KILL-A-TON, Arms Dealer Who Loves Her Own Merchandise

A super-tech arms dealer who's definitely sampling her own wares.. 

KILL-A-TON

Cleo Akamai has loved firearms since she first handled her father's pistol at the tender age of five, and she's only become more enthusiastic over time.  Not content to simply fire them (although that is the fun part) she quickly moved on to use her super-genius intelligence to improve on the and then eventually design her own.  At some point after her college days the expenses for new material and repairs to her workspace exceeded her legitimate income.  Deciding to join the super-crime community was not a difficult decision for the young Miss Akamai.

In the ten years since she's established a reputation for reliability and built a well-paying clientele in the market for advanced weaponry and gadgetry.  Unlike some "tech head" villains she also takes irregular "road trips" operating under the supranym KILL-A-TON.  Her principle goal during these outings seems to be getting an opportunity to shoot her big-ass cannon conduct field testing on her latest upgrades, but she'll usually have some scheme in the works as well.  Whether she's looting exotic materials or technology she can't get otherwise, doing a favor for some villainous ally, or attempting to proactively eliminate some hero that's annoyed her somehow, she regularly varies her approach.  Sometimes it's just her a pack of robot minions or guns-for-hire (often being paid in her own weaponry), sometimes it's another villain, and once in a while she'll show up with a whole team made up of her customers.

KILL-A-TON's casual approach to mass destruction has many heroes looking for her, but she doesn't reciprocate their feelings and has no real nemesis.  The closest she gets to ongoing enemies are the agents of the Science Integration Network (SIN), who have repeatedly attempted to recruit or steal from her and continues to do so despite their failures and some fairly vigorous chastisement from KILL-A-TON.   

Description: Seen outside her power suit, she's a short, lightly built woman of native Hawaiian ancestry, including a slight Islands accent.  When working, all you'll see is a menacing anime-style battlesuit studded with thrusters and auxiliary equipment pods and holding a massive energy cannon that links to one shoulder via an articulated armature.  The gun glows and hums more and more ominously the more it builds up a charge.  The suit is all-concealing and modulates her voice into an obviously artificial tone. 

Gender: Female     Age: 30     Height: 5'2" (6'9" suited up)     Eyes: Dark Brown

Hair: Black, Cut Short      Skin: Golden Tan     Build: Slim

Approach: Mastermind     Archetype: Inventor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Mk. 25 Doom-Cannon d12, Inventions d10, Power Suit d8

Qualities: Ranged Combat d10, Criminal Underworld Information d8, Gun-Crazy Schemer d8, Imposing d8, Science d8, Technology d8

Status: (# of Inventions/Mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Intimidation Ploy (A) Attack one hero using using Technology.  Hinder all heroes using your Max die.

Overcharger (R) At the start of your turn, if you have no bonuses in play, roll your single Science die to Boost yourself.

Warning Shot (A) Boost using Mk. 25 Doom-Cannon.  Hinder using your Max die.  Attack using your Min die.

You Were Warned (A) Attack using Mk. 25 Doom-Cannon and at least one bonus.  Use your Max + Mid + Min dice.  Add all your bonuses to the Attack, destroying them.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Defense Shield (I) You cannot be damaged by anything except yourself until the defense shield is destroyed.  The shield has 40 Health, or can be deactivated with three Overcome successes.  If a hero takes a minor twist working on the shield, you can use a Reaction to Attack that hero by rolling your single Mk. 25 Doom-Cannon die.  Gain Reestablish Shield (A) Overcome using Inventions.  Use your Max die.  On a success remove one success from the deactivation challenge.  Alternatively, instead of an Overcome, use your Max die to Recover that much of the shield's Health.  This ability cannot be used if the shield has been completely removed.

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

Unless KILL-A-TON has a strong reason to be subtle about things, she'll happily spend her time cutting loose with her ridiculous powerful energy cannon turn after turn.  That said, she's a decent tactician and does everything she can to make every shot count.  When possible she spends her bonuses as fast as they come so she can get all the mileage possible out of Overcharger.  She often opens a fight with an Intimidation Ploy (using the bonus from her reaction, of course), loosing brilliant, noisy and  confusing micro-pulses while building up her status die with the penalties handed out.  She'll then take a Warning Shot at whatever the greatest threat appears to be, which can generate more mods for status effects if she uses Science or Technology instead of Ranged Combat.  KILL-A-TON follows that up with her signature move, a full-power shot using You Were Warned on the same target, repeating until they've learned their lesson.

Her upgrade significantly improves her durability, either through blocking damage or costing the heroes time doing Overcome actions, the latter of which may also grant her a chance to take a few snap-shots if her reaction is available (in which case she'll at least be less focused on exploiting Overcharger since it's a reaction too).  She has zero qualms about using her mastery when it might help, and is overall pretty casual about killing or seriously injuring innocents and heroes alike.

Trivia

Almost all of the bonuses she generates will be "Ominous Hum" with the number of m's at the end equal to the size of the bonus.  Yes, this is a Schlock Mercenary reference.

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KILL-O-BOT Minion d8 minions

Description: Basic humanoid automaton, not fancy (and certainly not smart) but well equipped and programmed for mayhem.  KILL-A-TON doesn't put much effort into these things, robots aren't really her passion.  They do get issued with her usual high-quality guns, though.

Made Them Myself: Each group of H (or fraction thereof) of these minions counts as an invention for purposes of KILL-O-TON's status die.  You can only take Attack and Defend actions.

Only the Finest In Zap Guns: When you Attack, any rolls of one can be rerolled once.

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Karrion Klone, Because "Klone Saga" Would Have Been Even More Nineties

It's tough to say what storyline readers hated most in the nineties, but Spider-Man's Clone Saga is certainly a contender.  A muddled mess that was drawn out far beyond what was originally planned for it, the slog of trying to keep up with an increasingly confused plotline over Spidey's many books of the time ultimately cost Marvel a lot of fans, some of whom never returned.  It also marked one of the early signs of an editorial obsession with Peter Parker's marriage somehow hurting sales - the story was originally supposed to reveal that the married Peter we'd followed for years was actually a clone who would go into retirement with MJ while Ben Reilly took over the mantle of Spider-Man.  It's kind of impressive that Spider-Man survived the Clone Saga with as many readers as he did, and rather depressing to know that future editors and creative teams would make even less popular decisions for the character.  But back in the day the Clone Saga looked like the nadir for poor Peter Parker, so of course it gets a post for Bad Nineties Week.

The villain below got used in a recent one-shot (well, one-and-a half, really) where our heroes got tanged up in an incomprehensible scheme involving cloned villains and both NPC and PC heroes, culminating in yet another ironic death for "mastermind" behind it all when he fell into a vat of genetic deconstruction fluid and melted.

Any similarities to Biomancer are purely because he's fully as goofy as the Jackal ever was - but at least no one spent hundreds of real-world dollars trying to keep up with his ridiculous plots as they sprawled interminably over multiple flagship Marvel titles.

Karrion Klone

This villain has an insanely convoluted backstory that's unlikely to even matter during play.  Originally fringe geneticist Warren Miles, he became a supervillain after the death of a woman he'd been stalking, calling himself the Dhole after the animal whose DNA he spliced into his own for augmented speed and strength.  The Dhole perished fighting a superhero shortly thereafter, only to return courtesy of his automated cloning technology.  This cycle repeated itself multiple times, with his physical and mental condition degrading with each new life.  Eventually he reached his current corpselike appearance and adopted the supranym Carrion Clone instead, becoming obsessed with obtaining DNA from superhumans to find a way to stabilize his condition - and create an army of obedient super-powered clones while he was at it.  More deaths and rebirths followed as he was foiled again and again.

That would be confusing enough, but the current Karrion Klone isn't even native to our universe.  The Drew Williams of Earth-K managed to replace his local doppelganger during his last cloned resurrection, avoiding the usual dimensional stress issues by copying his own mentality into an Earth-Prime klone...er, clone.  Karrion Klone with-a-K has his own backstory that only vaguely resembles the previous version, who may or may not be permanently deceased now.  Sadly, his motivations remain much the same, and his talent for biological mad science is just at remarkable.     

Description: An emaciated figure with spindly limbs and skin the color of moldy meat.  He dresses in a yellow breechclout, clawed gloves with with some kind of gadgetry obviously built in, and a jackal-faced helmet that conceals his twisted features.  Both gloves and helmet incorporate mechanisms for delivering toxins, soporifics and stimulants as needed.

Gender: Male     Age: Mid-Thirties     Height: 5'10"     Eyes: Yellow

Hair: None     Skin: Sickly Pale Green     Build: Cadaverous

Approach:  Creator                                Archetype:  Inventor

Health:  25 + (5 x H)

Powers: Inventions d10, Agility d8, Toxic d8, Leaping d6

Qualities: Science d10, Investigation d8, Medicine d8, Technology d8, Self-Made Madman d8

Status: (# of bonuses in play created with abilities) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6 

Abilities:

Klone Guardian (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling the die of one of your nearby lieutenants.  Reduce the die size of that lieutenant by one (minimum d4) unless the Attack's damage was reduced to zero by this Defend.

Murderous Outburst (A) Attack using Toxic and at least one bonus.  Use your Max + Mid + Min dice.  Destroy all your bonuses, adding their value to the Attack.

Spawn Kopykat (A) Use Science to create a lieutenant of the same size as your Max die.

Stimulant Treatments (A) Boost using Inventions.  Use your Max die.  Then Boost using your Mid die.  Either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional, usually in play when not in his lair):

Villainous Vehicle +15 Health.  Add a Vulture Kraft d10 Lieutenant with the following abilities to the scene:  Escape Plan (R) When Karrion Klone is Attacked, roll this vehicle's die.  If it rolls higher than Karrion Klone's current Health, both he and the vehicle escape the scene.  Recovery (A) Roll the vehicle's die.  Karrion Klone Recovers that much health.  Sturdy (I) Gain a +2 bonus to saves against damage.

