The Master-Rat, A Murderous Urban Myth

An unpleasant urban horror that's not as mythical as you'd like.  Very likely either a competitor or ally of King Kockroach and his own army of vermin.  

This post also marks the end of my long-running project to do one of each possible pairing of villain approaches and archetypes.  All 252 of them.  Whew.  That was some work. 

The Master-Rat

The origins of the Master-Rat are unclear, but urban legends of things like him go back over a century and appear in large cities across the US and Europe.  It's possible he's not not a unique entity at all, merely an exceptional specimen of his kind.  The rats who invariably infest an area he frequents don't appear to be the same species at all, merely unnaturally large and prone to random mutations.

Despite his animalistic appearance, the Master-Rat can speak, mostly to taunt foes or threaten prey.  He identifies himself as Jenkin Brown, which suggests some familiarity with H.P. Lovecraft's writings and a sense of irony.  His motivations seem to be a mix of spite, territoriality and greed.  Jenkin intensely dislikes most humans.  Anyone who enters the urban hunting grounds he currently claims are seen fair game for him and his rodent followers, and he's even more vicious toward those who intrude upon his lair.  He also has a lust for human wealth even if he has trouble benefitting from it, and enjoys hoarding physical tokens like jewelry and antiques even more than cash.  He and his rats can get in almost anyplace, although their infiltrations are usually pretty unsubtle and leave signs of their presence in the form of gnawed holes, hair and droppings.

Description: A horrid freak of nature combining the worst elements of man and rat.  It has an ugly, sharp-toothed human face attached to a human-sized rat's body.  Each limb ends in a twisted human hand, and the thing shifts uneasily between a quadrupedal stance and an awkwardly hunched two-legged pose.  It stinks of filth and decay, and its voice has a grating squeaky quality to it.  

Gender: Male         Age: Uncertain         Height: 5'6"          Eyes: Bloodshot Brown

Fur: Mangy Dark Brown                     Skin: Caucasian                  Build: Horrible Rat-Thing

Approach:  Relentless                          Archetype:  Domain

Health:  50 + (5 x H)

Powers: Animal Control d10, Vitality d8, Agility d6

Qualities: Stealth d10, Fitness d8, City Rat d8, Criminal Underworld Info d6

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

Abilities:

No Escape From The Rats (R) When an opponent moves away from you, you may follow them and Hinder them by rolling your single status die.

Psychic Cannibal (A) Roll any number of environment minion dice.  Recover that much Health.  Remove those minions.

Rabid Swarms (A) Roll any number of environment minion dice.  Attack every target in the scene except yourself with those dice.  Remove those minions.

Rats In The Walls (A) Activate one of the environment's twists in its current zone or one zone closer to red.

Savage Vermin (A) Attack and Hinder using Stealth.  If the target status die is d4 or d6, use your Max + Min dice.  If target status die is d8, use your Max die.  If target status die is d10 or d12, use your Mid die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

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

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

The Master-Rat is strange mix of cowardice and savagery when confronted, and prefers to let the swarming rats around him do the brunt of the fighting.  He can call them up in large numbers using Rats In the Walls, then either let them act independently, callously drive them into combat with Rabid Swarms or sacrifice them for his own survival using Psychic Cannibal.  No mater what, there are always more of them.  When he takes a more personal interest, he'll single out a low status-die victim and use Savage Vermin, either by himself with Agility in the pool or with lesser rats using Animal Control.  Anyone attempting to avoid him will at least be hampered by No Escape From the Rats, and Master-Rat will happily attempt Overcomes to restrict the movement of high-mobility heroes or ground flyers.

Jenkin rarely has his upgrade unless he and his rats have gone too long without a proper feast, at which point desperation will drive them to cunning hunting strategies using his mastery as well.

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Whenever Jenkin Brown is present and an environmental twist would introduce minions or a lieutenant to the scene, the GM may opt to replace whatever the normal options would be with his themed minions below.  These are automatically hostile to heroes and allied to Master-Rat as long as he's still active, but are removed immediately if he flees or is defeated.

Savage Rats d6 environment minion

Description: A dozen filthy vermin, each the size of a small dog and far more vicious.  They are frenzied beyond any sense of self-preservation.

Suicidal Savagery: Whenever you would take a saving roll against damage when your Attacker is close to you, you may opt to fail before rolling.  Instead, roll your die and deal that much damage to the Attacker.

Giant Mutant Rat d10 environment lieutenant

Description: A freakish rat-mutant the size of a grown man.  It may sport twisted extra limbs, tails or tiny heads, but however many eyes it has they all gleam with mad hate.

Frenzied Rat-Mutant: You receive a +2 bonus to Attack actions, but cannot take Boost or Defend actions.

Suicidal Savagery: Whenever you would take a saving roll against damage when your Attacker is close to you, you may opt to fail before rolling.  Instead, roll your die and deal that much damage to the Attacker.

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The Visitant, A Ghostly Gestalt

A ghostly monstrosity spawned by an a ritual from long ago, still haunting the lonely places of the world after 160 years. 

Visitant

The ectoplasmic entity known as the Visitant is believed to be the product of a botched ritual attempted by a circle of Confederate spiritualists in the 1860s.  The desiccated bodies of the seven members of the group were found by Union troops as the Civil War ran down, but their spirits appear to have been bound into a gestalt being that continues to haunt the world to this day.  The creature exists to solely prey upon the living, apparently hoarding the energies derived for some even more dreadful entity that exists beyond the veil.  Fortunately, it barely qualifies as sentient by human standards and spends much of its time lurking in lonely places marked by death, old or new.

The Visitant is composed entirely of flowing ectoplasm, which can vary its consistency from a ghostly vapor capable of oozing through solid objects to a repulsive viscous jelly that can constrict or smother a man.  Its principle form of attack is to interpenetrate a victim's flesh, causing spiritual agony and nerve trauma in the process.  The main mass can subdivide to create free-acting versions of itself, and can perceive the world through them as though they were still connected.  These smaller entities sometimes seem to pursue their own incomprehensible goals, suggesting that they may represent the vestiges of the original ritualists when not bound into the gestalt.       

Description: A swirling cloud of pale ectoplasm, about seven feet in diameter.  It has no fixed form, although patterns of light and shadow suggest something like a huge gaping maw and anywhere from two to thirteen vague eyelike shapes.  It groans and wails incoherently and is accompanied by a wintery chill and a faint smell of death.

Its minions are identical but proportionately smaller based on their current die size.

Gender: Unsure   Age: Dead Eight Score Years   Height: Varies   Eyes: Mere Hints of Shadow

Hair: None                     Skin: None                  Build: Amorphous Mass of Ectoplasm

Approach:  Relentless                                Archetype:  Legion

Health:  15 + (5 x H)

Powers: Intangibility d10, Remote Viewing d8, Part Detachment d6

Qualities: Imposing d10, Ectoplasmic Mass d8, Otherworldly Mythos d8, Stealth d6

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

Abilities:

Ectoplasmic Predation (A) Attack and Hinder using Intangibility.  If the target status die is d4 or d6, use your Max + Min dice.  If target status die is d8, use your Max die.  If target status die is d10 or d12, use your Mid die.  

Eerie Schism (A) Add two minions of size equal to one size lower than your current status die.

Empowerment (R) When one of your allies Attacks an opponent, roll your single Ectoplasmic Mass die and add that much damage to the Attack.

Flowing Unity (R) When one of your minions is destroyed, roll its die.  Recover that much Health.

Mixed Intent (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.

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 Part Detachment die.  Gain Reestablish Shield (A) Overcome using Intangibility.  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 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

Visitant is an animalistic predator but still surprisingly cunning when it comes to stalking prey.  It takes full advantage of its surroundings and its powers to keep its main mass safe while sending out its minions with Eerie Schism to hunt and feed.  The thing is particularly fond of battling in graveyards where it can lurk safely below ground inside coffins, using Remote Viewing to time when to emerge using Intangibility.  It can augment damage from such safe hidey-holes using Empowerment when its minions Attack or heal when needed with Flowing Unity, although observant heroes may spot ectoplasm streaming to or from its main mass when it uses those reactions.  Visitant rarely spawns more than four minions at once to minimize the limitations of Mixed Intent and to keep its status die high for the moment where it lunges into view to use Ectoplasmic Predation on a hero with a weak status die.

Its upgrade reflects being gorged with life energy which it will seek to transfer to whatever otherworldy entity it serves with its mastery. 

