Hero Force Giant Size Hero Special
Hero Force Giant Size Hero Special
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           expanded origins                                 produced or found at great expense. Examples are
                                                            glowing meteors, a specific magic spell or a type of
                                                            penguin. Acquiring one can be the point of a super
                               ALIENS                       villain’s plot and there is usually some clue an enemy
Aliens can be from outer space or represent non-            is planning to use one. A purse-snatcher isn’t going to
humans from lost civilizations on Earth such as water       whip out an ingot of Destructium (pat. pend.) to defeat
breathing Atlanteans. Aliens often have powers to           Impervious Man. Shielding against a rare weakness is
survive in a different environment. Mermen would            difficult requiring huge lead shields or a specific (one
have Swimming and other powers that are useful              shot use) charm or exotic penguin repellent.
underwater. Because they are aliens, they possess
vulnerabilities to things normal humans can ignore                                  CONSTRUCTS
such as flames or glowing green rocks. For example,
Mermen can’t breathe air for very long and                  Constructs are synthetically created beings. They
must get wet fairly often.                                               are mechanical: robots and androids
                                                                             with artificial intelligence. Constructs
As a variation, an alien (even a
                                                                            are immune to diseases and poisons,
Gadgeteer or Vigilante) may have
                                                                            though hacking and computer
an extra Universal Power for seven
                                                                             viruses can hurt them. Constructs
powers maximum instead of the
                                                                              with any level of invulnerability or
three extra skill levels.
                                                                                armor can operate in vacuum or
Aliens have special                                                              underwater with no problems.
weaknesses. Bullets may                                                            Healing and Life Drain do not
bounce off their chests but a                                                       work on them. Electrical,
glowing rock may do them in.                                                        magnetic and water-based
The more common the                                                                 powers get a +1 to target
weakness, the less damage it                                                        them. The referee has to decide
does. The referee and player                                                        if Mental Control and Mind
should work out an appropriate                                                     Blast work on them and if they
vulnerability. A fairly common                                                  can choose these powers.
weakness does 1D3 BLOOD (or 1D6
Umph if you have the 1PG Companion)                                            DIVINE/IMMORTAL
per round, uncommon weaknesses do
                                                                            Divine and immortal beings are
1D6 Blood per round and rare
                                                                             creatures of magic. All of them can
weaknesses do 1D6 BLOOD per round and give a –3
                                                                             channel belief into raw power. A
to all Control rolls.
                                                            divine or immortal can channel once an adventure.
Common weaknesses will come up several times in             When he channels, he can raise his stats by points
an adventure. Examples are sunlight, fire and having        equal to his FAME/INFAMY. He can divide these
to breathe water. The weakness can be avoided if you        points among his stats any way he chooses and the
plan ahead (work nights or underground during the           effects last 1D6 rounds. When the channeling ends,
day, put out the fire or simply return to the water every   he is stunned for 1D6 rounds and can only make
hour or so.                                                 defensive rolls.
Living Weapon: The character deals extra damage          Animal Familiar: The hero can mentally see through
in unarmed combat making him able to take on many        a chosen animal or use any of its other senses.
super heroes. The character deals +3 BLOOD at            The animal is not controlled (you need Animal
Power Level 1, +6 BLOOD at Power Level 2 and +9          Communication and Control for that. The character
BLOOD at Power Level 3. The character adds his           can see thorough an animal up to BRAINS X 100
MIGHT to this damage.                                    meters at Power Level 1, BRAINS X 1000 meters
                                                         at Power Level 2 and 10 kilometers X BRAINS at
                                                         Power Level 3. The character is in a trance when
                         ANIMALIST                       using a familiar and only aware of his immediate
 +1 COOL, Control, Endurance, Animalist Powers           surroundings.
The Animalist is a type of Elementalist who can
communicate and control animal life. They might be
                                                          small objects around and give targets a –1 to actions.
                            CYBORG                        At Power Level 2, he can blow people over unless
  +1 MIGHT, Brawling, Technical Knowledge,                they make a MIGHT roll. At Power Level 3, he can
  Cyborg Powers                                           push objects as if he has Super Strength. The strength
“Cyborg” is short for cybernetic organism. A cyborg       of the air blast equals his MIGHT times 5.
has had parts of his body damaged and replaced with
mechanical prosthetics. Some cyborgs may just be a        Super Stamina: The character can withstand
brain in a robot body. Most are at least half organic.    incredible amounts of damage. At Power Level 1,
The Cyborg is a type of Gadgeteer. In this case, the      he has X2 BLOOD. At Power Level 2, he has X5
character IS the gadget. Cyborgs can have Universal       BLOOD. At Power Level 3, he has X10 BLOOD.
Powers due to their reconstruction and might specify      Shockwave: The character can create powerful
that weapons they buy are mounted on their limbs.         vibrations by stomping the ground or slamming his
Their parts can be chrome and shiny or look almost                 fists together. This reduces the BRAINS of
human.                                                               his opponent by one for determining
Robotic Replacement: The character has his internal                   initiative. The effect lasts 1D3 rounds at
organs reinforced and armored giving +3 BLOOD at                                  Power Level 1, 1D6 rounds at
Power Level 1, +6 BLOOD at Power Level 2 and                                      Power Level 2 and 1D6+3
+9 at Power level 3.                                                                rounds at Power Level 3.
VIGILANTE POWERS
Vigilantes use a combination of training and cutting
edge gadgets and weapons to fight crime.
Gas Bombs: The character has one of these per level
of Control. Gas Bombs stun a character for five turns
per level. Characters can make a GUILE roll to hold
their breath.
Throwing Blades: The hero can throw a number
of blades or micro bombs or darts to great effect. At
Power Level 1, the hero can throw 1D3 blades, at
Power Level 2, the hero can throw 1D6 blades and at
Power Level 3, he can throw 1D6+3. Each blade does
           OPTIONAL RULES
You don’t have to read a lot of comics to realize
                                                             from super strong characters, is still deducted from
                                                             Umph. A character with Super Strength does damage
                                                             directly to the BLOOD of characters without Super
there are different levels of realism and power levels       Strength.
in different series. For example, guns are still quite
lethal in most stories about Vigilantes. In a story with     Recovery from a KO: a character remains
Blasters flying around in colorful costumes, they lose       unconscious for 1D6 rounds. They regain
some of their bite (“Arggh! He clipped me!”). The            consciousness but lose half their Umph score (round
following rules reflect different tastes in story telling.   Down). If they are knocked out again, they return with
Use some, none, or all of them but be sure your              a quarter of their original Umph. If they get knocked
players know what rules you’re using beforehand.             out again, the damage is serious and the character is
                                                             either out of the game or borderline comatose. A full
BRAWLING                                                     night’s sleep returns all Umph.
1PG combat tends to be deadly and even a few
punches can kill a character. Although this is true          Additional Realism: a human(oid) body can
to life, superheroes are made of tougher stuff and           withstand only so much before it begins to become
regularly slug it out and sustain ridiculous amounts         impaired. After the recovery from the first knockout,
of damage. Using the Brawling rules can recreate this        reduce a character’s BRAINS attribute by ‘1’. This
flavor.                                                      is a representation of ‘punch drunk’. If this reduces a
                                                             character’s BRAINS to 0, he needs medical attention
Attacks and Damage: in order to deliver non-lethal           quickly, as he is about to go into a coma. Assuming
damage, referees may chose to add a derived attribute        that a character can get knocked out a second time,
called Umph. Umph is determined by a character’s             his BRAINS attribute is reduced by another point and
MIGHT and Brawling skill. Add these two together             both MIGHT and GUILE are reduced by 1. If he’s
and multiply the result by five. For example Dr.             still standing the third time is the charm. BRAINS is
Bones has MIGHT 2 and Brawling 2. His Umph                   reduced by another 1 and they’re headed for coma-
rating is 20 ((2+2)x5). Umph functions as a BLOOD            land as no attribute can be higher than 3.
