DRK Chmps
DRK Chmps
DRK Chmps
SPECIAL THANKS
Special Thanks: Wed like to thank the Digital Hero playtesters and
testreaders who reviewed the DC:TAS manuscript and helped us
correct typos and check the math. Youre all heroes!
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or computerization, or by
any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
Publisher: DOJ, Inc., 1 Haight Street, Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102.
Printed in Canada. First printing January 2005
Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.
Stock Number: DOJHERO603 ISBN Number: 1-58366-049-6
http://www.herogames.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ................................ 4
CHAPTER ONE:
DARK CHAMPIONS:
THE ANIMATED SERIES
THE DC:TAS SUBGENRE ................... 6
SUBGENRE ELEMENTS..................... 6
ROLEPLAYING ELEMENTS ................ 7
CHARACTER CREATION .................... 9
CHARACTER CONCEPTION ............... 9
Heros Theme ................................ 9
DC:TAS Personalities ................... 10
DC:TAS Archetypes ...................... 10
CHARACTER CREATION .................. 10
Skills, Talents, And Perks.............. 11
Powers ....................................... 12
Resource Points .......................... 12
Disadvantages ............................ 13
GAMEMASTERING DC:TAS.............. 14
EPISODIC VERSUS SERIAL .............. 14
Campaign Tone ........................... 15
CAMPAIGN SETTING ...................... 15
VILLAINS ....................................... 16
RUNNING ADVENTURES ................. 18
CHAPTER TWO:
HUDSON CITY KNIGHTS
CHAPTER THREE:
HUDSON CITY POWERS
INTRODUCTION
ots of gamers enjoy the thrills and excitement of Dark Champions crimeghting
but not necessarily the violence and pure
vigilantism of many Dark Champions campaigns. Theyd rather tone the violence down a bit,
and diverge a little from the realism of the genre
to allow for a little more strangeness, weirdness,
and powers. In eect, they want to mingle Dark
Champions with a touch of Champions.
And thats what Dark Champions: The Animated Series is all about! The animated series style
of campaign focuses on the less grim side of vigilante crimeghting: caped crusaders with vigilante
style but who refuse to kill; low-powered superheroes who ght street crime instead of world-threatening supervillains; theme villains with clever
costumes and psychotic minds.
chapter one:
DARK CHAMPIONS:
THE ANIMATED SERIES
GENRE ELEMENTS
Heres a brief description of the elements of
the DC:TAS subgenre, mostly recapped from page
11 of Dark Champions.
DARK CHAMPIONS M.O., CHAMPIONS
ATTITUDE
While they look, ght, and sometimes even act
like typical Dark Champions costumed vigilantes,
DC:TAS characters usually dont share all their
attitudes and beliefs. In particular, theyre much
more inclined to subscribe to traditional comic
book morality: they dont kill their opponents
(even those who deserve it); believe they have to
act better than their foes as a way of setting an
example; and so forth. They also tend to act more
like traditional superheroes, with a penchant for
bombastic speeches and grandiloquent gestures.
BLACK AND WHITE
Even more so than standard Vigilante Crimeghting campaigns, DC:TAS games have a black
and white moral tone. The PCs (and their allies) are
obviously the heroes, the villains are obviously the
villains, and no one has any trouble telling the two
apart (except for the inevitable my enemy frames
me by putting on my costume and committing
crimes story).
VARIATIONS ON A THEME
DC:TAS characters often develop codenames,
costumes, and gadgets based around a theme or
concept of some sort. For example, the crimeghter
DarkAngel has an angelic theme to her costume
and weapons her throwing darts are shaped like
tiny aming swords, her blunt throwing weapon
like an angels golden halo, and so on. Her adversary Serpentine has an ophidian motif to his costume and weapons.
In the case of the villains, who tend to embody
the theme element more strongly than heroes, the
concept or theme also inuences the crimes they
commit. The supervillainess Anagram uses wordplay and puzzles as part of her crimes, often deliberately leaving clues for the police and crimeghters... if only they can unravel them. Her sometime
comrade-in-crime Rhapsody not only uses music
in her crimes, she tends to steal things related to
music: Stradivarius instruments; rare antique sheet
music; the box oce receipts from concerts; all the
members of the rock group Firebreak.
ROLEPLAYING ELEMENTS
While subgenre elements are important, they
come from the source material television shows
and comic books, none of which are roleplaying
games. Roleplaying games have elements all their
own that are just as important for your campaigns.
REALISM, PLAUSIBILITY, AND INTERNAL
CONSISTENCY
A quick glance at the subgenre elements shows
that realism has little place in a DC:TAS game. In
fact, the elements can even strain the plausibility
of an adventure or entire campaign. For instance,
wouldnt a DC:TAS villain be better o deviating
from his theme, especially toward the end of his
plot after all, what better way to throw o the
heroes than to make them believe hes following a
pattern and then change it? Also, is it realistic for
the heroes to continue handing villains over to the
authorities when they just escape again, and
again, and again? Shouldnt the heroes recognize
that the authorities cant hold these villains and
take matters in their own hands?
In a DC:TAS game, the players and the GM
have to agree to abide by the subgenre elements
regardless of how arbitrary or irrational they seem.
(At least, you should if youre playing a game
as presented here obviously, a GM is free to
modify and alter the subgenres elements to suit his
tastes and his players.) In the absence of realism,
only internal consistency keeps the game creditable. Only internal consistency keeps the players
engaged in the action and prevents them from
becoming frustrated with, and thus alienated from,
the campaign. And you can only establish internal
consistency when both players and GMs agree to
do their best to keep in mind the subgenre and
abide by those restrictions.
CRIMEFIGHTERS,
NOT VIGILANTES
Dark Champions uses the term costumed vigilantes
when referring to the PCs or other characters who
deal out justice to criminals. Dark Champions: The
Animated Series uses a different term: costumed
crimefighters.
The word vigilante has connotations that imply
the person is acting outside the law, or even above
the law. Furthermore, the morality of a vigilante
is sometimes ambiguous. It might mirror that of
society as a whole, or he might subscribe to a much
harsher morality one that calls for justice along
the lines of two eyes for one eye. In a nutshell,
closely associated with the word vigilante is the
phrase: judge, jury, and executioner. But thats not a
phrase appropriate to most DC:TAS characters.
DC:TAS characters are crimefighters, first and foremost they take it upon themselves to use their
abilities and skills to stop crimes from occurring
and bring criminals to justice. But their morality
and motivation for putting on a costume is deeply
rooted in traditional four-color superhero action.
They dont kill, and they respect the law (even
though they dont strictly act within it, and even
if law enforcement, itself, is less than respectable).
They dont pursue and capture villains to mete out
their own brand of justice they do these things
to protect innocents from harm, and when they
capture a villain, they turn him over to the proper
authorities rather than, say, putting a bullet in the
villains head.
CHARACTER
CREATION
ecause of its subgenre elements, Dark
Champions: The Animated Series calls for
a specic sort of character. This section
provides a framework for creating this
sort of character. Most general concepts can t
into the subgenre with the right amount of thought
and consideration, so this section also provides
guidelines and suggestions to help a player think
about his character and t it into the game properly, rather than specic rules about what he can or
cannot do.
CHARACTER CONCEPTION
The most important thing to keep in mind
when creating a character for a DC:TAS game is
that the character dons a costume and mask to
achieve a positive result.
A costumed crimeghter in DC:TAS game
holds improving the world as a higher, better, and
more important goal than satisfying his thirst for
vengeance. Even if a tragic event (like the death of
a family member) spurred him to ght crime, it
does not spur him to inict his own brand of lethal
punishment on criminals or to wreak a bloody
and ery vengeance on the underworld. Instead, it
inspires him to bring wrongdoers to face whatever
justice the laws of the land determine t his crime,
and to protect others from suering the same tragedy that led to the PC becoming a costumed crimeghter in the rst place.
Other common reasons for becoming a costumed crimeghter for DC:TAS include: possessing superior skill and wishing to help others; being
remarkably brave; having a strong sense of responsibility toward ones fellow man. In the pulpish,
black and white world of a DC:TAS game, a person
needs no better reason than these to ght crime.
Heros Theme
Not all DC:TAS heroes have a theme, but many
do (after all, themed heroes are lots of fun). If a player
chooses to create a hero with a theme, that theme is
perhaps the most important decision he makes about
his character it inuences his codename, his costume, his weaponry and gadgets, his base, his vehicle,
and just about every other facet of the tools he uses to
wage his war on crime. Additionally, the theme often
reects his personality. If the crimeghter is clever and
dashing, maybe he choose the name the Red Fox;
if he holds law and justice in high regard, maybe hes
Blind Justice; if hes grim and relentless, maybe the
calls himself Wraith.
CHOOSING A THEME
Because its so important and informs so
many other decisions, starting with a theme is a
perfectly valid way of creating a character for a DC:
TAS game. Here are a few things to consider when
deciding on a theme:
Players Knowledge Of The Theme
Most themed character have extensive knowledge of their themes. Dont let this restrict your
choice of theme thats what Knowledge Skills
are for, after all. But it may improve roleplaying
if the player himself has some knowledge of his
characters theme. A wise player often chooses his
characters theme based on something he already
knows or something he wishes to research. Knowledge of the theme also helps the player come up
with names and descriptions for gadgetry, the heros
appearance, and the like. Another good reason for
having knowledge of the theme is that the character
should, at every appropriate opportunity, speak a
clever line or two in keeping with his theme.
Embodying The Theme
Does the theme lend itself well to creating
abilities, gadgets, weapons, vehicles, and other
themed things? Some themes seem really fun in
principle, but when you look at the nuts and bolts
they dont work so well for PCs (who are on center
stage most of the time). If you cant think of a few
interesting abilities (or at least names for abilities),
gadgets, weapons, or other character elements
deriving from the theme, discard that theme and
come up with another one.
The GM doesnt need to worry about this
quite as much when creating villains. A villain can
embody his theme by committing crimes related
to it. For example, the villain Beatlemania commits crimes involving the Beatles; he doesnt have a
Beatles-themed car (though he might have a Yellow
Submarine!) or Beatles-shaped weapons.
Multiple Themes
Some characters might have two or more
themes, though this may become a little silly if
taken too far. Having multiple themes works best if
none of the themes would work well by itself. For
example, the beautiful villainess Silk Swan commits
crimes based on waterbirds and also uses themed
weapons based on silk (scarves that double as garrotes, lariats, and the like).
DC:TAS Archetypes
DC:TAS Personalities
Some of the personality types described on
pages 28-30 of Dark Champions are suitable for
DC:TAS player characters, either as-is or with small
adjustments. Others are generally inappropriate.
Suitable
The Avenger... but
The
The
Patriot
The
The Thrillseeker
The Vigilante.
Not Suitable
The Gun Nut (DC:TAS characters generally dont
use guns)
The
Suitable
The Cop Gone Bad: a more appropriate name is
the Cop Gone Mask.
The Disgusted Vet: in DC:TAS, this archetype is
also disgusted with killing that went on his past life
and has sworn it o.
The
The
Investigator
The
Mystic Hero
Not Suitable
Conspiracy Theorist: conspiracies blur the
lines between good and evil, black and white,
because an institution intended for good actually
serves as cover for an evil agenda. This sort of widescale greying is inappropriate for DC:TAS games.
The
CHARACTER CREATION
The number of points a player has to spend, as
well as what he can spend those points on, depends
on the sort of campaign the GM is running.
Hudson City Knights: Characters are built
on 200 points (100 Base Points + up to 100 points
from Disadvantages) per the guidelines for Powerful Heroic characters on page 28 of HERO System
5th Edition, Revised. Normal Characteristic Maxima
rules apply.
Hudson City Powers: Characters are built
on 250 points (150 Base Points + up to 100 points
from Disadvantages). Normal Characteristic
Maxima rules do not apply (but see page ??? regarding equipment). In general, street-level superhero
should allocate approximately 90 points to Characteristics, 90 points to Skills, and 70 points to powers
and gear. For suggested point and eectiveness ceilings, see the accompanying text box.
11
at each PCs
Knowledge Skills. If a PC
has a Knowledge Skill
thats related to the clue,
let him use the KS as a
Char
SPD
CV
DC Active Points Skill Points Skill Roll Def/rDef
Complementary Skill.
10-30
3-6
4-9
6-10
40-60
60-120
8-1410/6
If the Deduction roll
Rules Of Thumb
succeeds, provide more
DC: Attacks should be similar in normal Damage Classes to real world guns (although
information than you
maybe as high as guns normally only available to law enforcement or the military).
otherwise would the
Def/rDef: Defenses shouldnt be so high that a character can bounce bullets o his chest.
PC knows more about
Bullets might only cause esh wounds, but should denitely remain a threat.
the subject, so it stands
to reason he ought to
have more insight on the problem.
look
prepare
FOLLOWER: SIDEKICKS
A staple of the subgenre, a sidekick is a young
man or woman, usually an adolescent, who ghts
alongside the hero in his war on crime. The sidekick may have his own theme (usually a ri on his
mentors, or a junior version of the heros own
theme). Hes less skilled than the hero himself,
though he may have one or two Skills or abilities
that his mentor lacks.
Outside of being an ally in combat, sidekicks
serve two more general purposes. First, they serve
to make the hero look bigger make him look
even more skilled than he already is. Second, they
can lighten up a grim and serious hero, giving him
a human touch. Because DC:TAS games are lighthearted, a player intending to play a grim defender
of the innocent might want to consider purchasing
a sidekick to humanize his character.
Powers
Powers, and their availability to PCs, is the
distinction between a Hudson City Knights and
Hudson City Powers campaign. For Hudson
City Knights the information on pages 93-100
of Dark Champions, especially that pertaining to
Costumed Vigilantes, applies. The section below,
Guidelines For Hudson City Powers, provides
information about Hudson City Powers campaigns, but for both games....
NO GUNS
Gun-toting costumed crimeghters are rare
in DC:TAS games, since nearly all characters have
some regard for human life. Even crimeghters
who rely on guns either have non-lethal alternatives
such as rubber bullets, or only target limbs and
other parts of the body where a bullet is unlikely
to kill the target. Other sorts of Ranged Killing
Attacks, such as shuriken or throwing knives, are
more common but as with guns, when ghting
living targets characters try to use them in a nonlethal manner (sometimes theyre even coated in
knockout poison or the like so a character can incapacitate his foes without having to use lethal force).
GUIDELINES FOR HUDSON CITY POWERS
Characters in a Hudson City Powers game can
be superhuman in other words, have superpowers like high STR, the ability to cling to walls, or the
like. However, unlike standard Champions campaigns, the GM has to restrict the types of powers
available (as well as the amount of Active Points
available). There are no hard-and-fast rules for this;
its something each GM has to determine for himself based on the feel he wants in his campaign.
In most Hudson City Powers games, appropriate
powers include: low-level superstrength (no higher
than STR 40); the ability to transform into a werewolf (or similar creature); minor vampiric powers;
or the power to generate low-level electrical shocks.
You should try to avoid superpowers that
tend to destroy the ambience of the subgenre
(for example, teleportation, the ability to project bolts of energy or surround ones self with a
protective energy field, or the power to become
intangible). Here are some suggestions and
guidelines for doing that:
Gadgets And Equipment, Rather Than Innate Ability:
Supertechnology is preferable to superhuman abilities. For example, a PC is more in keeping with the
subgenre when he has a blaster pistol that res an
energy beam, rather than the power to re energy
beams from his eyes or hands. Similarly, superpowered Flight doesnt t into the campaign, but a character with a wingpack that ts onto his back and
lets him y slowly might.
Powers Mitigate Physical Laws Rather Than Defying
Them: In many Champions campaigns, characters superhuman abilities defy the laws of nature
they y at a whim, they call lightning out of clear
blue skies; they turn people to stone or gold, and
so on. But this is DC:TAS, not Champions. Hudson
Resource Points
Pages 150-154 of Dark Champions describe
Resource Points. In brief, characters in a Hudson
City Knights campaign have Resource Points, while
those in a Hudson City Powers do not.
Hudson City Knights
Characters in this campaign have Resource
Points. Starting Resource Points are: 60 Equipment
Points, 10 Vehicle/Base Points, 5 Follower/Contact
Points, and 0 Miscellaneous Points. Characters may
purchase more starting points as described on page
151 of Dark Champions.
However all of a characters themed equipment
everything from weapons to vehicles should
be purchased with Character Points, because of the
reasons discussed in Unique Items on pages 153154 of Dark Champions.
Hudson City Powers
Characters in this campaign do not have
Resource Points. They purchase everything with
Character Points. However, the GM may, at his option,
give characters certain types of mundane equipment
for free ashlights, cellular telephones, a typical
automobile, and so forth. The drawback for the character is that the free equipment is subject to all sorts
of inconvenient occurrences: it can break down, run
out of fuel, suer interference, or get lost or broken.
On the other hand, equipment paid for with Character Points rarely suers such diculties after all,
a character who pays points for something deserves
a better version than a character who gets a similar
device for free.
Disadvantages
Two Disadvantages are important to characters in a DC:TAS game: Code Versus Killing and
Secret Identity.
Psychological Limitation: Code Versus Killing:
Most, if not all, DC:TAS character should have
some sort of Code Versus Killing. How extreme the
Disadvantage is (see page 104 of Dark Champions)
can vary from character to character, but a character without some regard for human life probably
isnt appropriate for most DC:TAS games he
should be a costumed vigilante in a standard Dark
Champions campaign.
Social Limitation: Secret Identity: While less integral to DC:TAS games than to Champions, a Secret
Identity is also important to the subgenre. After all,
the primary reason for donning a mask and costume is to protect a characters identity, and PCs in
a DC:TAS are called costumed crimeghters for a
reason. Unless a player has a very good background
reason for having a Public Identity, he should
default to a Secret Identity for his character.
13
GAMEMASTERING
DC:TAS
his section contains some information and
advice for running a DC:TAS style game. In
addition to the topics covered here, the GM
should keep in mind the light-hearted tone
of the campaign, both for Hudson City Knights and
Hudson City Powers, because this is the dening
dierence between Dark Champions and DC:TAS
games. Whatever else goes on in a game, it should
be light-hearted.
Campaign Tone
CAMPAIGN SETTING
While DC:TAS campaigns are Dark Champions games (meaning they can get a little grim
from time to time), theyre not nearly as dark and
brooding as most modern-day action-adventure
campaigns. Here are some tips for keeping the tone
of your DC:TAS game light-hearted.
15
THE TEAM-UP
A staple of the DC:TAS
subgenre is when two
or more villains team
up to get the heroes.
These team-ups usually unravel toward the
end of an adventure for
one of three reasons:
the villains respective
themes cause a clash;
the villains egos and
pride get in the way and
turn them against each
other; or one villain has
a more casual attitude
toward killing than the
other, and this leads to
the villain with the Code
Versus Killing providing
the PCs with the information they need to
thwart the other villain.
However the team-up
unravels, the thing to
remember about all villain team-ups is that in
the four-color world of
DC:TAS, bad guys can
never get along for long
simply because theyre
bad guys.
VILLAINS
Villains are important to any successful roleplaying game and that goes double for DC:TAS
campaigns. While later chapters provide you with
plenty of example villains for both Hudson City
Knights and Hudson City Powers campaigns, here
are some guidelines for creating your own costumed criminals and plotting their crimes.
