his brother and asked him about the experiment. "If only we had a sample," he wondered aloud. Bill smiled and produced one. 'Sorry, only enough for one," he quipped. Terey groaned - he'd already tested negative for the program - and gave Bill a brotherly slap on the forehead. You know, you can be both incredibly smart and incredibly stupid at the same time. It's very annoying." "It's genetic." Bill grinned. Terry took out a piece of paper and wrote down an address. "These people are your best bet for getting it analyzed and duplicated. Get an estimate. I'll cover the first few payments, but I expect to repaid - with a lot of interest. In small, unmarked bills. Comprehend?" "But Terry, I could be a superhero... I could be part of UNITY..." "Those stuck up bastards?" Terry snorted. "It's time to burn the comic book collection, Billy. Like it or not, you're going to play this smart for once. And you're going to become rich, even if I have to kick your ass to do it. So wecome to the other side of your boyhood dream." ##### It had never occurred to Bill to become a supervillain, but he discovered that once he'd accepted the idea, he didn't have too many qualms about it. He discovered many new and interesting things: that he looked good in spandex, that face masks were hot and itchy in summer, that gas stations weren't as heavily guardfed as banks but still had a lot of small bills, and that it was fun crawling around underground like a kid in a tunnel. He left his custodial job. UNTIL figured that as long as he didn't make contact with Custer, he wouldn't be a problem. As they had Custer under constant surveilliance, they ignored Kellogg, though he kept their lowest level security clearance (so he could cut through red tape and inform them as soon as possible in case Custer tried to make a deal with him). They never connected the new supervillain Teragon with the outcome of Project Terasto. Bill was enjoying a good career as a supervillain, but he soon fell victim to the number one killer of supervillains - boredom. After awhile, robbing gas stations just wasn't exciting enough. Carefully choosing his target, he decided to rob a local museum. It was in the middle of this hesit that he met Sleeper. "Teragon?" Sleeper wondered. "You named yourself after a spice?" But when Bill demonstrated to Sleeper that he could easily hoist a marble atatue without risking a hernia, Sleeper offered to make Bill his "partner" in crime. The only provision was that he change his name to Terastar ("it almost rhymes with disaster, but not quite").Bill agreed, and that's how Terastar became Sleeper's lackey. Lackey, not partner. Fortunately for Bill, Sleper treats his lackeys better than most people treat their partners, and Bill began to feel like he belonged in a group for the first time in his life. He was comfortable, he was happy, and (with Silver Dragon) even in love. Sure Sleeper often treated him like a hybrid of a man and a giant puppy, and around Silver Dragon he often acts like a fumbling schoolboy, but he was still having the time of his life. At least until his brother showed up on the doorstep of the PLUNDER-Dome, homemade battle armor in tow, and announced he was joining the team... Personality: Bill Kellogg's funloving, overconfident facade hides a host of insecurities. He often comes across as a "dumb brick"; he's a little smarter than he appears, Sleeper's intellectual streak often intimidates him into silence. He has a habit of getting lost in his own personal train of thought, and occasionally breaks up conversations with totally inappropriate nonsequitur remarks that makes him look as dumb as a box of rocks. Most people ignore them, which irritates him. In combat, Bill likes to cultivate a "friendly foe" relationship with the superhero opposition, especially bricks.He loves shouting friendly schoolboy insults and issuing challenges for someone to meet him man to man. Bill's acrophobia's a recent development, one of the side effects of the serum. Whether there'll be any long term side effects of being "a human earth elemental" remains to be seen. Bill has definite trust issues. Except for Sleeper or Silver Dragon, he doesn't trust anyone's word. A promise from a superhero with a spotless reputation for integrity will be looked upon with skepticism. His paranoia extends to identity issues; Bill's paranoid he'll be unmasked and exposed, and has concocted several alternate identities that ill be triggered if he's ever captured, so his captors will never figure out he's really Bill Kellogg. Quote: Hi! Meet my fist! Powers/Tactics: Terastar's formula gives him the strength, and toughness of a low grade earth elemental, while maintaining his human form, with no apparent side effects. How he managed to be compitable with the essence of the demon elemental Terasto is a mystery that may be used by the GM as a future plot hook. For one hour every day, Terastar may imbibe Dr. Custer's formula and substantiallly boost his power level and abilities - an always painful process, but Bill prides himself on being a man's man and able to cope with a little pain. In combat, Terastar's too self-centered to be an effective tactician. He prefers solo fights against bricks; unimaginatively, he liikes to plant his feet in solid rock and slug it out until someone goes down. One time, though, when fighting in a gravel quarry, Terastar used a few telekinetic tricks to beat a very famous brick superhero, so when Bill's in the right mood and environment, he can be an unexpectedly dangerous opponent. Appearance: Bill's a Caucasian male in his mid-20s; 6'1" tall and 215 lbs. A stocky kid in high school, he's now in fine fighting form, but still has the mental image of himself as a "husky" kid. Bill has light brown hair and green eyes; his tenor register is thick and spoken a little slow, leaving people with the first impression that he's an idiot. His costume is a light brown spandex suit with a dark green face mask. Out of costume, he wears solid brown T-shirts or muscle shirts, and blue jeans. Due to his natural inattentiveness, he rarely concentrates on his surroundings and can sometimes be seen staring blankly out into space.

