TEXT: ROB HUDSON
  
  An Enemies Book for Pulp Hero
  Author: Rob Hudson
  Additional Contributions:  Steven S. Long
  Editing & Development:  Steven S. Long
  Layout & Graphic Design:  Andy Mathews
  Cover Illustration: Brendon & Brian Fraim
  Interior Illustration:  Brandon Clark, Brendon and Brian 
  Fraim, Robert Hawkins, Greg Smith
  DEDICATION
  I’d like to dedicate this book to three women that had the most to 
  do with my working on it:  my mother, Elizabeth, without whose 
  years of hard work I wouldn’t be here to write it at all; my wife, 
  Mary Ann, without whose love, patience, and understanding I 
  wouldn’t have gotten three words written; and my friend, Shelley, 
  who convinced me that if I wanted something badly enough then 
  I could do anything.
  SPECIAL THANKS
  First, thanks to John D. Lees for maps of the Skyfortress. Second, 
  thanks to Leah Watts for data entry and proofreading.
  Third, Rob would like to thank the players in his Pulp Hero cam-
  paigns, who ﬁrst encountered many of these adversaries:
  The Huntsmen:  Dan “Dr. Christopher Hunter” Calvert; Karen “Lady 
  Penelope Hawke” Calvert; Mary Ann “Christine Andersen” Raley-
  Hudson; Shea “Capt. Jeremiah Roarke” Boatwright; Daniel “Maxwell 
  ‘Mean Max’ Shane” Goodman; Guy “Dr. Chin” Bradley; Dion “Ken 
  Barker” Jackson; Rich “Tran Van Nguyen” Iversen; Debbie “Diane 
  O’Dell” Ryckeley.
  The Worthington Trust:  Jeremy “Victor Quinn” Lewis; Janet “Fiona 
  McBride” Lewis; Mary Ann “Laura Grainger” Raley-Hudson; Shea 
  “Rick Ford” Boatwright; Richard “Dr. Phillip Carnegie” Iversen; 
  Sandra “Isobel Johnstone” Swindle.
  Hero SystemTM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system.
  Hero System © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Champions © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Fantasy Hero © 2003 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Dark Champions © 2004 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Pulp Hero © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Masterminds And Madmen © 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  Star Hero, Justice Inc., Danger International, Danger International, Western Hero 
  © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.
  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 the Canada. First printing December 2005
  Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.
  Stock Number:  DOJHERO801 • ISBN Number:  1-58366-064-X
  http://www.herogames.com
  
  INTRODUCTION ............................................. 4
  CHAPTER ONE:  MASTERMINDS
  DOCTOR FANG SHEN ..................................... 6
  LI LIAN ...................................................... 12
  MING WEI .................................................. 16
  LOK SHING ................................................ 20
  YING HU SHI .............................................. 22
  THE SKYMASTER ........................................ 25
  AIR MARSHAL LOTHAR VON HAGEN ............ 30
  AIRMADA PILOT ......................................... 33
  SKYFORTRESS CUMULUS .......................... 34
  SKYMASTER SK-4A .................................... 42
  SKYMASTER SK-1 ...................................... 43
  THE CRIMSON WRAITHE .............................. 44
  DONALD “TRACK” LATHAM ........................ 47
  ENRICO CALAVIERI ..................................... 49
  GEISTKAPITÄN ............................................ 52
  DIE UNDEADMATROSEN ............................. 55
  DAS GEISTUNTERSEEBOOT ........................ 56
  FISCHES DES TODES TORPEDO .................. 57
  THE IRON CLAW .......................................... 58
  PADRAIG O’FLAHERTY ................................ 61
  AMANDA BOYD .......................................... 64
  CHAPTER TWO:   
  FIENDISH ORGANIZATIONS
  THE CABAL .................................................. 67
  MEMBERS OF THE CABAL .......................... 70
  THE COLETTI MOB ....................................... 74
  MICHAEL WARREN ..................................... 76
  CARLO MANZONI ....................................... 78
  DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT ARTHUR CORGAN .. 80
  THE CULT OF THE NINE DEGREES ............... 82
  BEELZEBUB ............................................... 86
  THE OTHER EIGHT PRINCES ........................ 88
  THE FRANKENSTEIN MOB ........................... 91
  DR. FRANKLIN “BIG FRANK” PESCARELLI .... 93
  NED “THE CORPSE” MADDEN ..................... 95
  MINNIE “NAILS” HARPER ............................ 97
  CALVIN “HUNCH” BARNETT ....................... 100
  JUSTIN “SCAREYES” HOWARD .................. 102
  CHAPTER THREE:   
  SOLO VILLAINS
  GILBERT ALLEN ........................................ 106
  EL AZOR .................................................. 108
  ACHMED “BENNY” BEN-ALI ...................... 110
  CIMBA JANAKADI ..................................... 112
  LA COLOMBE NOIR .................................. 115
  IL CORRIDORE NOTTE .............................. 117
  EPIPHRONIA “EPPIE” CURRAN ................... 119
  ETIENNE AND VINCENT D’ARQUES ............ 121
  EL DIABLO ROBOTICO .............................. 123
  DER DUNKELADLER ................................. 126
  SIR JONATHAN EARLE .............................. 129
  THE ELECTRICUTIONER ............................ 132
  FAFNIR .................................................... 134
  FLAMBEAUX ............................................ 136
  “COLONEL” BRUCE FORSYTHE .................. 139
  ALEJANDRO FUENTES .............................. 141
  DARREN “GATS” GRUNER ......................... 143
  IKEDA HIDEO ........................................... 146
  DOCTOR VALENTINE KEENE ...................... 149
  MAXIMILIAN KRIEGER ............................... 151
  LI-MING JADE .......................................... 153
  CAROLINE NEFERTARI MADISON ............... 156
  ANEZKA MRAZOVIC ................................. 159
  VIKTOR IVANOVICH PETROV ...................... 161
  PROFESSOR PROSPERO ........................... 164
  THE RED SICKLE ...................................... 167
  THE SCORPION ........................................ 169
  JIMMY “BATS” SELDEN ............................ 171
  PETER WESTONBRIDGE SINCLAIR ............. 173
  THE SKYWAYMAN .................................... 175
  THE TERRORMONGER .............................. 178
  DRISANA VARMANDALI ............................ 180
  THE VOLCANO MASTER ........................... 182
  THE YELLOW SCAR .................................. 184
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  
  4 
  Hero System 5th Edition
  W
  hat’s a good hero without a great villain 
  to oppose him? Sometimes half the fun 
  in an adventure scenario — whether it’s 
  for Pulp Hero or some other genre — is 
  the ﬁendishness, wickedness, and clever plots of a 
  truly interesting villain. The right villain can make 
  an otherwise bland adventure into something excit-
  ing and fun. But creating villains can take a lot of 
  eﬀort. The amount of thought, creativity, and work 
  with the HERO System rules to get an intriguing 
  villain “just right” requires time and energy, and not 
  every GM has time and energy every week.
  To save you that work and create a common 
  group of adversaries for Pulp Hero gamers every-
  where, Masterminds And Madmen presents dozens 
  of crooks, villains, mad scientists, and crimelords 
  for use in your games. Although these characters 
  are tied (at least loosely) to the Hero Games Pulp-
  era game setting, adapting them to your game takes 
  little or no eﬀort — just change the background, 
  and perhaps the name, and you’re ready to go. Re-
  arranging organizations, making characters more 
  or less powerful, and similar changes are also a 
  snap. The Campaign Use section of each character 
  sheet has suggestions along these lines.
  Masterminds And Madmen has three chapters. 
  The ﬁrst, Masterminds, features master villains 
  capable of giving just about any group of Pulp 
  heroes ﬁts:  the insidious Dr. Fang and his Legion 
  of Crime; crimelords like the Crimson Wraithe and 
  Iron Claw; deadly menaces like the Skymaster and 
  the mysterious Geistkapitän.
  Chapter Two, Fiendish Organizations, has 
  groups of adversaries to oppose your team of 
  heroes. It includes the shadowy proﬁteers of the 
  Cabal, the Coletti Mob, the evil Cult of the Nine 
  Degrees, and the freaks of the Frankenstein Mob.
  The largest chapter in the book is the third 
  one, Solo Villains. It features enemies who work 
  by themselves, or whom you can team together as 
  you see ﬁt. Here you’ll ﬁnd everything from lowlife 
  private eyes, to swindlers and con men, mad scien-
  tists armed with world-threatening Weird Science 
  devices, junior-grade masterminds and crimelords, 
  jungle princesses, Nazi and Bolshevik spies and 
  saboteurs, pirate queens, cat burglars, and mob 
  hitmen.
  In this book you’ll ﬁnd villains built on fewer 
  points than starting Pulp heroes, and some built 
  on hundreds more. Sometimes it’s not possible to 
  deﬁne a villain properly on 150 Character Points, 
  and it’s preferable to build a villain right rather than 
  to follow rigid point restrictions or nebulous con-
  cepts of “points eﬃciency.” Villains, after all, aren’t 
  the central focus of the campaign, so you don’t have 
  to worry as much about campaign standards as you 
  do with PCs (who are always on center stage) when 
  creating them.
  As an enemies book, Masterminds And 
  Madmen is designed primarily for use by GMs. If 
  you’re not a GM, you may still ﬁnd it useful as a 
  source of example powers and character ideas, but 
  get the GM’s permission to read it. Some GMs may 
  prefer to keep the information in this book secret 
  until they reveal it during game play, and may not 
  ever want players to read villains’ character sheets.
  
  chapter one:
  chapter one:
  MASTERMINDS
  
  6 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  DOCTOR FANG SHEN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   25 INT 
  20 
  14- 
  PER Roll 14-
   25 EGO 
  40 
  14- 
  ECV:  8
   25 PRE 
  20 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  4 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   25 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  113
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  75 
  Concealed Carried Devices:  Variable Power 
  Pool (Gadget Pool), 60 base + 30 control  
  cost; Focus (all slots must have at least -½  
  of this Limitation; -½), Powers Can Only  
  Be Changed In A Laboratory (-½) 
  var
  45 
  The Voice That Commands:  Mind Control  
  8d6, Area Of Eﬀect (voice range [see  
  Fantasy Hero, pages 133-34]; +1), Reduced 
  Endurance (½ END; +¼); Incantations  
  (orders must be loud and obvious; -¼),  
  No Range (-½), Requires A PRE Roll  
  (no Active Point penalty, is subject to Skill 
  Versus Skill Contests; -¼)  
  4
  9 
  Hypnotic Gaze:  Mind Control 8d6;  
  Hypnosis Only (cannot achieve full range  
  of Mind Control eﬀects; -½), Concentrate  
  (0 DCV throughout activation; -1),  
  Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼), No Range (-½)  4
   
  Martial Arts:  Chin Na Kung Fu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  35 STR vs. 
  Grabs
  3 
  Joint Lock/Grab -1 
  -1 
  Grab 2 Limbs, 
  30 STR for  
  holding on
  4 
  Knife Hand 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (1½d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Tien-Hsueh 
   
  Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND(1)
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  12 
  Always Has An Escape Plan Ready:   
  Luck 12d6; Only To Avoid “Certain Death” 
  (-1), Extra Time (at least 1 Hour, and often 
  longer; -3) 
  0
  10 
  Inscrutable:  +20 PRE; Only To Protect 
  against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  2 
  The Years Are Nothing:  Life Support  
  (Longevity:  ages at one-fourth normal rate) 0
   
  Perks
  50 
  Well-Connected and 47 points’ worth of 
  Contacts around the world
  10 
  Membership:  Head of the Legion Of Crime
  15 
  Wealth:  Filthy Rich
   
  All the Followers, Bases, and other resources 
  he needs
   
  Talents
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
  10 
  Resistance (10 points)
  5 
  Simulate Death 16-
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Martial Arts
  25 
  +5 with Intellect Skills
  3 
  Analyze Scientiﬁc Knowledge 14-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Criminology 14-
  3 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  Demolitions 14-
  3 
  Forensic Medicine 14-
  4 
  Forgery (Documents, Art Objects) 14-
  3 
  High Society 14-
  3 
  Interrogation 14-
  9 
  Inventor 17-
  3 
  AK: China 14-
  3 
  Mechanics 14-
  3 
  Mimicry 14-
  7 
  Oratory 16-
  3 
  Paramedic 14-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  5 
  PS: Physician 16-
  5 
  PS: Surgeon 16-
  5 
  PS: Brain Surgeon 16-
  3 
  PS: Scientist 14-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  3 
  Systems Operation 14-
  4 
  TF: Riding Animals, Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Common Melee Weapons
  7 
  Weaponsmith (Firearms, Missiles & Rockets, 
  Chemical Weapons, Biological Weapons, 
  Incendiary Weapons, Energy Weapons) 14-
  3 
  Linguist
  
  7 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  3 
  1)  Language:  Arabic (idiomatic, Mandarin 
  Chinese is Native)
  3 
  2)  Language:  Burmese (idiomatic)
  4 
  3)  Language:  Cantonese (imitate dialects)
  3 
  4)  Language:  English (idiomatic)
  3 
  5)  Language:  French (idiomatic)
  3 
  6)  Language:  Fukienese (idiomatic)
  3 
  7)  Language:  German (idiomatic)
  3 
  8)  Language:  Hakka (idiomatic)
  3 
  9)  Language:  Hindustani (idiomatic)
  3 
  10)  Language:  Italian (idiomatic)
  3 
  11)  Language:  Latin (idiomatic)
  3 
  12)  Language:  Mongolian (idiomatic)
  3 
  13)  Language:  Nepalese (idiomatic)
  3 
  14)  Language:  Russian (idiomatic)
  3 
  15)  Language:  Spanish (idiomatic)
  3 
  16)  Language:  Thai (idiomatic)
  3 
  17)  Language:  Wu (idiomatic)
  3 
  Scholar
  3 
  1)  KS: The Academic World 15-
  2 
  2)  KS: The Business World 14-
  3 
  3)  KS: Chinese Healing 15-
  3 
  4)  KS: Chinese History 15-
  3 
  5)  KS: Chinese Philosophy 15-
  2 
  6)  KS: Kung Fu 14-
  3 
  7)  KS: The Legion Of Crime 15-
  3 
  8)  KS: The Medical World 15-
  3 
  9)  KS: The Scientiﬁc World 15-
  2 
  10)  KS: Western History 14-
  2 
  11)  KS: World Criminals 14-
  3 
  Scientist
  5 
  1)  SS: Anatomy 17-
  2 
  2)  SS: Anthropology 14-
  2 
  3)  SS: Biochemistry 14-
  2 
  4)  SS: Biology 14-
  2 
  5)  SS: Botany 14-
  2 
  6)  SS: Chemistry 14-
  2 
  7)  SS: Electrical Engineering 14-
  2 
  8)  SS: Genetics 14-
  2 
  9)  SS: Linguistics 14-
  2 
  10)  SS: Mathematics14-
  2 
  11)  SS: Mechanical Engineering 14-
  5 
  12)  SS: Medicine 17-
  2 
  13)  SS: Metallurgy 14-
  2 
  14)  SS: Optics 14-
  2 
  15)  SS: Pharmacology 14-
  2 
  16)  SS: Physics 14-
  2 
  17)  SS: Psychology 14-
  5 
  18)  SS: Surgery 17-
  2 
  19)  SS: Veterinary Medicine 14-
  2 
  20)  SS: Zoology 14-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  549
  Total Cost:  662
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Lambent Violet Eyes 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognized)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable; 
  Noticed And Recognizable; Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  various law enforcement agencies 
  11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Hunted:  Captain Battle and the Science 
  Police 8- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological limitation:  Honorable, Always 
  Keeps His Word When It Is Given (Uncom-
  mon, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Enjoys Matching 
  Wits With Opponents (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Chinese Patriot 
  (Common, Strong)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Driven To Sub-
  jugate Or Eliminate All Non-Asian Peoples 
  (Very Common, Total)
  10 
  Reputation:  “The Demon Doctor,” head of 
  the Legion Of Crime 11- (Extreme)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (Frequently, 
  Minor)
  452 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  662
  EXAMPLE GADGETS FOR CONCEALED 
  CARRIED DEVICES POOL
  Cost Power
  15 
  Explosive Pellets:  Energy Blast 5d6, Explo-
  sion (+½); IAF (-½), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  15 
  Flare Pellets:  Sight Group Flash 5d6, Explo-
  sion (+½); IAF (-½), Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  15 
  Gas Pellets:  Energy Blast 3d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing or 
  appropriate immunity]; +1), Area Of Eﬀect 
  (One Hex; +½); IAF (-½), Range Based On 
  STR (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  12 
  Smoke Pellets:  Darkness to Sight Group 3” 
  radius; IAF (-½), Range Based On STR (-¼), 
  6 Charges (-¾)
  10 
  Oil Slick Pellets:  Change Environment 8” 
  radius, -4 to all DEX-based Rolls to move on/
  through; IAF (-½) Only Aﬀects Characters 
  Moving On The Ground (-¼), Range Based 
  On STR (-½), 6 Charges (-¾)
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Given his resources and abilities, whatever he needs
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  8 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Background/History:  The spark which lit the ﬂame 
  that is Fang Shen, the Demon Doctor, was struck 
  in the ancient past, when a mysterious civiliza-
  tion (perhaps the Lemurians; see Hidden Lands) 
  created a group of scrolls made of thin sheets of 
  ﬂexible metal. Inscribed on the sheets were scien-
  tiﬁc, maybe even mechano-mystical, secrets unlike 
  any the world has seen since. Somehow the scrolls 
  survived their creators’ downfall, or were lost. They 
  ended up in a cave in the mountains of what would 
  become central China.
  The scrolls languished there for thousands of 
  years. In the early nineteenth century, a young Chi-
  nese scholar exploring the caverns for interesting 
  rock formations found them at long last. Fascinated 
  by the strange scrolls and the unknown writing on 
  them, the scholar, a physician and patriot named 
  Fang Shen, took them home to study. After sev-
  eral years of hard work he deciphered the writing 
  system and was amazed to see the wonders the 
  scrolls described... and excited at the possibilities 
  they represented for his country if he could unravel 
  their secrets. He pored over them again and again, 
  absorbing all the knowledge they had to share, as 
  well as everything that he could learn from more 
  mundane sources. He even went so far as to travel 
  to Western lands to learn from their universities so 
  he could build the foundation he needed to under-
  stand the secrets contained within the scrolls. He 
  pushed himself to the limits of human capacity, 
  honing his intellect and will until he had mastered 
  science after science and the knowledge within the 
  scrolls — or some of it, at least — was within his 
  grasp.
  He quickly discovered that many of the 
  instructions and theorems the scrolls contained 
  made absolutely no sense — they were appar-
  ently based on a scientiﬁc system or principles he 
  had not yet grasped. Other processes depended 
  on sources of power or materials the scroll’s writ-
  ers had thought so obvious that they were only 
  named without further explanation or description, 
  or appeared so absurd in the light of his scientiﬁc 
  training he was forced to conclude they’d been 
  added solely to throw readers oﬀ the track. Even 
  with those problems, however, the information he 
  gained was enough to place him decades, perhaps 
  even a century or more, ahead of others in many 
  ﬁelds of science and medicine. His goal achieved, 
  he pondered how best to help China with his 
  newly-won knowledge... and received a sign that 
  showed him the way.
  That sign was the Western invasion of China 
  in 1840 during the Opium Wars. As the British 
  seized Chinese cities and forced the Empress to 
  submit to foreign decrees, Fang’s patriotism grew 
  into outrage. As time went on and he saw the 
  decline of his country’s power and people as more 
  and more Western powers inﬂuenced or controlled 
  China’s internal and external aﬀairs, his outrage 
  became boiling anger... and a determination to 
  revenge the wrongs done to his homeland and 
  people. Knowing that to act oﬃcially was to bring 
  further disaster down on China, he determined 
  to act in secret against those he perceived as her 
  enemies. He turned his prodigious intellect and will 
  toward laying the groundwork for the organiza-
  tion that would come to be known as the Legion 
  Of Crime. He started small, but in a frighteningly 
  short span of time the Legion was suﬃciently large 
  and well-organized to pose a threat to the Western 
  powers he intended to wage war against. He held 
  oﬀ on declaring that war until after the turn of 
  the century, when the defeat of the Boxer Rebel-
  lion, which he had in part secretly helped to fund, 
  proved to him China would not be able to defend 
  herself for many decades to come.
  The Legion Of Crime oﬃcially began opera-
  tions in 1902, spreading tentacles through the 
  shadows of the underworld to encircle the globe. 
  Within a few years, as he engineered plot after plot 
  against the Western powers, oﬃcials on several 
  continents came to a growing awareness that the 
  Legion’s master, the shadowy Dr. Fang, was a power 
  to be reckoned with. Some of his plans succeeded, 
  some failed, but even in failure there was always 
  the sense there was more to come — a feeling Dr. 
  Fang was only too happy to transform into real-
  ity. He released deadly plagues, engineered social 
  unrest, and backed corrupt political candidates as 
  ways of weakening the Western powers. He was not, 
  as some have suggested, responsible for the Stock 
  Market Crash of 1929, although he did contribute 
  heavily to political candidates who backed the insti-
  tution of Prohibition with the certain knowledge of 
  the chaos and corruption the Volstead Act would 
  create in America. Any plan to bring down China’s 
  enemies and allow her to resume her rightful place 
  at the head of the world’s powers was worth consid-
  ering and attempting.
  The existence of his daughters, Li Lian and 
  Ming Wei, was ﬁrst made known to the world in 
  1928. With their ready and deadly assistance, Dr. 
  Fang moved his plans to the next level, since he no 
  longer had to maintain day-to-day control of the 
  Legion’s activities and could instead devote himself 
  to the downfall and destruction of his enemies. 
  The addition of Lok Shing to the Inner Circle of 
  the Legion in 1932 completed the development of 
  the Circle’s modern structure, presenting the world 
  with a threat so great that most simply refused to 
  believe in its scope — ignoring the fact that just 
  because they don’t believe in the Legion doesn’t 
  mean the Legion didn’t believe in them.
  Personality/Motivation:  A fervent Chinese nation-
  alist, Dr. Fang felt the shame and humiliation of 
  seeing his beloved homeland humbled and cast 
  into the dirt by the Western powers on a deep, 
  personal level. He views each new outrage not 
  just as an act committed against his country, but 
  a direct attack on his person as well. He became 
  determined to right the wrongs done to China 
  and return tenfold all of the suffering she had 
  been forced to endure. Fueled by his incompa-
  rable will, that determination came to dominate 
  his life, and was the impetus for the formation 
  of the Legion Of Crime, the greatest criminal 
  organization in the world today. Everything he 
  does somehow traces back to that single motiva-
  OTHER NAMES  
  FOR DR. FANG
  At various times and 
  places, Dr. Fang has 
  been called many things 
  by the people who stand 
  against him and the 
  ones who serve him. 
  While he knows of all of 
  these alternate names, 
  and privately ﬁnds 
  amusement in some of 
  them, only the bravest 
  or most foolhardy risk 
  his wrath by using some 
  of them to his face:
  Lord Fang
  The Demon Doctor
  Master Of The Thou-
  sand Hells
  The Mad Mandarin
  Satan’s Surgeon
  The Revered Doctor
  Demon Prince Of 
  Ximeng
  Hand Of T’ai Shan (the 
  Chinese god of life, fate, 
  destiny, and death)
  The Devil With The 
  Amethyst Eyes
  Aka Manah (a Persian 
  demon of vile thoughts 
  and discord)
  
  9 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  tion, and he will do or dare almost anything in 
  the pursuit of his goal. He considers the Brit-
  ish and the Japanese to be the two most hated 
  enemies of China:  Britain for her past role in the 
  domination of the country, and her possession 
  of Chinese territories; Japan for her invasion and 
  occupation of the Chinese homeland in the pur-
  suit of her own imperial ambitions. America, the 
  sleeping lion, is a close third, as Fang recognizes 
  the danger she represents were she to come to 
  life and seek to exert her power. Consequently, 
  he aims most of his plots at one of those three 
  nations, although there is no Western power that 
  has escaped his attentions completely.
  Doctor Fang deals ruthlessly with those who 
  oppose him when he must, but finds the intel-
  lectual stimulation he gains from matching wits 
  against opponents of the proper caliber to be 
  so satisfying that he purposefully avoids simply 
  murdering them in their homes or executing 
  them when they fall into his hands. Instead he 
  devises fiendish traps and impossible situations, 
  then places or lures his opponents into them 
  to see if they’re worthy of further attention. 
  Even his general plans are designed to allow 
  adversaries the chance to halt them if they’re 
  clever enough, although having done so, they 
  may sometimes find they wish they had not. 
  No matter how hopeless a situation Dr. Fang 
  engineers might appear to be, there’s always at 
  least one way out of it if the victims are clever 
  (or lucky) enough to find it. An inescapable trap 
  is, after all, no true test of an opponent, and Dr. 
  Fang enjoys the game of pitting his cleverness 
  against his enemies too much to cheat himself of 
  a victory that way.
  While willing to perform the most despicable 
  acts in the pursuit of his goals, Dr. Fang is honor-
  able in the sense that his word is inviolate. If he 
  promises something, then it is fact, no matter 
  what the situation or the personal cost involved in 
  making good on that promise. Consequently, he’s 
  reluctant to make promises or to give his word, 
  and while doing so will restrict himself to single, 
  narrow statements, since he knows a promise 
  must stand until the end of his days, and perhaps 
  beyond. He will, however, promise more broadly if 
  the situation requires it (for example to save his life, 
  or the lives of his daughters, or as a reward to an 
  exceptional opponent).
  Despite, or perhaps because of, his scientiﬁc 
  genius, Dr. Fang is incapable of understanding, 
  much less utilizing, magic. He regards any claims 
  of mystic powers or belief in the supernatural as 
  foolish, and simply assumes any evidence of them 
  to be the result of science (although possibly of 
  a type with which he is unfamiliar). He consid-
  ers his fellow countryman, Dr. Yin Wu (see The 
  Dragon Mandarin) not to be an immortal sorcerer 
  or mystic, just an accomplished scientist who’s also 
  discovered the secret of longevity and who cloaks 
  his skills with a veneer of false mysticism to appear 
  more mysterious and enigmatic to those who serve 
  or oppose him. If confronted by magic, or mystic 
  events, he explains them away scientiﬁcally... after 
  all, there is so little he cannot do with technology 
  that his skills appear to be magic themselves.
  Quote:  “You have foiled me once again, Captain 
  Battle, but mark this well:  you may stop my plans 
  many times, but I need succeed only once to sweep 
  your arrogant race from the globe and return it to 
  its true masters.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Despite the fact that he leads 
  the most powerful criminal organization in the 
  world, knows scientific secrets denied to other 
  men, and possesses enough wealth to make the 
  emperors of old look poor, the greatest weap-
  ons Dr. Fang has are his incredible intellect and 
  indomitable will. He is, simply, one of the great-
  est — he will not claim the title of the greatest 
  until the world is at his feet — scientific minds 
  in the world, perhaps of all time. His knowledge 
  spans almost every discipline known to man, 
  delves into places most men would fear to go, 
  and emerges stronger than before. He’s capable of 
  feats of scientific invention generations ahead of 
  most of the current scientific community thanks 
  to his study of the ancient scrolls that started 
  him on his path to power and all he has learned 
  since then. Only the most advanced thinkers 
  can understand his greatest inventions, and 
  even fewer can duplicate or neutralize them. His 
  greatest achievements are in the medical field, 
  DOCTOR FANG  
  SHEN PLOT SEEDS
  A newly-founded charitable organization begins to set 
  up soup kitchens around New York City, feeding hun-
  dreds, perhaps thousands of unemployed and homeless 
  people every day. When some of those people go mad 
  and begin to attack people on the street in berserk 
  frenzies, exhibiting unnatural strength, investigations 
  lead back to the soup kitchens... and the discovery Dr. 
  Fang is secretly funding them. Why is he doing this, 
  and what sinister plans does he have with Thanksgiving 
  fast approaching?
  A character with scientific renown slowly begins 
  to notice odds slips in behavior by his friends and 
  loved ones. When he investigates, he discovers 
  evidence that suggests that many of his closest 
  companions have been replaced with well-trained 
  duplicates who are spying on him and stealing 
  his scientific work for Dr. Fang. Have the friends 
  really been replaced, or is Dr. Fang setting the 
  character up for a potentially devastating tragedy 
  when he confronts the supposed duplicates?
  Whispers reach the characters of a fabulous treasure 
  hidden in a lost temple in the jungles of India, a trea-
  sure of such value that Dr. Fang and Akash Varmandali 
  are both rumored to be racing to gain control of it:  the 
  Fire of Heaven, a bejeweled bronze dagger supposedly 
  forged in the ﬂames of a falling star. Doctor Fang wants 
  to subject it to metallurgical analysis and replicate the 
  alloy that lets the blade cut steel, and Akash Varmandali 
  wants to use a legend surrounding the destiny of the 
  Fire’s possessor to raise an army of followers and sweep 
  himself to total power in India. When the characters 
  are approached by Dr. Fang to act on his behalf as the 
  lesser of two great evils, what will they do?
  