“buffer”. Whatever damage is delivered to a character
from punches, kicks and other damage the referee             Recovery from a Severe Beating: This is only used
determines to be non-lethal, the damage is removed           in conjunction with the Additional Realism optional
from Umph first before the damage starts to carry            rule above. Umph is returned with a full night’s sleep,
over into BLOOD points. Yes this means you have to           but characteristic damage heals at a rate of 1 point per
track lethal and non-lethal damage separately. That          week.
is the price of more complexity in the system - more
bookkeeping. When a character’s Umph hits zero,              Heavy Lifter: The basic rules allow a character with
they are knocked out. Damage inflicted past this point       Super Strength to lift a number of tons equal to their
comes from BLOOD.                                            MIGHT. This is a maximum of 30 tons. What about
                                                             comics with supers throwing tanks around? Allow
A referee could use Umph for damage that a                   characters with Super Strength to make a Control roll
character’s powers would reduce but not eliminate.           and multiply their lifting capacity by the number of
For example a character with Fire Elemental powers           points they made the roll by. A character who could lift
might take Umph damage from an explosion. The                20 tons who makes a control roll by 2 would be able to
concussion of the blast would hurt but not the heat.         lift 40 tons.
The player and referee should work this out in
advance.                                                     Limited Invulnerability: Invulnerability and
                                                             Gadgeteer Armor are no longer complete protection.
Characters with Super Strength make the most of this         Power Level 1 gives 10 AV. Power Level 2 halves any
rule. Instead of figuring their Umph as (MIGHT +             damage that exceeds 10 and Power Level 3 quarters
Brawling) x5, their Umph is their adjusted MIGHT             remaining damage.
x5. A character with MIGHT 2 and Super Strength at
Power Level 2 would have an adjusted MIGHT of 10             Limited Integral Weapons: Integrated Weapons are
and 50 Umph. Damage they receive in brawling, even           pretty nasty. To keep Gadgeteers from just standing
and blasting, Integrated Weapons must cool down and       Hidden Strength - By sacrificing a COOL point the
recharge etc. Integrated Weapons can be fired at half     hero can regain 1D3 BLOOD.
damage every turn.
                                                          Combat Moves - The hero is especially alert. His
Targeting: Sometimes a super hero wants to hit a          BRAINS stat is treated as 1 greater for determining
specific location, a gadget held in a villain’s hand or   initiative.
a weak spot in a giant robot’s armor. Trying to hit
an arm is at –2, a hand is at a –3 and the head is at     Calling Card - The hero has an unnerving presence.
–4. Hitting the head causes an additional 4 damage.       His laugh, appearance or even shadow can frighten
Targeting can also be used to bypass armor. By            henchmen allowing him to frighten away henchmen
spending one round to aim and taking a –3 to his roll,    by making a roll against his Fame/Infamy. He chases
a character can halve a target’s armor for his next       one henchman off for every point he makes the roll by.
attack. This is not cumulative with the Mastermind’s      Taunt- The hero can be incredibly annoying. If he
Analyzing power.                                          spends a round just busting the bad guy’s shoes, he
Tank Busting: Strangely enough, normal humans             can make a COOL vs. COOL roll (don’t add FATE
often survive attacks from supers that destroy heavy      to either roll). If he succeeds AND the villain didn’t
machinery and vehicles. If you’re using the 1PG           hit him that round, he’s goaded the villain into doing
Companion, consider superpowers to be ERA 8 for           something exceptionally stupid (like standing on the
purposes of damaging vehicles. For example, a super       spot marked ‘X’, setting himself up for a surprise
hero with 10 AV from Invulnerability would be 3           attack doing extra damage or blasting his loyal
AV vs. a modern tank gun (ERA 6). An integrated           lieutenant.) The referee has the final say on the exact
weapon that does 20 damage would do 4DMG against          results.
that same tank. Note that in the comics many secret
organizations do have ERA 7 gear and alien invaders
might have ERA 7 or 8 equipment.
STUNTS
The referee may allow stunts in his game. A stunt
costs a character point during character creation and
a character can start with two stunts. Stunts may be
bought afterward for three points each.
Robin Mendoza is the great niece of the pulp-era            In costume, the Mink is one of the best martial artists
heroine, The Silk Veil. As the Mink, she is a member        around, able to hold her own against low powered
of the New Victory Force. She was an industrial spy         superhuman opponents. She’s fought Bomber to a
using her looks and charisma to get secrets. When           stalemate, which she views as an accomplishment
she heard the plot to rob Jordan Colbert’s workshop         even if no one else does.
and terminate him, she created the Mink identity to         Mink (Superhero/ Training/ Vigilante)
stop the plot without losing her reputation as a neutral
party. She failed to stop the fight that cost Colbert his   MIGHT 3/ Athletics 1, Brawling 2; LOOKS 3/
life and had no hard evidence. She trained intensively      Charisma 1, Fashion 1; GUILE 2/ Awareness 2,
for nearly a year before becoming the Mink again            Piloting –1, Stealth 2, Thievery 1; BRAINS 2/ Control
to infiltrate Omnitech. She discovered the prototype        2, General Knowledge 1, Sciences –1, Technical
android they were working on from Colbert’s research        Knowledge –1; FAME 3; BLOOD 20.
and accidentally activated it, creating the Black Nova.        Superpowers: Martial Artist, Armor 3 AV, Stealth
                                                            Suit 2 +5 BLOOD in sneak attack/+2 Stealth.,
After these failures, Robin became a thief, having          Throwing blades (1D3 2 damage each). Mink can use
used her finances on her training and equipment, but        the Piercing Attack stunt with her throwing blades and
concentrated on jewels and easily fenced merchandise.       Danger Sense stunt.
After a few weeks, Magnoman brought her in when
she tried to rob the Victory Mutual Bank. Magnoman
thought she was more than a thief and attempted to get
her parole but failed.
After a year in jail, Magnoman appeared to ask for
her help. A Dr. Felsten claimed to have a device
that neutralized superpowers and criminal traits.
Felsten insisted that powers made a person more
reckless, less inhibited and contributed to criminal
behavior. Magnoman and the police wanted her to go
undercover as a patient. Robin agreed.
When she got to the hospital, she discovered Felsten
was actually Magnoman’s nemesis, Magnattack, who
used the device to mind control his patients. She got
word to Magnoman and he and the police staged a
raid. Magnattack got away in the fighting but all the
patients were freed and returned to normal with data
King Valor                                                  (no attack allowed). Note: Troll shatters when he
Valor is the king of Atlantis, the underwater               loses all BLOOD but his regeneration power lets
civilization. Atlantis is very wary about contact with      him be reborn from a single shard. In sunlight troll’s
the surface world. Valor is a progressive leader and        regeneration does not work and he is at –1 to MIGHT.
has established an Atlantean embassy in Victory City.
There appear to be several races of Atlanteans and                          NORTH & SOUTH ARGENT
several other less extensive undersea nations.              The borough of Argent is laid out on the Northern
King Valor’s father, Victor, was a despot who attacked      peninsula of Victory Bay. Early settlers built a wall
the surface world several times. After his last invasion,   across the peninsula for defense. The wall divided
the people rebelled and exiled Victor, replacing him        the borough into North and South Argent. North of
with Valor. Valor’s rule is not always secure. In spite     the wall were rich, large farms while South was a
of this, he has aided the surface world, chiefly during     small town of tradespeople. Today, Pike Street divides
the last Nanite Invasion. The Atlanteans viewed this        Argent into the affluent North and working class South
alien race as a threat. Valor is the most powerful          sections.
mentalist of a race of mentalists.                          The heroes in Argent are grouped into North and
King Valor (Superhero/ Alien/ Animalist)                    South camps and they do not get along well. In fact,
                                                            they often will brawl. Most of the North Argent
MIGHT 3/ Athletics 1, Brawling 2, Endurance 1;
                                                            heroes are members of Victory Force, founded by
LOOKS 3/ Charisma 2; GUILE 2/ Awareness 2,
                                                            the first Hyper-Man. The South Argent heroes are
Piloting 1; BRAINS 3/ Control 2, General Knowledge
                                                            not organized into formal teams but partner up as
-1, Sciences 1, Technical Knowledge 1; FAME 4;
                                                            circumstances demand. One thing they do cooperate
BLOOD 22.
                                                            on is chasing the North Argent heroes off their turf.
    Superpowers: Swimming (12 meters per round
                                                            Criminals have recently begun exploiting this by
MIGHT 5 and AV 2 out of water, +2 to dodge or
                                                            fleeing from one section of Argent to the other when
escape underwater), Animal Communication and
                                                            heroes are chasing them.
Control (3 kilometers, sea creatures), Sonic Blast
(GUILE roll or target is stunned for 5 turns)               As a result of the infighting, police look on most
    Stunts: Charging Attack, Combat Moves, Danger           heroes in Argent with annoyance.
