Continuing Nineties Week, another fairly common theme was a dystopian outlook on the near future (amusingly, often set around 2025), particularly when it came to law enforcement, capitalism, and civil liberties. This showed up in both good books and bad, but I'm still devoting a post to it since the bad examples were often painfully awkward in hindsight, rivaling even PSA comics in that regard. Also taking the opportunity to work in some silly acronyms, which weren't exclusive to Nineties comics by any means but sure did show up in some of them.
Starting off with a superhero, followed by their counterparts in both full villain and lieutenant forms.
Name: Scofflaw
Origin: The vigilante known only as Scofflaw was one on the first subjects of LIAR's COPP program, and by far its worst failure to date - at least from the corporation's point of view. Early versions of the cyborg brain implants had far too few behavioral restraints and inadequate ethical suppression codes, as well as excessive self-repair and maintenance databases. The latter feature was intended to allow the cyborgs to remain operational even when damaged, something that Scofflaw has taken advantage of since his faulty loyalty programming lead him to break with his creators and flee into the Unlicensed Underground with millions of dollars worth of corporate cyberware grafted to his body.
Since going rogue, Scofflaw has played the role of a vigilante "superhero" and opposed the interests of Law Incorporated on numerous occasions, as well as fighting against both mundane and empowered unauthorized criminals. He's too secretive and violent to be truly well-liked by the law-abiding civilians he claims to protect, and his fellow undesirable outcasts are too paranoid about him being a corporate plant of some kind to fully trust him. Still, Scofflaw soldiers on, fighting for an ideal of justice few believe in any more.
Scofflaw has demonstrated an unmatched talent for operating multiple Automanus "rocket fist" drones simultaneously, something that's made recovering him for study a high priority for LIAR. They're unlikely to duplicate his abilities since they stem from his free will rather than some quirk in his prototype software. While he's capable of repairing damaged drones with time and effort, that doesn't stop him from scavenging them from defeated COPP Officers whenever possible, and his supply of "spares" are mostly trophies of previous victories.
Description: A tall African-American man with extensive cybernetic augmentations and cranial scarring typical of invasive brain surgery. All four of his limbs are obviously mechanical, his torso has spinal reinforcements and dermal plating over his vitals, and his left eye has been replaced with a trio of advanced sensor lenses. His hands are his most distinctive feature - each has twin thumbs with three fingers between them, and more disturbingly he carries up to a dozen "spares" hanging from his belt and crossed bandoliers covered in equipment pouches. The hands incorporate thrusters that let them operate independently as flying or scuttling drones, and can swap out fingers for specialized functions with a little work. He generally wears an unmarked uniform blue singlet under civilian street clothes that do very little to conceal his modifications. Almost always has a hat to conceal his scars, although they rarely last long in a fight.
Gender: Male Age: Early Twenties Height: 6'0" Eyes: Brown
Hair: Shaved, Surgical Scars Skin: Umber, Silver Prostheses Build: Cyborg
Background: Tragic Power Source: Unknown Archetype: Robot/Cyborg
Personality: Stoic Health (G/Y/R): 32/24/11
Powers: Awareness d10, Part Detachment d10, Robotics d10, Strength d8, Gadgets d6
Qualities: Close Combat d10, Technology d10, Cyborg Brain d8, Imposing d8, Investigation d8, Criminal Underworld Info d6
Status: Green (32-25) - d6 / Yellow (24-12) - d8 / Red (11-1) - d10
Abilities:
Green
Overclock Cyberprocessors (A) Boost yourself using Awareness. That bonus is persistent and exclusive.
Principle of Dependence (A) Overcome a challenge in a situation that your cyberware was made for. Use your Max die. You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: How was your cyberware damaged or lost? Major twist: How is your dependence preventing you from functioning as a hero? RP: You are reliant on your extensive cybernetic prostheses and cannot function normally without them.
Principle of the Gearhead (A) Overcome a technological challenge. Use your Max die. You and your allies each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What device just shorted out? Major twist: What machine just went terribly off the rails? RP: You always know the general state of repair and function of an item of technology, regardless of complexity or origin.