(alternate upgrade when in his lair)

Mind-Altering Haze (I) +10 Health.  While the scene is in the green zone, all heroes' qualities of d8 or higher are reduced by one die size.  In the Yellow zone all of the heroes' qualities of d10 or higher are reduced by one additional step (two die sizes total).  In the Red zone, all heroes' quality dice are treated as d4.  Heroes can remove this upgrade with three overcome successes.  If a hero takes a minor twist while taking these Overcomes, they lose access to a quality entirely until this upgrade is removed.  If a hero is knocked out while this ability is active, create a new friendly minion with a die size equal to the hero's largest power die to represent the brainwashed hero.

Master of Mad Science (I) As long as you have access to materials, automatically succeed at an Overcome by using scientific principles and inventions.

Tactics

Karrion Klone relies on creating obedient but short-lived clone duplicates of other superbeings whose DNA he's acquired.  The process is swift but requires a genetic "blank" to impress their characteristics onto, meaning Spawn Kopykat requires access to a supply of these proto-organisms from suspension pods in his lair or on board his Vulture Kraft upgrade.  He uses Stimulant Treatments to augment both himself and his lieutenants to build up his status die, while they allow him to use his Klone Guardian reaction for defense.  Karrion Klone's unstable personality drives him to take a direct hand in battle when he has the advantage, using Murderous Outburst whenever he can do so with a status die of d10 or d12.

He'll almost always have his Villainous Vehicle upgrade outside his lair to allow him to use Spawn Kopykat and for self-preservation, and his mastery will be used to further whatever scheme has brought him out from the laboratory in the first place - usually collecting more genetic samples.  Within his lair, he usually has his Mind-Altering Haze upgrade instead, hampering his enemies and even turning them into his puppets.  

His lairs will also have the following challenge, which counts as a separate difficult scene element.  Bearding Karrion Klone at the heart of his operation is a dangerous proposition.

Disable Suspension Pods difficult challenge

Overcome by either method:

Methodical Approach 

• Access Main Controls 0
• Override Security System 00
• Power Down System 0

Special: Only one character can attempt to Overcome this challenge using this method per round.  Each major twist generated while Overcoming this challenge releases a Blank Slate lieutenant into the scene instead of the usual results.

Just Wreck Everything 

• Smash Suspension Pod Banks 0000

Special: Each Overcome success on less than a 12+ result releases a Blank Slate lieutenant into the scene.  Any twist effects still apply separately.

Outcome: When either approach is completed, Karrion Klone can no longer use his Spawn Kopykat ability in this scene.

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Blank Slate d10 lieutenant

Description: Crudely-formed humanoid creature with vague facial features and slimy slug-belly white flesh.  Incapable of speech and only dimly aware of its surroundings, but quick to respond to aggression.

Imprinting: Gain a +2 bonus to Attack actions after the first time you roll a save against damage, pass or fail.  Gain a +2 bonus to Hinder actions the first time you receive a penalty.  Gain a +2 bonus to saves against damage the first time your die size degrades.

Surprise Assault: When you first appear in a scene, you act next in the initiative sequence.

Kopykat variable, usually d10 lieutenant (see Spawn Kopykat)

Description: Indistinguishable from a known hero or villain, including one of the PCs.

Dependent: Can only be created with Spawn Kopykat as long as there's an active Vulture Kraft lieutenant or Disable Suspension Pods challenge in the scene.

Power Emulation: Select two or three abilities from those found on pages 287-289 of the core rulebook, choosing ones that best duplicate the original's capabilities.

Design Note

The Klone Guardian ability is a renamed homebrew taken from a previous post.  You could drop it in favor of the Creator approach's Summon Mob ability to allow him to deploy minions in the form of more basic and unstable clones (possibly of himself) but he won't have much synergy with them.  It will leave him with no defensive reaction so his lackeys will need to spend actions protecting him with Defend and Hinder actions.

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Go-Go Girl and the Groovy Gadget-Man, Swinging Sixties Super-Foes of Sorts

This hero and villain pairing were a direct result of filling in the background of another hero character I used in a one-shot last month.  They're an interesting non-couple but man, did he have some issues.

Go-Go Girl

Go-Go Girl was a Silver Age speedster hero active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Her powers were the result of exposure to radiation from US nuclear testing, with both her parents having been contaminated by fallout in separate tests and the whole family catching another dose shortly after her birth.  Rather than contracting cancer like her relatives eventually did, she was imbued with fantastic speed, agility and reaction times as well as an "atomic metabolism" that granted phenomenal endurance and the ability to heal rapidly from injuries.  Her career was a fairly brief one, spanning only seven years before dying heroically in 1974 while while rescuing an entire town from a disastrous dam collapse.  Go-Go Girl's civilian identity was never publicly revealed, although the US government is believed to have access to that information in the Top Secret files of the FBI's Superhuman Affairs section.

She generally worked as a solo hero with a focus on crimes and violence targeting members of the so-called "hippie" counterculture, as well as actively supporting the civil rights, women's rights, and anti-war movements of her day.  This earned Go-Go Girl considerable disapproval from some older, more established heroes but made her very popular with her younger peers who were starting to emerge from the Baby Boom in ever-greater numbers.  She also clashed with a number of peer supervillains, many of whom shared some of her beliefs but not her overall altruism and optimism.  The most notable of these was the techno-villainous heister known as the Groovy Gadget-Man, who would go on to create an artificial duplicate of her in later years as an homage to his favorite enemy from his youth.  

Description: A slender, athletic young woman who looks more than a bit like Anne Francis.  She favors a snug silver body suit with knee-high boots for active hero work and various "flower child" fashions otherwise, often accessorizing with peace symbol jewelry in either role - which double as a calling card left behind on baddies she's defeated.  She has a mezzo-soprano voice and can carry a tune almost as well as she dances.   

Gender: Female            Age: 18           Height: 5'3"            Eyes: Deep Blue

Hair: Honey Blonde                  Skin: Tanned Caucasian             Build: Svelte

Background: Performer     Power Source: Radiation     Archetype: Speedster

Personality: Cheerful                   Health (G/Y/R):  28/21/10

Powers: Agility d10, Speed d10, Momentum d8, Vitality d8

Qualities: Acrobatics d10, Creativity d8, Flower Child Superhero d8, Alertness d6, Finesse d6

Status: Green (28-22) - d10 / Yellow (21-11) - d8 / Red (10-1) - d6

Abilities:

Green

Good Karma (I) Whenever you roll a one on one or more dice, you may reroll those dice.  You must accept the results of the reroll.

Groovy Moves (A) Attack multiple targets using Acrobatics. Use your Min die.  Hinder each target using your Mid die.

Principle of Speed (I) When you successfully Overcome, you may end up anywhere in the current environment.  You and your allies each gain a Hero Point.  Minor twist: What physical drawbacks do you suffer from going too fast?  Major twist: What critical detail did you speed past earlier that is now coming back to haunt you?  RP: You're fast and don't like to waste time.  You like to keep moving.

Principle of Youth (A) Overcome in a situation where your age or size is an asset.  Use your Max die.  You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point.  Minor twist: Who has been put off by your overconfidence?  Major twist: What person that you would hate to let down is now very disappointed in you?  RP: Innocent and cheerful, you can slip into many situations that adults would have trouble with.

Put On A Show (A) Boost or Hinder using Agility.  Use your Max die.  If you roll doubles, Attack using your Mid die.

Yellow

Practiced Routine (R) After rolling during your turn, you may take one irreducible damage to reroll your entire pool.

Ram-O-Rama (A) Attack multiple targets using Momentum.  Use your Max die against one target and your Mid die against each other target.  If you roll doubles, take irreducible damage equal to your Mid die.

Take A Quick Breather (A) You may remove a penalty on yourself.  Then, Boost yourself using Agility.  If you didn't remove a penalty, Recover using your Min die.

Red

Atomic Metabolism (A) Hinder yourself using Vitality.  Use your Min die.  Recover Health equal to your Max + Mid dice.

Step Up The Pace (I) You have no limit to the number of Reactions you can take.  For each Reaction after the first you use in a round, take one irreducible damage or a minor twist.

Timely Heroics (R) When an opponent Attacks, you may become the target of that Attack and Defend yourself by rolling your single Acrobatics die.

Out

Watch Out! (A) Boost an ally by rolling your single Agility die.

Tactics

Go-Go Girl is a fairly basic speedster with the usual high mobility, some strong multi-target abilities and solid dice-fixing tricks, backed up by strong defensive and healing options in a crisis.  In Green she has access to a strong and versatile mod generator with Put On A Show, an offensive multi-target ability in Groovy Moves and die rerolls from Good Karma.  Principle of Speed makes her very mobile when taking Overcome actions as well as potentially earning two hero points at a time if she can also use her somewhat narrow Principle of Youth.

Yellow sees her add another dice fixing trick with her Practiced Routine Reaction.  Her Ram-O-Rama ability is her primary offensive move for dealing raw damage, and her dice manipulation reduces the risk of rolling doubles to harm herself.  Take A Quick Breather gives her a modest Boost option combined with good penalty removal or minor self-healing.

In Red Go-Go Robo she gains a very strong group defensive Reaction with Timely Heroics, which is made even better with Step Up The Pace.  This helps her stay in action until she can use her Atomic Metabolism to do a big Recovery and hopefully get back in the Yellow where she's more comfortable. 

When Out, her appropriately-named Watch Out! ability lets her provide a continuing source of bonuses to her team.

