The Other Kind of Character Advancement: Hero Points And Their Uses

Revisiting the subject of character advancement in the SCRPG, today I'm looking at the Hero Point rules, how to generate them and what you can spend them on.  HP are a sort of "temporary advancement" that you earn in one session and then spend to gain benefits in the next session.  Mechanically they act a reward for roleplaying to your character's Principles.  They're a little unusual compared to broadly similar metacurrencies (eg FASERIP's karma, Mutants & Masterminds' hero points) in that your rewards are deferred rather than offering immediate benefits from them during play, and they can't be saved up from one session to the next.

How You Earn Hero Points

Players generate one HP for the entire group every time they use one of their Principles for an Overcome action, regardless of whether it succeeds or not - so you're not pressured into taking a twist if you roll under an eight with your Max die.  This can happen any number of times in an action or montage scene, but in social scenes (where you rarely roll anything anyway) you can only gain a maximum of one HP total - and in meaningful social scenes (see p. 34 for the definition of "meaningful") you'll get your one HP automatically anyway.  You can only earn a maximum of five HP per session, and the entire group always has the same total.

In practice, it's pretty easy to generate the maximum HP in a session unless you have a very small group (2-3 players).  If you plan on running only a single action scene it's probably a good idea to include enough challenges (either as scene elements or environmental twists) to make it viable for the PCs to make enough Overcomes to hit the cap, remembering there won't always be a chance to apply a Principle to any given Overcome roll.  Of course, canny and creative players will make their own opportunities to use their Principles both in and out of action, and the fewer action scenes you have the more time there is for social scenes, so it's not something to worry about too much.  Players won't be badly hurt if they don't reach five HP, although it will leave them a little bit weaker in the next session than they could have been.

Hero Point Rewards

At the end of a session (or the beginning of the next one, if you're pressed for time at the end) each player spends their HP on benefits.  By default, these bennies are simple bonuses, split up however they want - so five HP could be five +1 bonuses or one +5 or any combination that adds up to five.  These bonuses are exclusive but not persistent (the only mods in the game that work that way) so you can only use one on any given roll just like any exclusive mod, and each one is one-use only.  This tends to make fewer, larger bonuses more popular than a bunch of small ones, and HP bonuses are the only way a PC can normally reach a +5 bonus, which is almost as powerful as using a collection to maximize a die - and you can combine the two effects, as well as adding in any non-exclusive bonuses you have available.  Like any mod you have to declare whether you're using an HP bonus before rolling - unless you've got the ability to apply mods after a roll, which means HP bonuses make those abilities a bit more useful than usual.  You also need to be able to narratively justify what a bonus represents, which can require some creativity.

Worth noting that choosing to use a HP bonus isn't a reaction or action, just something you can choose to do when a roll is about to be made.  By the RAW, you can use one of your bonuses on another character's turn, including on an ally's action or reaction to something a villain just did.  The exclusivity means only one person on a team can do this per roll (no team dogpiling) and it will conflict with any P&E bonuses your ally might have themselves (so usually you won't use HP in that case).

Characters who habitually establish a strong P&E bonus for themselves will often find that helping out other people is the only practical way to use their own HP bonuses.  If everyone on the team is generating their own P&E bonuses, your options get more limited (ie you need to look for windows where a normal P&E bonus has been scrubbed off or reduced to lower than potential help from HP bonuses).  It might be better to consider the alternative HP rewards section instead with that kind of team.

Alternate Rewards

While spending HP for bonuses is always an option, p.248 lists three other things you can spend them on with your GM's okay.  I've never run into a GM who doesn't use the "alternate rewards" and I certainly do myself, but I would ask my players to explain what their choices represent narratively, the same way you're supposed to explain how previous events provide you with your HP bonus when it gets used.  It's generally a good idea to be generous about this sort of thing and use the explanations as inspirations for twists during the session.

The three types of alternate rewards are:

Sidekick

This a simple reward that gives a hero a minion with a die size ranging from d4 to d10 based on how many HP you spend.  They take their action at the start of their hero's turn.  Like all minions they're pretty fragile.  While they do recover one die size at the end of a scene where they were damaged if they were taken out completely they're out for the rest of the session - possibly even killed if the player and GM agree it's dramatically appropriate.

Despite the name, these don't actually need to be costumed sidekicks like Bucky or Robin.  They work nicely to represent allies like a danger-prone spouse, a gruff private detective, the hero's roommate, a government liaison agent, a robot servant (Skeets!), or some kind of pet.  They might be recurring characters, or they might be someone who shows up once or twice and then never appears again.  They offer the GM a lot of potential story hooks to use, which makes them the most interesting of the rewards from a narrative standpoint.  

If the GM wants they could assign a sidekick an ability (p.206 has many suggestions) to personalize them, although they don't really need one to be worthwhile mechanically.  While they may not last long in any given session, they have enough impact on scenes to be well worth the bonus(es) you're effectively trading off to have one.  Recurring character sidekicks are probably the best ones to give abilities to, and if the hero takes them regularly they might even change over time - and eventually a GM might promote them to lieutenant or even super status and turn them into full-blown NPCs, at which point they'd cease to be a sidekick.

There's nothing directly preventing you from taking more than one sidekick, but the costs limit your options to either a pair of d4 minions or a d4 and a d6, which definitely aren't going last long in a fight.

Favor From An Ally

Mechanically, this is a reaction that the PC can take at any point to make a free Attack, Defend or Overcome action that rolls a die pool based on the points spent on the reward, representing some kind of assistance from an "off-stage" ally.  Narratively, you need to provide some kind of explanation for who/what the ally is and how their help is producing the action.  This is pretty easy to do if your favor is being provided by (say) a cosmic entity or magical boon, but takes a bit more creativity if it's an NPC hero or the police commissioner or something similar mundane.  If you're really stuck for ideas, your GM might let you justify the favor as a bit of advice, inside information, or one-use gadget that they gave you that just happens to help in your current situation.

Favors are probably most helpful for PCs that lack a strong reaction ability of their own.  They can be used regardless of GYRO zone, which can be helpful in Green where there are few reactions available.  There's also nothing preventing you from taking multiple favors, and while their die pools will be kind of terrible for the cheaper options even a 3d4 mid die Attack or Defend reaction is pretty competitive with a one-shot exclusive +1 bonus.  Just don't count on favors managing a clean success on an Overcome even if you spend heavily on them, rolling an 8+ Mid die is tricky even on 3d12.  You'll likely have to take a twist to succeed unless you're lucky.

One oddity about favors is that they can't be used for Boost or Hinder actions.  I assume something in playtesting caused a problem with them, but for the life of me I can't see what it would be.  A GM who wanted to make favors more versatile and a little better could let a hero use them to Boost/Hinder as well as Attack, Defend and Overcome as a house rule and I don't think anything would break down - the game has plenty of reactionary mod producers already.  

If you wanted to be really generous you could even extend it to allow a Mid die Recovery, although I think at that point I'd add one HP to the cost of each tier of the reward (making the top bracket unavailable).  Recovery abilities are relatively rare, and reactionary ones are almost unheard of.      

Temporary Ability Or Improvement

This category does three things, all of which apply for the whole session.  You can add a brand new Red ability to your character sheet.  You can upgrade an existing Yellow or Red ability so that it can be used one GYRO zone earlier.  Or you can the die size of a power or quality.  Needless to say, these can all be pretty strong, and this is the only category that explicitly says you can't take the exact same improvement multiple sessions in a row.  As always, you need the GM's okay to take any of these, and the book suggests that these should be the result of some unusual occurrence during the game like exposure to weird radiation, being temporarily possessed, receiving training from a mentor character or getting dosed with exotic chemicals.

Some of these effects can make a PC considerably more powerful for an entire session (being able to access a Red ability in Yellow is especially strong).  They certainly tend to outperform an equal HP cost worth of one-shot bonuses and favors, and will generally have more mechanical impact than sidekicks over the course of the session.  The extra Red ability and increased die sizes on a power or quality are somewhat tamer, as it's harder to benefit from them as consistently, but they're still probably more impactful than the other reward options.

If that level of power is a concern, it might be worth house-ruling them to be weaker and more in line with other options.  My suggestion would be:

The extra Red ability can only be used once per session.

You can only upgrade the GYRO zone of an ability from Yellow to Green or from Red to Yellow once per session.  Even toned down, this is still the equivalent of getting a free minor twist, one of the functions of using a Collection.

Power or Quality die size increases can be used for one whole one scene per session.

The other option is to use them as written but be very sparing about how often they become available.  Make a them a "special reward" beyond the other Hero Point options so the players can really appreciate the power boost, temporary though they may be.  In this case the narrative justification for the upgrade is even more important and should be solidly tied to some significant story event, preferably from the last session's play so the impact feels immediate.

  

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KO Clown & Mister Mean, Animated Cartoon Nemeses

KO Clown is character ported over from a Tiny Supers team I threw together for a one-shot a while back.  He's not a perfect translation of the original but close enough, and I've taken the opportunity to write up his nemesis Mister Mean as well.  I might tackle some of the other members of the Syracuse Seven eventually.  The one-shot went very poorly - the players hated the system, which I did warn them was kind of light - and it would be nice to get some mileage out of the character concepts, at least.

EDIT:  Since posting this, I've also added a third "cartoon character" to my roster in the form of Deadeye Mouse, an occasional flunky of Mister Mean.

