An archery-themed villain, complete with a gang of supporters. Metatextually, he started out as a rather silly but inexplicably popular Golden Age baddie, returned in the Silver Age without becoming any more serious, and still gets dredged up as a bit of a joke legacy foe in later eras without ever breaking from his "robot archers" and fake nobleman themes. His schemes might get a bit more varied - holding Big Ben hostage until his title is recognized, for ex - but mostly he's a just a crook with a schtick.
Baron Bowman
Reginald Thomas Swinton comes from a wealthy family of American industrialists, but has an obsession with his family's supposed historical connections to the British peerage. A severe and quite delusional anglophile, he dreams of acquiring enough wealth to "buy back" the baronial title he believes he's entitled to. Since his own legally-earned assets (great as they are) don't come close to whatever fantastic sum he thinks will do the job, he's taken up a life of crime as Baron Bowman to enlarge his fortune. Equipped with an assortment of high-tech gadgetry purchased on the underground market and supported by custom robots and very well paid criminal muscle, his heists are surprisingly well-planned and frequently quite profitable.
As Baron Bowman, Reginald maintains a sort of Evil Robin Hood vibe, robbing from pretty much anyone to give to himself. He and his signature bow-bots both use high tech explosive arrows and vision-enhancement gear, which he further supplements with jump-jet boots, an array of stimulant injectors, and gauntlets that can channel a potent electrical charge. He's also ably assisted by his "Baronial Guards" with their shock-swords and powered halberds.
Description: A rather short but powerfully built man with a neat black mustache and goatee. He wears a tunic-and-leggings costume reminiscent of Robin Hood, but all in black right down to the feather in his cap. His boots, gauntlets, bow and quiver full of arrows are all clearly advanced technology, and he wears a pair of goggles with strange prismatic lenses that partially conceal his identity. Blessed with a powerful baritone voice, he speaks bombastically with an upper class English accent.
Gender: Male Age: 33 Height: 5'9" Eyes: Striking Green
Hair: Jet Black Skin: Swarthy Build: Broad-shouldered, Athletic
Approach: Disruptive Archetype: Overlord
Health: 35 + (5 x H)
Powers: Baron's Bow d10, Gadgets d10, Awareness d8, Leaping d8
Qualities: Ranged Combat d10, Close Combat d8, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Delusional Nobility d8
Status: (# of Minions & Lieutenants) 9+ - d12 / 5-8 - d10 / 3-4 - d8 / 1-2 - d6 / 0 - d4
Abilities:
Evasive Command (R) Reroll any number of minion saves against the same Attack.
Gimmick Arrow Volley (A) Attack multiple targets using Ranged Combat. Use your Min die. Hinder each target using your Max die. If one of those targets rolls double on their next turn, they take damage equal to the value of the penalty they gained.
Noble Bowshot (A) Attack using Baron's Bow. Use your Max die. Defend yourself against all Attacks until the start of your next turn using the number of your minions.
Stun Gauntlets & Stim Packs (A) Hinder using Gadgets. Use your Max die. Recover Health equal to your Mid + Min dice.
To Me, My Bow-Bots! (A) Use Delusional Nobility to create a number of minions equal to the value of your Max die. The starting die size of for those minions is the same as the size of your Min die.
Upgrades & Masteries (optional):
Villainous Vehicle +15 Health. Add a Black Arrow VTOL d10 Lieutenant with the following abilities to the scene: Bombard (A) Attack all heroes with this vehicle's roll. Use this ability only if the vehicle is below its starting die size or the scene is in the Red zone. Escape Plan (R) When Baron Bowman is Attacked, roll this vehicle's die. If it rolls higher than Baron Bowman's current Health, both he and the vehicle escape the scene. Minion Deployment (A) Add minions to an existing group equal to half the vehicle's current die size. These minions are of a size equal to the highest die size already in the group. If the vehicle has a bonus or penalty adjust the number of minions by that amount and then remove that mod.
Master of Profitability (I) If you have access to great wealth and other resources, automatically succeed at an Overcome to leverage those resources to get even richer, no matter who pays the price.
Tactics
Baron Bowman is a flamboyant combatant who thrives on attention, at least while he's adequately supported by guards and bow-bots. Against a group he'll rely on Gimmick Arrow Volley to target as many foes as possible, reducing their effectiveness while inflicting some minor damage. Key targets will be singled out for a Noble Bowshot launched from a safe vantage point among his lackeys' ranks. He uses Evasive Command to protect his minions whenever possible, and will call more whenever their numbers dwindle with To Me, My Bow-Bots! The Baron prefers to use his jump boots to remain at a distance to best display his archery skills, but if pressed in melee or badly hurt he has a surprise waiting with his Stun Gauntlets & Stim Packs.
With his upgrade he brings his signature Black Arrow VTOL to the battle instead of leaving it lurking nearby to deploy more bow-bots on command. His mastery inexplicably lets him actually make a profit on his heists even when losing large numbers of his mechanical servants or his VTOL.
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Bow-Bot d4 to d12 minion (see To Me, My Bow-Bots! ability above)
Description: Slender humanoid robots painted matte black. Their ball-shaped heads are featureless except for two rainbow lenses that resemble Baron Bowman's own goggles. Each carries a high-tech bow and well-filled quiver of arrows. Their combat software is unfortunately rather erratic, but when it's working at it its best they can be quite dangerous.
Programmed To Take Advantage: When you take an Attack action against a target with one or more penalties, gain a +1 bonus.
Baronial Guard d10 lieutenant
Description: Tall, powerfully built women and men in ornate but somewhat archaic black uniforms with crimson frogging and epaulettes, glossy black boots and a white sash. They carry a mix of electrically-charged swords and halberds as their main weapons, and are also sensible enough to carry concealed pistols (archaic motif be damned) for times when they find they've brought a figurative knife to a gunfight.
Elite Guard: When you target a villain with a Defend action, you may also Boost them with the same roll. Decrease the value of the resulting bonus by one (minimum zero).
Iron Determination: You gain a +1 bonus to saves against damage. Whenever you gain a penalty, reduce the value of that penalty by one (minimum zero).
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