COSTUMES AND THEMES
DC:TAS villains tend to wear costumes
(although for men, the costume often involves a
[oddly-colored] suit), and are just as likely as the
heroes to have a theme of some sort. A criminals
theme not only inuences his costume and his
weapons, but the type of crimes he commits: a
villain obsessed with gemstones doesnt rob banks
(unless he wants to lch gems from safe deposit
boxes), he steals jewelry, attempts to construct a
giant laser with the worlds biggest ruby, and so on.
Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
These themed villains often suer from obsessive-compulsive behavior, but this behavior has
little in common with the real-world psychological
disorder of the same name. What it means is that
the villains obsessive about his theme and compulsively commits crimes based on, following, or in
accordance with it.
A villains obsessive-compulsive behavior often
gives the hero a reason to hand him over to the
authorities for treatment rather than killing him the
way a costumed vigilante would. Thers a simplistic
logic behind this: the villain cant control his behavior
(hes insane), and because of that he doesnt deserve
punishment, he requires treatment. Admittedly, the
treatments never work even if they seem to at rst,
theyll wear o quick enough after the authorities pronounce the villain cured and release him into society
but heroes wouldnt be heroic if they didnt keep
trying to defy the odds and help people (even villainous people) who need assistance. Its important to
keep this in mind, and if you feel your players are on
the verge of sliding down the moral slope into becoming executioners, remind them of this fact.
Disguration
Unlike costumed crimeghters, who usually
adopt their theme out of their own free will, a DC:
TAS villain sometimes has a theme forced upon him.
Usually he suers a disguring accident (often while
hes committing some misdeed, but not always), but
some villains are born with a disgurement that
shapes their personality. Disgurements often involve
the face horric scars, odd-shaped noses, permanent rictus grins, animal-like fangs, eerie voices
because that provides a strong visual in the comic
books and cartoons that inspire this subgenre.
The Heros Nemesis
The theme of a heros arch-nemesis, as well as
his very nature and character, is often the opposite
of the theme of the costumed crimeghter. This
further highlights the dierence between good and
evil by placing the two characters the represen-
17
GOONS
Fast Goon
12 STR
8 INT
2 PD
24 END
15
8
2
24
DEX
EGO
ED
STUN
12 CON
12 PRE
3 SPD
10 BODY
10 COM
4 REC
12
8
3
32
DEX
EGO
ED
STUN
15 CON
12 PRE
2 SPD
15 BODY
10 COM
6 REC
MYSTERIOUS HAPPENINGS
AND RANDOM WEIRDNESS:
PLOT SEEDS
While the plot of many DC:TAS adventures, broadly
dened, is villain commits a crime or starts a crime
spree, and the heroes react to stop him, there are other
sorts of plots perfectly suited to this subgenre. Here
are some plot seeds for non-villain adventures. Each
of them centers around a mystery the PCs must solve,
so it calls for plenty of investigation, exploration, and
questioning of contacts (both legitimate and seedy).
A Friend Of A Friend Told Me...: Sewer workers are refusing to work they claim a huge alligator haunts the
sewers below the city. Could the old urban legend be
true? Or could it be a group of children are having
some fun with the citys Sanitation Department?
Please Turn Off Your Cell Phones: Every cell phone in
the city rings at exactly the same moment, and when
the owner answers, he hears the exact same message
Help me! The buildings on re and I cant get out!
But theres no building on re. Can the PCs gure out
the source of this mysterious call? Is it a ghost from the
past seeking peace? Is it a call from the future? Or is
it a prankster some tech-whiz whos tapped into
satellite signals?
Shes Having A Baby! Hey! Wait! So Is She!: The PCs
are all together in a crowded venue (a sports game
is best) when a woman starts to go into labor. Right
after the paramedics rush her to the hospital, another
woman starts to go into labor and there are some
complications with her pregnancies. The venues medical sta left to take the other lady to the hospital, so the
PCs have to get her to the hospital on time but they
can only do that in time in their costumed identities. Its
a race across the citys rooftops to the hospital during
rush hour trac.
Surprise!: Each of a PCs friends and family disappear
one by one over the course of an afternoon could
one of his foes have gured out his secret identity? Will
the PC gure out that theyre getting together to have
a surprise party for him, despite the fact that the other
PCs are in on the plans and trying their best to stop
him from arriving early?
When The Wolfbane Blooms: The papers report that
theres been a rash of stories about a werewolf attacking people (particularly children) on the bad side of
town. The truth is far less exotic theyre just wild
dogs mutated by the radioactive waste leaking out of a
nearby factory but no less dangerous.
RUNNING ADVENTURES
DC:TAS villains rarely stay in prison for long.
Whether through their own skills, bureaucratic
incompetence, or fortuitous circumstance, they
escape again and again to bedevil the heroes. A
typical DC:TAS game features a stable of approximately a dozen recurring villains who menace the
PCs repeatedly. Stories featuring these staple characters are interspersed with one-story criminals,
mysterious vanishings the heroes must unravel,
miscellaneous weirdness, and the like.
THE GETAWAY
Villains do a lot of running away in DC:TAS
games, largely because theyre less powerful than
the heroes. To accomplish these getaways, they put
innocents in harms way... and because the hero is
a true-blue hero, he has to rescue the innocent(s)
rather than keep pursuing the villain.
Successful getaways are vital to some adventures appropriate to DC:TAS games, especially the
themed crime spree after all, its not much of
spree if the heroes capture the villain after the rst
crime. Whenever you plan an encounter, always
make sure the villain has means of putting innocents in jeopardy, thus enabling his escape if the
heroes get too close (if they dont, he can just run
away without having to endanger anyone). These
contingency plans often involve explosive devices
with timers, pushing an innocent o a building, setting a location on re so the hero must evacuate the
place, and the like. Because DC:TAS games involve
teams, rather the lone heroes, sometimes these
plans need to be fairly extensive for example, one
explosive device per hero.
DEATH OF INNOCENTS
Nothing shocks players out of a four-color
mood more than the death of innocents, so you
should do your best to avoid such a thing from happening in your campaign... unless you want it to.
Deathtraps
For many villains, part of the gamesmanship
of opposing the PCs is deathtraps. DC:TAS villains
love to capture heroes, put them in deathtraps, and
then leave to commit their next crime, certain that
the hero cant possibly survive. But of course he
always does.
Gamemastering deathtraps is tricky, since
you dont actually want to kill a PC with one
(how anti-climactic!), but you want the PCs to
feel threatened enough to take the trap seriously.
You also have to make getting out enough of a
challenge that the players will enjoy the experience, but not so much of a one that its likely one
or more PCs will fail. Before you include one
in a scenario, make sure you know exactly what
the character is capable of consult a copy of
his character sheet, if necessary and try to
provide a back-up plan or two in case his first
attempt to get out fails.
19
Require
Dont
chapter two:
STREET-LEVEL SUPERHEROES
HUDSON CITY
KNIGHTS
his chapter contains campaign guidelines
and characters (both heroes and villains)
appropriate for a Hudson City Knights campaign: a DC:TAS game in which the characters are costumed crimeghters, but dont have
any superhuman powers. The campaign is set in
Hudson City (described in Hudson City: The Urban
Abyss), but you can easily use the characters in any
city where crime is a problem and crimeghters are
necessary to keep innocents safe.
CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Here are some campaign frameworks GMs can
use as inspiration for Hudson City Knights campaigns. These mainly address either the reason why
the heroes get together and/or their modus operandi... but just like the question of why someone
becomes a costumed crimeghter, a team doesnt
need much more of a reason to get together than a
desire to protect innocents from harm.
ALL FOR ONE, AND ONE FOR ALL
This is the basic Hudson City Knights
campaign: the heroes have teamed up because
theyre more effective fighting crime together
than alone. Chances are they dont know each
others secret identities, at least not from the
outset. After the first adventure, at least, they
have a way to get in touch with one another
(even if its only a dedicated pager), and probably a place to meet. The meeting place can
range from something as simple as a designated
rooftop to one of the members supplying a secret
base for the whole team, to the PCs pitching in
to build their own secret headquarters. Other
things to consider: do they patrol the streets
in teams or alone? Do they only come together
when a threat warrants it, or do they do all their
crimefighting together? The group might not
even have a name, depending on how formal the
arrangements are.
REFORMED VILLAINS
People do really change in DC: TAS games,
and in this campaign, the actions of costumed
crimeghters maybe DarkAngel or the Answer
have inspired a group of villains to give up their
criminal ways and ght crime. Maybe some of
them want to ght crime as a way of making it up
to society; maybe some are thrillseekers who cant
abandon the thrill of adventuring. Besides determining why theyve decided to become crimeghters, some of the questions players need to answer
about their characters are: do the former villains
keep their former names and costumes, and if so,
does anybody trust them? Are they ever tempted to
return to a life of crime?
Plot Seeds
Seen The Light?: At the end of an adventure, a
defeated villain claims to have seen the light and
repented his criminal ways. He begs for the PCs,
former villains themselves, to give him a chance
to walk the straight and narrow if he goes to
prison, hes sure to lose his mind. Is this just a ruse?
And if not, do the PCs still turn him in?
But It Wasnt Me!: One of the PCs is accused of a
crime he didnt commit. The crime ts his former
modus operandi, but it wasnt him. Can the PCs
prove their teammates innocence? And what does
the PC do does he turn himself in like a good
law-abiding citizen or does he stay at-large in hopes
of proving his innocence?
23
HEROES
THE ANSWER
Cost Roll Notes
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
10 124
115
12- PER Roll 1216 13- ECV: 6
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
1
11-
Val
15
18
15
12
15
18
15
12
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
8
8
4
8
40
40
PD
5
ED
5
SPD
12
REC
4
END
5
STUN 12
Movement:
Total: 11 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 11 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
4
4
11
15
5
Perks
Contact: The Executor (mysterious man
highly placed in the government) 11- (Contact has extremely useful resource, access to
major institutions, signicant Contacts of his
own, Good relationship with Contact)
Money: Filthy Rich
Improved Equipment Availability: Military
19
Talents
Combat Sense 16-
12
5
Skills
+4 with Kung Fu
+1 with all Agility Skills
Running: 8/16
Swinging: 20/40
Cost Powers
END
9
Grapple Gun: Multipower, 30-point
reserve; all slots OAF (-1), 1 Recoverable
Charge for enitre reserve (-1)
[1rc]
1u
1) Grapple: Swinging 20; OAF (-1)
1u
2) Packs A Punch: Energy Blast 6d6;
OAF (-1), Limited Range (20; -)
1u
3) Articulated Grapple: Telekinesis
(20 STR); OAF (-1), Only To Grab (-1),
Must Cross Intervening Space (-), Only
Direct (-), Limited Range (20; -)
Martial Arts: Kung Fu
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
4
Block
+2 +2 Block, Abort
4
Disarm
-1
+1 Disarm, 30 STR
4
Dodge
+0 +5 Dodge all
attacks, Abort
4
Escape
+0 +0 35 STR vs.
Grabs
3
Joint Lock/Grab -1
-1 Grab Two
Limbs, 30 STR
5
Kick
-2
+1 8d6 Strike
4
Knife Hand
-2
+0 HKA d6
(1d6+1 with
STR)
3
Legsweep
+2
-1 5d6 Strike,
Target Falls
4
Punch
+0 +2 6d6 Strike
3
Throw
+0 +1 4d6 + v/5, Target
Falls
4
Tien-hsueh Strike-1 +1 2d6 NND
4
+1 Damage Class (already added in)
6
Armored Trenchcoat And Costume:
Armor (3 PD/3 ED)
0
3
5
3
3
3
3
5
3
2
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
2
Acrobatics 12Analyze Combat Technique 13Breakfall 13Climbing 12Concealment 12Contortionist 13Deduction 13AK: Tibet 12CK: Hudson City 11KS: Buddhism 13KS: Kung Fu 12Language: Mandarin Chinese (completely
uent; English is Native)
Language: Tibetan (completely uent)
Paramedics 12Shadowing 12Stealth 12Streetwise 12Survival (Mountains) 13WF: Common Melee Weapons
8
10
10
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 100
Vehicle/Base Points: 30
Follower/Contact Points: 25
Miscellaneous Points: 0
25
THE ANSWER
PLOT SEEDS
The Answer discovers
three items about his
mother her name,
that shes still alive, and
that shes married to
a prominent mobster.
He attempts to meet
her, sneaking into the
mob bosss estate, but
ends up captured. One
of the Answermen
contacts the PCs can
they save the Answer
before hes unmasked?
And does he want to be
saved? Has meeting his
mother changed him in
some way?
The PCs are framed
for a crime they didnt
commit. The same
nefarious villain who
framed them contacts
the Answer and puts
him on the task of
hunting the PCs down.
Can they escape the
Answer long enough to
nd evidence of their
innocence? And if not,
can they convince the
Answer of their innocence without proof?
The Answermen begin
disappearing, one by
one. The websites
security has been compromised or, worse
yet, one of the Answermen is a traitor. Cut
off from his advisors,
the Answer seeks the
PCs help to get to the
bottom of the mystery.
posts are terse and to the point, usually using sentence fragments. He also has extensive knowledge
about organized crime in Hudson City but he
only provides answers to these sorts of questions to
the Answer.
Blue Book: Blue Book elds questions about mechanics in general and cars in particular. His posts are
riddled with slang, typos, and grammar errors until
he posts something pertaining to the question asked
of him. Then his answers become perfect examples of
clear and precise technical writing.
Lex And Nex: Lex and Nex are the resident legal
experts. They begin and end all of their answers
with disclaimers about how the person should seek
legal counsel before pursuing action, but despite
the disclaimers, their answers are usually dead-on.
They also have a comprehensive knowledge of
criminal proceedings and the inner workings of the
Hudson Police Department this knowledge they
only provide to the Answer.
Mr. Fixer-Upper: Mr. Fixer-Upper handles questions concerning plumbing, roofing, and general
home repair. He always begins his responses with
a humorous anecdote about a friend-of-a-friend
and his misadventures in whatever trade relates
to the question. To the Answer, he also provides
copious knowledge of security systems, both
civilian and military.
Tec: Tec seems to possess a wealth of information
on criminalistics, forensics, and criminology. Its
unclear whether this comes from book learning or
practical experience; none of his posts have ever
mentioned any jobs related to those subjects.
27
Val
15
20
18
10
13
11
15
18
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
8
6
4
7
36
30
PD
5
ED
2
SPD
10
REC
0
END
0
STUN 3
Movement:
Total: 11 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Gliding: 10/20
Swinging: 15/30
Cost Powers
END
20
Utility Belt: Multipower, 30-point reserve;
OIF (Utility Belt, -)
1u
1) Halo Grenades: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF;
OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-),
12 Charges (-) [12]
1u
2) Halo Boomerang: Energy Blast 6d6;
OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-),
1 Recoverable Charge (-1)
3
1u
3) Angel-Sword Blades: HKA d6
(1d6+1 with STR), Range Based On STR
(+); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR
(-), 6 Recoverable Charges (-)
[6]
1u
4) Weakness Darts: Drain STR 2d6,
Range Based On STR (+); OAF (-1),
Must Target Non-Armored Hit
Locations (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
1u
5) Freeze Gas Capsules: Minor
Transform 3d6 (normal object to frozen
sti object, heals by thawing out at
normal rate); OAF (-1), Limited Target
(nonliving objects with moving parts;
-), Range Based On STR (-),
4 Charges (-1)
[4]
1u
6) Sleeping Gas Pellets: Energy Blast
3d6, NND (defense is Life Support
[Self-Contained Breathing or appropriate
Immunity]; +1); OAF (-1), Range Based
On STR (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
1u
7) Smoke Pellets: Darkness to Sight
Group 3 radius; OAF (-1), Range Based
On STR (-), 8 Continuing Charges
lasting 1 Turn each (removed by high
winds or rain; -0) [8cc]
1u
8) Flash Pellets: Sight Group Flash 6d6;
OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-),
6 Charges (-) [6]
1u
9) Thermite Pellets: RKA 1d6, Armor
Piercing (+), Area Of Eect (One Hex;
+); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR
(-), 6 Charges (-) [6]
1u
10) Rebreather: Life Support
(Expanded Breathing: Breathe
Underwater), 4 Continuing Fuel
Charges (refueled through recharging system,
3
3
3
3
3
3
Skills
Acrobatics 13Breakfall 13Climbing 13Computer Programming 12Criminology 12Deduction 12High Society 12AK: Blackbridge 11CK: Hudson City 12KS: Hudson City Underworld 12Language: Japanese (basic conversation;
English is Native)
Lockpicking 13Security Systems 12Shadowing 11Stealth 13Streetwise 12WF: Small Arms, Knives
0
0
0
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 5
Miscellaneous Points: 0
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
1
Disadvantages
Hunted: Penny Dreadful 14- (As Pow, Kill)
Hunted: Card Shark 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
Psychological Limitation: Devoted To Justice
(Common, Total)
Psychological Limitation: Vengeful
(Uncommon, Strong)
Psychological Limitation: Code Versus
Killing (Common, Strong)
Secret Identity (Stacy Hunter) (Frequently,
Major)
29
DARKANGEL
PLOT SEEDS
One night on patrol,
the PCs see DarkAngel
looming over some
helpless criminal. When
she sees her fellow costumed crimeghters, she
ees the scene and
when the PCs check on
the criminal, they discover him dead! Do they
hunt DarkAngel in an
attempt to bring her to
justice? Or do they think
shes been framed? And
if so, who would want to
frame DarkAngel?
Stacy Hunter has a new
boyfriend and its one
of the PCs! Of course,
neither crimeghter
knows about the others
secret identity. All each
of them knows is that
the other suspiciously
disappears, especially in
the middle of the night,
and the next mornings
paper always has an
article about some
villains crimes....
One of the PCs nds
DarkAngels costume in
a trash can. Could this be
the end of a fellow costumed crimeghter? Will
the PCs investigate? And
if they do, will they discover DarkAngels secret
identity... and the fact that
Card Shark discovered
Stacy Hunters secret and
kidnapped her?
PD
2
ED
3
SPD
12
REC
2
END
3
STUN 5
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (4 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (4 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
20
Longbow: Multipower, 40-point reserve;
all slots OAF (-1)
1u
1) Broadhead Arrow: RKA 2d6; OAF
(-1), Beam (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
2u
2) Blunt Arrow: Energy Blast 8d6; OAF
(-1), Beam (-), 12 Charges (-)
[12]
1u
3) Flare Arrow: Sight Group Flash 8d6;
OAF (-1), Beam (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
1u
4) Smoke Arrow: Darkness to Sight
Group 4 radius; OAF (-1), 6 Continuing
Charges lasting 1 Turn each (removed
by high winds or rain; -)
[6 cc]
1u
5) Taser Arrow: Energy Blast 4d6,
NND (defense is insulated rED covering
entire body; +1); OAF (-1), Beam (-),
6 Charges (-)
[6]
Martial Arts: Cinematic Brawling
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
4
Chin Block
+2 +2 Block, Abort
4
Disarm
-1
+1 Disarm, 23 STR
5
Hoist n Heave -2
-2 Grab Two
Limbs, 33 STR
to Throw
5
Two-Fisted
Smash
-2
+1 6d6 Strike
3
Tackle
+0
-1 2d6 + v/5
Strike; You Fall;
Target Falls
8
Armored Costume: Armor (4 PD/4 ED);
OIF (-)
0
6
Talents
Lightning Reexes: +4 DEX with All Attacks
Skills
+6 with Longbow
Range Skill Levels: +5 versus Range Modier
with Longbow
+1 with Agility Skills
3
3
3
3
3
5
2
Acrobatics 13Breakfall 13Climbing 13Combat Driving 13Contortionist 13Fast Draw (Bows) 14KS: Circus Life 11-
18
10
2
5
3
1
2
2
0
0
0
0
31
TRICKSHOT
PLOT SEEDS
The Missing Link has
escaped and the police
have asked the PCs
to track him down
and capture him... but
Trickshot has decided
the authorities cant
help his brother. He
wants to capture him
and bring him back to
the Mummer and Sons
circus so hell be around
friends and family. What
will the PCs do?