KO Clown

KO Clown started out as a character in the 1930s "Clown Town" cinematic cartoon series, where he mostly played the hero by showing up at the last moment to stop the scheme of Mister Mean by bonking him with a hammer.  The shorts weren't the most sophisticated humor even for their era, but became popular enough to get a newspaper strip and later a children's radio program and comic book.  In the late 1940s a young boy named Ricky Little somehow gained the ability to summon KO Clown into our reality by saying the magic word "Okaykayo!" and the two of them spent about five years bonking real-life mobsters, recalcitrant Nazis, mad scientists and Communist spies alongside other peculiar Golden Age heroes.

Ricky disappeared when he was sixteen, the same night that a studio fire destroyed the original prints of the Clown Town shorts and that was the last anyone saw of KO Clown for decades.  Clown Town faded into obscurity by the end of the 1950s, and remained an obscure "lost media" curiosity until 2023 when a forgotten film reel was discovered by a film historian.  As luck would have it, that historian had a ten year old daughter and the magic word worked as well for her as it had for Ricky Little.  It took a while to explain concepts like "child endangerment" to KO Clown, but he eventually accepted that things had changed.  He now works with a minor superhero team rather than an unpowered preteen crimefighting partner.  Many villains hate him with a passion - getting beaten silly by an old-fashioned cartoon is embarrassing - but he's actually got his fans even in the supercrime community.

But no matter how busy things get, he still makes time to visit little Susie and always comes when she calls out "Okaykayo!"  Her father is still digging into KO Clown's past, and there are some things buried there that might be awkward for everyone involved.  If KO Clown can manifest here in the real world, why not other cartoon characters like Mister Mean?  And what happened to Ricky Little?

Description: A cartoon clown.  Tall, gangly, rubber-limbed, wearing bright blue pants, a canary yellow shirt with big red buttons, white suspenders and gloves, and enormous red clown shoes.  Frequently carries the tools of his trade, with his powers letting him conjure an endless variety of pies, seltzer bottles, jugglers' clubs, rubber chickens and similar props out of thin air.  His favorite "toy" is a huge red mallet that's taller than he is.  His clown makeup changes to reflect his emotions, usually glad, sad, or mad.  Sometimes he goes all monochrome just for the sake of nostalgia.  Has a jolly voice and his movements are weirdly irregular, like early cel animation.

Gender: Male            Age: Clowns Are Eternal           Height: 6'2"          Eyes: Bright Blue

Hair: Neon Green Fright Wig       Skin: Pasty White Under The Clown Makeup     Build: Lanky

Background: Performer               Power Source: Unknown            Archetype: Wild Card

Personality: Jovial                   Health (G/Y/R):  32/24/11

Powers: Strength d10, Transmutation d10, Elasticity d8, Leaping d6, Size-Changing d6

Qualities: Creativity d10, Acrobatics d8, Banter d8, Cartoon Clown d8, Close Combat d8

Status: Green (32-25) - d6 / Yellow (24-12) - d8 / Red (11-1) - d10

Abilities:

Green

Have A Present! (A) Boost or Hinder using Transmutation.  Use your Max die.  If you roll doubles you may also Attack using your Mid die. 

Juggling Act (A) Take any two different basic actions using Elasticity.  Use your Min die for each.

Principle of Chaos (A) Overcome a challenge in a way that is truly unpredictable.  Use your Max die.  You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point.  Minor twist: How did you fall in line to get something done?  Major twist: What caused you to become predictable and stale?  RP: No one can predict what you will do next.

Principle of the Clown (A) Overcome a challenge that has already flummoxed a more serious teammate.  Use your Max die.  You and your allies each gain a Hero Point.  Minor twist: Which hero has to bail you out of the predicament your shenanigans have gotten you into?  Major twist: What boring grown-up thing that you ignored is now getting you into big trouble?  RP: When a crisis strikes your teammates, they can just say the magic word and you'll be there to help.  Okaykayo!

Yellow

Bonk!  Bonk!  Ha-ha-ha! (A) Attack using Elasticity.  Use your Min die on one target, your Mid die on a different target, and then Boost using your Max die.

Gifts For Everyone! (A) Boost all nearby allies using Transmutation.  Use your Max + Mid dice.  Hinder yourself using your Min die.

Whomp, Whomp, WHOMP! (A) Attack multiple targets using Strength.  If you roll doubles one ally is also hit by the Attack. 

Red

How Do You Kill A Cartoon? (I) You have no limit on the amount of Reactions you can take.  Each time you use a Reaction after the first one each turn, take 1 irreducible damage or take a minor twist. 

Purely Cosmetic Damage (R) When you are Attacked and dealt damage, you may ignore that damage completely.  If you do, treat the value of the damage as a Hinder action against you instead.

Raining Trouble (A) Hinder any number of targets in the scene using Transmutation.  Use your Max + Min dice.  If you roll doubles, also Attack each target using your Mid die.

Out

Friends With The Animator (A) Defend an ally by rolling your single Creativity die.

Tactics

KO approaches a fight about a seriously as he does everything else - so, not very much at all.  Only children being put in danger gets him to put on his Mad face, and he'll do his best to save them using Overcomes as soon as possible.  

Barring that sort of thing, he has a lot of options in Green but will usually use Have A Present! to Boost himself by conjuring up a suitably clownish weapon or prop, then do his Juggling Act to take whatever two basic actions seem best with the bonus applied to whichever is more important - or funny.  If there's an opening for an amusing Overcome he'll do that instead, especially if it's unpredictable enough to use Principle of Chaos or show up a more dour teammate with Principle of the Clown.

In Yellow, Whomp, Whomp, WHOMP! offers a strong and only ever-so-slightly risky way to scrub off minions, especially if he has bonuses to use with it.  He can easily set that up himself with Bonk!  Bonk!  Ha-ha-ha! to hit a couple of targets and generate a solid bonus, or he can pass the bonus to an ally who needs it more.  He can also exert himself to hand out Gifts For Everyone!, giving huge bonuses to all nearby allies at the cost of a small self-Hinder.

In Red he almost stops taking damage.  Unless an Attacker can ignore reactions, the combination of Purely Cosmetic Damage and How Do You Kill A Cartoon? effectively turns Attacks into Hinders, with the small cost of taking one damage or a twist per Attack beyond the first between his turns.  He may wind up buried in penalties, but it's awfully hard to actually put him Out.  He also gets access to Raining Trouble (his retcon choice) for big penalties on every foe and a fair possibility of doing some damage as well.

If he does go Out he still provides a solid defense for an ally each round thanks to being Friends With The Animator, letting him continue to materialize inconveniences for his foes even while his ghostly clown form hovers over his cartoon tombstone.        

Design Notes

KO Clown actually has kind of a rotten set of dice available but still manages to make it work in play thanks to some efficient abilities.  He's not the hardest-hitting hero ever (nothing above Mid die) but spreads attacks around well even in Green.  He's very good at Boosting both himself and allies right from round one, and even his "small" Green Hinder uses Max, while his Red Hinder option is one of the strongest in the game.  His Red zone defensive combo is pretty silly against most opponents, and if he does go out he's got a solid defensive ability there too.  Principle of the Clown is a reskinned version of Principle of the Sidekick, letting him show up stuffy boring adults, get himself in trouble by behaving childishly, and appear on the scene when most needed by his friends.   

What he does lack is defensive Reactions before Red, although he can Defend a bit while doing something else even in Green.  Generally speaking he doesn't need to worry much about taking damage fast because of the way the brakes slam on in Red, so he can concentrate on throwing mods and multi-target damage around with some impunity.

Conceptually, he's a living cartoon from a 1930s short, and is as pliable as a cartoon of that era should be.  His Size-Changing and Elasticity represents stretch-and-squash animation styles, Leaping covers him literally bouncing around (often stretching his arms to reach farther when one of his bounces falls short), and his considerable Strength is as much ignorance of the Laws of Gravity and Inertia as anything.  

He also has a very strong Transmutation power, which he mostly uses to conjure props out of thin air, as well as occasionally doing things like turning bricks into gingerbread or firearms into pop guns.  Basically if it's something funny he can probably manage it on a small scale, although reality is more resistant to his pranks than celluloid was.  No turning the sun into a big light bulb and flipping the switch off these days.  He's particular fond of whipping up giant mallets as impromptu weapons, bouquets of flowers that inexplicably Boost or Hinder the people they're given too, and gift-wrapped presents for any kids in the audience.  He can't conjure up anything really complex or boring (comic books but not a dictionary) and with his 1930s mindset modern things like personal electronics are right out.

Exactly what his abilities look like in game varies, but Whomp, Whomp, WHOMP! usually involves him hitting or stomping the ground so hard it sends out shockwaves, or sometimes clashing giant cymbals if all his foes are airborne (that one should probably get a new name momentarily - Clang, Clang, CLANG! works).  Transmutation-based Boosts and Hinders involving materializing objects (he likes flowers and wrapped gifts and balloons) and tossing or handing them to the target.  Raining Trouble is literally that - miscellaneous items appear and fall on his targets, ranging from enormous water balloons and gigantic pies to (when he rolls doubles) anvils and cartoon weights and the like.

His greatest weakness is "Kissy Stuff" as he puts it.  As a character from a 1930s children's cartoon who has the emotional maturity of a stereotypical ten year old boy, even mild displays of affection throw him off his stride.  Explicit sexual displays are pretty much his Achilles' heel - assuming he even recognizes them for what they are.  He may express concern about catching cooties when fighting female supervillains.