Rocket Punch Flurry (A) Attack using Part Detachment with a bonus equal to the number of bonuses you currently have.
Yellow
Adrenal Stimulants (I) Reduce the amount of physical damage dealt to you by 1/2/3 while you are in the Green/Yellow/Red zone.
Dual Rocket Punch (A) Attack using Part Detachment. Hit one target with your Min die, another target with your Mid die, and Boost with your Max die.
Helping Hands (A) Boost all nearby allies using Robotics. Use your Max + Mid dice. Hinder yourself with your Min die.
Red
Flying Fists (R) When you would be dealt damage, roll your single Part Detachment die to Defend against that damage. Attack a nearby target other than the source of that damage using the same roll.
Hyperclocked Cyberprocessors (I) When you use an ability action, you may also perform any one basic action using your Mid die.
Improvised Explosives (A) Attack multiple targets using Robotics. Use your Max + Min dice. If you roll doubles, either take a minor twist or damage equal to your Mid die.
Out
Dead Man's Hand (A) Defend an ally by rolling your single Close Combat die.
Tactics
In Green, open by establishing a lasting bonus with Overclock Cyberprocessors, re-establishing it whenever its removed and possibly repeating for redundancy and better effect despite the exclusivity. Aim to accumulate bonuses (including exclusive ones) for use with Rocket Punch Flurry, which can start hitting very hard indeed when he's got enough of them piled up. His Principles are also quite easy to apply, at least while his cyberware is still working properly.
In Yellow, Scofflaw gains solid physical damage resistance from Adrenal Stimulants, which scales up in Red. Helping Hands lest him deploy spare Automanus drones to assist multiple allies at the cost of a small penalty to himself, a very strong team support trick. Dual Rocket Punch is his go-to maneuver unless he needs maximum single-target damage, letting him deal with two softer targets at once while stacking up strong bonuses on himself or granting them to allies.
Once he reaches Red status, Flying Fists gives him a powerful defensive reaction that comes with a big offensive (ahem) punch as well, and can be a good place to throw bonuses to stay in the fight longer. Improvised Explosives is a very strong multi-target sweeper, and if he does roll doubles he can look at his Mid die and decide whether to take a twist or use his reaction to prevent the self-damage while bashing someone with an extra d10. Hyperclocked Cyberprocessors increases his action efficiency quite a lot, and may be most useful for extra Mid die Boost actions to fuel his other abilities. With a big stack of bonuses a humble little Green Rocket Punch Flurry can massively outperform the notorious Charged-Up Blast Red ability, and finishing a fight with a dozen cyber-fists roaring in at once is a pretty stylish move.
His Out Dead Man's Hand lets him continue to protect allies with whatever damaged drones are still active after he's gone offline himself.
Trivia
Whatever creator came up with this guy and the whole COPP thing really, really liked drawing robot hands zipping around. Better than drawing feet, I guess.
The IRL inspiration for the double-thumb look comes straight from ~25 year old miniatures game called Ronin from the long defunct Cel Entertainment. Their distinctive mecha "power fists" (both light and heavy) were just plain nifty, and I always wished they were easier to buy in bulk for conversions on 28mm scale figures - all the more so because they could be used as either right or left hands as desired thanks to the inhuman digit layout.
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COPP Officer
A Cybernetically Optimized Police Patroller Officer is the product of Law Incorporated's Advanced Research division (aka LIAR), a multinational firm responsible for security in [your dystopian campaign city] after the government privatized law enforcement. Baseline humans proved to be unsatisfactory when it came to dealing with empowered vigilantes and unauthorized crime, as well as being prone to making decisions based on personal interests and ethical considerations. The COPP program addressed this shortcomings by physically augmenting its subjects while installing behavioral controls that ensured compliance with corporate policy. Minor reductions in personal initiative have been noted as an unfortunate side effect of the process, but this is more than compensated by adaptive reaction hierarchies for every conceivable situation a patrol cyborg might encounter. Their pre-programmed priorities are ranked as follows:
- Prevent property damage to Law Incorporated holdings.
