The Loud Crowd
The Loud Crowd are a somewhat-organized team of villains who share a common origin, having gained their powers at a New Mexico musical event a few years ago. The "Supersonic Concert Incident" saw some experimental amplifiers accidentally grant several hundred audience members super-powers, leading to a huge riot, short-lived crime spree, mass intervention by police and heroes from four different states, and one of the largest lawsuits in the history of the music industry. Most of the "superfans" lost their powers within hours or days, and many others have had them removed (either voluntarily or as part of their criminal sentence), but over a dozen seem to have gained permanent abilities, all of which involve sound generation and control to some degree.
While some of these new supers went on to become heroes or solo villains, the Loud Crowd have stayed together under the nominal control of Reverb, who regards herself as the team leader. Their crimes have been primarily financial, although they've also dabbled in stealing technology to amplify their powers and done some work with or for more established villains. The group isn't particularly stable even by villainous standards and often has two or three members AWOL on any given mission, but the straying lambs always seem to come back eventually - frequently aiding the others in making a jailbreak after being captured. Eventually they'll either all get nabbed at once or wind up breaking up completely, but neither has happened yet.
It's worth noting that, despite their origin, most of the Loud Crowd have minimal musical talent. Chorus has a nice singing voice and is pretty good with a tambourine, Cacophony wants to be a singer and thinks she can play guitar, but only Tempo actually has the skills to make a living as a musician - and he's lost interest since super-villainy pays way better than drumming ever did.
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Aamira Osman-Smith, aka Reverb
Description: Mature woman of Afghan descent, costumed in a well-tailored black business suit, the look only slightly spoiled by her adoption of a short white "Captain Marvel" cape. She exudes an air of confidence that slips over into arrogance under stress and always speaks formally, avoiding the slang the rest of her team employ so frequently. She generally wraps herself in aural and visual illusions that either draw attention to her (she has her own theme music and dramatic lighting) or help conceal her movements or even presence (she's a stealthy flyer when she has to be).
Gender: Female Age: 38 Height: 5'9" Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black Skin: Light Brown Build: Svelte
Approach: Disruptive Archetype: Predator
Health: 35 + (5 x H)
Powers: Illusions d10, Sonic d10, Flight d8, Presence d8
Qualities: Persuasion d10, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Leadership d8, Shady Music Promoter d8
Status: (# of Opponents Engaged) 0-1 - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 4+ - d6
Abilities:
Betrayal (A) Attack using Presence. Use your Max die. A target dealt damage this way Attacks an ally by rolling their single largest power die.
Feedback Loop (A) Hinder multiple targets using Sonic. Use your Max die. Attack any target that gains a penalty this way that already had a penalty created by you with your Mid + Min dice.
Grand Illusion (R) Hinder using Illusions, Use your Max die. That penalty lasts until your next turn, and while it lasts the target cannot use reactions or benefit from Defend actions.
Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah (A) Hinder multiple targets using Persuasion. You and any nearby allies Defend with your Max die.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Power Boost (I) +20 Health. Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).
Master of Profitability (I) If you have access to great wealth and other resources, automatically succeed at an Overcome to leverage those resources to get even richer, no matter who else pays the price.
Tactics
Reverb usually opens a scene by acting as late in the round as possible, using Feedback Loop, and then acting as early in the next round as possible and repeating Feedback Loop to trigger as much damage and impairment as she can. After that, she'll use Grand Illusion on anyone with a strong reaction or a Defend action in place to set them up for her allies. If one hero seems especially powerful she'll use Betrayal to turn them against his allies. Otherwise she'll spam Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah to cover her whole team until she see an opening to repeat the Feedback Loop trick. She prefers to stay airborne when possible and may panic if caught in melee by someone who seems really dangerous.
She likes to think of herself as being in charge, but usually only Echo plays along with her fully unless there's money on the line, in which case El Tronido and Tempo get on board fast. The others do admit she's a good planner and have let her deal with a lot of the detail work involving the somewhat informal team.
Like Cacophony, her powers use psycho-sonic effects, although hers involve a lot less yelling and cursing. Feedback Loop manifests as grating sonic distortions, Betrayal requires her to make contact (by gaze, hearing or touch) with the victim, Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah is a wave of mental pressure that makes it hard to even look in her direction, and Grand Illusion leaves its victim in a confusing haze of sound, light and shadow. She has one of the more versatile power sets on the team and is pretty good at using it creatively.
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Willis Free, aka Echo
Description: Pale young man with a definite edgy Goth look, dressed in layers of black clothing and an old-fashioned executioner's hood when "working" as a supervillain. Has a black thorn-wrapped heart tattoo on the back of each hand.