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The Groovy Gadget-Man

Roger Thomas Markson (aka the Groovy Gadget-Man) was a Silver Age villain mostly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, dropping out of the supercrime scene to serve almost half a century of prison time starting in late 1973.  He was a child prodigy with a natural talent for miniaturized technology using light and sound to manipulate human senses and mental states.  He took to a life of crime after rejecting government attempts to recruit him as a weapons designer in his teens, cutting ties with his parents (who were insistent he take the offer) at the same time.  While active he specialized in heist jobs, robbing banks, payrolls, large chain stores and the occasional millionaire's mansion.  He was scrupulous about using non-lethal weaponry and gadgets, leaving his victims temporarily unconscious or in an altered mental state but physically unharmed.

As his supranym suggests, Markson was deeply involved with Sixties counterculture, with workshops hidden in communes across the country.  He was often accompanied by large numbers of his so-called "hippy heisters" during his thefts, most of whom held to his "no killing" code with a few ugly exceptions.  While it was never proven, the authorities suspect a large fraction of his total take was secretly donated to various progressive social movements of the day.  Even so, it would be a mistake to think he was some kind of Robin Hood character, and he never undertook a job unless there was money in the offing and plenty of it.

Markson crossed paths with several superheroes during his career, but his recurring nemesis was the speedster Go-Go Girl.  The two had a complicated relationship in many senses which ended when she died in the spring of 1974, just a few months after capturing the Groovy Gadget-Man for the last time.  He was just starting a lengthy prison sentence at the time and to everyone's surprise, chose to serve it quietly for almost 50 years before eventually being released in the early 2020s.  A few years later he resurfaced one last time, staging a classic bank heist that was quickly foiled by a new superhero - Go-Go Robo, a gynoid automaton that he'd built himself and equipped with the memories of his old foe.  Markson died peacefully of cancer while in custody awaiting trial, but his homage to an old frenemy is still carrying on her legacy in 2024.

Description: A thin young man with a deep tan, dressed in sandals, tan bell-bottoms and a wild paisley vest without a shirt.  Always wears oversized glasses whose lenses are marked with dollar signs that glow and/or shift to a hypno-spiral when he's using his powers.  He's festooned in New Age and hippie jewelry that conceal his numerous gadgets.  Often has one or two brightly-colored plastic energy pistols worn on a cowboy-style gun belt - examples of his non-lethal "love gun" technology.  His strong baritone has a slight Californian accent and he tends to mix Sixties slang with abstruse technical terms.  

Gender: Male              Age: 23                Height: 5'8"                Eyes: Brown

Hair: Light Brown, Worn Long        Skin: Suntanned Caucasian        Build: Slender

Approach: Dampening                   Archetype: Inventor

Health:  35 + (5 x H)

Powers: Inventions d10, Presence d8, Remote Viewing d8

Qualities: Science d10, Creativity d8, Silver-Tongued Super-Crook d8, Technology d8 

Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Groovy Gadgets (A) Boost using Inventions.  Hinder using your Max die.  Attack using your Min die.

Jive Talk (A) Attack one target using Silver-Tongued Super-Crook.  Use your Max die.  Hinder each opponent that can see or hear your target using your Min die.

Negative Waves (R) When a nearby hero that you can see invokes a twist, roll your single Inventions die to Hinder them.

Positive Waves (R) Discard one of your bonuses and use its value to Defend against all Attacks against you until the start of your next turn.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Brainwashing Zone (I) +10 Health.  While the scene is in the green zone, all heroes' qualities of d8 or higher are reduced by one die size.  In the Yellow zone all of the heroes' qualities of d10 or higher are reduced by one additional step (two die sizes total).  In the Red zone, all heroes' quality dice are treated as d4.  Heroes can remove this upgrade with three overcome successes.  If a hero takes a minor twist while taking these Overcomes, they lose access to a quality entirely until this upgrade is removed.  If a hero is knocked out while this ability is active, create a new friendly minion with a die size equal to the hero's largest power die to represent the brainwashed hero.

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

The Groovy Gadget-Man is in it for the cash and prefers to avoid violence, using non-lethal inventions that leave targets confused, confounded or just plain tripping out rather than physically harmed.  Against crowds his go-to maneuver is to use Jive Talk to single out the biggest threat and send them reeling with psycho-sonics and hypno-shades while spreading some soothing vibes across their allies.  He also has a wide variety of other Groovy Gadgets with versatile effects that he can use as needed, usually Boosting himself to fuel his defensive Positive Waves reaction.  If he sees an opening to use Negative Waves he's quick to take it, and you bet he takes advantage of his Remote Viewing to do so.

His upgrade seeds the area with aerosol "recreational" chemicals and hypno-projectors, leaving people half out of it to start with.  His mastery reflects his monetary motivations.

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The Groovy Gadget-Man occasionally works with other like-minded supervillains but prefers to rely on a mob of his relatively good-natured minions for support.

Hippie Heisters d8 minion

Description: They look like flower children, they act like crooks.  Most rely on non-lethal "love guns" provided by the Gadget-Man, leaving their victims peacefully blissed-out while they make off with the boodle.  A few know some kung fu.  Once in a while their ranks will include some cycle gang members who've crashed the scene with less painless weaponry and much worse intentions, which is a real bummer but what can you do?

Pick one or two abilities from the selection below for each minion group.  Only one ability can be used per turn.

Cheerleader: You gain a +2 bonus to Boost actions.  If you Boost the Groovy Gadget-Man, that bonus increases to +3 instead.

Hell's Angel: You gain a +2 bonus to Attack actions but can never take a Boost or Defend action.

Kung Fu Fighting: If you Attack or Hinder a close target, you gain a +2 bonus.

Love Gun, Baby: When you Attack a target, also Hinder them using the same roll.  When using this ability your Attacks never inflict physical harm and are strictly non-lethal.

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The Three Masters, They've Come From 69AD To Kick Some Butt

A trio of martial artist villains worthy of a Hong Kong action-fantasy movie.

The Three Masters

These three anachronistic martial artists originate from an alternate-timeline version of the Chinese empire in 69AD, which is secretly controlled by a conspiracy of sorcerous eunuchs who subtly dominate the Imperial court.  They've used magic rituals to come to the "future" of your campaign for some mysterious objective, and if the heroes don't stop them who knows what kind of temporal disruptions might take place?  All of them are decidedly villainous types, although they have their own unique approaches to evil and aren't equally committed to whatever they shared goal is.

Depending on how long they've been in the current time when the heroes first encounter them, they may or may not have made contacts within the criminal underworld.  If not they'll be working largely alone, although Master Fleeting Dream may be able to conjure up demonic or undead minions galore if he can perform the proper rituals.  They're all good at fitting in to the scum and villainy community and won't find it hard to recruit more modern help once they do make contact. 

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Master Fleeting Dream

Xiu Zhang is Master of the Fleeting Dream style, an accomplished sorcerer, and a proud (some would say egotistical) member of the conspiracy that secretly controls the Chinese empire in 69AD.  He serves as de facto leader of the Three Masters on their mysterious mission to the future, and his magical talents allow them to blend in to the world of 2023 as well as being their ticket back to the past.  As such, he expects the others to watch his back, obey his commands and remain loyal to him.  A pretentious, arrogant and evil-minded individual through and through, he might see two of those three expectations fulfilled if he's lucky.

His martial arts style uses a great deal of out-and-out magic in it, focusing on confounding opponents with illusion and trickery while he flits from victim to victim with enchanted blades flashing.  He also know how to scribe magical talismans (usually strips of paper with incantations written on them) to create good fortune and repel bad luck from whoever they're attached to.  These are usually used to enhance himself first and foremost, but he may deign to support his allies as well.  Given time and supplies (which may include a suitable sacrificial victim) he can manage many other feats of magic as well.

Description: A slightly plump, shaven-headed man with a striking Fu Manchu mustache, dressed in an expensive brocade robe in deep purple.  Often cloaked in sorcerous illusions to blend in better, or simply invisible to avoid attention.  His voice is surprising high and boyish.  He generally provides magical translation charms to all his allies in the modern day, which has the side effect of making their lips seem to be slightly out of synch with their words. 

Gender: Imperial Eunuch And Proud Of It     Age: Thirties     Height: 5'8"     Eyes: Green

Hair: Shaved Smooth     Skin: Light East Asian Tone     Build: Slightly Soft-Looking

Approach: Ninja                   Archetype: Inventor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Dream-Cutting Blades d10, Inventions d10, Illusions d8, Invisibility d8, Teleportation d6

Qualities: Magical Lore d10, Stealth d10, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Finesse d8, Master of Fleeting Dream Style d8

Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Fleeting Dream Onslaught (A) Attack multiple targets using Master of Fleeting Dream Style.  Then, end up wherever you want in the scene.

Inscribe Talismans (A) Boost using Inventions.  Use your Max die.  Boost again using your Mid die, then either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.

Powerful Chi (I) Whenever you create a bonus, increase the value of that bonus by one.

Vanishing Image (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Stealth die.  Boost yourself using the amount of damage reduced.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Waking Dream (I) +10 Health.  The heroes act as being in the Green zone for status die, ability access, and all abilities.  Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes.  If a hero takes a minor twist while attempting these Overcomes, you may use a reaction to Hinder them by rolling your single Infernal die.

Master of Mysticism (I) If you have access to proper materials, automatically succeed at an Overcome in a situation involving harnessing magical forces.

Tactics

Master Fleeting Dream relies on misdirection, illusion and trickery.  He usually avoids immediate conflict while using Inscribe Talismans supplemented by Powerful Chi to give lasting bonuses to himself and allies, relying on Vanishing Image to protect him from harm (and produce more bonuses, although these won't affect his status) while he does so.  Once his status die is maxed out and his allies have received whatever benefits he feels they deserve, he shifts to using Fleeting Dream Onslaught to repeatedly appear and disappear while striking as many foes as possible.