  10 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  where his abilities are virtually unmatched by 
  any other physician. He can perform advanced 
  brain surgery, mutate living organisms almost at 
  will, and significantly retard the aging process.
  Doctor Fang augments his already magnifi-
  cent scientific knowledge with processes and 
  formulae stolen from the best scientific minds 
  in the world. He uses any means necessary to 
  acquire what he wants, from theft, to blackmail, 
  to murder. He dislikes killing other scientists, 
  particularly ones intelligent enough for him 
  to steal from, but if they must die so he can 
  acquire the information he needs, then die they 
  shall. Ideally, he prefers to kidnap a scientist and 
  a close family member so he can use the loved 
  one as a hostage and a way to apply pressure. 
  Favorite ways of doing this include injecting the 
  loved one with a poison that requires regular 
  doses of an antidote to stave off a horrid, linger-
  ing death, or the threat of performing his trade-
  mark surgery on them and making them into a 
  Legionnaire, but he knows endless variations on 
  this theme.
  While no coward, Dr. Fang has little use for 
  personal combat as a means of settling issues. 
  He’s a capable, although unexceptional, student 
  of Chin Na Kung Fu, and practices regularly 
  to ensure physical health, but he has not been 
  forced to engage an opponent in actual combat 
  for a decade or more. If expecting a threat of that 
  nature, he makes sure to have a good selection of 
  concealed weapons and gadgets so he can depart 
  should it become necessary, summon as many 
  Legionnaires as needed, and defend himself if 
  he must. He may also bring along Lok Shing 
  or one of his daughters if that seems prudent. 
  Only the most extreme situations would cause 
  him to endanger his plans for the future of the 
  Legion and risk both his own life and the lives of 
  both his daughters simultaneously. If forced by 
  extreme measures to engage in physical combat, 
  he Blocks attacks until he has an opening for a 
  Tien-Hsueh strike or a chance to immobilize an 
  opponent with a joint lock (so he can use the 
  hapless victim as a shield).
  Doctor Fang’s primary method of direct 
  conﬂict resolution is to employ the Voice That 
  Commands, a technique that combines a care-
  ful modulation of his voice, an exquisite sense 
  of timing, the sheer force of his personality, and 
  his masterful knowledge of the human psyche to 
  allow him to issue commands to anyone or every-
  one within the sound of his voice, even enemies. 
  A suﬃciently strong opposed will can resist the 
  commands most of the time, but even that is no 
  guarantee. He normally restricts himself to simple 
  commands that alter the situation in his favor 
  (“Drop that pistol, Captain”) as opposed to more 
  complex orders that may confuse things further or 
  take too long to utter. Failing that, he’ll attempt to 
  turn the force of his will on opponents in another 
  fashion by utilizing the power of his focused gaze 
  and voice to ease them into a hypnotic trance. If 
  that works, he has many options with which to 
  bedevil his now-helpless opponent.
  Doctor Fang has returned from seemingly 
  certain death on a number of occasions, each 
  time explaining his survival as the result of a 
  pre-planned escape route, a surgically-altered 
  duplicate substituted at the last minute, or some 
  other cunning plan that ensured his survival. 
  He never goes anywhere without having at least 
  two or three escape plans (and often more). 
  Having learned enough from the ancient scrolls 
  and his own researches to develop a process 
  that greatly extends his lifespan, he guards him-
  self well — he doesn’t take foolish risks because 
  he knows he can afford to be patient. As a side 
  effect the treatment turns the subject’s eyes a 
  startling lambent violet. Most people assume 
  the color is a family trait shared by the Doctor 
  and his daughters, but anyone receiving his 
  anti-aging process develops it.
  Fang’s plans vary widely, but all have at their 
  core both a connection to his desire to see the 
  non-Asiatic races of the world cast down and 
  the distinction that they’re always deeper than 
  they appear. Every action has a purpose, but that 
  purpose is never the one that’s most obvious, 
  and each success — or failure — leads to a new 
  stage of the plan. It’s not unknown for oppo-
  nents to thwart every aspect of a plot Dr. Fang 
  has enacted... only to discover in the end that 
  their seemingly hard-won victories were actually 
  defeats. Even his deathtraps follow this theme, 
  with the most obvious method of escape often 
  plunging the victim into still-greater danger. 
  For example, a pit trap might lead to a slide 
  that tosses a character out over an underground 
  pool containing a pair of hungry sharks, with an 
  apparently-forgotten ladder dangling near the 
  exit point of the chute... except that the rungs of 
  the ladder are really sword blades sheathed in 
  fragile balsa wood that will break away, terribly 
  gashing the hands of anyone trying to grab them 
  before precipitating them into the pool with their 
  ability to defend themselves impaired... and the 
  blood driving the sharks into a frenzy.
  Resources:  Fang Shen’s resources are many 
  and varied. Chief among them is the Legion Of 
  Crime (also known in some circles as the Legion 
  Of Evil), a shadowy organization that has spread 
  all over the world since it began over thirty 
  years ago. It is arranged with hundreds of small 
  enterprises and businesses — not only criminal 
  ones, but otherwise legitimate ones maintained 
  as fronts and sources of profit — at the bottom, 
  all grouped by global region. These assets report 
  to an umbrella organization over them, which 
  in turn reports to another above it, and so on. 
  While many of the members of the Legion know 
  exactly who they’re working for and serve him 
  with unquestioned loyalty, some Legion agents 
  aren’t aware that they are, in fact, members of 
  the Legion — they think they belong to a smaller 
  business, gang, or regional crime group. Several 
  tongs and triads, a pair of European crime rings, 
  and at least one American mob are secretly part 
  of the Legion, as are numerous smaller groups 
  
  11 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  around the world. Li Lian controls Legion activi-
  ties in Asia and Africa, Ming Wei has authority 
  over Europe and the Americas, and Lok Shing is 
  a roving troubleshooter who goes wherever he’s 
  needed. In practice, this means he spends most 
  of his time assisting Ming Wei with affairs in 
  America and Europe, as her territories require 
  the most attention. At the head of the pyramid, 
  unquestioned master of the Legion, is Dr. Fang 
  himself. In the unlikely event of his death, he 
  has left instructions which make it clear that he 
  expects Li Lian to assume control of the Legion 
  and carry out his plans.
  The manpower under Dr. Fang’s control is 
  almost unlimited. He controls the 16,000-indi-
  vidual strong rank-and-ﬁle of the Legion Of Crime, 
  which encompasses individuals of all walks of life 
  and levels of society, in every corner of the world, 
  regardless of nationality, as well as the 2,000 elite 
  Legionnaires who serve as his and his daughters’ 
  personal troops. Beyond that, he can arrange 
  through intermediaries to hire as many men as he 
  needs, wherever he requires them, for however long 
  he might need them.
  With the vast fortune he’s amassed both per-
  sonally and as the leader of the Legion Of Crime, 
  there’s virtually nothing Dr. Fang cannot purchase, 
  and even less he cannot steal if it’s not for sale. His 
  wealth is not limited to business interests alone; 
  the resources he controls include vast quantities of 
  precious metals and gems, works of art, and other 
  valuables. But he regards his wealth as secondary 
  to the true currency of the powerful — knowledge. 
  He seeks to gather as much information as possible, 
  with the result that his massive ﬁles often contain 
  secrets and information on individuals both power-
  ful and insigniﬁcant.
  Doctor Fang maintains three primary 
  hidden bases from which he directs the Legion 
  and plans the return of China as the preemi-
  nent power in the world. The first is his primary 
  residence and laboratories, located in a remote 
  valley in the Kuku Nor province of China. This 
  includes the headquarters of the Legion Of 
  Crime, the training grounds for the Legionnaires, 
  and his primary storehouses of material wealth. 
  The next is a smaller residence and base in the 
  remote hills of northern Scotland, from which he 
  directs his plans against the hated British Empire 
  and oversees Legion operations in Europe. The 
  third is a base of equal size to Scotland’s in a 
  remote private sanatorium in upstate New York 
  that caters to the wealthy, which offers him a 
  vantage point to oversee operations against the 
  growing giant of America. In addition to those 
  primary facilities, through layers of obfuscating 
  corporate ownership and false names he owns 
  hundreds of properties usable as temporary 
  bases and at least one residence in every major 
  city on the globe, although many of those are 
  used by Li Lian, Ming Wei, and Lok Shing more 
  often than by Dr. Fang himself.
  Relations With Others:  Doctor Fang sees little to 
  be gained in working with others as an equal, 
  because he recognizes few individuals as equals, 
  and none as a superior. If approached by some-
  one who seeks to become his “partner” or “ally,” 
  Dr. Fang would be willing to enter into a tem-
  porary partnership for the accomplishment of 
  a single specific goal he approved of, but would 
  never agree to a permanent arrangement. Among 
  the few with whom he would consider a partner-
  ship of convenience are Dr. Yin Wu and Akash 
  Varmandali. Other individuals, particularly 
  Westerners, might be allowed to think they’d 
  entered into a partnership with him, but they’d 
  soon enough find themselves consigned to Dr. 
  Fang’s dungeons when their usefulness passed... 
  and that assumes they were unlucky enough to 
  survive his displeasure, for the lucky ones he 
  simply kills.
  Campaign Use:  As appropriate for a Pulp master-
  mind, Dr. Fang is suitable for an incredible variety 
  of storylines ranging from archaeological expedi-
  tions to lost cities, to urban criminal activities, to 
  Weird Science threats. His goal to destroy or sub-
  jugate the Caucasian races he blames for China’s 
  downfall could lead him into almost any sort of 
  scenario... although given his penchant for labyrin-
  thine plans, it might not become apparent to the 
  characters until much later that his was the hand 
  set against them.
  
  12 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  To make him a more powerful opponent in 
  general, increase the power he can bring to bear 
  against the characters by adding more special-
  ized Followers, additional named henchmen, 
  vehicles, and other resources he needs to provide 
  an adequate threat or challenge. To make him a less 
  powerful general opponent, reduce the numbers 
  of same, eliminate one of his bases, and reduce the 
  power level of his named henchmen. To make him 
  a more powerful personal threat, beef up his physi-
  cal Characteristics, and/or give him more Martial 
  Arts maneuvers (and some Extra Damage Classes 
  and Combat Skill Levels) so that he’s more than a 
  match for any PC in HTH Combat. To lessen the 
  personal threat he poses, reduce or eliminate his 
  Gadget Pool.
  As a Hunter, Dr. Fang is both incredibly 
  dangerous and perplexingly enigmatic. He Hunts 
  characters personally only when they’ve proven 
  themselves worthy of his time and interest by suc-
  cessfully defeating ﬁrst Lok Shing, and then both Li 
  Lian and Ming Wei, on several occasions each... but 
  once they’ve done so, he’ll Hunt them without fail. 
  He has incredible patience and will devise complex 
  plans to test a Hunted character on as many levels 
  — mental, physical, social, moral — as possible. The 
  idea is that if the characters are skilled enough to 
  oppose him, then by discovering their limits and 
  what drives them, he can make his plans to subju-
  gate the peoples they represent the best and bright-
  est of that much better.
  Appearance:  Thanks to his experiments in age 
  retardation, Dr. Fang appears to be a Chinese man 
  in good physical condition between 40 and 50 years 
  of age. He has slightly greying black hair worn in 
  a traditional Manchu braid, a thin moustache that 
  falls to the edges of his jaw, and eyebrows that slant 
  upwards at a sharp, almost unnatural angle. A side 
  eﬀect of the process that halts his aging has turned 
  his eyes a lambent violet. He normally dresses in 
  the robes and round, brimless hat of a Manchu 
  court oﬃcial, but eschews the long ﬁngernails asso-
  ciated with some members of that class to make the 
  operation of his scientiﬁc instruments easier. He 
  never carries a visible weapon, but always has sev-
  eral small, concealed devices — smoke pellets and 
  the like — on his person to assist in escapes should 
  it be necessary.
  LI LIAN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  9 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  2
   40 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  98
  Movement: 
  Running:  10”/20”
   
  Swimming:  4”/8”
   
  Leaping:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Resplendent Dragon and Shou 
  Chih T’ien T’ang Kung Fu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Dragon 
   
  Snatches Prey -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 45 STR 
  to Disarm
  3 
  Dragon’s Tail Brushes 
   
  The Ground 
  +2 
  -1 
  8d6 Strike; 
  Target Falls
  3 
  Hsu Pao’s Twisting 
   
  Reversal 
  +0 
  +1 
  7d6 +v/5; Target 
  Falls
  3 
  Inescapable Grasp 
   
  Of The Heavens -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 45 STR 
  for holding on
  4 
  Storm Clouds 
   
  Enfold The Sky +0 
  +0 
  11d6 Crush, 
  Must Follow 
  Grab
  5 
  Swooping Dragon 
   
  Maneuver 
  +1 
  +0 
  7d6 + v/5; 
  FMove
  4 
  The Dragon’s 
   
  Claw 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6+1 
  (2d6+1 with 
  STR)
  4 
  The Fist Of The 
   
  Scarlet Dragon +0 
  +2 
  9d6 Strike
  5 
  The Golden 
   
  Dragon Strike +1 
  +3 
  7d6 Strike
  4 
  The Moon Dragon’s 
   
  Shining Scales +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  The Sublime 
   
  Avoidance 
  -- 
  +5 
  Dodge All 
  Attacks, Abort
  4 
  Use Art with Blades, Dragon Staﬀ, Polearms, 
  and Staﬀ
  16 
  +4 Damage Classes (already added in)
  
  13 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  33 
  Hands Like Lightning:  HA +5d6, Area  
  Of Eﬀect (One Hex Doubled; +¾), Selective 
  (+¼); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½)  
  5
  5 
  Master Of The Dragon Staﬀ:  Autoﬁre  
  (2 shots; +¼) for up to 5 DCs/25 Active 
  Points of melee weapons, Reduced  
  Endurance (0 END; +1); OIF (any  
  dragon staﬀ of opportunity; -½), Only  
  With Dragon Staﬀ (-1) 
  0
  13 
  Blow Slipping:  Physical Damage  
  Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Must Be  
  Aware Of Attack (-¼), Requires A DEX  
  Roll (-¾), Does Not Work Against  
  Dim Mak (-¼) 
  0
  8 
  Swift Runner:  Running +4” (10” total) 
  1
  2 
  Strong Swimmer:  Swimming +2” (4” total) 1
  2 
  Dragon Soars Through The Clouds:   
  Leaping +3” (6” forward, 3” upward); 
  Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-½) 
  1
  9 
  Supreme Balance:  Flight 8”; Only Along  
  Reasonably Horizontal Surfaces (-½),  
  No Noncombat Movement (-¼) 
  1
  2 
  The Years Are Nothing:  Life Support  
  (Longevity:  ages at one-fourth normal rate) 0
   
  Perks
  8 
  Membership:  Inner Circle of the Legion Of 
  Crime
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  17 
  Combat Sense 14-
   
  Skills
  15 
  My Kung Fu Is Strong:  +5 with Martial Arts
  10 
  Your Kung Fu Is Weak: +4 HTH; Requires An 
  Analyze Style Roll (-½), Only Applies Versus 
  Targets Against Whom Character Has Made 
  A Successful Analyze Style Roll (-½)
  10 
  +2 with Agility Skills
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  7 
  Analyze Style 14-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  10 
  Defense Maneuver I-IV
  4 
  AK: Asia 13-
  4 
  AK: China 13-
  3 
  KS: Kung Fu 12-
  6 
  KS: The Martial World 15-
  3 
  KS: Dr. Fang’s Operations 12-
  4 
  Language:  Cantonese (Native, Mandarin is 
  Native)
  4 
  Language:  English (idiomatic)
  3 
  Language:  Japanese (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Mongol (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Paramedics 12-
  4 
  PS: Sensei 13-
  4 
  PS: Cooking 13-
  3 
  PS: Go 12-
  5 
  Rapid Attack (HTH)
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  4 
  TF: Riding Animals, Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles
  7 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Martial Arts Melee Weapons, Common Mis-
  sile Weapons, Dragon Staﬀ
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  308
  Total Cost:  406
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Lambent Violet Eyes 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognized)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable; 
  Noticed And Recognizable; Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  various law enforcement agencies 
  11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Fang and the Legion Of Crime 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Blind To Father’s 
  And Sister’s True Nature (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Of The Chi-
  nese Master (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Honorable (always 
  keeps word, protects and honors family at all 
  costs) (Common, Total)
  5 
  Reputation:  Dr. Fang’s deadly and honorable 
  daughter, 8- (Extreme, Known To Limited 
  Group)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other martial art-
  ists, to see who is the best)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (Chinese) (Fre-
  quently, Minor)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  191 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  406
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Damage 
  STUN 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Dragon Staﬀ
     Staﬀ 
  +0 
  — 
  4d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  8
     Claws 
  +0 
  — 
  ½d6 K 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Usually little, since she has servants to carry it for her, but given her father’s resources she can have just about any 
  gear she needs for a mission.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  14 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Background/History:  The 
  oldest of Dr. Fang’s twin 
  daughters, Li Lian ( ‘beauti-
  ful daughter of the sun”) 
  was born in the years before 
  the Great War to the care-
  fully-selected woman Dr. 
  Fang chose to bear his 
  children. She grew to be a 
  tall and beautiful girl. She 
  ﬂourished under the strict 
  training regimen her father 
  designed for his daughters, 
  developing an athletic grace 
  and power that exceeded 
  even her father’s expecta-
  tions. When her father 
  took her and her sister to 
  the remote Temple of the 
  Dragon for further training 
  in the obscure and ancient 
  art of Resplendent Dragon 
  Kung Fu, she was overjoyed 
  at the new challenges the 
  training represented. She 
  thrived on the constant 
  physical trials and tests the 
  monks put the two children 
  through, outstripping her 
  younger sister by greater 
  and greater margins as time 
  went on.
  Li Lian mastered the 
  teachings of the monks with 
  a skill and speed that brought smiles to their faces, 
  and then moved on to the more advanced teachings 
  most students twice her age could not master. She 
  continued to improve as time went on, outstripping 
  even some of the monks with her sheer skill. By the 
  time her father called her home from the Temple 
  to join him and her sister in running the Legion 
  Of Crime, she had progressed to the mastery of 
  the Dragon Staﬀ, Resplendent Dragon Kung Fu’s 
  specialty weapon. Since departing the Temple, she 
  has spent time studying the style of her father’s elite 
  Legionnaires, although her level of mastery in it 
  does not yet equal that of her primary style.
  Doctor Fang oﬃcially made Li Lian a member 
  of the Council of the Legion Of Crime in 1930 — 
  one of the rare instances when her sister succeeded 
  at something earlier than she did. Since then, she 
  has overseen Legion operations across Asia and 
  Africa, where her physical prowess stands her in 
  greater stead than in the more urbane capitals of 
  the Western world. It is a challenging task, but one 
  at which she intends to excel as she has at all others.
  Personality/Motivation:  The single most powerful 
  motivation in Li Lian’s life is her sense of honor. 
  Under the code taught her by her father and the 
  monks who raised her, she must respect, honor, and 
  protect her family above all else, and always keep 
  her word. Her devotion to this code is so absolute 
  that she won’t allow herself to see that the rest of 
  her family is not as honorable as she is. She loyally 
  follows her father’s commands, believing him to be 
  a stern but honorable man who seeks to save the 
  world from itself. She considers her sister a lonely 
  but honorable woman who’s missing some vital 
  spark in her life and seeks it in places and ways Li 
  Lian believes are incorrect. Li Lian even willingly 
  accepts punishments for things Ming Wei does if 
  she feels the punishment is more than Ming Wei 
  can bear. Even were she to discover or be shown the 
  truth about her family, she would still be compelled 
  to protect and honor them just as strongly — but 
  she would attempt to dissuade them from dishon-
  orable actions.
  Li Lian’s preoccupation with honor bleeds over 
  into her martial skill as well. She never refuses a 
  challenge to honorable combat, although she may 
  send Legionnaires or other individuals against a 
  challenger ﬁrst to ensure that they’re worthy to 
  receive her attentions. Despite her skills and focus 
  on the martial arts, she respects intelligence and 
  honorable behavior, the two traits she most strongly 
  associates with her father, in opponents more than 
  pure martial skill. Raw ﬁghting ability comes in a 
  distant third, but she still seeks to prove her superi-
  ority in that arena by challenging other ﬁghters she 
  deems worthy.
  Li Lian doesn’t believe her father would leave 
  control of the Legion and the continuance of his 
  plans to her in the event of his death, as she sees 
  herself as unworthy of such an honor. But if he 
  dies, she’ll learn otherwise, and regardless of her 
  LI LIAN PLOT SEEDS
  After several encounters 
  with the heroes, one of 
  which leads at least some 
  of them to owe her a 
  debt of honor, Li Lian 
  discovers her sister is 
  missing. Lacking the skills 
  to discover Ming Wei’s 
  whereabouts on her own, 
  and suspecting a betrayal 
  from within the Legion, 
  she contacts the PCs and 
  informs them that she’s 
  calling in the debt. She 
  requests that they locate 
  her sister, rescue her from 
  whatever diﬃculty has 
  befallen her, and return 
  her safely. What has hap-
  pened to Ming Wei? Or is 
  the missing sister really Li 
  Lian, and this is Ming Wei 
  posing as her to arrange 
  her sister’s rescue?
  A character returns 
  home to discover Li Lian 
  waiting for him with an 
  intricately carved jade 
  box in her hands. She 
  explains the box is a gift 
  from her father in rec-
  ognition of an honored 
  foe. It contains something 
  the character will need 
  at an unspeciﬁed future 
  time, at which time it 
  will open automatically. 
  Until then, it must stay in 
  the character’s home and 
  remain unopened, for to 
  open it before the time of 
  need will prove to be as 
  great a disaster as the one 
  it is oﬀered to prevent. 
  Will the character accept? 
  What threat would 
  prompt Dr. Fang to oﬀer 
  such a gift to an enemy 
  — or is it another insidi-
  ous trap of some sort?
  Continued on next page
  
  15 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  personal feelings will honor his memory and last 
  request by assuming control of the Legion and con-
  tinuing her father’s plans for the world with just as 
  ruthless a hand as his.
  Quote:  “If the correctness of my father’s actions 
  cannot convince you, then perhaps my skill as a 
  warrior will.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Unlike her sister, Li Lian is a 
  straightforward ﬁghter — she rarely, if ever, resorts 
  to tricks and stratagems to win ﬁghts. If possible, 
  she studies an opponent and uses her Your Kung Fu 
  Is Weak power to gauge a foe’s skill, then engages 
  him in the best way to win the ﬁght. She ﬁghts 
  single powerful foes with her Martial Arts and 
  dragon staﬀ; against groups of lesser opponents 
  she relies on her Hands Like Lightning maneuver. 
  If attacked with ﬁrearms she goes on the defensive 
  (i.e., she allocates most of her Combat Skill Levels 
  to DCV) and attempts to close with her opponent 
  to disarm him, or simply withdraws and awaits a 
  better opportunity to attack. If speciﬁcally chal-
  lenged to one-on-one combat or competition, she 
  willingly negotiates terms and abides by them.
  When leading the Legion, Li Lian’s plans 
  resemble her personal tactics. She comes straight 
  at an adversary with the forces at her command, 
  then seeks to separate her more dangerous foes 
  from their allies and companions so she can easily 
  deal with them. Her goals are straightforward, with 
  none of the careful, layered planning her father and 
  sister employ. She doesn’t use underhanded or dis-
  honorable tactics, but as a skilled tactician and war-
  rior she’s willing to employ misdirection and feints 
  to distract an opponent.
  Campaign Use:  Li Lian is the honorable warrior 
  and dutiful daughter who serves a master (her 
  father) faithfully and doesn’t see the evil he com-
  mits. If the PCs convince her that she’s serving evil, 
  they may persuade her to assist them to prevent her 
  father from dishonoring himself, although she’ll 
  never allow them to cause him (or her sister) any 
  actual harm — if they do, she will take revenge. 
  She might make a suitable romantic interest for a 
  hero who’s both honorable and a skilled enough 
  ﬁghter to be her equal... provided her paramour 
  can understand and accept that her devotion to her 
  family is unshakeable.
  To make Li Lian more powerful, increase her 
  DEX to 20, give her more Martial Maneuvers, and 
  give her some appropriate martial arts powers from 
  the examples in The Ultimate Martial Artist, pages 
  119-134 and Ninja Hero, pages 29-42. To make her 
  weaker, reduce her DEX to 15 and SPD to 3, and 
  remove her Damage Classes, Your Kung Fu Is Weak 
  power, and either her Combat Luck or Damage 
  Reduction.
  Li Lian won’t Hunt characters unless on the 
  orders of her father, or they cause true harm to 
  her sister or father. In either case, if left to her own 
  devices, she’s direct and honorable in her approach 
  unless her target shows himself to be without 
  honor, in which case she strikes without warn-
  ing while accompanied by as many Legionnaires 
  as necessary to ensure victory. If Hunting on the 
  orders of her father, she follows whatever instruc-
  tions or plans he gives her as interpreted through 
  the lens of her honor.
  Appearance:  At 5’7”, Li Lian is exceptionally tall 
  for a woman in the Thirties, let alone a Chinese 
  woman, and moves with an athletic grace that 
  accentuates her undeniable beauty. Her age is inde-
  terminate, anywhere from her late teens to her early 
  thirties. She wears her black hair long, down to her 
  mid-back when unbound, but normally keeps it 
  braided. She has the same violet eyes as her father, 
  a side eﬀect of the age retardation process he devel-
  oped. She rarely wears makeup. Unless requested 
  otherwise by her father, or required to navigate 
  Western society, she dresses in loose-ﬁtting tradi-
  tional Kung Fu outﬁts of silk and cotton.
  Continued from last page
  Doctor Fang informs Li 
  Lian that the time has 
  come for her to marry 
  and provide him with 
  an heir. He instructs her 
  to select three men she 
  feels would make a ﬁt 
  husband; he will also 
  select three. He plans 
  to make all six compete 
  in a series of contests 
  of physical and mental 
  ability around the world, 
  with the winner becom-
  ing her husband. Not 
  wishing to disobey her 
  father, but hoping to 
  marry for love, Li Lian 
  selects one or more 
  of the PCs whom she 
  considers capable of 
  winning, but honorable 
  enough to refuse her 
  hand due to prior com-
  mitments or a desire to 
  win her honorably.
  