___________________________________________________________________________

Mister Mean

Much like his nemesis, Mister Mean was a character from the 1930s "Clown Town" cartoon.  He was the show's principle bad guy, always scheming to take over the town and make its citizens' lives miserable and always stopped in the end by KO Clown.  It's not clear how he's followed the Clown to the real world in the 2020s - is there a rotten little kid behind it? - but he's back to his old shenanigans.  While technically a supervillain, his idea of an ingenious criminal plot tends to be childish, outdated, impractical or all three.  He works very poorly with his peers, many of whom either baffle or secretly horrify him.  His weird powers are useful enough that he does attract all manner of petty thugs as henchmen, although they're more interested in using him as a distraction while they get away with some actual loot - often in bags clearly labeled as such.  To date he's proved impossible to arrest (much less imprison) as he melts away into a puddle of black ink when defeated, inevitably returning in a few weeks or months.

It's quite possible that Mister Mean may only be the first Clown Town villain to manifest.  The shorts did have other lesser baddies and there's obviously some kind of breach in reality revolving around the films.  If the breach widens it may only be a matter of time until there's more criminal silliness going on.  For now it seems Mister Mean is the only one carrying out schemes to counterfeit nickels, steal all the ice cream in the city, and turn everyone into mice.

Description: A cartoon bad guy.  He generally wears a black suit under a black overcoat and a tall, crooked stovepipe hat - also black, of course.  Short and scrawny with a hunched physique and arms so long his spidery hands drag on the ground.  Carries a six foot long fountain pen that he impossibly tucks away in his coat when it's not needed.  His inability grow suitably villainous facial hair is a sore point for him.

Gender: Male          Age: Timeless Classic         Height: 5'0"          Eyes: Red

Hair: Black              Skin: Sickly Green           Build: Hunched

Approach:  Underpowered                 Archetype:  Loner

Health:  20 + (5 x H)

Powers: Transmutation d8, Elasticity d6, Giant Fountain Pen d6, Size-Changing d6

Qualities: Stealth d10, Cartoon Villain d8, Finesse d8, Banter d6

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

Abilities:

Even Narrower Escape (I) Whenever you would be reduced to zero or fewer Health, prevent that damage and reduce all of your power dice by one die size.  If this reduces any die below d4 you are knocked out.

General Nastiness (A) Attack multiple targets using Cartoon Villain.  Defend against all Attacks against you until your next turn using your Min die.

Ink Siphon (A) Attack using Giant Fountain Pen.  Use your Max die.  Recover Health equal to your Mid + Min dice.

Narrow Escape (R) When you would be Hindered or when an Attack would reduce you to zero Health, reduce the penalty to -1 or reduce the damage to 1.

Take Some Time To Gloat (A) Boost using Cartoon Villain.  Use your Max die.  Hinder using your Mid die.  Attack using your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Power Boost (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:

Mister Mean is an old-fashioned cartoon villain.  He's sneaky and underhanded and prefers to prey on the weak - stealing candy from babies is his idea of a good time - but if it comes to a fight he's gleefully violent.  He'll Take Some Time To Gloat to open a scene then use General Nastiness, which usually involves pulling cartoon bombs out of nowhere and chucking them around wildly or fencing with his signature weapon, a giant fountain pen.  Once he starts taking damage he'll use Ink Siphon to skewer an enemy and restore himself by draining their life force, a move that thankfully gets censored into cartoon violence when used on real-world targets.  His Narrow Escape reaction lets him avoid the worst of incoming penalties or cancel out a blow that would otherwise defeat him, and if that's been used up Even Narrower Escape will save him at least once.

With his upgrade his powers are bit stronger, he starts with a lot more Health, and he gets an extra last chance with Even Narrower Escape.  His mastery is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a living cartoon character.

Mister Mean's powers are very similar to KO Clown's, although he favors conjuring up comedically menacing weaponry with Transmutation instead of circus props.  He's particularly fond of big round bombs (usually labelled as such) with sputtering fuses, jagged daggers that don't seem to actually draw blood, blackjacks and occasionally tommy guns when he's feeling like playing gangster.  His signature weapon is a huge fountain pen that he can use to jab people, spray ink, or siphon energy from people - which leaves other cartoons all shriveled and puny but just makes real world folks intensely sleepy.

His greatest weakness is extreme squeamishness about the sight of blood, which (as he puts it) just isn't natural.  "Why are you people all full of red ink?"  

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More Maunderings: Types of Scene Elements

Continuing on with the subject of actions scenes, I thought a post looking at the types of scene elements might be worthwhile.  The core rulebook goes over them on starting on p.186, but there are other things worth mentioning for new gamemasters.  There are five different types of scene elements, each of which offers different things to the GM.  You normally have H elements (H = the number of PC heroes, possibly adjusted for allied NPCs and similar aid) to use in your scene design budget and the mix you select will determine the feel of the scene for your players.

Villains

Most actions scenes will have one or more villains as their centerpiece, and their motivations will tend to dominate events whether it's something as simple as "escape the heroes" or something more complex like carrying out one step of a convoluted scheme.  The villain design process will let you make just about anything you can imagine, and most villains will be the single greatest threat a hero will face, often taking some cooperation to defeat.

There's a "secret" the rulebook doesn't emphasize:  Villains are not created equal.  Combinations of Approach and Archetype vary wildly in terms of effectiveness, and ability choices can make even identical A/A combinations behave very differently.  There's a very large difference between an Underpowered/Fragile villain and an Overpowered/Titan, for example.  

Despite this, each villain counts as a single element in your budget.  This makes your choice of villains a dial you can turn to adjust the difficult of a scene, and it's a good idea to consider how much of a threat each villain will be to your group of PCs.  Some key things to look for:

- Multi-target abilities are much more punishing than single target ones.  Even if the multi-target abilities are defensive in nature being able to buff a group of allies means a lot more than buffing just one.  If you find a villain overperforming because of these abilities, remember that you don't have to affect every target you could - and for more unstable or treacherous villains, including their own allies in mass attacks is perfectly in keeping with comic book tropes.

- Villains that can create more allies (usually minions) during a scene can make things very tough for heroes without multi-target abilities of their own.  It can be simply impossible to keep up with a flood of new lackeys for some hero teams, and sparing the actions to defeat the villain creating them is a real struggle.  To tone these types down use their creation abilities sparingly, and perhaps make suboptimal choices for the allies they do spawn.  Legion archetype villains are probably the easiest "spawners" to adjust on the fly, while Overlord archetypes can be enormously powerful if their minions get out of hand.

- A few villains have access to very powerful healing abilities, with the Domain archetype being the worst offender.  Be careful about using these abilities to stall out the heroes until the scene tracker expires, as it can easily feel like robbing your players of a hard-won victory.  Sometimes it's fine for the heroes to lose, but doing it by tanking damage faster than they can deliver it doesn't make for great experience at the table for anyone.  

Lieutenants

You get H/2 (round up) lieutenants for each scene element, and that can often make them collectively harder to take down than a single villain while still being easier for the GM to run.  They're also quite action-efficient and should have an ability or two (or even three) to give them some individuality.  This combines to make them quite popular and effective.  If you're worried about them overperforming, remember that H/2 is the maximum you can take as one choice, and you could opt to just take fewer, especially for larger PC groups.  With 5+ PCs they can be a bit too good in my experience.

Another interesting element of lieutenants is that they reward heroes who are good at delivering very large single-target attacks.  The way their dice degrade usually means they take four or more separate hits to bring down, but if a hero can scrape up twice their current die size in one blow they pop as easily as a minion.  Getting to 16+ damage to drop a d8 lieutenants isn't all that hard with some Red abilities or serious bonuses, and I've seen 20 or even 24 damage hits one-shot a big lieutenant.  This is a definite moment of awesomeness for the player.  This makes them natural partners for minions (who need lots of small attacks to dispose of efficiently) so PCs with both kinds of damage output can shine. 

Minions

These come in blocks of H minions per selection, making them the best way to fill out the scene with a lot of weaker foes for the heroes to wade through.  They're probably the most swingy of all scene element choices, being quickly disposed of by heroes with lots of multi-target abilities but overwhelming to heroes that rely on hitting one foe at a time.  How many you use needs to be tailored to your PCs to avoid under- or overperformance, although there are some dials you can use here during play.

The rules strongly encourage you to spread Attack actions from minions as evenly as possible between heroes for good reason, and breaking from that to concentrate fire will make minions far more dangerous.  That said, you can lower their effectiveness quite a bit by deliberately shooting at targets with damage reduction, a Defend buffer in place, and strong defensive reactions.  With damage reduction, always do one roll at a time so any change in personal Zone gets to increase the amount of deduction for later rolls.  Going from -1 in green to -2 in Yellow means a lot with d6 or even d8 minion shots.  Contrariwise, you can make minions more dangerous by concentrating on the greatest threats they're aware of, which usually means heroes with multi-target attacks.  Not all minions are smart enough to do this, but it's pretty reasonable behavior from (say) the reeling d4 survivors from an earlier assault if they don't just try to flee or surrender instead.

A better use for minions is often to skip on Attacks and use other actions, spreading them around to support their more powerful allies.  If they Boost and Defend other villains and Hinder heroes it will generally feel better for the players and lets them choose between powering through the mods and Defends to hit bigger targets or taking the time to scrub off the weak minions first.  By not spamming minion Attacks they're still contributing but aren't putting as much immediate pressure on the PCs to avoid going Out.  