Re: Your Character's Greatest Fear? Omega (foul mouthed 20-year-old uberbeing(w/magic powers variable pool)/brick): Someone killing (or worse to his dad). Also, fighting someone with the Transform power "Straight to Gay". :-) Stuntman (handsome but pragmatic tough guy super in his early 30s, nearly impervious to pain). Being the only member of his team left alive at the end of a fight. Thundrax (teenaged boy scout brick). A radioactive master villain named Spectre (though he'd never openly admit it). Johnny (son of Johnny Canuck, minor league superhero leader, marginally superhuman martial artist, a normal with a few luck powers). His daughter becoming a supervillain. Pan (as in Peter Pan, exiled from Neverland). His mother. Pan has a real strong hatred/fear of them. Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos Absolutely. He's definitely got an ox to grind. Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos

Re: UNTIL's Theme Song / Reality Show I would call it.... "UNTIL, We Meet Again" There's a reason I don't work in Hollywood. :-) Scott Bennne

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos

Re: Take the 5e Solo villains, and make a team out of them That's an appropriate role for the 4th edition Oculon, but the Fifth Edition version is no underdog. I do like the concept. How about Black Diamond, Boa Constrictor, Esper, Armadillo, Shrinker, and Pulsar, with Pulsar as group leader? Scott Bennie

Re: M&M: this is a Nightmare? Hero's always done well when there's strong competition. As long as their sales remain at their current level, I don't see a problem. Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos I'm still looking for my old notes. If I don't find them by the weekend, I'll rewrite them from scratch. Scott Bennie

Here's a weird one for you. I'm developing a canine character and I want to give it a fighting style that resembles a dog's. Here's what I've come up with so far; do you guys have any suggestions for additional appropriate moves? Scott Bennie ------ Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 4 Nip (Fast Strike): 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +0 DCV, 4d6 Strike 3 Lunge (Flying Tackle): 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, -1 DCV, 2d6 +v/5 Strike; You Fall, Target Falls; FMove 4 Grab and Shake Until They Fall (Joint Lock/Throw): 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND ; Target Falls 5 Snatch (Takeaway): 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab Weapon, 20 STR to take weapon away 5 Bite Sensitive Area (Custom): 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, -2 DCV, Grab, 2d6 NND 5 Grab and Maul (Joint Break): 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -2 DCV, Grab One Limb; HKA 1d6 , Disable Martial Arts Cost: 26

Re: Need Name For Telekinetic Villain

Re: Why do folks that dislike Hero hang out here? There are quite a few threads (What Would You Do, the art threads, a lot of Hermit's polls), that are applicable to anyone who's interested in supers gaming, so I can see folk who dislike Hero hanging out here for a number of good reasons. Scott Bennie

Re: What character concepts make you cringe? Generally, if I want to play a serious game, and I get a roster of PCs who'd be too silly-stupid for Mystery Men or the League of Substitute Antarctican Heroes, I cringe. Scott Bennie

