A pair of ruthless vigilante antiheroes who've recently come to your campaign setting. They might seem like useful allies against supervillain and mundane criminals at first, but their extreme methods and willingness to kill will likely see them clashing with both the law and your player characters before long. They're also deeply paranoid and will target the heroes if them show even the slightest signs of potential betrayal.
Father Cobweb
Nothing definite is known about the origins or true identity of the man called Father Cobweb, although there are suggestions that he may actually have been a member of the clergy at some point rather than merely disguising himself as one. A ruthless vigilante antihero with a particular hatred for street gangs and mobsters, he isn't shy about resorting to terror tactics backed by deadly force, a viewpoint shared by his partner Attercop. What he does when not hunting criminals is unknown, and it's quite possible he's obsessive enough that his vigilantism is his life.
The origins of his powers are equally unclear, but they're most likely some kind of natural or experimentally-induced mutation. His unique metabolism gives him superhuman reaction time and great strength, but his signature power is the ability to exude organic webbing from his skin at will and in great quantities. This webbing is extremely tough and versatile, and Father Cobweb can swiftly stretch and weave it into a variety of shapes for various uses, varying its adhesion and density as desired. It's most commonly formed into impromptu nets, lashes, whips and snares, imprisoning shrouds or thrown grappling lines that let him swing around urban areas and attach himself to vertical surfaces with ease. He can create webbing that has caustic effects on living tissue, causing great pain to those who come in contact with the stuff.
Description: A tall, thin bald man wearing a traditional Catholic clerical garb - conservative black shirt, shoes and trousers with a priest's collar. When "working" his head will be tightly wrapped in his own webbing, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed. Damaging his clothing will reveal similar wrappings over his whole body, serving as light body armor. He has a deep, commanding voice with a slight Midwestern US accent and no sense of humor at all.
Gender: Male Age: Thirties? Height: 6'2" Eyes: Black, Red-Rimmed
Hair: None, Usually Covered in Webbing Skin: Caucasian Build: Slender
Approach: Adaptive Archetype: Inhibitor
Health: 25 + (5 x H)
Powers: Swinging d10, Agility d8, Wall-Crawling d8, Strength d6
Qualities: Close Combat d10, Acrobatics d8, Frightening Vigilante Antihero d8, Stealth d8
Status: (# of heroes with penalties) 0 - d6 / 1-2 - d8 / 3+ - d10
Abilities:
Blinding Webs (A) Hinder multiple targets using Swinging. Use your Max die. Attack one of those targets using your Mid die.
Inhuman Speed (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Agility die. Also Boost yourself using that roll.
Practiced Trickery (A) Use an action ability of one of your allies.
Prey On Vulnerability (A) Each hero loses Health equal to the total penalties on them. Recover the same amount of Health. Remove those penalties.
Stalking Hunter (I) On your turn, whenever you Attack a target that you haven't dealt damage to yet this scene, also Boost yourself using your Max die.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Power Upgrade (I) +20 Health. Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).
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
Father Cobweb favors a mobile, acrobatic combat style that concentrates on hampering foes with his caustic webbing. He tries to Attack a new foe each round to maximize the benefits of Stalking Hunter, using the resulting bonuses in as cunning a way as possible. When facing multiple enemies or fighting alone he relies heavily on Blinding Webs, although he may use Practiced Trickery to imitate Attercop's Caught In My Grip ability using his webs instead. When facing a single target, Practiced Trickery also gives him access to her Weaving Limbs ability, again using his webbing in place of her cyborg limbs. Once injured or if his foes are smothered in penalties he'll use Prey On Vulnerability to harm all of them at once while healing himself at the cost of all the penalties in play. His Inhuman Speed reaction makes him hard to hurt and harder to stop.
His upgrade improves his dice pools considerably, amplifying his Hinders quite a bit while also helping his mobility and durability. When using the core book's masteries he revels in being a unpredictable foe. If using the homebrew masteries below he's equally likely to have either of them, usually the same one as Attercop.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Attercop
Nothing definite is known of Attercop's origin, although she's most likely the product of some mad science experiment or perhaps an illicit super-soldier program. She certainly reserves her greatest hatred for tech-villains, but no criminal is safe from her and she's quick to resort to lethal force even against mundane thugs and petty crooks. Her closest human connection seems to be her partner Father Cobweb and they usually "patrol" together when stalking evildoers. If she has a life beyond "the hunt" it's a complete mystery.