Challenges

Challenges are an interesting way to mess with PC action economy during a scene, and the Overcome actions required to remove them often generate both twists and hero points, so both sides of the table get something out of them.  The rulebook spends quite a lot of time explaining how to build challenges, and following those guidelines will still leave a GM with plenty of room for creativity.  When doing so it's worth considering a few things beyond just what difficulty of element you want, though.

Simpler challenges are probably best as part of an environment (see below) where they can be introduced as twists gradually.  Long, involved challenges are better used as elements unto themselves so that the PCs can start working on them from the start of the scene.  Timed challenges can be tricky to balance, especially if introduced through a twist - it's usually pointless to put a three-turn timer on a Red zone environmental challenge since it won't trigger till the tracker runs out anyway, for ex.   

Be careful of using too many challenges at once, especially if there are high durability enemies in the scene as well.  A party of (say) five heroes only has a total of 40 actions between them in a normal scene (less if anyone goes Out) and not every Overcome action will succeed even with twists if there are any penalties in play on those attempting them.  If you put in three major challenges that require five Overcomes apiece plus another two or three small challenges among your environment twists that need a total of four successes themselves, that's at least 19 actions needed to deal with them all, which doesn't leave many to dedicate to combat, buffing to improve Overcome odds, etc.

Another good idea is to be very restrained about challenges that put penalties in play until they're resolved.  Those penalties make the Overcome actions needed much, much harder to accomplish, letting all the challenges in the scene "punch above their weight" in terms of impact.  If you do employ that sort of challenge it would be best to limit the penalties so they don't apply to Overcomes or Boosts, giving the players a fair chance at solving things.

It's also good form to use challenges that give a significant reward to players for resolving them rather than applying a penalty.  The carrot works better than the stick by putting less immediate pressure on the players (the scene tracker, environment and combat elements are doing that already) while still pushing them not to ignore the opportunity until too late.  Challenges that apply a serious (possibly story-related) outcome if the tracker (or timer) runs out but give a commensurate reward for finishing them early might be the best option to get players to engage with them.

Environments

These are unusual because you'll never use more than one in a scene unless something very peculiar is going on - maybe a string of major twists throws all participants into a whole new environment mid-scene?  An environment is a powerful storytelling tool by virtue of its twists, which can do almost anything the other scene elements can and more.  You can add lieutenants, minions, and challenges this way, take actions that affect one or more targets and even accelerate the scene tracker, and that's just sticking to book suggestions.  A GM can really do anything they want with twists, but there are some things to keep in mind.

- Because they're so versatile and essentially impossible to prevent or even foresee, individual environmental twists need to be fairly restrained so they don't dominate the whole scene.  The rulebook gives good guidelines on this on p.244 in terms of power, with each GYRO zone having a single more potent major twist that can't be repeated and any number of weaker minor twists that can be reused.  Unlike other scene elements the environment does scale up as the scene tracker advances, but its impact is rarely equal to the strongest villain and hero abilities even in Red.

- An environment's twists are just a menu of pre-planned possibilities - a rough "script" for the scene's extras and the special effects guys to work with, as it were.  If the "leads" (the heroes) manage to derail things badly enough you may have to abandon your plans and improvise.  If you've got twists planned where the nuclear micro-reactor starts leaking radiation but one of the PCs has thrown the whole thing into deep space, you need to come up with something new even if it's just re-skinning the same mechanical effect.

- Similarly, the GM ultimately decides what twists to use and when to use them, although listening for player suggestions is always a good idea.  Weirdly, most of those suggestions tend to be phrased in the form of "I hope X doesn't happen!" rather than just asking for X outright, but that's players for you.  You can use your choice of twists to adjust difficulty in the scene up or down, and even avoid using some twists at all while repeating others if if seems like that will produce a better experience.  The only real limitation is not to use more than one really strong major twist effect per GYRO zone, even when making one up on the fly.

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Designing An Action Scene, Part 2

Continuing on from yesterday's post, this covers all the crunchy mechanical stuff that needed to be written up for the scene as planned, along with some notes on how it came out when I ran it a few months back at the end.  My prep time on this was a bit over an hour, and would have been less if I'd had the environment available already - the villains had been done for months.  Took me longer to type up this post than assembling everything for play did, but I needed to be a bit more coherent here for readers that aren't just sitting across the table from me like my players were. 

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Protoids

Protoids are an artificial life form, or possibly a biological robot depending on your definition of what "life" means.  Composed of immensely adaptive pseudoplasm, they maintain a roughly humanoid form but can deform themselves enormously, vary their size from a few feet in height to nearly ten stories tall and their density from a thick fluid to harder than concrete.  Even brief contact with an organic life form lets them sample its genetic structure and over time process the information for their own self-improvement.  Protoids lack true free will or intelligence but are created with pre-programmed behavior patterns depending on their planned role.

Empowered Protoid

An Empowered Protoid is massive construct programmed to seek out raw material to expand its mass and spawn more of its kind.  Human bodies are an excellent source of those materials, although other chemicals are required.  Largely quiescent when adequately "fed" they can cause mass destruction if forced to forage for their own supplies.  In addition to the danger they personally present, they also regularly spawn much smaller protoids to assist in combat and gathering material (human or otherwise) for processing.  These speed-grown lesser forms are generally unstable, lasting only a brief period before breaking down into a chemical slurry.

Description: An enormous mass of pseudoplasm the color of a livid bruise.  It maintains a distorted humanoid shape that irregularly flexes, expands and contracts.  Its consistency varies from near-fluid to a crusty hardness but generally maintains a rubbery, adhesive pliancy.  The thing gives off an astringent chemical odor and a constant burbling sound but is incapable of speech.

Gender: N/A     Age: Newborn     Height: 25' To Start, Can Reach Nearly 100'     Eyes: None

Hair: None                   Integument: Transparent              Build: Vaguely Humanoid

Approach: Adaptive

Archetype: Titan (Status Challenge: Discover Weakness 00  Apply Counteragents 0)

Health:  45 + (5 x H)

Powers: Strength d10, Elasticity d8, Size-Changing d8, Density Control d6                                        

Qualities: Imposing d10, Close Combat d8, Pseudoplasmic Entity d8, Ranged Combat d8

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

Abilities:

Engulf & Encyst (A) Attack using Density Control.  Use your Max die.  The target can either be Hindered using your Max + Mid + Min dice, or be unable to take actions other than using an Overcome to attempt to escape.

Flailing Limbs (A) Attack multiple targets using Elasticity.  Use your Max die.  Hinder each target using your Mid die.

Metabolic Overdrive (A) Take d6 irreducible damage.  Increase all your powers by one die size each until the end of the scene.

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

Sample & Assimilate (I) On your turn, whenever you Attack a target you haven't dealt damage to yet in this scene, Boost yourself using your Max die. 

Sudden Fluctuations (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Size-Changing die.  Also Boost yourself with the result of that die.

Upgrades & Masteries (usually in effect):

Mook Squad (I) Gain Splattering Pseudoplasm (A) Replenish your Unstable Protoid minions up to the number of heroes in the scene.

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

An Empowered Protoid is a powerful but unimaginative foe.  It relies on Resilient Pseudoplasm backed by Sudden Fluctuations in size for defense, making it very hard to damage until its status die has been reduced.  In most battles it will initially employ Metabolic Overdrive once or twice before beginning to pick off individual targets with Engulf & Encyst, usually opting for the second option to trap the victim within its form.  Each new target it strikes triggers Sample & Assimilate, making its next action more effective.  If hard-pressed by multiple foes the creature will resort to desperate Flailing Limbs.

Its upgrade lets it spawn more of its signature minions with Splattering Pseudoplasm, which it will do whenever their numbers are depleted since they're required to use its mastery to collect more raw materials, human or otherwise.

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Unstable Protoid d8 minion

Description: Vaguely humanoid masses of pseudoplasm the color of a livid bruise with an acrid chemical smell.  They swell larger and larger with each blow they endure before eventually rupturing and collapsing into a puddle of bubbling foulness.

Clinging Pseudoplasm:  When taking Hinder actions you gain a +1 bonus.  When taking Attack actions you suffer a -2 penalty.

Unstable Overdrive:  Each time you succeed in a saving throw against damage while your die size is less than d12, your die size increases by one rather than decreasing.  If you have to make a saving throw against damage while your die size is a d12 you are immediately defeated, no roll required.

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I had five players show up, so I added one of these to the scene as a fifth element.  It got to imitate the Empowered Protoid's Engulf & Encyst ability once and made a Flailing Limbs strike before the PCs finished it off, freeing the hero it had engulfed.  35 Health doesn't last long and the PCs knew how dangerous these things could be from previous encounters.

Attuned Protoid

Attuned Protoids are designed to be "rented" to other villains as powerful and perfectly obedient allies, and are optimized to adapting themselves to duplicate the most potent abilities of their allies.  This can make them very effective force multipliers for the right group, although they're incapable of properly emulating powers of technological or magical origin, and psychic powers work unreliably if at all.  This "model" of protoid is surprisingly agile and good at using its variable form to improve its mobility.  They are, however, quite fragile, and will melt into a reeking puddle of slime when defeated. 