Tanya Thompson has
been investigating the
mysterious Trickshot.
Shes begun to suspect
that he and Aaron are
the same person! Trickshot asks for the PCs
help in convincing her
hes two dierent people.
His plan calls for one
of the PCs to dress as
Trickshot, and the other
PCs to pretend to be
muggers who attack
Aaron and Tanya on
their way home from
the movies... but what
happens when the local
street gang whos Hunting him attacks in the
middle of the staged
mugging?
The PCs nd a corpse.
The cause of death
appears to be an arrow
with a scarlet shaft
just like the arrows
Trickshot uses. Has the
costumed crimeghter
crossed the line? And if
not, whats going on?
33
VILLAINS
Val
20
15
20
15
12
12
20
6
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
Cost
10
15
20
10
2
4
10
-2
8
8
4
8
50
50
PD
4
ED
4
SPD
15
REC
0
END
5
STUN 15
ADONIS
Roll Notes
13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [4]
12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5
131211- PER Roll 1111- ECV: 4
13- PRE Attack: 4d6
10Total: 11 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 11 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Movement:
4
3
4
3
4
3
8
2
4
Running: 8/16
Leaping: 6/12
Cost Powers END
Martial Arts: Greco-Roman Wrestling
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
Choke
-2
+0 Grab One Limb;
3d6 NND
Hold
-1
-1 Grab Two
Limbs, 45 STR
for holding on
Reversal
-1
-2 45 STR to
Escape; Grab
Slam
+0 +1 6d6 + v/5, Target
Falls
Slap
+2 +0 8d6 Strike
Take Down
+2 +1 6d6 Strike;
Target Falls; You
Fall
+2 Damage Classes (already added in)
Strong Legs: Leaping +2 (6 total)
1
Fast Runner: Running +2 (8 total)
1
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
6
10
Skills
+2 with Greco-Roman Wrestling
+2 with Interaction Skills
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
7
5
2
3
Acting 13Conversation 13Breakfall 12AK: New York 11AK: Paris 11AK: Milan 11KS: Wrestling 11Oratory 15Persuasion 14PS: Model 11Seduction 13-
0
0
20
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 45
Miscellaneous Points: 0
35
ADONIS
PLOT SEEDS
ANAGRAM
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
10 STR
0
11- Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
19 DEX 27 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
15 CON 10 1210 BODY 0
1123 INT
16 14- PER Roll 1412 EGO
4
11- ECV: 4
15 PRE
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
20 COM 5
138
6
4
7
30
30
PD
6
ED
3
SPD
11
REC
4
END
0
STUN 7
Movement:
Total: 11 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
Martial Arts: Karate
Maneuver
OCV DCV
4
Block
+2 +2
4
Disarm
-1
+1
4
Dodge
+0 +5
Notes
Block, Abort
Disarm, 20 STR
Dodge all
attacks, Abort
d6 HKA (1d6
with STR)
Knifehand Strike -2
Punch/
Snap Kick
+0 +2 4d6 Strike
Side/Spin Kick -2
+1 6d6 Strike
Armored Bodysuit: Armor (3 PD/3 ED);
OIF (-)
Lucky: Luck 4d6
5
6
20
+0
END
0
0
2
3
3
2
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Skills
Cryptography 14Deduction 14High Society 12Language: Anglo-Saxon (uent conversation;
English is Native)
Language: Latin (uent conversation)
Lockpicking 13PS: Play Chess 14PS: Professor 11Security Systems 14Stealth 13Scholar
1) KS: Etymology 142) KS: Games 143) KS: Puzzles 144) KS: Riddles 145) KS: Trivia 146) KS: Word Games, Puns, And Anagrams 147) KS: World Literature 14-
0
0
10
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 0
Vehicle/Base Points: 0
Follower/Contact Points: 25
Miscellaneous Points: 0
3
3
3
2
37
ANAGRAM
PLOT SEEDS
Its the world crossword
competition! Fifty of
the best and fastest will
compete to complete
the hardest crossword
puzzle known to man...
and the PCs know, just
know, that Anagram
will be there. Can they
nd her among the
fty contestants? And
when the judges report
the answers stolen and
one enraged contestant
volunteers to help track
down the thief, will the
PCs realize that this
Anagram in disguise?
Anagram turns skyscrapers into gigantic
crossword puzzles, using
the widows for boxes
by lighting them up at
night will the PCs
gure out that windows
running down from seventh oor correspond to
7-down in that mornings crossword puzzle,
windows running across
the eighth oor correspond to 8-across, and
so on? Furthermore,
will they gure out
the answers, and how
those answers relate to
Anagrams next crime,
in time to stop her?
One night Anagram and
her goons replace all the
street signs in a neighborhood with scrambled
versions but ones a
little dierent. The clue
to her next crime is the
street sign that doesnt
unscramble to the
correct street name
instead, it unscrambles
to the location of her
next crime. Will the PCs
gure this out in time to
stop her?
Val
12
18
15
10
18
11
15
16
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
6
5
4
5
30
28
PD
4
ED
2
SPD
12
REC
0
END
0
STUN 4
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 8 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running:
6/12
Cost Powers
END
17
Astrologers Sta: Multipower, 35-point
reserve, all OAF (-1)
1u
1) Sun: Sight Group Flash 7d6; OAF (-1),
4 Charges (-1)
[4]
1u
2) Moon: Energy Blast 3d6, NND
(defense is Power Defense; +1); OAF (-1),
4 Charges (-1), Reduced By Range (-) [4]
1u
3) Stars: RKA 1d6, Armor Piercing
(+); OAF (-1), 8 Charges (-)
[8]
1u
4) Comet: Energy Blast 7d6; OAF (-1),
4 Charges (-1)
[4]
1u
5) Clouds: Darkness to Normal Sight 3;
OAF (-1), 6 Charges (-), No Range (-) [6]
3
Goggles: Flash Defense (5 points); OIF (-) 0
6
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Skills
+3 with Astrologers Sta
3
1
3
3
8
3
3
5
2
3
Electronics 11Forgery (Art Objects) 8High Society 12Inventor 13KS: Astrology 18Oratory 12Persuasion 12PS: Astrologer 15PS: Toymaker 11SS: Astronomy 13-
0
0
10
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 0
Vehicle/Base Points: 0
Follower/Contact Points: 25
Miscellaneous Points: 0
100+ Disadvantages
20
Enraged: when events do not occur according to his chart, go 11-, recover 1125
Hunted: Hudson City Police Department
8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
20
Psychological Limitation: Believes In Astrology (Common, Total)
10
Reputation: astrological criminal, 1115
Social Limitation: Public Identity (William
Starkey) (Frequently, Major)
Total Disadvantage Points: 190
Background/History: William Starkeys first
career was as a toymaker. He spent a long time
looking for a career that would allow him to
use his natural creativity and talent for building things. But after a few years he was very
unhappy with his chosen profession. He began
to find it boring... and to make matters worse, he
found out that he really didnt like having to put
up with little kids. So, in a fit of frustration, he
closed up his toy shop for good and turned to his
first love astrology.
Starkey had believed devoutly in astrology
for years, and was quite knowledgeable about the
subject. He decided to put his knowledge to good
use as a caster of horoscopes and predictor of the
fortunes of the rich and famous. It took him a few
years to get rmly established, but after that he
quickly became the toast of the Hudson City elite.
They considered it fashionable to have him read
their stars and attend their parties to entertain
everyone with his wit and imagination. Starkey was
on top of the world.
It didnt last forever, of course. After a few
months, the rich and famous tired of him and
found new interests to pursue. Starkey was left
behind, bitter and angry. He simply couldnt tolerate being rejected. Well, he decided, if they wont
give their money to me, Ill take it from them!
A few weeks later, he showed up at another
fancy party but not dressed in a tuxedo. Wearing
starry robes, carrying a sta, and backed up by a
squad of thugs, he called himself the Astrologer. He
and his gang robbed everyone at the party, then left
after Starkey made a few snide remarks about what
their stars said.
It wasnt long before he was captured, since
several partygoers recognized him. He served
part of his time in prison, escaped, and returned
to a life of crime. Hes been repeating this cycle
ever since.
Personality/Motivation: The Astrologer is an egotistical little man with a fascination for astrology.
A blow to his ego turned him to crime, and even
today any insult to his intelligence, wit, or looks
angers him. He always makes sure to hire relatively unintelligent thugs so that he can lord his
intellect over them... but this hasnt exactly helped
the execution of his schemes or his chances to
escape when things go wrong. Before the start of
any crime, he always prepares a star chart to help
him plan the caper and anticipate any diculties.
(The chart provides a valuable clue for guring out
his next move, if the heroes can acquire it.) If his
39
ASTROLOGER
PLOT SEEDS
The Astrologer has read
one too many sloppilyprepared horoscopes in
the Hudson Sun, so he
kidnaps the person who
writes them. Can the
PCs track him to his lair
before something bad
happens to the victim?
The Stars of Zaire, ve
of the largest diamonds
in the world, are currently on display at the
Hudson City Museum
of Anthropology and
Natural History. Can the
PCs stop the Astrologer
from stealing them?
After they capture the
Astrologer, he gives
them a grave warning,
saying the future holds
terrible things for them
and when those
things start coming true,
what do the PCs do? Do
they ask the Astrologer
for advice? Or is this
some plot on his part to
discourage the heroes?
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
7
5
3
4
30
30
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
BEATLEMANIA
Cost Roll Notes
2
11- Lift 133 kg; 2d6 [2]
15 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5
4
110
115
12- PER Roll 120
11- ECV: 3
0
11- PRE Attack: 2d6
0
115
3
5
0
3
8
Total: 11 PD (4 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (4 rED)
Phases: 4, 8, 12
Running:
6/12
Cost Powers
END
12
Happiness Is A Warm Gun: RKA 1d6,
Armor Piercing (+); OAF (revolver; -1),
Beam (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
21
Lucy+ Gas Pellets: Drain EGO 2d6, NND
(defense is Life Support [Self-Contained
Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +),
Ranged (+); OAF (gun; -1), 6 Charges
(-) plus Mental Illusions 8d6; OAF (gun;
-1), Set Eect (make environment psychedelic; -1), Based On CON (-1), Only
Versus Targets Aected By Drain (-),
Linked (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
43
Sgt. Peppers Spray: Sight Group Flash 5d6,
NND (defense is solid eye covering; +1),
Delayed Recovery (+2); OAF (-1), No
Range (-), Real Weapon (-),
12 Charges (-) plus Energy Blast 3d6,
NND (defense is solid eye covering; +1);
OAF (-1), No Range (-), Real Weapon
(-), 12 Charges (-)
[12]
15
Good Day Sunshine Grenades: Sight
Group Flash 6d6, Area Of Eect (One Hex;
+); OAF (grenades; -1), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
8
Rubber Soul Longjohns: Armor
(4 PD/4 ED); OIF (-)
0
10
Help!: Luck 2d6
0
15
Skills
+5 with his four weapons
5
2
7
2
3
5
2
3
2
AK: Hudson City 14AK: Liverpool 11KS: The Beatles 17PS: Memorabilia Dealer 11Shadowing 12Streetwise 12Survival (Urban) 12Trading 11WF: Small Arms
0
0
0
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 5
Miscellaneous Points: 0
100+ Disadvantages
10
Distinctive Features: Always Hums Or Sings
Beatles Songs (Concealable With Eort,
Noticed And Recognizable)
15
Enraged: when someone confuses a Beatles
song with the solo work of John, Paul,
George, or Ringo (Uncommon) go 11-,
recover 1125
Hunted: Hudson City Police Department
8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
20
Psychological Limitation: Obsessed With
The Beatles (Common, Total)
10
Reputation: criminal with Beatles xation, 1115
Social Limitation: Public Identity (John Paul
Kite) (Frequently, Major)
10
Experience Points
Total Disadvantage Points: 205
Background/History: John Paul Kite spent his life
traveling the ea markets, buying and trading
Beatles memorabilia. He was a true fan a person
who had dedicated his life to his love but ultimately, when it came to amassing a collection of
rare and important Beatles-related artifacts, being a
fan didnt matter. What mattered was money.
Kite read in the newspaper about an auction
where the shoes Paul had taken o before shooting
the cover for Abbey Road were being put up for bid.
The estimated value of the shoes was ve hundred
grand. Kite checked his bank account, saw that
he was overdrawn, and decided to steal the shoes.
At the auction, he red his revolver up into the
air, grabbed the shoes, and for the rst time truly
understood that happiness was a warm gun.
Dubbing himself Beatlemania, Kite went on a
crime spree, swearing he wouldnt stop until every
important piece of Beatles memorabilia was out of
the hands of indels and in his own loving possession. But he didnt get that far DarkAngel soon
caught him trying to steal a pair of Johns steel rim
spectacles from a private collector. Since then, hes
been in and out of state psychiatric facilities
once even cutting his hair to convince his therapist
he was cured of his obsession (for the subsequent
crime spree, he was forced to adopt a mod look).
Over time his crimes have become more general,
but they never deviate from his Beatles theme.
Personality/Motivation: Obsessed with the Beatles
and disgusted with the capitalist market forces that
drive up prices for Beatles memorabilia, Beatlemania has decided to take what he wants. Since
rst stealing Pauls shoes, Beatlemania has slipped
further and further into... well... mania. Outside of
his obsession, he comes across as a typical hippy
though maybe a little more Weatherman than
Peace and Love. Theres very little outside the Beatles hes willing to discuss anymore, since nothing
else seems important. Hes always humming, singing, or whistling Beatles songs; the only way he can
stop for 1d6 Turns is to succeed with an EGO Roll.
He ies into an inexplicable rage when someone
confuses a song he sings or hums with a song from
one of the Beatless solo career a fact that some
costumed crimeghters have used to their advantage. (He gets only slightly less mad when someone
41
BEATLEMANIA
PLOT SEEDS
Beatlemania and Penny
Dreadful team up to
the theme of Paperback Writer. They
plan to steal the notes
of John Lennon and
Paul McCartney (currently on display at the
museum). But Beatlemania keeps calling his
partner Penny Lane,
so how much longer
can this team-up last?
Will the PCs have to
save Beatlemania from
Pennys wrath?
Uh-oh... the singers in
the new band, Boys Be
Bad, have just claimed
theyre bigger than the
Beatles. How long will
it take for Beatlemania
to nd out about this
sacrilege and take his
revenge?
Paul McCartneys been
kidnapped, and the PCs
must nd him. Beatlemania, their number
one suspect, gets in
touch with them and
oers to help nd Sir
Paul. Can the PCs trust
him?
1u
5
5
3
4
24
24
1u
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
3
3
5
0
0
0
Total: 8 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 8 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 4, 8, 12
1u
Running:
6/12
Cost Powers
END
16
Microphone: Multipower, 40-point
reserve, 1 Continuing Fuel Charge
(battery, easily obtained; 6 Hours; -0);
all slots OAF (-1), Only Works If There
Are Speakers Present At Location (-) [1cc]
1u
1) May I Please Have Your Attention:
+10 PRE; OAF (-1), Only Works If There
Are Speakers Present At Location (-)
0
1u
2) Testing.... 1, 2... SKREEEEEEE:
Energy Blast 2d6, NND (defense is
Hearing Group Flash Defense; +1),
Area Of Eect (12 Radius; +2); OAF (-1),
Only Works If There Are Speakers Present
At Location (-), No Range (-),
Incantations (-)
0
1u
3) Ka-Booooom!: Hearing Group
Flash 4d6, Area Of Eect (12 Radius; +2);
OAF (-1), Only Works If There Are
Speakers Present At Location (-), No
Range (-), Incantations (-)
0
13
Chattering Teeth: Multipower, 40-point
reserve; all slots OAF (-1), Only Against
Targets On The Ground (-), Extra Time
(travels at the rate of 12 per Segment,
taking a minimum of one Extra Segment
to reach its target; -)
1u
1) Freeze Gas: Minor Transform 2d6
(normal object to frozen sti object, heals
by thawing out at normal rate), Indirect
(attack originates from Chitchat, but can
strike target from any angle; +), No
Range Modier (+); Common
Modiers (see above; -2), Limited Target
(nonliving objects with moving parts; -),
4 Charges (-1)
[4]
1u
2) Sleeping Gas: Energy Blast 2d6, NND
(defense is Life Support [Self-Contained
Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +1),
Indirect (attack originates from Chitchat,
but can strike target from any angle; +),
No Range Modier (+); Common
Modiers (see above; -2), 4 Charges (-1) [4]
6
8
16
3
3
3
5
5
3
3
5
5
3
5
5
Skills
Distracting Patter: +4 DCV; Incantations (-)
Acting 11Bugging 13Computer Programming 13Electronics 14Inventor 14KS: Television And Radio Personalities 13KS: History Of Broadcast Media 13Oratory 12Persuasion 12PS: Television And Radio Repairman 13Security Systems 14Systems Operation 14-
12
0
15
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 120
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 35
Miscellaneous Points: 0
43
CHITCHAT
PLOT SEEDS
A television exec has
agreed to give Chitchat
a talkshow TV stations will do anything
for ratings. But then
the ratings for the rst
week come in and the
show has tanked. Chitchat knows he needs a
costumed crimeghter
to get those ratings up,
so he sets a trap to lure
the heroes onto his
show. But the television exec has other
ideas. He thinks the
show needs some death
and dismemberment
Chitchat, the heroes,
whomever. Will the PCs
gure out whats going
on before its too late?
After his talk show goes
the way of the dodo,
Chitchat comes up with
another brilliant idea:
reality TV! He convinces another network
exec to put The Chitchat
Show on the air, with
cameramen following
him around constantly
to record his crimes,
his daily activities, how
he decorates his secret
headquarters.... The ratings go through the roof.
The PCs have to put a
stop to this abuse of the
airwaves.
Chitchat has hijacked
the airwaves its all
Chitchat, all the time,
and thats too much
for anyone to bear. The
heroes must track him
down and make their
way through the traps
lying in wait to bring
the broadcasting day to
an end.
As Chitchats latest
caper comes to an end,
he handcus himself to
one of the heroes this
will guarantee that he
stays in the limelight!
The handcus are based
on a design by the great
Harry Houdini himself.
The chain is unbreakable, the lock unpickContinued on next page
45
COPYCAT
PLOT SEEDS
The Answer has just
been seen robbing a
pet store named Mister
Paws a boutique
specializing in supplying cat toys, food, and
so on. Could this be a
new twist in Copycats
fractured psyche now,
instead of imitating villains, he imitates heroes?
Or is some deeper mystery at work?
Two crime sprees, two
cat-related clues... a villain has gotten clever
and timed his crime
spree so it occurs at the
same time as one of
Copycats. Now the PCs
must gure out which
of the villain is the real
McCoy and which is
Copycat. But what if
Copycat is actually imitating two dierent villains at the same time.
A villain starts a crime
spree with a cat-related
theme could it be
Copycat has found
his own identity? And
would that qualify as
progress or sinking
deeper into insanity?
Or is it a new villain?