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Samuel Hakes, aka The Black Miasma, Massive Murder-Cloud

This villain is almost a guaranteed mass-casualty event if he gets into a populated area, so don't let that happen if you can.  If he's feeling mean he might decide to take hostages to toy with, although there's not much he wants that the world can give him. 

Samuel Hakes, The Black Miasma

Samuel Hakes (Prisoner #761-176) was facing a life sentence in prison without parole after being found guilty of multiple spree murders, so volunteering to participate in a research trial for better living conditions seemed like a risk worth taking.  Besides, everyone had heard rumors of another con who'd been granted superhuman strength and durability in a similar experiment.  Maybe Hakes would get lucky too.

Instead, he was exposed to an exotic chemical that led to an irreversible physical transformation, robbing him of his humanity and part of his sanity but also allowing him to escape and resume his killing spree.  The authorities dubbed his new form the Black Miasma - a reasonable description of his new form - and were forced to call in multiple heroes to finally contain him in an airtight portable cell.  Several of them died in the process, giving Hakes a reputation as a hero-killer as well as a mass murderer.

Despite being moved to a max-security super-prison the Black Miasma has escaped several times since then, albeit always for brief periods.  He's even been set free by other villains on occasion, either as a deliberate distraction or in hopes of making an alliance with him for some scheme.  A few have even succeeded in convincing him to cooperate, although others have perished in his deadly haze for their trouble.  While he's largely motivated by murderous rage and hatred toward everyone who still has a physical body, he'd be quick to listen to any plausible offer to assist him in regaining his original form.  He doesn't want to give up his powers in the process, but being able to transform at will would be ideal for him.

Description: A shifting, formless cloud of dark particles.  In its base state it appears to be a sooty haze about fifty feet in diameter (large enough to envelope or fill many buildings) that flows from place to place of its own volition.  At maximum compression it can squeeze itself down to a globular mass about eight feet in diameter with a consistency akin to thick, black bank of smoke, or it can disperse to a maximum diameter of just over one hundred feet.  It can vary its density independent of its total volume, ranging from an almost invisible dark mist to a slimy mass of fog slightly thinner than water.  The being can adopt more structured forms to flow through openings or passages, or throw out pseudopods to pursue a fleeing foe, but a humanoid form is beyond it, only fragments of one like a huge menacing face or a single reaching hand.  Its voice seems to come from nowhere and sounds like a susurrus of falling ash.

Gender: Moved Past It    Age: 31    Volume: Variable, Base Diameter ~50'    Eyes: None

Hair: None                    Skin: None                    Build: Amorphous Cloud

Approach: Relentless

Archetype: Titan (Status Challenge: Analyze Cloud Structure 00  Locate Prime Nexus 0)

Health:  50 + (5 x H)

Powers: Density Control d10, Size-Changing d8, Intangibility d6

Qualities: Close Combat d10, Convict Test Subject d8, Stealth d8, Fitness d6

Status: Titan Challenge Start - d12 / Stage 1 Completed - d10 / Stage 2 Completed - d8

Abilities:

Amorphous Form (I) Reduce all damage you take by 6 (at d12 status), 4 (at d10 status), or 2 (at d8 or less status).

Deadly Miasma (A) Attack multiple targets using Density Control.  Hinder those targets using your Min die.

Focused Hate (A) Attack using Close Combat.  Use your Max die.  If the target does not Attack you on their next turn, Hinder them using your Mid die.

Roiling Vapor (R) When Attacked by a roll that includes doubles, remove one success from the Titan's challenge.

Vindictive Pursuit (R) When an opponent moves away from you, you may follow them and Hinder them by rolling your single status die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

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

Master of Annihilation (I) If you can cause massive collateral damage without regard for casualties, automatically succeed at an Overcome in a situation where a show of overwhelming force would help.

Tactics

The Black Miasma is a murderous but straightforward opponent, often concentrating more on inflicting mass casualties to innocents and mundane law enforcement than defeating the heroes.  His go-to ability when there are victims within the cloud that makes up his being is Deadly Miasma, otherwise he's quick to resort to Overcomes with creative power uses to get at targets cowering from him in supposed safety.  His Amorphous Form lets him shrug off a lot of damage, and Roiling Vapor helps keep his defenses at peak.  If a single hero manages to get his attention (often by applying penalties to him, which hurt his offense and Overcomes a lot) he'll use Focused Hate for payback.  Targets fleeing from him will also draw a Vindictive Pursuit reaction, which is his primary mobility trick.  

His upgrade makes him much more durable and reflects him adapting to his transformation over time.  His mastery leans hard into his homicidal nature and cruelty.

Trivia

The Black Miasma's combination of powers and Titan archetype reflect his status as a gigantic ever-shifting cloud of dark mist.  While not quite fully insubstantial, he can seep through anything short of an air-tight barrier in short order, as well as varying his opacity and overall shape considerably.  His version of Density Control not only affects him, when in contact with solid matter he can slowly penetrate its substance and break it down on a molecular level, effectively disintegrating objects and people.  The process is swifter with organic matter, but even metals and ceramics can gradually be worn down and even a pinhole breach will let him slip through a formerly impenetrable barrier.

He's also remarkably hard to damage due to his makeup and considerable size, although his consciousness is somewhat concentrated in a smaller prime nexus which offers a weak point if it can be located.  Black Miasma's principle limitation is his lack of mobility.  While able to flow about at will even in face of fairly strong winds (anything less than hurricane force) he does so at roughly walking pace and can't actually fly or swim as such.  He can "climb" a building or "walk" across the surface of water, and dropping off a height in low-density form won't hurt him at all, but even a civilian can escape him for a while by running fast enough.

How his senses function is unclear, but he's known to be able to see, hear and feel everything within the confines of his volume, as well as perceiving nearby areas about as well as a mundane human could.  He has to concentrate on a smaller area to really notice details (like the identity of who's moving within him) but has a general sense of what's going on near or inside him.

Meta-textually, Samuel Hakes is (or was, depending on how you look at it) an African-American and "the Black Miasma" is a nod to often-problematic naming practices in comics.  He despises his supranym and using his real name might get you a break when talking to him, or it might enrage him as a reminder of his past depending on his mood.

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Rabid Wulf, Remorseless Berserker

This unpleasant little scumbag is a mechanical experiment in making a villain who can stack a lot of damage on one target fast, and should probably be used with a little care.  While fragile, if he spikes his Mid dice (which he can apply multiple times per turn) he can easily deal ~30+ damage, which is a potential one-hit KO on most heroes.  Even more average rolls should be 20+ damage, which is no joke, especially if it's landing first round while the heroes are still in Green and lack most of their defensive Reactions.  

I've seen some GMs bemoan the fact that they never KO the PCs and fights are too easy, which I don't really get - but this villain should serve as a wakeup call for anyone who's gotten overconfident.  He's also doing the bulk of his damage spread over two or three Attacks, which has the side effect of making damage reduction abilities more useful against him (which is probably a good thing, they tend to underperform sometimes) while also making it harder to stop everything with a single strong Reaction.  

Rabid Wulf

"Rabid Wulf" began life as Dean Goetz, a high school dropout with a lengthy rap sheet of gang activity, drug dealing and low-level crimes dating back to his pre-teen years.  He recently became addicted to Professor Pusher's latest variety of the Supe drug, and is one of the few users who's developed lasting powers from the stuff.  As Rabid Wulf, he's managed to make himself useful enough to various shady interests to make a name for himself as a brutal super-thug for hire, with a particular knack for delivering painful "lessons" to street-level heroes that meddle in things they shouldn't.  Dean is a thoroughly appalling individual on every level, and has strong connections to various white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups as well as Professor Pusher's operations.  He also has issues with Bigwig's gang and has been seen fighting alongside the Triple Threat gang in turf wars against them.

His powers are pretty basic but the combination of superhuman strength and impressively fast reflexes make him a dangerous opponent, something that's amplified by his remorseless nature and sadism.  Once Rabid Wulf singles out a target he'll do his best to beat them senseless or worse before moving on to a new victim, and he can dish out punishment fast enough to make endanger almost any hero.  That said, he's not exactly durable himself, lacks much in the way of mobility powers, and isn't much good at teamwork with other villains - or fighting heroes who use team tactics themselves.

Description: A rat-faced young man dressed in tattered jeans, black leather vest, and steel-toed boots.  His bare arms, torso and face are covered in low-quality tattoos with neo-Nazi iconography, and he wears four heavy swastika rings on each hand that double as makeshift melee weapons.  His voice is squeaky and high-pitched, which might explain why he mostly relies on growls, grunts and violence to communicate.  He's barely literate in English, and proud that he doesn't speak any "inferior" languages - which is pretty ironic, considering his political leanings and the fact that his family actually immigrated from Germany in the 1920s.