His upgrade expands his ability to alter foes' perception, trapping them in a dreamlike illusion.  His mastery lets him create powerful ritual magic effects when supplied with suitable tools, including the temporal passage that brought them to the modern day (or the heroes to the past) in the first place.

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Master Five Venoms

Master Five Venoms' true name is unknown, possibly even to himself.  A master spy, assassin, and infiltrator, he works with the conspiracy controlling 69AD China but isn't fully trusted by them, which is something he admires about the organization.  Trust is for fools.  He (or sometimes she, as the mood takes them) adopts and abandons surface identities regularly, relying on practical disguise and acting skills rather than Master Fleeting Dreams' magical tricks an cunning enough that he can get along fairly well in 2023 even without such assistance.  It's quite possible he might choose to remain in the future after the Three Masters complete their mission, most likely faking his own death to do so.

The Five Venoms style includes a great deal of secret alchemical knowledge beyond mere poison making, including truth drugs, fast-acting medicinal substances, mind-altering vapors and powders, and artificial pheromones that can manipulate many types of animals.  It also offers near-immunity to most poisons and, some say, unnatural longevity or even immortality.  Masters of the style are invariably accompanied by swarms of venomous vermin, which they use both as alchemical components and as an army of chemically-controlled minions.  While each individual stinging scuttler, biting bug or slithering serpent is little threat to a wary human, they never appear as individuals, and many a foe has fallen screaming under a tide of tiny crawling horrors.  

Description: Wildly variable thanks to a talent for disguise, but most often an unassuming local civilian in loose fitting clothing.  At close range their unpleasant chemical scent may give the game away.  When fighting openly, they favor a loose green gi marked with ominous stains and acid burns.  Close observation will reveal they're crawling with vermin infesting their clothing and whatever wig they may be wearing.  They're excellent mimics and can imitate most human voices and some animals.   

Gender: Fluid   Age: Usually Seems Twenty-Something   Height: 5'9"   Eyes: Black

Hair: White (Black Wig)        Skin: Dark East Asian Tone        Build: Deceptively Fit

Approach:  Leech                      Archetype:  Overlord

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Toxic d10, Animal Control d8, Wall-Crawling d6

Qualities: Criminal Underworld Info d8, Master of Five Venoms Style d8, Medicine d8, Stealth d8 

Status:  (# of Minions & Lieutenants) 9+ - d12 / 5-8 - d10 / 3-4 - d8 / 1-2 - d6 / 0 - d4

Abilities:

Alchemical Effusion (A) Boost using Medicine for all your minions until the start of your next turn.

Enduring Vermin (R) Reroll any number of minion saves against the same Attack.

Stinging Strike (A) Hinder using Toxic.  Use your Max + Min die.  Boost using your Mid die.

Toxic Powders (A) Hinder multiple targets using Toxic.  Recover Health equal to your Min die.  If you roll doubles, Attack one of the targets using your Max die. 

Venomous Little Friends (A) Use Master of Five Venoms Style 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):

Power Upgrade (I) +20 Health.  Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).

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

Master Five Venoms prefers to toy with his foes in combat, leaving the actual killing work to his verminous minions.  He'll usually call on his Venomous Little Friends once or twice at the start of a conflict to establish a decent status die, with each use helping improve the size of minion generated by the next.  Repeat as needed to maintain at least a d8 status.  Multi-target minion sweeps will be met with an Enduring Vermin reaction, and he'll single out heroes with such abilities with Stinging Strike, often taking a twist to make the penalty last for two uses, representing hurling whole handfuls of poisonous insects onto the target.  If there are several heroes focusing on his minions he'll use Toxic Powders instead, spending any available bonuses wherever they seem most useful (healing, improving the penalties, possibly even on damage if he rolls doubles).  If he starts his turn with 5+ minions in play he'll usually switch to Alchemical Effusion rather than acting for himself, trying to deal out massive damage while he has the chance.

His upgrade improves his durability and all his powers, as well as enabling his mastery whenever one of his mods from a Toxic-keyed ability is in play.      

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Five Venoms Swarm d4 to d12 minion (see Venomous Little Friends)

Description: A miscellany of carefully-bred and venomous vermin, including spiders, centipedes, wasps, small serpents and scorpions, as well as less readily-identifiable creations of alchemical hybridization.  What prevents them from scattering or preying on one another is a mystery known only to masters of the Five Venoms Style.  The larger their current die size the denser the swarm is.  

Inescapable Swarm: When you Attack, one point of the damage you deal is irreducible.

Painful Venoms: When you deal damage to a target, they gain a -1 exclusive "Stinging Pain" penalty.

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Master Shackled Fist

Wong Lo is undisputed Master of the Shackled Fist style and an all-around badass brawler.  Once a mere village bully, then an Imperial army levy, he soon deserted to join a mercenary company where he would be paid better for his talent for fighting.  He crossed paths with an aging Shackled Fist practitioner during the course of his adventures and quickly took to the new role of student until he'd surpassed his teacher.  At that point he killed the old man, stole his life savings, and went off to make a name for himself in the world of martial arts fighters, always pursuing any road to wealth that opened before him.  It wasn't long before the eunuch courtier conspiracy approached him to employ his brutal skills in their service, which has now led him to an unimagined future.

His Shackled Fist fighting style mixes savage close quarters techniques with deadly chain-fighting maneuvers that offer some reach and the ability to entangle and drag in elusive opponents.  It also trains endurance and fighting spirit to the limits of human ability, and perhaps a fair way beyond.  Generally seen as a simple style suitable only for thugs, Wong Lo has taken it beyond that stereotype.  He employs his own unique moves along with unexpected cunning to surprise foes who've taken him for merely being an over-muscled thug.

Description: A powerfully built brute of a man, wearing sandals and a white gi with the sleeves ripped off.  He has a steel circlet on his brow and carries a twelve foot length of chain with a hinged iron shackle on each end, donning one or both of them during combat as he performs various moves.

Gender: Male        Age: Thirties        Height: 6'0"        Eyes: Dark Brown

Hair: Shaved, Black Stubble     Skin: Medium East Asian Tone      Build: Ape-Like Brute

Approach: Skilled                         Archetype: Guerrilla

Health:  35 + (5 x H)

Powers: Fighting Chains d10, Vitality d8, Swinging d6

Qualities:  Close Combat d10, Fitness d10, Acrobatics d8, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Master of Shackled Fist Style d8, Self-Discipline d8 

Status: (# of Enemies Engaged) 4+ - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 0-1 - d6

Abilities:

Blur of Iron (I) If you are outnumbered by nearby opponents, reduce all damage dealt to you by two.

Entangling Chains (A) Attack one target using Master of Shackled Fist Style.  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.

Versatile Style (A) Take any basic action using your Max die.  Recover Health equal to your Mid die.

Whirling Chain Deflection (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Close Combat die.  Deal that much damage to another target.

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 Mercenary (I) If you have a contract for a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome when your payment is at stake.

Tactics

Master Shackled Fist prefers to face his foes in a group, charging into their ranks to use their numbers against them with Entangling Chains and Blur of Iron while further protecting himself with Whirling Chain Deflection as needed.  More cunning than the simple brawler he appears to be, he's quick to use his Versatile Style for unexpected moves and some healing when injured.  Sudden Hinders, Boosts or Overcomes to start challenges or reposition foes are all popular choices.

His upgrade improves both damage output and base Health.  His mastery reflects his greed.  He's here for the pay offered by the Eaters of the Lotus and that alone.

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Design Notes

If it somehow wasn't obvious, the backstory of these three is taken straight from the Shadowfist card game and original Feng Shui RPG.  Not the first time I've done an homage to that superlatively strange setting.  Probably won't be the last.

Blog Content Index

Angel Arrow, Cyborg Operative of SIN

An archer-themed villain with an angelic motif, and yet another asset for the Science Integration Network.

Angel Arrow

The cyborg known as Angel Arrow was once merely Agent D6745308 of SIN, part of Hell-Hawk's cadre of airborn assault troops.  She was horrifically injured by a flame-wielding super during an operation, and the medical experts at SIN HQ were ready to declare her a lost cause - permanently disabled by burns and showing minimal brain activity following injuries from a multi-story fall.  That might have been the end of her story, but her former commander Arno Wells felt a twisted sympathy for her, having suffered serious burns in a childhood airplane crash himself.  Working with SIN's cybernetics experts he saved her life if not her mind, rebuilding her as an advanced cyborg operative that melded his own aviform flight systems with hyper-advanced exotic munitions technology, integrated sensor arrays and cognitive assistance software to replace lost brain functions.

Angel Arrow is a technological and aesthetic work of art, but her humanity is gone.  Only marginally more free-willed than a true robot, she obeys directives from her masters at SIN without question.  If she ever recovers any of her memories or personality that might change - but odds are the mad scientists of SIN would regard such a development as a glitch in the system to be corrected rather a belated recovery.  For now she's usually found working alongside Arno when he takes the field as Hell-Hawk, but sometimes gets assigned to missions with other SIN assets where her mobility and hard-hitting, low-signature weaponry are most useful.      

Description: A female angel, plated in shining silver cyber-armor with gleaming metal wings.  She carries an ultra-tech longbow, drawing her arrows directly from her own pinions as needed.  She rarely speaks, but when she does her voice is cold and clear with a mechanical lack of inflection.