Or is it an existing villain copying Copycat,
maybe getting some
payback for Copycat
imitating him?
Knifehand Strike -2
+0
4
5
Punch/
Snap Kick
+0
Side/Spin Kick -2
+2
+1
Perks
Anonymity
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Skills
+2 with Karate
30
15
13
7
13
END
Notes
Block, Abort
Disarm, 25 STR
Dodge all
attacks, Abort
HKA d6
(1d6+1 with
STR)
5d6 Strike
7d6 Strike
Resource Points
12
Equipment Points: 120
0
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
10
Follower/Contact Points: 25
0
Miscellaneous Points: 0
Total Powers & Skills Cost: 140
Total Cost: 200
100+ Disadvantages
5
Enraged: when unmasked (Uncommon) go
8-, recover 1425
Hunted: Hudson City Police Department
8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
25
Physical Limitation: Amnesia (All The Time,
Fully)
20
Psychological Limitation: Must Pretend To
Be Someone Else (Common, Total)
10
Reputation: criminal who assumes identities
of others, 815
Social Limitation: Public Identity (John
Doe) (Frequently, Major)
Total Disadvantage Points: 200
Background/History: The nameless man first
realized he didnt exist when he didnt get a paycheck. He rarely emerged from his office except
to leave for the day at five, and when he took
the matter up with his supervisor, his supervisor didnt recognize him. Rather than admit
this glaring ignorance concerning one of his
employees, the supervisor referred the nameless
man to Human Resources. The nameless mans
complaint moved up the chain of command
from one confused person to another until he
found himself in the HR directors office. The
HR director took charge of the situation and
informed the nameless man the records showed
he had never worked there. No paycheck would
be forthcoming.
Further evidence the nameless man didnt exist
followed shortly. When the nameless man led for
unemployment, the employment oce showed no
record no record on any government database
at all of the nameless mans employment history.
The bureaucrat took o his glasses, rubbed his eyes,
and suggested the nameless man leave before the
bureaucrat was forced to turn him over to Immigration. Then the nameless man tried to renew his
drivers license. Again there was no record of him,
and the person conscated his forged license and
told him to leave or else.
With his credit cards declined and his bank
accounts gone just disappeared bit by bit
the nameless man ceased to exist. The day his
landlord kicked him out of his apartment, the
nameless mans lack of existence finally drove
him insane. Desperate for any sort of life, he stole
the identities of others... and finally, he began to
steal the identities of costumed villains. He imitated their gestures, their voices, their costumes,
and their crimes imitated them perfectly. But
regardless of which villains crimes he imitated,
one thing always marked his crime sprees: the
last crime never fit the pattern. The press dubbed
the nameless man Copycat, and he finally found
an existence to call his own.
Personality/Motivation: Whatever happened to
Copycats record whether a computer glitch, a
ghost in the machine, or a virus that targeted only
him it has driven him totally insane. Copycat
no longer has his own personality he adopts the
supercial traits of whatever villain hes imitating.
Studies his subject intensively, becoming well-
47
DOCTOR ENIGMA
PLOT SEEDS
How does one prove
that thought goes on?
Doctor Enigma has
decided he knows how.
If EEG machines can
read electrical impulses
from the brain, surely
the polarity can be
reversed and a modied
EEG machine can cause
a person to have specic
thought. One night he
tinkers with all the payphones in the city. When
the receiver is held to
the ear, it delivers a
precise series of electric shocks that ll the
victim with an insane
rage and send him on a
rampage. Can the PCs
nd Dr. Enigma before
he starts his next experiment delivering those
same shocks across the
citys phone lines?
A rash of mysterious
thefts from pharmacies comes to the PCs
attention. Will they
realize the chemicals
stolen correspond to Dr.
Enigmas Unanswerable
Question drug... and
gure out how he plans
to expose the citys population to the drug?
Theres a new game
show on television
called Is That True?
The host tells three
contestants a statement,
and the contestants have
to buzz in and state
whether its true or false.
Doctor Enigma has
some statements hed
like to know the truth
of and hijacks the show,
holding the audience
hostage and subjecting
the contestants to the
Unanswerable Question.
Hes becoming more
and more enraged, and
its only a matter of time
before he hurts someone
can the PCs stop him
before he does?
Val
18
20
15
15
18
18
20
6
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
6
6
4
8
40
40
PD
2
ED
3
SPD
10
REC
2
END
5
STUN 8
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 8/16
Cost Powers
END
19
The Unanswerable Question: Entangle
4d6, 4 DEF, BOECV (regular defense
applies; +1), Works Against EGO, Not STR
(+), Takes No Damage From Physical
Attacks (+); OAF (secretion glove; -1),
Skin Contact Required (-1), Incantation
(must ask target question; -), Cannot
Form Barriers (-), Vulnerable (Entangle
disappears completely if target succeeds
with an INT Roll at -4; -1), 6 Charges (-) [6]
10
Good Right Hook: HA +3d6;
Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
1
16
Allevium Pills: Physical and Energy
Damage Reduction, 50%; OAF (-1),
4 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn
each (-)
[4cc]
11
Epinephrine Dose: Aid STR and CON
2d6, two Characteristics simultaneously
(+), Delayed Return Rate (points fade at
the rate of 5 per 5 Minutes; +); OAF
(drug-lled syringe; -1), Extra Time
(Full Phase; -), Gestures (must give
injection; -), 4 Charges (-1)
[4]
5
Twisted Psyche: Mental Defense
(9 points total)
0
32
Creepy Presence: Change Environment
8 radius, -4 PRE for purposes of resisting characters Presence Attacks, Reduced
Endurance (0 END; +), Persistent (+),
Personal Immunity (-); No Range (-),
Always On (-)
0
4
Fast On His Feet: Running +2 (8 total) 1
6
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Skills
+3 with The Unanswerable Question, Good
Right Hook, and Dodge
3
3
3
3
4
Inventor 13KS: Philosophy 13Paramedics 13PS: Chemist 13WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
3
2
4
2
2
2
4
Scientist
1) SS: Biology 132) SS: Chemistry 153) SS: Human Anatomy 134) SS: Medicine 135) SS: Ontology 136) SS: Pharmacology/Toxicology 15-
0
10
15
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 30
Follower/Contact Points: 35
Miscellaneous Points: 0
49
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
3
3
7
0
1
8
Total: 10 PD (4 rPD)
Total: 10 ED (4 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 9/18
Leaping: 6/12
Swinging: 15/30
Cost Powers
END
16
Sparkle Gun: Energy Blast 8d6; OAF
(-1), Beam (-), 12 Charges (-)
[12]
20
Utility Belt: Multipower, 30-point reserve;
OIF (Utility Belt, -)
1u
1) Gem Cutters: HKA d6 (1d6+1 w/
STR), Range Based On STR (+); OAF
(-1), 6 Recoverable Charges (-) (-) [6rc]
1u
2) Freeze Gas Sapphires: Minor
Transform 3d6 (normal object to frozen
sti object, heals by thawing out at
normal rate); OAF (-1), 4 Charges (-1),
Limited Target (nonliving objects with
moving parts; -), Range Based On
STR (-)
[4]
1u
3) Sleeping Gas Opals: Energy Blast 3d6,
NND (defense is LS: Self-Contained
Breathing; +1)); OAF (-1), Range Based
On STR (-), 6 Charges (-)
[6]
1u
4) Smoke Chalcedonies: Darkness to
Sight Group 3 radius; OAF (-1), Range
Based On STR (-), 8 Continuing
Charges lasting 1 Turn each (removed
by high winds or rain; -0) [8cc]
1u
5) Flash Diamonds: Sight Group Flash 6d6;
OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-),
6 Charges (-) [6]
1u
6) Thermite Rubies: RKA 1d6, Armor
Piercing (+), Area Of Eect (One Hex;
+); OAF (-1), Range Based On STR (-),
6 Charges (-) [6]
1u
7) Monocular: +6 vs. Range for Sight
Group; OAF (-1)
0
1u
8) Swingline: Swinging 15; OAF (-1)
1
1u
9) Miniature Flashlight: Sight Group
Images 1 radius, +4 to PER Rolls; OAF
(-1), Only To Create Light (-1), Limited
Range (10; -), 1 Continuing Fuel
Charge (refueled by recharging, easy to
obtain; 1 Hour; -1)
[1cc]
1u
10) Laser Torch: 1 point, Penetrating (x2;
+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +);
OAF (-1), No Range (-)
0
8
Armored Costume: Armor (4 PD/4 ED);
OIF (-)
0
10
Perks
Money: Wealthy
6
10
10
Skills
+3 OCV with Sparkle Gun
+2 DCV
+2 with Agility Skills
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
7
3
2
2
7
3
3
3
2
51
Acrobatics 14Breakfall 14Climbing 14Concealment 12Contortionist 14Deduction 12Electronics 12KS: Gemstones 16Lockpicking 14PS: Cat Burglar 11PS: Lapidary 11Security Systems 14Shadowing 12Sleight Of Hand 14Stealth 14Chameleo-Coated Costume: +3 to Stealth;
OIF (-)
0
Streetwise 12-
8
0
10
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 100
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 25
Miscellaneous Points: 0
53
Val
10
10
10
10
18
15
10
10
2
2
2
4
20
20
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total: 2 PD (0 rPD)
Total: 2 ED (0 rED)
Phases: 6, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
6
Observant: +3 with PER Rolls
10
15
20
7
7
7
3
3
3
3
3
3
5
3
HUMAN CAPITALIST
PLOT SEEDS
END
Perks
Money: Wealthy
Followers: Two Bodyguards (50+50
characters)
Skills
+4 with Interaction Skills
3
5
1
3
Analyze Combat Technique 15Analyze Interaction Skills 15Analyze Intellect Skills 15Bribery 11Bureaucratics 11CK: Hudson City 13Conversation 11High Society 11Interrogation 11KS: Hudson City Underworld 15KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist
World 13Persuasion 11PS: Businessman 15Streetwise 8Trading 11-
0
0
62
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 129
Miscellaneous Points: 0
A desperate scientist
approaches the Human
Capitalist and sells
him the secret to a
mind control drug. The
Human Capitalist knows
he can make a killing
selling mind-controlled
operatives to criminals
the PCs, themselves,
would make especially
good goons....
A world-renowned
scientist is giving a
lecture at Hudson City
State University, and the
Human Capitalist wants
to kidnap the man. Will
the PCs nd him before
the Human Capitalist
sells the scientist to the
highest bidder, who will
force the researcher to
put his work to nefarious use?
A captured goon, desperate to not go to jail
again, tells the PCs
where they can nd the
Human Capitalist but
is it a trap?
55
LAST CALL
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
15 STR
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
15 DEX 15 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5
15 CON 10 1212 BODY 4
1112 INT
2
11- PER Roll 1110 EGO
0
11- ECV: 3
15 PRE
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
10 COM 0
117
7
3
6
40
40
PD
4
ED
4
SPD
5
REC
0
END
5
STUN 12
Movement:
Total: 10 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 10 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 4, 8, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
19
Tommy Gun: RKA 2d6, Autofire
(5 shots; +), 2 clips of 50 Charges
each (+); OAF (-1), STR Minimum
(13; STR Doesnt Add Damage; -1),
Beam (-), Real Weapon (-)
[50]
10
Heckuva A Right Hook: HA +3d6;
Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
1
8
Covering Fire: +5 OCV; Only With
Autore (-1), Only To Counteract
Suppression Fire OCV Penalties (-1)
0
7
Drawing A Bead: +3 OCV; Only To
Counteract Dodge DCV Bonuses (-),
Requires A Shooting Tricks Roll (-)
0
10
Machine Gunner From Hell: +4 OCV
with Autore Firearms; Only When
Character Uses Autore Against A
Single Target (-), Must Use Maximum
Number Of Autore Shots (-), Not
While Targeting (-)
0
15
Tough Guy: Physical Damage
Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Requires A
CON Roll (assumes CON Roll of 12or 13-; -), Character Must Be Aware Of
Attack (-)
13
20
Perks
Vehicle: Duesenberg SJ (Hero System
Vehicle Sourcebook, page 7)
Base: The Speakeasy (hidden bar in Hudson
City)
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
4
5
5
Skills
+2 OCV with Tommy Guns
+1 DCV
Accurate Sprayre
3
3
5
5
2
3
3
5
2
LAST CALL
PLOT SEEDS
Last Call goes on a
crime spree, robbing
banks across the city.
Will the PCs realize all
the banks hes robbing
were open in the 1920s,
and that hes looking for
something more than
just money?
Last Call remembers he
used to own the Speakeasy bar and declares
war on the Marcelli
family. Can the PCs stop
the gang war?
The citys dilettantes
gather to celebrate
the anniversary of the
repeal of Prohibition
with a Roaring Twenties
style masque but no
one invited Last Call.
Those dirty rats....
8
20
25
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 100
Vehicle/Base Points: 50
Follower/Contact Points: 55
Miscellaneous Points: 0
57
MIDAS
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
10 STR
0
11- Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
14 DEX 12 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5
13 CON
6
1210 BODY 0
1115 INT
5
12- PER Roll 1215 EGO 10 12- ECV: 3
15 PRE
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
14 COM 2
124
3
3
5
26
25
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
2
0
6
0
0
3
Total: 4 PD (0 rPD)
Total: 3 ED (0 rED)
Phases: 4, 8, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Perks
15
Money: Filthy Rich
5
Reputation: Rich And Powerful Man
(in Hudson City) 14-, +4/+4d6
7
3
7
3
3
7
2
3
Skills
Bureaucratics 14Conversation 12High Society 14KS: Finance 12KS: Commodities Trading 12KS: Gold 14KS: Alchemy 11Persuasion 12-
28
36
30
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 200
Vehicle/Base Points: 82
Follower/Contact Points: 65
Miscellaneous Points: 0
END
59
THE MISSING LINK
Cost Roll Notes
20 14- Lift 800 kg; 5d6 [5]
24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
20 1320 130
11- PER Roll 110
11- ECV: 3
10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6
-1 11-
Val
25
18
20
20
10
10
20
8
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
12
8
4
10
40
51
PD
11
ED
4
SPD
12
REC
2
END
0
STUN 8
Movement:
Total: 12 PD (2 rPD)
Total: 8 ED (2 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 10/20
Cost Powers
END
8
Club: HA +4d6; OAF (-1),
Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
2
2
Thick Pelt: Damage Resistance
(2 PD/2 ED)
0
10
Friend To Gorillas: +20 PRE; Only With
Primates (-1)
0
8
Fast Runner: Running +4 (10 total)
1
25
Perks
Followers: four 78-point Gorillas (use the
character sheet on page 165 of the HERO
System Bestiary)
Skills
+2 with Grab, Club, and Haymaker
6
3
2
Resource Points
0
Equipment Points: 60
0
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
0
Follower/Contact Points: 5
0
Miscellaneous Points: 0
Total Powers & Skills Cost: 70
Total Cost: 200
100+ Disadvantages
20
Distinctive Features: Covered With Long
Hair (Conceable With Eort [shaving it o ];
Causes Extreme Reaction [fear])
15
Enraged: Berserk when caged (Uncommon),
go 8-, recover 825
Hunted: Trickshot (his brother) 14- (As Pow,
Capture)
25
Hunted: HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
20
Psychological Limitation: Hates Humanity
And Considers Himself A Dierent Species
(Common, Total)
15
Social Limitation: Public Identity (Abe
Harrow) (Frequently, Major)
Total Disadvantage Points: 220
61
PENNY DREADFUL
Cost Roll Notes
0
11- Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
10 120
1110 13- PER Roll 1316 13- ECV: 6
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
3
12-
Val
10
18
15
10
20
18
15
16
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
5
5
4
7
30
30
PD
3
ED
2
SPD
12
REC
4
END
0
STUN 7
Movement:
Total: 8 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 8 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
20
Taser Wand: Multipower, 40-point
reserve, 32 Charges for entire reserve
(+); all OAF (-1), No Range (-)
[32]
2u
1) Stunning Touch: Energy Blast 4d6,
NND (defense is insulated rED covering
entire body; +1); OAF (-1), No Range (-)
1u
2) Painful Touch: Energy Blast 8d6;
OAF (-1), No Range (-), Requires 2
Charges Per Use (-)
1u
3) Deadly Touch: RKA 2d6; OAF (-1),
No Range (-), Requires 3 Charges Per
Use (-1)
7
Armored Costume: Armor (3 PD/3 ED);
IIF (-)
0
25
Dramatic License: Luck 5d6
0
10
Perks
Contact: Daedalus 14- (extremely useful
Skills or resources, good relationship with
Contact)
Talents
Lightning Reexes: +3 DEX to act rst
with Taser Wand
3
3
4
2
2
3
3
Skills
Acting 12Combat Driving 8Computer Programming 8Conversation 12Deduction 13Disguise 13Fast Draw (Taser Wand) 13High Society 12KS: World Literature 16Language: French (completely uent;
English is Native)
Mimicry 13Persuasion 12PS: Book Collector 14PS: Librarian 11PS: Play Piano 11Seduction 12Stealth 13-
28
15
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 200
Vehicle/Base Points: 40
3
1
1
3
3
3
3
3
6
3
PENNY DREADFUL
PLOT SEEDS
The Alchemy Of Love:
Penny Dreadful kidnaps
renowned weird novel
author Shane Velloric
and begins a crime
spree patterned after his
books while hes forced
to write a new one for
her. But what happens
when the PCs nd him,
only to discover the two
of them have fallen in
love and he doesnt want
to be rescued?
Bored Of The Rings:
Recognizing Peter Jacksons Lord Of The Rings
movies for the utter crap
and complete betrayal
of Tolkiens novels that
they are, Penny sets out
to teach Hollywood a
lesson by stealing and
destroying every copy of
them she can nd. And
then she nds out that
HCSU is hosting a symposium about them....
The Plays The Thing:
Penny takes everyone
in the New Globe Theater hostage during a
Hudson City Shakespeare Company performance of Hamlet.
While her thugs loot
the box oce and force
the audience members
to cough up their wallets and jewelry, Penny
makes the actors perform scenes from her
favorite Shakespeare
plays... and zaps them
with her Taser Wand if
they cant do the scenes
perfectly on her command, without preparation or rehearsal. The
PCs have to inltrate the
New Globe Theater and
stop her before she gets
annoyed enough with
their incompetence to
start shooting people.
Follower/Contact Points: 15
Miscellaneous Points: 0
OCV
+2
RMod
+2
Dam
1d6+2
STUN
1d6
Armor
Armored costume (see character sheet)
Gear: Varies, depending on the focus of her current crime spree she often has
weapons or gadgets derived from a particular literary subject or theme
Clothing: See Appearance.