Description: A roughly humanoid mass of blue, black and purple pseudoplasm with sickly yellow highlights.  Its unstable form distorts and stretches seemingly at random, altering its consistency from a thick fluid to rocklike hardness.  The thing stinks of harsh chemicals and gives off a continuous quiet bubbling sound, although it lacks the ability to communicate verbally.

Gender: N/A     Age: Newborn     Height: About 6'     Eyes: None

Hair: None                   Integument: Transparent              Build: Vaguely Humanoid

Approach: Adaptive                     Archetype: Fragile

Health:  10 + (5 x H)

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

Qualities: Close Combat d10, Acrobatics d8, Pseudoplasmic Entity d8, Ranged Combat d8

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

Abilities:

Attuned (A) Use an ability action of one of your allies.

Pseudoplasmic Bludgeon (A) Attack using Close Combat.  Then remove all bonuses from the target.

Sample & Assimilate (I) On your turn, whenever you Attack a target you haven't dealt damage to yet in this scene, Boost yourself using your Max die.

Spasmodic Evasion (I) Whenever your personal zone changes, you may immediately move elsewhere in the scene.

Sudden Fluctuations (R) When Attacked, Defend yourself by rolling your single Size-Changing die.  Also Boost yourself with the result of that die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Hardier Minions + 5 Health.  Gain Metabolic Augmentation (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).

Pseudoplasmic Servant (I) If you are in a situation involving the master you're attuned to, automatically succeed at an Overcome to obey their commands regardless of your well-being.

Tactics

These Protoids exist to serve the entity they're attuned to.  In combat, they prefer to employ one of their allies' more potent abilities using Attuned to imitate them.  While relatively fragile Sudden Fluctuation gives them a strong defensive reaction, and Spasmodic Evasion lets them move to safety if they take serious damage - or when they recover from it using an imitated healing ability.  They're good at Boosting themselves when Attacking thanks to Sample & Assimilate, which encourages them to spread their blows around multiple heroes.  If forced to use their own abilities they resort to Pseudoplasmic Bludgeon to strip targets of their bonuses by leeching away power.

The rarer, more advanced protoids with upgrades have the added ability to improve the performance of their weaker allies through invasive Metabolic Augmentation, injecting pseudoplasm into the recipients.  The also become very efficient servants of whatever master they're attuned to.   

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Secret Laboratory environment

Can be used for any covert facility capable of research and/or light fabrication work, whether it's a mad scientist's lair, site of a top secret government program, or something as prosaic as a meth lab, re-skinning its associated minions and lieutenants to suit. 

Hazardous Materials & Equipment d10, Site Security d8, Lab Staff d6

Green Zone

(Minor Twists)

Break Time: Add one Technician minion to the scene in a location occupied by one or more hero targets. 

Security Systems: Start challenge.  Disable Sensors: 0  If this challenge has not been completed when the scene tracker advances to the Yellow zone, end the challenge and immediately trigger a Loud Alarm twist.

(Major Twist)

Guard Patrol: Roll the environment dice.  Add a number of Security Staff minions equal to the Min die to the scene in a location occupied by one or more hero targets.  

Yellow Zone

(Minor Twists)

Anesthetic Gas:  Roll the environment dice.  Hinder all targets in one location using the Min die.  The resulting penalties are persistent and exclusive.

Edgar or Edward?: Add one Moseby Twins lieutenant to the scene.  This twist can only be triggered twice per scene.  00

Loud Alarm: Roll the environment dice.  Hinder all hero targets and Boost all environment targets using the Min die.

Shift Change?: Roll the environment dice.  If the scene tracker is in the Yellow zone, add Mid die Technician minions to the scene.  If Red, add Max die Technician minions instead.  If any Loud Alarm twists have been triggered so far this scene, add the same number of Security Staff minions instead.   

(Major Twist)

Serious Safety Violations: Roll the environment dice.  Attack two hero targets using the Mid die, then Hinder both those targets using the Min die and make those penalties persistent and exclusive.

Red Zone

(Minor Twists)

Just Keeps Getting Worse: Trigger three different minor twists from the Green or Yellow zones.

Rapid Response: Roll the environment dice.  Add a number of Security Staff minions to the scene equal to the Mid die, then Boost those minions using the Max die.

(Major Twist)

Disastrous Lab Accident: Roll the environment dice.  Start timed challenge.  Prevent Disaster 00 Timer 0 Triggered: Each hero Attacked with the Max die, then all minions are removed from the scene.

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Moseby Twins d6 environment lieutenant

Description: The Moseby Twins are a pair of middle-aged Caucasian men dressed stereotypical lab coats over dark suits.  Tall and thin and sporting thick bifocal glasses, they seem pretty harmless - until they trigger the modifications they've made through self-experimentation and begin to swell with muscle, their skin darkening to an ugly purple-blue as they bulk up more and more.  The harder they're hit the more powerful and distorted they become, although eventually their metabolism will overload and collapse, leaving them shriveled and helpless.  Usually they'll try to make a cunning escape before that point, but things don't always work out that way.  

Genius: You gain a +2 bonus to Overcome actions.

Metabolic Modifications:  Each time you fail in a saving throw against damage while your die size is less than d12, your die size increases by one rather than decreasing.  If you have to make a saving throw against damage while your die size is a d12 you are immediately defeated, no roll required.  Note that if you take damage equal to twice your current die size from one Attack you are defeated outright so this ability won't trigger.

Security Staffer d6 environment minion

Description: Basic paid muscle, carrying sidearms and telescoping batons.  Ones working within the facility may have actual uniforms, while outdoor guards will be dressed to blend in with area and keep their weapons concealed.

Sound the Alarm:  You may use your action to attempt to trigger the Loud Alarm environment twist.  Roll your die, subtract the number of hero targets in your location, and if the result is higher than one you succeed.

Technician d4 environment minion

Description: Unarmed lab workers.  They'll have suitable protective gear if they're working with anything hazardous.  They wear uniforms of some kind if the place is run by the kind of organization that issues them even to bottom-rung agents, but otherwise it's just basic lab coats and pocket protectors.

Non-Combatant:  You suffer a -2 penalty to Attack actions.

Sound the Alarm:  You may use your action to attempt to trigger the Loud Alarm environment twist.  Roll your die, subtract the number of hero targets in your location, and if the result is higher than one you succeed.

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Scene Locations

Some powers may allow the heroes to scout ahead with ease, letting them get an idea of what lies ahead with Overcomes before the action starts.  My players didn't have anyone with obvious choices like Remote Viewing, Telepathy or Animal Control, but the guy with Sonic managed to get a general layout through "subsonic ground-penetrating sonar pulses" so that helped some and they knew roughly where the most deeply-buried sections were.  Another hero with Intuition and Principle of Whispers "had a bad feeling" about the main lab space that marked it out as important.  So they had some idea where they might want to go, especially after they looked over the tanks and pipes in material storage. 

Disused Warehouse: Dark, echoing, cavernous space with only a few stacks of dusty crates full of junk scattered around.  Tracks of delivery trucks in the grime and dust make it easy to find the badly concealed hatch that opens on a ladder leading down to the lab, as well as the much larger section of floor that serves as a 20 foot square cargo elevator platform.  The hatch has a simple keypad lock and alarm, and obvious security cameras monitor the area with lackluster coverage - easily Overcome during a montage scene.  Nothing much going on here, and the scene tracker won't start unless the PCs do something overt like punching a hole through the floor or activating the main cargo lift.  Moving between the warehouse and material storage generally takes an action unless a suitable power is in use.

Material Storage: Directly below the warehouse, this cluttered chamber is about half the size of that space.  The only obvious exit is a large pair of swinging doors leading into the hallway that runs past security to the elevator down to the outer laboratories.  It contains the cargo elevator controls (currently in the raised position), the ladder leading up to the smaller hatch, a number of neatly stacked crates full of miscellaneous lab supplies, and a dozen huge cylindrical tanks with cryptic alphanumerical labels on them.  These last are connected to an elaborate set of pumps, hoses and pipes which lead down through the floor.  The place smells of whatever strange chemical mixtures are in the tanks.

Security: This is a small suite of rooms including a security checkpoint with its window overlooking the main hall, a camera monitoring room, a small arsenal/locker/break room, and a sign-in room with more lockers and a cramped adjoining bathroom, and a sturdy doorway that opens on a long underground tunnel that eventually leads to a secret entrance in the apartment building that houses the facility's personnel when off site.  This last might be another entrance point for the heroes if their investigations managed to connect the base with the apartments, and has the same inadequate security systems found in the disused warehouse.  There are H/2 Security Staffers in this location when first entered, with at least one at the security checkpoint itself and one in the monitor room, the latter of whom is usually slacking off.  Using the elevator usually takes an action (it's pretty slow), although using powers to move through the shaft itself (possibly wrecking the elevator in the process and triggering an alarm) would generally just be movement for your turn. 

Outer Laboratories: Located below the security/stores level of the base, the labs can only be accessed via a single large elevator, a sure sign that the place doesn't see many building inspectors.  This location consists of cluster of half a dozen small labs that seem specialized for chemical and biological research, along with a large locker room/bathroom facility that includes protective gear and a hazmat shower.  The computer network is no more secure than the rest of the base, and could be hacked to get access to information that would help with the first step of the Empowered Protoid's titan's challenge, and the lab supplies themselves are could be used to create a counteragent to use in step 2.  The main hallway in this location runs between the elevator shaft and the large security door leading to the Main Laboratory.  When first entered by the heroes there will be H/2 Technician minions scattered around the labs, all of whom will make escape their first priority after sounding the alarm if possible.