  16 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  MING WEI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
  13 
  STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
  18 
  DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
  17 
  CON 
  14 
  12-
  12 
  BODY 4 
  11-
  18 
  INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
  14 
  EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
  20 
  PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
  20 
  COM 
  5 
  13-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  9 PD (3 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  6 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   7 REC 
  2
   38 END 
  2
   30 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  97
  Movement: 
  Running:  8”/16”
   
  Swimming:  3”/6”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Resplendent Dragon, Midnight 
  Dragon, and Shou Chih T’ien T’ang Kung Fu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  The Dragon’s 
   
  Claw 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR))
  3 
  Dragon’s Tail Brushes 
   
  The Ground 
  +2 
  -1 
  4½d6 Strike; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  The Fist Of The 
   
  Ebon Dragon +0 
  +2 
  2½d6 Strike
  5 
  The Midnight Dragon 
   
  Strike 
  +1 
  +3 
  2½d6 Strike
  3 
  Hsu Pao’s Twisting 
   
  Reversal 
  +0 
  +1 
  2½d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  The Moon Dragon’s 
   
  Shining Scales +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  The Sublime 
   
  Avoidance 
  -- 
  +5 
  Dodge All 
  Attacks, Abort
  5 
  Dragon Bites 
   
  Its Tail 
  +0 
  +1 
  23 STR vs. 
  Grabs; 4½d6 
  Strike
  4 
  Touch Of The 
   
  Dragon’s Tail 
  -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND(1)
  6 
  Use Art with Blades, Dragon Staﬀ, Polearms, 
  Staﬀs, Fingernails, and Hand Of Heaven
  61 
  Mistress Of Many Venoms:  Variable  
  Power Pool (Poison Pool), 50 base + 25  
  control cost; Only For Poisons/Drugs  
  (-¼), Can Only Be Changed In Quarters  
  (-½), Variable Limitation (every slot must 
  have -1 worth of Limitations; -½)  
  var
  13 
  Pay Attention To Me:  Mind Control 10d6; 
  Eﬀect Ends Immediately If Anyone  
  Directly Threatens Target (-½), No Range 
  (-½), Only Works On Men (-¼), Set  
  Eﬀect (pay attention only to me, ignore  
  other non-threatening activity going  
  on around you; -1), Requires A Seduction 
  Roll (-½) 
  5
  5 
  Chemically-Strengthened Fingernails:   
  HKA 1 pip (½d6 with STR) 
  1
  5 
  Now You See Me...:  Teleportation 8”;  
  Can Only Teleport To Places Character 
  Could Normally Go (-½), Must Cross  
  Intervening Space (-¼), No Noncombat  
  Multiple (-¼), Only To “Vanish” When  
  No One Is Looking (-½), Requires A  
  Stealth Roll (-½) 
  2
  2 
  The Years Are Nothing:  Life Support  
  (Longevity:  ages at one-fourth normal rate) 0
  4 
  Lithe And Athletic:  Running +2” (8” total) 1
  1 
  Lithe And Athletic:  Swimming +1” (3” total) 1
   
  Perks
  30 
  Contacts and Favors:  30 points’ worth from 
  men around the world
  8 
  Membership:  Inner Circle of the Legion Of 
  Crime
  20 
  Followers:  trained poisonous centipede, 
  trained capuchin monkey (both built on 75 
  Base Points)
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  20 
  +4 with Interaction Skills
  4 
  +2 OCV with Hand Of Heaven
  6 
  +2 with Martial Arts
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Animal Handler (Primates, Mutated  
  Insects) 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Contortionist 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  7 
  High Society 15-
  3 
  KS: The Business and Financial World 13-
  3 
  KS: Dr. Fang’s Operations 13-
  2 
  KS: The Martial World 11-
  2 
  KS: Midnight Dragon Kung Fu 11-
  2 
  KS: Resplendent Dragon Kung Fu 11-
  2 
  KS: Shou Chih T’ien T’ang Kung Fu 11-
  4 
  Language:  Cantonese (Native, Mandarin 
  Chinese is Native)
  4 
  Language:  English (idiomatic)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Japanese (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Hindustani (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  4 
  PS: Singing 14-
  5 
  PS: Dancing 15-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  5 
  SS: Chemistry 15-
  6 
  SS: Pharmacology/Toxicology 16-
  3 
  SS: Psychology 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  7 
  Seduction 15-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  MING WEI  
  PLOT SEEDS
  In a confrontation with 
  the characters, Ming Wei 
  is exposed to an experi-
  mental gas developed by 
  her father that reverses 
  her natural inclinations, 
  making her as good and 
  selﬂess as she once was 
  evil and wicked. What 
  will the characters do 
  when she oﬀers to help 
  them... and backs it up 
  by providing informa-
  tion on her father’s 
  plans that allows them 
  to dismantle several 
  plots and operations to 
  prove her sincerity? Is it 
  another trick, or has she 
  genuinely changed? If 
  she has, what will they 
  do when they realize 
  the gas is beginning to 
  wear oﬀ?
  Ming Wei discovers 
  that her sister Li Lian 
  and a character have 
  begun a clandestine 
  romance. Unable to 
  bear the thought of her 
  sister having something 
  she cannot take away 
  or destroy, Ming Wei 
  begins to romance the 
  same character... while 
  pretending to be Li 
  Lian. She tells him the 
  woman the character’s 
  been seeing is really 
  her wicked sister Ming 
  Wei, who learned of her 
  feelings for the charac-
  ter and determined to 
  destroy their chances 
  for a future together. 
  She insists the character 
  keep their time together 
  a secret, even from his 
  allies, to prevent any 
  chance of a slip that 
  might alert the false Li 
  Lian to his knowledge 
  of her vile plan until 
  they’re ready to confront 
  her sister....
  Continued on next page
  
  17 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  5 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Riding Animals, Small Motorized Boats
  8 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Martial Arts Weapons, Small Arms, Dragon 
  Staﬀ, Hand Of Heaven
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  359
  Total Cost:  456
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Lambent Violet Eyes 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognized)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable; 
  Noticed And Recognizable; Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  various law enforcement agencies 
  11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Fang and the Legion Of Crime 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Selﬁsh Hedonist 
  (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Jealous and Vain 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Manipulative 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Reputation:  Dr. Fang’s lethal and manipula-
  tive daughter, 8- (Extreme, Known To Lim-
  ited Group)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with all other beauti-
  ful women, to prove herself the most desir-
  able of them all)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (Chinese) (Fre-
  quently, Minor)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  241 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  456
  EXAMPLE POWERS FOR MISTRESS OF 
  MANY VENOMS POWER POOL
  Cost Power
  11 
  Breath Of The Sleeping Dragon:  Major Trans-
  form 1d6 (normal person to person in virtu-
  ally undetectable suspended animation, heals 
  back normally), Continuous (+1), Uncon-
  trolled (power continues to aﬀect target 
  until all Charges expended; +½) (37 Active 
  Points); IAF Fragile Expendable (easily 
  spilled or diluted drug, ingredients are Dif-
  ﬁcult to obtain; -1), No Range (-½), Limited 
  Target (humans; -½), 8 Charges (-½)
  16 
  Fingernail Venom:  HKA 1d6, NND (defense 
  is Life Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1), 
  Does BODY (+1) (45 Active Points); Fin-
  gernails Must Do Body (-¼), No STR Bonus 
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1)
  10 
  Universal Antidote:  Dispel Poison 10d6, two 
  Powers simultaneously (the RKA and Drain 
  CON of the poison; +½) (45 Active Points); 
  IAF Fragile Expendable (easily spilled or 
  diluted drug, ingredients are Diﬃcult to 
  obtain; -1), No Range (-½), 1 Charge (-2)
  20 
  Vertigo Gas Cigarette:  Drain DEX 2½d6, 
  Delayed Return Rate (points return at the 
  rate of 5 per Minute; +¼), Area Of Eﬀect 
  (One Hex; +½), Personal Immunity (+¼) (50 
  Active Points); IAF (-½), Gestures (-¼), 6 
  Charges (-¾)
  20 
  Fear Gas Cigarettes:  Drain PRE 2½d6, Delayed 
  Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per 
  Minute; +¼), Area Of Eﬀect (One Hex; +½), 
  Personal Immunity (+¼) (50 Active Points); 
  IAF (-½), Gestures (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾)
  Background/History:  The younger of Dr. Fang’s 
  daughters by scant minutes, Ming Wei (“Bright 
  Moon”) lived up to the name her father gave her 
  from an early age, becoming the darker reﬂection 
  of her sister. Like Li Lian, she was raised according 
  to their father’s plan and grew into a tall, beautiful, 
  athletic woman. Like her sister, she was presented 
  to the monks at the Temple of the Dragon and 
  trained in Resplendent Dragon Kung Fu from 
  childhood. But unlike her sister, she found no joy in 
  athletic pursuits. To her they, like everything, were 
  a contest in which there would be a winner and a 
  loser — and all too often as she and Li Lian grew 
  older, the loser was Ming Wei. She grew embittered 
  at her consistent defeats and sought ways in which 
  she might excel where her sister did not. She soon 
  decided her talents lay in the shadows, not the light 
  where her sister dwelled.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Damage 
  STUN 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Hand Of Heaven 
  +0 
  — 
  Notes 
  — 
  — 
  12 
  See page 24
  Walther PP 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  7
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Usually little, since she has servants to carry it for her, but given her father’s resources she can have just about any 
  gear she needs for a mission.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  Continued from last page
  A bachelor PC begins 
  to ﬁnd things going 
  much easier for him 
  in matters of busi-
  ness as long as he’s not 
  dating anyone. Rivals 
  are disgraced by rev-
  elations of misconduct 
  and immoral behavior, 
  business deals he knew 
  had slipped through 
  his ﬁngers suddenly 
  reverse themselves, and 
  investments pay oﬀ 
  handsomely when new 
  discoveries are made by 
  companies the charac-
  ter owns or invests in. 
  As soon as he becomes 
  socially involved with 
  anyone, however, the 
  trend reverses and his 
  own companies suﬀer. 
  Investigations yield 
  hints that members of 
  the Legion Of Crime 
  may be responsible, 
  members known to be 
  under the control of 
  Ming Wei. Why is she 
  doing this? Is it a strange 
  form of courtship, or is 
  there some darker, more 
  sinister reason?
  
  18 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Having thus found her place in the world and 
  at her father’s side, she took on the tasks her sister 
  could or would not, and accomplished them with 
  ever-increasing skill. She trained herself in the 
  arts of stealth, seduction, and poison until there 
  were few anywhere on Earth who could match her. 
  She twisted the teachings of the monks from her 
  childhood in directions they had never intended 
  until her Kung Fu was no longer their style, but 
  one unique to her. She even studied the style of her 
  father’s elite Legionnaires to incorporate elements 
  from it into her own.
  Ming Wei oﬃcially joined her father on the 
  Inner Council of the Legion Of Crime in 1928, 
  two years before her sister did, and rapidly rose in 
  responsibility until she was overseeing operations 
  across Europe and the Americas by 1930. Since 
  then, she has continued to serve while enjoying 
  the best that life in the West has to oﬀer her, always 
  with an eye out for the best way to advance her 
  father’s (and her own) interests at the same time.
  Personality/Motivation:  Ming Wei is, first and 
  foremost, all about Ming Wei. Hedonistic and 
  self-centered, she follows her father’s commands 
  as much out of respect for the power her posi-
  tion at his side gives her as the fact that she’s his 
  daughter. She cares only for power — financial, 
  social, and physical — and since she’s found no 
  one who possesses it in greater quantities than 
  her father, she continues to serve him. So skilled 
  an actress is she that even Dr. Fang doesn’t real-
  ize her truest loyalty is only to herself. If she 
  were to discover a position that offered her 
  greater power than what she currently possesses, 
  she’d consider switching allegiance without look-
  ing back. Her backup plan in case of failure is to 
  explain to her father that she was trying to sub-
  vert the other organization or position to his will. 
  Ming Wei is a jealous and vain woman — she’s 
  well aware of the power her appearance and talents 
  give her over men, and doesn’t want to share that 
  inﬂuence with anyone else. She enjoys the knowl-
  edge that other women’s looks will fade while hers 
  remain thanks to her age retardation treatment. She 
  dislikes anyone who draws attention away from her, 
  or makes her appear inferior in some way, espe-
  cially her hated sister, Li Lian. She resented the fact 
  that Li Lian always surpassed her in the physical 
  contests the monks tested them with — until the 
  day she realized that Li Lian, driven by her sense of 
  duty and honor, would go to any lengths to protect 
  her, even to taking punishment in her place. From 
  that moment on, Ming Wei’s future was set as she 
  devised scenario after scenario to torment her sister 
  and silently exulted as Li Lian stoically accepted 
  punishment for things she’d never done. Ming Wei 
  ﬁnds the fact that her sister, despite knowing about 
  Ming Wei’s dishonorable behavior, considers herself 
  bound by the codes of honor and familial devotion 
  to protect her to be one of the most delightful iro-
  nies imaginable. The thrill of seeing her sister take 
  the blame for her actions has never diminished, but 
  Ming Wei takes care never to put Li Lian in a posi-
  tion where she’d be honor-bound to withdraw her 
  protection or would be likely to die.
  Were Ming Wei to discover that her father 
  planned to leave control of the Legion Of Crime to 
  her sister in the event of his actual demise, his hold 
  over her would probably break. She’d turn on him 
  without a second thought, seeking the assistance of 
  (and an alliance with) the greatest of his enemies.
  Unlike her more stoic, ascetic sister, Ming Wei 
  enjoys the pleasures life has to oﬀer. She surrounds 
  herself with the ﬁnest things her father’s inﬂuence 
  and money can provide, dines on the choicest of 
  foods, and enjoys the attentions of the most hand-
  some and interesting of men.
  Quote:  “My father’s plans for your captured friends? 
  Why would you want to know about them, when 
  the ones I have for the two of us are so much 
  more... interesting?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Although a capable ﬁghter, Ming 
  Wei is not the equal of her sister in physical 
  combat, and she knows it. If forced into a physi-
  cal engagement she makes every eﬀort to escape, 
  
  19 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  including hiding behind cover, using distractions 
  (including her Pay Attention To Me ability), and 
  exploiting any other advantage she can muster. If 
  possible, she breaks Line Of Sight just long enough 
  to use her Now You See Me... ability to “mysteri-
  ously vanish.”
  If she can’t ﬂee or create a distraction, Ming 
  Wei ﬁghts defensively, preferring to pick at oppo-
  nents with maneuvers that provide a DCV bonus. If 
  she’s impersonating her sister, she ﬁghts exactly like 
  Li Lian does (including avoiding the use of maneu-
  vers from Midnight Dragon Kung Fu, her own 
  personal variation of Resplendent Dragon Kung 
  Fu). While trained in many weapons, she’s best with 
  the Hand Of Heaven (the traditional weapon of the 
  Legion), and often has a concealed version on her 
  person or nearby, just in case. Unlike her sister, she’s 
  proﬁcient with ﬁrearms and carries a small auto-
  matic pistol, although it often serves no purpose 
  other than to be surrendered to an opponent to 
  make him feel more at ease.
  Ming Wei’s actually deadlier out of combat 
  than in it thanks to her vast stock of poisons and 
  toxins (though given time and reason, she could 
  bring poisoned weapons to the battleﬁeld...). She’s 
  particularly fond of coating her chemically-hard-
  ened ﬁngernails with poison so she can kill or drug 
  someone with just a scratch. She also favors drops 
  she can slip into someone’s drink when they’re not 
  looking, and poisoned perfumes and lipsticks to 
  which she’s immune.
  Ming Wei has two “pets” that help her with her 
  missions. First, she possesses a small stock of poison-
  ous centipedes mutated by her father’s experiments 
  to become deadlier than any normal insect. She’s 
  trained these animals to home in on speciﬁc scents 
  (normally transferred on letters or cards, or sprinkled 
  on clothing or linens) and deliver their deadly poison 
  to anyone who smells of them. She puts a centipede 
  near its target with the help of her trained Capuchin 
  monkey, who can scale sheer buildings while car-
  rying a wicker basket holding a centipede, open a 
  window, release its deadly cargo, and after the job is 
  done retrieve the centipede and depart. (The monkey 
  can also distract her opponents with thrown fruit, slip 
  into a building to ﬁlch small objects, and the like.) The 
  centipede’s bite leaves a distinctive red mark much 
  like a lip-print, referred to by those who know of such 
  things as the “Ximeng Kiss” after the city where the 
  ﬁrst victims of the creatures were found. Ming Wei 
  uses these centipedes only when instructed to by her 
  father, as their mark symbolizes his displeasure. (For 
  a character sheet for the centipedes, use the Assassin 
  Beetle found on page 7-8 of Monsters, Minions, And 
  Marauders, or adapt one of the normal venomous 
  spider write-ups found on page 182-83 of The HERO 
  System Bestiary. The character sheet for the monkey 
  is on page 171-72 of The HERO System Bestiary, but 
  add several skills such as Lockpicking and Animal 
  Handler (Poisonous Centipedes) to reﬂect its unique 
  training.)
  Ming Wei is at her most dangerous when she 
  relies on her natural beauty, charm, and knowledge 
  of psychology to manipulate those around her. She’s 
  a master of the casual touch, the glance that takes 
  one’s breath away, and the smile men would literally 
  die for. She can attract and hold the attention of all 
  but the strongest-willed men with only a smile and 
  look. Few men that can say that they’ve resisted her 
  charms when she chose to apply them.
  Campaign Use:  Ming Wei can serve several dif-
  ferent roles depending on the needs of your cam-
  paign:  as a known quantity, the dark counterpart 
  to her sister, a villainess who plots and schemes on 
  her own while assisting her father with his plans; as 
  Dr. Fang’s secret weapon, her existence unknown to 
  all (possibly even her sister); or even as an internal 
  rival for control of the Legion Of Crime, a plotter 
  against her father and sister. As a possible romantic 
  interest she makes an intriguing choice, in some 
  ways more so than her sister, since she has no com-
  punctions about betraying her family — or anyone 
  else — if she becomes convinced doing so is neces-
  sary to protect the man she’s chosen. But on the 
  other hand, the odds of her becoming (and remain-
  ing) truly devoted to anyone other than herself are 
  mighty slim....
  To make Ming Wei more powerful, increase 
  her STR to 15, DEX to 20, CON to 15, and add two 
  Damage Classes and several Combat Skill Levels 
  with her Martial Arts. Alternatively, expand her 
  Pay Attention To Me power into Cinematic Flirting 
  (Dark Champions, page 141) and give her a defen-
  sive or stealth-related martial arts power, or even a 
  Dim Mak variant as discussed on pages 123-24 of 
  The Ultimate Martial Artist. To weaken her, elimi-
  nate her Mistress Of Many Venoms VPP and replace 
  it with individual poisons or drugs purchased 
  separately, remove her Combat Luck and Pay Atten-
  tion To Me power, and reduce her Skill Levels with 
  Interaction Skills.
  Unlike her sister, Ming Wei is likely to Hunt 
  characters outside of instructions from her father. 
  A woman she feels might be a rival for the aﬀec-
  tions of someone she’s chosen, men who’ve rejected 
  or spurned her, individuals who have foiled her 
  plans, and men showing an interest in her sister 
  — any and all might be targets for her to Hunt (as, 
  of course, would be anyone who defeats or humili-
  ates her). As a Hunter she tailors her approach to 
  the individual, approaching each target in what 
  seems to her the best way. This rarely means direct 
  physical confrontation; instead she tries to ﬁnd 
  ways to break up relationships, make trusted allies 
  and associates seem traitorous, and so on.
  Appearance:  Like her identical twin Li Lian, Ming 
  Wei is a very tall, lithe, Chinese woman of excep-
  tional beauty who might be any age between 18 and 
  30. She wears her hair the same length as Li Lian’s, 
  but tends to wear it loose rather than braided. She 
  has the violet eyes shared by all who receive her 
  father’s life extension process. She normally wears 
  clothing that is both more ﬁnely made and more 
  ﬂattering to her ﬁgure than her sister does and 
  moves with a seductive grace Li Lian does not pos-
  sess... except when in the presence of her father or 
  impersonating her sister, in which case she dresses 
  and moves identically to Li Lian.
  
  20 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  LOK SHING
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [4]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   19 CON 
  18 
  13-
   16 BODY 12 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   9 PD 
  6 
   
  Total:  12 PD (3 rPD)
   5 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  8 ED (3 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   10 REC 
  4
   40 END 
  1
   40 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  87
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Iron Horse Wrestling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Break Bone 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR)
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab 1 Limb, 
  2d6 NND(2)
  4 
  Crush 
  +0 
  +0 
  8d6 Crush, Must 
  Follow Grab
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  35 STR vs. 
  Grabs
  3 
  Grab 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab 2 Limbs, 
  30 STR To Hold 
  On
  3 
  Kick/Punch 
  +1 
  +0 
  6d6 Strike
  3 
  Slam 
  +0 
  +1 
  4d6 +v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
  Head Butt 
  +2 
  +0 
  6d6 Strike
  13 
  Iron Horse Breath:  RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀect 
  (One Hex Accurate; +½); OIF (liquor of 
  opportunity and appropriate ﬂame source; 
  -½), Limited Range (2”; -¼)  
  2
  15 
  Very Tough Customer:  Physical Damage 
  Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  6 
  Sprinter:  Running +3” (9” total)  
  1
   
  Perks
  5 
  Membership:  The Legion Of Crime (Inner 
  Circle Troubleshooter)
   
  Talents
  3 
  Raised On Koumiss:  Environmental Move-
  ment:  no penalties for intoxication
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Martial Arts
  5 
  +1 with Agility Skills
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  3 
  Defense Maneuver I
  1 
  Gambling (Card Games) 8-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  2 
  AK: China 11-
  2 
  AK: United States 11-
  1 
  KS: American Cinema 8-
  1 
  KS: American Cowboy Culture 8-
  1 
  KS: American Gangster Culture 8-
  2 
  KS: Card Games 11-
  2 
  KS: Dr. Fang’s Operations 11-
  2 
  KS: Iron Horse Wrestling 11-
  3 
  Language:  Mandarin Chinese (completely 
  ﬂuent; Mongolian is Native)
  3 
  Language:  Cantonese (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent)
  5 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  7 
  Survival (Arctic/Subarctic, Mountains, 
  Desert, Temperate Plains) 11-
  3 
  Tracking 11-
  3 
  TF: Camels, Common Motorized Ground 
  Vehicles
  4 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  155
  Total Cost:  242
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable; 
  Noticed And Recognizable; Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  various law enforcement agencies 
  11- (As Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  Dr. Fang and the Legion Of Crime 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants To Become 
  Immortal (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fascinated With 
  American Culture As Portrayed In Films 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Reputation:  Dr. Fang’s enforcer, 8- (Extreme, 
  Known To Limited Group)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (Mongolian) 
  (Frequently, Minor)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  42 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  242
  Background/History:  Lok Shing is a man on a 
  mission:  to become immortal. Ever since his 
  childhood in Mongolia, where he first heard the 
  stories of the Chinaman who came every three 
  years to recruit the strongest young men of the 
  tribes to serve him, he’s pursued that goal. The 
  stories claimed the Demon Doctor knew the 
  secrets of the ancient Chinese alchemists and 
  never grew old, and that he rewarded his most 
  faithful servitors with the same immunity to 
  the passing of time. Lok Shing looked at the old 
  men, shriveled and weakened by time as they 
  sat in the flickering firelight, and vowed that he 
  would never be as they were. He trained himself 
  fiercely, wrestling every opponent — even bears 
  — until there was no one who could defeat him. 
  When he was old enough to present himself 
  at the Chinaman’s next appearance, he boldly 
  announced that he was the one the Chinaman 
  had come for, and no other need apply. Such 
  LOK SHING  
  PLOT SEEDS
  One of the characters is 
  approached by a popular 
  ﬁlm star known for her 
  work in romantic com-
  edies and her glamorous 
  oﬀ-screen romances. The 
  actress explains that she’s 
  being followed every-
  where she goes by men 
  she describes as “thugs” 
  and that a large, oddly-
  dressed Asiatic keeps 
  appearing and chasing 
  them away, but leaves 
  before she can speak to 
  him. Will the characters 
  help her put a stop to 
  this before someone gets 
  hurt? And why is Lok 
  Shing, if it is Lok Shing, 
  acting so oddly?
  Lok Shing discovers that 
  a local representative of 
  the Legion Of Crime has 
  begun to go into business 
  for himself, using Legion 
  resources to ﬁnance his 
  stock manipulations and 
  cushion his losses. Rather 
  than simply kill the man 
  outright, he decides to let 
  the characters do it for 
  him, which will cover up 
  the man’s crime and keep 
  Lok Shing from being 
  blamed for letting the 
  embezzlement happen on 
  his watch. He starts leav-
  ing clues designed to lead 
  the characters into con-
  ﬂict with the embezzler.
  In an attempt to earn 
  the gift of The Years Are 
  As Nothing, Lok Shing 
  decides to eliminate 
  several individuals who 
  are under Legion Death 
  Warrants, including 
  one or more of the PCs, 
  Ikeda Hideo, and several 
  wanted criminals who 
  have deﬁed the Legion. 
  He lures his targets to 
  a carefully-prepared, 
  isolated location in the 
  mountains, traps them 
  with an avalanche to seal 
  the roads in and out, and 
  begins to try and pick 
  them oﬀ one by one. Can 
  the characters put aside 
  their diﬀerences to work 
  with criminals and a 
  known enemy to escape?
  