Sense stunt.
    Weakness: Valor needs to immerse himself in water       Pike Street and Media Row
at least once per day or he begins to suffer 1D3 Blood      Pike Street is also known as Media Row. Most of
per minute.                                                 the newspapers in the city as well as the television
                                                            stations are clustered here. The Lamb Media building
                                                            dominates the end of the row.
Troll
The Troll was a henchman of Mr. Punch (see Funeral          Media Row suffers from many supervillain attacks.
for a Marionette). He is an animated stony statue with      Up and coming villains know that any crimes here
incredible strength. He was trapped in drying cement        make the news immediately. Fortunately, a lot of
by the mystery men of the ‘30s and slept as part of a       young superheroes hang around to make a reputation
building for 70 years. When a giant robot demolished        beating up new villains.
the building a few years ago, he woke up and has            Media Row also marks the boundary between North
given local heroes a pain ever since.                       and South Argent. One of the few remaining old style
Troll (Supervillain/ Alien/ Blaster)                        ‘el’ trains in the city runs along Pike Street and ends
                                                            at Lamb Media. It runs into the rest of the city but
MIGHT 3/ Athletics 1, Brawling 3, Endurance                 goes underground at the Riverside Station, a huge
1; LOOKS 1; GUILE 2/ Awareness 2, Stealth 1;                sprawling rail terminal for many interstate trains as
BRAINS 2/ Control 2, General Knowledge -1; FAME             well as locals.
4; BLOOD 30.
   Superpowers: Super Strength 3 (MIGHT 30),                Lamb Media
Invulnerability 1 (AV 10), Regenerate 1D6 per round         David Lamb was the first Hyper-Man. He was a
mutation with super speed whose powers manifested         nonferrous metals but must make a Control –3, Going
in his late thirties. He used his powers to further his   All Out.
news career for several years and eventually bought
his own cablevision station. He turned it into a super
hero news channel. David retired after his powers
                                                          Blastoff
                                                          Identity: Lauren Hinckley
began taking their toll on his body. He was and is
hugely successful because of his inside knowledge and     Lauren is a senior at Victory University. She
today he runs a huge media empire and can turn public     developed her powers spontaneously after a car
opinion for or against any super hero. Lamb created       accident last year. Lauren is a Phys. Ed. Major and
Victory Force and is against the South Argent heroes.     always lived an active life. Before she developed
But he tries to appear neutral to maintain journalistic   her powers, she was a track star. Now, she feels her
integrity. This doesn’t fool many super heroes or         abilities make it unfair for her to compete. She is
villains.                                                 studying to be a physical therapist.
                                                          She recently created Blastoff in case the city needed
Magnoman                                                  a back up hero. Blastoff was soon needed to rescue
Identity: Gordon Emmett                                   people from a burning building. Lauren liked being
                                                          able to help and began patrolling. She’s performed
Gordon Emmett was an engineer who worked on the
                                                          several rescues and made a few arrests since then.
superconductor grid under Victory City. Gordon used
                                                          Mangoman has even approached her to join Victory
municipal equipment to perform his own experiments
                                                          Force. Lauren has often gotten advice from Bomber
in an underground substation. One night, a group
                                                          (some of it good). Mink dislikes her because of this.
of crooks broke into the station to steal valuable
superconductor cables and captured Gordon. Their          Blastoff (Superhero/ Mutant/ Blaster)
leader decided to overload Gordon’s equipment             MIGHT 3/ Athletics 2, Shooting 2; LOOKS 3/
and cause an explosion to hide their robbery. The         Charisma 1; GUILE 1/ Stealth 1; BRAINS 2/ Control
equipment did overload but, instead of exploding,         3; FAME 2; BLOOD 16/ 18.
it created an electromagnetic field that gave Gordon         Superpowers: Flight 3 (Orbital); Blast 2
magnetic powers. He quickly used them to find the            Stunts: Charging Attack, Going All Out, Digging
crooks and turn their car into a cage. He kept in the     Deep and Piercing attack.
shadows while doing this and fashioned a costume
when he got home to hide his identity.
Unfortunately, one of the crooks was also caught in
the fringes of the magnetic bubble. He developed
similar magnetic powers and became Magnattack. He
quickly broke jail and remains at large.
Since then, Gordon has formed Victory Force, a
nationally famous super team and helped rehabilitate
the Mink.
Magnoman (Superhero/ Experiment/ Elemental)
MIGHT 2/ Athletics 1, Shooting 2; LOOKS 2; GUILE
2/ Stealth 2; BRAINS 2/ Control 2, Science 2; FAME
3; BLOOD 18.
   Superpowers: Flight (20 meters per round),
Elemental Earth 3. Limit: Magnoman’s powers
only work on ferrous material. He has flung metal
missiles (12 damage) and made metal barriers (take 30
BLOOD damage.
   Stunts: Metal Manipulation: Magnoman can move
Magnattack                                                Manticore (Supervillain/ Alien/ Animalist)
Identity: Victor Pelham
                                                          MIGHT 3/ Athletics 2, Brawling 2, Endurance 3;
Victor was a crook with some brains who received his      LOOKS 3/ Fashion 2; GUILE 3/ Stealth 3, Thievery 2;
powers in the same way as Magnoman (see above). As        BRAINS 2/ Control 2, General Knowledge 2; FAME
Magnattack, he uses those powers for gain. Vic is         2; BLOOD 28.
obsessed with killing Magnoman and has begun                 Superpowers: Super Strength (MIGHT 6),
recruiting villains for Terror Force. Victor tries to     Metamorphic: Claws and fangs (6 damage + MIGHT),
mimic a twisted version of everything he sees             Leaping (30 meters), Regenerate 1D3. When
Magnoman do.                                              transformed, Manticore also possesses a prehensile tail
                                                          with a poison barb (6 damage. Poison does 1D3 per
Magnattack (Supervillain/ Experiment/ Elemental)
                                                          round for 6 rounds).
MIGHT 2/ Athletics 1, Shooting 2; LOOKS 3; GUILE
3/ Stealth 2, Thievery 1; BRAINS 2/ Control 2; FAME
3; BLOOD 18.
   Superpowers: Flight (20 meters per round),
Elemental Earth 3. Limit: Magnoman’s powers only
work on ferrous material. He has flung metal missiles
(12 damage) and made metal barriers (take 30
BLOOD damage;
   Stunts: Combat Moves and Taunt.
Manticore
Identity: Gordon Fitzroy
Gordon Fitzroy led a privileged life and never had to
work a day in his life. The Fitzroys were known for
their money and excesses. Gordon had some idea of
the wild parties his family held growing up. When he
reached adolescence, he learned just how wild.
The Fitzroys were shapeshifters, manticores. They had
partied across Europe and the Near East for hundreds
of years, killing on a whim. When he became fourteen,
Gordon found he could change into a clawed killing
machine. Around the same time, Interpol raided one of
the Fitzroy parties. The resulting massacre of police
officers brought every European superhero down on
the family and, within a year, everyone but Gordon
was jailed. There is some evidence Gordon tipped the
police about the party and betrayed a number of his
relatives. At present, he is the only manticore known
to be at large.
Manticore is a sadist who enjoys the good life. He has
tortured rich people to turn over jewels and to empty
bank accounts. He has too short an attention span to be
an epic villain. He came to Victory City a year ago and
maintains several safe houses and identities. So far,
he’s avoided super heroes though he tangled with
Vengeance and Mink.
                                                            the last century, many superheroes were honored with
                           STEELTOWN                        statues. The park is off the Greenway Mall. Local
Steeltown used to be called Greenville. It was a small      legends say that the park has a buried treasure, jewels
town and market for local farmers. In the 1800’s it         stolen from the Mall in 1930. The thief was getting
became industrialized and produced steel and machine        away when the original Red Masque shot him. Dying,
parts. The old Market became the Greenway Mall.             he hid the loot somewhere in the park and his ghost
Since the Depression, Steeltown has steadily lost           now haunts the paths seeking the treasure.
industry but replaced it with commercial districts.
                                                            In addition to conventional statues, there is a large
Though times are not prosperous, the people get by.
                                                            black obelisk in the center of Hero Park. The monolith
Aside from the Core, this area has the tallest
                                                            was found near the Round Tower in the 1800’s and
skyscrapers, built in the early thirties around Borough
                                                            transported here. No one really knows who built it or
Hall.