Main Laboratory: The main lab is a single very large space accessed through a security door whose keypad lock can be Overcome the same way as the hatch in the warehouse or just smashed open with brute force (the latter sounding the Loud Alarm twist if it hasn't already triggered).  The room has workbenches and equipment along the walls, while the center is dominated by a huge recessed vat of chemicals that the Empowered Protoid wallows in.  A complex array of pipes descend from the ceiling, feeding the vat and various machines on the workbenches and connecting to the tanks in the material storage location overhead.  Any other Protoids start the scene here and generally stay in the area until disturbed.  Unless they've both been encountered as environment twists at least one of the Moseby Twins will be present as well, although they'll be more reactive and move to meet intruders and link up with any active guards.

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The writeups above are quite a bit more elaborate than the notes I wrote up for the actual session, but I wanted to be a little more clear for readers here.  The heroes were able to move around the locations until something happened to set off an alarm, which eventually happened when they triggered a minor twist during an Overcome to get past the security sensors on the elevator leading down to the outer labs.  At that point the scene tracker kicked into gear and the action scene proper started up.  They'd have had  a hard time if they'd set things in motion when they first entered the base (which they debated over when considering just punching/blasting their way in), but as it was they reached the main lab as the scene hit Yellow and the big fight started, wrapping up when the main villain was KO'd around the middle of round eight.  

So that went pretty well.  I let them play out the round and one more beyond ignoring the tracker since they wanted to clean up the last few minions and the Moseby Twins.  A little extra time in the Red zone never hurts player's sense of awesomeness, and only one PC was Out at that point - although the last Twin took another hero out just before he dropped.  Two out of five PCs went Out clearing the place, and almost a dozen guards and techs captured for questioning.  

We ended the session with a combination montage/social scene covering the cleanup and recovery process, calling the authorities about what they'd found, and interrogating prisoners and checking records to make sure they hadn't missed anything vital.  There was no immediate time pressure so the heroes all got to heal themselves up a zone for free, and one of the two who'd gone Out opted to use their montage action to get up to Yellow while the other one decided to stay in Red and do some investigation work using their Principles.  They got rewarded with a lead to some other criminal activity (a "client" that had been looking to lease some Attuned Protoids for a job) for next session and a Boost to carry to that situation, but their Health will be pretty low the next time they get in an action scene - and there was one coming thanks to twists and story stuff leading to an ambush before the group could go check out the new hook.  

Normally I'd follow the rulebook and allow a full heal between sessions, but this one actually ran short due to two people needing to leave early and left the planned ambush scene unresolved, so I started next session with that and then treated it as a full session break before continuing for the night.

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Designing An Action Scene, Part 1

 I've had a few folks ask about my approach to action scene design, so I'm going to run through an example of the process from one of the games I'm currently running.  This scene got used a few months ago so I don't have to worry about spoiling anything for my players.

Backstory

For the last couple of sessions the heroes have had a couple of encounters with familiar villains in the process of carrying out heists with the assistance of a new kind of ally.  They were accompanied by these strange biotech-looking monster things, humanoid but very alien looking with malleable, unstable bodies that could stretch and distort or vary their consistency from gooey liquid to nearly stone-hard.  The things weren't very durable and got taken out easily enough, but they could duplicate some of the other villains' abilities, letting the bad guys effectively use their nastiest tricks multiple times per round.  That was bad enough the first time it happened, but the next time around there were three of the things instead of one.

The players decided that needed attention, and after some investigation they discovered some new player in the "black cape" community was offering the things - which turned out to be called "protoids" (not "purple goo monsters" as the players dubbed them) - for rent as living tools for other villains.  They dug further, found that some of the payments involved rare chemicals that were also found in the remains of the defeated protoids (they melt into goo when beaten), traced some of the stuff to a front business and from there to your classic disused warehouse in a mostly-abandoned industrial park.  The next session would open with the heroes outside the place, planning a stealthy entrance and search to see what was going on inside.

Budgeting The Scene Elements

So the plan was to do a montage scene for the initial sneak-and-scout, at which point they'd locate the concealed entrance to an underground lab facility that would make a good setting for a (probably climactic) action scene.  With that in mind, the first thing was to consider what scene elements I wanted to use.

My group has a theoretical six players, but only three of them always show up and I usually get one or two of the others.  I generally plan on four and adjust at the table if it turns out to be more or less.  I knew for certain I wanted an environment in play, since the lab would be interesting to do twists for.  There was a specific new villain made for the story arc - a sort of super-protoid that would be very different than the "rental" ones they'd seen so far.  So that's two elements for sure.

There were also a couple of lieutenants that were the mad scientists responsible for creating the things in the first place.  I decided to make them part of the environment twists, along with a mix of weak environment minions to represent plain old human guards and lab workers.  The other environment twists would be a mix of action effects and a challenge or two.  All that goes under the single environment element, which balances out since they come into play fairly slowly as the scene tracker advances rather than all being active from word one.  Environments are also a great tool for the GM to use to tweak danger levels on the fly by choosing twists that will be more or less of an immediate problem for the heroes as needed to keep them feeling threatened but not overwhelmed.  

The big boss protoid would also have the ability to spawn some mook protoids with its upgrade, so decided to start the scene with Hx2 of them, using up another two elements worth of choices.  That covers a four-player table, so job done.  If need be I could just drop H minions to fit three players, and if five or six turned up I could add one or two of the "rental" protoids they'd fought before, who could imitate some of the boss protoid's more potent abilities to good effect but were a known factor and would likely get focused own fast.

What Produces Urgency?

The scene tracker itself bears a little consideration too.  Why is the scene on a clock, and what happens if it runs out before the heroes triumph - and what does that triumph consist of?  Here it would represent the fact that the big protoid is starting to become fully awake and get out of its creators' control.  If the tracker runs out without it being defeated it will break out of the lab, collapsing the place behind it and going on a rampage while the heroes dig themselves out and presumably head off to try to stop it.  The heroes "win" the scene by defeating the boss protoid before the scene ends, although capturing as many of the lab's occupants while they're at it would be a plus.  Depending on who was left standing when the big critter goes down I might just handwave the rest of it, or I might let it play out with the remaining baddies trying to escape.  

It's just a coincidence that this is all happening just as the heroes enter the place, honest.

Location, Location, Location

Going by just the rulebook advice I'd be done (beyond writing all this stuff up, anyway), but there's another factor it kind of glosses over.  Environments are all very well and good, but there's more to a good setting than just their dice and twists.  I still needed to think about what the layout of the lab would be like, both in terms of narrative descriptions and in mechanical terms, how many discrete locations I wanted to divide it into.  We play pretty abstract, with locations in a scene usually just written on index cards and laid out on the table, so I didn't need an elaborate grid map.  

Past experience tells me that an ideal setting has a number of locations that ranges from H-2 to H+2 (with a minimum of at least two) or there's not much point in even talking about them.  With less than that the heroes can't spread out much even if they want to (which makes them more vulnerable to some effects that hit all nearby targets) and don't have many movement options, and more than that will probably leave some locations unused, especially if the heroes are busy dealing with a lot of challenges or otherwise facing action economy pressures.  It's also worth thinking about what types of mobility tricks might make movement between locations easier, or if some locations are physically close enough not to require an action to move between, making the division between them mostly have effects on combat actions and Overcomes.

And that's all there is to the planning stage of things.  I'll stick the mechanical end of things in a follow-up post tomorrow so you can see the finished writeups for everything.

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The Weiss Organization, Perfectly Legitimate Security Contractors

Your basic sinister PMC with some very unpleasant secrets hidden behind a respectable public image.  They prefer to rely on manpower and conventional firepower rather than super-technology, backed up with some mid-powered mutant operatives to give them an edge against their competitors.

The Weiss Organization

The Weiss Organization is a private military contractor that provides various security services for corporations, wealthy individuals, certain NGOs and even a few smaller and less stable foreign governments.  They also do a brisk but unofficial business in providing "covert force assets" to anyone with the wherewithal to pay.  The exact origins and ownership of the Organization are hard to untangle, but the billionaire Innocence Weiss is accepted as the public face of the company and certainly seems to be in overall charge. 

The Organization's most noteworthy trait in a field crowded with mercenaries is their open acceptance of mutants in their ranks.  They present themselves as a refuge for the genetically divergent, giving them a place where they can go to leave a biased and hateful world behind and find brotherhood and acceptance in exchange for paramilitary service.  Recruiters acknowledge that the work is dangerous but downplay the risks, and it can't be denied that they do offer protection from anti-mutant zealots and government pogroms.  In exchange Weiss gains a significant edge over competitors who are reluctant to involve themselves with "mutant politics" for fear of repercussions.

Unsurprisingly, things are nowhere near as rosy as they're made out to be.  Many mutant recruits without close friends or family who care about them are quietly "vanished" during training, covertly sold off to unscrupulous research programs, mad scientists like the notorious Doctor Mordecai Mentallax, or various governmental "dark" agencies.  Better-connected mutants will frequently be "lost in action" and suffer similar fates.  Only the most useful recruits will be safe from this sort of trafficking, and may eventually rise high in the Weiss power structure if they prove to be sufficiently loyal and willing to do whatever is asked of them.  Lady Weiss' own bodyguard and second in command is a mutant who came up through the ranks himself and often put forward as an example of the company's excellent treatment of the gene-altered.