  21 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  was his reputation that no one did, and so he 
  entered the service of Dr. Fang.
  Lok Shing was too useful to become a simple 
  Legionnaire. Doctor Fang instead gave him extra 
  training and assigned him to function as body-
  guard to Ming Wei. Lok Shing served loyally for 
  ﬁve years in his post, protecting his charge with 
  a determination that earned him a promotion to 
  occasional unsupervised assignments. His devotion 
  and attention to detail at those tasks won him a 
  further promotion to a position as the chosen trou-
  bleshooter for the Inner Circle... a job he intends to 
  hold for as long as it takes to earn him the immor-
  tality he seeks.
  Lok Shing’s current assignment is to assist 
  Ming Wei with Legion operations in the United 
  States and Europe — her territory contains the 
  most complicated Legion operations and she 
  simply isn’t physically capable of being everywhere 
  at once. He’s proven to be an exemplary assistant, 
  and has dealt with problems so eﬃciently that the 
  Legion’s income and inﬂuence in those territories is 
  at an all-time high. His presence is so pervasive in 
  some areas that members of the Legion request his 
  assistance when they see diﬃculties on the horizon, 
  rather than waiting for Ming Wei or her father to 
  notice the problem and assign Lok Shing to deal 
  with the situation.
  Personality/Motivation:  The single most powerful 
  motivation driving Lok Shing is his desire to not 
  grow old and become a withered shadow of him-
  self. It pushed him to master the skills necessary to 
  attract Dr. Fang’s interest and notice, and it pushes 
  him to follow the Demon Doctor’s instructions 
  with an attention and care that have brought him to 
  the brink of earning the very reward he seeks. He 
  will do nothing that might endanger his chances 
  now that his goal is in sight, and will perform any 
  task his masters request of him, as long as the task 
  doesn’t involve certain death. He’s ruthless, relent-
  less, and utterly without concern for the suﬀering 
  his actions cause, so long as his masters are pleased 
  and he moves another step closer to eternity.
  His service to Dr. Fang and the Legion has 
  been nothing but a series of successes to date, and 
  that, coupled with his own pride, has made him 
  overconﬁdent. He assumes he’s capable of more 
  than he may actually be, and doesn’t seem to regard 
  failure as a possibility. This makes him unwilling 
  to deviate from an established plan and inclined to 
  rely on his raw physical power to compensate for 
  any situation he encounters that the plan doesn’t 
  address. If he reaches a point where he’s convinced 
  he can’t make a plan work, he’ll push a bit further, 
  and if he meets with no success he’ll back oﬀ and 
  contact his masters for further instructions.
  Lok Shing’s most visibly deﬁning character 
  trait is his fascination with American culture as 
  portrayed in ﬁlms. He ﬁrst encountered movies 
  while assigned to Ming Wei as a bodyguard, and 
  instantly became caught up in their portrayal of 
  America as a land of cowboys, gangsters, helpless 
  heroines, and comedic ﬁgures. He follows the Hol-
  lywood news and gossip columns as regularly as 
  possible and watches as many movies as he can 
  — two or more a day, if his duties permit. He even 
  owns a collection of his favorites and a projector to 
  show them on. Lok Shing regularly uses lines from 
  his favorite ﬁlms when he has the chance, although 
  not always in appropriate situations. He also tends 
  to dress like his ﬁlm heroes in appropriate areas. 
  For example, if the heroes encounter him in the 
  American West, he’ll wear cowboy garb; if he’s in a 
  large city, he dresses like a gangster. He has outﬁts 
  that range from the typical white Southern planter’s 
  suits, to Eskimo garb, to tuxedos and wears them all 
  at the “appropriate” times and places.
  Quote:  “I never give a sucker an even break.” <bone 
  snaps> “See? It’s crooked.”
  Powers/Tactics:  While he’s skilled with a variety of 
  weapons, and uses whatever’s required by the situa-
  tion or his plan, Lok Shing is most dangerous when 
  he can grapple with his opponents. His mastery of 
  Iron Horse Wrestling, an obscure and brutal Mon-
  golian style that emphasizes close-in, no-holds-
  barred maneuvers, makes him a foe that few would 
  care to face. If possible, he immediately closes with 
  an opponent and attempts a Grab, followed by a 
  Crush or Head Butt maneuver to set them up for a 
  Slam. If pressed by multiple opponents, he tries to 
  remove them from the ﬁght as quickly as possible, 
  starting with the opponent he considers weakest. 
  Failing that, he retreats.
  Lok Shing has one special attack, the Iron 
  Horse Breath. To use it, he needs a mouthful of 
  liquor and a flame (he normally carries a lighter 
  for this purpose). He spits the liquor at his oppo-
  nent while setting the spray alight with the flame, 
  creating a fiery burst that covers a fairly large 
  area. Since this is something of a one-shot trick, 
  he reserves it until the moment he thinks it will 
  help him the most, such as providing a distrac-
  tion to set up an escape.
  While not stupid, Lok Shing isn’t the bright-
  est of Dr. Fang’s servants. He normally relies on 
  instructions given to him by his three superiors 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Damage 
  STUN 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Darn Do 
  +0 
  —  
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  —  
  12
  Thompson SMG 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  30 
  14 
  AF5
  Pistol 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  7 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Whatever he needs for his current mission or assignment
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  22 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  in the Legion’s Inner Circle. He scrupulously 
  follows any instructions given, since he wants 
  to prove himself useful enough to receive the 
  gift of The Years Are As Nothing while he’s still 
  young enough to enjoy it. This includes stopping 
  Legionnaires from shooting or seriously injur-
  ing opponents unless he has instructions to kill 
  them. He knows Dr. Fang will forgive a simple 
  fist-fight that results in someone getting knocked 
  out, but killing without permission is another 
  thing entirely — one never knows what plans the 
  Demon Doctor may have that require specific 
  individuals to remain alive.
  Campaign Use:  Lok Shing is 
  the member of the Legion’s 
  Inner Circle the characters 
  are likely to meet ﬁrst. Fortu-
  nately, he’s the easiest to deal 
  with, since he’s a straightfor-
  ward guy who’s almost always 
  following someone’s instruc-
  tions rather than making 
  plans of his own. He can be 
  played for a certain degree of 
  humor, but he’s not a buﬀoon, 
  and characters who treat him 
  as such should be reminded 
  just how dangerous he is.
  To make Lok Shing 
  more powerful, increase his 
  DEX to 18 and his SPD to 4, 
  improve his Damage Reduc-
  tion to 50%, and add whatever 
  Combat Skill Levels, Martial 
  Maneuvers, and/or Extra DCs 
  you need to make him a cred-
  ible threat. To weaken him, 
  reduce his STR to 15, and 
  remove his Damage Reduc-
  tion and Iron Horse Breath 
  powers.
  Lok Shing normally 
  Hunts heroes only on the 
  orders of Dr. Fang, Li Lian, 
  or Ming Wei, and follows his 
  orders carefully. If not issued 
  speciﬁc instructions, he nor-
  mally adopts whatever straightforward plan of 
  attack he thinks will work, usually something from 
  a ﬁlm he’s recently seen (leading to oddities like a 
  gangster-style tommy gun drive-by in the middle of 
  an Alaskan mining town), but he’s capable of sur-
  prisingly astute planning if he applies himself.
  Appearance:  A powerfully-built Mongolian man in 
  his late twenties, Lok Shing stands just over six feet 
  tall, wears his black hair in a braid in unconscious 
  imitation of his master, and often has the dark 
  shadow of a beard and moustache on his jaw. He 
  has black eyes and scowls frequently. He normally 
  wears clothing appropriate for whatever American 
  subculture he’s working with, from cowboy garb 
  and a Stetson, to a pinstriped suit and fedora, to a 
  white planter’s suit and hat — and thus often cuts a 
  bizarre ﬁgure. His language is peppered with quotes 
  from popular American cinema, frequently misspo-
  ken or used in odd ways.
   
  
  23 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  YING HU SHI 
   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 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  46
  Movement: 
  Running:  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Shou Chih T’ien T’ang Kung Fu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Intervening 
   
  Heavenly Palm +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  3 
  Inescapable Grasp 
   
  Of The Heavens -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 25 STR 
  for holding on
  5 
  Kick 
  +1 
  -2 
  7d6 Strike
  4 
  Knife Hand 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (2DC)
  4 
  Cloud Fist 
   
  Punch 
  +2 
  +0 
  5d6, Strike
  4 
  Storm Clouds 
   
  Enfold The Sky +0 
  +0 
  7d6 Crush, Must 
  Follow Grab
  3 
  Use Art with Blades, Clubs, and Hand Of 
  Heaven
  45 
  Feels Less Pain:  Physical Damage  
  Reduction, Resistant, 50% plus Energy 
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 
  0
  2 
  Swift Runner:  Running +1” (7” total) 
  1
   
  Perks
  2 
  Membership:  The Legion Of Crime (Elite 
  Legionnaire)
   
  Skills
  8 
  +1 with All Combat
  3 
  +1 with Hand Of Heaven
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  3 
  Concealment 11-
  2 
  KS: Shou Chih T’ien T’ang Kung Fu 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  Mandarin Chinese is Native)
  3 
  Lockpicking 12-
  2 
  PS: Legionnaire 11-
  2 
  PS: Servant 11-
  3 
  Shadowing 11-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  8 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Missile Weapons, Common Martial Arts 
  Melee Weapons, Small Arms
  18 
  Other Skills and abilities of the GM’s choice
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  144
  Total Cost:  190
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  surgical scar on head 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recogniz-
  able)
  10 
  Hunted:  The Legion Of Crime 8- (Mo Pow, 
  NCI, Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Amoral 
  (Common, Strong)
  25 
  Physical Limitation:  conditioned to obey Dr. 
  Fang, his daughters, and Lok Shing unques-
  tioningly (All The Time, Fully)
  25 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Severe)
  35 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  190
  Background:  The Ying Hu Shi, the Shadow Tiger 
  Warriors, are Dr. Fang’s elite corps of assassins and 
  spies — the shock troops of the Legion Of Crime. 
  They’re deployed only under the direct orders and 
  supervision of Dr. Fang, Li Lian, Ming Wei, or Lok 
  Shing (each of whom has a permanent cadre of 
  Ying Hu Shi assigned to him and can call for more 
  from the main body living in China).
  
  24 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  The Ying Hu Shi come from two sources:  
  faithful volunteers from the ranks of the Legion-
  naires who wish to serve Dr. Fang more directly; 
  and individuals who have earned his displeasure 
  and are involuntarily inducted into the ranks as a 
  way to mitigate their failure and oﬀer some mea-
  sure of useful service by way of atonement. Regard-
  less of what their lives were like before, they receive 
  special training at the Legion’s secret headquarters 
  in Kuku Nor... which is also where Dr. Fang oper-
  ates on their brains to ensure their loyalty, obedi-
  ence, and greater than normal immunity to pain.
  Doctor Fang normally assigns the newest Ying 
  Hu Shi, fresh from their surgery and in need of 
  training, to Lok Shing and various other instruc-
  tors. Once they’ve been taught how to deal with the 
  Legion’s enemies, they usually enter the service of 
  Li Lian or Ming Wei, who have the largest detach-
  ments under their control. Doctor Fang’s cadre 
  consists of the most experienced and well-trained 
  Ying Hu Shi, any of whom would unhesitatingly lay 
  down his life at the Mad Mandarin’s slightest whim.
  Personality/Motivation:  The brain surgery per-
  formed on all Ying Hu Shi makes them totally 
  incapable of disobeying any order given them by 
  Dr. Fang, his daughters, or Lok Shing. In the event 
  of conﬂicting orders, Dr. Fang’s orders supersede 
  all others, and his daughter’s orders supersede Lok 
  Shing’s. A conﬂict of orders between his daughters 
  causes the Ying Hu Shi to hesitate for a Full Phase 
  before defaulting to either the order given him by 
  the daughter to whom he is assigned, or to the last 
  order received. It’s possible to trick a Ying Hu Shi 
  by imitating the voice of one of his masters, but not 
  easy — a character has to make a Mimicry roll at -4 
  to properly duplicate the sonic triggers used in Ying 
  Hu Shi conditioning (and of course, that assumes 
  the character’s already highly familiar with the 
  voice he’s trying to imitate).
  The other trait that all Ying Hu Shi share — a 
  side eﬀect of Dr. Fang’s nerve-deadening surgery 
  (see below) — is the loss of conscience and moral 
  sense. A Ying Hu Shi is unconcerned with the con-
  sequences of his actions as long as Dr. Fang and his 
  other masters are pleased.
  Powers/Tactics:  The Ying Hu Shi ﬁght using a style 
  of Kung Fu distilled from the established traditions 
  that Dr. Fang has dubbed Shou Chih T’ien T’ang, 
  or Hand of Heaven Kung Fu. It’s designed to work 
  well in the close quarters of alleyways and interior 
  rooms where the Ying Hu Shi so often have to ﬁght. 
  The style also teaches the use of blades, clubs, and 
  its signature weapon, the Hand Of Heaven — a 
  long, braided leather cord with a weight woven 
  into one end. A trained wielder can use it to deliver 
  punishing blows, capture an opponent by wrap-
  ping it around him, or strangle him. A Ying Hu Shi 
  normally wears his Hand looped about the waist as 
  a belt, but versions exist that are disguised as purse 
  straps, animal leashes, or even the decorative braid 
  on a doorman’s uniform.
  The surgery Dr. Fang performs on the Ying Hu 
  Shi deadens certain nerve clusters, making a Ying 
  Hu Shi into a nearly unstoppable ﬁghting machine 
  because he feels little or no pain from the shock 
  of injuries. This trait sometimes betrays a Ying Hu 
  Shi who’s undercover, since he won’t register pain 
  when suﬀering small injuries (such as when some-
  one accidentally spills coﬀee on him). Thanks to 
  Dr. Fang’s supreme surgical skills, the Ying Hu Shi 
  retain their normal sense of touch otherwise.
  Appearance:  The typical Ying Hu Shi is an athletic 
  man who wears black coolie-style clothing. He has a 
  bald, shaved head that displays a distinctive Y-shaped 
  surgical scar high on the left side of his forehead. 
  Some Ying Hu Shi are allowed to grow hair to cover 
  the scar to blend in more easily while in disguise, and 
  to dress appropriately for the country and situation 
  they’re in. Few of the Ying Hu Shi are women, and 
  almost all of them work undercover.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Damage 
  STUN 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Hand Of Heaven 
  +0 
  — 
  Notes 
  — 
  — 
  12 
  See page 24
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As appropriate for current mission
  Clothing:  See Appearance
   THE HAND OF HEAVEN
  26 
  Hand Of Heaven:  Multipower, 52-point 
  reserve; all OAF (-1)
  1u 
  1) Clenched Hand:  HA +3d6, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-To-
  Hand Attack (-½), STR Minimum (12; -½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼) plus Stretching 2”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Always 
  Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretching (-¼), 
  Only To Cause Damage (-½), No Velocity 
  Damage (-¼)
  1u 
  2) Enfolding Hand:  Entangle 3d6, DEF 3, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), 
  Lockout (-½), Range Based On STR (-¼), 1 
  Recoverable Charge (-1¼)
  1u 
  3) Strangling Hand:  Energy Blast 3d6, NND 
  (defense is rigid armor on the neck or Life 
  Support [Self-Contained Breathing]; +1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), 
  No Range (-½), Must Target Head Location 
  (-¾), Must Follow Successful Grab (-½), 
  Lockout (-½) plus Stretching 2”, Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Always 
  Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretching (-¼), 
  Only To Cause Damage (-½), No Velocity 
  Damage (-¼)
  
  25 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  THE SKYMASTER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   21 DEX 
  36 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   24 PRE 
  18 
  14- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  14 PD (6 rPD)
   4 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  10 ED (6 rED)
   4 SPD 
  9 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  2
   40 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  7 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  140
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Boxing/Fisticuﬀs
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Bob And Weave +0 
  +5 
  Dodge, Abort
  3 
  Clinch 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 35 to 
  STR for holding 
  on
  4 
  Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  7d6 Strike
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 35 STR 
  to Disarm roll
  5 
  Hook 
  -2 
  +1 
  9d6 Strike
  3 
  Jab 
  +2 
  +1 
  5d6 Strike
  3 
  Throw 
  +0 
  +1 
  5d6 +v/5; Target 
  Falls
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  15 
  Master Pilot:  +10 DEX; Only For  
  Flying (-1) 
  0
  10 
  Master Pilot:  +2 SPD; Only For Flying (-1) 0
  13 
  Force Of Personality:  +20 PRE; Only To 
  Make Presence Attacks (-½) 
  0
  8 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +4 with Sight Group 
  PER Rolls 
  0
  9 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +6 PER versus Range 
  Modiﬁer for Sight Group 
  0
  30 
  He Always Comes Back:  Luck 12d6; Only  
  To Avoid “Certain Death” (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  2 
  Anonymity
  80 
  Bases:  4 Bases built on up to 350 points each
  50 
  Well-Connected and 47 points’ worth of 
  Contacts in aviation, business, and the mili-
  tary around the world
  60 
  Followers:  The Airmada, 500 Followers built 
  on 75 Base Points
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Membership (leader of the 
  Airmada)
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
  157 
  Vehicle:  Skyfortress Cumulus (plus associ-
  ated aircraft)
   
  Other Bases, Vehicles, and Followers as 
  needed
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
  12 
  Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED)
  22 
  Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of 
  combat, sense, intuitional) 13-
   
  Skills
  12 
  +6 OCV with Biplane Weapons
  17 
  Deft Jinking:  +4 DCV, Usable By Other (any 
  Vehicle of up to 8,000 kg; +2); Only For An 
  Aircraft Skymaster Is Flying (-2), Requires A 
  Combat Piloting Roll (-½) 
  0
  6 
  +2 with Boxing/Fisticuﬀs
  9 
  +3 with Pistols
  10 
  +2 DCV
  13 
  Aerobatics 18-
  7 
  Analyze Aircraft Performance 15-
  7 
  Analyze Piloting Skill 15-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Bribery 14-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 14-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  13 
  Combat Piloting 18-
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Cryptography 13-
  5 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  High Society14-
  5 
  Inventor 14-
  6 
  KS: Aircraft Of The World 16-
  5 
  KS: The Aviation World 15-
  2 
  KS: Boxing 11-
  4 
  KS: The Financial World 14-
  6 
  KS: History Of Aviation 16-
  3 
  KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist  
  World 13-
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation;  
  English is Native)
  3 
  Language:  German (completely ﬂuent)
  2 
  Language:  Italian (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Spanish (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Language:  Skymaster Codetalk (completely 
  ﬂuent)
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  4 
  Navigation (Air) 14-
  3 
  Oratory 14-
  
  26 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  3 
  Paramedic 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 14-
  7 
  PS: Aircraft Designer 17-
  8 
  PS: Pilot 18-
  5 
  SS: Chemistry 15-
  5 
  SS: Metallurgy 15-
  7 
  SS: Aeronautic Engineering 17-
  5 
  SS: Mechanical Engineering 15-
  5 
  SS: Physics 15-
  5 
  SS: Meteorology 15-
  5 
  Shadowing 14-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 14-
  5 
  Systems Operation 14-
  5 
  Tactics 14-
  4 
  TF: Small Planes, Large Planes, Balloons & 
  Zeppelins, Basic Parachuting
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Biplane Weapons, Knives
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  787
  Total Cost:  927
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Skymaster Uniform 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recogniz-
  able)
  5 
  Enraged:  if questioned or disobeyed 
  (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14-
  15 
  Hunted:  other masterminds and world con-
  querors 8- (As Pow, NCI, Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  various air forces 11- (As Pow, NCI, 
  Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Be Master 
  Of The Skies (Common, Strong)
  25 
  Psychological Limitation:  Bent On World 
  Domination (Very Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Regards Non-
  Pilots And Persons Not Connected With 
  Aviation As Inferior (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Reputation:  would-be world-conqueror and 
  master of the air, 14- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Fre-
  quently, Major)
  718 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  927
  Background/History:  The history of the man who 
  would become the Skymaster is so shrouded in 
  mystery there’s no doubt he’s made extensive, delib-
  erate attempts to obscure it. Observable evidence 
  gathered since his ﬁrst appearance in the last years 
  of the Twenties has yielded little more than the 
  obvious:  he appears to be between thirty-ﬁve and 
  forty-ﬁve years of age, moves like a trained athlete, 
  and he has great charisma when he chooses to 
  apply it. Any other physical features that might pro-
  vide further information are obscured by his mask 
  and his skill with disguise.
  No less an observer than Captain James Battle 
  has said publicly on several occasions that he’s 
  never met a mind with a keener grasp of aviation 
  science and mechanics. This implies formal educa-
  tion in the subject, but no school has produced 
  faculty or students who recall such a man among 
  them. Others who’ve encountered him have com-
  mented on his grasp of scientiﬁc ﬁelds outside the 
  aviation arena such as physics and chemistry, but 
  investigation into those ﬁelds hasn’t yielded any 
  clues either. His level of knowledge is too great 
  to come from self-instruction, meaning he either 
  deliberately hid his potential from his instructors 
  and classmates or he had anyone who learned too 
  much about him killed.
  Following his only known encounter with the 
  Skymaster, the Raven conﬁded to Federal Agent 
  Sam Spivey that he believed the Skymaster, who-
  ever he was, was an American, and likely came 
  from the Midwest based on the way he modulated 
  certain syllables while speaking. But he cautioned 
  Spivey against taking that judgment at face value, 
  since it was possible the Skymaster deliberately 
  pitched his voice to provide a false lead.
  Almost all other information about the 
  Skymaster’s past has come from the Skymaster 
  himself, making it suspect at best. At various times, 
  and to various individuals ranging from a young 
  boy watching through a fence as planes took oﬀ 
  and landed in San Francisco to famed aviatrix Liz 
  Murdock, he’s told diﬀerent stories regarding his 
  identity, past, and origins. One time he claimed he 
  was the greatest ace of the Great War... but that he 
  wasn’t allowed to count his victories because he was 
  a secret operative working for the American gov-
  ernment. Another of his stories was that he’s a self-
  taught pilot and engineer who chose to show the 
  world the power of his designs when the aviation 
  establishment refused to recognize his genius. Once 
  he said he grew sick of the wasted lives as untrained 
  boys were thrown into planes and sent up to die 
  during the War and determined to put a halt to it 
  by ensuring that he controlled the skies and who 
  ﬂew in them. Perhaps the most outlandish tale is 
  that he was raised in secret from childhood by men 
  hand-picked by his father using a system that guar-
  anteed his development was superior to other men. 
  Jim Battle has pointed out that several of the stories 
  aren’t mutually contradictory, so perhaps several, or 
  even all, of them could be true. Other investigators 
  regard this notion as fanciful at best.
  What is not fanciful is the Skymaster’s history 
  of attempted world conquest. From his ﬁrst appear-
  ance in 1928 — when he systematically threatened 
  national landmarks and monuments across the 
  globe with destruction by bombing — he’s made 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt M1911A 
  +1 
  0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9 
  Carries two
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Parachute, telescope
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  27 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  no attempt to obscure his 
  eventual goal. He aban-
  doned operations that had 
  no motive save the accu-
  mulation of cash in 1929, 
  having apparently secured 
  sources of funding suf-
  ﬁcient to ﬁnance his plans. 
  At the close of that year, 
  he had planes simultane-
  ously overﬂy national 
  capitals around the world 
  and play recordings that 
  announced he would 
  henceforth renounce mere 
  theft, since he regarded 
  the world beneath his 
  feet as already his, and 
  explained that he intended 
  to claim his “realm” at the 
  ﬁrst available opportu-
  nity. World opinion was 
  generally that of amuse-
  ment and disbelief at his 
  monumental ego, and his 
  threats were dismissed out 
  of hand.
  Skymaster waited 
  exactly four months to the 
  day from his announce-
  ments before launching an 
  aerial invasion of Mada-
  gascar in April 1930 that 
  placed him in charge of 
  the French colony island for 37 days until a surprise 
  attack by French naval forces and a loose alliance of 
  pilots from across the Paciﬁc Rim threw him out. 
  Five months later, while world governments still 
  believed him to be in a state of disarray following 
  the failure of his Madagascar venture, he attempted 
  to seize control of the Territory of Hawaii from 
  the United States by means of an aerially-sprayed 
  gas that aﬀected the motor control centers of the 
  human brain, rendering those aﬀected unable to 
  stand, let alone oppose him. On that occasion, he 
  was defeated by a small band of adventurers who’d 
  been in an underwater cave during the initial gas 
  attack; they destroyed his planes on the ground in 
  advance of the American Navy’s assault.
  For the next ﬁve years, Skymaster returned 
  again and again, each time being defeated only by 
  narrow margins. He debuted his current advanced 
  aircraft in 1932. He followed that with the public 
  unveiling of his powerful Skyfortress Cumulus later 
  the same year when he used it to stage an attempted 
  overthrow of British rule in Hong Kong by isolat-
  ing the island and systematically sinking any ship 
  and shooting down any aircraft that approached. In 
  1933 he revealed his Lightning Cannon, which he 
  ﬁrst demonstrated on April 4 by using it to destroy 
  the US Navy airship Akron oﬀ the New Jersey coast. 
  He demonstrated his capacity to conduct high-alti-
  tude bombardment in 1934 during an attempt to 
  capture King George V of England and exchange 
  his freedom for control of the Trinidad and Tobago 
  archipelago. He has not revealed any major new 
  technological developments since then, but it’s 
  probably just a matter of time until newer, better 
  planes take to the skies in his name. In capitals 
  around the world men lie awake at night, worrying 
  what new force the Skymaster will bring to bear 
  when next he makes his presence known.
  Personality/Motivation:  The Skymaster is driven by 
  the conviction that he’s the man best suited to be 
  the master of the world, a belief so strong that it has 
  literally consumed his life and existence. He brooks 
  no questioning of that belief and no challenges 
  to it; his will is absolute and unshakeable in that 
  regard. His every waking thought sooner or later 
  leads back to the conquest of the world.
  In conjunction with his unyielding desire to 
  conquer the world, he believes he is, and must con-
  tinue to be, the unquestioned Master Of The Air. 
  If anyone challenges his aerial supremacy, he must 
  act to crush the threat. He strives to have the most 
  advanced aircraft in the world at his command, and 
  is always developing (or stealing) new technolo-
  gies to maintain his edge. He considers himself the 
  greatest pilot in the world and is willing to prove 
  his superiority whenever and wherever neces-
  sary. He may require a challenger to prove himself 
  against one or more of his men before facing him, 
  but all challenges are answered in some fashion.
  The Skymaster has a ﬁerce temper. He keeps 
  it tightly in check on most occasions, but when 
  anyone deﬁes him or challenges him to his face he 
  