                                                            when.
The thirties also saw the first mystery men appear in
Steeltown. The original Red Masque was the first. His
successor is active today.
                                                            Dr. Bones
                                                            Identity: Wayne Johnston
The police are hardworking and somewhat cynical but
                                                            Wayne Johnston was an army medic during the Gulf
most are honest. Corruption in the police force is rare
                                                            War. He served with distinction during the Second
here and dirty cops are not tolerated. Police have no
                                                            Nanite Invasion. Wayne saw a mysterious medevac
fear or awe of superheroes or supervillains.
                                                            pilot many times no one else seemed to see. This
Steelies have a reputation for being tough as nails and     mysterious figure would always linger near a patient
street smart. Crime is high here, though not as out of      about to die. Wayne realized he could see spirits and
control as in Black River. Teenage gangs are a big          this being was a kind of spirit guide. When he returned
problem through out the borough. In the thirties, an        to the Bowery, Wayne saw many spirits who were the
American Fascist Group, the Iron Legion, terrorized         victims of crimes. He created the Doctor Bones
the city and aided Nazi spies. Local vigilantes shut        identity to help some of these folks.
down the Iron Legion during World War II and their
                                                            Doctor Bones has no real powers. His spirit sense is
crimes were exposed. The group reorganized in the
                                                            something that anyone could develop with practice
‘90’s as a conservative political party, The Right to
                                                            and the proper experiences. He uses hypnosis and
Freedom Party. The Iron Legion began committing
                                                            science to create supernatural effects. He uses post
crimes against immigrants and liberal candidates soon
                                                            hypnotic suggestions to trigger curses.
after. No one has linked the two organizations in court
yet.                                                        Early on, Bones was caught by thugs who stuck his
                                                            feet in cement and threw him from the docks. The
The Canal                                                   cement wasn’t quite dry and, underwater, Bones
The Harp River flows through Victory City and marks         slipped out of his ropes and freed himself with a metal
the border between Black River and Steeltown. The           rod he found in the bottom of the bay. This led to
river was dredged and widened into a Canal to               rumors Bones died and returned as a revenant to take
accommodate barges and freighters. Today, the indutry       vengeance on his killers. He is probably one of the
is gone and the Canal is a thriving commercial district     best hypnotists in the nation.
with shops and restaurants. It is spanned by several
bridges.                                                    Bones wears a black trenchcoat over body armor. He
                                                            hides his features with a skull-like mask that covers
Gangs from Black River and Steeltown have clashed           his entire head. His gloves contain built in tranquilizer
here several times and the police and vigilantes patrol     injectors and he has used an electrified baton to knock
the area constantly.                                        out criminals. Against all odds, he has struck a rare
Hero Park                                                   partnership with Vengeance to crack down on the
Hero Park is the oldest park in the city. It is a tourist   gangs operating between Steeltown and Black River.
spot because of the many statues of local heroes. Some      Wayne Johnston is a psychotherapist in Black River.
of the statues date back to the Revolutionary War. In
He works in the penal system and has a thriving            thousands of street thugs and rescued hundreds of
private practice.                                          people from fires and other disasters.
Dr. Bones: (Superhero/ Training/ Vigilante                 Bomber: Superhero/ Experiment/ Blaster
MIGHT 2/ Athletics 2, Brawling 2, Shooting 2;              MIGHT 4/ Athletics 2, Brawling 2 Shooting 1,
LOOKS 1; GUILE 2/ Awareness 1, Con 1, Stealth 2,           Endurance 2; LOOKS 1; GUILE 2/ Stealth 2,
Thievery 2; BRAINS 3/ Control 1, Sciences 2, FAME          Thievery 1; BRAINS 2/ Control 2, General
3, BLOOD 22.                                               Knowledge 1; FAME; 3; BLOOD 25.
   Superpowers: Vigilante Weapons Pool (Stun Gun,             Superpowers: Leaping (80 meters), Regeneration
Club and Holdout Pistol), Armor AV 6, Throwing             1D6, Invulnerability 10 AV; Stunts: Going All Out,
Blades 1d3; Stunts: Calling Card and Hypnotize             Charging and Digging Deep.
(people who fail two contested COOL rolls with him
out of combat) Spirits Sense (sometimes reveal
themselves to him. He can’t control this ability and it
                                                           Chronos
                                                           Identity: Real name unknown
is more of a plot hook than a power).
                                                           When the Iron Legion reorganized in the ‘90s, a
                                                           masked man known as Chronos led it. He quickly
Bomber                                                     molded the Legion into a powerful force. The Legion
Identity: Jonathon ‘Jack’ Kelso
                                                           has sympathizers everywhere and is suspected of
Bomber is the oldest active superhero in Victory City      interfering with elections, extortion and murder for
and, maybe, the World. He was a mechanic in the            hire. That’s just the start. Chronos operates behind the
Army Air Corps in the thirties who volunteered for an      scenes planning, but his ultimate goals are unknown.
experimental medical experiment. Though the                His major drive is to expand his organization and
program was regarded as a failure, Kelso did receive       income for now.
latent powers. In 1940, he was caught in a fuel
                                                           Chronos: Supervillain/ Training/ Mentalist
explosion at Fort Binder that killed several other
ground crew. Kelso lived and even recovered. When          MIGHT 2/ Athletics 1, Shooting 1; LOOKS 3/
he got out of the hospital, Kelso discovered he could      Charisma 3; GUILE 3/ Awareness 2; BRAINS 3/
lift great weights, leap up to 80 meters and shrug off     Control 3, General Knowledge 1; INFAMY 2;
pistol rounds.                                             BLOOD 20.
                                                             Superpowers: Mental Blast 3, Mind Control 3
The Black Bomber’s career was mediocre. Most of his          Stunts: Calling Card.
‘arrests’ were street crooks and he tried in vain to be
the sidekick of several heroes. Dr. Atlas took him         Iron Stormtrooper Villain
under his wing but then retired. Kelso retired in 1946.    MIGHT 1/ Athletics 1, Brawling 1, Shooting 1;
Kelso discovered he was aging at a greatly reduced         LOOKS 1; GUILE 2; BRAINS 1.
rate. He married, retired to Las Vegas and opened a          Equipment: Auto Pistol (8 damage)
small pilot school. In 1969, his wife, Maxine, died and
he returned to Victory City. In 1973, his son, Jonathon,
became the new Bomber. The ‘Black’ was left out.
John was shot and killed by The Black Moth in 1975.
Bomber revealed his identity and wrote his memoirs.
In 1985, he returned to active duty and became a local
media sensation. That lasted until the public
discovered he was often drunk and chased anything in
a skirt. He also was very, very dated in his worldview.
Bomber has continued patrolling Steeltown into the
present day. Although his encounters with super-
villains were rarely successful, he has often aided
heroes. He has helped in the arrest of hundreds, maybe
                                                          The Plaza has a security problem. In the last year, a
                                                          criminal calling himself Cyber Ghost has committed
                         BLACK RIVER                      various acts of sabotage on computer systems. The
Ask most people in Victory City about Black River         criminal is aided by a group of hackers living by the
and they’ll say it’s a hole. But ask a Black River        Rustway. Omnitech has posted large rewards for the
resident and they’ll say it’s an <expletive> HOLE!        Ghost or his accomplices.
People in Black River are there because they can’t
afford to move or they work and live in the Omnitech      Rustway
Plaza.                                                    The Rustway is an abandoned industrial area near the
                                                          Interstate. At one time it held most of the industry in
Throughout its history, the borough had corrupt
                                                          Victory City aside from Steeltown’s foundries. Today,
administrators and a bloated bureaucracy. The area has
                                                          it is full of abandoned scrapyards and empty
the most crime in Victory City with few local heroes
                                                          warehouses. It also holds a number of homeless people
to turn things around. Recently, a formless monster the
                                                          who use these buildings for shelter. A few people rent
news calls Chaos has terrorized the area. So far, it’s
                                                          apartments there to be near their work at Omnitech.
only caused damage and minor injuries
                                                          Several fugitive hackers also live in the area.
but luck is scarce in Black River.
                                                          Omnitech is trying to buy the area to bulldoze it.
