Monday, April 24, 2023

Firebug & Torch-Girl, A Father-Daughter Dastardly Duo

More fire-themed villainy here, this one inspired by the injustice of heroes getting to do a bit of casual child endangerment with their sidekicks while villains are usually left out in the cold.  Whether your heroes can save his daughter from a life of crime is questionable, and she sure isn't asking for help. 

Firebug

Jerry Macklin is one of those baffling cases that recur again and again in the annals of super-villainy.  He's always displayed an incredible talent for engineering and tinkering with technology, but never even considered using it to earn an honest living.  Jerry started his criminal career in his late teens by robbing the local bank with a cheap costume and a home-made heat gun built out of parts from his parents' garage.  Within the year he'd turned his loot into a highly efficient suit of powered armor, built his signature thermo-projector gauntlets and made a name for himself as the reliable villain-for-hire Firebug.  He's been in prison a few times but never stays in long before he MacGyvers his way to an escape.  Outside of his suit he's got a bad case of "little man syndrome" and it shows even when he's working.

Surprisingly, Jerry found time to sire a daughter somewhere along the line, and while his relationship with her mother is long over he's stayed in the girl's life and (by his own weird standards) tried to be good father to her.  Jeanette grew up adoring the guy even once his criminal activities were clear, and at age 18 she insisted on following in his footsteps.  While she doesn't have anything like Jerry's knack for gadgetry she's enthusiastic, scrappy, and a fast learner.  Jerry's quite proud of his new sidekick Torch-Girl (a pet name from catching her playing with matches as a young child) and she tags along on most of his jobs.  

Firebug's allies are a little less enthused with the situation.  Your average super-crime isn't Bring Your Kid To Work Day and Jerry's protectiveness can throw him off his usual standard of professionalism.  This has led to some of the less dreadful supervillains keeping an eye on the kid in a fight, and while most of them would never admit to it she's become something of a mascot for them.

Description: A figure in a fire-engine red power suit, about six foot six with angular armor plating and jet thrusters beneath an armored dorsal carapace like a scarab's wing-cases.  Chunky charcoal gray forearm bracers conceal its signature thermo-projectors.  The torso sports a scarab beetle logo and its helmet has a stylized insectoid look, complete with mandibles, faceted optical sensors and articulated antennae.

His daughter wears a similar but smaller power suit with prominent energy booster arrays built into its shoulders.  Its own thermo-projectors have safety lockouts that only disengage in emergencies.    

Gender: Male               Age: 38                 Height: 5'8"                Eyes: Blue

Hair: Red          Skin: Heavily Freckled         Build: Wiry Little Guy

Approach:  Specialized                      Archetype:  Squad

Health:  25 + (5 x H)

Powers: Fire d10, Power Suit d8

Qualities: Technology d12, Acrobatics d8, Experienced Super-Crook d8

Status: (# of other Villains) 3+ - d10 / 1-2 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Arcing Flames (A) Attack using Technology.  Use your Max die against one target, your Mid die against a second target, and your Min die against a third target.

Curtain of Flame (A) Attack using Technology.  Use your Max die.  Defend all nearby allies using your Mid + Min dice until the start of your next turn.

FWOOOSH! (R) When another villain is Attacked, Defend against the Attack by rolling your single status die.  Boost yourself using the amount of damage reduced.

Jets of Fire (A) Attack using Technology.  Use your Max + Min dice.  Defend yourself using your Mid die.

Primed For Ignition (I) Whenever you Attack a target that you have dealt damage to at least once already in this scene, gain a +1 persistent and exclusive bonus against that target.

Upgrades & Masteries (usually, unless Red Scarab has been defeated previously or she's got a date tonight):

Villainous "Vehicle" +15 Health.  Add a Torch-Girl d10 Lieutenant (see stats below) to the scene.

Master Mercenary (I) If you have a contract for a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome when your payment is at stake.

Tactics

Firebug is an old hand at the villainy-for-hire game and his fighting approach is cautious and professional, making him a popular team-mate.  He uses Curtain of Flame to cover his allies initially, switching to Jets of Fire against anyone who's pressing him while employing FWOOOSH! to reactively protect other villains.  If he's facing several foes he'll use Arcing Flames against them, which rapidly sets him up for bonuses from Primed For Ignition.

He almost always operates with his daughter/sidekick Torch-Girl these days, who's usually content to stick to the plan and support her father in action.  Anyone who Attacks her will not only draw attention from Firebug, they'll trigger retaliation from Torch-Girl herself using Bombard.  Firebug's mastery keeps him focused on the mission.  That tends to fall apart if his daughter is endangered, at which point he'll take Overcomes to let her escape the scene while staying behind to cover her getaway.

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Torch-Girl d10 lieutenant (technically a Villainous "Vehicle" upgrade, trading carrying capacity for flight systems)

Description: Her suit is similar to her father's, but smaller at 5'11" and has a pair of big energy-boost arrays on its shoulder pauldrons and a slightly more curvy design overall.  Her chest armor bears a lit torch logo rather than a scarab beetle and her helmet abandons the insectoid look in favor of an ominous blank faceplate and a pair of anime-inspired "bunny ear" antennae.  Firebug can remotely override the suit in emergencies, which he's used in the past to get his daughter clear of danger whether she wants to go or not.

Bombard (A) Attack all heroes with your roll.  Use this ability only if below its starting die size or the scene is in the Red zone.  

Reliable (I) When you take a Boost action on your turn, roll twice and use the higher result.

Suit Thrusters (I) You may move as though you had Flight d6.

Sturdy (I) When rolling a damage save add 2 to the result.


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