Gender: Female     Age: Mid-Twenties     Height: 5'9" (14" wingspan)     Eyes: Blank Silver

Hair: Flowing Black   Skin: Pale, Burn Scarred, Hidden By Silver Plating   Build: Angelic

Approach: Specialized                   Archetype: Inventor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Inventions d10, Flight d8

Qualities: Ranged Combat d12, Alertness d8, Cyborg Servitor d8

Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Adjusted Subroutines (I) Whenever you Attack a target that you have dealt damage to at least once already in this scene, gain a +1 persistent and exclusive bonus against that target.

Graceful Archer (A) Attack using Ranged Combat.  Use your Max + Min dice.  Defend yourself using your Mid die.

Supercharged Shot (A) Attack using Inventions and at least one bonus.  Use your Max + Mid + Min dice and add all your bonuses, destroying them.

Targeting Programs (A) Boost using Inventions.  Use your Max die.  Boost again using your Mid die, then either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.

Volley (A) Attack up to three targets using Ranged Combat.  Use your Max die against one target, your Mid die against a second target, and your Min die against a third target.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Power Upgrade (I) +20 Health.  Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).

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

Angel Arrow is an airborne archer and does her best to stay clear of melee combat or getting hemmed in by tight terrain.  She looks for a chance to run Targeting Programs early on, usually establishing a persistent bonus on herself and improving her status die.  She might repeat the move to maximize her status if she has time, and will generally sit on her bonuses until she takes a Supercharged Shot.  When facing multiple foes she relies on Volley to spread damage around, switching to Graceful Archer if she's facing much counterfire.  In all cases she'll select targets to best exploit Adjusted Subroutines, stacking up the small exclusive bonuses (which are pretty pointless if she has a better one from Targeting Programs) to eventually fuel a bigger Supercharged Shot.

The improved hardware and software from her upgrade improves her dice pools and durability quite a lot.  Her mastery can only be used when she has a mod in play that was created using Inventions, which usually means one of the bonuses generated by Adjusted Subroutines after damaging a target for at least the second time.

Design Notes

There are a number of rules clarifications that GTG needs to make for some of her abilities and their interactions, but here we are at the end of 2023 and still no FAQ document.  Specifically:

• Supercharged Shot (originally the Inventor ability Empowered Destruction) functions as a villain equivalent to the hero Red ability Charged-Up Blast, but the wording here fails to include the text specifically calling out that the ability consumes all your bonuses regardless of exclusivity.  My assumption is that it does, so every bonuses gets added and then destroyed.
• Adjusted Subroutines (originally the Specialist ability Known Target) produces tiny persistent and exclusive bonuses every time you damage a given target beyond the first.  Those bonuses can only be used against that specific target, much like the Marksman hero Green ability Sniper Aim.  In both cases, it's unclear whether the Empowered Destruction/Charged-Up Blast abilities are meant to be able to consume these target-specific bonuses to improve damage against a different target.  My assumption is that they can (and must) do so, since the mods aren't being used normally, they're being destroyed as part of the ability.
• Adjusted Subroutines/Known Target also raises some question about exactly how the bonus is being generated for purposes of an Inventor's status die mechanics.  If you make an Attack that triggers the ability and includes either Inventions or Science or both in the pool, do the bonuses count toward status or not?  They're actually the result of an entirely different ability that doesn't use a die pool at all, after all.  My assumption is that they do count, but it would be nice to sure of the designer intent.

Blog Content Index

The Odds, A Diverse Group Of Unfortunate Villains

A diverse group of villains, each with desperate needs of their own but at least temporarily sharing the same goal.

The Odds

Countless individuals have received superpowers (accidentally or otherwise) from exposure to mad science experiments over the years.  Some of them have gone on to become well known heroes or villains, having won fate's lottery and received potent abilities with few drawbacks - or such vast power that any accompanying drawbacks seem worth the cost.  Not everyone's a winner though, and the Odds are a diverse group of villains who got the short end of the stick when it came to things.  They've banded together in part to support one another's driving needs, although some are more desperate (and more open to manipulation) than others.

Oddment is the group's nominal leader, and they all current follow his goal of acquiring technology for growing them new bodies and transferring their consciousnesses to them.  He knows he's on the clock with a collapse into psychosis impending, but generally puts on a good show of being cool and in charge.

Vestige has devolved from a skilled scientist to a predator desperate to continue her existence by any means.  When well fed she's stable enough to contribute some useful knowledge about the legal side of the scientific community, although bioengineering and mind transfer are far outside her field.  She's discovered an odd resonance with Afterglow's powers, which serve to keep her from fading away more efficiently than others she's encountered.

The Homunculoid is a lost and monstrous bioengineering project.  Oddment has made it promises that it may not even care about.  The thing's motivations are its own and probably not rational at all, but something keeps it with the group.  The others suspect its creator may come looking for it eventually, a creator with obvious skills in genetically engineering new life forms that might help with their long term plans.

Afterglow is more innocent victim than the villain she's been cast as, but she's also immensely dangerous to the civilian population and suffering from extreme mental fragmentation.  Her rare moments of clarity might lead to connections in the shadier parts of the medical research field, which are only a short step away from mad science clone masters and experimental mind transfers.  Her radiation output is hard to keep damped down to even semi-safe levels, but Vestige's reality drains seem to help keep it under control, making them a symbiotic pair. 

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Oddment

Harrison Odell was once the mad science villain Cyber-Maker, a specialist in augmenting ambitious criminals with cybernetic upgrades that would make them true superhumans - and which included backdoor access that he could use to control them, slowly building a veritable army of cyborg muscle.  A coalition of several heroes and villains twigged to the scheme and cooperated to bring him down, destroying his secret mountain lair and catching him in an explosion no one could survive.  Unless, of course, one was a genius villain who had pre-programmed his robotic surgical assistants to preserve his life at any cost.

That cost proved to be the loss of his entire organic body and large parts of his once-great brain.  What remained was augmented with a digitized recreation of his old personality, installed in a life support capsule implanted in the sturdiest combat cyborg chassis available in the ruined base's emergency backup shelters.  No longer either Harrison Odell or his Cyber-Maker alter ego, the new hybrid of organic and digital minds took the supranym Oddment for itself and assessed its new existence.  Odell had always avoided creating "full-conversion" brain-in-a-tank cyborgs because they went unstable too quickly to be of use, and now he was one himself.  His artificial memory overlays would keep what was left of him rational for longer than most, but eventually the collapse would come.  The only solution was to find a way to create an organic host body before the inevitable, which was not something he could manage on his own.  He would need allies with similar end goals...or at least useful pawns for his pursuit of bioengineering and mental transfer technology.

Description: A large mechanical humanoid covered in variegated black, umber and tan scales over a dull metal chassis.  Its human head sits deep in an armored collar atop the chunky torso, although this is an android fake - the real brain and its life support system are deep within the the chest in a separate armored capsule.  The oversized forearms conceal a mix of cognitive modification mechanisms, while the chunky "boots" and backplate conceal jump jets for short bursts of speed.  His strong baritone voice sounds quite natural, even when coming from concealed speakers after his decoy head has been destroyed.

Gender: Male        Age: 48        Height: 6'4"        Eyes: Brown

Hair: Light Brown     Skin: Titanium Alloy, Variegated Scales     Build: Cyborg

Approach: Generalist                Archetype: Inventor

Health:  35 + (5 x H)

Powers: Power Suit d10, Deduction d8, Inventions d8, Robotics d6

Qualities: Science d10, Combat Cyborg d8, Technology d8, Criminal Underworld Info d6

Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Augmentation Mechanisms (A) Boost using Inventions.  Use your Max die.  Boost again using your Mid die, then either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.

Decrementation Mechanisms (A) Hinder multiple nearby targets using Inventions.  Boost yourself using your Max die.

Intercession (R) When an ally is Attacked, Defend them by rolling your single Power Suit die.  Boost yourself using the same roll.

Simple Brute Force (A) Attack using Power Suit.  Use your Max die.  Recover Health equal to your Min die.

Superior Technology (I) Whenever you create a bonus, increase the value of that bonus by one.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Quality Upgrade (I) +20 Health.  Increase all Quality dice sizes except Combat Cyborg by one (max d12).

Master of Mad Science (I) As long as you have access to materials, automatically succeed at an Overcome by using scientific principles and inventions.

Tactics

Oddment prefers to let his allies to the fighting while he observes his foes and tunes his mechanical  body for optimal performance against them.  He'll usually open with Augmentation Mechanisms, taking a persistent bonus for himself and sharing the other with an ally.  He uses Intercession reactively to protect an ally every round he can, further Boosting himself in the process.  He may continue building up bonuses or handing them out if he's being ignored, or he may switch to Decrementation Mechanisms to debuff multiple enemies while collecting yet another personal bonus.  All of his Boosts will be improved by Superior Technology.  If his Health is getting low he'll switch to Simple Brute Force, possibly piling his accumulated bonuses into the Min die for a big Recovery or onto the Max die to land a big hit and take out a particularly problematic foe.

His upgrade comes from spending time optimizing his internal processors and improves both durability and dice pools, which is particularly helpful when he can bundle in a big d12 Science die with his two mechanisms abilities.  His mastery reflects his ability to carry out scientific and technological tasks quickly and reliably under pressure.

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Vestige

Once a respected dimensional science theorist pursuing the dream of a functioning FTL drive, Tatiana Roman had no idea she'd attracted the attention of SIN's Operations Directive until one of their acquisitions teams interrupted an experiment at a critical moment.  The resulting malfunction consumed half the research complex in dimensional collapse, pulling everyone there into a null-reality state.  Everyone but Tatiana.  She resisted the pull through sheer force of will, but was left as a living anomaly, constantly being drawn toward un-being.  Tatiana quickly discovered that she could stave off oblivion by siphoning some vital element of reality itself from others around her.  