63
RAPTOR
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
20 STR
10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [4]
20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7
18 CON 16 1313 BODY 6
1215 INT
5
12- PER Roll 1312 EGO
4
11- ECV: 4
15 PRE
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
14 COM 2
128
6
5
8
40
40
PD
4
ED
3
SPD
30
REC
0
END
2
STUN 8
Movement:
Total: 11 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 6 PD (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
Running: 8/16
Gliding: 10/20
Swinging: 12/24
Cost Powers
END
7
Talons: HKA d6 (1d6+1 with STR);
OIF (-)
1
15
Cable-Claw: Multipower, 30-point reserve,
all OAF (-1)
1u
1) Taser Claw: Energy Blast 2d6, NND
(defense is insulated rED covering entire
body; +1), Continuous (+1); OAF (-1),
Lockout (-), Limited Range (12, -),
16 Charges (-0)
[16]
1u
2) Swingline: Swinging 12; OAF (-1)
1
1u
3) Grapple Claw: Telekinesis (10 STR);
OAF (-1), Aects Whole Object (-),
Only To Pull Objects Towards User (-) 1
7
Good Right Hook: HA +2d6;
Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
1
4
Quick On His Feet: Running +2 (7 total) 1
5
Glider Cape: Gliding 10; OAF (-1)
0
10
Perks
Contact: environmental organization, 11Followers: four birds of prey (use the statistics for a Eagle/Hawk, HERO System Bestiary,
page 136)
Money: Wealthy
Skills
+1 with Cable-Claw
3
8
3
3
3
3
2
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
2
3
Acrobatics 13Animal Handler (Raptors) 15Breakfall 13Climbing 13Demolitions 12High Society 12KS: Environmentalism 11KS: Ecoterrorism 11Oratory 12PS: Ecoterrorist 11PS: Falconry 12SS: Biology 11SS: Ecology 12SS: Ornithology 11Stealth 13Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 11Tracking 12-
2
25
0
0
0
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 5
Miscellaneous Points: 0
Disadvantages
Hunted: FBI 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
Hunted: HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
Psychological Limitation: Radical Environmentalist (Common, Total)
Psychological Limitation: Code Versus Killing (Common, Moderate)
Reputation: costumed ecoterrorist, 8Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Arthur
Hawke, dilettante) (Frequently, Major)
Experience Points
65
RAPTOR
PLOT SEEDS
The Missing Link and
Raptor team up and
begin attacking corporations threatening the
environment. Can the
PCs defeat this powerful
combo?
Red-Eyes kidnaps
Arthur Hawke, planning to hold the wealthy
young man hostage until
his ransom demand
is paid but Hawke
has a better idea. He
oers Red-Eyes twice
the ransom to attack
some eco-unfriendly
corporations. But when
Red-Eyes starts killing
people, will Raptor come
out to stop it? And will
the PCs let the known
criminal escape if he
does?
Raptor comes to the PCs
for help. The police now
want him for murder,
claiming that he was
part of an ecoterrorist
attack on a cosmetics
testing laboratory that
left two scientists dead.
He insists hes innocent,
but he needs the PCs
assistance to prove it.
PD
4
ED
4
SPD
18
REC
4
END
5
STUN 15
Movement:
33
4
5
6
6
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 35
Miscellaneous Points: 0
Total: 11 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 11 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
Martial Arts: Boxing
Maneuver
OCV DCV
4
Block
+2 +2
3
Clinch
-1
-1
4
5
8
15
0
0
15
0
END
Notes
Block, Abort
Grab Two
Limbs, 40 STR
Cross
+0 +2 8d6 Strike
Hook
-2
+1 10d6 Strike
+2 Damage Classes (already added in)
Can Take A Punch: Physical Damage
Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Requires A
CON Roll (-), Character Must Be Aware
Of Attack (-)
A Love For Violence: Aid STR and CON
2d6, two Characteristics simultaneously
(+), Trigger (when he does BODY with
his sts, activation takes no time, Trigger
immediately automatically resets; +1);
Self Only (-)
0
Good Eyes: +2 with Sight Group PER Rolls 0
Good Eyes: Nightvision
0
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Lightning Reexes: +4 DEX to go rst with
All Actions
12
10
Skills
+4 with Boxing
+2 DCV
3
5
3
5
3
5
5
2
5
3
2
2
3
3
3
5
4
Acrobatics 11Breakfall 12Climbing 11Combat Driving 12Criminology 11Deduction 12Interrogation 14CK: Hudson City 11KS: Hudson City Underworld 14Lockpicking 11PS: Accountant 11SS: Accounting 11Security Systems 11Shadowing 11Stealth 11Streetwise 14WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
100+ Disadvantages
5
Dependence: must take Tranquilium once
per day or suer Weakness (Dicult To
Obtain, Addiction)
10
Distinctive Features: Red Eyes (Easily Concealed; Causes Major Reaction [fear])
25
Hunted: Hudson City Police Department
8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
15
Psychological Limitation: Addicted To
Violence, Particularly HTH Violence
(Common, Strong)
15
Psychological Limitation: Casual Killer
(Common, Strong)
15
Reputation: criminal psychopath, 1115
Social Limitation: Public Identity (Tony
Kick) (Frequently, Major)
107 Experience Points
Total Disadvantage Points: 307
Background/History: Doc, I understand the ulcers,
the anxiety attacks, the high blood pressure... I get
all that. And I understand the sleepless nights and
the waking nightmares too. I know its like you told
me: unresolved issues and suppressed negative
emotions. I mean, I get all that. But, Doc, I dont get
why my eyes turned red thats not natural. Thats
not in any medical book Ive ever seen. I mean my
eyes are red, blood red you cant even see the
pupils anymore and reds eyes arent natural.
The psychologist assured Tony it was just an
advanced case of bloodshot eyes but Tony wasnt
believing it his eyes were two burning scarlet
orbs staring out from sunken sockets in his drawn
face. His doctor wrote him a new prescription for
a brand-new drug called Tranquilium that was
sure to alleviate his anxiety-related disorders. Tony
wasnt believing that either, but he took the prescription anyway and had it lled.
Tony was wrong. The new drug did help
him, just not in the way the doctor thought it
would. Taking the drug was like having a veil
lifted from his eyes. All of sudden he knew
exactly what he had to do. That night took a ride
in his car. He went into Hudson City from his
home in the suburbs and found himself in Freetown. While stopped at a stop sign, he studied the
gang members passing a bottle in brown paper
bag out in front of corner liquor store. They were
eyeballing his new sports car and whispering
among themselves. Tony parked the car, got out,
and threw the keys on the hood. And he waited.
Finally the gang members took his dare, and
Tony beat them to a bloody pulp, laughing all the
while, his red eyes seeming to glow even brighter
than the neon signs that lined the street. An inhuman rage lled him with strength that was more
than human... but the rage also made him euphoric.
67
RED-EYES
PLOT SEEDS
Red-Eyes wants the
whole world to feel the
same joy in violence that
he does. He kidnaps a
scientist and forces him
to discover why Tranquilium has a strange
eect on him. Then he
plans to synthesize a
drug that will cause the
same eect in others
and drop it in the water
supply....
The last time RedEyes went to court, the
court found him guilty
and sentenced him to
Stewartsburg Penitentiary not Toddberry
Asylum. It might have
been the biggest mistake
in correctional history.
Now the Stew is boiling
over in a deadly riot,
with Red-Eyes at the
center of it all. Can the
PCs put down the riot in
time to save the guards?
Red-Eyes has taken
over Freetown, declaring himself king despite
the fact that hes white.
To the infuriation of
Shango, Strad, and
Buckshot, hes united
the Nubians, Warriors,
and unallied gangs (and
stolen quite a few sets
from their own ranks)
and had them construct
barricades at the borders
of the neighborhood.
Can the PCs get inside
the most dangerous neighborhood in
Hudson City and take
Red-Eyes down... perhaps with some help
from Freetowns notorious crimelords?
In addition to his addiction to violence, RedEyes is also addicted to Tranquilium, a prescription drug (he just steals from pharmacies when he
needs more). If he goes a day without taking a pill,
he becomes irritable. After that rst day, he begins
slowly but surely changing back into meek and passive Tony Kick, accountant and career man.
Red-Eyes has several nervous habits, all of
which relate to violence. When hes bored and
itching for a ght, he slowly cracks his knuckles,
clenches and unclenches his hands, slams one st
against his palm, or massages his swollen knuckles.
Despite his penchant for violence, Red-Eyes is no
dummy the crimes he commits are well-planned
and well-executed.
Quote: Theres the do-gooder... bout time. Ive
been itchin for a ght all day.
Powers/Tactics: Red-Eyes thrives on violence.
Watching the blood y when he beats someone
with his sts gets his blood pumping and adrenaline owing. Every time he causes BODY with a
punch, roll the dice for his Aid and increase his
STR and CON, and continue doing so until he
reaches his maximum of STR 32 and CON 26. RedEyes usually carries a pistol, but far prefers to use
his sts even if its a poor idea, he usually throws
down his gun and enters hand-to-hand combat (if
necessary, he has to succeed with an EGO Roll to
use the gun).
Val
15
18
15
12
15
15
15
10
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
6
6
3
6
30
30
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
69
THREE OF A KIND
Cost Roll Notes
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
10 124
125
12- PER Roll 1210 12- ECV: 5
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
0
113
3
2
0
0
2
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 4, 8, 12
16
13
11
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
40
Share The Pain: Multipower, 40-point
reserve
3u
1) With All Three Standing: Physical and
Energy Damage Reduction, 50%; When
Three Of Three Of A Kind Are Conscious
And In Same Location (-)
0
2u
2) With Only Two Standing: Physical
and Energy Damage Reduction, 25%;
When Two Of Three Of A Kind Are
Conscious And In Same Location (-)
0
15
Psychic Bond: Mind Link (any three
minds belonging to Three Of A Kind,
three at a time), Psychic Bond; Only With
Others Who Have Mind Link (-1)
0
12
Unimpressed: +25 PRE; Only To Resist
Presence Attacks (-1)
0
6
18
THREE OF A KIND
PLOT SEEDS
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Danger Sense (self only, out of combat,
sense) 12-, Only When Two Of Three Of A
Kind Are Conscious And At Location (-)
+4 with Danger Sense; Only When Three
Of Three Of A Kind Are Conscious And At
Location (-)
Skills
+2 with All Combat
+2 with All Combat (+4 total); Only When
Two Of Three Of A Kind Are Conscious And
At Location (-)
+2 with All Combat (+6 total); Only When
Three Of Three Of A Kind Are Conscious
And At Location (-)
3
3
3
3
11
4
Combat Driving 13Interrogation 12Security Systems 12Tactics 12Teamwork 16WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
0
0
0
0
Resource Points
Equipment Points: 60
Vehicle/Base Points: 10
Follower/Contact Points: 5
Miscellaneous Points: 0
100+ Disadvantages
10
Distinctive Feature: Three People Talking As
One (Concealable With Eort; Noticed And
Recognizable)
15
Enraged: Enraged when separated from
siblings (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 1125
Hunted: Hudson City Police Department
8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
25
Psychological Limitation: Amoral (Very
Common, Total)
15
Social Limitation: Public Identity
(Samuel, Sally, and Steven Tressini)
(Frequently, Major)
49
Experience Points
When
When
SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT
Weapon
OCV
Glock 17L
+1
Tactical Baton 0
RMod
+1
Dam
1d6+2
3d6 N
STUN
1d6-1
Armor
Ballistic cloth suit (DEF 4, Activation Roll 15-)
Gear: Three Of A Kind rarely carries other gear.
Clothing: See Appearance.
71
ADAPTING CHAMPIONS
UNIVERSE VILLAINS TO
HUDSON CITY KNIGHTS
This chapter contains plenty of villains to get
your Hudson City Knights campaign going, but you
may eventually want more. One quick and easy way
to improve your rogues gallery is to adapt appropriate villains from the Champions Universe to
your DC:TAS game. Here are a few suggestions for
using villains from Conquerors, Killers, And Crooks:
Anubis: Get rid of his mystic powers (or nearly all
of them, anyway) and convert his Ankh-Sta into a
technological weapon (similar to the Astrologers),
and Anubis makes a ne Egyptian-themed villain.
[[END
BOX]]
BLACK
HARLEQUIN CKC page 123
chapter three:
STREET-LEVEL SUPERHEROES
HUDSON CITY
POWERS
SUPER-HUDSON
CITY
If theres an unbreakable rule in roleplaying
games, its this: the GM
should create the sort
of campaign and setting he wants to run. If
youd rather ignore the
advice in the main text
and break Hudson City
wide-open, with true
superhumans, UNTIL,
PRIMUS, VIPER, and
more, go for it! If you
prefer a take on the
Hudson City Powers
genre thats a bit less
restricted, thats the sort
of game you should run.
CAMPAIGN TYPES
Here are some possible campaign frameworks
you can use for a Hudson City Powers campaign.
The campaign types described in Chapter Two
work just as well for Hudson City Powers games as
they do for Knights campaigns.
HCPD SUPERCRIMES DIVISION
In this campaign, the Hudson City Police
Department decides it needs experts in superhuman crime. Rather than invest in expensive
high-tech equipment, the powers-that-be chose to
employ human solutions for human problems.
The PCs are low-powered superhumans assigned
to investigate and prevent crimes where the culprit likely possesses superpowers. They must work
hand-in-hand with other departments (always
good for dramatic tension!) to bring the culprit to
justice, using their special abilities to neutralize the
criminals powers.
First Day On The Beat: Its the rst day of the PCs
job in the Supercrimes Division... and things have
not gone well. The other cops dont trust them, the
press has been raking them over the coals, and its
time for them to prove their worth. But when they
get word that Charades in town and getting ready
to hit a target, can they stop the master of disguise
and prove their worth?
In The Cards: The heroes are being awarded a citation for bravery, but the criminal mastermind Card
Shark, displeased with how eective theyve been,
decides the public spectacle is the perfect time for
a public humiliation. He dispatches his men to
prove how ineective the PCs are by kidnapping an
important city ocial right from the stage under
their very noses.
Last Day On The Job: The commissioner has disbanded the Supercrimes Division not enough
crimes to warrant the budget allotment, he claims.
Do the PCs go meekly back to their original postings, or do they don masks and become costumed
crimeghters in earnest?
ALL INTERESTED PARTIES PLEASE
APPLY TO...
An ad runs in all the Hudson City newspapers
calling for brave men and women to stand up for
their city and do something about the crime that
rages out of control. A private party maybe a
wealthy individual who lost his child to random
violence, maybe someone more mysterious is
looking for volunteers for human enhancement
treatments. Those who successfully pass (survive?)
the rigorous tests the PCs, of course receive
superpowers they can use to ght crime. The
patron also promises to fund the superteam. After
a long and grueling process, the streets of Hudson
City have a new group of protectors....
75
HEROES
CAPE AND COWL
INVESTIGATIONS
Do you wonder if your spouse leads a double life? Do you
suspect your husband dons a mask and costume to rob
banks? Do you think a loved one has fallen under the sway
of a criminal mastermind? Stop asking questions and start
looking for answers.
(The scene changes to show two men standing in front of
a blue background: a short hispanic man whos doing the
talking, and a large white man who has his arms crossed
over his thick chest. Both wear black domino masks.)
Cape and Cowl Investigations is here to help.
From a television ad that failed to bring in more
business
men who take jobs for cash. But most of their business is pro bono neither of them has the heart to
turn away a person in need, much to the disgust of
Flora, Humbertos cousin. And neither of them is
willing to take jobs of a questionable nature either
which Flora thinks is probably a good idea most
of the time, but once in a while, especially when
theyre late with her paycheck, she thinks maybe
they could be a little less picky about their cases.
Background/History: Cape and Cowl Investigations
formed two years ago when Humberto Mendez took
Jackie Maxwell on as a partner. The two met while
Mendez was working on a missing persons case. The
person in question was Simon Stillwell. His father had
just passed away, naming his only son the sole beneciary of his estate. The fathers lawyer hired Mendez
to nd the boy, whod fallen in with a gang named the
Blues. Mendez tracked Simon to a club in Eastwood,
delivered the message about his fathers will, and then,
rather than looking the other way about the boys
criminal lifestyle, tried to convince Simon to use the
money his father left him to start a new life. One thing
quickly led to another the gang members didnt
appreciate being called lowlifes and pathetic thugs
and Mendez found himself in the middle of a ght
he couldnt win.
Maxwell, who was nearby, stepped in. Together
the two men dealt with the gang. Mendez oered
to buy Maxwell a cup of coee in thanks, and as
the two sat in the diner and talked, Mendez had
an idea. Mendez Investigations was just one more
detective agency in the phone book, and while
some people knew of Mendezs enhanced sense of
smell, most didnt. Despite his abilities being listed
in the small ad Mendez placed in the phone book
every year, either no one seemed impressed with
a enhanced sense of smell or no one believed it.
Maxwell, on the other hand, was huge, impressive
looking, and well known to the public because of
the doping scandal that went on between him, his
trainer, and the boxing association.
The two of them, both with superpowers,
would sell themselves as crimeghters for hire.
Unlike other crimeghters, theyd be easy to nd
and always available. A person in need wouldnt
have to hope and pray some crimeghter noticed
his plight; instead, he could look up crimeghters
in the phone book. Theyd also change the name
so itd attract more attention Mendez was convinced part of the reason business was so slow was
that he was located smack-dab in the middle of the
listings. Having been permanently banned from
boxing, Maxwell said it sounded like a good idea.
They made up names for themselves Hawkshaw
77
Val
15
18
14
12
18
18
10
10
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
5
5
4
6
28
40
PD
2
ED
2
SPD
12
REC
0
END
0
STUN 13
Movement:
Cost
5
24
8
4
8
16
0
0
HAWKSHAW
Roll Notes
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
121113- PER Roll 1312- ECV: 6
11- PRE Attack: 2d6
11Total: 8 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 8 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 8/16
Cost Powers
END
10
Good Uppercut: HA +3d6; Hand-To-Hand
Attack (-)
1
20
Read Pheromone Traces: Clairsentience
(Smell/Taste Group), Retrocognition,
Reduced Endurance (0 END; +);
Retrocognition Only (-1), No Range (-),
Time Modiers (-)
0
13
Smell Pheromones: Detect Emotions 16(Smell/Taste Group), Discriminatory
0
6
Enhanced Sense Of Smell: +3 PER Rolls
with Smell/Taste Group
0
10
Enhanced Sense Of Smell: Discriminatory
for Smell/Taste Group
0
10
Enhanced Sense Of Smell: Tracking for
Smell/Taste Group
0
9
Enhanced Sense Of Smell: +6 versus
Range Modier for Smell/Taste Group
0
4
Good Runner: Running +2 (8 total)
1
5
2
6
25
3
3
3
3
3
3
1
Perks
Contact: Detective Sarah Taggart, HCPD
Vice 11- (very useful Skills and resources,
access to major institutions)
Contact: Stanley Hauptmann, reporter at
City News 11- (Contact has access to major
institutions)
Fringe Benet: Private Investigator License
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of
combat) 13Skills
Criminology 13Deduction 13CK: Hudson City 13KS: Hudson City Underworld 13Language: Spanish (completely uent; English is Native)
Lockpicking 13PS: Accountant 8-
HAWKSHAW
PLOT SEEDS
Heavy-Hitter mysteriously vanishes. Despite
his best eorts, Hawkshaw cant nd so much
as his scent, so he turns
to the PCs for help.
Hawkshaws cousin
Flora begins dating
this handsome-looking
white guy, but something about him doesnt
seem right to Humberto.
The guy doesnt smell
right... though he doesnt
exactly smell wrong,
either. Knowing how
mad Flora would get if
she caught him snooping around, he asks the
PCs to do the snooping
for him.
While working with the
PCs, Hawkshaw smells
that one of thems been
poisoned recently. The
PCs have to gure out
who did it and how to
cure their friend... and
Hawkshaws probably
the only one who can
help them track the perpetrator down.