The police in Black River are
as corrupt as the rest of the                                          The Pit
administration. Often, the only way to                                 In addition to the poor and unfortunate,
survive is to play the game. Honest                                               the Rustway also hosts the Pit.
police have frequent accidents.                                                    The Pit is a highly illegal fight
                                                                                  club for superhumans. The club’s
Omnitech Plaza                                              	                     backers are unknown but rumors
The Omnitech Corporation is an                            	                  abound. Most of the superhumans on
international conglomerate that bought                    	                 both sides of the law detest the Pit. The
up a section of Black River for an office                 	            Pit was raided by Victory Force once,
tower and facilities. The city leaders                             though the managers escaped with a teleporting
leapt at the opportunity to revitalize the                    super. The supervillain Shock King blew up the arena
area with new jobs.                                       the next week.
Omnitech received huge tax breaks and
then brought in its own employees from                    Steel Machine/Cyber Ghost
other divisions and its own prefabricated building        Identity: Jordan Colbert
units. Black River saw very little revenue from
                                                          Jordan Colbert was born in Black River and spent
Omnitech. Most of the workers live in the Omnitech
                                                          most of his life there. He was a genius working on a
Plaza and spend their salaries in company stores or
                                                          new cybernetic interface system. He built a mainframe
take a shuttle bus to other safer neighborhoods to find
                                                          capable of hosting a human personality as well as an
entertainment.
                                                          android testbed for his systems. Omnitech made
The Omnitech Plaza has its own forcefield. It isn’t as    several attempts to steal Colbert’s work. Pushed to the
powerful as the city’s field (20 AV) but it activates     brink of paranoia, he hid his android body in a safe
faster. The offices have highly trained and heavily       house. He then concentrated on developing a means of
armed guards. What Omnitech’s real business is no         controlling it mentally.
one could say. Publicly, the company produces
                                                          It was a lousy time for a group of industrial spies to
computers and other electronics.
                                                          intrude. Colbert tried to fight them off but was shot
The showcase creation of the company is an AI called      and killed. They staged the explosion of his equipment
Zenith that operates the building’s machinery and         to cover the killing. Colbert was still hooked into his
controls security. Zenith has given press conferences     interface gear and his conscious mind was recreated
for the company and appeared on various local             on the Internet.
programs and is something of a celebrity.
                                                          Colbert spent nearly a year learning to use his new
form and hacking Omnitech systems. After auditing           and he became an antisocial loner.
footage from a video camera, he spotted the man who
                                                            Both these symptoms grew worse until he was
shot him. Then, he reactivated his android with his
                                                            hospitalized as an adult. Massive transfusions of blood
mind controlling it. The android became known as
                                                            helped prolong his life but confined him to a hospital
Steel Machine while Colbert’s hacking earned him the
                                                            bed. One night, Charles had a visitor. Lord Ruthven of
name ‘Cyber Ghost.’ Steel Machine has purposely
                                                            Valknia was in Victory City on a diplomatic mission.
aided Omnitech in small ways, trying to win their
                                                            Charles was only semi-coherent as Ruthven opened a
confidence.
                                                            vein on his wrist and let Charles drink his blood.
 A few former employees living in the Rustway know
                                                            Ruthven’s blood restored Charles and the vampire lord
Colbert’s secret. Recently, they discovered that there is
                                                            explained the circumstances of his birth. Charles’
an abandoned and forgotten pneumatic subway system
                                                            mother was seduced by a vampire outcast. Charles
that stretches from the Rustway into Omnitech’s
                                                            was half vampire himself, a dhampyre, and needed
corporate park. They have begun using the system to
                                                            blood to survive. Animal blood would do temporarily
sneak into the corporate headquarters and find some
                                                            but only human blood would keep him alive in the
hard evidence that Omnitech executives had Colbert
                                                            long term.
killed.
                                                            Charles left the hospital shaken but relieved to
Steel Machine Superhero/ Construct/ Gadgeteer
                                                            understand his nature. He created the identity of
MIGHT 3/ Athletics 1, Brawling 2, Shooting 1;               Vengeance to find criminals he could prey on. As
LOOKS 1; GUILE 2/ Stealth 1, Thievery 1; BRAINS             Vengeance, Charles inflicts a lifetime of pent up
3/ Control 1; FAME 3; BLOOD 28.                             aggression and animalistic fury on any criminals he
   Superpowers: Super Strength 2 (MIGHT 15),                finds. He often uses a stun grenade to take out a whole
Leaping 1 (30 meters) Invulnerability 1 10 AV;              street gang and feed on them at leisure. Charles hasn’t
   Equipment: Laser Pistol (9 Damage)                       killed anyone feeding yet. He is afraid of creating
Note: As the Cyber Ghost, Colbert exists solely on          more vampires. In combat, he uses weapons because
computer systems. He can move through the Internet          biting people will start lynch mobs. Some stories
and scan data files but can only see and affect the         about him feeding found their way to the press but a
material world through a computer’s sensors and             vampire bite closes in a few minutes and looks more
machinery it controls. He can take over computers by        like a mosquito bite than a puncture after an hour.
winning a Contest of Wills. Most Computers have a
score of 1-4 for this purpose. When he is the Cyber         Charles knows he’s becoming more bloodthirsty. He’s
Ghost, the Steel Machine body is inactive.                  asked Dr. Bones for help controlling his rages.
                                                            Vengeance is having more trouble dealing with his
                                                            condition as time goes on. He feels doomed. He
Vengeance                                                   considered going to Valknia to join the dhampyres but
Identity: Charles Packard                                   fears making the journey alone and what the older
Before the Valknian Wall went up and the rest of the        vampires might demand for acceptance. He is showing
world was aware of the Vampire Problem, Charles             less and less sense of self -preservation in his assaults
Packard’s mother, Caroline, went hiking across Europe       on the gangs of Black River and Steeltown.
after graduating college. Camping out on a beautiful        Vengeance Superhero/ Alien/ Vigilante
mountain, she received a night caller, one of the
                                                            MIGHT 4/ Athletics 2, Brawling 1, Shooting 1;
Stregoi of the region. This vampire had more than
                                                            LOOKS 2; GUILE 3; BRAINS 1/ Control 3;
blood on his mind and Caroline had the worst
                                                            INFAMY 4; BLOOD 27.
nightmare of her life. When she returned home, she
                                                               Superpowers: Life Drain 1D6, Vigilante Weapons
discovered she was pregnant. Eight months later,
                                                            (SMG, Automatic Pistol, Sword, Stun Grenade),
Charles was born. Caroline died of complications in
                                                            Armor 3 AV
childbirth and his grandparents, who did not know the
                                                            Note: takes 1D3 BLOOD per round in sunlight.
circumstances of his birth, raised Charles. Charles was
                                                            Vengeance gets a –1 to actions in bright light. He can
always a sickly child and suffered from anemia and
                                                            only use Life Drain on a held character. He can use 3
albinism. In school, he was a frequent target of bullies
BLOOD to raise MIGHT one point for 1D6 rounds.
Chaos
The Chaos creature is an amoeba like mass. It can seep
through cracks and form tentacles capable of crushing
a man or tossing a car over. Its origin and exact nature
is unknown. Chaos haunts the water drains under
Black River. Blastoff and Dr. Bones managed to trap
the monster in a toxic waste dump but even that didn’t
kill it. It remains loose and dangerous.
Chaos (?/ ?/ ?)
MIGHT 15; LOOKS -; GUILE 3; BRAINS 1;
INFAMY 6; BLOOD 30.
  Superpowers: Invulnerability (AV 20),
Metamorphic 3 Completely formless, Regeneration
1D6.
         ROTTEN TO THE CORE
The Premise: Major Mayhem, the most wanted supervillain in
                                                                      lightweights intended to slow the heroes down while the Major
                                                                      installs the last part in his giant robot, GR-13.
                                                                      As the characters defeat the robot henchmen, the GR-13 bursts
the city, plans to unleash a giant robot on the Core. He’s done it
before but Titan or Nike always was available to shut him down.       from the deck and splits the ship in two. The GR-13 strides
This time the crafty inventor waits for the big guns to be on a       through the water towards The Core. Inside the robot, Major
mission to the Moon. But first he must steal a cyberprocessor to      Mayhem cackles about finally humiliating the heroes who have
complete his robot.                                                   thwarted him and the riches he deserves.