Only other humans could provide what she needed, and most of them were simply too fragile and weak-willed to endure even a single feeding before fading away - but her first encounter with superheroes investigating the catastrophe taught her that they were far better sources of what she needed, even if they were also more dangerous prey.  And prey is what they were.  Dubbing herself Vestige, Tatiana determined to survive no matter what it required to do so.  She would endure until she found away to reverse the accident that had created her, and if others had to perish so be it.

Vestige was contacted by Oddment while she was on the run after her powers first manifested, offering her potential salvation by transferring her intelligence to a new form free from dimensional instability.  The fact that his last recruit Afterglow proved to be able to "feed" Vestige's hunger safely for extended periods has further cemented her otherwise-dubious loyalty to the group.     

Description: A ghostly image of middle-aged woman dressed in a white lab coat over a gray dress and low heeled shoes.  Her natural colors seem faded and the entire figure is nearly translucent when the light is behind her.  She does seems to shine faintly in actual darkness as though caught in moonlight, adding to her phantasmal appearance.  Her sharp features are twisted with frustration and anger, and her hollow voice seems to come from far away.  When using her powers to feed swirls of cold purple-blue energy seem to flow from her victims into her form.

Gender: Female         Age: Early Fifties         Height: 5'2"          Eyes: Faded Blue

Hair: Faded Gray          Skin: Fading Into Transparency              Build: Stick-Thin

Approach:  Specialized                         Archetype:  Domain

Health:  50 + (5 x H)

Powers: Absorption d10, Intangibility d8

Qualities: Conviction d12, Close Combat d8, Fading From Reality d8

Status: (# environment targets and challenges) 3+ - d10 / 1-2 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Call Victims (A) Activate one of the environment's twists in its current zone or one zone closer to red.

Destructive Grasp (A) Attack one target using Close Combat.  Use your Max + Min dice.  The target cannot Defend or use reactions against this Attack.

Endless Need (A) Attack up to three targets using Conviction.  Use your Max die against one target, your Mid die against a second, and your Min die against a third. 

Focused Hunger (A) Hinder one target using Conviction.  Use your Max die.  Attack that target using your Mid die.

Sacrificial Energy (R) When Attacked, redirect the Attack to an environment minion.

Siphon Reality (A) Roll any number of environment minion dice and Recover that much Health.  Remove those minions,

Upgrades & Masteries (optional, only if Vestige has been feeding in one area for at least a few days):

Mook Squad +0 Health.  Gain Call Fodder (A) Replenish your Depleted Fodder minions up to the number of heroes in the scene.

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

Vestige's foremost concern is continuing her existence at any cost, but superheroes offer so much more "reality" to draw on than everyday people that fighting them is well worth the risks involved.  Against a single foe she'll rely on Focused Hunger (usually pooled with Absorption) at first, shifting to Destructive Grasp (often with Intangibility) if they display strong reactions or Defend abilities.  Against a group she'll reach out for as much energy as she can with Endless Need while using Sacrificial Energy to reactively use a minion for protection against Attacks.  Her sizeable base Health lets her hang tough in combat while accumulating environment minions with the occasional use of Call Victims for a single big Recovery using her Siphon Reality healing ability.

If she has her upgrade she may use Call the Fodder rather than rely solely on the environment for minions to victimize, although they're fairly inefficient "food sources" when used as such.  Her mastery reflects her jumping at any opportunity to cling to reality, even as a pawn of the terrible things that lurk beyond it.   

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Depleted Fodder d6 minion

Description: They can look like a female human of any age, ethnicity or occupation, but all are strangely faded, almost colorless and translucent as though they weren't fully real.  Obviously unnatural, they move like shambling phantoms.  Their touch is chilling, and their hopeless stare leaves victims feeling hollow and hungry.  

Last Dregs: You count as an environment minion for Vestige's Sacrificial Energy and Siphon Reality abilities, but your dice always count as rolling a one for Health Recovery or for saving against any damage inflicted when resolving those abilities.

Reality Leech: When you deal damage to a target with an Attack, the target also suffers a -1 penalty.

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Homunculoid

The creature known as the Homunculoid is an escaped bio-construct crafted from some horrific and utterly unethical manipulation of the human genome.  Who created it and what purpose they had in doing so remains unknown, lost behind memories of fire and chaos.  The thing knows only what it has gleaned from the minds that open to its telepathy, and takes its guidance only from the fleeting visions that run wild in its distorted psyche.  It literally latched on to Oddment when he accidentally encountered the Homunculoid in the ruins of another scientists lair, and has stuck with him since then.  Sometimes it dreams of having its mind transferred to a new, human body as Oddment has promised.  Other times it knows that promise was a lie, and is tagging along solely for the joy of the chaos his "ally's" plans will bring.    

Description: A clearly inhuman creature with a distorted human-like head over 18" across, set low between two powerfully-muscled shoulders leading to a pair of three-foot long arms that carry its weight.  An absurdly small humanoid torso in a red and green body-stocking dangles beneath that huge head, trailing two useless vestigial legs.  It mouth gapes open menacingly, equipped with teeth like crooked tombstones and panting steadily.  It speaks only telepathically, where its "voice" is an irritating shriek.  For all its awkward-seeming physique the thing is surprisingly nimble, bounding about on its powerful hands with ease.  

Gender: None (uses he/him)   Age: Unknown   Height: 3'2"   Eyes: One Blue, One Green

Hair: Stubbly Black                 Skin: Sickly Grayish-Blue              Build: Bizarre

Approach:  Tactician                          Archetype:  Fragile

Health:  15 + (5 x H)

Powers: Intuition d8, Telepathy d8, Agility d6, Leaping d6

Qualities: Alertness d10, Acrobatics d8, Murderous Bio-Construct d8, Stealth d6

Status: Green Zone Health - d10 / Yellow Zone Health - d8 / Red Zone Health - d6

Abilities:

Gestalt Awareness (A) Boost using Alertness.  Use your Max die.  The bonus applies to every ally's action until the beginning of your next turn.

Mindripper (A) Attack using Telepathy.  Use your Max + Mid dice.  Hinder yourself using your Min die.

Surprisingly Agile (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single status die.  If the damage is reduce to zero, you may move to anywhere else in the scene.

Vindictive Behavior (R) When a nearby ally makes an Attack, you may also Attack the same target by rolling your single Murderous Bio-Construct die. 

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Quality Upgrade (I) +20 Health.  Increase all Quality dice sizes except Murderous Bio-Construct 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

The Homunculoid is a pretty unstable combatant who undergoes radical personality shifts as he suffers damage.  While mostly healthy he concentrates on supporting his allies with Gestalt Awareness while evading strikes and staying mobile using Surprisingly Agile.  Once he reaches about half Health he switches over to making Mindripper attacks against whoever has hurt him most, throwing out more damage when allies Attack using Vindictive Behavior if he has a reaction left when the opportunity arises.  If he somehow winds up being the last villain standing he'll do his best to flee even if the opposition is looking pretty rough as well.

His upgrade relies on getting access to booster drugs tailored to his unique biology, while his mastery represents his quirky, erratic flavor of problem solving.

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Afterglow

Mary Curry was once a research assistant in fringe nuclear medicine before her unethical employers chose to use her as a test subject for their latest drug.  The chemical was designed to allow human tissues to absorb and metabolize even hard radiation without harm, and it succeeded spectacularly after a fashion.  Mary became a living atomic reaction, generating impossible amounts of some heretofore unknown exotic radiation and thriving upon it.  Moreover, the process seemed to be dividing her very being on some quantum level, causing her body and mind to partially fission over and over again before collapsing back in on itself.  Unfortunately for such a promising research project, her endlessly fragmenting mentality led her to take violent action that resulted in the termination of all involved staffers, the destruction of the lab facilities involved, and the irradiation of entire site.

That feat earned her the supranym Afterglow in the news media, and she's now widely regarded as a villain rather than a victim.  Even if she was stable enough to explain the situation as she understands it, she can't control her dangerous radiation output and remains a menace to everyone she encounters.  If Oddment hadn't offered her a haven after following the Homunculoid's cryptic guidance to the site of her first "destructive spree" she'd be in a government containment facility already, and quite possibly scheduled for euthanasia in the hopes it would end her out-of-control reaction.  Instead, she's stumbled into allies who might grant her a second chance at life in a new body - and she and Vestige serve to help stabilize one another's erratic powers through some unexplained resonance.

Description: A buxom woman glowing with neon green radiation, wearing a similarly glowing halter top, knee-length shorts and ankle boots.  As she moves she continually leaves afterimages trailing behind her, blurring into one another and making one person look like half a dozen or more.  She usually hovers casually just above the ground but can fly faster than most people can sprint.  She has a rich contralto voice that echoes with reverberations of her duplicate selves.

When she spawns independent legion minions they share her radioactive glow but don't leave a blur of phantoms behind them the way she does.

Gender: Female     Age: Early Thirties     Height: 5'6"     Eyes: Glowing Green

Hair: Flowing, Glowing Green        Skin: Glowing Green        Build: Curvaceous

Approach:  Skilled                                Archetype:  Legion

Health:  10 + (5 x H)

Powers: Duplication d10, Nuclear d8, Flight d6

Qualities: Acrobatics d10, Imposing d10, Fragmented Mentality d8, Medicine d8, Ranged Combat d8, Science d8

Status: (# of Legion Minions) 0 - d12 / 1-2 - d10 / 3-4 - d8 / 5-8 - d6 / 9+ - d4

Abilities:

Divided Mind (I) Whenever multiple Legion minions all take the same action against the same target, you must roll all their dice at once and use the lowest rolling die amongst them for each minion's result on that action.

Fleeting Images (A) Hinder multiple targets using Acrobatics.  Use your Max die.  If you roll doubles, Attack each target using your Mid die.