Gender: Male Age: 19 Height: 6'0" Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Black Skin: Pallid Build: Starved
Approach: Leech Archetype: Inhibitor
Health: 25 + (5 x H)
Powers: Absorption d10, Sonic d8, Flight d6
Qualities: Alertness d8, Finesse d8, Insight d8, Petty Criminal d8
Status: (# of Heroes With Penalties) 3+ - d10 / 1-2 - d8 / 0 - d6
Abilities:
Dead Silence (A) Each hero loses Health equal to the total value of all the penalties on them. Recover the same amount of Health. Remove all those penalties.
Echo of Aggression (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Absorption die. If this negates the Attack entirely, Hinder the Attacker and Boost yourself using the same roll.
Karmic Inversion (A) Select a nearby target. Either turn all bonuses on that target into equivalent penalties, or move a penalty from that target to another target you can see.
Resounding Echoes (R) Hinder multiple targets using Sonic. Recover Health equal to your Min die. If you roll doubles, also Attack one of those targets with your Max die.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Quality Upgrade (I) +20 Health. Increase all Quality dice sizes except Petty Criminal by one (max d12).
Master Mercenary (I) If you have a contract for a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome where your payment is at stake.
Tactics
Echo usually works closely with Reverb, timing his actions so that he can harvest her penalties with Dead Silence. If need be he creates his own mods (and occasionally some damage) with Resounding Echoes. Echo of Aggression provides him with a strong defensive reaction that can also hand out more mods. Any hero with significant bonuses (especially persistent ones) will be targeted with Karmic Inversion with an eye toward consuming the resulting penalties with Dead Silence later.
Reverb thinks Echo is her loyal flunky. He thinks she's going to regret that some day soon. At least one of them is in for a surprise. He's also seriously attracted to Cacophony, but can't bring himself to admit it and is painfully awkward around her.
His powers revolve around absorbing and emitting sound waves, as well as some kind of weird psychic feedback thing he doesn't fully understand. Echo of Aggression reflects hostile intent back on the attacker, and (like Dead Silence) sounds like a peal of thunder playing in reverse. Resounding Echoes is thunder looping at x2 speed. Karmic Inversion is silent but leaves the target with a head full of painfully discordant "sound" only they can hear.
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Willow Green, aka Chorus
Description: Graceful and frail looking, Willow favors retro hippy fashion when she isn't "working" with her super-team. In costume, she wears a pale blue bodysuit that leaves her head, hands and feet bare, accented with a long white sash. She rarely touches the ground, preferring to fly whenever possible (although she doesn't like great heights much). Whenever Chorus is using her powers (which is almost always) she's followed by a background chorus of eerie voices right at the edge of hearing.
Her summoned constructs are surreal vaguely humanoid shapes in a rainbow of pastel colors. When violence is called for they suddenly manifest very real-looking fanged maws and twisted claws. The stronger they are the brighter their colors, fading to nothingness when destroyed.
Gender: Female Age: 21 Height: 5'5" Eyes: Cornflower Blue
Hair: Blonde Skin: Tanned Caucasian Build: Slight
Approach: Creator Archetype: Squad
Health: 20 + (5 x H)
Powers: Sonic d10, Duplication d8, Illusions d8, Flight d6
Qualities: Creativity d10, Acrobatics d8, Hippy Stoner d8, Insight d8, Persuasion d8
Status: (# of other Villains) 3+ - d10 / 1-2 - d8 / 0 - d6
Abilities:
Call the Choir (A) Use Creativity to create a number of minions equal to the value of your Max die. The starting die size of these minions is the same as the size of your Min die.
Duet (A) Use Creativity to create a lieutenant of the same die size as your Max die.
Harmony (A) Boost using Illusions. Boost another target using your Max die. Defend against all Attacks against you until your next turn using your Min die.
Solo (A) Attack using Sonic. Use your Max die. Defend all nearby allies with your Mid + Min dice until the start of your next turn.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Quality Upgrade (I) +20 Health. Increase all Quality dice except Social Chameleon by one size (max d12).
Master of Conquest (I) As long as you are in command of your own forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to seize an area of capture civilians.
Tactics
Chorus is still pretty inexperienced at the whole supervillainy thing, but she's learning pretty fast. When she's on her A game, Willow usually opens by either using Harmony to Boost allies while Defending herself, or Call the Choir to flood the scene with minions. If she has the opportunity she'll also use Duet to spawn one or more lieutenants, who usually spend their turns Defending or Boosting her. If her villainous allies are in danger she'll switch to Solo to cover them, and sometimes she'll do the same thing to ward a death-ball of her minions as they tear the enemy to shreds. She doesn't have much offense herself but her constructs can really grind out damage if their numbers aren't whittled down steadily.