  28 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  sometimes lashes out at the source of his anger. He 
  recovers quickly, but during the moments he’s not 
  in control he’s capable of acts of incredible violence 
  and destruction. Insults or challenges to his des-
  tiny of conquest, his personal ability as a pilot, or 
  his mastery over the skies may all provoke such a 
  response, although the more personal the attack, 
  the more likely it is to arouse his wrath.
  The Skymaster is totally ﬁxated on the subjects 
  of aviation and world conquest; he’s almost unable 
  to talk about anything else. He believes only other 
  pilots, or people connected to aviation in some way, 
  are worth his time and attention. He treats every-
  one else as if they were simply not there, leaving 
  them to his underlings. If he must acknowledge 
  their presence, he speaks to them using the “royal 
  we” mode of speech and keeps the conversation 
  curt and short. With members of the Aviation 
  World he can be a surprisingly gregarious conver-
  sationalist and host... within his limits.
  Quote:  “Once you’ve mastered the skies, the rest of 
  the world is at your feet.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Without exception, the Skymaster’s 
  plans all have at their core the placement of another 
  stepping-stone on his path to world domination. 
  While there are few, if any, forces that can match 
  him in the skies, he knows he still needs facili-
  ties on the ground as a base for the majority of 
  his planes, so his ﬁrst goal is to establish a secure, 
  permanent base of operations. His ideal headquar-
  ters would be an island or geographically-isolated 
  location where his enemies cannot easily bring 
  their armies to bear against him, but which is close 
  enough to a major land mass to allow his aircraft 
  to commence operations. He feels he has little to 
  fear from naval forces, which are easily spotted and 
  sunk before they can threaten him, and he has no 
  fear of any current national aerial force. Placement 
  of the installation close to major shipping lanes or 
  signiﬁcant natural resources is also a consideration. 
  Once he establishs a headquarters, fortiﬁes it, and 
  constructs an industrial base, he intends to launch a 
  war of conquest.
  The rest of the Skymaster’s schemes focus on 
  direct attempts to conquer individual nations and/or 
  the world. All of his plans have an aviation element, 
  whether that’s the use of aircraft as delivery systems 
  for a new weapon, as the means with which to steal 
  technological secrets for use in manufacturing weap-
  ons, or as instruments of conquest. To save himself 
  the trouble of rebuilding his conquered territories, he 
  often devises plans that place national leaders, parlia-
  ments, congresses and the like under his control. He 
  tries to avoid direct conﬂict with national air forces, 
  less for fear they will stop him than out of a desire not 
  to waste the lives of the pilots who would ﬂy against 
  him, but he’ll order the Airmada into action without a 
  thought if needed. He has nothing but scorn for land 
  and sea forces and deals with them as quickly and 
  brutally as possible.
  Skymaster avoids taking the Skyfortress 
  into combat at low altitudes to prevent her being 
  attacked and damaged by ground- or ship-based 
  artillery, something he knows his super-zeppe-
  lin cannot withstand. He prefers to take out any 
  threats to her before initiating the main thrust of 
  any attack, if possible through a swift air-raid or 
  a surprise blast from the Lightning Cannon. In 
  aerial combat, he usually leaves command of the 
  Airmada to Sky Marshal Von Hagen so he can 
  ﬂy his personal ship, the SK-4A, high above the 
  battle and watch it unfold, only intervening if a 
  pilot shows enough skill to be considered worthy 
  of his attention.
  As one of the pre-eminent pilots — if not the 
  pre-eminent pilot — in the world, the Skymaster 
  has the ability to make any aircraft ﬂy as if it were 
  almost alive, pushing it to the limits of its designed 
  capacity. He often mocks his opponents by imitat-
  ing their own ﬂying style, the better to point out 
  their inadequacies before he destroys them.He 
  usually restricts himself to the use of his machine 
  guns when dealing with an opponent, but if he ﬁnd 
  himself at a disadvantage due to a lucky hit on his 
  aircraft, or opposed by more than one opponent, 
  he utilizes the 37mm cannon that ﬁres through his 
  propeller hub. If necessary or expedient, he lets an 
  opponent gain the trailing position behind him, 
  deploys his Incendiary Cloud Projector against 
  him, and then either escape to ﬁght another day or 
  turns on his opponent. Like Von Hagen, the Sky-
  master tries to spare the lives of skilled pilots who 
  ﬂy against him, since anyone capable of truly chal-
  lenging him will obviously ﬁnd a place of respect 
  and honor in the Airmada once the messy business 
  of conquest is completed.
  If forced into more personal combat — an 
  unlikely event given the rarity with which he’s actu-
  ally on the ground — Skymaster prefers to ﬁght 
  defensively and wear his opponent down before 
  delivering a ﬁnishing blow. He has no compunc-
  tions about simply shooting a foe if possible, 
  although he’s less likely to do this against a fellow 
  pilot. Under most circumstances, he simply avoids 
  the issue entirely by having a squad of men from 
  the Airmada accompany him on the ground to deal 
  with such threats.
  The Skymaster possesses a ﬁnely-honed 
  survival instinct that serves him well. He has an 
  uncanny knack for spotting dangers, avoiding traps, 
  and escaping or neutralizing threats. Time and 
  again it’s been thought certain death had claimed 
  him, only to have him return once more with an 
  incredible tale of survival against the odds.
  Resources:  The Skymaster is one of the richest 
  men in the world, even if the sources of his wealth 
  remain a mystery to his future subjects. His raids 
  to accumulate money in the late Twenties amassed 
  the capital he needed to build the secret infra-
  structure that generates the money needs to keep 
  his campaign for global domination going. He has 
  gold mines in the mountains of South America, a 
  diamond mine in South Africa, plantations in the 
  Caribbean, timber interests in the American West 
  and the Paciﬁc Rim, oil concessions in Arabia, and 
  many other business interests worldwide that he 
  secretly owns.
  
  29 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  The Skymaster maintains four secret bases 
  around the world:  one in a mountain valley in the 
  northern reaches of Canada that has the mills and 
  heavy equipment to make repairs and upgrades 
  to his Skyfortress and planes; one in the depths of 
  the Australian Outback, which also contains the 
  industrial base necessary to repair and refurbish 
  his ships; a smaller facility hidden in the Swiss Alps 
  from which he watches over Europe; and one on a 
  remote plateau in Central Africa where he retreats 
  to develop new plans and design new aircraft and 
  the weapons to mount on them. He also has dozens 
  of refueling depots scattered around the world in 
  out-of-the-way locations where the Skyfortress can 
  take on supplies, and numerous airstrips suitable 
  for landing his men’s planes undetected in the event 
  he must deploy them on the ground.
  His Airmada consists of 500 well-trained pilots 
  ready to ﬂy whenever he needs them, although the 
  full number rarely see action outside of his major 
  attacks. He also employs thousands of technicians, 
  mechanics, scientists, welders, and other craftsmen 
  and support personnel around the world, as well 
  as hundreds of spies who watch important ﬁgures 
  in the military, industrial, and aviation sectors. 
  If there’s anything he’s short on, it’s men trained 
  purely as ground troops — he has just 800 soldiers 
  around the world, but he thinks that when the time 
  is right, more can be had for the asking. In addi-
  tion to his Skyfortress and the planes aboard it, he 
  maintains enough of his advanced aircraft at his 
  bases to allow his entire Airmada to get into the air 
  with a 50% surplus for rapid replacement in case 
  of attrition, as well as any number of outdated and 
  experimental craft.
  Relations With Others:  The Skymaster does not get 
  along well with others. He views the world as his 
  and his alone to conquer and rule by right. He con-
  siders all other masterminds capable of aﬀecting 
  the world on a global scale, such as Dr. Fang and 
  Akash Varmandali, as enemies and rivals. He moni-
  tors their activities as best he can and tries to spoil 
  their plans if he thinks they have a chance to suc-
  ceed (he’ll even team up with heroes, if necessary). 
  He views the growing Nazi power in Germany as 
  little threat at the moment, but keeps a close eye on 
  the developments there — especially in the ﬁelds of 
  aviation. As Germany grows into more of a threat, 
  Skymaster may ﬁnd it necessary to wage a private 
  war against the Third Reich to prevent too rapid an 
  advancement and cut oﬀ a threat to his own plans 
  of world domination.
  Campaign Use:  Skymaster is a mastermind of the 
  first order, capable of threatening world order, 
  toppling governments, and conquering nations 
  if he sets his mind to it. His anonymity lets you 
  tailor his true identity to best suit your cam-
  paign — or you could leave him a faceless threat 
  who bedevils the heroes again and again as new 
  claimants to the title of Skymaster arise as fast as 
  the old ones are knocked down. He’s best suited 
  for adventures with wide-ranging consequences; 
  he and his minions do not rob banks without 
  some ulterior motive. Whatever his plans are, 
  they always involve, in some way, his desire to be 
  the unquestioned master of the skies.
  To make the Skymaster a more powerful 
  threat, increase the DEF of his Skyfortress to 12, 
  add another 10” Flight, and give it more special-
  ized weapons such as a Ball Lightning setting for 
  the Lightning Cannon. You could also increase the 
  capability of the Airmada’s planes to the standards 
  of World War II ﬁghter aircraft (The HERO System 
  Vehicle Sourcebook has many examples to draw 
  from, and of course you should also improve his 
  personal plane so it remains better than those of 
  his men). To make him more personally danger-
  ous, replace his Colts with Electropistols (Pulp 
  Hero, page 322) and convert his DCV Levels into 
  Combat Skill Levels with All Combat. To weaken 
  him, remove the Lightning Cannon from the Sky-
  fortress, reduce the number of anti-aircraft posi-
  tions mounted on it, and remove the Autoﬁre from 
  its internal bomb rack. (Similarly, you may want 
  to decrease the eﬀectiveness of his pilots and their 
  planes, and remove the Incendiary Cloud Projec-
  tor from his plane.) To make him less him eﬀective 
  SKYMASTER PLOT SEEDS
  A series of raids against universities by the Skymaster’s 
  men isn’t an unusual event — but the fact that they’re 
  stealing materials dealing with archaeological investiga-
  tions into the Phoenician, Egyptian, and Aztec cultures 
  instead of technical information is. What is he after 
  that requires such information? Why does he keep 
  trying to kidnap a prominent archaeologist/adventurer 
  who, rumor claims, has visited at least one lost civiliza-
  tion deep in the African jungle? Is it a simple desire to 
  accumulate lost treasure that drives the Skymaster, or 
  is there something else, something more sinister, at the 
  center of his plans?
  Word of an experimental radar device that would allow 
  governments to track his Skyfortress reaches the Sky-
  master, and he decides he must have it to devise a way to 
  counter it. He stages an attack on two military airﬁelds to 
  establish a pattern, then attacks the airﬁeld where testing 
  is occurring as a distraction while some of his men sneak 
  in and steal the plans. Only after his men return does he 
  realize some of the most important parts of the plans are 
  missing... because they’re only in the head of the scientist 
  who designed the device. The inventor in question is 
  wandering lost and stricken with amnesia from the con-
  cussion of one of the Skymaster’s bombs. The race is on 
  to locate and retrieve him....
  While enmeshed in another adventure, the characters 
  see an aerial battle that culminates in one of the aircraft 
  being shot down. Upon investigating, they ﬁnd a dying 
  man in the wreckage wearing a tattered uniform they 
  recognize as that of the Skymaster’s mechanics. He 
  lives long enough to thrust a scrawled map at them 
  and gasp out, “Wilkinson... Secret Service... Sumatra... 
  Skyfortress... Nimbus...” and then expires. The charac-
  ters are now faced with a dilemma:  is the adventure 
  they’re currently involved in more globally threatening 
  than the prospect of Skymaster having a pair of Sky-
  fortresses at his command? Should they abandon their 
  current course of action and attempt to locate and stop 
  the launching of Skyfortress Nimbus? Or is this a trick 
  being played on them by their current foe?
  
  30 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  personally, remove his Master Pilot and He Always 
  Comes Back abilities and his Danger Sense, and 
  reduce his Combat Skill Levels and Skills.
  Like all master villains, Skymaster has dozens 
  of things that demand his attention at any given 
  moment, which prevents him from Hunting a char-
  acter or group of characters full-time. Characters 
  who possess, or are involved with, advanced avia-
  tion technology will always be at least Watched in 
  case they can contribute to his arsenal, but it’s only 
  when he decides he must possess such technology, 
  or when the PCs have thwarted his plans several 
  times that he will actively mount a campaign 
  against them. As a Hunter, Skymaster prefers direct 
  confrontation to stealth and guile (though he can 
  use both if need be). He’s more likely to have the 
  character attacked in the air and forced down or 
  escorted to the Skyfortress, strafed while on the 
  road, or the like than he is to triﬂe with complex 
  plans for vengeance.
  Appearance:  The Skymaster is a man of average 
  height, with a trim, powerful build and an athletic 
  grace when he moves. He always appears in his 
  uniform, a more tailored version of the reinforced 
  black leather outﬁt issued to his men, and always 
  wears his combination mask and ﬂight helmet. His 
  version of the uniform has lightning bolts at the 
  shoulders, calves, and wrists, and his belt is shaped 
  like a lightning bolt with a cloud as the buckle. His 
  mask has two lightning bolts that sweep up and 
  back from the nose across his eyes, and leaves his 
  mouth and chin bare. For social occasions, such as 
  a dinner with captured foes aboard the Skyfortress, 
  he has a “dress” version of his uniform tailored 
  from black cloth. No one currently living has seen 
  the Skymaster’s true face and knows it; if he must 
  appear without his mask, he always wears a dis-
  guise. His personal weapon of choice is the Colt 
  1911A1; he carries two, one in a ﬂap holster on 
  each hip.
  AIR MARSHAL LOTHAR VON HAGEN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   18 STR 
  8 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [4]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   16 INT 
  6 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   16 PRE 
  6 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   6 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  9 PD (3 rPD)
   4 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  7 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  94
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Cinematic Brawling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block/
   
  Chin Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 38 STR 
  to Disarm Roll
  4 
  Eye Gouge 
  -1 
  -1 
  Sight Group 
  Flash 5d6
  5 
  Fist-Grab 
  +1 
  +1 
  Grab One Limb, 
  Block
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND(3)
  4 
  Punch/
   
  Backhand 
  +0 
  +2 
  7½d6 Strike
  5 
  Roundhouse 
  -2 
  +1 
  9½d6 Strike
  3 
  Tackle 
  +0 
  -1 
  5½d6 +v/5 
  Strike; You Fall, 
  Target Falls
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  2 
  Use Art with Clubs and Blades
  15 
  Tough As Nails:  Physical Damage  
  Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Requires A  
  CON Roll (-¾), Character Must Be  
  Aware Of Attack (-¼) 
  0
  6 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +3 with Sight Group 
  PER Rolls 
  0
  6 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +4 PER versus Range 
  Modiﬁer for Sight Group 
  0
   
  Perks
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Membership (Skymaster’s  
  Air Marshal)
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  5 
  Resistance (5 points)
   
  Skills
  8 
  +4 OCV with Biplane Weapons
  6 
  +2 with Cinematic Brawling
  5 
  Aerobatics 14-
  5 
  Analyze Piloting Skill 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  7 
  Combat Piloting 15-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  KS: Aircraft 12-
  
  31 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  3 
  KS: The Aviation World 12-
  3 
  KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist  
  World 12-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; 
  German is native)
  2 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Skymaster Codetalk (completely 
  ﬂuent)
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  4 
  Navigation (Air) 13-
  4 
  PS: Pilot 15-
  6 
  PS: Instructor 15-
  5 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  5 
  Systems Operation 13-
  5 
  Tactics 13-
  7 
  Teamwork 15-
  3 
  TF: Small Planes, Balloons & Zeppelins, Basic 
  Parachuting
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Biplane Weapons, Knives
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  194
  Total Cost:  288
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  scars around right eye 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Skymaster Uniform 
  (Easily Concealed, Noticed And Recognized)
  10 
  Hunted:  Skymaster 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Hunted:  various air forces 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Capture/Kill)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Gunslinger Men-
  tality (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Aviator’s Code 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Skymas-
  ter (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  Skymaster’s Air Marshal, 11- 
  (Extreme, Known To Limited Group)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other pilots, to 
  prove himself the best)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  93 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  288
  Background/History:  Lothar Von Hagen should 
  have been an ace, and would have been one, 
  except that he had the misfortune to down his 
  fifth, sixth, and seventh enemy planes in a four-
  on-one aerial battle that was his finest moment 
  in the air... on the day Germany surrendered. His 
  squadron leader refused to file the paperwork, 
  and his squadron mates all told him there was 
  no point to it — the war was over and no one 
  cared that he was an ace now. No one, that is, but 
  Lothar. Flying was the only thing he’d ever been 
  truly good at, and without the recognition and 
  means of testing himself against equals that it 
  gave him, he was adrift, without purpose.
  In the years following the war he found oppor-
  tunities to ﬂy again, small wars and mercenary 
  engagements that provided just enough purpose 
  to keep him going... but not enough to feel truly 
  fulﬁlled. He found that by training other pilots he 
  raised his marketability, so he threw himself into 
  the role of piloting and aerial combat instructor 
  for warlords and small governments from China 
  to South America. He ensured that the pilots he 
  trained were the best they could be, never telling 
  them it was because he knew sooner or later he 
  would ﬂy against them and he wanted his oppo-
  nents to be capable, dangerous foes. No other kind 
  was worth testing himself against.
  His life changed in the early months of 1930 
  when he answered a call for pilots put out by a 
  wealthy industrialist and philanthropist in Hudson 
  City who sought to assemble an impromptu air 
  force to do battle with the self-styled Skymaster and 
  his men to prevent the mastermind from carrying 
  out a threat to bomb the waterfront if a ransom 
  wasn’t paid. Lothar expected little from the job, 
  but it oﬀered a chance to test himself against pilots 
  who, rumor had it, were supposed to be among 
  the best in the world. He took to the air with the 
  rest of the rag-tag squadron the industrialist had 
  assembled hoping to ﬁnd a challenge and prove 
  himself once more. He found that the Skymaster’s 
  men were good pilots, better than most, but Lothar 
  wanted more:  the Skymaster himself. Lothar 
  sought him out, challenged him with a burst from 
  his Vickers — and found himself in the ﬁght of 
  his life. For a full forty-ﬁve minutes the two men 
  dueled in the sky over Hudson City, long after the 
  rest of the battle had ended, until the Skymaster 
  ﬁnally got the upper hand when a ricochet shat-
  tered the right lens of Lothar’s goggles, blinding 
  him with blood, and allowing the Skymaster to 
  ﬁnally get a ﬁnishing shot in on Lothar’s engines. 
  Beaten and exhausted, but prouder than he’d ever 
  been in his life, Lothar saluted the Skymaster as his 
  plane spiraled into the dark waters of Owl Bay.
  A month later, after Lothar had recovered 
  from his injuries, a man came to him at the bar 
  where he spent his nights. He talked of ﬂying, of the 
  brotherhood shared between the knights of the air, 
  and of his belief that the control of the skies meant 
  one controlled the ground beneath them. Lothar 
  listened, asked questions, and told the man of his 
  disappointment at the end of the war and his need 
  to test himself against the best. Long before the bar 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Luger P-08 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Parachute, binoculars
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  AIR MARSHAL 
  LOTHAR VON 
  HAGEN PLOT SEEDS
  While the characters 
  ﬂy against the Airmada, 
  Lothar — correctly or 
  not — identiﬁes one of 
  the character’s ﬂying 
  styles as that of the lone 
  pilot who escaped him 
  on the last day of the 
  Great War. Now every 
  time that character takes 
  to the air, Lothar is there 
  to challenge him, even 
  going to the extent of 
  appearing from nowhere 
  to down other opponents 
  who might rob him of 
  his victory. Finally he 
  delivers a challenge to 
  meet him at a deserted 
  airﬁeld, alone, where the 
  two opponents will take 
  to the air in exact replicas 
  of the planes they ﬂew 
  in the War to see who’s 
  the better pilot and ﬁnish 
  what they started so 
  many years ago. Will the 
  character agree?
  Lothar loses a series of 
  aerial engagements to 
  a PC over time with-
  out defeating him in 
  return. Some time later, 
  he appears at the hero’s 
  doorstep, luggage in 
  hand, and proclaims that 
  since he cannot defeat the 
  character, he must serve 
  him as he has served the 
  Skymaster. As long as the 
  PC treats him honorably 
  and does not press Lothar 
  for details that would be 
  damaging to the Sky-
  master, he seems to serve 
  loyally. Is it a trick? What 
  will the character do with 
  his new henchman? And 
  what will the Skymaster 
  do to get him back?
  Word of a new, advanced 
  airplane design reaches 
  Lothar, and he decides 
  that with the plans (or the 
  prototype aircraft) he’ll 
  ﬁnally be able to defeat 
  the Skymaster. Soon 
  the PCs are caught in a 
  three-way battle for the 
  plans and prototype as 
  the Skymaster, Lothar’s 
  secretly-employed agents, 
  and foreign spies all set 
  their sights on them.
  
  32 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  closed for the evening, Lothar knew who he was 
  talking to, and what his answer would be to the one 
  question the Skymaster had yet to ask him.
  As the Skymaster’s Air Marshal, Lothar super-
  vises the training of the Airmada, making its mem-
  bers the best pilots he can so that they carry out 
  their orders with superb eﬃciency. He plans opera-
  tions, leads some personally, and is the ﬁrst to chal-
  lenge the greatest of the Skymaster’s enemies when 
  they take to the air against him. He might not be 
  the greatest pilot alive, but he serves the man who 
  is, and that’s enough deﬁnition to his life. For now.
  Personality/Motivation:  Lothar’s motivations are 
  more complex than those of the men he com-
  mands, most of whom simply ﬂy for the consider-
  able salary the Skymaster pays. He wants to prove 
  himself the best pilot in the world, and to satisfy 
  his sense of duty to the only pilot he’s ﬂown against 
  that he couldn’t beat. That, coupled with his almost 
  unbreakable will, drives him to new heights each 
  time he takes to the air. He tests himself against 
  pilot after pilot to prove he is the best, accept-
  ing and issuing personal challenges even when 
  it’s not prudent to do so to prove, to himself if no 
  one else, that he is indeed the best. He sometimes 
  seeks out especially skilled pilots he’s heard about 
  to challenge them. To date, the only pilot he has 
  never been able to best is the Skymaster, despite 
  having challenged him no less than twenty times. 
  Lothar privately dreams of the day when he can 
  ﬁnally beat the Skymaster and claim his place at 
  the head of the Airmada, but until then, he bides 
  his time, tests himself against the best opponents 
  sent against his master, trains the Airmada, and 
  improves his skills for the next duel.
  Lothar ﬁghts his duels honorably and fairly; 
  a victory won through trickery and deceit is not 
  worth speaking of. He honors opponents who meet 
  him courageously on the ﬁeld of battle; allowing 
  them to withdraw when it’s clear they cannot con-
  tinue, withholding killing shots when there’s no 
  need for one, and following his foes down to ensure 
  that they land safely. Sometimes he even drops food 
  and medical supplies to especially skilled oppo-
  nents after he shoots them out of the sky, and no 
  honorable pilot he’s dueled has ever been lost for 
  lack of a call being placed to the closest individuals 
  able to rescue him. Conversely, he deals ruthlessly 
  with any pilot who acts or ﬁghts dishonorably.
  Quote:  “G-5, G-7, G-9, peel oﬀ and take down the 
  Ford Trimotor before it escapes. All other G-Squad-
  ron planes strafe the airﬁeld by the numbers. I will 
  handle the ﬁghter who made it into the air.”
  Powers/Tactics:  In the air, Lothar normally allows 
  the Airmada pilots under his command to engage 
  the enemy individually to gauge his opponents’ 
  skills. Once he identiﬁes the real threats, he 
  assigns three-plane units to quickly pick oﬀ the 
  weaker opponents and clear the skies, then two-
  plane units to combat more skilled opponents, 
  and ﬁnally challenges the best of the opposing 
  pilots himself. If a speciﬁc 
  mission calls for it, he 
  assigns aircraft to ground 
  attack roles against targets 
  designated by the Skymas-
  ter, but he has no taste for 
  such things himself.
  Against a pilot he 
  deems worthy of a per-
  sonal challenge, he spends 
  a few rounds sizing up his 
  opponent and ﬂying defen-
  sively before he begins to 
  attack in earnest. Lothar 
  is an excellent pilot who 
  understands his own limits 
  and those of his aircraft; 
  he knows when he can 
  push his plane, and when 
  he can’t. He ﬁghts aggres-
  sively, keeping as close to 
  his opponent as possible to 
  deny him use of his guns 
  and maximize the eﬀec-
  tiveness of his own, but he’s 
  pilot enough to know when 
  that strategy won’t work.
  Campaign Use:  Lothar is 
  the archetypal mastermind’s 
  lieutenant:  strong, skilled, 
  tough in a ﬁght, and loyal to 
  his leader (until the oppor-
  tunity to supplant him 
  arises...). He should be the 
  