Gender: Male        Age: 20      Height: 5'10"       Eyes: Bloodshot Brown

Hair: Long, Scraggly Brown     Skin: Caucasian, Skinhead Tattoos     Build: Leanly Muscled

Approach: Relentless                     Archetype: Fragile

Health:  15 + (5 x H)

Powers: Agility d10, Strength d8, Leaping d6

Qualities: Close Combat d10, Alertness d8, Vicious Street Thug d8, Fitness d6

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

Abilities:

By The Throat (A) Attack one target using Close Combat.  Use you Max die.  If the target does not Attack you on their next turn, Hinder them using your Mid die.

Frenzied Assault (A) Attack using Agility.  Use your Max + Mid dice.  Hinder yourself using your Min die.

Making It Hurt (A) Attack one target using Vicious Street Thug.  Then remove all bonuses on the target.

Savage Follow-Through (R) After making an Attack on your turn, use your Mid die to make another Attack against one target of the initial Attack.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional, usually active after a recent hit of Supe):

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

Rabid Wulf is a berserker in combat, throwing himself at one foe after another until he's triumphed over all or been beaten into submission instead.  He prefers to use Frenzied Assault, then immediately burn off its penalty using Savage Follow-Through to pile even more damage in his victim and leave him unimpeded for his next turn.  If an opponent seems to be trying to avoid a fight he'll use By The Throat at close range instead despite the fact that he'd probably be better off not drawing Attacks to himself.  Any opponent who stacks up multiple bonuses will draw a strike using Making It Hurt to strip them off, especially if he thinks they plan to use the mods defensively or on healing.

With his upgrade (usually in place when he's taken a hit of Supe recently) he becomes even more dangerous, and can easily take a hero Out from full Health if he spikes a Mid die roll with a high doubles result.  GMs might want to be merciful and throw the extra Group Fighter Attack at a fresh target if that happens - and he can use his Reaction with it instead of his primary Attack if desired.  His mastery usually only comes into play if a foe he's been told to beat down seems to be getting away.

Note that while he prefers to use his superhuman strength and reaction time to brawl in close combat, all of his abilities except By The Throat work fine at range if he has to fight at a distance by throwing stuff or borrowing a pistol from some random hood.

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Villain Design Analysis: Approaches Part 7 - Prideful & Relentless

Continuing from yesterday's post, more villain Approaches:

Prideful

Prideful villains have a well above-average set of Power and Quality dice, above-average Health and the two ability choices from the following list:  

I Know Your Weakness - A rare reactive Attack ability triggered by a nearby hero rolling a one in their die pool.

I Will Deal With Rest of You Later - Strong single-target Attack that also Defends against everyone but the target until your next turn.  Quite strong against teams. 

My Greatness Cannot Be Denied - Strong single-target Attack bundled with a persistent bonus triggered if the damage causes the target to change GYRO zones.  The bonus can be applied to anyone, which is good for supporting allies who lack access to a persistent bonus of their own.

Sustained Mockery - Good solid persistent Hinder.

Unquestionable Might - Potent innate damage reduction.

You Cannot Survive - Reactive Hinder triggered when an opponent ends their turn nearby.

Prideful villains have two strong single-target Attack options, both of which have secondary effects that help protect them from damage.  There's also a quite reliable offensive reaction for dealing more damage, another reaction that hands out penalties just for standing near you, a solid damage reduction ability, and a strong persistent penalty generator.  They don't have any healing and their Boost and Hinder options are limited (but persistent, which helps) but overall it's a good, varied list that's helped out by solid dice arrays and good health.  

This doesn't really need homebrew help in my opinion.

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Relentless

Relentless villains have fairly average Power and Quality dice arrays, average Health, and two ability chosen from this list:

Dogged Pursuit - Reaction triggered if an opponent moves away from you, letting you follow and Hinder them.

Prey On the Weak - Bundled Attack and Hinder on a single target.  Variable based on target status die, ranging from quite strong to just okay.

Repeated Punishment - An unusual reaction that triggers when you make an Attack during your turn, adding your Mid die to the damage one target of that Attack suffers.  Basically trades your reaction for extra damage right away.

Too Close For Comfort - Unique innate ability that lets you remove your own bonuses or your Attacker's penalties to reduce the damage they deal by the mod's value.  As an innate it can be used repeatedly with multiple mods.  Raises a minor timing issue but it's pretty clear the penalties on an Attacker are applied before you opt to destroy them with this ability.  Quite strong defensive trick if you can keep putting out mods to fuel it.

Twist the Knife - Reaction triggered by an ally making an Attack, letting you add damage to their Attack.  Good for breaching defenses and damage reduction. 

Up in Your Face - Decent Attack that forces the target to Attack you on on their next turn or be Hindered by your Mid die.  Flavorful, but usual outshone by Prey On the Weak, which makes it a bit of a dud.  If you want it to be more attractive, adding "This penalty is persistent and exclusive." to the text to make opting to take the Hinder have more bite would probably do the job.

Relentless has a peculiar but very aggressive list, with three offensive reaction options, an innate that's effectively a strong but resource-hungry defense, and two Attack abilities, one pretty clearly better than the other most of the time.  I suggested a fix to the weaker of the Attack options above, but there's another homebrew ability to consider that leans into the "stay on one target till it drops" theme that's supposed to be going on here:

This One Is Mine (A) Attack using [Power].  Use your Max die.  Defend yourself using your Min die.  If you dealt damage to this target on your last turn, add your Mid die to the damage dealt and the value of the Defend.

This ability is a hard push toward hitting one target repeatedly until it drops, since you have to keep up the pressure to really benefit from it.  The requirement to deal damage means foes could "combo break" the effect with a strong Defend and/or Hindering you.  It also gives you a defensive ability that isn't tied to the single oddball innate on the list.

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Continued in part 8.

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The Seven Sea-Masters, A Shoal of Aquatic Villains

This is my largest collection of villains in a single post to date, although all of them will work fine as solo baddies too.  Their only real team synergy is everyone being good in and under the water, either by actually having Swimming d8 or higher or Octoshock's signature vehicle.  More of support network than a proper team, it would be pretty rare for all seven of them to be involved in the same scheme at the same time but running into 2-4 at a time is very likely.  While aquatically themed none of them actually bad on dry land, although it would deprive them of a likely mobility advantage.  No legless mermen or living waterspouts or whatever in this lot.

The Seven Sea-Masters

There are nowhere near as many ocean-dwelling supers as there are on land, but heroes still turn up to interfere with villainous schemes often enough to be a nuisance.  After one particularly galling incident Doctor Dreadnought decided he'd had enough and took a page from his more numerous shoreside peers.  Seeking out as many of his fellow sea-going villains as he could locate (breaking a few out of prison in the process), he proposed they form a mutual assistance pact.  By aiding each others' schemes when called on they could overwhelm the lone heroes that made up what few aquatic heroes there were, and even resist "landlubber" hero teams who chose to meddle in something that was none of their business.  It took some time to talk the others around to his point of view, but in the end a half-dozen other villains saw the potential benefits and the Seven Sea-Masters were formed.

Calling them a team would be an exaggeration.  Their goals are diverse enough that it's rare for all seven to be involved in a single plot, but even operating as a loose coalition they've been more effective than they ever were solo.  A "normal" Seven Sea-Masters story might involve anywhere from 2-6 of the individual villains, often carrying out multiple steps of a scheme in different locations.  The members "sitting out" a given plan are expected to help free any of the rest of the group that wind up imprisoned if things go awry, providing some insurance against defeat for everyone.

Strengths & Personal Goals

Each "Sea-Master" has their own specialties and motivations, the diversity of which actually helps them work together since they aren't as likely to bicker about overlapping goals.

Doctor Dreadnought brings advanced technology and an elite corps of loyal followers to the table.  He dreams of establishing himself as the autocratic head of a true undersea nation, perhaps eventually leveraging that into rule of all the world's oceans.

Octoshocker is also skilled at super-engineering, with an eye toward using it to steal even more tech secrets to improve his current designs.  He's also a bit of an adrenalin junky and a glory hound who looks to prove himself against powerful heroes.

Spearfisher is a genius weaponsmith, good at planning heists at sea and has more connections to the broader criminal underworld than the rest of the group.  As a modern-day pirate and hijacker his motivations are purely monetary.  He's by far the most likely to do "work for hire" as a mercenary, or to hire other supers from outside the group for a job.