Re: Villainy Amok - What Would *You* Like To See Just want to let you know that I hope to finalize the outline by Wednesday, so if you have any other scenario suggestions (or suggestions on how to treat the scenarios in general), now's the time to send it in. Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos Just posting to let people know I made a minor correction on Sleeper's character sheet, so you should redownload the file (or manually add the Ranged advantage to the Negative Skill level portion of the "Make People Act Like They're Tired" Power). Terastar's revision and Mechastar's sheet will need to be reconstructed from scratch, so future revisions will probably take awhile. Scott Bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos Sleeper Player: Val Char Cost 15 STR 5 24 DEX 42 28 CON 36 14 BODY 8 23 INT 13 20 EGO 20 20 PRE 10 19 COM 5 22 PD 19 22 ED 16 5 SPD 16 12 REC 6 56 END 0 37 STUN 1 6" RUN02" SWIM03" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 197 Cost Power END 104 Subtle Dream Stuff Manipulation: (Total: 135 Active Cost, 104 Real Cost) Darkness to Hearing Group 1" radius, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1) (14 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) (Real Cost: 9) plus Change Environment 1" radius, -1 to Sight Group PER Rolls, +1 Temperature Level Adjustment, -1 Characteristic Roll and all Skill Rolls based on DEX, -1 OCV, -1 Temperature Level Adjustment, Multiple Combat Effects, Varying Combat Effects, Personal Immunity (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (61 Active Points) (Real Cost: 61) plus Shape Shift (Sight and Smell/Taste Groups, limited group of shapes), Cellular, Imitation, Instant Change, Costs END Only To Change Shape (+1/4) (60 Active Points); Limited Power Appears In Non-Shape Changed Form On Mechanical Senses (-1/2), Conditional Power People With A Higher EGO Can See Through This With An EGO vs. EGO Check Followed By A Perception Roll (-1/4) (Real Cost: 34) 5 70 Sleep Powers: Multipower, 70-point reserve 4u 1) Make Someone Act As If They're Tired: (Total: 45 Active Cost, 36 Real Cost) Negative Combat Skill Levels (-2 to opponent's OCV), Ranged (+1/2) (15 Active Points); Conditional Power Not Vs. People With 2+ pts of Life Support vs. Sleep (-1/4) (Real Cost: 12) plus Negative Skill Levels (-2 with Any Skill), Ranged (+1/2) (30 Active Points); Conditional Power Not Vs. People With 2+ pts of Life Support vs. Sleep (-1/4) (Real Cost: 24) 4 5u 2) Sleeping Touch: EB 7d6, NND (2+ points in LS vs. Sleep; +1) (70 Active Points); No Range (-1/2) 7 2 Silver Cane: HA +1d6 (5 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 1 60 Variable Power Pool, 45 base + 15 control cost, (67 Active Points); VPP Powers Can Be Changed Only In A Lab (-1/2) 9 Damage Resistance (9 PD/9 ED) 0 10 Sight Group Flash Defense (10 points) 0 6 Hearing Group Flash Defense (6 points) 0 11 Mental Defense (15 points total) 0 10 Power Defense (10 points) 0 Powers Cost: 291 Cost Skill 16 +2 with All Combat 3 Acting 13- 3 Bugging 14- 3 Bureaucratics 13- 3 Computer Programming 14- 3 Concealment 14- 5 Cramming 3 Criminology 14- 3 Deduction 14- 3 Disguise 14- 3 Electronics 14- 3 Forgery 14- 15 Power 20- 3 Gambling 14- 3 High Society 13- 3 Lockpicking 14- 3 Inventor 14- 6 KS: Riddles 15- 3 Mechanics 14- 3 Mimicry 14- 3 Scientist 4 1) SS: Computer Engineering 14- (5 Active Points) 1 2) SS: Gravitics 11- (2 Active Points) 5 3) SS: Mathematics 15- (6 Active Points) 3 4) SS: Optics 13- (4 Active Points) 3 5) SS: Physics 13- (4 Active Points) 1 6) SS: Robotics 11- (2 Active Points) 3 7) SS: Teleportation Theory 13- (4 Active Points) 1 8) SS: Temporal Theory 8- 3 Security Systems 14- 3 Seduction 13- 3 Shadowing 14- 3 Sleight Of Hand 14- 3 Stealth 14- 3 Streetwise 13- 3 Systems Operation 14- 3 Tactics 14- 5 TF: Combat Aircraft, Early Spacecraft, Helicopters, Small Planes, Spaceplanes 2 Weaponsmith (Energy Weapons) 14- 2 WF: Small Arms Skills Cost: 147 Cost Perk 60 Vehicles & Bases 6 Contact: Local Police Sergeant (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity, Good relationship with Contact) 13- 10 Money: Wealthy 4 Fringe Benefit: Concealed Weapon Permit (where appropriate), Private Investigator License Perks Cost: 80 Cost Talent 5 Eidetic Memory 3 Lightning Calculator 3 Lightsleep 4 Speed Reading (x10) Talents Cost: 15 Total Character Cost: 730 Val Disadvantages 10 DNPC: Sister (Crystal Davis) 8- (Normal) 5 Enraged: at the sound of IHA propaganda or the sight of IHA operatives (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14- 15 Hunted: Western Canadian Superhero Team (SUNDER/Pacific Sentinels) 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 10 Hunted: IHA/Genocide 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 5 Physical Limitation: Always In A Dream State When Asleep (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 20 Psychological Limitation: Grandstander, Loves To Play Games (Very Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Shuns Physical Violence (Common, Moderate) 