Full Separation (A) Add two Legion minions to the scene.  Their starting die size is one smaller than your current status die.

Furious Response (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Imposing die.  Deal that much damage to another target.

Merge Energies (A) Remove any number of Legion minions from play.  Roll their dice and Recover that much Health.

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

Afterglow is well aware of her relative fragility and her tactics attempt to compensate for it.  She'll usually rely on Fleeting Images (using Duplication) to hamper as many heroes as possible with a short-lived swarm of duplicates, and can even inflict some real damage with them if she rolls doubles to keep them stable long enough.  Her Furious Response reaction both prevents and deals some damage, and can be a major source of damage output, especially with bonus support.  Once she loses even a small amount of Health she uses Full Separation to spawn a pair of d10 legion minions, ideally letting them act before her next turn before removing one or both of them with Merge Energies to heal.  Like all legion minions their actions are a bit limited by Divided Mind, but with only two of them in play they can generally avoid suffering its ill effects.  She almost never spawns more than two minions at once, preferring to cycle them in and out of existence to maintain as much healing as she can while still getting some further mileage out of them.  A lot of her effectiveness will depend on how initiative goes and how much support she gets from her allies.

Her upgrade reflects her getting either a significant charge of nuclear energy in the recent past or building up a charge over a day or two of relative inactivity, while her mastery draws upon the confusing nature of her multiple duplicate afterimages.

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Afterglow Duplicate d4 to d10 legion minion (usually d10, rarely d8)

Description: Physically identical to Afterglow, although their minds seem more focused and their psychic signature lacks the fragmented nature of their creator.  They share her flight and signature radioactive glare.

Exact Duplicate: You may move as though you had Flight d6, or d8 if Afterglow has her upgrade.

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The Camera Crew, Bad Publicity For Good People

Proof positive that not all publicity is good publicity.

The Camera Crew 

The Camera Crew is a trio of de facto villains passing as a new, corporate-backed initiative to improve journalistic relations with the heroic community and provide better (and safer) news coverage to super-crises as they happen.  The pitch seems reasonable on the surface.  A crew of journalists equipped with protective power suits and advanced recording equipment?  Plus they can project defensive holograms for added safety, making them able to operate much closer to a super-fight or disaster than conventional reporters without needing protection from heroes and law enforcement?  The suits are equipped with jump jets and grapples for extra mobility, letting them reach optimal vantage points so the footage will be more useful for post-crime investigations?  Agreements with city and state governments and even federal agencies already in place, protecting against civil liability claims?  And their backers will provide public relations assistance to heroes who don't already have access to them?  What's not to like?

Well, lots of things, because the corporation behind these three has nefarious plans.  

Recordings of heroes in action will be collated and analyzed and then quietly offered for sale to select black market customers.  This will let villains study fighting styles and tactics for weaknesses.  The mechanical effect of this is the ability to gain significant bonuses against "studied" heroes when they trigger minor twists.  Their use will usually be accompanied by the villain quipping that they've seen that trick before or that the hero did that better in the video, which hints at what's going on.

Videos will also be carefully tampered with to make the heroes look careless or inept, and any actual mistakes will be exaggerated if possible.  Crisis actors will be seeded around dangerous situations to make things harder for the heroes, and "expendable" villains will be given covert support and nudged toward certain crimes at certain times when the Crew will be present.  This doctored footage and faked interview material will be "reluctantly" given to legit news outlets and government officials as evidence of heroic wrongdoing.

Ultimately the plan is to ruin not only the PCs' reputation and effectiveness as crimefighters, but to taint the public opinion of heroes as a whole.  The heroes might even find themselves outlawed and forced into true vigilantism, perhaps even hunted by their own former allies.

This probably won't come to pass in full. The players will likely smell something fishy and take proactive steps to investigate the Crew, or one of them (most likely Camera Two, who's the most unstable of the lot) will blow her cover and take the whole plot down with her.  But the Crew's real backers are insulated by layers of corporate ownership and legal fictions, and if everything does end in disaster they'll see it as a learning experience.  After a while they'll pick up the pieces and attempt another scheme, and they might even arrange for the Camera suits to wind up in the hands of criminals who can use them for more conventional villainy - perhaps even with their original operators, who are likely to have even more of a grudge against law and order than before.

Camera One

Koa Calimbas is a former indie film director who screwed up big time by releasing a documentary full of faked interviews and altered images that painted a popular hero team as violent thugs, apparently based on a personal grudge against them.  He avoided jail, but the civil suit and bad publicity left him nearly penniless and unemployable.  When he was offered a position on the Camera Crew he leapt at the opportunity, and has extended his previous dislike for a handful of heroes to the entire superhero community.  He's not great at concealing his enmity, but usually stays buttoned up in his suit where he won't be recognized and can remain more socially remote.  Koa is actually quite a competent filmmaker and really cares about the quality of his work, unlike his teammates.

His camera suit is optimized for projection, recording and sound effects, and he makes imaginative use of his illusions to mess with heroes and onlookers whenever he can get away with it.  If it comes to a fight he has a very potent sonic attack backing up his other abilities.

Description: Outside of his suit, a rather slovenly-dressed middle-aged man of Hawaiian ancestry with strangely familiar features.  Hey, is that the guy who directed that documentary about supers with all the faked footage?

In his suit, an anonymous figure in snug-fighting lightweight yellow power armor with a some black striping and a prominent black "ONE" printed vertically on the left side of the chest.  The helmet is an opaque ovoid with an array of holo-camera recorder/emitter lenses and microphone grills covering the faceplate.  A cluster of much larger lenses and mikes occupy the center of the chest and there are small mikes on the back of each gauntlet.  His voice is disguised behind a vocal masking effect that gives it a mechanical tone.  

Gender: Male        Age: 35        Height: 5'10"        Eyes: Brown

Hair: Shaved Scalp        Skin: Hawaiian Tan        Build: Broad-Shouldered

Approach: Skilled                   Archetype: Inventor

Health: 25 + (5 x H)

Powers: Illusions d10, Sonic d8, Power Suit d6

Qualities: Creativity d10, Stealth d10, Criminal Underworld Info d8, Disgraced Documentary Filmmaker d8, Investigation d8, Technology d8

Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Final Sound Check (A) Attack using Sonic and at least one bonus.  Use your Max + Mid + Min dice and add all your bonuses to the total, destroying them.

Grand Artistic Vision (A) Hinder multiple targets using Creativity.  Use your Max die.  If you roll doubles, Attack each of those targets using your Mid die. 

One-Man Crew (A) Take any basic action.  Use your Max die.  Recover Health equal to your Mid die.

Set the Scene (A) Boost using Illusions.  Use your Max die.  Boost again using your Mid die, then either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Mook Squad +0 Health.  Gain Extras On Set (A) Replenish your minions up to the number of heroes in the scene.

Master of Enforced Order (I) If you have complete control over your surroundings, automatically succeed in an Overcome to organize rabble to accomplish a task.

Tactics

Camera One is the auteur of the group and has the most skill at tweaking scenes to make the heroes look incompetent or overly violent.  If left alone he's as likely to spend actions on Overcomes to serve that purpose or (with his upgrade) order the extras around, usually starting with Set the Scene for a good persistent bonus on himself and a regular bonus to either keep or hand off to Camera Two.  If forced to fight, he'll rely on Grand Artistic Vision to confound (and possibly harm) foes at first, switching to One-Man Crew if injured.  At a dramatically appropriate moment he'll pick a particularly troublesome hero and single them out for a brutal Final Sound Check hit.

His upgrade gives him a steady supply of extras to use, and the mastery to get them to follow his directions flawlessly.  

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Camera Two

Kansas Washington (her middle name is City) is a former private investigator who lost her license and five years of freedom when she was caught running a blackmail scheme.  Thoroughly unethical and interested only in money, she only got on to the Camera Crew because she was a former cellmate of Janell Wittson (see below), who owed her some favors and appreciated the idea of having some muscle on the team just in case.  She doesn't have any particular beef with superheroes in general, but she's no great fan either and her short temper and borderline paranoia makes her the most likely person to break cover and start a real fight.  She never opens up her suit around outsiders if she can avoid it, and uses her PI skills to avoid tails and surveillance when in her civilian ID.  On the other hand, she's also the most likely Crew member to take a bribe to reveal what's really going on - if you haven't made her mad.

She doesn't use her suit as well as her teammates, but is good at sneaking in "accidental" hits that look like they came from some other source.  Her loadout is optimized for lighting effects, holo-projection and recording snap shots, which also makes it a walking arsenal of laser weaponry if a battle starts - whether Kansas starts it or not.     

Description: Outside of her suit, a powerfully built African-American woman with a cold look in her eyes and several small facial scars from past brawls.  She's fond of men's clothing (especially a noir PI look) and could easily be mistaken for a man at first glance, which is a great way to tick her off right from word one.

In her suit, an anonymous and androgynous figure in snug-fighting lightweight bright orange power armor with a some black striping and a prominent black "TWO" printed vertically on the left side of the chest.  The helmet is an opaque ovoid with an array of holo-camera recorder/emitter lenses covering the faceplate.  A single very large lens occupies the center of the chest and there are small lenses on the back of each gauntlet.  Her voice is disguised behind a vocal masking effect that gives it a mechanical tone, further increasing of misgendering her and getting on her bad side.  

Gender: Female        Age: 33        Height: 5'10"        Eyes: Brown

Hair: Deep Brown        Skin: Mahogany Brown        Build: Gym Gal

Approach: Leech                   Archetype: Inventor

Health: 25 + (5 x H)

Powers: Illusions d10, Radiant d8, Power Suit d6

Qualities: Creativity d8, Ex-Con Cellmate d8, Technology d8, Stealth d8 

Status: ( # of inventions & mods) 4+ - d12 / 2-3 - d10 / 1 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Final Lighting Check (A) Attack using Radiant and at least one bonus.  Use your Max + Mid + Min dice and add all your bonuses to the total, destroying them.