- Prevent property damage to client holdings as long as their premiums are paid up.
- Apprehend wanted criminals, including so-called "hero" vigilantes and unlicensed superbeings, terminating non-compliant targets when necessary.
- Uphold the law.
- Protect public property and civilians.
COPP prostheses are largely standardized, and are noteworthy for the use of versatile "Automanus" technology, detachable robotic hands capable of flight and independent operations as support drones in even the densest urban areas. These have largely replaced more conventional firearms in the police arsenal after cost benefit analysis showed they cause far less collateral damage than simple projectile or energy weaponry. Malefactors have come to fear the titanium hands of the Law Incorporated. Better still, consumers have purchased millions of COPP action figures with realistic Rocket Punch play features, improving divisional profit margins in the process.
Description: A heavily-modified cyborg, with all four limbs and both eyes replaced by obviously artificial prostheses and extensive dermal plating and reinforcements on their torso and heads. He has the same double-thumbed hand design as Scofflaw, although he carries only two spares on on a utility belt, one slung on each hip. Never seen outside of official uniform, a black singlet with a five-pointed silver lawman's star over the heart and a custom helmet with integral spotlights.
Gender: Varies Age: Twenties Height: Varies, 6' or more Eyes: Variable
Hair: None, Silver Dermal Plating Skin: Variable, Silver Prostheses Build: Cyborg
Approach: Adaptive Archetype: Guerilla
Health: 35 + (5 x H)
Powers: Part Detachment d10, Robotics d8, Strength d8, Gadgets d6
Qualities: Close Combat d10, Conviction d8, COPP Programming d8, Self-Discipline d8
Status: (# of Enemies Engaged) 4+ - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 0-1 - d6
Abilities:
Adaptive Programming (A) Lower two of your powers by one die size each. Increase one of your other powers to d12. Then take a basic action using that power.
Crowd Control Tactics (A) Attack multiple close targets using Close Combat. Hinder each target using your Min die.
Flying Cestus (R) Defend against an Attack by rolling your single status die. Deal that much damage to a different nearby target.
Gauntlet Drone (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Robotics die. Boost yourself using the same result.
Rocket Punch (A) Boost using Part Detachment. Use your Max die. Attack using your Mid die. Defend using your Min die.
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 Superiority (I) As long as you are manifesting an effect related to a power you have at d12, automatically succeed at an Overcome involving usage of those powers.
Tactics
COPP Officers follow programmed protocols with little innovation or free will, which makes them fairly predictable despite their versatile cyberware. Against multiple foes they'll try to move in and use Crowd Control Tactics. If unable to do so effectively or when facing single targets, they rely on repeated Rocket Punch strikes, funneling the bonuses generated into their next move as fast as they come in. When Attacked they use Flying Cestus until they've reached about half their maximum Health. At that point they'll pause to use Adaptive Programming to lower Strength and Gadgets and raise Robotics to d12, then begin reacting to Attacks with Gauntlet Drone instead. If they need to take an Overcome action they'll always try to use Adaptive Programming to maximize a suitable power to d12, lowering two powers other than Part Detachment.
They rarely have upgrades or masteries, which reflect experimental (and expensive) hardware and software upgrades. If they have received the refit they'll be significantly tougher, better at delivering damage, and will almost never need to roll to succeed on an Overcome.
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COPP Trooper d8 lieutenant
Description: Heavily-converted cyborg, nearly identical to the COPP Officer villain version but with more limited programming and firmware and lacking the "spare" hands since they can't operate the extra drones. Troopers are most often deployed for major operations where numbers are needed but purely organic personnel are unsuitable, such as sweeping areas of undesirables, large-scale manhunts and direct assaults on illegally operated "secret bases" used by superhuman vigilantes.
Adaptable: Gain a +2 bonus when taking Overcome actions. If you succeed with an 8+ increase your die size by one (max d8).
Automanus Technology: When you take an Attack action while your die size is d6 or higher, you may also Defend yourself using the same die roll. If you do so, use a die one size smaller than your current die size for the action.
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