Chorus is pretty self-absorbed (and high as a kite) most of the time and the group dynamics of the Loud Crowd largely pass her by. She has decided that Tempo is a serious sex pest and Reverb is a bit of a control freak. El Tronido looks like trouble, but he's got some amazing contacts.
Fighting her is a real SFX spectacular, with Call the Choir and Duet conjuring singing, dancing energy constructs out of thin air, Harmony creating a wave of psychedelic lights and music, and Solo emitting an expanding halo of shattering feedback noise.
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Hugo Mannon, aka El Tronido
Description: Big, bald, burly and covered in skull and serpent tattoos, the guy has kind of a stereotypical biker vibe going on when dressed in civilian clothes. In costume he wears a dark green sleeveless boiler suit with bulky steel-toed boots and metal-reinforced black gauntlets that come up to his elbows. He's got one of those ridiculous domino masks in the same green as his suit, although you'd have to be pretty oblivious not to recognize him just from all the scalp tattoos.
Gender: Male Age: 23 Height: 6'0" Eyes: Black
Hair: Shaved Bald Skin: Light Brown Build: Brawny
Approach: Generalist Archetype: Bruiser
Health: 45 + (5 x H)
Powers: Sonic d10, Strength d8, Vitality d8, Momentum d6
Qualities: Close Combat d10, Conviction d8, Former Roadie and Cycle Ganger d8, Fitness d6
Status: Green Zone Health - d6 / Yellow Zone Health - d8 / Red Zone Health - d10
Abilities:
Get Nasty (A) Attack using Strength. If you are Green status, use your Max die. If you are Yellow status, use your Max + Min dice. If you are Red status, use your Max + Min dice against one target and your Mid die against another.
Laugh It Off (A) Defend using Conviction. Use your Mid + Min dice. Recover Health equal to your Max die.
Thunder Block (R) When an ally is Attacked, Defend them by rolling your single Sonic die. Boost yourself with that roll.
Thunderclap (A) Hinder multiple nearby targets using Sonic. Boost yourself using your Max die.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Power Boost (I) +20 Health. Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).
Master of Annihilation (I) If you can cause massive collateral damage without regard for casualties, automatically succeed at an Overcome in a situation where a show of overwhelming force would help.
Tactics
El Tronido prefers to open fights with his signature Thunderclap move to debuff groups of foes, and uses Thunder Block to protect the first ally who gets Attacked each round even if it's not the smartest choice. This lets him stack up Boosts on himself fast, which he tends to sit on until he sees a good opening to unload them on a key attack later in the fight. He's not afraid to take some hits and usually waits to close in until he's into his Yellow status, after which he Gets Nasty and tries to take out a hero with a big hit. If pushed into the Red he may switch to Laugh It Off for a round to shrug off some damage using whatever Boosts he has on the Recover, but if there are a couple of heroes in melee with him he may just try to finish them first instead.
Hugo's motivation is partly monetary and partly love of a good fight, especially when roughing up cops is on the agenda. He's absolutely confidant that he's the toughest guy in the room, which makes him overconfident and the most likely of the whole Loud Crowd to get caught. Hugo's pretty oblivious to the social dynamics of the rest of the group, although he's been known to tip a few back with that lightweight Tempo and he's hooked Chorus up with dealers a few times.
El Tronido's abilities are less flamboyant than the rest of the team, with his Thunderclap and Thunder Block being handclaps that produce shockwaves of sound and the rest being standard tough-guy moves.
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Maria Escarra, aka Cacophony
Description: A small, lightly-built young woman in a generic black "supervillain" bodysuit, black gloves and mirror-visor helmet that leave nothing showing but her mouth. She wears classic Doc Martens with the outfit, and accessorizes with oversized vintage tee-shirts from a variety of classic punk bands. She's still trying to decide which of her dad's old Dead Kennedys shirts to wear for her next job.
Gender: Female Age: 18 Height: 5'4" Eyes: Blue/Brown Heterochromia
Hair: Black Mohawk Skin: Dark Build: Slight
Approach: Focused Archetype: Fragile
Health: 10 + (5 x H)
Powers: Sonic d12, Suggestion d8
Qualities: Imposing d10, Punk Rock Wannabe d8, Ranged Combat d8
Status: Green Zone Health - d10 / Yellow Zone Health - d8 / Red Zone Health - d6
Abilities:
Cruel Words (A) Hinder using Suggestion. Use your Max die. Then Attack the same target using your Mid die.