  33 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  ﬁrst non-faceless opponent the characters encoun-
  ter when they face the Airmada, and they should 
  both fear and respect him for his skills and intel-
  ligence long before they meet the master he serves. 
  In campaigns where the Skymaster is too powerful 
  an opponent, you could substitute Lothar for him 
  with just a little reworking.
  To make Von Hagen tougher as an aerial com-
  batant, increase his number of Combat Skill Levels 
  with Biplane Weapons, raise his Piloting and Aero-
  batics skills, and add an ability like the Skymaster’s 
  Deft Jinking ability. To make him tougher person-
  ally, increase his STR to 18, his CON to 20, his 
  innate PD to 8, and perhaps add some Extra DCs 
  or Combat Skill Levels with his Cinematic Brawl-
  ing.
  To make Lothar a weaker opponent in the 
  air, reduce or eliminate his levels with Biplane 
  Weapons, reduce his SPD to 3, and lower his 
  Piloting and Aerobatics skills. To make him a 
  weaker opponent personally, lower his DEX to 
  16, his SPD to 3, and remove his Damage Classes 
  with Cinematic Brawling and his Tough As Nails 
  Damage Reduction ability.
  Because of his Disadvantages, Lothar fre-
  quently and constantly Hunts pilots of suﬃcient 
  skill to challenge him. If a character meets the basic 
  qualiﬁcations, Lothar will typically Hunt him on 
  an 8- (his duties as the Skymaster’s Air Marshal 
  prevent him from Hunting more frequently). As a 
  Hunter, Lothar is honorable and relentless in his 
  quest to seek personal combat with the target; he 
  won’t endanger innocents or resort to underhanded 
  tricks, preferring to challenge the character openly. 
  Rarely does he seek to kill an opponent unless his 
  quarry behaves dishonorably; defeating the foe is 
  enough, and there’s always the chance he’ll learn 
  enough to ﬂy against him again another day.
  Appearance:  Air Marshal Lothar Von Hagen is 
  a tall, handsome man in his late thirties with an 
  athletic build, light brown hair, and blue eyes. He 
  has several scars in an arc around his right eye 
  which he earned when a pair of goggles shattering 
  during his epic duel with the Skymaster. He nor-
  mally wears the uniform of the Skymaster’s men, 
  with the addition of a pair of lightning bolts on the 
  shoulders and at the wrists to designate his status 
  as Air Marshal. Like the Skymaster, he has a “dress” 
  version of his uniform that he wears on formal 
  occasions. When not in uniform, he wears clothing 
  appropriate to the situation. His personal sidearm 
  of choice is the Mauser M32.
  AIRMADA PILOT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   14 STR 
  4 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 3½d6 [3]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   4 PD 
  1 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  42
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  7 
  Brawler:  HA +2d6; Hand-To-Hand  
  Attack (-½) 
  1
  4 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +2 PER with Sight  
  Group PER Rolls 
  0
   
  Perks
  3 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Membership (Airmada pilot)
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 OCV with Biplane Weapons
  5 
  Combat Pilot 13-
  3 
  Concealment 11-
  3 
  KS: Aircraft 12-
  2 
  KS: The Aviation World 11-
  2 
  KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist  
  World 11-
  3 
  Language:  Skymaster Codetalk (completely 
  ﬂuent)
  3 
  Mechanics 11-
  4 
  Navigation (Air) 12-
  4 
  PS: Pilot 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 11-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Systems Operation 11-
  2 
  TF: Small Planes, Basic Parachuting
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Biplane Weapons, Knives
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  65
  Total Cost:  107
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Skymaster Uniform 
  (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recogniz-
  able)
  10 
  Hunted:  Skymaster 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Amoral And 
  Greedy (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  125
  
  34 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Description:  The Skymaster recruits his men 
  from the ranks of disenchanted military and 
  mercenary pilots all over the world. Who you 
  were, what you did, and what trouble you were in 
  for doing it mean nothing to the Skymaster — all 
  he cares about is that you can fly, and fly well. 
  He employs agents to keep an eye on flying cir-
  cuses, air shows, and military discharge reports 
  in search of the best pilots he can recruit, trains 
  them rigorously, and then has them hone their 
  skills against one another in live combat exer-
  cises until only the best of the best remain.
  If left to their own devices, the Skymaster’s 
  men break oﬀ into individual dogﬁghts, turning 
  the sky into a twisting tangle of one-on-one aerial 
  duels as they seek to prove themselves superior to 
  their individual opponents. Dangerous as they are 
  individually, they’re far deadlier under the direction 
  of a squadron leader, the Air Marshal, or the Sky-
  master himself, when they make well-coordinated 
  attacks against enemy aircraft or ground positions. 
  Their skill in squadron maneuvers, coupled with 
  their superior aircraft, is what makes the Airmada 
  the most feared force in the air.
  Airmada pilots have no set appearance aside 
  from being (a) in good shape, and (b) neither 
  exceptionally short nor exceptionally tall so that 
  they require no modiﬁcations to the cockpits of 
  their planes to ﬂy them. Most are men, but the Sky-
  master has a squadron of female pilots under his 
  command — one of the deadliest in his Airmada. 
  All pilots must learn both the Skymaster’s special 
  code-language and English if they don’t know it 
  already (for foreign pilots, add English to their 
  character sheet).
  All Airmada pilots wear the standard uni-
  form of Skymaster’s men:  a black leather pants 
  and jacket outfit, matching gloves and boots, 
  and a leather flying helmet with goggles. Out of 
  their planes, his pilots carry a handgun — the 
  Colt 1911A1 is standard issue, but many pilots 
  exchange it for a personal choice — and a knife, 
  although heavier weapons are sometimes issued 
  for specific purposes.
  SKYFORTRESS CUMULUS
   Val Char 
  Cost Notes
   22 Size 
  110 160” x 80”; -22 KB; -14 DCV
   120 STR 
  0 
  Lift 400 ktons; 24d6 HTH [0]
   15 DEX 
  15 OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   32 BODY 0
   7 DEF 
  15
   3 SPD 
  5 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
    
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  145
  Movement: 
  Flight:  23”/92”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
   
  Propulsion Systems
  25 
  Advanced Motorized Lighter-Than-Air- 
  Vehicle:  Flight 23”, x4 Noncombat; Side 
  Eﬀects (KA 1d6 to anyone who comes  
  into contact with the propeller,  
  automatically occurs when Flight in  
  use, only aﬀects environment near  
  propellers; -¼), Cannot Move Backwards 
  (-¼), Limited Maneuverability (-½),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily- 
  obtainable fuel, 1 Week; -0) 
  [1cc]
  -12 
  Can Only Fly:  Running -6” (0” total)
  -2 
  Can Only Fly:  Swimming -2” (0” total)
   
  Tactical Systems
  28 
  Static Discharge Lightning Cannon:  Energy 
  Blast 14d6, Penetrating (+½), Line Of Sight 
  (+½); OIF Bulky (-1), Crew-Served Weapon 
  (4 crew; -½), Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼), 3 
  Charges (-1¼) 
  [3]
  54 
  Dual 12.7mm Machine Gun Air Defense  
  Gun Emplacement:  RKA 3d6, Autoﬁre  
  (8 shots; +1), 850 Charges (+1); OIF Bulky 
  (-1), Limited Arc Of Fire (180 Degrees in  
  one direction; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼) [850]
  15 
  Dual 12.7mm Machine Gun Air Defense  
  Gun Emplacement:  Seven more Air  
  Defense Gun Emplacements (total of 8) [850]
  82 
  Internal Bomb Rack:  RKA 4d6, Explosion 
  (-1 DC/2”; +¾), Autoﬁre (5 shots; +1½), 60 
  Charges (+½); OIF Bulky (bomb launcher; 
  -1), Real Weapon (-¼), Dropped (-½) 
  [60]
  11 
  Aircraft Launch Assist/Arrest System:  +9  
  Size; Only For Air Vehicle Takeoﬀ/ 
  Landing Purposes (-2), Requires A  
  Combat Piloting Roll (by pilots taking  
  oﬀ or landing; -½), No Figured  
  Characteristics (-½) 
  0
  35 
  Cloud Generator:  Sight Group Images, -5 to 
  Sight Group PER Rolls, Increased Size (160” 
  radius; +2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; 
  +½); Set Eﬀect (cloud cover around self; -1), 
  No Range (-½) 
  0
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt M1911A 
  +1 
  0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Parachute, binoculars
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  35 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
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  36 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
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  37 
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  38 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
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  39 
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  40 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
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  41 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
   
  Operations Systems
  4 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF Bulky (-1½),  
  Aﬀected As Hearing Group As Well as  
  Radio Group (-¼)  
  0
   
  Personnel Systems
  14 
  Sealed Environment:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing; Safe Environments:  
  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/Vacuum) 
  0
   
  Skills
  4 
  Advanced Bombsight:  +2 OCV with Internal 
  Bomb Rack
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  258
  Total Vehicle Cost:  403
  Value Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Skymaster’s Airship 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [fear])
  Total Disadvantage Points:  25
  Total Cost:  378/5 = 76
  ADDITIONAL VEHICLES
  Cost Vehicle
  18 
  SK-1 Fighter:  1 SK-1 Fighter
  30 
  SK-1 Fighter:  64 more SK-1 Fighters (65 
  total)
  33 
  SK-4A Fighter:  1 SK-4A Fighter
  Description:  The Skymaster’s mobile base of 
  operations is his gigantic airship, the Skyfortress 
  Cumulus. Appropriately for the Lord Of The Air, 
  Skymaster used the best elements of every airship 
  previously designed, the technical advice of the 
  scientists in his employ, and his own not inconsid-
  erable genius to design and create the largest air 
  vehicle the world has ever seen for his home.
  The basic form of the Skyfortress is traditional:  
  a cylindrical body with rounded ends and stabiliz-
  ing rear ﬁns. The body contains many compart-
  mentalized internal gasbags for lifting power, but 
  the additions and modiﬁcations — as well as the 
  sheer size — of the Skyfortress clearly set it apart. 
  The traditional gondola-style control cabin is faired 
  directly into the bottom of the hull and the eight 
  engines are not only arranged diﬀerently from tra-
  ditional airships, but have aerodynamic fairings as 
  well. The hull itself is not fabric, but a lightweight, 
  ﬂexible Bakelite compound that provides greater 
  strength and eliminates the dangers of ﬁre that the 
  traditional doped fabric airship hull presents. The 
  use of helium drawn from the Skymaster’s private 
  helium wells in a remote part of Canada reduces 
  the danger of ﬁre further. As with his planes, the 
  Skymaster has painted the exterior of the airship a 
  non-reﬂective black with lightning bolt insignia on 
  the tail ﬁns and engine cowlings. There are armored 
  glass view ports in many places along the sides of 
  the airship, and two-thirds of the way up the front 
  of the craft is a wide swath of glass that allows the 
  Skymaster to look out at his domain from inside 
  his personal lounge. But the most glaring diﬀer-
  ence from a regular airship is the launching bay 
  for the Skymaster’s squadron of planes. Twin doors 
  made of dozens of articulated Bakelite panels can 
  be ratcheted into wells on either side to create an 
  opening wide enough for three of his squadron to 
  land simultaneously through the front of the air-
  ship. A twin door opens at the rear of the airship, 
  creating a continuous landing strip that runs the 
  length of the Skyfortress and allows a like number 
  of planes to take oﬀ simultaneously.
  The Skyfortress is extremely well armed, 
  as the Skymaster does not expect the world to 
  bow down before him without a fight. It car-
  ries a complement of 64 SK-1 fighters divided 
  into five squadrons of 12 planes, plus four SK-1 
  fighters that fly patrol around the airship in 
  pairs that rotate out every four hours to keep 
  the pilots fresh. There’s another SK-1 fighter 
  assigned to Sky Marshal Von Hagen, and a single 
  SK-4A fighter — the Skymaster’s personal craft. 
  In addition, the airship has eight air defense gun 
  emplacements allocated forward top, forward 
  bottom, forward starboard and forward port, 
  with an identical arrangement aft, and carries 
  a rapid-release bomb rack with an advanced 
  bombsight of Skymaster’s own design; the 
  rack holds sixty 1,000-pound bombs for use in 
  ground bombardment. The Skyfortress’s most 
  well-known and terrifying weapon, however, the 
  Static Discharge Lightning Cannon, is mounted 
  on a rail that wraps around the center of the air-
  ship. It harnesses the static charge that collects 
  on the hull of the Skyfortress and stores it in a 
  capacitor bank where it can be unleashed like 
  a bolt of lighting sent down from the heavens 
  to blast the Skymaster’s enemies. To prevent his 
  craft from being spotted instantly, the Skymaster 
  has installed a cloud generator that wraps the 
  Skyfortress in a concealing cloud formation.
  The landing of planes is assisted by a series of 
  nets and restraining devices as well as the speed of 
  the Skyfortress, which requires that the pilot only 
  throttle down to 100 miles per hour to match the 
  airship’s speed and let the safety devices slow and 
  stop him. Launching is even easier, as the 100-mile 
  per hour speed of the craft and the wind ﬂowing 
  through the airstrip make take-oﬀs extremely easy. 
  Workmen and aircrew use tether lines to ensure 
  their safety, although most pilots disdain such 
  things as they board and disembark their craft.
  The Skyfortress is 1,050 feet (160”) long, has 
  an operational ceiling of 30,000 feet and a top 
  speed of approximately 103 miles per hour, giving 
  it a range of over 17,000 miles on a single load of 
  fuel. The Skymaster has fuel depots hidden away 
  in isolated spots around the world to allow him 
  to refuel when needed, so the Skyfortress is rarely 
  encountered with less than ﬁve days’ worth of fuel 
  on hand at any given time.
  
  42 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  SKYMASTER SK-4A
   Val Char 
  Cost Notes
   6 Size 
  30 4” x 2.5”; -6 KB; -4 DCV
   25 STR 
  -15 Lift 800 kg; 5d6 HTH [0
   16 DEX 
  18 OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   17 BODY 1
   6 DEF 
  12
   3 SPD 
  4 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
    
   Total Characteristic Cost:  50
  Movement: 
  Ground:  6”/12”
   
  Swimming:  0”/0”
   
  Flight:  40”/160”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
   
  Propulsion Systems
  34 
  Advanced Propeller-Driven Biplane:   
  Flight 40”, x4 Noncombat; Side Eﬀects  
  (KA 1d6 to anyone who comes into  
  contact with the propeller, automatically 
  occurs when Flight in use, only aﬀects  
  environment in front of vehicle; -¼),  
  Stall Velocity (21”; -¼), Takeoﬀ/Landing  
  (-1), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily 
  obtained fuel, 4 Hours; -0) 
  [1cc]
  -2 
  Can Only Fly:  Swimming -2” (0” total)
   
  Tactical Systems
  34 
  37mm Cannon (Nose Mounted):  RKA  
  5d6, +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼),  
  20 Charges (+¼); OIF Bulky (-1), Limited 
  Arc Of Fire (0 degrees forward; only on  
  same horizontal level; -1), Real  
  Weapon (-¼)  
  [20]
  38 
  Dual 12.7mm Machine Guns (Nose  
  Mounted):  RKA 3d6, Autoﬁre (5 shots;  
  +½), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier  
  (+¼), 520 Charges (+1); OIF Bulky (-1),  
  Limited Arc Of Fire (0 degrees forward;  
  only on same horizontal level; -1), Real 
  Weapon (-¼) 
  [520]
  11 
  Incendiary Cloud Projector (Rear  
  Mounted):  RKA 1d6, Area Of Eﬀect  
  (10” Cone; +1), Continuous (+1),  
  Penetrating (+½); OIF Bulky (-1),  
  Activation Roll 14- (-½), Real Weapon  
  (-¼), No Range (-½), Limited Arc Of  
  Fire (60 degrees behind aircraft; only on  
  same horizontal level; -¾), 4 Continuing 
  Charges lasting 1 Turn each (-½) 
  [4]
   
  Operations Systems
  4 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF Bulky (-1½),  
  Aﬀected As Hearing Group As Well as  
  Radio Group (-¼)  
  0
   
  Personnel Systems
  14 
  Sealed Environment:  Life Support (Self- 
  Contained Breathing; Safe Environments:  
  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/Vacuum) 
  0
   
  Skills
  4 
  Highly Maneuverable:  +2 with Flight
  4 
  +2 OCV with Dual Machine Guns
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  141
  Total Vehicle Cost:  191
  Value Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Skymaster’s Personal 
  Fighter (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme 
  Reaction [fear])
  Total Disadvantage Points:  25
  Total Cost:  166/5 = 33
  Description:  The Skymaster’s personal plane is, 
  like the planes issued to his pilots, an advanced-
  design biplane with a metal body, slightly slanted 
  wings, and a supercharged engine that makes a 
  distinctive, high-pitched whine. It’s painted a flat, 
  non-reflective black color with yellow lightning 
  bolts along the engine cowling and tail, but it 
  bears additional lightning bolt insignia along the 
  upper wing surface and has no letter/number 
  designator. Unlike the planes issued to his men, 
  the cockpit of the SK-4A has a clear armored 
  glass canopy that covers the pilot and allows the 
  craft to be pressurized and heated.
  Specialized tuning and constant maintenance 
  make the SK-4A even more maneuverable and 
  stable than the rest of the Skymaster’s aircraft. The 
  ﬁnely-tuned supercharged engine draws less fuel 
  than even the SK-1, giving it a range unheard of for 
  aircraft. It’s armed with 12.7mm machine guns, a 
  37mm cannon that ﬁres through the propeller hub, 
  and a special weapon that takes the place of the 
  bomb each SK-1 carries:  a projector that releases a 
  chemical-laden cloud to the rear of the aircraft and 
  touches it oﬀ, creating a fan-shaped mass of ﬂame 
  that engulfs anyone who dares to ﬂy too close to 
  him. When it’s released, pursuing pilots can avoid 
  the incendiary cloud by succeeding with a Combat 
  Piloting Roll at a penalty equal to the pursuing air-
  craft’s DCV modiﬁer; for the remainder of the turn 
  that it’s in existence, the cloud presents a deadly 
  aerial obstacle that pilots have to be sure to ﬂy 
  around. Skymaster can also use the cloud to start 
  ﬁres on the ground by ﬂying low and discharging it.
  The SK-4A is larger than the craft the Sky-
  master’s men ﬂy at 25 feet, and weighs more at 965 
  kg. It can sustain a maximum speed of almost 180 
  mph; its maximum ﬂight ceiling is 24,000 feet. It 
  carries just the pilot.
  
  43 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  SKYMASTER SK-1
   Val Char 
  Cost Notes
   5 Size 
  25 3.2” x 1.6”; -5 KB; -3 DCV
   20 STR 
  -15 Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH [0
   16 DEX 
  18 OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   17 BODY 2
   4 DEF 
  6
   3 SPD 
  4 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
    
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  40
  Movement: 
  Ground:  6”/12”
   
  Flight:  35”/136”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
   
  Propulsion Systems
  30 
  Advanced Propeller-Driven Biplane:  Flight  
  35”, x4 Noncombat; Side Eﬀects (KA 1d6  
  to anyone who comes into contact with  
  the propeller, automatically occurs when  
  Flight in use, only aﬀects environment in  
  front of vehicle; -¼), Stall Velocity (17”; -¼), 
  Takeoﬀ/Landing (-1),  1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (easily obtained fuel; 3 hours; -0) [1cc]
  -2 
  Can Only Fly:  Swimming -2” (0” total)
   
  Tactical Systems
  29 
  Dual 7.9mm Machine Guns (Forward 
  Mounted):  RKA 2d6+1, Autoﬁre  
  (5 shots; +½), +1 Increased STUN  
  Multiplier (+¼), 520 Charges (+1);  
  OIF Bulky (-1), Limited arc Of Fire  
  (0 degrees forward; only on same  
  horizontal level; -1), Real Weapon (-¼)  [520]
  13 
  250-Pound Bomb:  RKA 3d6, Explosion  
  (+½); OAF Bulky (externally-mounted 
  bomb; -1½), Dropped (-½), Real  
  Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2) 
  [1]
   
  Operations Systems
  4 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF Bulky (-1½),  
  Aﬀected As Hearing Group As Well as  
  Radio Group (-¼)  
  0
   
  Skills
  2 
  Highly Maneuverable:  +1 with Flight
  2 
  +1 OCV with Dual Machine Guns
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  78
  Total Vehicle Cost:  118
  Value Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  One of Skymaster’s 
  planes (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme 
  Reaction [fear])
  Total Disadvantage Points:  25
  Total Cost:  93/5 = 18
  Description:  The standard craft issued to the 
  Skymaster’s pilots is an advanced-design biplane 
  with a light metal body, slightly slanted wings, and 
  a supercharged engine that makes a distinctive, 
  high-pitched whine. They’re painted a ﬂat, non-
  reﬂective black with yellow lightning bolts along 
  the engine cowling and tail. Each plane has a letter 
  and number designator (A-17, D-05, and so on) 
  that indicates which of the Skymaster’s squadrons 
  it comes from. The Skymaster orders the numbers 
  changed occasionally, and sometimes selects higher 
  ones than are strictly accurate to make estimating 
  the number of planes in his command more dif-
  ﬁcult.
  The SK-1 is highly maneuverable and stable, 
  making it more nimble and a better ﬁring platform 
  than most craft in the sky. Each comes equipped 
  with forward-ﬁring twin 7.9mm machine guns and 
  a single 250-pound demolition bomb. The super-
  charged engine draws less fuel than most power 
  plants its size, giving the planes 33% more range 
  than a standard craft of the type despite the higher 
  weight of the metal body.
  The SK-1 is a few inches longer than 20 feet, 
  and weighs 800 kg. It can sustain a maximum speed 
  of 160 mph; its maximum ﬂight ceiling is 22, 975 
  feet. It carries just the pilot.
  
  44 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  THE CRIMSON WRAITHE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   5 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  7 PD (2 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  5 ED (2 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   28 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  66
  Movement: 
  Running (Secret Identity):  0”/0”
   
  Running (Crimson Wraithe):  6”/12”
   
  Swimming (Secret Identity):  1”/2”
   
  Swimming (Crimson Wraithe):  2”/4”
   
  Leaping:  0”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  40 
  Wraithe Gun:  Multipower, 90-point  
  reserve; all slots OAF (-1), 12 Charges  
  for entire Multipower (-¼) 
  [12]
  4u 
  1) Weakness:  Drain STR 6d6, Ranged  
  (+½); OAF (-1)
  4u 
  2) Feebleness:  Drain CON 6d6, Ranged  
  (+½); OAF (-1)
  4u 
  3) Clumsiness:  Drain DEX 6d6, Ranged 
  (+½); OAF (-1)
  4u 
  4) Paralysis:  Drain SPD 6d6, Ranged  
  (+½); OAF (-1)
  4 
  Robes Of The Crimson Wraithe:  Armor  
  (2 PD/2 ED); OIF (-½) 
  0
  17 
  Shroud Of The Crimson Wraithe:   
  Invisibility to Sight Group, Persistent  
  (+½),  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (lasts 3 
  Hours, easily refuled; +¼); Extra Time  
  (10 Minutes to activate; -1) 
  [1cc]
  -12 
  Wheelchair Bound:  Running -6” (0” total)
  -1 
  Wheelchair Bound:  Swimming -1” (1” total)
  -3 
  Wheelchair Bound:  Leaping -3” (0” total)
  7 
  Energized Legs:  Running +6” (6” total),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (lasts 3 Hours, 
  easily refuled; +¼);  
  Extra Time (10 Minutes to activate; -1)  [1cc]
  1 
  Energized Legs:  Swimming +1” (2” total),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (lasts 3 Hours, 
  easily refuled; +¼); Extra Time (10 Min- 
  utes to activate; -1) 
  [1cc]
  2 
  Energized Legs:  Leaping +3” (3” forward, 2” 
  upward), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (lasts 3 
  Hours, easily refuled; +¼); Extra Time 
  (10 Minutes to activate; -1) 
  [1cc]
   
  Perks
  5 
  Money:  Well-Oﬀ
   
  Skills
  4 
  +2 OCV with Wraithe Gun
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Inventor 13-
  3 
  CK: Hudson City 13-
  4 
  KS: Hudson City Current Events 14-
  3 
  KS: The Industrial World 13-
  1 
  KS: US Army 8-
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent;  
  English is Native)
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  3 
  PS: Engineer 13-
  2 
  PS: Physician 11-
  2 
  SS: Anatomy 11-
  3 
  SS: Electrical Engineering 13-
  2 
  SS: Medicine 11-
  3 
  SS: Physics 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  134
  Total Cost:  200
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  DNPC:  Jeﬀ Fowler (butler/valet/nurse) 8- 
  (Incompetent)
  15 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Limited 
  Geographical Area, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Compelled To 
  Commit Red-Themed Crimes (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vengeful 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Daniel 
  Ross) (Frequently, Major)
  35 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  200
  
  45 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  Background/History:  
  Doctor Daniel Ross, 
  son of a prosperous 
  factory owner, was 
  training as an electrical 
  engineer until his stud-
  ies were interrupted by 
  the Great War. Rising 
  to the rank of Captain, 
  he served his country 
  well. Upon his return 
  to the States, he com-
  pleted his studies, went 
  to work at his father’s 
  factory, and married 
  his college sweetheart, 
  Elaine Lindsey. By the 
  time the Great Depres-
  sion began, Daniel and 
  Elaine had two children 
  (George and Kathleen) 
  and a third on the way. 
  Times were hard but 
  they got by... until their 
  youngest, Bobby, con-
  tracted polio. Medical 
  bills almost bankrupted 
  the young family, but 
  Daniel’s father helped 
  out as best he could. 
  Then the factory burned 
  to the ground in a mys-
  terious fire that claimed 
  the elder Ross’s life and 
  left Daniel himself crippled from the waist down. 
  Faced with mounting medical bills, Ross found 
  a job in the Research and Development depart-
  ment of an electrical engineering firm.
  Over the next year, disaster again visited the 
  Ross family. While crossing a street, Bobby and 
  George were struck and killed by a speeding driver. 
  Kathleen contracted a fatal case of inﬂuenza; 
  Elaine, weakened by stress and her own illness, died 
  quietly in her sleep. Daniel threw himself into his 
  work. Then one day, a miracle occurred. While he 
  was working on an experiment involving modula-
  tion of electrical waves, one of the charged wires 
  brushed against his dead right leg. And it moved.
  Ross became obsessed with his experiment, 
  spending all his time at work, until late one eve-
  ning he stumbled across the correct frequency 
  modulation to energize his useless legs, and 
  enable him first to stand, then to walk. Ecstatic 
  over his discovery, he went to tell his boss, 
  Wayne Dowdy. He found Dowdy on a catwalk 
  high above the deserted factory floor. When he 
  spoke, Dowdy turned. He’d heard a voice... but he 
  couldn’t see anyone! Unnerved, he began to back 
  away. Ross, uncomprehending, followed him, still 
  trying to explain his great discovery. Dowdy kept 
  backing away until his legs struck a weak catwalk 
  railing and he plunged to his death on the fac-
  tory floor below. It was only then that Ross real-
  ized his discovery, while enabling him to walk, 
  also rendered him invisible.
  Horriﬁed at what had happened to Dowdy, 
  but knowing that he’d be blamed for the death if 
  he notiﬁed the police, Ross loaded his equipment 
  and his now-unneeded chair into a truck and then 
  ransacked Dowdy’s oﬃce, looking for anything of 
  value. In a drawer, he discovered the patents Dowdy 
  had obtained for things he, Ross, had invented, and 
  notations of the proﬁts they’d generated. Angered 
  by Dowdy’s greed (since none of the proﬁts had 
  been passed on to him), Ross forged documents 
  transferring the patents to him and took all the 
  cash from the safe. Then he started an electrical ﬁre 
  and left the building. He just made it back to his 
  apartment when he learned the other drawback of 
  his process:  its eﬀects only lasted three hours.
  Armed with his equipment and suﬃcient 
  funds, Ross rented a small warehouse, hired a 
  helper named Jeﬀ Fowler, and began reﬁning his 
  process. Although he was unable to make the pro-
  cess last longer than three hours, he discovered a 
  way to treat fabric so it wouldn’t become invisible 
  under the process. Any fabric so treated, no matter 
  what color, reﬂected only the red light waves. 
  Embittered by what he felt society and fate had 
  done to him, Ross decided to embark on a career of 
  revenge. And what better way to avenge himself on 
  the people who took everything from him than to 
  take from them?
  
