A gentleman thief who stole the wrong relic and wound up with an uninvited guest in his psyche. Kind of like a supernatural Odd Couple, if Felix was a very polite burglar and Oscar wanted to cast down all of civilization.
Despoiler
Leopold Berrycloth-Jones is the favorite alias of a highly accomplished international art and antiquities thief, and might even be his real name. He was a consummate professional with an excellent reputation for straight dealings - until he had the misfortune of "acquiring" a the wrong ancient idol from a private collector. The statue had been a prison for an inimical spirit entity for millennia, and Leo's touch had finally broken the ancient spell that contained it. Leo found himself struggling for possession of his own body with the Despoiler, Ruiner of Cities, Sacker of Ran-Hannot, etc., etc. Really, the thing had more titles than His Royal Majesty. Quite absurd, and certainly not something an Englishman with any pride would kowtow to.
The spiritual conflict ended with Leo victorious, but the Despoiler settled in a corner of his head waiting for an opportunity to seize temporary control. The entity's drives were simple, albeit rather out of touch. Apparently some uncivilized nature spirit, it existed to overthrow civilization by casting down the cities of man, rending their very fabric and using their own strengths against them. It didn't take Leo long to realize that his uninvited guest's abilities (used more subtly, of course) could be an enormous asset to him, and he's learned that he can draw upon them carefully while (mostly) keeping control. True, there have been a few unfortunate incidents where a slight overreach wound up with him awakening days later in a landscape of ruins, but one can hardly be blamed for such things.
Since then, Leo has expanded his thefts to far more ambitious targets, and has made contacts within the super-crime community based on old clients from before he became host to the Despoiler. These worthies include the haughty Angelo Nero, the delightful heiress Lilian Myers (half-sister of Fiona Donovan-Myers), and his old business associate, the importer Wilson Waterman. He still prefers "working" with rare artwork and historical artifacts, but some so-called supervillains will offer simply ludicrous amounts for odd bits of scientific gimcrackery or trophies of fallen heroes.
Description: An elegant man of Anglo-Irish descent, usually nattily dressed in stylish civilian garb suitable to his surroundings. When "working" (such a gauche term) he's more likely to be garbed in a dark outfit with an array of burglary tools, carefully stowed so they don't produce unwanted noise as he moves stealthily about. He speaks in a posh English accent with nary a trace of Eire to be heard, and seems like a charming and trustworthy fellow.
Gender: Male Age: 34 Height: 5'10" Eyes: Glittering Green
Hair: Ginger with Neat Goatee & Beard Skin: Pale Build: Fashionably Trim
Approach: Creator Archetype: Inhibitor
Health: 25 + (5 x H)
Powers: Metal d10, Electricity d8, Stone d8, Plants d6
Qualities: Finesse d10, Criminal Underworld Info d8, History d8, Ruiner of Cities d8, Stealth d8
Status: (# of heroes with penalties) 0 - d6 / 1-2 - d8 / 3+ - d10
Abilities:
Agonizing Constriction (R) When Attacked by someone with a penalty you created, Defend by rolling your single status die. Deal the Attacker that much damage as well.
Bonds of Steel (A) Hinder multiple targets using Metal. Use your Max die. Attack one of those targets using your Mid die.
Carve the Bones of Cities (A) Use Finesse to create a number of minions equal to the value of your Max die. The starting die size of those minions is the same as your Min die.
Wrath of the Despoiler (A) Attack using Electricity. Use your Max die with a bonus equal to the number of minions you control.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Power Upgrade (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
Despoiler's behavior varies depending on whether Leopold is in control or not. If he's currently himself, he'll use his powers carefully with a clear objective in mind, either pursuing the goal of his current theft or escaping from meddling supers, both of which are likely to involve creative Overcomes. If the Ruiner of Cities has taken over, common sense is out the window and it's all about the property damage with no concern for loss of life. Either way, if it comes to a fight he'll rely on Bonds of Steel until he can time things to start his turn with a capped out status die, then create a mass of powerful minions with Carve the Bones of Cities. He'll use Agonizing Constriction at every opportunity to protect himself. Leopold dislikes personal violence, but his other half is quick to use Wrath of the Despoiler against anyone or anything that draws his ire.
His upgrade seems to appear at random, perhaps according to some ancient calendar. While it gives him greater power and durability it also makes the Ruiner of Cities' influence harder to resist, as reflected by his mastery.
If Leopold does retain full control when upgraded, a more appropriate Upgrade/Mastery pairing would be either of these (the latter is a homebrew that comes from this older post):
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 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.
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Despoiler Icon d6-d12 minion (see Carve the Bones of Cities)
Description: Roughly humanoid masses of animated material pulled from nearby resources. They vary considerably in size (height about equal to the value of their current die size) and move awkwardly but with implacable purpose. In a city they'll mostly be composed of metal or stone, but may incorporate lumber and even still-living plants as well.
Ruiner of Cities: You gain a +2 bonus when taking Overcome actions to damage or destroy buildings and urban infrastructure.
Worth noting that unlike some summoned minions, these things just quietly fall apart if Despoiler is defeated, flees the scene or surrenders. The latter two require Leopold's mentality to be in charge, the Despoiler itself being a fight-till-he-drops type. It's only Leo's body getting beaten up, which doesn't hurt the spirit inside at all.
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