Loud Is Good (A) Attack one target using Sonic. Use your Max die. The target cannot Defend or use reactions against this Attack. Attack multiple other nearby targets using your Min die.
Louder Is Better (A) Attack using Sonic. Use your Max + Mid dice. Hinder yourself using your Min die.
Reverberate (R) When Attacked with Sonic, Recover that amount of Health rather than taking damage. When Hindered with Sonic, Boost yourself instead.
Sweet Talk (A) Attack using Suggestion. Then remove all bonuses from the target.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Talk Them Down (I) +10 Health. The heroes act as being in the Green zone for status die, ability access, and all abilities. Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes. If a hero takes a minor twist while attempting these Overcomes, you may use a reaction to Hinder them by rolling your single Suggestion die.
Master of Total Chaos (I) Automatically succeed at an Overcome when you throw out all the rules during a situation that is spiraling out of control.
Tactics
Not a lot of depth in her bag of tricks here. Loud Is Good hits hard and leaves the target open for other Attacks, and Louder Is Better hits even harder but wears Cacophony out some. Unless there's another obvious Sonic-themed super around she'll use her Reverberate reaction to turn her self-Hinder from Louder Is Better into a Boost instead. Cruel Words laces psionic energy with all the yelling, and Sweet Talk is similar but strips off any bonuses the target might have. She'll try to use the most appropriate attack each round but she's green enough that she's likely to choose poorly now and then.
Cacophony and Echo don't get along very well, mostly due to a mutual attraction that neither wants to admit to. It's all very anime. The word "baka" has been used on occasion. She's also not fond of Tempo, who's a major creeper.
Her powers all revolve around psycho-sonic manipulation, and she pretty much spends most fights shouting obscenities at people. The only ability that doesn't just sound increasingly loud curses is Sweet Talk, which is a single painfully pure note. Literally painful.
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Marcus "Mackie" Ray, aka Tempo
Description: Heavily tattooed skinhead, looks a bit older than he actually is. Almost always smoking, which annoys most of the rest of the team. He wears a one-piece set of black biker's leathers and sturdy red running shoes as a costume, modified with an garish red pentacle painted on the chest of the suit. Carries at least one pair of drumsticks at all times and fidgets with them in and out of a fight.
Gender: Male Age: 27 Height: 5'10" Eyes: Blue
Hair: Shaved, Inverted Cross Tattoo "Halo" Skin: Pale, Satanic Tattoos Build: Lean
Approach: Adaptive Archetype: Indomitable
Health: 35 + (5 x H)
Powers: Speed d10, Agility d8, Momentum d8, Sonic d6
Qualities: Finesse d10, Acrobatics d8, Alertness d8, Hot-Shot Drummer d8
Status: Always d8
Abilities:
Drum Beating (A) Attack multiple targets using Finesse. Hinder those targets using your Min die.
Hyperslam (A) Attack using Momentum. Either Hinder that target using your Max die, or Defend yourself using your Min die and you and that target end up elsewhere in the scene.
Looking For Trouble (I) On your turn, whenever you Attack a target you haven't dealt damage to yet in this scene, Boost yourself using your Max die.
Ramp It Up (A) Take 1d6 irreducible damage. Increase the die size of all you powers by one (max d12) until the end of the scene.
Too Fast To Touch (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Speed die. Then, Boost yourself with that roll.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Group Fighter (I) +20 Health. When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die.
Master of Superiority (I) As long as you are manifesting an effect related to a power you have at d12, automatically succeed at an Overcome involving usage of those powers.
Tactics
Tempo is the speedster in the group and doesn't really do much with sonics. He'll usually use Ramp It Up at least once and maybe twice to buff up his power dice, then use Hyperslam on one target after another to maximize the Boosts he gets from Looking For Trouble. Meanwhile he uses Too Fast To Touch to protect himself and gain even more bonuses. Once he runs out of fresh targets he'll switch to Drum Beating to sock everything at once, dumping all his accumulated bonuses into the ability as he does so. If that still doesn't win the fight he's likely to exit, stage left. Anyone tough enough to weather all that abuse is more dangerous than anything he wants to deal with.
Tempo is in this for the money and a chance to show off how fast he is, although he's also interested in bedding both Cacophony and Chorus if he gets the chance. Which he won't, but he's a clueless idiot. He occasionally goes drinking with El Tronido, or with Reverb when she's paying.
His abilities are as visually boring as a speedster's tricks can be, although he sometimes does flourishes with his drumsticks between moves, especially if there's a power armored hero to play on.
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