20 Susceptibility: When Injected With Extremely Powerful Stimulants, May Stop Effect By Taking Water, 3d6 damage per Turn (Uncommon) 15 Social Limitation: Secret Identity Frequently (11-), Major 10 Unluck: 2d6 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY from Neurological Attacks (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN from Neurological Attacks (Uncommon) Disadvantage Points: 130 Base Points: 200 Experience Required: 400 Total Experience Available: 399 Experience Unspent: 0 BACKGROUND: Calvin Davis. At age 14, he never quite left some of his more childish pursuits behind him. He still played role-playing games, he still read comic books, he didn’t go out with girls, and hung around with people who were generally considered nerds. He wasn’t particularly close to any of those people either. Calvin was too mild-mannered to be noticeable, and those who preyed on Calvin’s type usually found gawky, easier targets. He was smart, but there were others who got better grades. So Calvin spent his life as a shy little boy, a bright little boy, an unnoticed little boy. As Calvin approached the ripe age of 15, he begun to realize the sad truth about his life. He had no control over his destiny. He wasn’t really much of anything. The angst-filled teenage equivalent of a mid-life crisis began to consume him. Only his older sister noticed that the shell that he withdrew into was getting tighter and tighter. Then, one day, Calvin was hit by a car and struck his head on the pavement. He fell into what doctors thought was a coma, but they found that his brain activity was almost off the charts – he was in a continuous dream state for eight months. When he awoke, everything had changed. Something clicked inside his head. He suddenly got a lot smarter. Mathematics suddenly became easy for him. Almost overnight, his features became more impressive, much more impressive. People noticed him, and girls were attracted to him. He did his best to adapt to this new life, but actually found himself uncomfortable at the attention. But that would change. Calvin began to explore his abilities, and found that he was more than just a prodigy. His touch could, if he willed, bring about the sleep that he had experienced for so long. And perhaps even more impressively, just as a dream is malleable, so could Calvin control and change the environment in his immediate vacinity. Obviously, the trauma had awakened some sort of latent mutation. Calvin intended to put this to good use. But when he tried, he couldn’t. Calvin Davis was just too repressed. He had to adopt a fantasy persona to come out of his shell. Rick Rogers, Private Investigator, was his favorite player character from his Modern Hero game; now he came to life. Rick Rogers could go into the real world, the adult world, and have fun. With his shape-shifting, he could make it appear as though Rick was 27, and he wouldn’t have to worry about ID. But he needed to set things up to give Rick a true identity. Over the course of six months, he arranged for birth records, social security, and other essential pieces of background. To create these records, he had to perform a lot of illegal actions, like hacking government records. But Calvin enjoyed the challenge, and soon began to justify his actions. It was only a game. No one really got hurt. Within a year, Calvin had used his powers to steal other trappings for Rick Rogers; a lot of money, a car, even artwork. Calvin -- or should I say Rick Rogers -- liked living well. But as the deception wore on, Calvin was getting bored. It was too easy. He needed a challenge, a real challenge. It was then that Calvin went back to his comic book roots. He decided that superheroes, real superheroes, were the greatest force to reckon with in the modern world. Defeating superheroes, therefore, must be the greatest challenge imaginable. Calvin then created a third persona, a supervillain persona, the Sleeper. Sleeper’s first crime was a jewelry store heist. He left a block of ice with a riddle inside for the police, giving them a false clue to his secret base, and a box of donuts that contained the real clue. The police didn’t even bother to try checking out the phony clue; they just filed the reports and let the insurance take care of the robbery. Sleeper realized that he had to target the superheroes directly. But superheroes didn’t take solo villains seriously unless they were out to conquer the world, or hurt large numbers of innocents. Calvin wouldn’t know what to do with the world if he did conquer it, and hurting large numbers of innocents is in incredibly poor taste. There are more than enough psychotics in the world. It needed a kinder gentler supervillain, and he would be that villain. But first he’d have to get people’s attention. Calvin decided that if he was to make an impact, he’d have to come up with his own supervillain team. The result was PLUNDER (Perfidious Larcenous Unity of Nefarious Devious Expert Rogues; so it’s as weak as every other villainous acronym, he was trying to