79
HEAVYHITTER
Cost Roll Notes
15 14- Lift 800 kg; 5d6 [5]
24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
20 1410 120
11- PER Roll 110
11- ECV: 3
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
0
11-
Val
25
18
20
15
10
10
15
10
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
14
12
5
10
40
60
PD
9
ED
8
SPD
22
REC
2
END
0
STUN 22
Movement:
Total: 14 PD (6 rPD)
Total: 12 ED (6 rED)
Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
Running: 8/16
Cost Powers
Martial Arts: Boxing
Maneuver
OCV DCV
4
Block
+2 +2
3
Clinch
-1
-1
4
5
8
6
10
4
26
HEAVY-HITTER
PLOT SEEDS
END
Notes
Block, Abort
Grab Two
Limbs, 45 STR
Cross
+0 +2 9d6 Strike
Hook
-2
+1 11d6 Strike
+2 Damage Classes (already added in)
Tough Skin: Damage Resistance
(6 PD/6 ED)
0
Tough Skin: Physical Damage
Reduction, 25%
0
Tough Skin: Lack Of Weakness (-4)
for Resistant Defenses
0
Second Wind: Healing STUN 6d6, Trigger
(when reduced to 10 STUN or less,
activating Trigger takes no time; +);
Self Only (-), 1 Charge (-2)
[1]
Perks
Fringe Benet: Private Investigator License
Skills
+2 with Boxing
5
3
2
5
3
5
2
3
2
5
Analyze Combat Style 12Breakfall 13CK: Hudson City 11Defense Maneuver I and II
Interrogation 12KS: Boxing 14KS: Sports 11Paramedics 11PS: Professional Boxer 11Streetwise 13-
10
10
in Eastwood neighborhood])
Social Limitation: Banned From Professional Boxing (Infrequently, Minor)
Social Limitation: Public Identity (Jackie
Northside Max Maxwell) (Frequently,
Major)
Unluck 2d6
Vulnerability: 1 x STUN from Poisons and
Drugs (Common)
81
SCARLET
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
20 STR
10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [4]
20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7
20 CON 20 1310 BODY 0
1115 INT
5
12- PER Roll 1213 EGO
6
12- ECV: 4
20 PRE
10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6
24 COM 7
158
8
4
8
40
40
PD
4
ED
4
SPD
10
REC
0
END
0
STUN 10
Movement:
SCARLET
PLOT SEEDS
Total: 12 PD (6 rPD)
Total: 12 ED (6 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 9/18
Leaping: 8/16
Swinging: 12/24
Cost Powers
Martial Arts: Kung Fu
Maneuver
OCV DCV
4
Block
+2 +2
4
Disarm
-1
+1
4
Dodge
+0 +5
END
Notes
Block, Abort
Disarm, 40 STR
Dodge all
attacks, Abort
45 STR vs.
Grabs
Grab, 40 STR
10d6 Strike
HKA 1d6 (2d6
with STR)
7d6 Strike,
Target Falls
8d6 Strike
6d6 +v/5 Strike,
Target Falls
Escape
+0
+0
3
5
4
Joint Lock/Grab -1
Kick
-2
Knife Hand
-2
-1
+1
+0
Legsweep
+2
-1
4
3
Punch
Throw
+0
+0
+2
+1
Tien-hsueh
Strike
-1
+1 3d6 NND (1)
+2 Damage Classes (already added in)
Demonic Anger/Enticement: +15 PRE;
Only For Presence Attacks (-)
Armored Costume: Armor (4 PD/4 ED);
OIF (-)
Tough: Damage Resistance (2 PD/2 ED)
Demonic Resilience: Armor (8 PD);
Only Works Against Limited Type Of
Damage (re; -)
Fast: Running +3 (9 total)
Strong Leaper: Leaping +4 (8 forward,
4 upward)
Swingline: Swinging 12; OAF (-1)
Demonic Eyes: Nightvision
Mask Radio: Radio Perception/
Transmission (Radio Group); IIF (-),
Aected As Hearing Group As Well As
Radio Group (-)
Expert Wheelman: Healing BODY 4d6,
Trigger (activating Trigger requires a
Zero Phase Action, Trigger requires a
Half Phase Action to reset; +); Only
Works On Ground Vehicles (-1), Requires
A Combat Driving Roll (-), 2 Charges
(-1), Costs Endurance (-)
8
10
8
2
8
6
4
6
5
7
11
Scarlets motorcycle
Dragon is found abandoned in LeMastre
Park. Knowing shed
never voluntarily leave it
behind, the PCs have to
nd out what happened
to her... and make sure
she gets it back!
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
17
32
15
5
3
3
3
7
3
3
3
3
3
2
7
5
3
4
10
20
10
20
15
Skills
+3 HTH
+1 with Interaction Skills
15
Acrobatics 13Breakfall 13Climbing 13Combat Driving 15Conversation 13Criminology 12Deduction 12Mechanics 12Persuasion 13PS: Reporter 11Seduction 15Stealth 14Streetwise 13TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles,
Basic Parachuting, Two-Wheeled Motorized
Ground Vehicles
105
83
Ground: 35/280
Swimming: 0/0
Skills
Superb Handling: +4 with Ground Movement
VILLAINS
BURNING BETTY
PLOT SEEDS
Burning Betty has
decided to take over her
kingdom. She chooses a
part of Freetown, burns
down all the buildings, and has her army
of homeless followers
blockade the streets. The
police and Fire Department cant get in can
the PCs make it past
the homeless to nd out
whats going on? And
if so, can they capture
Betty?
The maosi who worked
with Burning Betty
have decided she has a
screw loose and knows
too much about what
theyve done over the
years. They decide to
take her out, but their
hitman fails and now its
a gang war. Can the PCs
bring peace to Hudson
Citys streets before
Betty burns down Little
Italy?
Burning Bettys mother
shows up in Hudson
City looking for her
daughter. She gets in
touch with the PCs and
asks for their help to
nd the girl.
BURNING BETTY
Cost Roll Notes
16 13- Lift 300 kg; 3d6 [4]
42 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8
10 124
110
11- PER Roll 110
11- ECV: 3
0
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
0
11-
Val
18
24
15
12
10
10
10
10
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
6
8
4
8
40
40
PD
2
ED
5
SPD
6
REC
2
END
5
STUN 11
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 11 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
21
Pyrokinesis: Elemental Control, 42-point
powers
23
1) Set On Fire I: RKA 1d6, Indirect
(always originates from Betty, but can
strike from any direction; +), Fully
Invisible (source only; +); No
Knockback (-)
4
26
2) Set On Fire II: RKA d6, Area Of
Eect (8; +1), Selective (+),
Continuous (+1), Indirect (always
originates from Betty, but can strike
from any direction; +), Sticky (only
aects ammables; +), Uncontrolled (+) 5
12
3) Control Fire: Telekinesis (30 STR);
Only Works On Fire (-1)
4
14
4) Radiate Heat: Change Environment
16 radius, +4 Temperature Levels,
Reduced Endurance ( END; +);
No Range (-)
2
2
Immune To Heat: Life Support (Safe
Environment: Intense Heat)
0
6
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
5
2
3
5
4
Skills
CK: Hudson City 13KS: Hudson City Underworld 11Sleight Of Hand 14Streetwise 12Survival (Urban) 12-
150+ Disadvantages
10
Distinctive Features: Homeless Person
(Easily Concealed, Causes Major Reaction
[disgust])
10
Hunted: the Maa 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
20
Psychological Limitation: Cruel And Malicious (Common, Total)
20
Social Limitation: Homeless (Frequently,
Severe)
15
Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Betty Fry)
(Frequently, Major)
5
Vulnerability: 1 x STUN from Cold-based
attacks (Uncommon)
Total Disadvantage Points: 230
Background/History: While other children were
setting ants on fire with a magnifying glass, Betty
Fry was setting them on fire with her mind. The
pranks she could play with her pyrokinesis were
endless lighting a boys pants on fire (whether
he was a liar or not); igniting a bag full of firecrackers while an unsuspecting man held them
in his hand; setting abandoned buildings on fire
and watching the squatters run out not to
mention how useful it was for keeping warm in
winter when she slept in doorways.
Betty grew up in an orphanage where the
other kids ostracized her... mainly because they
were scared of her and had good reason to be.
She was a mean girl who played cruel pranks
(even when not using her powers, which she kept
secret)... and if any child tried to retaliate, he soon
found himself in the nurses oce being treated for
burns that mysteriously appeared on his body when
he was asleep.
At twelve, Betty ran away she failed to see
the point of living in the orphanage any longer
and took to the streets of Hudson City. For
most girls her age, being homeless meant being
raped, abused, and turned out to walk the streets
by some pimp, but Bettys powers kept away
anyone who tried to take advantage of her. After
a while no one messed with her word got
around that she could light people up, and even
the sickest sex freaks on the street are afraid of
fire. Her powers eventually brought her to the
attention of the Mafia.
The scam was simple: the Mafia had some
property it wanted to collect insurance on, and
Betty could set the buildings on fire without
an investigator ever figuring out what had happened. It was perfect arson, and though Betty
only collected a small portion of the profits, she
made more money than she did panhandling.
Pretty soon she was well-off (for a homeless
85
Val
40
28
30
20
4
10
25
4
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
20
18
6
16
60
60
PD
12
ED
12
SPD
22
REC
4
END
0
STUN 5
Movement:
Cost
30
54
40
20
-6
0
15
-3
CARNIVORE
Roll Notes
17- Lift 6,400 kg; 8d6 [8]
15- OCV: 9/DCV: 9
151310- PER Roll 1011- ECV: 3
14- PRE Attack: 5d6
10Total: 20 PD (1 rPD)
Total: 18 ED (1 rED)
Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
Running: 11/22
Leaping: 15/30
Cost Powers
END
25
Claws: HKA 2d6 (4d6 with STR), Reduced
Endurance ( END; +); Reduced
Penetration (-), No Knockback (-)
3
1
Tough Skin: Damage Resistance (1 PD/1 ED) 0
10
Animalistic Mind: Mental Defense
(13 points total)
0
12
Heightened Senses: +4 to PER Rolls with
all Sense Groups
0
5
Enhanced Vision: Infrared Perception
(Sight Group)
0
10
Enhanced Olfactory Senses: Tracking
with Smell/Taste Group
0
10
Fast Runner: Running +5 (11 total)
2
7
Strong Legs: Leaping +7 (15 forward,
8 upward)
2
4
10
Skills
+2 OCV with Claws
+2 DCV
3
3
7
3
87
CARNIVORE
PLOT SEEDS
The typical Carnivore
adventure: the monsters on a rampage, and
the PCs must nd him,
then stop him from killing anymore innocents.
The PCs have Carnivore
trapped nally theyll
be able to stop the killer
but then they hear a
roar from behind them,
then another from a
nearby re escape. It
seems Spregen has
reproduced the process
that resulted in Carnivore....
Carnivores on the
loose, but hes not killing people instead he
grabs fearful bystanders
by the lapels and begs
them to help him. Has
Perkinss personality
has resurfaced, allowing
him to escape (perhaps
temporarily...) from
Spregens control? Or is
it a trap?
CHARADE
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
10 STR
0
12- Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7
15 CON 10 1210 BODY 0
1120 INT
10 13- PER Roll 1318 EGO 16 13- ECV: 6
15 PRE
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
20 COM 5
135
5
4
6
30
30
PD
3
ED
2
SPD
10
REC
2
END
0
STUN 7
Movement:
Total: 5 PD (0 rPD)
Total: 5 ED (0 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
100 The Right Tools For The Job: Variable
Power Pool (Gadget Pool), 60 base +
30 control cost; No Skill Roll Required
(+1); Can Only Be Changed At Base/
Arsenal (-)
var
5
Holdout Derringer: RKA 1d6, Armor
Piercing (+); IAF (-), No Knockback
(-), Real Weapon (-), Strength
Minimum (6; Does Not Add To
Damage; -1), 2 Charges (-1)
[2]
13
Poisoned Knife: HKA d6 (1d6 with
STR), Armor Piercing (+); IAF (-),
Real Weapon (-), Strength Minimum
(6; Does Not Add To Damage; -1), No
Knockback (-) plus RKA 2d6; IAF
Fragile (poison, -), No Knockback (-),
Linked (-), HKA Must Do BODY (-),
1 Charge (-2)
1
Martial Arts: Jujutsu
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
4
Atemi Strike
-1
+1 3d6 NND(1)
5
Breaking Throw -2
-2 Grab One Limb;
HKA 1d6 (1d6
with STR), Disable; Target Falls
3
Legsweep
+2
-1 5d6 Strike,
Target Falls
4
Disarm
-1
+1 Disarm, 30 STR
4
Escape
+0 +0 35 STR Escape
3
Joint Lock
+0
-1 Grab One Limb,
30 to STR for
holding on
4
Joint Lock/
Throw
+1 +0 Grab One Limb;
2d6 NND(7);
Target Falls
5
Shime
-2
+0 Grab One Limb,
3d6 NND (2)
8
+2 Damage Classes (already added in)
5
Unimpressed: +10 PRE; Only Protects
Against Presence Attacks (-1)
0
12
Super-Disguise: Shape Shift (Sight Group
and Touch Group; any humanoid form),
Imitation, Reduced Endurance (0 END;
+), Persistent (disguise remains in place
even if shes Knocked Out, though it can
11
3
3
1
9
3
9
2
2
5
2
2
2
3
7
9
1
5
3
13
3
3
3
4
Perks
2 Deep Covers
Skills
Captivating Scent: +5 with Interaction Skills;
IIF (perfume; -), Only Works On Persons
Who Could Be Physically Attracted To Charade (-), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1
Hour (removed by washing it o, dunking
Charade in water, applying something else
that smells strongly, or the like; -)
Acting 16Bribery 12Combat Driving 13Computer Programming 8Conversation 15Cryptography 13Disguise 16Forgery (Documents) 12Gambling (Card Games) 12High Society 13Language: Arabic (uent conversation; English is Native)
Language: French (uent conversation)
Language: Japanese (uent conversation)
Lockpicking 13Mimicry 15Persuasion 15Riding 8SS: Pharmacology/Toxicology 15Security Systems 13Seduction 17Shadowing 12Sleight of Hand 13Stealth 13WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
89
CHARADE
PLOT SEEDS
Charade has heard one
too many times how
beautiful a female PC
(or DNPC) is and has
decided it cant go on
any longer. Her goal isnt
to kill the PC that
would be too easy but
to maim her. Can the
heroes gure out whats
going on in time to stop
her?
Theres a new star of
the Hudson City stage
an beautiful woman
with red hair. Could this
be Charade? And is she
really trying to nd a
new career, stepping out
of the shadows and into
the limelight?
Charade wants to be
able to change shape at
will and has found the
scientist to give her that
ability. The PCs get word
she plans to kidnap the
scientist. Can they stop
an already deadly foe
from becoming more
deadly?
91
FLEUR DE LISA
Cost Roll Notes
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
24 13- OCV: 6/DCV: 6
10 124
112
11- PER Roll 1116 13- ECV: 6
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
2
12-
Val
15
18
15
12
12
18
15
14
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
6
6
4
8
40
40
PD
3
ED
3
SPD
12
REC
4
END
5
STUN 12
Movement:
Total: 10 PD (4 rPD)
Total: 10 ED (4 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
75
Scent Powers: Multipower, 75-point reserve
3u
1) Mind Controlling Scents I: Mind
Control 10d6, NND (defense is Life
Support [Self-Contained Breathing or
appropriate Immunity]; +); Based On
CON (-1), Only To Control/Inict
Emotions (-), Reduced By Range (-) 7
3u
2) Mind Controlling Scents II: Mind
Control 6d6, NND (defense is Life
Support [Self-Contained Breathing or
appropriate Immunity]; +), Area Of
Eect (5 Radius; +1); Based On CON
(-1), Only To Control/Inict Emotions
(-), Reduced By Range (-)
4
4u
3) Allergic Reaction: Sight and Smell/
Taste Group Flash 5d6, NND (defense is
Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing
or appropriate Immunity]; +)
4
5u
4) Toxic Pollen: Drain CON 3d6, NND
(defense is Life Support [Self-Contained
Breathing or appropriate Immunity]; +),
Limited Range (12; +)
5
2u
5) Fill The Air With Pollens: Change
Environment 4 radius, -3 Sight Group
PER Rolls; Limited Range (12; -)
2
8
Armored Costume: Armor (4 PD/4 ED);
OIF (-)
0
5
Poison Immunity: Life Support ( Immunity:
phytotoxins)
0
9
10
Skills
+3 with Scent Powers
+2 DCV
20
3
3
2
2
3
3
2
3
5
3
FLEUR DE LISA
PLOT SEEDS
The pollens Fleur de
Lisas body secretes were
only the beginning:
over time, she becomes
more and more plantlike. As her body transforms, she also becomes
less and less human.
Her greed is replaced
by a desire to tear down
the city and let plants
rule once again, and
she embarks on a killing spree to achieve
this goal. Can the PCs
stop this new and more
deadly Fleur de Lisa?
Fleur de Lisa might not
have grandiose ambitions, but not every
criminal is willing to
settle for larceny. Guillotine and his terrorist
organization devise a
way to disseminate Lisas
pollen across the city
and plan to invoke rage
in the citizenry. Can the
PCs stop them before
Hudson City boils over
in riots?
Fleur de Lisa turns over
a new leaf and asks to
join the PCs team to
prove her good intentions. Can they trust the
former villain? Might
she have a romantic
interest in one of the
PCs? Or do the PCs
have something she
wants to steal?
93
GUILLOTINE
PLOT SEEDS
OMOR has decided
Guillotine is too bloodthirsty and sadistic even
for them. They leak
information concerning his whereabouts to
the PCs. Will the PCs
realize theyre being
used as pawns? And will
they nd the assassins
OMOR has dispatched
to kill Guillotine once
the PCs subdue him?
Guillotines father, Representative Talbot, is in
town. Guillotine decides
he wants his father dead.
Can the PCs stop him
from committing patricide?
A series of bombings
rock Hudson City. The
PCs track down Guillotine and capture him.
But he claims hes just
a patsy... that the real
bombers are agents for
the government. Could
this possibly be true...
and if so, how will the
PCs deal with the situation?
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
6
6
5
8
46
35
PD
3
ED
1
SPD
15
REC
0
END
0
STUN 0
Movement:
Cost
5
45
26
10
3
4
3
1
GUILLOTINE
Roll Notes
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8
141212- PER Roll 1211- ECV: 4
12- PRE Attack: 2d6
11Total: 10 PD (4 rPD)
Total: 10 ED (4 rED)
Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
Running: xx
Cost Powers
END
27
Right Guillotine Launcher: RKA 2d6, +2
Increased STUN Multiplier (+), Reduced
Endurance (0 END; +); OIF (-), Extra
Time (takes two Segments for a blade to
return after its red; -), No Knockback
(-), Will Not Work In A Strong Magnetic
Field (-)
0
5
Left Guillotine Launcher: Another
Guillotine Launcher
0
Martial Arts: Dirty Inghting
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
4
Disarm
-1
+1 Disarm, 25 STR
4
Kidney Blow -2
+0 HKA d6
(1d6+1 w/STR)
4
Low Blow
-1
+1 2d6 NND (1)
4
Punch/
Backhand
+0 +2 5d6 Strike
5
Roundhouse -2
+1 7d6 Strike
3
Throw
+0 +1 3d6 + vel/5,
Target Falls
9
Armored Costume: Armor (4 PD/4 ED);
OIF (-)
0
13
Can Take A Punch: Physical Damage
Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Requires A
CON Roll (-), STUN Only (-),
Character Must Be Aware Of Attack (-) 0
5
6
8
3
1
1
1
3
3
2
3
4
2
Perks
Contact: a prominent American
anarchist 14Contact: One Man, One Rule (French anarchist organization) 11Skills
+4 OCV with Guillotine Launchers
Bribery 12Demolitions 8Forgery (Documents) 8Language: French (basic conversation; English is Native)
Stealth 14Streetwise 12WF: Small Arms
Scholar
1) KS: Anarchism/Nihilism 142) KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist
2
2
3
2
1
1
1
2
World 123) KS: Political Philosophy 124) KS: World Politics 12Traveler
1) AK: Europe 122) CK: Amsterdam 113) CK: Berlin 114) CK: Hudson City 115) CK: Paris 12-
95
HOT ROD
PLOT SEEDS
A major Hudson City
car show starts soon,
and this years theme is
hot rods. Will the PCs
be able to stop Hot Rod
from making o with
the cars being exhibited?