How It Starts: A peaceful morning in Beckton is shattered by          Rotten to the Core: This is the big climax! Explosions rip across
alarms and screams. Bobo, the robot cook at the Whiz Bang             the GR-13’s hull as STEP fires everything but the kitchen sink at
Diner, goes berserk. Though reprogrammed for peace, he is still       the robot to no effect. The GR-13 smashes buildings coming
one of the strongest robots in the world. The characters could be     ashore and knocks down the city’s forcefield before it can warm
on patrol or going to the diner for a bite when the rampage starts.   up. Citizens are fleeing the battle and need rescuing. . The
Bobo is more interested in getting away than fighting. To             citizens should be evacuated safely from the area while it wails
accomplish this, he flings several cars in the air then smashes a     on the heroes. Once they’re clear, the real fight can begin.
storefront, causing its collapse. The characters must deal with       If the characters are taking a beating, Titan or Nike could show
these disasters or allow innocents to be hurt. While they are         up to help out. The GR-13 will take a while to wear down.
dealing with this, Bobo rips open a manhole and escapes in the        Sneaky heroes might try tactics like collapsing the street under it,
sewers. If necessary, he opens a gas main to start a fire to cover    dropping a tanker truck on it or short-circuiting it using power
his trail.                                                            lines. These should require a Technical Knowledge or Science
If the heroes investigate at the diner, Biff the owner says Bobo      roll. The robot’s head contains an escape capsule and, depending
was working but suddenly began swatting at a fly. He froze,           on how badly he is losing, the Major might use it to try to escape.
seemed to reboot and went crazy. A police captain on the scene        When the heroes win, they will earn the thanks of the city and the
says STEP will have to be called to take Bobo down which upsets       enmity of Major Mayhem.
Biff. But Bobo was once the Red Warrior and a match for several
heroes.
As the heroes leave, the police report that Bobo is attacking Fort    Major Mayhem (Supervillain, Gadgeteer)
Binderbeck! The Ideals and Victory Force are both away on
classified missions. It’s up to the characters to stop him!           MIGHT 1/ Athletics 1, Brawling 1, Shooting 1; LOOKS 1;
                                                                      GUILE 2/ Awareness 1, Piloting 2; BRAINS 3/ Control 1,
At the Fort: Bobo has already wrecked several armored                 General Knowledge 2, Science 2, Technical Knowledge 3;
personnel carriers and tanks and taken a rocket launcher. Play up     INFAMY 6, BLOOD 13
the explosions and flames. Have Bobo lob a few rockets at the           Equipment: Auto Pistol (8 damage), Flak Jacket (AV 4)
heroes as they approach. He rips the doors off a storage bunker as
a squad of soldiers fire rifles at him and throw grenades. Bobo       GR-13 Robot
emerges from the bunker with a large metal container. The             MIGHT 25, BLOOD 50.
container is a decoy and holds air raid shelter rations.                  Equipment: Laser cannon (20 damage), Armor (AV 20). The
                                                                      robot uses Major Mayhem’s Shooting skill to hit targets and his
Characters assessing the situation notice a large metallic beetle
                                                                      Piloting skill to punch. It’s so huge it doesn’t get a defensive
clinging to Bobo’s neck. Any attack made at –3 will blast the bug
                                                                      roll. Any characters making their attack roll hit automatically.
off. Bobo immediately stops attacking and lays down his
                                                                      Characters making an Athletics roll can halve the robot’s armor
weapons.
                                                                      for one attack.
The Plot Thickens: While the characters are dealing with Bobo
                                                                      Henchmen/ Throw Away Robots
Major Mayhem sends another group of robots to steal the
Cyberprocessor from Omnitech. Bobo was merely a diversion.            MIGHT 3/ Shooting 1; LOOKS 1; GUILE 1/ Awareness 1,
He only remembers working when that bug clamped onto his              Thievery 1, Stealth 1; BRAINS 1/ Technical Knowledge 1,
neck.                                                                 BLOOD n/a (see rules for henchmen, page 5 of Hero Force).
                                                                      There are two for each character.
Techie types examining the bug can determine the control
frequency Mayhem uses and track him back to his base, a                  Equipment: Auto Pistol (8 damage).
container ship docked in Steeltown. Allow any reasonable plan to      Bobo (Fry Cook/Supervillain/ Blaster)
track the signals to work. The base personnel will provide any
electronics gear necessary to build a tracker, though a technical     MIGHT 3/ Shooting 1; LOOKS 1/ GUILE 1/ Awareness
Knowledge roll should be made. The characters could also be           2, Thievery 1, Stealth 1; BRAINS 2/ Control 2, Technical
                                                                      Knowledge 1; INFAMY 1, BLOOD 25.
told of a squad of robots that attacked Omnitech and realize the
                                                                         Superpowers: Super Strength Power Level 2 (MIGHT 15),
crimes point to the Major.
                                                                      Invulnerability 2 (20 AV).
The Lair of Mayhem: The container ship looks deserted. Robot             Equipment: At Fort Binderbeck Bobo steals a rocket launcher
henchmen swarm the characters as they board it.. The robots are       (20 damage).
FUNERAL FOR A MARRIONETTE
The Premise: In the ‘30s a possessed doll calling itself Mr.
                                                                       henchmen will attack the heroes except for the one ordered to
                                                                       guard the hostages. He will use the SMG to kill 1D3 victims each
                                                                       turn. If the heroes are having a hard time of it, the Red Mask can
                                                                       break Mr. Punch’s control and unload her pistols into the little
Punch bedeviled the mystery men of Steeltown. The first Red
                                                                       fiend. (Hey, it’s a PUPPET!)
Mask threw it in setting cement. Seventy years later, it’s back and
seeking revenge against the current Red Mask. Once that is             Mr. Punch will fight until destroyed, vowing to return and seek
satisfied, it will start a new reign of terror.                        revenge of course. The henchmen are all mind controlled citizens
                                                                       who hopefully aren’t killed or badly inured by the heroes (a
How It Starts: There is a sudden riot at the Greenway Mall in          sadistic referee might dangle the threat of a lawsuit over
Steeltown. Heroes responding find normal citizens turned into          unnecessarily violent characters). There are three for each hero.
berserk freaks trying to kill each other. The crowds are the
                                                                       The day is saved and evil is vanquished… or is it?
equivalent of henchmen and there are four for each hero. Soon
after the heroes get there, the Red Mask appears in a swirl of her     Mr. Punch (Supervillain/ Mentalist)
trademark red fog. A hero making an Awareness roll during the
fight will also notice a small figure lurking behind the crowd.        MIGHT 1/ Athletics 3; LOOKS 1; GUILE 3/
                                                                       Awareness 2, Stealth 2, Thievery 1; BRAINS 2/
The Red Mask tries to stun the rioters with her mystical fog but
suddenly staggers and falls. Fortunately, police and paramedics        Control 2; INFAMY 2, BLOOD 20.
are arriving and one ambulance takes her immediately.                    Superpowers: Mind Control 3, Leaping 1, Wooden
                                                                       Body (AV 2).
A General Knowledge roll will tell a character that medics in
Victory City always take citizens before superheroes. On               Henchmen/Controlled Citizens)
reflection, the medics both seemed to have the same odd look that
the rioters did. The ambulance is easy to follow even after it turns   MIGHT 2/ Brawling 1, Shooting 1; LOOKS 1; GUILE
its siren off. If the characters attack, the ambulance drives into a   1; BRAINS 1.
tree. The medics are unconscious. The Red Mask is comatose.               Equipment; Club or Knife (4 damage + MIGHT).
Neither medic remembers anything after making a call earlier that      The henchmen are controlled citizens.
evening. Another ambulance arrives to take the Red Mask to a
hospital.
                                                                       The Red Mask (Superhero/ Mentalist)
If the heroes don’t attack and follow the ambulance it drives to a
(ta-dah!) deserted warehouse near the Mall.
                                                                       MIGHT 2/ Athletics 2, Shooting 2; LOOKS 2/
                                                                       Charisma 2, Fashion –1; GUILE 3/ Awareness 2,
The Investigation: If the characters stopped the ambulance they        Piloting –1, Stealth 2, Thievery 2; BRAINS 3/ Control
can still help the police investigation. Most of the rioters only
remember going to the Mall and waking up in a cell. One elderly
                                                                       2: FAME 4; BLOOD 25.
man recalls something similar happening in the thirties. He tells         Superpowers: Blood Mist -3 to target’s Actions;
the heroes the original Red Mask destroyed a possessed doll            Mesmerizing Gaze Stun 10 rounds.
named Mr. Punch who caused riots and panics with its powers of            Equipment: Auto Pistol (8 damage).
hypnosis. The doll was probably a Chaos imp, not that this makes
it easier to deal with.