Reaction Shot (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Illusions die.  If this negates the Attack entirely, Hinder the Attacker and Boost yourself using the same roll.

Set the Scene (A) Boost using Illusions.  Use your Max die.  Boost again using your Mid die, then either make one of those bonuses persistent and exclusive, or Attack with your Min die.

Wide-Angle Shot (A) Hinder multiple targets using Illusions.  Recover Health equal to your Min die.  If you roll doubles, Attack one of those targets using your Max die. 

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Hardier Minions + 5 Health.  Gain Bonus Pay (A) Upgrade a number of your minions equal to the number of heroes in the scene by increasing their die size by one (max d12).

Master Mercenary (I) If you have a contract for a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome when your payment is at stake.

Tactics

Camera Two is the least interested team member when it comes to getting good footage, and the quickest to resort to obvious violence when threatened.  She'll try to use Set the Scene for bonuses (often sharing with Camera One) at least once before their cover is blown, then immediately use Final Lighting Check on the toughest foe.  She'll use Reaction Shot at every opportunity, hoping to trigger its strong rider effects and roll the bonus straight into another super-zap.  When hurt or outnumbered and currently lacking bonuses she resorts to Wide-Angle Shot to buy time and maybe get a lucky shot in.

Her upgrade lets her improve the performance of either simple thugs or actors, and is one of her go-to moves while still covert.  Her mastery reflects that fact that she's in this for the paycheck rather than the art.    

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Camera Three

Janell Wittson was sleazy publicity agent known for representing dodgy business and suspected criminal bigwigs.  This led to a three year interruption in her career when she was convicted for fraud after being a little too enthusiastic about lying for a corporate client with mob connections.  It was during her prison term that she met and more or less befriended Kansas Washington (see above).  Once Janell was at liberty again she set about restarting her career, only to be offered an "exciting new opportunity" as part of the Camera Crew.  The project seemed a bit risky, but she'd always been a bit of adrenaline junkie and her new employers had some...information from her former clients that made refusal unwise unless she wanted to return to jail for a much longer stay.  Janell managed to get Washington on to the Crew as well, and in a pinch expects more backup from her than she probably ought to.

Unlike her teammates Janell doesn't actively conceal her identity.  If confronted about her past, she can convincingly explain that she was young and had made some poor choices in business associates.  She served her time and learned her lesson, so what's the problem, hero?

Her suit carries the usual array of holo-recorder/projector gear optimized for close-up action shots, but it also mounts an extensive drone control system for coordinating small aerial remotes for coordinating multi-angle shots and big scenes.  These also double as a tactical comms and recon net, and she tends to work closely with her teammates if a fight breaks out.      

Description: Outside of her suit, an adult blonde woman with an expensively tailored wardrobe designed to favor her slightly stocky figure, something she's sensitive about.  She's always got a friendly smile on her face, even when she's shafting someone in a business deal.

In her suit, an anonymous figure in snug-fighting lightweight fire engine red power armor with a some black striping and a prominent black "THREE" printed vertically on the left side of the chest.  The helmet is an opaque ovoid with an array of holo-camera recorder/emitter lenses covering the faceplate and a crown of short drone-control antennae.  A small cluster of lenses occupies the center of the chest and there are small lenses on the back of each gauntlet.  Her voice can be disguised behind a vocal masking effect that gives it a mechanical tone, but she usually leaves it off so she sounds more personable.

Gender: Female        Age: 32        Height: 5'7"        Eyes: Cornflower Blue

Hair: Blonde, Short     Skin: Tanned Year Round     Build: A Little Stocky

Approach: Tactician                         Archetype: Guerrilla

Health: 40 + (5 x H)

Powers: Illusions d8, Remote Viewing d8, Awareness d6, Power Suit d6

Qualities:  Creativity d10, Technology d8, Unethical Publicist d8, Stealth d6

Status: (# of Enemies Engaged) 4+ - d10 / 2-3 - d8 / 0-1 - d6

Abilities:

Good Under Pressure (I) At the start of your turn, gain a bonus equal to the number of opponents that Attacked you since your last turn.

Hard To Pin Down (I) If you are outnumbered by nearby opponents, reduce all damage dealt to you by two.

Scene Direction (A) Boost using Creativity.  Use your Max die.  That bonus applies to every ally's action until the start of your next turn.

Work With Me Here (A) Take a basic action using Technology.  Use your Max die.  One nearby ally takes the same basic action as their reaction.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Shooting Permit (I) +10 Health.  The heroes act as being in the Green zone for status die, ability access, and all abilities.  Heroes may remove this ability with three Overcome successes.  If a hero takes a minor twist while attempting these Overcomes, you may use a reaction to Hinder them by rolling your single Illusions die. 

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

Camera Three is the oddball in the group, with a much more up-front style where she tries to add to the heroes' confusion while getting close-up footage, all while also monitoring the full scene with remote microdrones.  In a fight she still stays close and draws attention, hoping to get the most out of Good Under Pressure and Hard To Pin Down.  If she's got a lot of allies in play her go-to move is Scene Direction with Illusions or Remote Viewing, setting up a global bonus for everyone.  If their side's numbers are running low she'll switch to Work With Me Here in conjunction with a single ally for whatever needs doing most.  Worth noting that Camera Two hates having her reaction "stolen" for this ability, and the rider won't work on her at all if she's already used her own reaction ability. 

Her upgrade represents the team doing extra prep work to seem legit, which can really leave heroes struggling.  Her mastery doesn't come up in combat often, although she's not above a little kleptomania when filming at a site with a lot of valuables.  

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The Camera Crew sometimes employs actual everyday thugs, but they prefer specially trained flunkies who know how to act harmless and mug to the cameras when there's an extra opportunity to make the heroes look bad.  They're being paid extremely well to keep their mouths shut if they do get caught out in any fakery, so they're not likely to provide any leads without using powers on them.

Crisis Actor d6 minion

Description: They're just regular people, right?  Right?  Heroes can't use excessive force on them no matter how much they get in the way.  The negative publicity would be terrible.

Faked Injuries: Any hero may take an Overcome action to remove you from play.  If they would generate a twist while doing so, roll your die, deal that much morale damage to the hero, and then you are removed from play.  This counts as the required twist, regardless of whether it was major or minor.

"Innocent" Bystanders: You may not be targeted by hero Attacks or take Attack actions yourself.  If you ever roll a zero or less on your die due to penalties you are removed from play without harm.

Please Move Along: NPC law enforcement officers may take an action to remove you from play automatically.

Everyday Thug d6 minion

Description: Petty criminals, but they are packing concealed heat courtesy of the Crew's backers.  They're not keen on fighting heroes but the pay (and promised legal services if arrested) makes them willing to give it a shot.  This is just day labor for them, they know nothing about any grander schemes.

Heart's Not Really In It: If you ever roll a zero or less on your die due to penalties you are removed from play without harm.

Playing Innocent, But Not Very Well: You may not be targeted by Attack actions until you've taken an action that targets anyone but yourself in the scene.

Camera One, Two, or Three d10 lieutenant 

Description: Any of the Camera Crew members as a lieutenant rather than a full villain, for use as needed.  They look just like their regular versions, of course.  When they use any of the abilities below, the source of the effect isn't immediately obvious and can only be detected by a hero succeeding at an Overcome, either during the scene or when reviewing events afterward. 

False Images: When you take an Overcome action to interact with a challenge, you gain a +2 bonus and you may choose to add an extra success to the total needed to complete the challenge rather than marking one off. 

Holo-Projectors: When you take a Hinder action you may Hinder multiple nearby targets.

Image Relays: When you Boost yourself, you may also Boost up to two allies.

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Campaign Notes

Who's behind this whole scheme is up to you and your campaign's established setting.  In my campaign their ultimate backers were the anti-supers group SEVER.  It could just as easily have been a carefully-concealed subsidiary of the corporation that funds Hothead instead if I'd wanted a smaller scope to things.  In the Sentinels setting, this could be a Glamour scheme, Baron Blade being unusually subtle, or (if you're running pre-Oblivaeon or an alternate future) the old villainous Revocorp.  The GM should also consider how long they want the Crew around before their cover is inevitably blown, and make allowances for the players derailing your plans and getting suspicious earlier.

If they're intended to be a simple one-and-done, the whole team can show up to film a minor crisis - a mundane bank robbery (maybe even using some of their minions as well) or a fight with a minor villain or two - and then more or less immediately betray themselves, turning the scene into a conventional brawl.  Consider adding a few rounds in Red depending on how long the Crew was pretending to be harmless photojournalists.  You could extend this to an issue or three by having them "play nice" for a few scenes before something gives them away, maybe gradually ramping up the number of "accidental" Hinders they take over time.

If you want them around for a collection or more, a slow burn approach where just a single Camera shows up for an action scene or two, then a pair of them, and finally the full team is a good approach.  Play them as helpful at first, let the players get used to them showing up often but not always.  In any scene where they're expected to remain "friendly" use the lieutenant version above, switching to the full villain writeup if their cover is blown and they start fighting for real.  If they took damage prior to such a switch, reduce their starting Health by 10 for each die step the lieutenant form lost from their starting d10.  If they do switch mid-scene, add at least one Red round to the scene tracker, two if in Yellow, and three if already in Red.

When playing the "long con" you'll need to work in some hints and clues for the heroes to investigate and there should be multiple opportunities for social scenes with Crew, either in uniform or (if they can be identified) in their civilian IDs.  Their personalities will influence how things go, and might very well lead to one or more of them betraying the rest.

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