Grandfather Hunger provides raw physical power and intimidation, as well as a surprising amount of knowledge about nearby dimensions that could be exploited by more intelligent villains.  His only real interest is food but he's developed a taste for super-powered prey and may tag along on a mission simply for the chance to hunt any heroes who show up to interfere.  He's generally seen as the least reliable of the Seven Seas, but also the easiest to manipulate.

Slaughterfish is a savage fighter in and out of melee, as well as being a talented fringe biochemist and physician.  His dream of remaking humanity into fish-men like himself is worrying even to most of his peers but he's clever enough to downplay exactly how grandiose his plans really are - which might work out very badly if he somehow accomplishes it.  He's regarded as just barely more reliable than Grandfather Hunger, in part because he tends to go berserk in a fight.

Blacksand has a variety of powers that make him the group's intrusion and stealth expert, as well as being exceptionally good at hampering enemies during combat.   He lacks true personal goals and his own ancient programming has been somewhat corrupted by time and damage to his systems.  His innate tendency to obey commands where they don't contradict his lost masters' mandates makes it easy to convince him to assist his fellow Sea-Masters.  When he does recall the location of some ancient site, mechanism or relic his schemes tend to be big ones with side effects that a canny ally could easily benefit from.

Admiral Phantom offers some real magical talent to the group, but his main contribution is a seemingly endless army of undead spirits, giving him access to large numbers of truly expendable minions.  His goal is simple: expand his power base by drowning as many of the living as possible.  If he had his way the whole world would be a storm-wracked ocean - which isn't entirely a bad idea in the eyes of some of his peers.

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Doctor Dreadnought

Multi-billionaire and genius polymath Horatio Waterman comes from a wealthy English family with distant ties to the Tudor dynasty, which seems to have inspired an unhealthy hunger for power in the man.  He considers himself a realist though, acknowledging that the days of colonization and conquest of the seven continents is long past.  The seven seas are another matter entirely.  Waterman dreams of establishing an undersea nation of his own and becoming a major player in world politics.  To date he's had no success following legitimate channels, with even his wealth being unable to buy approval and recognition from the UN.

Not one to let that sort of roadblock stop him, Horatio has covertly adopted the identity of Doctor Dreadnought, a power-armored supervillain bent on taking his corner of the sea (or possibly all of them) by any means required.  As Dreadnought he employs a sizeable force of well-equipped minions, maintains multiple secret bases and a small fleet of combat submersibles.  He generally seeks to weaken the naval forces of the "landlubber" powers while supplementing his own resources with piracy and hijacking, all while scheming for an eventual campaign of nautical conquest.   

Description: Out of his armor, a heavyset Caucasian man in an unflattering snug blue bodysuit.  When armored up, a massive figure of thick blue-gray metal, humanoid but much thicker around the torso and with disproportionately long arms.  The operator's arms are held within the chest, with the oversized arms and hands being entirely mechanical.  The bucket-liked helmet is featureless aside from two short horizontal fins, but the huge shoulders and forearms are studded with weapon ports.  Its lower legs mount powerful thrusters that drive it through both water and air at startling speed.  

Gender: Male        Age: 35        Height: 5'6" (7'2" In Suit)        Eyes: Gray     

Hair: Thinning, Mousy Brown        Skin: Pale        Build: Stout (Massive In Suit)

Approach:  Mastermind                           Archetype:  Indomitable

Health:  40 + (5 x H)

Powers: Power Suit d12, Swimming d10, Flying d8

Qualities: Self-Discipline d10, Aquatic Conqueror d8, Imposing d8, Leadership d8, Science d8, Technology d8

Status: Always d8

Abilities:

Dreadnought Armor (I) Reduce damage dealt to you by two.

Grip Of Steel (A) Attack using Power Suit.  Either Hinder that target using your Max die, or Defend yourself using your Min die and you and that target end up elsewhere in the scene.

Implacable (R) When Attacked, Boost yourself using the Attacker's Max die.

Staggering Barrage (A) Attack one hero using Technology.  Hinder all heroes using your Max die.

Upgrades & Masteries (usually in effect):

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 Power Suit die.  Gain Reestablish Shield (A) Overcome using Power Suit.  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 Mad Science (A) As long as you have access to materials, automatically succeed at an Overcome by using scientific principles and inventions.

Tactics

Doctor Dreadnaught is a fairly straightforward foe in a fight, relying on his tank-like battle suit for its brute strength and integral weaponry and fighting defensively while lackeys and allies deal out damage.  He favors Staggering Barrage for offense, singling out hero for direct Attack while sending the rest reeling with shock charges and subsonics.  Grip of Steel lets him seize a foe and drag them away from sensitive machinery or challenges they're attempting to deal with, as well as offering him more defense that stacks with Dreadnought Armor.  Implacable lets him turn enemy blows into bonuses, the stronger the better.  The suit also offers strong mobility options both above and below the waves, which he'll be quick to use for escape if need be.

His upgrade makes him even more durable, and emphasizes his scientific and technological genius.

Doctor Dreadnought's followers are a variation on the generic "Science Crime" Operatives with snazzy high-tech diving gear and the ability to operate underwater as well as they do on land.  His combat subs vary in size and power from small one-man "fighter" subs that can be treated as lieutenants all the way up to submersible battleships that can contain multiple scenes worth of action. 

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Octoshocker

Terrence Clark stumbled into his super-villainous career completely by accident.  A petty thief, he broke into a storage unit in Corpus Christi and literally found his signature vehicle waiting for him under a tarp, along with the "educator helmet" that forcibly implanted full working knowledge of how to maintain, operate and even improve upon the thing.  Whether that info also skewed his sense of morality or he just grabbed for the chance to become remove the "petty" qualifier from his resume is unclear.  Regardless, he's spent the last few years establishing himself as competent technology-focused villain, specializing in ocean-going piracy that exploits the strengths of his bizarre ride.  He's unusually enthusiastic about scrapping with heroes who get in his way even when outnumbered, making him a popular ally when working with other villains who are looking for some muscle.

Terrence himself is a mundane human (albeit with some artificially-implanted skills and knowledge), but his Octoshocker vehicle is a marvel of strange super-science.  The thing is durable, incredibly fast in the water with no known dive limitations, and has fully sealed perpetual life support.  Add a sophisticated self-repair system, the ability to channel electricity through its hull or project it at range, and of course its distinctive array of multifunctional tentacular limbs and it's quite a marvel.  An "educated" pilot can effortlessly use all eight limbs at once, multitasking with an ease that suggests there may be some neural re-wiring involved in the process.  To date its creator remains a mystery and no one has stepped forward to try to reclaim the thing from Terrence, and he has no intention of letting it go if that does happen.      

Description: A short, sunburned fireplug of a man in a wetsuit riding in the bubble canopy of a bizarre machine.  The thing is strange blend of mini-sub and mechanical octopus, with eight armored tentacles ending in pods containing a mix of tools, grippers and thrusters.  It moves with a disturbing alien grace and smells of ozone when powered up.  You can hear the pilot hooting and hollering like a rowdy sports fan over the external loudspeakers during a fight.

Gender: Male        Age: Mid-Twenties         Height: 5'5"           Eyes: Brown

Hair: Dark Brown     Skin: Sunburned Caucasian     Build: Heavily Muscled

Approach: Focused                         Archetype: Guerrilla

Health:  35 + (5 x H)

Powers: Octoshocker d12, Electricity d8

Qualities:  Technology d10, Banter d8, Techno-Pirate d8

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

Abilities:

Eight-Way Onslaught (A) Attack multiple close targets using Technology.  Hinder each target using your Min die.

Insulated (I) Ignore all Electricity damage dealt to you.

Into The Scrum (I) If you are outnumbered by nearby opponents, reduce all damage dealt to you by two.

Octoblock (R) Defend against an Attack against only you by rolling your single Octoshocker die.  Boost yourself using amount of damage reduced.

Too Many Tentacles (A) Attack one target using Octoshocker.  Use your Max die.  That target cannot Defend or use reactions against this Attack.  Attack multiple other nearby targets using your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional, mostly depends on his potential paycheck):

Power Boost (I) +20 Health.  Increase all Power dice sizes by one (max d12).  Add the following ability:  Responsive Controls (I) At the start of your turn, gain a bonus equal to the number of opponents that Attacked you since your last turn.