parody the name of the Vancouver superhero team SUNDER). The initial members was the tunnelling brick Terastar, the ronin Silver Dragon, and the twin demons Phobos and Deimos. Phobos and Deimos were much more vicious than Sleeper liked, and eventually they parted company. To replace them, Sleeper recruited Terastar’s brother, a test pilot in a stolen battlesuit named Mechastar. PLUNDER has been a successful supervillain team, devoted to making its members comfortable and rich, and giving Sleeper a high profile and lots of opportunities to making superheroes look foolish. So far, he’s succeeded at nearly everything he’s done. But what else would you expect -- Calvin gave up his games and comic books for them. PERSONALITY: Sleeper is a total grandstander. He doesn’t believe in just committing clever crimes; he likes to come up with clever clues, puzzles, and riddles which will lead the heroes to his intended target, so he can increase the humiliation. Sleeper is a nerd who’s overly consumed with his own cleverness. He absolutely cannot stand being the butt of a joke, and will avoid physical conflict if at all possible. Other PLUNDER members have remarked on several occasions that their primary function is to serve as Sleeper’s cannon fodder, although he always finds a way to rescue them when they’re captured. On the other hand, Sleeper has some redeeming qualities. He abhors the idea of killing. or even using deadly force. He hates superheroes far less than he hates psychotic supervillains, and will frequently give helpful clues to heroes if he discovers someone is up to something deadly. His dislike of the IHA organization is particularly intense – he’s a mutant and proud of his evolutionary advances, so there. He refers to them as “Genocideâ€, a label that’s stuck in a few quarters. As Calvin Davis, he is very subdued, but over the years Sleeper has spent less time in his Calvin Davis or Rick Rogers personae, for Sleeper feels more “real†and “alive†to him. To Sleeper, life isn’t lived “on the edgeâ€, it’s lived “over the topâ€. QUOTE: “Answer these two simple questions, Shamus, and get an insight into my fertile genius. First, what does a bookstore have in common with dentistry? Second, what measurement goes up when gravity goes down?†POWERS/TACTICS: Sleeper has a psionic ability to create illusions and subtle alterations to the alteration of the world around him. He’s limited to his immediate vacinity (an area a couple of meters around his body). He might, over the course of time, learn how to regenerate serious wounds, or disrupt the cell structure of those he touches (although Sleeper isn’t really interested in racking up a body count; this would be a deadly attack). Because his powers are psionic, they’re not always effective on those with high EGOs. Sleeper believes in providing clues, then performing robberies to a script. He typically relies on his shapeshifting ability to get him out of trouble, or to set up an opponent for his touch. His shapeshifting ability is limited by height/mass concerns, and most of all by clothing, which does not change as he does. Sleeper is also an excellent gadgeteer. For a long time, he used an experimental teleportation device, but that was taken from him by a local superhero. Now, he’ll typically develop devices that will help him make quick escapes (in-line skates for his shoes, a smoke bomb to obscure his get-away, etc.) Calvin follows the “flight†rather than the “fight†impulse. APPEARANCE: Calvin is 5’10†and an athletic 160 lbs; he is Caucasian with brown hair and brown eyes, and wears round “John Lennon†eyeglasses. As Rick Rogers, he doesn’t wear eyeglasses, but grows stuble, and wears a raincoat (as one might expect, he watched too much Columbo as a kid). As Sleeper, he has the same height and build, but with a darker skin tone, longer hair, and a moustache; he wears a three-piece suit (with an “S†marked on his chest), and carries a silver cane (purely decorative).

In 5th edition, Hero products have included scenario hooks attached to the published characters. I was wondering which ones, if any, struck you as particularly good, especially if you actually built a game around them. Scott bennie

Re: [Fifth Ed Conversion] Villainy Unbound: Phobos and Deimos It's a bit of a long story. Alex played short solo Champs games with a number of GMs while we were at UBC. Prowler had a habit of getting into losing battles against pretty much the entire cast of Enemies I and II. After about sixteen defeats in a row (good thing the player's a bit of a masochist :-)) Alex changed Prowler's identity to the Blue Phantom - and immediately started beating the same opponents that had beaten Dark Prowler handily before. This was the start of the multiple personality issue. Prowler couldn't stand being a straight man, so he reverted to Dark Prowler. The Scavenger persona emerged later, when there were times when a situation called on someone too serious for Prowler and too unheroic for Phantom. And yes, he did have a *very* bad childhood. Scott Bennie