The Red Mask escapes from the hospital as soon as she wakes up.
If the characters search for her, they find her sneaking into the
warehouse mentioned above.
The Warehouse: Mr. Punch is waiting inside the building with a
group of mind-controlled henchmen. The doll sits on a throne
surrounded by dozens of (normal) puppets. Just to hedge its bet,
the doll has six innocent Mall workers manacled to a wall and
covered by a lieutenant with an SMG. This is a creepy scene and
the referee should play it up with shadows and gloom, revealing
details only as the heroes’ eyes adjust to the darkness.
The doll rants about revenge on the Red Mask for spoiling its fun
in the past and leaving it in the dark cement for so long. Killing
these innocents before her eyes will be the first step. Mr. Punch is
surprised the Mask is now a female but that doesn’t matter to the
puppet. The heroes have to break in and stop the slaughter. This
momentarily distracts the guards and the fight is on. Mr. Punch
will order the Red Mask to attack the heroes and defend him. The
      yard sale of wonders
The Premise: An aged wizard has lived quietly in a Beckton
                                                                        trinkets to return to him. As he relates this, he suddenly looks
                                                                        worried and says, “I wonder… did I leave my Eye of the Gilrax
                                                                        in there? That could be a problem…”
apartment for decades. After being evicted by the landlord, a
                                                                        Magical Duel: When Arbogast is brought back to the apartment
chest of magical items he forgot finds its way into a yard sale and
                                                                        building, Dennis is admiring a shiny bauble. Before anyone can
causes chaos. But is the wizard as befuddled as he seems?               shout a warning, the landlord is engulfed in green flames and
How It Starts: The characters are on patrol in Beckton when             transformed into the Gilrax, a hulking scaled monster with horns
people in a nearby park flee screaming. In the park, a group of         and claws.
zombies is bursting from the ground. The zombies are slowly             The Girlrax is for real and begins throwing cars around, cackling
shambling after people, though they don’t get a good grip on            loudly. The fight is on and the creature has no problem hurting
anyone and their potential victims are managing to outrun them.         innocent people. In fact, it will try to put innocents in danger to
The zombies are henchmen and fall easily to the heroes’ attacks,        distract the heroes by collapsing buildings, throwing debris and
no headshots necessary. All the zombies turn into string dolls          shooting destructive beams from its eyes. The characters have a
after they are defeated.                                                fierce fight but should prevail (at least one of them).
Further up the street, a small flying dragon is swooping down on        Endgame: Mr. Arbogast casts a spell using his chest, which fills
people, breathing fire to awnings and roaring. The dragon sets          up with bizarre toys, rings and wands. Arbogast turns Dennis
several fires but doesn’t hurt anyone directly, though someone          back to normal after a little persuasion and thanks the characters
may need rescuing from a building fire. The dragon also falls to        for helping him. It took a lot longer for someone to help him than
the heroes’ attacks, turning into a dragon kite.                        he thought when he started this game. Arbogast transforms into
                                                                        something that hurts the eyes to looks at then vanishes with the
Have several more ‘attacks’ from supernatural creatures. Until the
                                                                        chest. The landlord wakes up in time to see a horde of angry
players get the idea that they are going to keep on coming. All the
                                                                        customers advancing on him. It might be a good time for the
incidents are coming from a single neighborhood.
                                                                        characters to answer another emergency!
The events climax with a huge red demon walking down a street
holding shopping bags and crying. The monster screams as police         Generic Magic Creatures
arrive and draw guns, dropping its shopping. Luckily, the police
do not fire in panic, this is Beckton after all. The monster says its   MIGHT 3; LOOKS 1; GUILE 1; BRAINS 1; INFAMY 1;
name is Cindy and she is a fourteen-year old girl gone shopping.        BLOOD 10.
Cindy doesn’t know why she is now a huge demon. The only                  Superpowers: Claws/ Bite/ Fiery Breath etc (8 damage)
thing she did this morning besides buying shoes was to stop in a
yard sale and buy a costume jewelry ring. Cindy gives directions        The Gilrax (Supervillain/ Blaster)
to the sale.                                                            MIGHT 3/ Athletics 2, Brawling 2, Endurance 3; LOOKS 1/
Second Hand Terror: The landlord, Fred Dennis, is holding the           GUILE 2/ BRAINS 3/ Control 2; INFAMY 2; BLOOD 25;
sale in front of an apartment building. Dennis is middle aged and       Superpowers: Super Strength (MIGHT 15); Invulnerability (AV
a born haggler. He’s selling junk he dragged out of storage that        10), Eyebeams (10 damage).
former tenants left. He knows nothing of the magic let loose but
remembers Cindy. She bought the ring from an old chest that
belonged to Mr. Arbogast. Arbogast was turned out a few days
ago for not paying his rent. The chest is footlocker sized and now
empty except for a small tin soldier. Dennis won’t let the
characters take it unless they pay for it.
One Tin Soldier: Once the characters have dealt with Dennis,
(hopefully without violence) the tin sodier comes to life. It grows
to human size and begins marching very purposefully through the
neighborhood heading to the rail yards. The characters might
have to protect it from gangs of irate citizens who are fed up with
being chased by relatively harmless monsters.
The soldier marches straight to Mr. Arbogast, who is living in an
abandoned shack. Arbogast seems to be a kindly, forgetful old
man living in poverty. He’s happy to see his soldier again which
shrinks to its original size when he speaks a magic word. After
some prompting, he will remember his chest of toys. The landlord
took it from him for back rent before turning him out. Being a
law-abiding sort, the wizard left quietly. All of them are harmless
tricks. He can cast a spell with the chest that will cause all his
        THE EVIL TWIN AFFAIR
The Premise: The Dark Avenger has often disagreed with media
                                                                       If the characters are having too easy a time of it, Shock King and
                                                                       Mr. 238 can arrive and fight on Revenant’s side. After all the
                                                                       reward for the Avenger is still good. This can be an epic battle.
baron David Lamb. Now he’s crossed to the other side of the law,
                                                                       There are steel beams that can be used as projectiles, exposed gas
threatening Lamb and destroying his property in front of
                                                                       and electrical lines, sand bags and open shafts for the unwary.
witnesses. The heroes (and others) of Argent are determined to
                                                                       Play it up!
bring him in. Is the Avenger guilty or framed?
                                                                       Conclusion: After cleaning up on Revenant and his allies, the
How It Begins: Lamb News carries a breaking story. The Dark            Dark Avenger will remain to explain things to the police. With
Avenger has attacked the Lamb Media Building. Using his wrist          Revenant and the phone video, it is easy to clear his name. He
blasters, the Avenger destroys the statues in the building plaza       tells the characters he owes them one for their help, unless they
before burning the message “Die Lamb” into the building façade
                                                                       laid him out instead of listening to him. Justice is served!
and fleeing on a swingline as guards fire at him with no effect.
Security video cameras clearly show the attack.
                                                                       Revenant (Supervillain/ Mentalist)
Characters arriving on the scene will find it cordoned off by the
                                                                       MIGHT 2/ Athletics 1, Brawling 1; LOOKS 3/ Fashion 2; GUILE
police who are not in the mood to share the investigation or
                                                                       2/ Stealth 2, Thievery 1; BRAINS 1/ Control 3; INFAMY 3;
cooperate with more possible super criminals. As the heroes
                                                                       BLOOD 18.
arrive in the plaza or shortly after, Lamb makes an announcement
                                                                          Superpowers: Metamorphic (Change appearance),
on the air denouncing the Dark Avenger’s actions. As the former
                                                                       Invulnerability (AV 10).
hero is obviously suffering some sort of breakdown, Lamb is
                                                                          Equipment: Laser Pistol (9 damage), Stun Bomb (see rules on
offering a 10 million dollar reward to anyone who brings him in
                                                                       page 5 of Hero Force)
alive for questioning and psychiatric treatment.
                                                                       Henchmen (Dime a Dozen Thugs)
Lamb will not meet with the characters. His security force will
not allow them to remain in the area. As they are leaving, a young     MIGHT 2/ Athletics 2 Brawling 2 Shooting 1; LOOKS 2; GUILE
woman calls them over. She has a videophone and recorded the           3/ Stealth 3; BRAINS 2; BLOOD n/a (see rules for using
attack. She offers the heroes her phone if they’re discrete. She       henchmen).
works for Lamb and doesn’t want to lose her job.                          Equipment: SMG (12 damage).
