This particular villain is extremely dead in my campaign continuity, having never even made an appearance in the game and existing solely as a reference in the post about the other Bodycount. He doesn't fill a useful slot in my villain collection when I've got the Silent Harvester around, so I wasn't going to bother with going into more detail about him. Still, villains don't always stay dead, time travel happens, and other folks might want a diabolically empowered serial killer, so here's a quickie writeup.
If he ever does come back, the woman who took his life and his supranym will be quick to hunt him down and vivisect him to figure out why killing him the first time didn't stick. Probably less painful being in actual Hell than dealing with Annabelle Grant's scientific method.
Bodycount
This Bodycount is a supernaturally-empowered serial killer who prefers to prey on mundane victims, particularly conventionally attractive young women. He's an easily-overlooked nebbish until he strikes at his current prey, at which point he manifests the disturbing supernatural abilities granted to him by the diabolic entities that whisper commands in his head. His powers let him manipulate shadowy infernal energies a little bit, blanketing a small area with hellish shapes and he can cling to surfaces like some great dark spider, but his signature weapon is the literal demon's tongue in his mouth. Aside from honeying his words when need be, the thing can extend to absurd lengths, slice the most durable flesh like a razor and even grab and manipulate small objects or strangle a foe. Not a real terror to supers under normal circumstances, but very dangerous when attacking a lone victim from ambush and far too much for mundane law enforcement to deal with.
What his origin or real name is, or why he was empowered, or what his diabolic masters really want is up to you. In my games he's dead, and not answering questions.
Description: A blandly unobtrusive figure in civilian garb, barely worth a second glance except for an ever-so-slightly twisted posture. If you catch him while hunting, he wreathes himself cloying shadow-shapes whose touch burns like acid, scuttles across walls and ceilings like a bizarre humanoid spider, and distends his jaw to unleash an eight foot long prehensile forked tongue.
Gender: Male Age: 38 Height: 5'10" Eyes: Brown
Hair: Oily Brown Skin: Caucasian Build: Slightly Crooked
Approach: Leech Archetype: Predator
Health: 30 + (5 x H)
Powers: Demon's Tongue d10, Infernal d8, Wall-Crawling d6
Qualities: Fitness d8, Murderous Sociopath d8, Persuasion d8, Stealth d8
Status: (# of Enemies Engaged) 0-1 - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 4+ - d6
Abilities:
Cutting Word (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Demon's Tongue die. If this negates the Attack completely, use the same roll to Hinder the Attacker and Boost yourself.
Hellish Phantasms (A) Hinder multiple targets using Infernal. Recover Health equal to your Min die. If you roll doubles, also Attack one of those targets using your Max die.
Homicidal Instinct (A) Attack using Murderous Sociopath. Use your Max die. If the target has a penalty you created or is in the Red zone, use your Max + Mid dice instead.
Stalking Killer (A) Boost yourself using Stealth. Use your Max die. That bonus is persistent and exclusive. Defend yourself against all Attacks using your Mid die until the start of your next turn.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Quality Upgrade (I) +20 Health. Increase the die size of each of your qualities except Murderous Sociopath by one step (maximum of d12).
Master of the Unfathomable (I) If you are in a situation involving eldritch forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of otherworldly entities beyond human concerns.
Tactics
Bodycount prefers to prey on mundane victims, but occasionally his diabolic patrons demands he hunt more dangerous targets. He's uncomfortable facing multiple foes, and will try to find a way to ambush an isolated foe. Stalking Killer lets him set up for such opportunities, and when he finds an opening he'll launch his assault with Homicidal Instinct, which he usually uses with Demon's Tongue in the pool but works fine with Infernal or even d4 mundane weapons. If possible he'll try to establish a penalty beforehand with Hellish Phantasms to enhance his damage, which is also his ability of choice when forced to deal with more than one enemy at a time. Cutting Word gives him a very strong defensive reaction as long as it completely blocks all damage, so he may accept a strong hit and hope for a weaker one later to maximize the utility of the reaction.
In my continuity this Bodycount was killed before getting an upgrade, but he might have earned one eventually through doing his masters' bidding. If he was returned from the dead by them they might even grant him the added boon in the process. His mastery would reflect him meeting the ever-increasing demands of those who empower him.
Even with an upgrade, the other Bodycount will kick his ass reliably. Her abilities make a laughably bad matchup for him even with a mass Hinder to more than halve the minion damage she'll be dealing out to him.
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