There is trouble brewing on the horizon for Weiss, though.  While the authorities are unlikely to intervene thanks to government complicity in the mutant trade, the mutant rights group JustX is beginning to suspect the company's involvement in multiple disappearances.  Furthermore, openly employing super-beings (especially mutants) has drawn the ire of SEVER and it's only a matter of time before their own covert action arm attempts to deliver a lesson.  A multi-faction conflict could break out at any time.

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Lady Weiss

Innocence Weiss is heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune whose exact origins remain unclear but definitely date back to 1930s Germany.  A shrewd and ruthless businesswoman, the Weiss Organization is just one of several companies she holds effective control over, and uncovering all her assets would be  a major project even for an experienced investigator.  Her principle motivation is the accumulation of yet more wealth and prestige, although she also relishes holding so much power over so many lives and revels in toying with those she sees as her inferiors.

Lady Weiss is also secretly a mutant herself, although to date she's manifested only the weakest of precognitive abilities that serve to improve her naturally fast reflexes, with her other "powers" being expensive, elegantly-disguised equipment and an overwhelming force of personality.  She deeply resents her feeble mutation, regarding it as both unjust and a rare failure on her part.  She derives a great deal of pleasure in trafficking other mutants to terrible fates as a twisted sort of revenge on the universe.

It's likely that the Weiss Organization's secret and highly illegal dealings will eventually be exposed, but Innocence has contingency plans for such an occurrence.  She expects to be able to pass the blame to scapegoats within the upper management while avoiding responsibility herself, but if that fails she'll most likely fake her own death and vanish with her loyal bodyguard to build a new power base under another identity.   

Description: A pale young woman with cold but classically beautiful features, impeccably dressed in a flowing all-white formal dress.  Her dressmaker has worked wonders with armored smart cloth, even managing to conceal her holstered pistols from detection.  Her speech is cool and commanding, and carries easily even over the din of conflict.

Gender: Female                Age: 26 (officially)           Height: 5'7"          Eyes: Pale Gray

Hair: Snow White, Long, Straight                Skin: Ivory               Build: Lithe

Approach:  Tactician                        Archetype:  Indomitable

Health:  40 + (5 x H)

Powers: Agility d8, Presence d8, Gadgets d6, Precognition d6

Qualities: Leadership d10, Criminal Underground Info d8, Ranged Combat d8, Utterly Ruthless d8

Status: Always d8

Abilities:

Blitz (A) Attack multiple targets using Ranged Combat.  Hinder those targets using your Min die.

Demand Excellence (A) Boost using Leadership.  Use your Max die.  That bonus applies to every ally's actions until the beginning of your next turn.

Don't Fail Me Again (R) Take one irreducible damage to reroll an ally's dice pool.

Ice Cold Gaze (A) Boost yourself using Utterly Ruthless.  Use your Max die.  This bonus is persistent and exclusive.

Upgrades & Masteries (usually in play unless the Weiss Organization has recently suffered major  reverses):

Quality Upgrade (I) +20 Health.  Increase the die size of each of your qualities except Utterly Ruthless by one step (maximum of d12).

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

Lady Weiss prefers not to get her own hands dirty, but when she has to defend herself she does so with ruthless efficiency.  She generally opens any scene with an Ice Cold Gaze, followed by using Demand Excellence and her Don't Fail Me Again reaction to improve the performance of her employees.  Only if truly hard pressed and caught without supporting allies will she resort to Blitz to launch an intimidating flurry of shots at her foes.

Her upgrade and mastery will be in effect unless her company has suffered serious losses (financial or otherwise) recently.

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Beauregard Fortuna

Beauregard Fortuna is the Organization's poster boy for how well mutants are treated within the company and appears in a lot of their publicity.  As Lady Weiss's personal bodyguard and right hand man he's fully aware of and complicit in the Organization's shady activities.  A borderline sociopath, he has no remorse about the fate of his fellow mutants who fail to be useful to the company, being too self-centered and arrogant to care about his distant kin.  Only Lady Weiss really commands his full respect and loyalty.  He's not introspective enough to wonder if that might be the result of having come up through the ranks and being exposed to the same kinds of mental conditioning employed on covert ops and many mutant employees.

Inhumanly strong and durable with a healing factor that also feeds hyper-adrenaline into his system when injured, Beauregard is as powerful as many super-beings but has no interest in the "capes" subculture.  He and his employer regard most supers as simply insane whether they're heroes or villains, and prefer to pursue power and profit through their business interests, maintaining a facade of legitimacy without ignoring golden opportunities like covert ops and mutant trafficking.  If the Weiss Organization's secrets were somehow exposed he knows Lady Weiss has included him in her contingency plans and will follow her lead.   

Description: A hulking giant of a man, his carefully-tailored white suit barely concealing his incredible musculature.  He wears a pair of high-tech dark glasses with integrated commo and heads-up displays, although they rarely survive long in a fight.  His deep voice has a pronounced Louisiana Creole accent, although he rarely speaks in the presence of Lady Weiss.

Gender: Male                Age: 28               Height: 7'0"           Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Black                    Skin: Medium Brown                   Build: Impossibly Muscular

Approach: Specialized                           Archetype: Bruiser

Health:  40 + (5 x H)

Powers: Vitality d10, Strength d8                                        

Qualities: Fitness d12, Brutal Enforcer d8, Conviction d8

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

Abilities:

Bodyguard Move (R) 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 per round by taking one irreducible damage for each time past the first.

Brutal Exchange (A) Attack using Vitality.  Use your Max + Min dice.  Defend yourself using your Mid die. 

Delaying Action (A) Defend yourself using Fitness.  Use your Mid + Min dice.  Recover Health equal to your Max die.

Make It Hurt (A) Hinder one target using Brutal Enforcer.  Use your Max die.  Attack that target using your Mid die.

Sweeping Blows (A) Attack up to three targets using Fitness.  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):

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

Tactics

Beauregard is a fearless and physically imposing brawler, unafraid to take on even the toughest hero when defending Lady Weiss or overseeing a particularly important field operation.  He has a wide variety of options for dealing with enemies, favoring Brutal Exchange to give him some protection when using his Bodyguard Move reaction.  Sweeping Blows lets him deal with multiple foes at once, while Make It Hurt lets him cripple any particularly troublesome enemy.  If he needs to buy time to continue intercepting Attacks he'll resort to Delaying Action, which can also let him Recover from even major damage very quickly.

His upgrade and mastery are usually in effect when Lady Weiss is present and he needs to be at the top of his game.

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Public-facing Weiss Organization employees are selected for PR-friendly diversity when possible and are easily identified by their distinctive tailored white suits, which are made of bespoke smart cloth.  This material is manufactured by one of Lady Weiss' other corporate holding, and not only offers significant protection from injury, it also sheds stains, blood, dirt, and filth to maintain a spotless appearance in the worst circumstances.  They serve as obvious bodyguards and security personnel, usually backed up by support agents dressed to blend in better.

Other operatives are assigned to more overtly military roles, often in isolated garrisons or doing counterinsurgency work far beyond the public eye.  These combat troops are hard to distinguish from mercenaries employed by other PMCs, although they rarely have much in the way of combat vehicles, relying on mutant troops with effective powers for those roles.     

Weiss Public Operative d6 minion

Description: Tall, photogenic men and women dressed in spotless white business suits and dark glasses with subtle HUDs and commo gear wired in.  Lightly armed with concealed pistols, their specialized training and hidden body armor make them excellent bodyguards.

Professional Bodyguards:  You gain a +2 bonus to Defend and Hinder actions.

Smart Cloth Suits:  You gain a +1 bonus to saving throws against damage.  Your clothing also stays spotlessly white even in all but the most extreme circumstances.

Weiss Support Operative d6 minion

Description: Dressed to blend in with their surrounding, these agents can easily be mistaken for civilian bystanders.  They specialize in threat assessment and battlefield coordination rather than direct confrontation.   

Concealed Armor:  You gain a +1 bonus to saving throws against damage.

Coordinator:  You gain a +2 bonus to Boost and Overcome actions.

Weiss Combat Operative d8 minion

Description: Dressed in camouflaged military gear to match the environment they're deployed to and equipped with a mix of modern infantry weaponry, these troops look much like any group of well-funded mercenaries.  Unlike the more public arm of the company they're almost exclusively male personnel, and tend to be less photogenic and appearance-conscious than the "White Suits" are. 

Fireteam Tactics:  You gain a +1 to actions as long as at least three other Weiss Combat Operatives are nearby.

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The Weiss Organization quietly offers a variety of less publicized services, providing deniable assets for black ops work at premium prices.  Their covert operatives are heavily armed and well-trained, and have been mentally conditioned through a combination of drugs and hypnotic compulsions to stay focused on their mission at all costs.  Their uniforms are equipped with a "deadman" system that makes it very difficult to take prisoners for interrogation, or even find clues on their bodies.       

Weiss Covert Operative d8 minion

Description: Anonymous figures in identical black fatigues, tactical vests, balaclavas and combat boots, loaded down with military-grade weaponry.  Their suits incorporate biometric monitors and chemical catalysts that will dissolve any slain troopers in seconds, a function that can also be triggered remotely to prevent prisoners from being taken.

Loaded For Bear:  You gain a +1 bonus to Attack actions.

