Horror and superheroes make for a bit of an awkward mix, but some horror tropes translate pretty well. Today's writeup is a villain styled on an 80's slasher flick, with a combination of powers and abilities that make him very focused at getting to his chosen victim and keeping them isolated until he's finished the job. You could also reskin the guy into a pretty good assassin type without much effort.
The Silent Harvester
It's a slasher movie villain as a supervillain and you want a background for him? Just take urban legends and horror movies and blend elements of them till you get something that suits you. What? Lazy? Fine. Here's a few possibilities:
The Silent Harvester was once just a shy farmhand, but one day he found a rusty old sickle partly buried at the edge the cornfield he was working in. He picked it up...and the cursed spirit of the Red Harvest had a new host. The blood would flow again! [Cue ominous music]
Or maybe he's a former Soviet super-agent, driven mad by the Ghost of Trotsky. He's trying to kill Mecha-Stalin to get the voice in his head to stop nagging him, but he's pretty delusional at this point and sees practically everyone as some Stalinist official or another.
Or he's the creation of a cursed movie projector or old film reel or something, and the PCs can predict his moves more easily if the watch the film - or at least read the screenplay. Counting on a ten minute Youtube review for plot details because you were in a hurry is likely to end badly for someone. Maybe this version of him can drag you into his movie if you're close enough to the screen when he strikes. Overcome to force your way out, or for others to force their way in. When he teleports it looks like a film skipping a few frames.
Or it's just the Biomancer screwing around again, because it's always the bloody Biomancer, isn't it? The Silent Harvester's a fleshchild. You're a fleshchild. I'm a fleshchild. Everyone in the world is a fleshchild and the Biomancer has completely lost the plot, if there ever was one to begin with.
Happy? Good.
Description: A hulking shape swathed in layer upon layer of tattered, faded clothing, stained with dried blood. One hand clutches a large sickle that gleams with a ruddy light. Shadows seem to deepen in its presence, and with a moment's inattention the thing has vanished from sight again. Is it behind you now?
Gender: Male Age: Unknown Height: 6'4" Eyes: Soulless
Hair: Long, Gray, Tangled Skin: Corpse-like Pallor Build: Hulking
Approach: Relentless Archetype: Indomitable
Health: 40 + (5 x H)
Powers: Sanguine Sickle d10, Strength d8, Teleportation d6
Qualities: Stealth d10, Fitness d8, Mad Slasher d8, Insight d6
Status: Always d8
Abilities:
Dragged To Your Doom (A) Attack using Sanguine Sickle. Either Hinder that target using your Max die, or Defend yourself using your Min die and you and the target end up elsewhere in the scene.
Gather the Harvest (A) Attack multiple targets using Mad Slasher. Hinder those targets using your Min die.
No Escape (R) When an opponent moves away from you, you may follow them and roll your single status die as a Hinder against them.
Press the Attack (A) Attack using Mad Slasher. Use your Max die. Make note of your Mid die, and if the target doesn't Attack you on their next turn, Hinder them with that result.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Slash and Hack (I) +20 Health. When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die.
Master of the Harvest (I) While your chosen victim is still alive, automatically succeed at an Overcome if it will prevent your prey from escaping the scene.
Tactics
Pick a target as your chosen prey. Hunt it down and kill it. Repeat.
If anything gets in your way, use stealth and teleportation to slip past and Master of the Harvest if possible. If your prey attempts to flee, use No Escape to follow and slaughter them. If they stand up to you alongside their allies, isolate them with Dragged To Your Doom. Use Press the Attack to deprive your prey of options. If there are too many protectors between you and your prey to slip past, thin them down with Gather the Harvest.
Personally I'd use the upgrade and mastery with him. Those are re-named Group Fighter and Master Mercenary there, with the latter slightly re-themed - he wants blood, not money. Group Fighter does wonders for his damage output and puts his base Health up to 60, and Master of the Harvest is very thematic for getting at his prey. Makes him a difficult scene element, but mad slasher types are traditionally supposed to be pretty hard to stop or they'd stop getting sequels. Probably best used solo, filling in the scene with an environment that plays to his strengths (lots of separate locations he can hop between, dragging his prey around to isolate them) and challenges that keep the heroes busy. Saving innocent bystanders, traversing difficult terrain, avoiding being distracted by sounds and shadows, etc.
Trivia: Conceptually, his Insight quality is for detecting fear, not making business deals or figuring out what birthday presents to buy people. Gather the Harvest targets "multiple targets", no "nearby" involved - the original name of the ability was Suppressive Fire. I see it as the guy making a slew of short, fast teleports to hit and confuse a number of targets without them needing to be in a clump like "nearby" usually suggests.
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