A partial-conversion cyborg, she can just barely disguise herself as a normal human with loose, full coverage clothing and some kind of head covering, and even that ruse fails on close inspection. Her head and torso sport extensive dermal armor, her eyes have been replaced with clusters of camera lenses, and both legs are braced and reinforced with metallic struts and musculature that run up her spine as well. Both her organic arms and shoulder have been removed completely, replaced with two complex arrays of four multi-jointed spider-like limbs on each side. These limbs are deceptively strong and tough, and each of them ends in a three digits that can grip with bone-crushing force or link together and revolve at high speeds like an impromptu drill. Even more remarkably, she can use all eight of her deadly arms simultaneously with inhuman speed and precision.
Description: When disguised, she favors a modified Catholic nun's habit that conceals as much of her features as possible, worn over black workout clothing and oversized combat boots. If she keeps her head lowered you might even miss her cybernetic eyes at a distance. When revealed (usually after her habit has been shredded) she's clearly a cyborg, hairless and sporting heavy dermal plating. Her arms have been replaced with eight over-long, vaguely insectoid limbs tipped with triple gripping claws, which move restlessly with inhuman grace. She uses concealed speakers and an obviously artificial machine-voice program, never moving her lips or jaw to speak.
Gender: Female Age: Thirties? Height: 5'10" Eyes: Mechanical Red Lenses
Hair: None Skin: Pale, Large Plates of Dermal Armor Build: Cyborg
Approach: Ninja Archetype: Guerrilla
Health: 40 + (5 x H)
Powers: Bionic Upgrades d10, Vitality d10, Agility d8, Leaping d8, Speed d6
Qualities: Close Combat d10, Conviction d10, Acrobatics d8, Frightening Vigilante Antihero d8, Stealth d8
Status: (# of Enemies Engaged) 4+ - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 0-1 - d6
Abilities:
Caught In My Grip (A) Attack one target using Close Combat. Use your Max + Min die. Defend against all Attacks from targets other than that target with your Mid die until your next turn. All Defended damage is dealt to the target of your Attack instead.
Cyborg Augmentations (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Vitality die. Also Boost yourself using that roll.
Too Many Eyes, Too Many Limbs (I) If you are outnumbered by nearby opponents, reduce all damage dealt to you by two.
Weaving Limbs (A) Attack using Close Combat. Hinder that target using your Max + Min dice.
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 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
Attercop is a frighteningly effective close quarters fighter, relying on her extensive Cyborg Augmentations and Too Many Eyes, Too Many Limbs for defense. She's at her best in the thick of a fight, picking off one foe after another using Caught In My Grip to protect against her victim's allies. When facing a single foe she pins them down with her Weaving Limbs instead, greatly hampering their counterattacks.
Her upgrade increases her durability and damage output considerably. If sticking with core book masteries she exploits her unpredictable nature to gain the upper hand. If not, she's equally likely to use either of the homebrew masteries below.
_____________________________________________________________________________
As mentioned above, these two villains are likely to share the same mastery when upgraded, with several options to reflect their current plans in your campaign. Master of Chaos is from the core book, while the other two below come an earlier post here on the blog. Master Infiltrator is most appropriate when they're facing off against a criminal's stronghold, or planning to "discourage" your heroes by ambushing them in their headquarters or homes. Master of Terror suits best when they've been allowed to carry out their ruthless vigilante activities for too long, turning even the most law-abiding citizens' opinions against costumed supers and the violence that accompanies them so often.
Master Infiltrator (I) If you've had the opportunity to properly study a security system, automatically succeed at an Overcome to bypass or otherwise manipulate that system without being detected. Villains with this Mastery rarely remain in prison for very long unless special countermeasures are employed to prevent their escape.
Master of Terror (I) Automatically succeed at an Overcome to spread fear in a community and weaken the morale of those who oppose you as long as you've made an example of a victim recently. This primarily affects NPCs, although heroes may suffer indirectly as frightened civilians refuse to co-operate or blame them for failing to stop the villain sooner.
No comments:
Post a Comment