In their quest to stop a
drug ring, the PCs track
the production of a new
methamphetamine to
Finch County but
Hot Rod rules the rural
location with an iron
st. Can they break his
hold on his territory and
stop the ow of meth
into the city? And what
do the regions biker
gangs think of the whole
situation?
The devil who owns Hot
Rods soul nally puts
his plan into motion.
Hot Rod and his goons
roar into Hudson City,
terrorizing other motorists and setting re
to everything in their
path. Theyve brought
Hell to the urban abyss
and especially Scarlet,
who nds herself at the
center of their attacks.
Can the PCs stop them
before Scarlet nally
snaps and crossed the
line?
PD
4
ED
4
SPD
17
REC
4
END
0
STUN 13
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Powers
END
25
Hell Of A Driver: Aid Vehicle
Characteristic 3d6, any Vehicle
Characteristic one at a time (+); Requires
A Combat Driving Roll (-)
0
8
Hell Of A Driver: Aid Running 2d6;
Only Works On Ground Vehicles (-1),
Requires A Combat Driving Roll (-)
0
23
Perks
Vehicle: 32 Ford Sedan (see below)
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
21
3
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Skills
+4 with Ground Movement, Usable By
Other (x8 Mass [i.e., a Size 4 or smaller
vehicle]; +1); Only For Wheeled Ground
Vehicle Character Is Driving (-2)
+4 with All Combat, Usable By Other
(x8 Mass [i.e., a Size 4 or smaller vehicle];
+1); Only For Wheeled Ground Vehicle
Character Is Driving (-2)
Analyze Driving Ability 13Combat Driving 16CK: Hudson City 14KS: Automobiles 14KS: Hudson City Underworld 14Mechanics 13Persuasion 13Seduction 13Stealth 14Streetwise 13TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles,
Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles
WF: Small Arms, Knives
150+ Disadvantages
10
Hunted: Scarlet 8- (As Pow, Capture)
20
Hunted: Hudson City Police Department
8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
20
Psychological Limitation: Impulsive Hothead (Very Common, Strong)
10
Rivalry: Professional (other drivers of vehicles; More Powerful [signicant group])
25
Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (devil
that won his soul) (Very Frequently, Severe)
15
Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Roderick
Deuce) (Frequently, Major)
Total Disadvantage Points: 250
Background/History: Theres a story told in Finch
County about when the Devil came to race. Out
along Route 23, a lonely stretch of two-lane highway that fell into disuse after the interstate went
through, there was a boarded-up drive-in called the
Red Top Diner. Just like they had for decades, the
young men of Finch County came in their hot rods
and gathered at the Red Top on Friday and Saturday nights, their big block engines lling the quiet
night with rumbles and roars. As the night wore on,
the drivers would race along a quarter-mile stretch
of Route 23. Mostly they only wagered pride, beer,
and money on the outcome, but sometimes the
races became more serious and pink slips changed
hands. One of these drivers was Roderick Deuce,
whose 1932 Ford Sedan had never lost not until
the Devil came to the Red Top.
For a native of Finch County, a rural place several counties over from the bright lights of Hudson
City, Rod had a lot of money. He worked as a courier
for the Hudson City crime lords, moving drugs and
other illicit goods from the city to the state line. Much
of his money went into his hot rod... and there wasnt
a faster car in Finch County, maybe not even in the
state. That night a faster car pulled into the Red Tops
gravel lot a blood red Model A detailed with yellow
and orange ames stretching from the front chrome
bumper to the raised-up read end but that car
came from nowhere in this world.
The Model As painted ames seemed to icker
and crackle in the headlights of the other cars. Blue
and black res ared from its dual exhaust pipes,
the chrome scorched burnt orange and black. Its
engine didnt so much rumble and roar, as groan
and moan with anguish, and the supercharger
gasped like the last breath of a dying man. The man
who stepped out of the car was tall and thin with
wavy black hair and a goatee. He was wearing red
leathers and snakeskin cowboy boots. He told the
assembled hot rodders he was looking for a race,
and it was Rod Deuce that took up his challenge.
What are we racing for? Rod asked.
Pink slips, the man answered. This car
against the pink slip for your soul.
Rod laughed, but his laughter caught in his
throat when he saw the man wasnt laughing with
him and when he saw the ames dancing in the
mans eyes, he knew this race was for real.
The two hot rods were bumper to bumper o the
line. Rods 32 Ford roared; the mans the Devils,
Rod now knew a Model A screamed. Out of the
97
Ground: 36/144
Swimming: 0/0
Skills
Superb Handling: +2 with Ground Movement
RHAPSODY
Val Char Cost Roll Notes
15 STR
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7
12 CON
4
1112 BODY 4
1115 INT
5
12- PER Roll 1221 EGO 22 13- ECV: 7
15 PRE
5
12- PRE Attack: 3d6
14 COM 2
126
6
4
7
34
35
PD
3
ED
4
SPD
10
REC
4
END
5
STUN 9
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running:
6/12
Cost Powers
END
31
The Power Of Music: Multipower, 62-point
reserve; all slots OAF (high-tech violin; -1)
3u
1) Lullaby: Ego Attack 5d6, Reduced
Endurance ( END; +); OAF (-1),
Visible (Sight and Hearing Groups; -)
2
2u
2) Entrancing Melody: Entangle 2d6,
2 DEF, BOECV (Mental Defense applies;
+1), Takes No Damage From Physical
Attacks (+), Works Against EGO, Not
STR (+), Reduced Endurance ( END;
+); OAF (-1), Cannot Form Barriers (-) 2
2u
3) Play A Jig: Mind Control 10d6,
Reduced Endurance ( END; +); OAF
(-1), Set Eect (only to make target dance;
-1), Visible (Sight and Hearing Groups; -) 2
2u
4) Out Of Tune: Hearing Group Flash
6d6, Area Of Eect (8 Radius; +1),
Reduced Endurance ( END; +);
OAF (-1), No Range (-)
2
2u
5) Rock n Roll: Drain BODY 3d6, Ranged
(+), Reduced Endurance ( END; +);
OAF (-1), Inanimate Objects Only (-1)
2
1u
6) The Frustrated Musician: HA +2d6;
OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
1
Martial Arts: Karate
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
4
Block
+2 +2 Block, Abort
4
Disarm
-1
+1 Disarm, 25 STR
4
Dodge
+0 +5 Dodge all
attacks, Abort
4
Knifehand Strike -2
+0 d6 HKA (1d6
with STR)
4
Punch/
Snap Kick
+0 +2 5d6 Strike
5
Side/Spin Kick -2
+1 7d6 Strike
8
Ear Plugs: Hearing Group Flash Defense (12
points); OIF (-)
3
10
Perks
Perfect Pitch
Follower: Professor Michael Uzark (adoring
fan and inventor of Rhapsodys violin; built
on 50 Base Points)
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Skills
+1 with The Power Of Music Multipower
+2 with Karate
Acrobatics 13Breakfall 13CK: Hudson City 11KS: Karate 11KS: Music 15PS: Violinist 15-
99
RHAPSODY
PLOT SEEDS
Professor Urzak gures
out a way to hijack
all the radio stations
in city and broadcast
Rhapsodys music across
the airwaves. Rhapsody
plans to play a nice
catchy tune one that
will make listeners get
up and dance, whether
they want to or not. As
she begins to play, cars
across the city start to
crash. Can the PCs prevent a wave of disasters,
then track Rhapsody to
her lair?
Its a bet Rhapsody
and Beatlemania agree
to see who can steal
more Beatles-related
memorabilia in a single
afternoon. Can the PCs
stop their joint crime
spree?
Professor Urzaks his
envy of Rhapsodys newfound musical ability
drives him over the deep
end. He subjects himself
to the same process that
turned Melody Malone
into Rhapsody. Now the
criminal duo, Rhapsody
and Rhythm, are terrorizing the city and
Rhythm is even madder
than his partner....
DEX 7#
CON 20#
BODY 0
INT
8
EGO 0
PRE 7*
COM -1
SCARAB
Roll
Notes
11-/17- Lift 100/6,400 kg;
2d6/8d6 [2/8]
11-/13- OCV: 3/5/DCV: 3/5
11-/151113PER Roll 1311ECV: 3
11-/13- PRE Attack: 2d6/4d6
11-
4 PD
2
Total: 14 PD (10 rPD)
4 ED
2
Total: 14 ED (10 rED)
2+2 SPD 13*
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
4 REC 0
30 END 5
20/30 STUN 10 Total Characteristics Cost: 88
*: OIF (armor; -)
#: OIF (armor; -), No Figured Characteristics (-)
Movement:
Running: 6/12
Leaping: 20/40
Cost Powers
END
13
Carapace Exo-Skeleton: Reduced Endurance
(0 END; +) for 40 STR; OIF (-)
0
27
Elytra-Mounted Weapons Array: Multipower,
40-point reserve; all slots OIF (-)
1u
1) The Deadly Poison Of The African
Bark Beetle: RKA d6, Penetrating (+),
Area Of Eect (One Hex Accurate; +);
OIF (-), 4 Charges (-1) plus Drain
BODY 1d6, Ranged (+), Area Of Eect
(One Hex Accurate; +); OIF (-),
Linked (-), RKA Must Do BODY (-),
4 Charges (-1)
[4]
2u
2) The Sticky Secretions Of The Boll
Weevil: Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF; OIF (-),
4 Charges (-1)
[4]
1u
3) The Bewildering Song Of The Greek
Lyre Beetle: Ego Blast 2d6, Area Of Eect
(5 Cone; +1); OIF (-), No Range (-),
2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn
each (-1)
[2cc]
1u
4) Insect Touch: Clinging (70 STR);
OIF (-)
0
7
Big Chitinous Gauntlets: HA +2d6;
Reduced Endurance (0 END; +); OIF
(-), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
20
Carapace: Armor (10 PD/10 ED); OIF (-) 0
7
Air Supply: Life Support (Self-Contained
Breathing); OIF (-)
0
13
Hindwing-Assisted Leaping: Leaping +13
(20 forward, 10 upward), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +); OIF (carapace; -)
0
4
Skills
+2 OCV with Big Chitinous Gauntlets
3
5
7
5
2
3
3
4
Bureaucratics 11-/13Electronics 14Inventor 15Paramedics 14PS: Scientist 11Security Systems 13Stealth 11-/13Survival (Tropical) 14-
3
2
2
2
2
2
6
3
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
Scientist
1) SS: Bacteriology/Virology 132) SS: Biochemistry 133) SS: Biology 134) SS: Botany 135) SS: Chemistry 136) SS: Entomology 177) SS: Pharmacology/Toxicology 148) SS: Zoology 13Traveler
1) AK: Africa 112) AK: Asia 113) AK: Europe 114) AK: North America 115) AK: South America 116) CK: Hudson City 13-
101
SCARAB
PLOT SEEDS
Scarab genetically engineer giant beetles and
unleashes them on the
unsuspecting city. (See
page 89 of The HERO
System Bestiary for
character sheets.) Can
the PCs stop the beetles
before someone gets
hurt?
What cockroaches lurk
in the bowels of Hudson
City? The Scarab
knows... and hes created
a device to call them out
of hiding. The ultrasonic
frequency generator
triggers a need for food
in the cockroaches, and
they eat unceasingly,
never satiated. Scarab
threatens to keep them
eating until people start
to starve to death...
unless the city pays a
ransom. Can the PCs
put an end to this evil
plot?
LeMastre Parks holding a grand opening
ceremony to dedicate its
new Buttery Garden,
complete with dancers
dressed as butteries
and other festivities.
Sounds like a perfect
target to the Scarab....
Personality/Motivation:
Scarab no longer sees himself as a part of a mankinds
world and no longer feels
a need to obey mankinds
laws, but he isnt so far gone
as to believe hes a beetle
(yet). Hes been exposed to a
different sort of world, one
he considers superior, and
he believes this insight into
the natural world gives him
the prerogative to do what
he wants. Do beetles follow
laws? No, so why should he?
Besides, whats a few dead
humans, more or less? Its
not as if theyre as important
as beetles....
In conversation, Scarab
mutters and mumbles he
rarely speaks with others
and has forgotten how to. He
has several nervous habits,
all of which are off-putting.
He scratches himself constantly, cracks his knuckles,
and clicks his teeth as if
they were mandibles, almost
seeming to bite off his words
when he finishes a sentence.
His primary motive for committing crimes is to obtain funding for his continued research into the nature of beetles.
Quote: Fool! What hope do your sts have against
my carapace?
Powers/Tactics: Scarabs powers stem from his
carapace, a composite mesh of kevlar, ceramics,
and steel. The carapace has an exo-skeleton that
increases his strength and other physical attributes; while operating, it clicks and whirs like
the chittering of some immense beetle. The back
of the carapace the elytra, or hardened forewings spread to reveal the weapons mounted
on their inner surface. The carapace has three
weapons, each based on chemicals produced by
beetles. The RKA is a rapid volley of small darts
coated with poison. The Entangle is a flurry of
small pellets that explode on contact, coating
the target in a rapidly hardening secretion. The
Ego Attack is the recorded song of the Greek lyre
beetle, amplified a thousand times and modulated specially to produce nausea and headaches
in the target the song plays from speakers
set in the elytra which have a short battery life.
Lastly, he can route his armors power to the
gauntlets and boots so that he can cling to sheer
walls with such force that it would take heavy
equipment to pull him free.
Scarab cannot fly, but his hindwings allow
him to make long leaps. In combat, he takes the
high ground, leaping from place to place as nec-
103
SERPENTINE
Cost Roll Notes
10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [4]
39 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8
20 136
128
13- PER Roll 138
12- ECV: 3
10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6
-1 11-
Val
20
23
20
13
18
14
20
8
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
8
6
5
10
40
35
PD
4
ED
2
SPD
17
REC
4
END
0
STUN 2
Movement:
Total: 14 PD (6 rPD)
Total: 12 ED (6 rED)
Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
Running: 9/18
Leaping: 12/24
Cost Powers
END
Martial Arts: Snake Kung Fu
Maneuver
OCV DCV Notes
4
Block
+2 +2 Block, Abort
4
Disarm
-1
+1 Disarm, 40 STR
4
Dodge
+0 +5 Dodge all
attacks, Abort
4
Escape
+0 +0 45 STR Escape
3
Grab
-1
-1 Grab, 40 STR for
holding on
5
Kick
-2
+1 10d6 Strike
4
Knifehand Strike -2
+0 HKA 1d6 (2d6
with STR)
4
Punch
+0 +2 8d6 Strike
3
Throw
+0 +1 6d6 +v/5; Target
Falls
4
Tien-hsueh
Strike
-1
+1 3d6 NND (1)
8
+2 Damage Classes (already added in)
2
Use Art with Sta, Three-Section Sta
10
Expert Martial Artist: Find Weakness 11with Knifehand Strike
0
18
Serpent Sta: Multipower, 37-point reserve,
all slots OAF (-1)
1u
1) Sta: HA +5d6; OAF (-1),
Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
1
1u
2) Three-Section Sta: HA +4d6; OAF
(-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-) plus
+2 OCV; OAF (-1), Only With Block
And Disarm (-) plus +1 Stretching,
Reduced Endurance (0 END; +); OAF
(-1), Always Direct (-), No Noncombat
Stretching (-), Only To Cause Damage
(-), No Velocity Damage (-)
1
12
Armored Bodysuit: Armor (6 PD/6 ED);
OIF (-)
0
6
Fast: Running +3 (9 total)
1
8
Good Leaper: Leaping +8 (12 forward,
6 upward)
1
2
Heightened Sense Of Smell: +2 PER with
Normal Smell
0
5
Snake Eyes: Infrared Perception
(Sight Group)
0
3
Snake Metabolism: Life Support
(Immunity to Ophidotoxins)
0
SERPENTINE
PLOT SEEDS
Cleopatra really has
clutched an asp to her
breast this time when
Serpentine begins to
muscle in on her territory. She tries to trick
the PCs into eliminating her rival will the
heroes gure out they
are pawns between the
two villains? And if so,
does it matter? Can they
aord to have Serpentine controlling a part
of the Hudson City vice
world?
A local zoologist has
created an device that
allows the wearer to
communicate with serpents and force them to
obey his will. Serpentine
steals the device. Now,
with a pack of pythons
and cobras at his beck
and call, goes on a crime
spree. Can the PCs stop
him?
When Serpentines
arms fall o, he begins
to worry. When his legs
grow together into one
long tail, he knows hes
in trouble but its
too late. Not only has
his body become more
snakelike, so has his
mind. The PCs have to
capture the new, and
even more savage Serpentine.
Talents
Combat Sense 13Simulate Death
2
6
Skills
+1 OCV with Tien-Hsueh Strike
+2 with Snake Kung Fu
3
4
3
3
1
3
3
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
5
3
3
7
Acrobatics 14Animal Handler (Reptiles)14Breakfall 14Combat Driving 14Computer Programming 8High Society 13Interrogation 13KS: The Espionage World 11KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist
World 11Lipreading 13Lockpicking 14SS: Herpetology 13SS: Ophidiology 13Security Systems 13Stealth 15Streetwise 14Tactics 13WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common
Martial Arts Weapons, Small Arms, ThreeSection Sta
105
Serpentine ghts as intelligently and tactically as youd
expect from a trained, experienced mercenary. Hes always
on the lookout for an advantage; he has no desire to ght
fair or behave honorably, he
wants to win! Ambushes, dirty
tricks, and low blows are his
specialties... but if it comes to
a stand-up ght, hes ready.
Running: 8/16
Swinging: 20/40
Skills
Superior Design: +2 with All Combat
Val
6
12
8
8
24
15
6
10
Char
STR
DEX
CON
BODY
INT
EGO
PRE
COM
2
2
3
2
20
15
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
POCKET WATCH
Cost Roll Notes
-4 10- Lift 50 kg; 1d6 HTH [1]
6
11- OCV: 4/DCV: 4
-4 11-4 1114 14- PER Roll 1410 12- ECV: 5
-4 10- PRE Attack: 1d6
0
111
0
8
0
2
0
Total: 2 PD (0 rPD)
Total: 2 ED (0 rED)
Phases: 4, 8, 12
Running: 6/12
Cost Perks
END
41
Vehicle: Tick-Tock, the Clockwork Man
(see above)
5
3
6
7
3
3
5
4
4
5
5
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
Talents
Eidetic Memory
Lightning Calculator
Speed Reading (100x)
Skills
Combat Driving 15-; Tick-Tock Man
Only (-)
Computer Programming 14Electronics 14Inventor 15KS: Clocks And Time Pieces 15Mimicry 14Mechanics 15PS: Clock Repair 16Systems Operation 14Scientist
1) SS: Computer Science 142) SS: Mathematics 143) SS: Metallurgy 144) SS: Physics 145) SS: Robotics 14-
107
TICK-TOCK
PLOT SEEDS
Eddie Gorsky, Ales
only friend, discovers
Tick-Tock and demands
that Ale make him a
suit of his own. Calling
himself Click-Clock, he
and Ale start a crime
spree in Hudson City.