  46 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Personality/Motivation:  The Crimson Wraithe is 
  a bitter man, uncaring and untrusting. The only 
  person he has any kind feelings toward is Jeﬀ 
  Fowler, now his butler/valet/nurse. His men are no 
  more to him than tools, to be used and discarded 
  if necessary. He has no friends or loved ones, and 
  involves himself with people only for the purpose 
  of learning who has what possessions. Ross wishes 
  to take as much as he can from as many as he can, 
  motivated not by greed but the pleasure of seeing 
  his victims suﬀer.
  His compulsion to commit crimes with a red-
  based theme or link is as much a simple desire to 
  be distinctive as it is a way of venting his frustration 
  at his condition and the limitations his cure places 
  on him. He’s not fanatical about following it, but he 
  does enjoy ﬁnding ways to commit new and diﬀerent 
  crimes that have the color linkage, and slips refer-
  ences into conversation to amuse himself. He wears 
  red robes, drives a red car as the Wraithe, and so on.
  Because of the amount of death that has 
  haunted him in his personal life, the Crimson 
  Wraithe refuses to take a life, even in the commis-
  sion of his crimes, and does not allow his men to 
  do so either. His Wraithe Gun, based on the same 
  principles as the process that allows him to walk, 
  lets him disable people without killing them.
  Quote:  “I’m the Crimson Wraithe, you fool! Perhaps 
  you’ve... read... of me?”
  Powers/Tactics:  As the Crimson Wraithe, Ross 
  seeks revenge on anyone who has the things he 
  does not (wealth, position, family, and so on) by 
  taking their material possessions away from them. 
  He favors “theme crimes” linked to the color red 
  and its various shades. For example, he’ll steal a 
  famous ruby necklace, rob the oﬃces of the Com-
  munist party, hold up the annual “Burgundy Ball,” 
  steal the payroll for Cardinal Industries, and the 
  like. He rarely employs violence in his crimes; no 
  one’s ever been killed by the Wraithe or his men. He 
  plans his crimes on a tight timetable because of the 
  limited amount of time he can remain mobile. He 
  quickly abandons a crime that’s become too com-
  plicated or hampered to stay on schedule. 
  Additionally, the Crimson Wraithe employs a 
  second group of thugs led by Enrico Calavieri to 
  commit non-theme crimes. While the police pursue 
  the Crimson Wraithe for stealing a particularly 
  ﬁne ruby, his men clean out a bank vault. While 
  the Crimson Wraithe robs the Red Rose Parade, 
  his men rob a diamond exchange. He ﬁnds it vastly 
  amusing that no one has yet ﬁgured out that his 
  “Crimson Crimes” are a red herring.
  The Crimson Wraithe has no real skills in 
  personal combat; he relies on his Wraithe Gun to 
  resolve such issues. With it he can sap an oppo-
  nent’s strength, weaken him, aﬄict him with a sort 
  of palsy that leads to great clumsiness, or even slow 
  or stop his movement. No matter what setting he 
  uses, the Wraithe Gun ﬁres a red beam of light.
  Relations With Others:  The Wraithe has little interest 
  in associating with other masterminds, although 
  he might hire individuals willing to meet his orders 
  about lack of deadly force, such as the Frankenstein 
  Mob. He doesn’t engage in disputes with other 
  masterminds unless they directly interfere with his 
  operations, in which case he will make them the 
  focus of a few “Crimson Crimes” to enact revenge.
  Resources:  While Daniel Ross has enough wealth 
  to live comfortably, he lacks the ﬁnancial resources 
  of most other masterminds. As the campaign 
  progresses, he’ll invest his stolen funds in better 
  equipment and expand his ability to contract for 
  additional men. Assume he adds roughly a point of 
  permanent Money every six months his plans go 
  unchecked until he reaches 10 points, the practical 
  ceiling for his foreseeable criminal income.
  The Crimson Wraithe currently employs 20 
  men, half under his direct control for his “Crimson 
  Crimes” and half under Enrico’s control. There 
  are occasional crossovers between the two groups 
  depending on the needs of individual crimes, 
  but the number is not likely to increase unless he 
  encounters stiﬀer opposition than he has thus far.
  Daniel Ross lives in a brownstone just north 
  of Little Italy, and the Crimson Wraithe makes his 
  lair in a warehouse along the northern edge of the 
  waterfront.
  CRIMSON WRAITHE  
  PLOT SEEDS
  After a robbery at a local museum, the Crimson 
  Wraithe discovers that one of the paintings his men 
  took is actually a forgery! He checks into things and 
  ﬁnds that one of the curators is secretly selling works 
  of art to wealthy collectors on the black market and 
  replacing the originals with copies. Outraged at 
  being tricked, the the Crimson Wraithe and his men 
  descend on the curator to catch him red-handed and 
  turn him over to the police, buying a little good pub-
  licity in the process. The curator, however, protests 
  that some of the paintings he’s charged with stealing 
  weren’t replaced by him. Did the Crimson Wraithe 
  pick up a fee for his good deed, or is the curator 
  trying to muddy the waters?
  After the characters get a bit too close to him in 
  his most recent escapade, the the Crimson Wraithe 
  decides it’s time to give them something else to think 
  about. He has some of his men follow them for a 
  few days to see where they go, then plans a series of 
  crimes designed to tie the characters up in red tape 
  by leaving clues that point to one or more of them 
  being responsible for the crimes. Can the characters 
  extricate themselves, or will he tie them up long 
  enough to commit another big crime?
  Football legend Harold “Red” Grange is coming to 
  Hudson City as part of a promotional tour for the 
  young National Football League, and the Wraithe 
  decides the opportunity for a kidnapping-and-
  ransom scheme is too good to pass up. He snatches 
  the former star out of his hotel room and demands 
  one dollar for each of the 65,000 “red-blooded” foot-
  ball fans that watched Grange play in the Illinois-
  Penn State game of 1925. Can the characters stop 
  him without letting the aging but determined and 
  athletic Grange try to escape?
  
  47 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  Campaign Use:  The Crimson Wraithe can fulﬁll the 
  niche for a lighter-toned mastermind (since he isn’t 
  interested in killing anyone), played for outright 
  laughs, or retooled as a more deadly opponent if 
  needed. One interesting idea would be to have 
  Enrico Calavieri discover his employer’s secrets 
  after the characters defeat Dr. Ross and step up to 
  the plate as the Crimson Wraithe II, starting a serial 
  dynasty of villains with slightly diﬀerent agendas 
  but the same equipment and identity.
  To make the Crimson Wraithe more powerful, 
  have the process add 10 Character Points’ worth of 
  STR, DEX, and CON to him, give him a few brawl-
  ing maneuvers, and a few more Combat Skill Levels 
  with his Wraithe Gun, and perhaps outﬁt him with 
  a small Gadget Pool. To weaken him, reduce the 
  power of the slots in the Wraithe Gun or eliminate 
  it completely.
  Ross’s vengeful nature means he’ll readily take 
  to the concept of Hunting characters who get in 
  his way. He’s not interested in killing them, but he’ll 
  set them up as victims of his “Crimson Crimes,” 
  humiliate them when possible, and otherwise make 
  them rue the day they crossed his path.
  Appearance:  Daniel Ross is a rather non-descript 
  man in his late thirties with hazel eyes, dark hair 
  touched at the temples with gray, and a small 
  moustache. Being conﬁned to his chair has con-
  tributed to his upper body strength, so his arms 
  are quite muscular. He wears ﬁne quality but unas-
  suming clothes, and always has a lap rug to cover 
  his (assumedly) withered legs. He always speaks 
  quietly, with well modulated, slightly world-weary 
  tones. As the Crimson Wraithe he uses special 
  devices to overcome his handicap. The Wraithe 
  stands 6’4” tall thanks to his thick-soled special 
  shoes, and his weight is undeterminable under his 
  ﬂowing scarlet robes. His hands are covered in red 
  gloves, and under the hood his face is... not there. 
  His voice is deep and booming, his movements the-
  atrical, and his presence commanding.
  DONALD “TRACK” LATHAM
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   6 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  12 PD (6 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  8 ED (6 rED)
   3 SPD 
  2 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  4
   30 END 
  5
   30 STUN 
  5 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  67
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Cinematic Brawling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 20 STR 
  to Disarm Roll
  4 
  Punch/
   
  Backhand 
  +0 
  +2 
  4d6 Strike
  5 
  Roundhouse 
  -2 
  +1 
  6d6 Strike
  3 
  Tackle 
  +0 
  -1 
  2d6 +v/5 Strike; 
  You Fall, Target 
  Falls
  5 
  Knows How To Push A Machine:  Aid  
  Running 2d6; Only Works On Ground  
  Vehicle The Character Is Currently  
  Driving (-1), Requires A Combat  
  Driving Roll (-½), Costs Endurance  
  (-½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  18 
  It Looks Worse Than It Is:  Armor  
  (6 PD/6 ED) 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Reputation:  Hell Of A Driver (in Hudson 
  City underworld and race circles) 11-, 
  +1/+1d6
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump of Direction
   
  Skills
  7 
  Combat Driving 15-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 12-
  3 
  AK: Hudson City 12-
  3 
  KS: Automobiles 12-
  3 
  Mechanic 12-
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  3 
  PS: Race Driver 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  83
  Total Cost:  150
  DONALD LATHAM 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A major cross-country 
  road race is being held 
  in the area, and Donald 
  wants to compete so 
  badly he can taste it, 
  even though he knows 
  he’s barred from com-
  peting again. He plans 
  to ﬁnd a driver of about 
  the right size, knock him 
  out, and replace him for 
  the race, just to prove 
  that “Track” Latham still 
  has it. After that scheme 
  works, he starts repeat-
  ing it. The characters 
  have to track him down 
  and stop him from 
  assaulting more drivers.
  One of the characters is 
  approached by a woman 
  claiming to be Donald’s 
  latest ex-girlfriend. 
  She oﬀers to give them 
  information that might 
  lead to his capture in 
  return for a little money 
  to get started some-
  where far away from 
  Hudson City. There’s 
  just one problem:  she’s 
  a redhead. Named Ruby. 
  Who sings at the Vigna 
  Rosso Club (Red Vine 
  Club) in Little Italy. Is 
  it another one of the 
  Crimson Wraithe’s 
  schemes, or is it all just a 
  coincidence?
  A grateful heiress res-
  cued from a terrible 
  fate by the characters 
  rewards them with a 
  powerful new high-per-
  formance automobile to 
  help in their adventures. 
  The car comes equipped 
  with bulletproof tires, 
  an armored body and 
  windows, and possibly 
  even a device like a 
  smokescreen generator 
  or caltrop-dropper. The 
  vehicle is an enormous 
  help to the characters 
  — until Latham sees 
  them in it and plans to 
  steal it. How will they 
  get it back and stop 
  him from making the 
  Crimson Wraithe’s men’s 
  getaways even more 
  certain?
  
  48 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Limited 
  Geographical Area, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Has To Win When 
  Driving (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Doesn’t Trust 
  Women (Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Reputation:  womanizer, 11- (in Hudson City 
  underworld)
  5 
  Reputation:  dishonest racer, 11- (in auto 
  racing circles)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject to Orders (Very 
  Frequently; Major)
  5 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  150
  Background/History:  Donald “Track” Latham was 
  at the top of his game ﬁve years ago:  he was one 
  of the winningest professional race drivers in the 
  country, he had a beautiful ﬁancée, Esther Madi-
  son; and he was about to break into the European 
  driving circuit — and then it all came undone in 
  a single afternoon. Minutes before the race that 
  would clinch the deal for him to drive for the 
  Bugatti racing team, he received a desperate visit 
  from a frantic and tearful Esther. She told him her 
  father was being held by members of a local mob 
  for nonpayment of some gambling debts he’d fool-
  ishly run up, and they were going to kill him unless 
  Donald agreed to throw the race and let them clean 
  up on bets made on the second-best driver.
  There was only one problem — while Donald 
  was a fantastic driver, he was lousy when it came 
  to throwing races. The other drivers knew, the 
  race oﬃcials knew, and fully half the spectators 
  — including the Bugatti team scouts — knew. The 
  bookies, unfortunately for them, didn’t know until 
  after Esther’s accomplices had collected on enough 
  bets to allow them — and most importantly her 
  — to skip town with enough money to ensure she 
  didn’t have to ﬁnd another mark for years to come. 
  With no ﬁancée to corroborate his story and no 
  missing father to testify, Donald 
  was left holding the bag.
  His place on the Bugatti 
  team gone, his reputation 
  destroyed, and bookies hound-
  ing him to replace the money 
  even as the police watched him 
  to see when he would try and 
  meet his “confederate,” he had no 
  choice but to accept when the 
  Crimson Wraithe oﬀered him a 
  way out. He didn’t have to throw 
  any more races, all he had to do 
  was drive like the winner he was, 
  and the Wraithe would pay oﬀ 
  the bookies and help him ﬁnd 
  the woman who had taken it all 
  away from him. Donald leaped at 
  the chance.
  “Track” Latham was back, 
  but this time his speedway wasn’t 
  a dirt track outside of town, but 
  the asphalt-covered streets of 
  Hudson City.
  Personality/Motivation:  “Winning 
  is everything” sums up Latham’s 
  attitude toward driving and life. 
  He’ll push a car to its limits and 
  beyond, bump opponents and 
  send them into ditches, take 
  risky chances, and anything else 
  he can think of to come out on 
  top in a race — or something he 
  perceives as a race. He’s a good 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Pistol 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Toolkit
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  49 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  driver and knows it, but he simply cannot stand to 
  lose. Every loss is another reminder that he isn’t as 
  good as he thinks he is.
  After his experience with Esther, Latham dis-
  trusts all women, feeling they’re all out to do him 
  wrong. That doesn’t mean he enjoys spending time 
  with them any less, so he leaves a trail of soured 
  relationships behind him. He’s acquired something 
  of a reputation in the Hudson City underworld for 
  it, which, oddly enough, doesn’t seem to reduce the 
  number of women who seem happy to go out with 
  him — at least for a little while.
  Quote:  “I’ll lose them at the bridge, boys — I can 
  see them raising it now. Hold on to your hats!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Calling Donald Latham a dirty 
  driver is an understatement. He’ll win straight-up if 
  he can, but if the issue starts to appear in doubt, out 
  comes the bag of dirty driving tricks. That usually 
  results in a string of damaged and wrecked cars in 
  his wake, though he’s rarely caused serious injuries 
  or death. He knows how to use a car as a weapon, 
  and will do so if forced, although he’s really not 
  interested in killing anyone — he just wants to be 
  the winner.
  In a gunﬁght, Latham simply gets out of the 
  way and waits for the shooting to stop — if he can’t 
  leave entirely. He’s more at home in a brawl, but 
  doesn’t have a lot of real skill to back up his experi-
  ence and natural ability. If he ﬁnds himself in one, 
  he tries to use his speed to stay out of an opponent’s 
  reach and slip in punches until he spies an opening 
  for a Roundhouse.
  Campaign Use:  Latham is the driver characters 
  should grow to hate every time they see him behind 
  the steering wheel of the Crimson Wraithe’s get-
  away car. For some characters, stopping him may 
  even take a back seat to beating him often enough 
  to prove themselves the better driver.
  To make Latham more dangerous, give him 
  a version of I Can Fly Anything You’ve Got! tai-
  lored for ground vehicles, and some Combat Skill 
  Levels with Brawling. To make him less dangerous, 
  remove his Brawling maneuvers entirely and elimi-
  nate his It Looks Worse Than It Is and Knows How 
  To Push A Machine powers.
  Latham would Hunt characters he felt could 
  really test his driving skill — he’ll challenge them 
  to race after race to prove himself the best, or enter 
  races to do so.
  Appearance:  Donald Latham is a tall, attractive 
  man in his late twenties, with dirty blonde hair 
  and a thin moustache. He dresses in a coat and tie, 
  but prefers a driver’s cap to a fedora. He wears a 
  leather jacket and gloves when driving, but doesn’t 
  wear gloves at other times unless ordered to by the 
  Crimson Wraithe.
  ENRICO CALAVIERI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   5 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  8 ED (3 rED)
   3 SPD 
  2 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  76
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Dirty Inﬁghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 40 STR 
  to Disarm roll
  4 
  Eye Gouge 
  -1 
  -1 
  Sight Group 
  Flash 4d6
  4 
  Kidney Blow 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 
  (2DC)
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND(3)
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6 Strike
  5 
  Roundhouse 
  -2 
  +1 
  7d6 Strike
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  3 
  +1 with Pistols
  3 
  +1 with Martial Arts
  10 
  Always Takes Cover:  +4 DCV; Only When 
  Using Concealment (-1), Proportional Use 
  (see text; -0)
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Small Arms) 13-
  2 
  Gambling (Horse Racing) 12-
  3 
  AK: Hudson City 12-
  3 
  KS: Hudson City Underworld 12-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  4 
  WF: Small Arms; Common Melee Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  89
  Total Cost:  165
  ENRICO CALAVIERI 
  PLOT SEEDS
  An older Italian man in 
  the dress of a merchant 
  seaman steps in and 
  lends the characters a 
  hand in a back alley 
  brawl somewhere exotic 
  and overseas. His pres-
  ence tips the tide in their 
  favor, but he collects a 
  lethal wound in the ﬁght. 
  As he lies dying, he rec-
  ognizes someone’s accent 
  as being from home, and 
  makes the characters 
  promise to ﬁx the one 
  thing he regrets most in 
  his life:  his failure to stay 
  and look after his wife 
  and boys back in Hudson 
  City. He gasps out his 
  name — Ansalmo Cala-
  vieri — and those of his 
  wife and children back in 
  Hudson City — Maria, 
  Enrico, and Enzo — then 
  passes away. What do the 
  characters do? And what 
  will Enrico do when he 
  discovers someone is 
  asking around after him?
  Enrico’s younger 
  brother, Enzo, ﬁnds a 
  new idol:  one of the 
  characters. He starts 
  to follow his new hero 
  around, begins to dress 
  like him, and is always 
  underfoot trying to help 
  the character out. Enrico 
  isn’t happy about the 
  shift in loyalties, but he 
  believes the character 
  might be a better choice 
  for his brother’s future, 
  so he bides his time and 
  waits to see what the 
  character does. How 
  does the character react? 
  What will Enrico do if 
  he ﬁnds himself on the 
  opposite side of a situa-
  tion from the character 
  — and Enzo?
  Continued on next page
  
  50 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  DNPC:  Enzo Calavieri (younger brother 
  who idolizes him) 11- (Normal)
  15 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Limited 
  Geographical Area, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Tough Guy 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Can’t Turn Down 
  A Wager (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  10 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  165
  Background/History:  Enrico grew up in the worst 
  of the slums  in Little Italy. His size and appearance 
  guaranteed him a job in one of the few careers open 
  to men from his background — crime. While it 
  wasn’t the career his mother wanted for him, it paid 
  well enough for him to support her and his younger 
  brother after his father signed on with a freighter 
  and vanished. He stayed away from the established 
  crime families, both as a regular employer and an 
  opponent. The odds were against you that way. 
  Better to be your own boss, to pick and choose the 
  jobs you took, than depend on someone else to 
  handle all the details for you. The money wasn’t as 
  good in the short term, but the prospects for being 
  able to retire were better if you could keep your 
  head on straight and play the long odds.
  Working his way up the ladder of profes-
  sional, unaﬃliated muscle wasn’t easy, but Enrico 
  put his nose to the grindstone, and by the time 
  he was in his early thirties he’d done well enough 
  that he’d made a name for himself in a few circles. 
  He had a small gang that followed him from 
  job to job, could ask for better wages than what 
  common thugs would receive, and had started to 
  think thoughts about getting out of the rackets 
  — and then his mother passed away, leaving him 
  the only family his younger brother, Enzo, had. 
  Before she died, she made him promise that Enzo, 
  who’d always idolized his older brother, wouldn’t 
  wind up in the rackets like Enrico had, that 
  Enrico would see to it that his brother went to 
  school and made something of himself.
  That promise, and the sudden responsibility 
  of caring for his brother combined with the need 
  to get the money to send Enzo to school, forced 
  Enrico to do something he hadn’t planned or 
  wanted to:  accept an oﬀer of continued employ-
  ment from one of the “costumed idiots” that he’d 
  always thought were such fools. The money this 
  “Crimson Wraithe” oﬀered was just too good to 
  pass up given his situation.
  Personality/Motivation:  Some people pretend to 
  be tough guys to make themselves into something 
  bigger than they really are. Enrico isn’t pretend-
  ing. He’s a genuine cigar-smoking, wisecracking, 
  punch-throwing, hard-drinking tough guy. From 
  his walk to the way he wears his hat, he advertises it 
  to anyone who knows what to look for. He doesn’t 
  like to back down, always has some snappy patter 
  ready to cover himself if he has to, and doesn’t 
  mind throwing a punch or two to make sure that 
  an opponent understands he’s serious. Keeping up 
  appearances occupies a lot of his attention.
  Enrico has a gambling problem. If someone 
  oﬀers him a good bet — or at least one he thinks he 
  has an even chance of winning — he’s hard-pressed 
  to turn it down. He’s gotten into some trouble over 
  that habit in the past, but he wins often enough that 
  he hasn’t had to worry too much. He likes to play 
  the ponies, and often slips racing references into his 
  conversation.
  Enrico is protective of his younger brother, 
  Enzo, who’s idolized him since he was only a boy. 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt M1911A 
  +1 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9 
  Carries two
  Blackjack 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  5
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Usually none, unless the Crimson Wraithe’s outﬁtted him with something for a speciﬁc job
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  Continued from last page
  A big race is coming 
  up and the Crimson 
  Wraithe is planning 
  a theme robbery that 
  involves stealing Red 
  Lightning — the horse 
  Enrico knows is going 
  to win, especially if 
  he helps out. He can’t 
  collect big if the nag’s 
  sitting in a hideout 
  somewhere, but he 
  can’t openly sabotage 
  his boss’s plans either. 
  He decides to try to let 
  someone else — the 
  PCs, of course — take 
  the blame for messing 
  up the Wraithe’s plan. 
  When the plan starts 
  and the characters 
  abruptly show up in the 
  middle of it like they 
  always do, why would 
  anyone think he’d been 
  the one to make that 
  anonymous phone call? 
  And does anyone notice 
  that all the other horses 
  are acting a little slug-
  gish after the inevitable 
  brawl?
  
  51 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  Now Enzo’s ﬁfteen and starting to take a real 
  interest in Enrico’s work, which bothers his older 
  brother. Even without the promise he made to their 
  mother, Enrico didn’t want Enzo turning out like 
  him, and he spends a good deal of his free time 
  trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
  Quote:  <cracks knuckles> “The Wraithe says you 
  got to go down, see? We can do it easy or hard 
  — and I’m betting on hard.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Enrico isn’t a dummy — he knows 
  guns kill people. Since he doesn’t want to be dead, 
  he prefers to handle things without using them, and 
  insists the men he works with do the same. He may 
  draw his .45 automatic and use it to cover people 
  or sap someone upside the head with it, but he’s not 
  looking to start any gunﬁghts if he can help it. The 
  odds are against you in a gunﬁght, and he knows it.
  His Always Takes Cover power reﬂects his 
  interest in not getting hurt when things do descend 
  into gunplay. He gets behind something protec-
  tive as soon as he can when the bullets start to ﬂy. 
  Whenever he takes cover he gains +1 DCV for each 
  -1 OCV penalty his opponent suﬀers from Con-
  cealment to a maximum of +4.
  In a ﬁstﬁght, Enrico’s much more willing to take 
  chances. He ﬁghts oﬀensively, opening with a Round-
  house if he can get the drop on his opponent at the 
  start, otherwise trading punches and making use of 
  improvised weapons like furniture without bothering 
  to defend himself unless he starts to get hurt. In that 
  case, he spends more time using the Block maneuver 
  and tries to slip in an Eye Gouge or Low Blow to make 
  it easier to take an opponent down.
  Campaign Use:  Enrico is professional muscle. What 
  makes him interesting is that he’s smart profes-
  sional muscle. He’ll ambush characters, sap them 
  from behind, hold them at gunpoint, or have his 
  men brawl with them all while trying to avoid actu-
  ally starting a gunﬁght. If that’s what the characters 
  want, he can do that too, but it isn’t good business. 
  He’s in a good position to be turned away from his 
  career in crime and against the Crimson Wraithe if 
  the heroes learn they can use his younger brother 
  as a lever.
  To make Enrico tougher, raise his STR to 18, 
  his PD to 8, and give him a few more Combat Skill 
  Levels. To make him weaker, reduce his DEX to 15 
  and eliminate his Always Takes Cover power.
  Enrico doesn’t hold grudges, and won’t Hunt 
  characters — even ones that put a bullet into him 
  — unless they injure or kill Enzo. In that case, all 
  bets are oﬀ. He’ll Hunt them until one of them is 
  dead. If ordered by the Crimson Wraithe, he would 
  also Hunt characters, but he’d restrict himself to 
  nonlethal ambushes and beatings in that case.
  Appearance:  At 6’3” and 230 pounds, Enrico Calavieri 
  looks every inch the professional muscle that he is. He 
  has short dark hair, dark eyes, a Mediterranean com-
  plexion, acne scars, and a nose that’s been broken one 
  too many times. He dresses in dark suits and a fedora, 
  but buys most of his clothes oﬀ the rack so he can 
  simply dispose of them after a ﬁght, which means they 
  usually don’t ﬁt well, given his size.
  