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

Tactics

Octoshocker is kind of manic and loves throwing himself into the heart of a fight, using Eight-Way Onslaught when he's up against brawlers or Too Many Tentacles if there are more mid-range fighters.  His Octoblock reaction makes him harder to damage and pumps him up as well, so he'll use it as soon a she can each round.  The machine is thoroughly Insulated against electricity, which he'll sometimes exploit with clever Overcomes, especially when underwater.  Into the Scrum makes him pretty tough when facing multiple foes.

His upgrade makes him even better when outnumbered thanks to the Octoshocker's Responsive Controls, and his mastery shows off his monetary motivation.    

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Spearfisher

Formerly employed by BAE Systems as an assistant naval weapons engineer, Mason Jameson was officially declared dead eight years ago, lost at sea during a tragic testing accident.  In actuality, he faked his death, absconded with the prototype equipment being tested, and began a lucrative career as the mysterious supervillain Spearfisher.  Primarily an aquatic menace, he mostly pulls his heists at sea but has been known to launch raids on the coast, in upriver cities or near major lakes.  Anyplace where he can make an approach and escape by water is potential target.  He really prefers striking at cruise ships, yachts, and the occasional cargo ship known to be hauling interesting tech gear.

Spearfisher uses a variety of gear for his villainy, foremost among them his customized spear launcher and its wide variety of ammunition.  His thruster pack gives him excellent speed and buoyancy underwater and some aerial mobility as well, the latter of which makes boarding a lot easier as well as enabling penthouse robberies ashore.

Description: A lean, athletically-built man in a fancy navy blue diving suit with pale green detailing and a streamlined finned helmet that wholly conceals his features.  He seems burdened down with gear: a huge spear-cannon with a rotary ammunition clip, an oversized thruster pack flanked by twin quivers loaded with short spears, and twin bandoliers loaded with various custom warheads.  Despite all this he still moves nimbly in the water, and his boot-fins are made of configurable smart-plastic that can be retracted to let him walk in them normally on dry land - or the deck of a ship he's boarding.  His natural voice is harsh and grating with a strong Boston accent, but his helmet includes a voice-changer that speaks with flat mechanical tones.

Gender: Male               Age: 33                Height: 5'8"                Eyes: Blue

Hair: Thin Blonde Fuzz        Skin: Deeply Tanned        Build: Trim

Approach: Relentless                   Archetype: Inventor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Inventions d10, Swimming d8, Flight d6

Qualities: Science d10, Aquatic Raider d8, Technology d8, Criminal Underworld Info d6

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

Abilities:

Disruptor Warhead (A) Attack and Hinder one target using Inventions.  If target status is d4 or d6, use your Max + Min dice  If target status is d8, use your Max die.  If target status is d10 or d12, use your Mid die.

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

Tandem Charges (R) After making an Attack on your turn, use your Mid die to make another Attack against one target of the initial Attack.

Versatile Ammunition (A) Boost using Inventions.  Hinder using your Max die.  Attack using your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Villainous Vehicle +15 Health  Include a Getaway Aquajet d10 lieutenant with the following abilities in the scene.  Distance Attack (I) To Attack this vehicle a hero must make an Overcome action to be able to reach it. Escape Plan (R) If the Villain is Attacked roll this vehicle's die.  If it rolls higher than the villain's current Health, both the villain and the vehicle escape the scene.  Sturdy (I) When rolling a damage save, add +2 to the result.

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

Tactics

Spearfisher is all about piling on the offense with his harpoon cannon and its countless custom warheads, although in a melee he's been known to manually attach them to a target.  He employs Versatile Ammunition initially to build up a bonus and impair dangerous foes, then expends that bonus for Overcharged Shot as often as possible.  His Tandem Charges reaction lets him eke out extra damage on a chosen target.  Disruptor Warheads are reserved for vulnerable targets with smaller status dice, although they're still quite effective even against d8 status targets.

His upgrade gives him a reliable way to escape and haul away his loot.  His Aquajet is a sleek rocket sub with a decided Flash Gordon style to it, fins and all.  His mastery reflects his considerable talent for technological innovation, especially when it involves weaponry.  

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Grandfather Hunger

The monstrous entity that mystics call Grandfather Hunger is an extradimensional predator from some nightmare world where evolution followed a very different path.  Seemingly derived from prehistory's dunkleosteus, the thing is a humanoid man-fish hybrid with incredible physical strength and durability coupled with an endless hunger and lust for blood.  It shows little interest in communicating but admits that it "swam" to our reality from a place it had depleted of suitable prey, all in search of better hunting.  Worryingly, despite being driven off in several clashes with superbeings it seems to regard our Earth as a perfectly suitable new home and shows no indication of moving on or returning to where it came from.  Thankfully it prefers to hunt prey at sea, which at least limits the threat it poses to civilians ashore.

The thing has a very alien intelligence and cannot easily be reasoned with, although it isn't hard to distract, trick or confuse.  Some villains have managed to reach working agreements with it, which raises the concerning possibility that it may be accustomed to hunting in groups - which would mean there may be more of them out there.

Description: A massive humanoid, covered in dull silver-gray scales and dark plates of bone over its head and torso.  It has a short stub of a tail, oversized webbed hands and feet, and nightmarish head flanked by small gills that rises directly from its powerful shoulders.  Two goggling eyes adorn the sides of its armored head and its powerful jaws scissor together like metal shears.  It has a limited vocabulary and its voice is a deep rumble bubbling up from its broad chest. 

Gender: Male             Age: Inconceivable           Height: 7'4"              Eyes: Black

Hair: None                  Skin: Scaled & Plated               Build: Hulking

Approach: Ancient                         Archetype: Bruiser

Health:  50 + (5 x H)

Powers: Savage Jaws d12, Strength d10, Vitality d10, Swimming d8

Qualities: Close Combat d12, Imposing d12, Fitness d10, Instinctive Carnivore d8, Otherworldly Mythos d8

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

Abilities:

Crippling Bite (A) Attack using Savage Jaws.  Use your Max die.  Hinder a target dealt damage this way using your Max + Min.

Feast On Violence (R) When Attacked, use the amount of damage you take to Boost yourself.

Still Hungry (I) If you would be reduced to zero Health and you don't have a penalty, roll your single Vitality die and become that Health.

Thrashing Fury (A) Attack using Strength.  Use your Max die.  Either Hinder that target with your Mid die or Attack another nearby target using your Mid die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Group Fighter (I) +20 Health.  When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die. 

Master of 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

Grandfather Hunger is a predictable but savage combatant, fighting harder the more its prey resists.  It prefers to maul a single victim with Crippling Bite, but if faced with two or more foes it switches to Thrashing Fury to increase its damage output.  The bonuses it earns from Feast On Violence are usually channeled into even more damage, but it may use them to scrub off any persistent penalties it suffers so that it's more likely to be able to use Still Hungry if need be.

Its upgrade helps both offense and defense, while its mastery reflects its berserk destructive fury.

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Slaughterfish

Daniel Brooks made a name for himself in the field of marine biology while fresh out of Boston University, eventually returning to his native Jamaica to work for a subsidiary of Edge Biotechnologies.  He was accidentally exposed to a mutagenic compound that destabilized his DNA and wreaked havoc on both body and mind, leading him transforming into a crazed aquatic hybrid creature.  The press named the thing Slaughterfish after it went on a killing spree in a local resort.  Daniel eventually reverted to his human form with only distorted memories of what he'd done, but he was also saddled with a second, decidedly inhuman personality that shared his body and increasingly dominated his actions.  He lived several months of a sort of Jekyll & Hyde existence before eventually succumbing entirely to the monster within.

Slaughterfish now wears his old human face only to allay suspicions and conduct research pursuing his obsession.  He strives to re-create the process that made him and dreams of transforming all of humanity into his kind.  To date he's had no success, although he has managed to mutate and "improve" a number of aquatic species.  His metabolism has altered enough that he can control his transformations at will without chemical assistance, and eventually he hopes to begin secreting mutagens of his own to hasten his plans.      

Description: In human form, a thin African-American man, usually dressed in lab clothing or a wetsuit.  When transformed, a naked human-piscine hybrid covered in sharp scales and sporting a profusion of blade-like arm and leg fins.  He sports a maw full of needle-sharp fangs in a powerful set of distended jaws, with flaring pinkish-red gills along his short, thick neck.  Remarkably, he retains a thick Jamaican accent even in his fish-man form.       