The phone’s video clip shows the Avenger blazing away. When            Dark Avenger (Superhero/ Vigilante)
the guards fired on him, several bullets passed through his body,      MIGHT 2/ Athletics 2, Shooting 2; LOOKS 2; GUILE 2/
his wounds healing almost instantly. Even bullet holes in his cape     Awareness 2, Piloting 1, Stealth 1, Thievery 2; BRAINS 3/
slowly close. Regeneration is not one of the Avenger’s abilities.      Control 3: FAME 4; BLOOD 23; Superpowers: Throwing Blades
                                                                       (1D6 2 damage each), Gas Bombs (see page 10), Martial Artist
Villain Brawl: Soon after looking for the Dark avenger or at           (see page 10), Stealth Suit (+2 DV, -1 to spot), Universal Gadgets
least returning to patrol, the characters hear a super powered         (Swingline, Night Vision Goggles and Smoke Bombs, see page
brawl going on. Shock King and Mr. 238 are fighting it out to see
                                                                       9).
who brings in the Avenger in for the reward. Mr. 238 insists he
bring in the hero since he tagged him first. Both the villains are     Shock King and Mr. 238 (Interchangeable Supervillain/
too busy battling to notice the heroes until they attack. Any          Blasters)
reasonably competent attack will bring down both the villains.
Mr. 238 offers information for his release. After clipping the Dark    MIGHT 3/ Athletics 2, Shooting 2; LOOKS 1/ GUILE 2/
Avenger with a plasma bolt Mr. 238 was going to follow him             BRAINS 2/ Control 2; INFAMY 2; BLOOD 25; Superpowers:
using a special radiation sensor. He offers the heroes the sensor if   Invulnerability (AV 10), Eyebeams (15 damage).
they’ll forget about this, since he is still on parole. A General
Knowledge roll will confirm that both criminals are on parole
with no warrants.
A Shot in the Dark: The sensor leads the characters to a luxury
condo building under construction. As they arrive, they see the
Dark Avenger on the roof. If they attack him, he’ll spend the first
round dodging. He tries to persuade them that he was not
responsible for those attacks. After the first round, he throws
snares and smoke bombs at the heroes to try to escape.
On the third round, the Dark Avenger’s impersonator and his
goons arrive on the roof. The phony is Revenant, a shape shifter
who fought the Avenger in the past. He has 10 goons with him
armed with SMGs. Revenant has a laser pistol and a stun
grenade. His men have one grenade each.
        EVOLUTION GONE WILD!
The Premise: Fighting a supervillain or a giant robot is one
                                                                        tyrannosaurus bursts from the trees and attacks. The
                                                                        tyrannosaurus is ready to make up for its former life as a blue jay.
                                                                        It tries to eat the heroes as the Rhesus scatter into the trees.
thing. How will the heroes deal with a city-wide epidemic, one in
                                                                        Dinos Downtown: The trip Downtown can be as eventful as the
which innocent citizens become menaces? Dr. Azoth, the criminal
                                                                        players can stand with attacks by transformed citizens, more
scientist, has dosed the reservoir with a devolving drug and plans
                                                                        dinos or a few unchanged citizens to rescue. Eventually, they run
to use his primate minions to loot the city in the chaos that
                                                                        across a few monkey men pushing a wheelbarrow full of jewelry.
ensues.                                                                 If they trail them, they are lead to a huge armored vehicle topped
How It Begins: The city is experiencing a rash of violent crime.        by a thick plexi-glass dome. Doctor Azoth commandeered the
Arguments are exploding into assaults everywhere. The                   tank from the police apes and is in the dome overseeing the loot
characters have recently returned to the city from missions or          collection. Azoth uses a water cannon mounted on the roof to
personal trips (they do have personal lives, right?). They could be     attack the heroes. He has a squad of henchmonkeys with rifles
made aware of this through the news or by stopping two drivers          surrounding him equal in number to the heroes.
from brawling… on top of their cars… with bats.                         If the heroes are walking all over the monkeys, the referee could
There are other clues something is not quite right. The parks are       further complicate matters when one of them begins to devolve
becoming overgrown and the foliage has way more ferns than              and attack everyone in sight or have another dinosaur attack.
seems natural. The referee should improvise several crimes for
                                                                        Once his tank is breached, Azoth quickly offers the antidote for
the heroes to stop with the criminals becoming more violent and
                                                                        his freedom. He can be bargained down to trading it for being
irrational. By the end, people are stealing each other’s lunch and
                                                                        allowed to continue breathing with a contest of wills. The
brawling and cars are being driven into each other. Any
                                                                        antidote can be dropped into the reservoir or sprayed on victims
characters who make an Awareness roll will realize people are
                                                                        to change them back in a matter of minutes. The characters may
changing, their foreheads shrinking, jaws enlarging etc.                have to spend the next several hours rescuing people from ledges
There are several places to go from here. A General Knowledge           and trees but the city is saved!
roll would suggest that County General Hospital might have
                                                                        Apemen (Devolved Citizens)
some answers. A Science roll would indicate the agent causing
this might be waterborne since plant life is affected as well as        MIGHT 3; LOOKS 1; GUILE 2; BRAINS 1; BLOOD 10.
animal life, which would point to the reservoir.                          Equipment: Clubs (damage 4 + MIGHT)
County General: The situation at the hospital is already pretty         Monkeymen (Evolved Rhesus Monkeys)
bad. Apemen are roaming the halls and fiddling with equipment.          MIGHT 2/ Athletics 2, Brawling 2; LOOKS 1; GUILE 2/ Stealth
A crowd of apes in white coats attacks the heroes with scalpels         3; BRAINS 1; INFAMY 1; BLOOD 12;
and improvised clubs. There are two apemen for each hero.                  Equipment: Clubs (damage 4 + MIGHT) and rifles (12
If the heroes persist in searching, they find a relatively intact lab   damage)
with notes indicating the agent causing this is present in the          Dinosaur (Devolved Bird)
public water supply. By this time the police and other authorities
are all swinging from power lines or checking each other for            MIGHT 25; GUILE 2; BRAINS 1; BLOOD 40; Bite (35
                                                                        damage), tail lash (25 damage and MIGHT roll or be stunned
fleas. The characters are on their own.
                                                                        1D6 rounds); Thick Skin (10 AV)
The City Reservoir: Towering conifers and ferns surround the
reservoir. The support building is overgrown with vines. Monkey         Dr Azoth (Supervillain/ Gadgeteer)
men are on the roof and around it wielding rifles. There are two        MIGHT 1/ Athletics 1, Brawling 1, Shooting 2; LOOKS 1;
for each hero and they fight madly using the foliage for cover to       GUILE 2/ Awareness 1; BRAINS 3/ Control 1, Science 3,
take shots and close to grapple. They’re annoying but shouldn’t         Technical Knowledge 1; INFAMY 6, BLOOD 13
seriously hinder the heroes. The monkey men resemble                       Equipment: Auto Pistol (8 damage)
overgrown Rhesus monkeys, distinctly different from the
devolved citizens. The primate goons will not give up much              Tank
information unless the heroes win a contest of wills with their         Era: 6
leader (COOL 3, GUTS 3, INFAMY 1). IF they establish                    Crew: 1
dominance, the Rhesus says they work for Doctor Azoth who will          MAN: +0 GR: +1 DMG: spcl AV: 1 SI: 10
                                                                        The tank is actually a small armored car used by STEP and SWAT teams.
run this city now.
                                                                        The stats above use the 1PG Companion. If you don’t have it assume the
A Science roll will reveal these Rhesus are evolved and that            armored hull is AV 10 and the tank will take 100 points of damage before
Doctor Azoth can probably return the citizens to normal. One of         being demolished. Any turn it takes 20 damage or more Azoth must
                                                                        make a GUILE roll or the tank is flipped over. The tank has tear gas
the Rhesus adds that Azoth went downtown to get ‘shinies’ by the
                                                                        dispensers to attack close targets (MIGHT roll or be incapacitated 1D6
canal, the diamond district!                                            rounds) and a water cannon that does 15 Umph. Characters struck by the
Unfortunately, before the characters can follow this lead, a            water jet will be knocked down unless they make an Athletics roll.