Can the PCs stop two
Clockwork Men?
Card Shark kidnaps
Pocket Watch while hes
out as Tick-Tock. The
criminal mastermind
wants to put Pocket
Watchs genius to real
use committing real
crimes instead of playing games. Will Pocket
Watch become a true
villain under Card
Sharks tutelage, or can
the PCs rescue him
before that comes to
pass?
The front page of the
newspaper reads:
Strange robot saves
lives. Tick-Tock rescued
several people from a
burning building the
night before. Could the
strange and mysterious
Clockwork Man really
be a misunderstood
hero? And will the PCs
track him in down in an
attempt to nd out?
109
JOHNNYCOMELATELY
Char Cost Roll Notes
STR
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
DEX 42 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8
CON 10 12BODY 0
11INT
-2 11- PER Roll 11EGO -4 11- ECV: 3
PRE
0
11- PRE Attack: 2d6
COM 0
11-
6
6
4
8
30
27
PD
ED
SPD
REC
END
STUN
Movement:
3
3
6
4
0
0
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
Running: 6/12
Teleportation: 12/24
Cost Powers
END
15
Cant Block This: HA +3d6, Indirect
(always originates with Johnny, but can
strike target from any angle; +);
Hand-To-Hand Attack (-)
3
55
Stop-Time Boxing: Energy Blast 7d6,
Area Of Eect (6 Radius; +1), Selective
(+), Indirect (always originates with
Johnny, but can strike target from any
angle; +); Extra Time (Full Phase; -),
Limited Range (center of Area must be
within Johnnys Half Move using
Teleportation at Combat velocity; -)
9
24
Step Through Time: Teleportation 12,
Reduced Endurance ( END; +); Must
Pass Through Intervening Space (-)
1
15
Time Out: Healing STUN and END 2d6,
two Characteristics simultaneously (+);
Self Only (-), Extra Time (Full Phase; -) 3
6
27
21
13
2
3
2
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
Premonitions: Danger Sense (out of combat,
immediate vicinity)13Skills
Didnt See That One Coming, I Bet: +4 with
All Combat; Costs Endurance (-)
3
A Little To The Left: +4 DCV; Costs Endurance (-)
2
CK: Hudson City 11Streetwise 11WF: Knives, Handguns
150+ Disadvantages
15
Psychological Limitation: Must Tell Bad
Jokes And Cant Shut Up (Common, Strong)
15
Psychological Limitation: Greedy
(Common, Strong)
10
Reputation: two-bit loser with
superpowers, 1115
Social Limitation: Public Identity (Johnny
Walsh) (Frequently, Major)
5
Unluck 1d6
10
Vulnerability: x2 STUN from Time-based
Attacks (Uncommon)
30
Experience Points
Total Disadvantage Points: 250
Background/History: Johnny Walsh swears his
life would have been different if only the audience had laughed. He took one shot at being a
stand-up comedian. It was at the corner bar on
a Thursday when they had open mike night.
Opening with a Heres Johnny! a good
impersonation of Ed McMahon if ever there was
one, as far as he was concerned Johnny started
telling his jokes. At first the crowd ignored him,
then they stared at him. Johnny kept right on
telling jokes, repeating a couple hed heard the
night before on late night talkshows mixed with
some of his own material. The audience began to
boo, then they started throwing peanuts at him.
After the first peanut hit him in the head, Johnny
stepped down from the stage.
Later that night, he lurked in wait for the guy
whod thrown the peanut that hit him. Beating up
that guy felt good denitely better than being
booed at and stealing his wallet felt even better.
Johnny laughed all the way home and went back
to shoplifting, holding up convenience stores, and
snatching old ladies purses. To heck with them
anyhow if they dont got a sense of humor, he told
his friends.
Eventually, Johnny Walsh tried to move up to
the big leagues bank robbery, that was where
the money was at. He bought a ski mask and gun,
but he shouldve made sure his car had gas. He was
still trying to start it when the police arrived on the
scene. Sentenced to fteen years, Walsh started his
sentence at Stewartsburg Penitentiary. On the same
day, Johnny Franzetti started his sentence. The two
became fast friends and the rest his history.
Personality/Motivation: Johnny-Come-Lately fancies himself as the brains behind the Two Johnnies.
Johnny-On-The-Spot is too ighty for planning
with all his fast talk and speeding around. Its
Johnny-Come-Lately who decides what place to
rob and how to rob it. Not that theres much to the
decisionmaking process... usually it involves the
Two Johnnies coming home from some bar, passing a convenience store, and Johnny-Come-Lately
saying, Hey. Hold up. Lets rob that place.
Johnny-Come-Lately thinks the world has
done him wrong. The only time the world did right
by him was when he got his superpowers, but he
isnt grateful. After all, he deserved some respect
because of what went wrong with his life. If hed
been born rich or into a family with some Hol-
111
he wants in a 6 radius area
(his EB), though this really
tires him out. He can step
slightly out of time hes
still visible, but slightly blurry
and choose the best place
to stand to avoid an attack (+4
to DCV) or to hit his opponent (+4 with All Combat).
And when hes tired, he can
step outside of time to take a
breather (Healing).
In combat, JohnnyCome-Lately attempts to stay
6 from his opponent, then
Half Move Teleport and use
his HA or EB. If Grabbed or
Entangled, he teleports away;
if he cant Teleport, he puts
all his Levels into DCV in an
attempt to avoid getting hit.
Campaign Use: Johnny-ComeLately is a thug who can teleport, and a cowardly one at that.
The crimes he commits tend
toward robbery he walks
into a convenience store or
bank, demands the money, and
then teleports away. Defeating
him is only a matter of guring
out how to stop him from Teleporting to safety.
To make Johnny-ComeLately more powerful, give
him more time-related powers others a Drain
SPD to represent slowing down time around
someone, a Drain END to represent making the
target feel like hes been awake for days, and so
on. Furthermore, increase Johnny-Come-Latelys
PD and ED so he can take more hits. To make
him less powerful, remove his Time Out and
decrease his CSLs.
Johnny-Come-Lately would only Hunt someone he thinks has done him wrong... and even then,
he wouldnt be a persistent Hunter. Chances are, if
hes Hunting a PC, someone hired him to.
Appearance: Johnny-Come-Lately is a plain looking man, 510 with a medium build. He has shaggy
black hair and dark eyes. His expression is usually
hang-dog, except when hes telling a joke then he
wears lop-sided grin and squints his mean, beady
eyes at whomever hes talking to. His costume is a
black bodysuit with red boots, gloves, and belt. On
the bicep of each arm is a stylized JJ and he wears
a red domino mask.
JOHNNYONTHESPOT
Char Cost Roll Notes
STR
5
12- Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
DEX 51 14- OCV: 9/DCV: 9
CON 10 12BODY 0
11INT
-2 11- PER Roll 11EGO -4 11- ECV: 3
PRE
0
11- PRE Attack: 2d6
COM 0
11-
6
6
6
7
40
34
PD
3
ED
3
SPD
23
REC
2
END 10
STUN 8
Movement:
Total: 9 PD (3 rPD)
Total: 9 ED (3 rED)
Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
Cost Powers
END
20
Flurry Of Blows: HA +3d6, Autore
(5 shots; +), Reduced Endurance
( END; +); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-) 1
30
Cruising Speed: Running +10 (16 total),
Reduced Endurance (0 END; +)
0
68
Sprint: Running +34 (50 total)
7
6
Talents
Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
10
2
3
2
Skills
+5 with Running
CK: Hudson City 11Streetwise 11WF: Knives, Handguns
113
12
12
6
12
50
50
PD
7
ED
7
SPD
13
REC
4
END
0
STUN 9
Movement:
Total: 16 PD (4 rPD)
Total: 16 ED (4 rED)
Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
Running: 10/20
Leaping: 10/20
Gliding: 10/20
Cost Powers
END
17
Steel-Tipped Gloves: HKA 1d6
(3d6+1 with STR); OIF (-)
2
25
Witchy Grenades: Multipower, 50-point
reserve; all slots OAF (-1)
2u
1) Black Cat Grenades: Darkness to Sight
Group 5 radius; OAF (-1), Range Based
On STR (-), 4 Continuing Charges
lasting 1 Turn each (-)
[4cc]
2u
2) Demon Fire Grenades: RKA 2d6,
Explosion (+); OAF (-1), Range Based
On STR (-), 8 Charges (-)
[8]
2u
3) Witchs Screech Grenades: Energy Blast
3d6, NND (defense is Hearing Group
Flash Defense; +1), Area Of Eect (14
Line; +1); OAF (-1), No Range (-),
8 Charges (-)
[8]
8
Armored Costume: Armor (4 PD/4 ED)
5
Glider Cape: Gliding 10; OAF (-1)
0
8
Fast Runner: Runner +4 (10 total)
1
5
Strong Leaper: Leaping +5 (10 forward,
5 upward)
6
Steel-Tipped Gloves: Clinging (normal STR);
OIF (-), Cannot Resist Knockback (-)
0
10
8
Skills
+2 with HTH Combat
+1 with All Combat
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
3
2
3
2
3
3
3
2
Acrobatics 14Acting 13Breakfall 14Bureaucratics 13Disguise 13Interrogation 13Inventor 13AK: Red Hill 11CK: Hudson City 11KS: Hudson City Underworld 13KS: Hudson City Folklore 11Paramedics 13PS: University Professor 11Shadowing 13Stealth 14Scientist
1) SS: Bacteriology/Virology 13-
2
2
2
2
6
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
SS: Biochemistry 13SS: Biology 13SS: Botany 13SS: Chemistry 13SS: Genetics 17-
115
the hormones shes taken
have made her obsessed with
her experiments in short,
theyve driven her mad. Their
eects on her body are nothing short of amazing, but their
eects on her mind are horrifying. Where once she needed
to rationalize the harm she
caused others, telling herself
it was for the betterment of
the human race, shes now lost
all respect for human life and
kills out of hand. Shes come
to identify too closely with the
role of the witch shes taken
on. What was once merely
a cover for her activity has
now become a way of living
her life, and what used to be
research with a purpose has
turned into research for the
sake of seeing what she can do
to the human body.
Quote: Hello, my pretties...
arent you out late tonight?
ll her peers with disgust shed not only lied to subjects about the procedures they underwent, but had
also experimented on herself they soon discovered
shed been harvesting the raw hormones from living
children by posing as a doctor volunteering her time
at a local orphanage.
Doctor Croneneld didnt wait for her selfrighteous peers to make all these discoveries,
though. By the time the police knocked down the
door of her apartment, she was long gone.
She arrived in Hudson City two months ago
and decided it hadnt changed much since she used
to visit her grandparents in the summer as a child.
She set up shop in an abandoned warehouse in
Red Hill, where her grandparents had lived until
their death. She remembered the stories her grandmother had told about the Witch of Red Hill and
took on that identity, fashioning a costume to t the
role and tools to help her abduct the children she
needed for her experiments. She knew if anyone
told the authorities a witch was haunting the streets
of the neighborhood and abducting children, the
HCPD would never believe it.
Since then shes continued her experiments
and has made some amazing discoveries mostly
by observing the results of the synthesized hormone on her own body. Shes also hired out her talents as a geneticist and chemist to local crimelords
to raise money for equipment and supplies.
Personality/Motivation: Doctor Croneneld had
always been a driven and competitive woman, but
ADAPTING CHAMPIONS
UNIVERSE VILLAINS TO
HUDSON CITY POWERS
In addition to the villains in this chapter and
the last chapter, you can adapt appropriate villains
from the Champions Universe to your Hudson City
Powers game. Besides the ones suggested on page
???, here are a few more from Conquerors, Killers,
And Crooks and Millennium City:
Bluejay: Get rid of most (or all of her weapons)
in this subgenre, just being able to y is powerful enough! and Bluejay makes a good thief for
Powers campaigns.
Cateran: You may want to tone down Caterans
STR a bit, but otherwise she works fine for
Powers campaigns.
Fiacho: Most of the members of Eurostar are too
powerful to t the Powers subgenre well, but Fiacho
would make a good solo villain (you may want to
decrease the eectiveness of his gadgets a bit).
Freakshow: Who can resist the allure of a guy with
a Bag O Knives?
Hazard: Remove his jetpack, and perhaps his Find
Weakness Hazards enormous level of Luck will
be more than enough to even the odds against
Powers PCs.
Jade Phoenix: A great Powers villain for games that
feature lots of martial arts, or have a martial artist PC.
Lazer: Lazer also needs to lose his jetpack, but otherwise works pretty well as a deadly assassin, possibly one specializing in superhuman targets.
Mechassassin: If Lazer has any competition, its
Mechassassin.
117
INDEX
This Index covers the subjects
discussed in this book. It does not
list the villains (who are covered
under the summary tables in this
section), but does list NPC heroes.
Answer, the (NPC hero) ............24
Answerman Team.......................27
Archetypes ...................................10
Campaigning .........................14-20
Cape And Cowl Investigations
(NPC heroes) ............................76
Champions Universe villains,
using .................................. 72, 116
Character Creation .......................9
Code Versus Killing
(Psychological Limitation) ......13
Conception, character ..................9
Crimeghters ................................7
Crimes, appropriate ....................16
DarkAngel (NPC hero)..............28
DC:TAS ..........................................6
Deathtraps ...................................19
Deduction (Skill) ........................11
Disadvantages .............................13
Disguration of villains .............16
Elements of the subgenre ........ 6-7
Episodic campaigns ....................14
Escapes for villains .....................18
Follower (Perk) ...........................11
Gamemastering...........................14
Getaways ......................................18
Goons ...........................................17
Guns in the subgenre .................12
Happy endings ............................20
Hawkshaw (NPC hero) ..............77
Heavy-Hitter (NPC hero) ..........79
Hudson City
Knights........... 6, 10, 12, 17, 21-72
Hudson City
Powers ..........6, 10, 12, 17, 73-116
Hudson City, using ...............22, 74
Humor..........................................15
Introduction ..................................4
MARS units .................................74
Mendez, Flora..............................76
Millennium City .........................74
Nemesis villains ..........................16
Perks .............................................11
Personalities ................................10
Plausibility .....................................7
Point totals ...................................10
Police (in HCP games) ...............74
Powers ..........................................12
PRIMUS.......................................74
Problem-solving .........................19
Realism ..........................................7
Reforming villains ......................15
Resource Points...........................12
Roleplaying elements ...................7
Running adventures ...................18
Scarlet (NPC hero) .....................81
Secret Identity
118
Master
PowerVillain Mercenary hungry Technology Theme
Goal
Greedy
Loner
X
X
X
X
X
X
-
X
X
-
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
-
X
-
X
X
-
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
-
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
-
X
X
X
-
X
X
-
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Thief
Violent
Weird
Points
Page
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
223
200
160
204
200
190
299
281
190
306
200
200
267
264
307
234
34
36
39
41
43
46
48
51
53
55
57
59
61
64
67
71
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
-
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
220
315
417
278
250
255
238
250
327
235
130
250
250
346
84
86
88
91
94
96
98
101
103
106
106
110
112
114
DEX
24
28
20
18
25
23
20
15
23
17
12
24
27
27
NOTES
Attacks
#: A Normal Damage attack.
(#): A Killing Damage attack
AE: Area Of Effect
DEX
15
19
18
15
15
15
20
23
10
15
14
18
18
20
12
18
BODY
12
20
10
12
15
10
12
10
13
20
8
10
10
15
BODY
15
10
10
10
12
12
15
12
10
12
10
20
10
13
15
12
PRE
10
25
15
15
13
20
15
20
20
6
10
10
20
PRE
20
15
15
10
12
10
20
15
10
15
15
20
15
15
20
15
AF: Autofire
Ego: Ego Attack
EX: Explosion
ISM: Increased STUN Multiplier
CON
15
30
15
15
23
12
12
30
20
8
15
15
25
CON
20
15
15
12
12
15
15
14
10
15
13
20
15
18
20
15
PD/rPD
9/3
20/1
5/0
10/4
10/4
9/3
9/3
14/10
14/6
15/15
2/0
9/3
9/3
16/4
PD/rPD
11/3
11/3
9/3
11/4
8/3
10/3
9/3
10/4
2/0
10/3
4/0
12/2
8/3
11/3
11/3
9/3
SPD
4
6
4
4
5
5
4
4
5
3
3
4
6
6
SPD
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
4
2
3
3
4
4
5
4
3
REC
8
16
6
8
8
6
7
4
10
3
8
7
12
REC
8
7
5
4
4
6
8
6
4
6
5
10
7
8
10
6
STUN
40
60
30
40
35
35
35
30
35
15
26
34
50
STUN
50
30
28
30
24
31
40
35
20
40
25
51
30
40
50
30
ED/rED
11/3
18/1
5/0
10/4
10/4
9/3
9/3
14/10
12/6
15/15
2/0
9/3
9/3
16/4
ED/rED
11/3
9/3
8/3
9/4
8/3
10/3
9/3
10/4
2/0
10/3
3/0
8/2
8/3
10/3
11/3
9/3
DCV
8
9
7
6
8
8
7
5
8
6
4
8
9
9
DCV
5
6
6
5
5
5
7
8
3
5
5
6
6
7
4
6
MOVE
6
11, {15}
6
6
6
6
6
6, {21}
9, {12}
8, !20!
6
6, !12!
16, 50
10, {10}, !10!
MOVE
8 {6}
6
6
6
6
6
8
9, {6}, !15!
6
6
6
10
6
8, !121, !10!
6
6
Movement
#: Running (ground movement)
(#): Swimming (listed if faster than 2)
[#]: Flight
OCV
8
9
7
6
8
8
7
5
8
6
4
8
9
9
OCV
5
6
6
5
5
5
7
8
3
5
5
6
6
7
4
6
Page
34
36
39
41
43
46
48
51
53
55
57
59
61
64
67
71
Attacks
Page
(1d6), (d6) AE
84
8d6, (2d6)%
86
5d6 (Jujutsu), weapons
88
MC 10d6, MC 6d6 AE
91
(2d6) +2 ISM, 7d6 (DInfighting) 94
2d6
96
Ego 5d6, Entangle 2d6, MC 10d6 98
8d6, (d6) AE Pen, Entangle 4d6 101
10d6, (1d6)% (Kung Fu)
103
(2d6)%, 8d6
106
1d6
106
6d6 Indirect, 7d6 AE
110
6d6 AF
112
(1d6)%, (2d6) EX, 3d6 NND AE 114
Attacks
8d6 (Wrestling)
6d6 (Karate)
7d6, 3d6 NND, Flash 7d6, (1d6)
(1d6), Flash 6d6
2d6 NND, Hearing Flash 4d6
7d6 (Karate)
Entangle 4d6 BOECV, 6d6
8d6, (d6)%, 3d6 NND
2d6
(2d6) AF, 6d6
2d6
9d6
4d6 NND, 8d6, (2d6)
2d6 NND, 6d6
10d6 (Boxing)
3d6
The following table provides basic information about all the villains described in this book for easy reference. All characters are listed in alphabetical order, without regard for which
chapter they appear in. The Attacks column lists only the characters most common or prominent attacks, since most villains have too many ways to attack to list them all. See the end of
the table for an explanation of the notation used.