Gender: Male        Age: Mid-Thirties        Height: 5'10" (6'4")        Eyes: Brown (Black)

Hair: Dark Brown (None)     Skin: Brown (Blue-Green-Yellow)     Build: Scrawny (Monstrous)

Approach: Dampening                     Archetype: Predator

Health: 40 + (5 x H)

Powers: Razor-Sharp Claws, Teeth, Fins & Scales d10, Agility d8, Swimming d8

Qualities: Close Combat d10, Deranged Marine Biologist d8, Medicine d8, Ranged Combat d8

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

Abilities:

Bloodthirsty Strike (A) Attack using Close Combat.  Use your Max die.  If the target has a penalty you created or is in the Red zone, use your Max + Mid dice instead.

Crippling Wound (A) Hinder using Razor-Sharp Claws, Teeth, Fins & Scales.  Use your Max die.  That penalty is persistent and exclusive.  As long as that penalty is on the target, reduce their highest power die of your choice by one die size.  Attack using your Mid die.

Slashing Frenzy (A) Hinder multiple targets using Agility.  Use your Max die.  Use your Mid + Min dice to Attack any target that gains a penalty this way that already had a penalty from you. 

Sudden Cut (R) When a nearby hero that you can see invokes a twist, roll your single Razor-Sharp Claws, Teeth, Fins & Scales die to Hinder them.

Upgrades & Masteries (always when in an aquatic scene, never otherwise):

Mook Squad +0 Health.  Gain Call Neo-Sharks (A) Replenish your Neo-Shark minions up to the number of heroes in the scene.

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

Slaughterfish generally opens a fight with Crippling Wound to apply lasting penalties, then exploits the resulting weakness with Bloodthirsty Strike.  He uses the Sudden Cut reaction whenever possible, and whenever he starts his turn with two or more targets that have penalties from him he'll employ Slashing Frenzy to maximize his effectiveness.  If possible he'll try to exploit the initiative to use Slashing Frenzy again before affected heroes can act and shed the penalties from the first usage, producing a large damage spike and heavy stacked penalties to them all.  While he prefers to stay in melee, he can make ranged attacks by prying off and hurling his own sharp scales at foes, something he can do with any of his abilities except Bloodthirsty Strike. 

With his upgrade he can summon a school of his dangerous Neo-Shark minions at will, which help him exploit his mastery of confused and dangerous situations. 

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Neo-Shark d10 minion

Description: Man-sized sharks, augmented with greater speed, strength, hardiness and intelligence.

Still A Fish: You move as though you had Swimming d8, but cannot voluntarily leave the water.  When taking actions against targets not in the water with you, you take a -4 penalty.  You may not make saving rolls against damage unless you're in the water.

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Blacksand

This strange creature was originally mistaken for an inert statue found during an underseas archeology dig.  When brought ashore the subsequent examination awoke the thing, which proved to be an automaton created by some unknown prehistoric (and possibly inhuman) culture.  Dubbed "Obsidiman" by its discoverers, the thing attempted to follow its ancient programming by killing or driving off the human intruders, then returned to the submerged dig site and activating mechanisms that would have destabilized to local tectonics to raise a large area of the sea floor to the surface.  A team of heroes stepped in to prevent the massive loss of life and property damage that would have followed, eventually being forced to shatter the Obsidman into powdered fragments to stop it.

That was assumed to be the end of it, but within months the recovered remains of the golem had mysteriously disappeared from the lab that was investigating them.  Shortly thereafter the creature made another attempt to restore the mechanisms in another heretofore unknown site deep beneath the Pacific ocean, endangering the Hawaiian Islands in the process.  The thing was stopped again, but had undergone an unexpected transformation.  Rather than repairing itself into its former statue-like Obsidiman form, it was now a mass of coarse black particles operating much like a nanite swarm in semi-human form.  Calling itself Blacksand, it proved impossible to capture, issuing a few final threats before flowing away through the shadowed deeps seas like a cloud of sentient ink.

The thing's motivations seem to be wholly preprogrammed directives to protect and restore its creators' old installations, regardless of the effects that restoration might have on the planet's current residents.  Thankfully the damage it suffered when defeated as Obsidiman seems to have partially scrambled its memories, but Blacksand still reappears regularly pursuing some destructive scheme.  

Description: A naked, sexless and powerfully built figure, seemingly made of rough black sandstone.  The creature struggles to maintain its regular proportions, slumping and distorting unnaturally when moving.  It can dissolve into flowing sand, briefly harden itself into a form like crudely chiseled stone, and stretch itself into dark snaking coils that strike with crushing force.  Its voice is the sound of grating stone, alien and cold.

Gender: None     Age: Many Millennia     Height: Variable, Usually 7-8'     Eyes: Black

Hair: None     Skin: Like Coarse Black Sand     Build: Variable, Muscular In Humanoid Form 

Approach: Ninja                   Archetype: Inhibitor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Density Control d10, Elasticity d10, Swimming d8, Wall-Crawling d8, Toxic d6

Qualities: Close Combat d10, Stealth d10, Finesse d8, Fitness d8, Shattered Inhuman Golem d8

Status: (# of heroes with penalties) 0 - d6 / 1-2 - d8 / 3+ - d10

Abilities:

Agonizing Blow (A) Attack using Close Combat.  Hinder that target using your Max + Min dice.

Blacksand Shroud (A) Hinder using Density Control.  This penalty is persistent and exclusive.  As long as this penalty is in play, reduce damage dealt to you by one and whenever you are dealt damage, the target of this penalty takes one irreducible damage.

Blacksand Storm (A) Hinder multiple targets using Elasticity.  Use your Max die.  Attack one of those targets using your Mid die. 

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

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 the Unfathomable (I) If you are in a situation involving ancient forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to follow your ancient programming despite your damaged state.

Tactics

Blacksand uses its flowing form in combat, varying its consistency and shape to attack and defend.  Agonizing Blow is its most straightforward Attack, and can be delivered in its stony form, a lashing whip of abrasive sand or a choking toxic cloud.  Blacksand Shroud lowers its density enough to drive a subcutaneous lair of particles into its victim, establishing a lasting link with their life force.  It can dissolve into a cloud of particles with Slip Away when pressed, and deal with multiple foes using Blacksand Storm to stretch itself over a broad area for a brief period.

With its upgrade the creature can surround itself with a haze of its own substance, which acts as a psychoactive hallucinogen to most organic lifeforms.  It mastery lets it fulfill the orders of its long-vanished creators more effectively.

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Admiral Phantom

The otherworldly entity known as Admiral Phantom claims to be the spirit of a pirate "admiral" who perished in the late 17th century, going down with his ship while battling against the English navy.  No historical records of the events he's described have been found, but arguing with the unquiet dead is an exercise in futility even for superheroes.  The Admiral was stirred from his watery slumber during World War Two and has remained active intermittently ever since then, pirating ships of all kinds, pillaging isolated coastal communities, and even occasionally sailing upriver in pursuit of nautically-themed treasures of mystical origin.

Admiral Phantom has demonstrated the ability to summon the spirits of those who've drowned at sea to obey his commands, potentially manifesting dozens or even hundreds of them.  His powers are strongest at sea, diminishing on shore and falling off greatly the farther inland he travels.  He also commands dark magics that let him meddle with the fabric of reality.  While generally interested in plunder and spreading fear, he has occasionally attempted more ambitious schemes.  He has access to ritual magic that could submerge entire islands or coastal cities, something that would bolster his powers and the ranks of his drowned crew considerably if he succeeded.   

Description: Ghostly apparition of an Age of Sail pirate captain, dressed in a ragged and bloodstained English officer's coat.  His hawk-like features are partly concealed by his long dark hair, seemingly blown in a spectral wind.  The figure is festooned with black powder pistols and carries a long cutlass which blazes with pale flame when brandished in combat.  His voice is hollow and mournful, nearly drowned out by the sound of sea and storm.  

Gender: Male               Age: Died Late 1600s            Height: 6'4"           Eyes: Glowing White

Hair: Black, Wind-Tossed           Skin: Deathly Pallor           Build: Wispy Ectoplasm

Approach:  Creator                     Archetype:  Overlord

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Infernal d10, Intangibility d8, Swimming d8, Flight d6

Qualities: Magical Lore d10, History d8, Leadership d8, Officer of the Unquiet Armada d8, Otherworldly Mythos d8

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

Abilities:

Admiral's Orders (A) Boost using Leadership for all your minions until the start of your next turn.

Commander & Crew (A) Attack using Infernal.  Use your Max die.  Defend yourself against all Attacks until the start of your next turn using the number of your minions.

General Quarters (A) Use Magical Lore 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.