No Prisoners:  When you are defeated, you are killed and your body and uniform dissolve into bubbling goo.  A hero who's aware of this trait can attempt to disable the self-destruct mechanism when Attacking you by taking a -2 penalty to the action, in which case a failed save against that damage results in a normal defeat rather than certain death.

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Weiss employs a fair number of mutants but the company is careful how it utilizes them.  Only those with minimal cosmetic mutations will be put in the public eye as evidence of egalitarian hiring practices, with any interviews carefully managed to emphasize the wonderful opportunities to be had as a Weiss operative.  These lucky few generally get "White Suit" security duty, although only with clients that aren't averse to their presence. 

More divergent-looking mutants wind up seeing service with the combat arm of the Weiss Organization where they're more out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  This generally results in higher casualty rates, although extra effort is made to preserve wounded mutants.  Many of these casualties will be quietly sold off as experimental subjects following "unfortunate deaths" from their injuries.

Only mid-power mutants are used as operatives, with weaker ones supposedly "washing out" during training before being secretly trafficked for nefarious purposes.  Very powerful mutants rarely get past the application process.  When one does slip through they're subdued and auctioned to the highest bidder, or killed outright if that proves impossible.  Beauregard Fortuna is about as powerful a mutant as Lady Weiss would ever trust in the long run unless they had some easily exploitable weakness and a phenomenally useful power set for her operations.       

Weiss Mutant Operative d10 lieutenants

Description: Many mutants have some visible manifestation of their powers, although Weiss won't employ those with truly extreme alterations to the baseline human form.  They're generally assigned to either public ops, support, or combat roles based on their appearance and powers, and are issued equipment and uniforms to match.  The effects of their gear are factored in to their die size and lieutenant status, so they don't gain extra abilities from them - although those with "White Suit" outfits still remain spotless and their powers never damage the suit.   

Select a mix of one or two different abilities for them from the list below, being careful not choose any ill-fitting combinations (eg Rage Response plus Telekinesis).  If you're using a lot of mutants, try to give them distinctive names/appearances so it's easier to remember which abilities belong to each.

Duplicate: You may use your action to roll your die, Hinder yourself using that roll, and introduce a number of minions equal to size of the penalty produced.  These minions start with a die size equal to your own minus one (minimum d4).  

Energy Feedback: When you fail a save against damage from an Attack, the Attacker takes damage equal to your save result.

Healing Factor:  If you roll the maximum result on your die for an action or a save against damage, increase your die size by one (max d10). 

Hyperspeed:  At the start of your turn you may move to any location in the scene.  You may take two different basic actions during your turn.  When you do so, roll your die twice and use the lower result for both actions.

Inhuman Power:  You gain a +1 bonus to Attack and Overcome actions.

Mental Compulsion:  You may use your action to select a hero for temporary mental control.  When you do so, roll your die and the target hero rolls their status die.  If you roll higher, you may either force that hero to move to a new location or to Attack a nearby ally by rolling their single highest power die. 

Rage Response:  The first time in a scene you fail to save against damage, your die size increases to d12 rather than decreasing, after which you may only take Attack actions until the end of the scene.

Telekinesis: When you Boost or Hinder a target you may move that target to any location in the scene.

Telepathic Networking: All your nearby allies gain a +1 bonus to all actions, reactions and saving throws against damage.   

Unnatural Precision: When you Attack a target, that target cannot benefit from Defend actions or take reactions against your Attack.

Design Notes

The Weiss Organization offers GMs a number of ways to use them, and could be an on-and-off threat for heroes throughout a long campaign - or just a brief story arc where they investigate its dirty dealings and bring the whole company down.  The Organization can appear as hired security that just happens to working for covert villains, posing an obstacle to heroes attempting to find evidence of wrongdoing by infiltrating private property under Weiss protection.  They can be the source of mysterious and brutal assassins hired by unknown foes, with their covert operatives proving a challenge to trace back their employer.  Weiss could get tangled up in mutant politics, or if your campaign doesn't involve such things they could be re-flavored to simply employ any low-powered metahumans who are facing prejudice from groups like SEVER or tyrannical governments.  The company's combat arm could appear in almost any conflict zone, as well as being a likely source of guards for illicit facilities worldwide.

While Lady Weiss prefers to rely on her own assets, she has the wealth and connections to hire independent supervillains to deal with meddling heroes who are getting too nosy about her operations.  She might also be tempted by any realistic opportunity to gain greater personal power, as her own weak mutation is a source of resentment and might simply be an incomplete manifestation of her potential.    

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Sir Needler, Septuagenarian Knight of the Netherworld

An oddball villain and not much of a direct threat to heroes in combat, he still needs stopping before he ruins the lives of a lot of people in the name of his own selfishness.  

Sir Needler

Jacob Michael Jones spent sixty years in a tailor shop, first as a delivery boy and gofer, then as a journeyman and finally as the owner of his own business.  Never terribly successful, he still kept his head above water while quietly pursuing his other passion - participation in a small and secretive cult of devil worshippers his parents had inducted him into.  His last fellow cultist died of old age last week, and an embittered and isolated Jacob decided to make one final call to the dark powers he'd wasted his life worshipping.

To his surprise, he was answered for the first time.  His patron asked what price Jacob wanted for his soul and his years of devotion, and was pleased when the predictable mortal wanted a second chance at youth and wealth and a chance to pay the world back for all his petty travails.  The demonic entity offered him a bargain.  It would provide him with power so that Jacob could take all those things, but he would earn it by spreading suffering and misery to other mortals.  The more he hurt others, the faster his youth would return and the greater his opportunities would become.  The selfish old man didn't think twice before accepting.

Laughing, the demon picked up a tool of the tailor's trade and transformed it into a symbol of their pact, dubbing his new servant Sir Needler, the newest knight of the netherworld. 

Description: A thin, hunched elderly man with a twisted smile and a strange light in his eyes, wearing an old-fashioned but well-fitted black suit and moving with a surprising spring in his step.  When acting overtly he conjures up a comically oversized two foot long sewing needle that glows gently with an ominous crimson light and positively reeks of sulfur and brimstone.  His voice is strangely grating even when he's trying to be pleasant.  Which isn't often.

Gender: Male              Age: 74            Height: 5'7"                Eyes: Glittering Red

Hair: Mousy Brown, Thin and Graying           Skin: Wrinkled           Build: Bony

Approach: Specialized                           Archetype: Inhibitor

Health:  30 + (5 x H)

Powers: Cursed Needle d10, Presence d8                                        

Qualities: Banter d12, Finesse d8, Satanist Hipster d8

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

Abilities:

Deadly Insult (A) Hinder one target using Banter.  Use your Max die.  Attack that target using your Min die.

Devil's Own Luck (R) Defend against an Attack that only targets you by rolling your single Banter die.  One other nearby target takes an amount of damage equal to the amount of damage reduced.

Misfortune (A) Select a nearby target.  Either turn all bonuses on that target into penalties, or move a penalty from that target to another target you can see.

Soul Puncture (A) Attack one target using Finesse.  Use your Max + Min dice.  That target cannot Defend or use reactions against this Attack.

Verbal Abuse (A) Hinder using Presence.  Use your Max + Mid dice, or use your Max die and make the penalty persistent and exclusive.  

Upgrades & Masteries (in play unless the players have previous experience with Sir Needler):

Harmless Old Man? (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 Presence 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

Needler is quite mad with his newfound power and nowhere near as harmless as he might seem.  He's rewarded by his diabolic pact when he hurts people either physically (stabbing) or mentally (Hinders), and if left to his own devices he'll happily ignore the heroes in favor of preying on hapless civilians.  If it comes to a fight he'll open with a bitter tirade of criticism using Verbal Abuse, which isn't immediately obvious as  a threat while his upgrade is in effect.  If heroes gain bonuses from any source he'll use the equally unobvious Misfortune to invert them, and might move penalties around to improve his status die.  If his facade has been seen through (via a suitable Overcome) or his upgrade isn't in effect then he'll drop his pretense of harmlessness, employing Deadly Insult at range or stabbing victims with Soul Puncture.  When Attacked he'll use Devil's Own Luck to bait his enemy into accidentally striking a friend by sidestepping at the last moment.

His Harmless Old Man? upgrade continues to limit hero actions until removed even once he's been detected as a threat, as there's some understandable reluctance about socking a senior citizen in the face no matter what vile things they're saying.  His mastery is mostly used to conjure up escape routes via diabolic portals or vanishing in clouds of sulphurous smoke, and only functions if his patron demon is feeling well-disposed to him.

Design Notes

This villain was inspired by a random name drop by Adam on the Letters Page podcast on Fashion Foes, because "Needler" is way too good a name to not use as a chump villain for a clothing designer/supermodel-themed superhero.  I've made my version a literal demon-worshipper, but swapping in Gloomweaver as his patron in the Sentinels universe and turning him into a Fashion enemy would be trivial.  He's an old-fashioned and not very successful tailor by trade, you can bet he'll have issues with the modern fashion industry - and since he's rewarded for making people feel bad about themselves, he'll be quick to speak his mind on the subject.  And with Deadly Insult, his words can literally kill if suffering isn't enough.  Or he can just stab you with his magical needle.  That's always an option.

Note that he's not very powerful as villains go, and is best used with just two or three heroes alongside a nasty environment (he loves starting trouble in crowded public places when he can) and a challenge to keep them preoccupied.  Alternately he might wind up in a team-up with someone like Malicien or a reskinned Gadfly, and he's more than hateful enough that he might be willing to work with one of these racist idiots.

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