Lieutenant On Deck  (A) Use Magical Lore to create a lieutenant of the same die size as your Max die.

Reclaim the Fallen (R) When one of your minions is destroyed, roll its die and Recover that much Health.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional, usually in effect if at sea):

Hardier Minions + 5 Health.  Gain Supernatural Promotion (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 of Conquest (I) As long as you are in command of your own forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to seize an area or capture civilians.

Tactics

Admiral Phantom relies on his crew of drowned spirits for his effectiveness, supporting them as they support him.  He can conjure up ghostly sailors in large numbers with General Quarters or a fellow officer with Lieutenant On Deck.  Admiral's Orders makes his minions far more effective and he can Reclaim the Fallen as they take losses to restore his own energies.  When forced to take a direct hand in a fight he relies on backup from Commander & Crew for protection.

With his upgrade he can issue a Supernatural Promotion to sailors who merit a reward.  His mastery lets him coordinate them flawlessly when it comes to looting, plundering and seizing other ships by force.

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Seaman's Spirit variable minion, often d8 or d10 (see General Quarters and Supernatural Promotion)

Description: Spectral sailors from throughout history, the majority stemming from the Age of Sail.  Many are armed with ghostly weapons native to their time period and the rest can conjure up phantom cutlasses, belaying pins and the like at need.  They seem to be trying to speak but only faint moaning and sounds of wind and sea can be heard.   

Ghosts of the Drowned: You are immune to drowning and may move as though you had Flight d4, Intangibility d4 and Swimming d6.

Phantom Officer variable lieutenant, usually d10 (see General Quarters)

Description: Ghostly naval officers from throughout history, most from the Age of Sail.  Better dressed and equipped than regular seamen, they wear their tattered uniforms even in the afterlife.  Many are armed with ectoplasmic swords and pistols, and the rest can summon whatever weapons they're comfortable with at will.  Like their lesser brethren they're accompanied by the sound of storm and high seas, although one can faintly hear them shouting commands from the Great Beyond.

Ghosts of the Drowned: You are immune to drowning and may move as though you had Flight d4, Intangibility d4, Swimming d6.

No Malingering!: Nearby Seaman's Spirits minions may reroll any die rolls of one.

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The Court of Entropy, A Demon King's Inner Circle

The Court of Entropy is a group of extradimensional entities forming the demonic royalty of their home realm.  Each is a unique horror but they all work together to expand their domain and increase their power by collecting the souls of mortals.  Encountering them on Earth (or even on Earth's dimensional plane) would be the result of a major summoning ritual or a catastrophic dimensional breach, the kind of thing that might draw the attention of Johnny Crisis.  They're more likely to be met in their own hell-plane by mystical or dimension-hopping heroes.  

Facing all of them at once is a challenge for a full team of heroes, and likely to be a climactic battle for a whole story arc.  Using only two or three of them in a scene augmented by lieutenants and a dangerous environment will be more manageable while retaining some of their team synergies.

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Yan-Gannoth the Nadir King

Monarch of the Court of Entropy, Yan-Gannoth is an ageless inhuman entity who embodies the principle of entropy, decay and mortality.  Mortals and their world interest him only as potential sources of subsistence, and he has no fear of any mere human no matter their powers.  That may not work out well for him when confronted by superheroes who can punch a mountain into rubble and resist even the will of a demon lord.

Description: A towering skeletally-thin giant, garbed in rusted, tattered plate and chain armor and bearing a high-spiked crown of gray metal on its brow.  It radiates an overwhelming aura of despair and dull pain.  Rust, rot and mold form a spreading blight wherever it goes.  It rarely uses its echoing sepulchral voice with mortals.  Most commonly encountered seated upon its Throne of Entropy (see below).

Gender: Male?              Age: Immortal             Height: Usually 20'                Eyes: Gray

Hair: Gray                 Skin: Gray                    Build: Horrifically Gaunt

Approach:  Ancient                    Archetype:  Squad

Health:  35 + (5 x H)

Powers: Suggestion d12, Infernal d10, Strength d10, Size-Changing d8                                     

Qualities: Conviction d12, Magical Lore d12, Persuasion d10, Demonic Royalty d8, Otherworldly Mythos d8

Status: (# of other Villains) 3+ - d10 / 1-2 - d8 / 0 - d6

Abilities:

Demonic Supremacy (A) Hinder multiple targets using Suggestion.  Use your Max die.  Attack each target using your Mid + Min dice.

Entropy Is Eternal (I) If you would be reduced to zero Health and you don't have a penalty, roll your single Strength die and your Health becomes the value rolled. 

My Servants Are Sacrosanct (R) When another villain is Attacked, Defend them by rolling your single status die. Boost yourself using the amount of damage reduced.

The Court Empowers Me (I) Increase damage you deal by the number of nearby non-minion allies.

Upgrades & Masteries (usually in effect):

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 Suggestion die.  Gain Reestablish Shield (A) Overcome using Infernal.  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 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

Yan-Gannoth is demonic royalty and rarely deigns to acknowledge any single foe, leaving that to his court and lesser followers.  Instead he remains seated on his Throne of Entropy and uses Demonic Supremacy to grind all opposition into surrender with sheer psychic pressure, augmented by The Court Empowers Me.  His Defense Shield upgrade makes him very hard to harm, and if he is somehow reduced to zero Health Entropy Is Eternal will keep him in the fight unless he's been Hindered beforehand.  While he cares little for his minor servants he will respond to assaults on his courtiers with My Servants Are Sacrosanct.  Yan-Gannoth's mastery is extremely easy to use with the number of Suggestion-based penalties he spreads around.

He prefers to remain at his full twenty foot height but may diminish himself to more modest proportions if need be.  Doing so in response to something a mere mortal has done is a sign of grudging respect - or seething fury if his courtiers have been defeated and his Throne broken.

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Throne of Entropy

The Throne of Entropy is a construct rather than a creature.  It exists solely to serve the Court of Entropy, and will obey any instruction form Yan-Gannoth without hesitation.  If left without guidance, it will attempt to withdraw to its own dimension, bearing any defeated allies with it if possible.  It's probably the most dangerous piece of furniture the heroes will ever encounter, or at least the biggest.  

Description: A massive platform made of tarnished gold inscribed with countless arcane runes, roughly circular with hundreds of multicolored stylized eyes around its rim.  A huge high-backed throne scaled for a 20' tall occupant is centered on it, and the whole apparatus is borne on four thick, columnar legs which fold beneath it when its rider wishes to dismount.

Gender: None        Age: Unknown      Height: 45'      Eyes: Polychromatic

Build: Gigantic Ambulatory Dais Bearing A Huge Throne

Approach: Specialized

Archetype: Titan (Status Challenge: Deface Runes 00  Crack Hellcrystal Core 0)

Health:  50 + (5 x H)

Powers: Strength d8, Presence d10

Qualities: Imposing d12, Close Combat d8, Demonic Construct d8

Status: Titan Challenge Start - d12 / Stage 1 Completed - d10 / Stage 2 Completed - d8

Abilities:

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

Eye of Terror (A) Hinder one target using Imposing.  Use your Max die.  Attack that target using your Mid die.

Invulnerable Demonic Construct (I) Reduce all damage you take by 6 (at d12 status), 4 (at d10 status), or 2 (at d8 or less status).

Layered Defenses (R) When Attacked by a roll that includes doubles, remove one success from the Titan's Challenge.

Looming Behemoth (A) Attack multiple targets using Strength.  Hinder those targets using your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Group Fighter (I) +20 Health.  When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die.

Master of the Unfathomable (I) If you are in a situation involving eldritch forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of eldritch entities beyond human concerns.

Tactics

The Throne of Entropy primarily exists to carry Yan-Gannoth in style, but it will take an active part in a battle to defend its rider or itself.  Looming Behemoth lets it literally put its foot down, producing devastating shockwaves and getting the bonus from All-Seeing Eyes started on multiple targets at once.  Eye of Terror is a single-beam attack that terrifies a foe with supernatural energy.  Invulnerable Demonic Construct and Layered Defenses combine to make it quite hard to hurt.  It frequently uses a basic action to Defend its rider rather than other abilities.

Its upgrade improves its damage a fair bit, while its mastery applies when following orders from Yan-Gannoth or any other demon lords that might be present.  Of all the Court members the Throne of Entropy is least likely to have an upgrade, as it's mostly a gigantic piece of animated furniture.

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Urakk the Unmaker

Urakk is the most learned member of the Court of Entropy, and is usually the first entity Yan-Gannoth will consult when in need of information.  He has great power over the tools of mortal beings, manifesting the entropic principle in the form of failing machinery, broken tools, rusting weapons and similar technological decay.  Vindictive in the extreme, Urakk prefers to work with an ally to drag down whichever foe has angered him most, greedily pursuing any who flee so that he can take them as a specimen for his collection of bottled mortals back in his home dimension.      

Description: In its natural form, a tall, narrow-shoulder humanoid with an oversized head sporting half a dozen staring eyes beneath a mane of long squirming tentacles in place of hair.  It wears tattered, mold-stained robes of gray and white that mostly conceal its scaly green skin, digitigrade legs and taloned feet.  Its voice is high and strained, with a deathly rattle to its breathing.

Gender: Male?              Age: Immortal           Height: 6'9"          Eyes: Jade Green

Hair: Coiling Gray Tendrils           Skin: Dull Green, Scaled            Build: Macrocephalic

Approach: Relentless                            Archetype: Inhibitor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Transmutation d10, Infernal d8, Awareness d6                                        

Qualities: Magical Lore d10, Demonic Sage d8, Otherworldly Mythos d8, History d6

Status: (# of heroes with penalties) 0 - d6 / 1-2 - d8 / 3+ - d10

Abilities:

Accelerated Decay (R) When Attacked by someone with a penalty you created, Defend by rolling your single status die.  The Attacker also suffers that much damage.

Augment Harm  (R) When one of your allies Attacks an opponent, roll your single Magical Lore die and add that amount of damage to the Attack.

Entropic Evocation (A) Hinder multiple targets using Transmutation.  Use your Max die.  Attack one of those targets using your Mid die.

Fearsome Pursuit (R) When an opponent moves away from you, you may follow them and Hinder them by rolling your single status die. 

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Group Fighter (I) +20 Health.  When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die.

Master of 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

Urakk despises the tools of science and technology above all else, and prefers to use Entropic Evocation to spread "creeping decay" penalties around multiple targets.  He has a number of reactions to choose from each turn, and will usually employ one at the first opportunity.  Fearsome Pursuit lets him chase down fleeing foes and interfere with tactical repositioning, Augment Harm lets him add significant damage to an ally's Attack, and Accelerated Decay gives him a strong response to Attackers suffering one of his penalties.

His upgrade doubles the amount of raw damage he hands out with his sole offensive ability, and his mastery lets him revel in the destruction of man-made structures and items while intimidating and distracting foes.

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Shaggom the Unyielding

Shaggom is the guardian of the Court, focused narrowly on preventing harm to his king and his fellow courtiers.  If he has motivations or interests beyond that it doesn't show.  If he fails in his duties he'll fight till destroyed, and will gladly remain behind to cover any retreat.  Yan-Gannoth treats his Throne with more respect than Shaggom and will sacrifice him without a second thought.. 

Description: A powerfully built humanoid in heavy plated armor covered in rust.  Its head is a featureless ovoid but it still seems preternaturally alert to its surroundings.  It "speaks" inside your head in a lifeless monotone.  

Gender: Male?       Age: Immortal      Height: 8'10"     Eyes: None

Hair: None              Skin: Dull Black Stained The Color Of Dried Blood        Build: Hulking

Approach: Dampening                           Archetype: Bruiser

Health:  45 + (5 x H)

Powers: Infernal d10, Strength d8, Vitality d8                                        

Qualities: Imposing d10, Alertness d8, Close Combat d8, Demonic Warden d8

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

Abilities:

Curse of Terror (A) Hinder using Infernal.  Use your Max die.  This penalty is persistent and exclusive.  As long as this penalty is on the target, reduce their highest power die of your choice by one die size.  Attack using your Mid die.

Entropic Invincibility (R) When Attacked by a hero with a penalty, ignore their damage and remove a penalty on that hero.

Seize and Slam (A) Attack one target using Strength.  Use your Max die.  Either Hinder that target using your Mid die or Attack another nearby target using your Mid die.

Warden of the Court (A) When a nearby ally would be Attacked, you may become the target of that Attack instead.  You may use this reaction any number of times in a round by taking one irreducible damage for each time past the first.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Group Fighter (I) +20 Health.  When you take an action that lets you make an Attack, also make an Attack using your Mid die.

Master of the Unfathomable (I) If you are in a situation involving eldritch forces, automatically succeed at an Overcome to do the bidding of eldritch entities beyond human concerns.

Tactics

Shaggom is the most militant member of the Court and focuses on defending his allies with judicious use of Warden of the Court.  Spreading lasting penalties around with Curse of Terror also helps limit incoming damage, and Entropic Invincibility blocks damage from anyone with a penalty from any source, something the whole Court hands out plenty of.  Once he's got enough penalties out he'll switch to Seize and Slam for more damage output, either throwing heroes around in melee or hurling battlefield debris at a distance.

His upgrade further ramps up his damage, and his mastery reflects his absolute loyalty to the royalty of his hell-dimension.

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Vorrin the Frozen-Hearted

Vorrin is the Court's spymaster and assassin, and frequently has his own schemes in progress either with or without Yan-Gannoth's knowledge.  His shape-changing powers let him infiltrate the mortal world, where he's most likely encountered in the company of demonic cultists.  Vorrin's entropic powers manifest as freezing cold and stillness, the ultimate inertia on the molecular level.  He and Urakk are sometimes at odds due to Vorrin's secretive nature and Urakk's endless curiosity.

Description: Tall, rail-thin figure with a prominent hunched back that bears a second, distorted face looking backward from the hump.  It wears nothing but checkerboard leggings in rusty orange and brownish black.  Its main head speaks only in a whisper, trying not to disturb its secondary head which roars and bellows nonsense when annoyed.  It exudes a chilling aura of bitter cold and muted sounds, and is often coated in a layer of peeling frost when employing its powers.

Gender: Male?        Age: Immortal     Height: 6'7"      Eyes: Saffron Yellow

Hair: Long Bleached White             Skin: Eggshell White             Build: Scarecrow Thin Hunchback

Approach:  Leech

Archetype:  Formidable (Weakness: Heat, Radiant)

Health:  40 + (5 x H)

Powers: Cold d10, Absorption d8, Shape-Shifting d6                                 

Qualities: Demonic Spymaster d8, Finesse d8, Magical Lore d8, Otherworldly Mythos d8

Status: No Weakness Penalties - d12 / Both Bonuses and Penalties - d8 / Only Weakness Penalties - d4

Abilities:

Feast On Your Power (R) When a bonus is used against you on an Attack or Hinder, you may first destroy that bonus.  If you do so, roll your single Absorption die and recover Health equal to the roll plus the value of the destroyed bonus.

Frozen Shroud (A) Hinder multiple targets using Cold.  Recover Health equal to your Min die.  If you roll doubles, also Attack one of those targets using your Max die.

Mantle of Ice (A) Boost using Cold.  Use your Max + Min dice.  Remove all penalties on yourself.

Unnatural Talent (A) Take any basic action using your Max die.

Upgrades & Masteries:

Power Dampening Field (I) +10 Health.  While the scene is in the green zone, all heroes' powers of d8 or higher are reduced by one die size.  In the Yellow zone all of the heroes' powers of d10 or higher are reduced by one additional step (two die sizes total).  In the Red zone, all heroes' power 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 power until this upgrade is removed.

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

Tactics

Vorrin is a cautious but versatile fighter thanks to Unnatural Talent, but will usually rely on Frozen Shroud to pile on penalties and heal a bit when damaged.  Feast On Your Power makes it hard to use bonuses against him and works even when the ability targets multiple villains, so it can be a group defense as well as a personal one.  If Hindered with heat or radiance-based penalties he'll resort to Mantle of Ice as soon as possible to keep his status die up.

His upgrade gives him a strong passive debuff that will require serious effort to remove and his magical talents are reflected in his mastery.

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The Court of Entropy is often accompanied by a few lesser servants, most commonly demonic mockeries of human knights of old. 

Knight of Ruin d10 lieutenant

Description: Demonic entities that usually manifest as bloodstained medieval knights in rusting, decayed armor with battered and chipped blades.  Some may be mounted on swaybacked steeds in equally decrepit barding but these are just for show, part of the knight itself.  They can appear as something else at their master's whim, but always display the marks of entropy in some way.

Drawn To Weakness:  You gain a +1 bonus to Attack actions for each penalty on your target.

Entropic Contagion: When rolling to save against damage from Attacks you automatically fail.  Hinder the Attacker using the result of your save.

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