  52 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  GEISTKAPITÄN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   12 STR 
  2 
  11- 
  Lift 133 kg; 2d6 [2]
   14 DEX 
  12 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   16 INT 
  6 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   17 EGO 
  14 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   16 PRE 
  6 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  6 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  1
   25 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  60
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
   
  Swimming:  5”/10”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  7 
  Advanced Diving Gear:  Life Support  
  (Self Contained Breathing); OIF (-½),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (1 Hour,  
  easily refueled; -0) 
  [1cc]
  3 
  Strong Swimmer:  Swimming +3” (5” 
  total) 
  1
   
  Perks
  50 
  Hidden U-Boat Pens:  Four 200-point  
  Bases in hidden spots around the world
  20 
  Contacts:  20 points’ worth in black  
  markets around the world
  45 
  Die Undeadmatrosen:  125 Followers built  
  on 50 Base Points each
  77 
  Das Geistunterseeboot:  Modiﬁed WWI  
  U-boat plus torpedoes (see below)
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  3 
  Environmental Movement:  Aquatic  
  Movement (no penalties in water)
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Submarine Weapons
  9 
  +3 with Combat Piloting, Navigation 
  (Marine), and Analyze Shiphandling
  3 
  Analyze Shiphandling 12-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 12-
  7 
  Combat Piloting (Submariner) 14-
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  3 
  Inventor 12-
  4 
  Language:  English (idiomatic; German is 
  native)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  2 
  Navigation (Marine) 12-
  5 
  PS: Submarine Commander 14-
  3 
  Systems Operation 12-
  3 
  SS: Mechanical Engineering 12-
  3 
  SS: Submarine Design 12-
  7 
  Tactics 14-
  6 
  TF: Large Military Ships,Large Motorized 
  Boats, SCUBA, Small Military Ships, Small 
  Motorized Boats, Submarines
  3  
  WF: Small Arms; Submarine Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  300
  Total Cost:  360
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  various navies and coast guards 8- 
  (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/Kill)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wartime Naval 
  Oﬃcer’s Code (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Sworn To Hurt/
  Destroy The Allies Who Destroyed His Ger-
  many (Common, Total)
  10 
  Reputation:  undead sub commander still 
  ﬁghting the Great War, 11-
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other submarine 
  commanders and naval oﬃcers)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Viktor 
  Kleist) (Frequently, Major)
  200 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  360
  Background/History:  Viktor Kleist graduated from 
  Germany’s naval academy at the top of his class 
  in 1918, ready to take to sea and do battle with 
  Germany’s enemies as his father and grandfathers 
  had before him for six generations — and saw his 
  family tradition sink beneath the waves along with 
  the Kaiser’s ambitions as Germany was forced to 
  surrender by the coming of the Americans. Humili-
  ated by his country’s defeat, he was further humili-
  ated by the draconian terms of the Treaty of Ver-
  sailles the Allies imposed on his homeland. Help-
  less to ﬁght back, to do anything, he swallowed his 
  outraged pride and accepted his ﬁnal assignment as 
  a naval oﬃcer:  to help supervise the destruction of 
  the ﬂeet he had trained and dreamed to serve in.
  In the scrapyards of Great Britain he 
  watched as machines sliced the proud vessels 
  that had defended his homeland into bits and 
  fed them to the furnaces. He found he could take 
  no more. If his country could not fight back and 
  defend itself, then he, at least, would fight back 
  for it. He considered his options, laid the ground-
  work for his campaign. He decided to save one 
  of the vessels slated for destruction, smuggle it 
  
  53 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  away, and captain her to fight the war his coun-
  try had lost. Of all the ships present, it was the 
  U-boats that most struck fear into the Allies, so 
  it was from among them he made his choice. He 
  selected a U-boat of the most modern design, 
  forged papers, paid bribes, and the vessel simply 
  vanished. The records said it have been scrapped, 
  when in fact it quietly slipped out to sea.
  Kleist sailed the vessel to a secret smuggler’s 
  harbor known to his family and dry-docked it 
  while he assembled the crew he needed to con-
  duct his private war. Finding seamen in desperate 
  need of work and with no love for the Allies in 
  post-War Germany was simple. Although obtain-
  ing the supplies he needed was more difficult, 
  by 1923 he had enough crew and supplies to set 
  to sea. To avoid the danger of identification, he 
  created the identity of the Geistkapitän (Ghost 
  Captain) and his Geistunterseeboot, or “Ghost 
  Submarine.” Planning his raids carefully, he sank 
  over three dozen vessels flying the flag of the 
  Allied nations over the next few years without 
  being detected. But then his family’s fortunes 
  ran dry and he faced another dilemma:  how to 
  support his private war. After a brush with an 
  American destroyer that almost ended with his 
  submarine being sunk, he again dry-docked the 
  vessel and began to rethink his campaign.
  The answer was simple enough:  he would 
  make the Allies support the war for him. He 
  shifted his priorities to attacking and sinking 
  merchantmen carrying cargoes he could sell 
  on the black market to finance his war. To that 
  end he made numerous structural and internal 
  improvements to the Geistunterseeboot. It took 
  seven years to complete the modifications to the 
  submarine in secret and retrain his crewmen in 
  the skills they needed, but when they were done, 
  the Geistkapitän and his Undeadmatrosen once 
  more sailed the oceans in search of revenge on 
  — and profit from — the Allies’ shipping.
  Personality/Motivation:  The driving force behind 
  the creation of the Geistkapitän was Kleist’s 
  shame at the defeat handed his country by the 
  Allies in the Great War, and the even stronger 
  shame he felt at the conditions contained within 
  the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany. 
  Kleist conceived of the Geistkapitän as a way 
  to revenge himself — and Germany — on the 
  nations that had stripped Germany’s pride from 
  her at the close of the war. He’ll go to almost any 
  length to hurt the former Allied nations (par-
  ticularly the US and Great Britain):  sinking their 
  commercial and military vessels; targeting their 
  naval war heroes for death; stealing naval secrets 
  and technology to help advance his war or pro-
  vide an edge to his submarine.
  In keeping with his training, Geistkapitän 
  adheres to the wartime code of a proper German 
  naval oﬃcer of his generation. He restricts his 
  attacks to military and non-passenger civilian 
  shipping, allows non-resisting crewmen to evacu-
  ate target vessels when possible, and provides aid 
  to survivors in the water where doing so doesn’t 
  endanger his vessel or crew. He keeps his word 
  when it’s given to an equal (i.e., another oﬃcer or 
  social equal) and treats enemy combatants with 
  reserved respect unless they show themselves to be 
  unworthy of such digniﬁed treatment by dishonor-
  able behavior. But ultimately he’s a man at war and 
  understands he can’t rigidly adhere to all elements 
  of his code, especially with opponents as dishonor-
  able as the Allies (and for proof of their dishonor-
  able natures he need only look to the harsh terms 
  of the Treaty of Versailles).
  The piracy to which Geistkapitän has turned 
  has revitalized his family’s fortunes, a turnaround 
  he prefers to attribute to overseas investments 
  made after the war. The expense of keeping his men 
  well-paid, the Geistunterseeboot running, and his 
  hidden bases around the world supplied is high 
  — only through piracy can he aﬀord to continue. 
  He has not, to date, struck at a target that falls out-
  side his rules of engagement for the monetary value 
  of its cargo, but were straits dire enough, he might 
  rationalize such a measure.
  Geistkapitän has followed the rise of Germany 
  again with interest, and sees much that he admires 
  in Chancellor Hitler’s Third Reich, but he has not 
  oﬀered his services to the new government of his 
  homeland. In part he fears Hitler will oﬀer him up 
  as a sacriﬁce to the Allies to demonstrate goodwill, 
  but he also ﬁnds himself uneasy with some aspects 
  of Nazi doctrine, philosophy, and conduct and 
  wonders just what place he’d have in Hitler’s navy 
  should he be accepted. Events might force him 
  to ally with the Third Reich or elements within it 
  — he knows certain elements in the halls of power 
  are aware of him and his private war — but for now 
  he continues his crusade in the manner he sees ﬁt.
  Quote:  “From the ghost of a country comes the 
  ghost of a captain to ﬁght her battles from beyond 
  the grave... Fire One.”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Geistkapitän is a canny, 
  experienced submarine commander with over a 
  decade’s experience at stalking and sinking ships. 
  He’s patient, resourceful, tricky, and knows how to 
  get the maximum performance from both his ship 
  and his crew. He stalks a chosen target for days if 
  necessary to achieve the right conditions, strikes 
  suddenly, and then fades away like his namesake. 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Luger P-08 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Pocketwatch, telescope, compass
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  GEISTKAPITÄN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A ship carrying valuable 
  artifacts from one of the 
  characters’ adventures 
  vanishes en route to her 
  destination in a mild 
  storm. In the search that 
  follows, no sign of the 
  vessel appears — but 
  several months later, one 
  of the characters receives 
  a message from a contact 
  that artifacts known to 
  have been on the missing 
  ship have surfaced on the 
  illegal antiquities market 
  in Marrakech. How did 
  they get there, and who’s 
  responsible for the loss of 
  the ship they were on?
  Someone — or some-
  thing — is sinking the 
  oﬀshore gambling ships 
  anchored just outside 
  the twelve-mile limit 
  oﬀ the California coast. 
  The local mob suspects 
  the Chinese tongs are 
  looking to expand out 
  of Chinatown, and the 
  tongs in turn accuse the 
  mobs of sinking several 
  boatloads of immigrants 
  brought over to work 
  in their sweatshops and 
  brothels. The only wit-
  nesses are a group of 
  Chinese children found 
  in a lifeboat who claim 
  that a wái guò rén, or 
  foreigner, who was also 
  a ch’ing-shih, or vampire, 
  plucked them from the 
  sea in his magic boat of 
  rotted iron and saved 
  them. Can the charac-
  ters get to the bottom 
  of things before a war 
  starts on the streets 
  of California’s cities 
  between Chinese and 
  American gangsters?
  It’s a foggy night in 
  Hudson City, one of the 
  worst on record, when 
  one of the characters 
  gets a call from a friend 
  who served in the Navy 
  during the Great War. 
  He’s shaky and terriﬁed, 
  swearing he’s just seen 
  a ghost on the Stewart 
  River — the ghost of a 
  U-boat he helped sink 
  during the War — and 
  Continued on next page
  
  54 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  Against a merchantman, he normally activates 
  his radio jammer and then takes one of two 
  approaches. First, he surfaces and uses his deck gun 
  to force the crew to evacuate the vessel, boards and 
  loots it, and then sinks it with further ﬁre from the 
  deck gun. Second, he ﬁres on it with torpedoes and 
  returns to salvage it with divers later. He does not 
  give military targets the opportunity to surrender; 
  he simply sinks them. In both cases, he uses his fog 
  generators to make returning ﬁre diﬃcult and to 
  emphasize the otherworldly nature of his “disguise.”
  If operating ashore or boarding a vessel, Geist-
  kapitän disguises his crew as drowned, undead 
  sailors with a similar appearance to the one he uses 
  as the Geistkapitän and issues them appropriate 
  weapons. He plans missions to minimize contact 
  with opponents, sometimes having the men utilize 
  their diving gear to approach a vessel and board her 
  rather than risk bringing the submarine into water 
  too shallow to oﬀer any protection. If operating 
  ashore, he never comes so far inland that a water-
  way isn’t at hand for the men to escape through. 
  Ashore or at sea, Geistkapitän always tries to leave 
  evidence behind that supports his presentation 
  of himself and his men as drowned seamen seek-
  ing revenge:  damp footprints; a scrap of seaweed 
  found only in the deep ocean; a sighting of his 
  men ﬁling out of the water in silence as if they’ve 
  marched ashore from the depths.
  If forced to do so, Geistkapitän would allow his 
  submarine to be destroyed and set about acquiring 
  another, either by building it from the extensive 
  collection of parts he’s stockpiled in his bases or 
  theft from another party. If a newer, more advanced 
  submarine became available, he would certainly 
  consider stealing it or its designs for his own use 
  (or would try to sabotage it to prevent anyone else 
  from possessing it).
  Geistkapitän is no personal combatant and he 
  knows it. He carries a Luger when appearing as the 
  Geistkapitän, and uses it without compunction on 
  opponents, but he prefers to escape to the ocean 
  and evade pursuit via his advanced diving gear.
  Resources:  Geistkapitän’s predations on the world’s 
  shipping have revitalized the Kleist family fortunes, 
  making Viktor a wealthy man. Despite that wealth, 
  he lacks the virtually unlimited funds available to 
  men like the Skymaster and Akash Varmandali, 
  making conservation of resources an issue for him. 
  He can support his war at the current level without 
  strain and even replace his submarine if necessary, 
  but to support a ﬂeet of submarines requires more 
  ﬁnancial resources than he can commit without 
  impoverishing himself. Geistkapitän’s contacts in 
  the world’s black markets are extensive and allow 
  him to dispose of cargos swiftly and untraceably for 
  the most part, although there are occasional items 
  that prove too distinctive to vanish easily.
  Geistkapitän has hidden U-Boat pens spread 
  around the world to facilitate his ability to strike at 
  the shipping of the former Allied Powers from any 
  location and at any time. He occasionally retires a 
  base and constructs a new one to prevent too many 
  sightings of the Geistunterseeboot and to keep 
  investigators from recognizing a pattern of appear-
  ances. Currently he has bases located in a Norwe-
  gian fjord with access to the North Sea and British 
  shipping; a hidden smuggler’s cave 150 miles north 
  of Hudson City along the American coast, allowing 
  access to the American East Coast and American 
  shipping; an old Barbary Pirate castle on the North 
  African coast, allowing him access to Africa and 
  the Mediterranean and all the shipping conducted 
  there; and a small island in the southern part of 
  the Aleutian Islands chain, giving him access to the 
  American West Coast and the Paciﬁc Rim.
  Assisting him in his private war is a group of 
  over a hundred mercenary sailors that Geistkapitän 
  calls the Undeadmatrosen, or “undead sailors,” men 
  recruited from the former submarine forces and 
  surface navy of Germany. Most serve strictly for the 
  money, having little or no interest in Geistkapitän’s 
  war, but there are some German patriots within 
  the ranks whose determination rivals that of their 
  leader. Only 40 of these men are at sea on any given 
  occasion, with the rest spread between the hidden 
  bases as replacements in the event of casualties and 
  to allow crew to rotate oﬀ the submarine to prevent 
  fatigue and stagnation from setting in. Geistkapitän 
  also employs a number of spies to keep track of 
  shipping for him and locate likely targets. Those 
  men serve primarily for the money; they know 
  little or nothing beyond the occasional voice on the 
  phone and envelopes of cash delivered in the mail, 
  and thus cannot threaten Geistkapitän if captured.
  Continued from last page
  he swears it and its 
  ghostly crew are coming 
  for him because of what 
  he did. Just what did he 
  do... and is the Geist-
  kapitän really coming 
  for him, or is there 
  another reason he’s sail-
  ing up the Stewart River 
  in the fog?
  
  55 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  Relations With Others:  Because of the focused 
  nature of his private war, Geistkapitän rarely comes 
  into contact with others. He’s aware of the existence 
  of individuals like the Skymaster whose exploits 
  are public enough to make the news, but sees little 
  in common with them. His actions in sinking ship-
  ping have not, to date, brought him into conﬂict 
  with anyone like the Iron Claw or Dr. Fang, and 
  were they to do so he’d likely feel little or no con-
  cern. To avoid his predations, all they have to do is 
  not ship materials on vessels chartered through the 
  former Allied nations.
  If properly approached by someone with simi-
  lar or sympathetic goals, Geistkapitän would be 
  willing to cooperate in an individual operation, or 
  a series of short-term operations, that allowed him 
  to sink more of the former Allies’ shipping than he 
  could manage alone. As long as he felt he and his 
  goals were being treated with respect, he would 
  be a loyal ally for anyone wishing to see Ameri-
  can, British, and French naval vessels or shipping 
  — whether in general, or with regards to speciﬁc 
  vessels — sent to the bottom of the seas.
  Campaign Use:  Geistkapitän is suited for a number 
  of types of scenarios, from Horror-themed ones, to 
  straightforward adventure, to espionage and crime-
  ﬁghting. He can appear anywhere there’s ocean 
  access — or even in the middle of the ocean — and 
  adds a naval element to campaigns that might have 
  overlooked it before.
  To make Geistkapitän a more powerful threat, 
  increase the capabilities of his submarine, giving 
  it more advanced homing torpedoes, add a device 
  that creates fear through resonating sound waves 
  to further follow his ghostly theme, and increase 
  the point-base of his Undeadmatrosen to make 
  them more dangerous as well. To make him more 
  dangerous on a personal level, increase his physical 
  Characteristics, give him some Boxing or Fencing 
  maneuvers, and add a few Combat Skill Levels. 
  To make him a weaker threat, remove the Radio 
  Jammer and Fog Generator from the submarine, 
  and reduce the amount of Followers he has.
  See above for general information on how 
  the Geistkapitän Hunts ships. He only Hunts indi-
  viduals who were decorated naval veterans in the 
  service of the Allies during the Great War, or who 
  are connected to the design, manufacture, and test-
  ing of naval technology. Characters who interfere 
  with his operations will, of course make his list, 
  but unless they become so much of a nuisance 
  that they endanger his war he’ll only strike at them 
  when opportunity presents itself.
  Appearance:  The Geistkapitän is a tall, unearthly, 
  spectral ﬁgure with glowing eyes. Strips of rotting 
  ﬂesh hang from his swollen, bearded face. He speaks 
  in a distorted voice as if his lungs were partially ﬁlled 
  with water. He wears the waterlogged and decaying 
  garb of a Great War U-boat captain, and carries a 
  Luger. When not wearing his disguise, Viktor Kleist 
  is a man in his early forties of only slightly taller 
  than average height, slender in build, and in excellent 
  shape. He has brown hair and blue eyes, is clean-
  shaven, and does not normally go armed.
  DIE UNDEADMATROSEN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   13 DEX 
  9 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   5 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   4 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  7 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   20 END 
  0
   24 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  30
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
   
  Swimming:  3”/6”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  7 
  Advanced Diving Gear:  Life Support  
  (Self Contained Breathing); OIF (-½),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (1 Hour, easily 
  refueled; -0) 
  [1cc]
  1 
  Practiced Swimmer:  Swimming +1”  
  (3” total) 
  1
   
  Skills
  2 
  +1 OCV with weapon of choice
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  1 
  Language:  English (basic conversation; 
  German is Native)
  1 
  Language:  French (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Italian (basic conversation)
  3 
  Mechanics or Systems Operation 12-
  2 
  Navigation (Marine) 12-
  1 
  PS: Submariner 8-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  4 
  TF: SCUBA, Small Motorized Boats, Small 
  Rowed Boats, Submarines
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Submarine Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  32
  Total Cost:  62
  50+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Undeadmatrosen Uni-
  form (Easily Concealed; Noticed And Recog-
  nizable)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject to Orders (Very 
  Frequently; Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  75
  Description:  Geistkapitän’s men, the Undead-
  matrosen or “undead sailors,” are all veterans of 
  Germany’s naval forces during the Great War, 
  whether the surface navy or the U-boat ﬂeet. They 
  serve Geistkapitän willingly — whether for the 
  chance at revenge for Germany’s defeat and humili-
  ation, gratitude at being able to earn a living for 
  themselves and their families, or simple greed.
  Geistkapitän requires that they all learn 
  to speak English, French, and Italian to under-
  stand the language of their enemy when 
  they encounter him, ensures that they’re all 
  trained swimmers and skilled in the use of 
  
  56 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  their advanced diving gear, and has instituted 
  a program of cross-training so that every 
  man under his command has some ability in 
  various naval skills. Some members are more 
  skilled than others at various tasks, and like 
  any group of sailors, almost all of the Undead-
  matrosen possess skills in other areas to help 
  while away the time at sea, such as woodcarv-
  ing or playing an instrument. (In game terms, 
  you can pay for these with the 12 points each 
  Undeadmatrosen hasn’t spent.)
  The basic uniform of the Undeadmatrosen 
  is that of a sailor in the German navy of the 
  Great War, altered in a similar fashion to 
  Geistkapitän’s to make it appear the individual 
  is an undead revenant from the sea floor. Each 
  Undeadmatrosen has slightly different makeup; 
  many of the sailors make it a point of pride 
  to try and have the most realistic and grue-
  some appearance they can manage. Individual 
  crewmen carry weapons issued to German 
  naval forces during the War, including Lugers, 
  “broomhandle” Mausers, boarding cutlasses, 
  and Mauser Model 98 rifles.
  DAS GEISTUNTERSEEBOOT
   Val Char 
  Cost Notes
   15 Size 
  75 32” x 16”; -15 KB; -10 DCV
   85 STR 
  0 
  Lift 3.2 ktons; 17d6 HTH [0
   12 DEX 
  6 
  OCV:  4/DCV:  4
   25 BODY 0
   9 DEF 
  21
   3 SPD 
  8 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
    
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  110
  Movement: 
  Ground:  0”/0”
   
  Swimming:  10”/20”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
   
  Propulsion Systems
  3 
  Propeller-Driven Vessel:  Swimming +8”  
  (10” total); Limited Maneuverability (-½),  
  No Noncombat Movement While  
  Submerged (-0), Side Eﬀects (propeller  
  does 2d6 Killing Damage to anyone  
  coming in contact with bottom stern of  
  vehicle, occurs automatically, only aﬀects 
  environment around vehicle; -¾),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily- 
  obtained fuel; 1 Month; -0) 
  [1cc]
  -12 
  Aquatic Vehicle:  Ground Movement -6”  
  (0” total)
   
  Tactical Systems
  79 
  80mm Deck Gun:  RKA 7d6, +1 Increased 
  STUN Multiple (+¼), 220 Charges (+1);  
  OIF Bulky (-1), Cannot Fire While Craft  
  Is Submerged (-½), Limited Arc Of Fire  
  (360 Degrees Above Craft; -¼), Real  
  Weapon (-¼)  
  [220]
  40 
  Fog Generator:  Darkness to Sight Group  
  10” radius; IIF Bulky (-¾), No Range (-½), 
  Real Weapon (-¼), 4 Continuing Charges 
  lasting 5 Minutes each (removed by wind  
  or rain; -0) 
  [4cc]
  29 
  Broadband Radio Static Generator:   
  Change Environment 4” radius, -4 to  
  Radio Group PER Rolls and Systems  
  Operation Rolls, Multiple Combat Eﬀects, 
  MegaArea (1” = 1 km; +¼), Reduced  
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF Bulky (-1),  
  No Range (-½) 
  0
   
  Operations Systems
  11 
  Submersible:  Life Support (Self-Contained 
  Breathing; Safe Environment:  High  
  Pressure) 
  0
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Luger P-08 
  +1 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  8
  Mauser C96 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  10
  Mauser M98 
  +0 
  +1 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  14
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Depends on the mission, but always looks old and sea-corroded
  Clothing:  See text
  
  57 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  3 
  Bulkheads:  Life Support (Self-Contained 
  Breathing); Partial Coverage (about one-
  sixth of ship, see text; -2) 
  0
  11 
  Periscope:  Clairsentience (Sight Group), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF 
  Bulky (-1), Fixed Perception Point/Limited 
  Range (perception point can be anywhere 
  from 1”-8” above center of sub; -¾) [0]
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  164
  Total Vehicle Cost:  274
  Value Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Ghostly, haunted U-
  Boat (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme 
  Reaction [fear])
  Total Disadvantage Points:  25
  Total Cost:  249/5 = 50
  ADDITIONAL VEHICLES
  Cost Vehicle
  7 
  Fische des Todes Torpedo Launchers:  1 
  Death’s Fish torpedo
  20 
  Fische des Todes Torpedo Launchers:  11 more 
  torpedoes (total of 12)
  Description:  The “Ghost Submarine” used by the 
  Geistkapitän was formerly known as the U-167, a 
  Mittel U-Class submarine rescued from destruction 
  in the post-war scrap yards after Germany’s surren-
  der by bribes and the substitution of an equivalent 
  weight of scrap metal in the smelters. One of the 
  last U-boats designed and produced during the 
  War, it’s 218 feet (33.5”) long, has a beam of 21 feet 
  (3”), and is 26 feet (4”) high at the conning tower. 
  It has a range of 9,000-11,000 miles on the surface 
  and 56-80 miles submerged, and may dive to a 
  depth of 215 feet (33”). The submarine can achieve 
  a top speed of 19 miles per hour on the surface and 
  10 miles per hour submerged, but rarely travels at 
  such speeds to maximize performance and time 
  at sea. It has four forward and two stern torpedo 
  tubes, and carries a crew of 35.
  Geistkapitän has made extensive modifica-
  tions to the craft’s engines and internal workings 
  to increase available space, improve performance, 
  and maximize the craft’s utility as a salvage 
  vessel. The U-167’s original deck armament of 
  one 80mm gun and one 105mm gun has been 
  reduced to just the 80mm cannon to make room 
  for a large dorsal airlock that leads directly into 
  a cargo hold for storing salvage and allowing 
  multiple crewmen to exit simultaneously in 
  diving gear. He added a fog generator so the sub 
  can create its own fogbanks to aid in attack and 
  escape. He’s made numerous cosmetic altera-
  tions to the exterior of the vessel to help foster 
  the story that it’s a haunted craft, sunk in the War 
  and now crewed by dead men seeking revenge. 
  These include simulated battle damage, phos-
  phorescent highlights, false seaweed clinging to 
  parts of the vessel, and more. Seen moving in out 
  of the fog in poor light, it’s an impressive and 
  frightening sight.
  FISCHE DES TODES TORPEDO
   Val Char 
  Cost Notes
   5 Size 
  25 3.2” x 1.6”; -5 KB; -3 DCV
   10 STR 
  -25 Lift 100 KG; 2d6 HTH [0
   15 DEX 
  15 OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 BODY 0
   4 DEF 
  6 
   5 SPD 
  25 Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
    
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  46
  Movement: 
  Ground:  0”/0”
   
  Swimming:  10”/20”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
  3 
  Compressed Air Engine:  Swimming +12”  
  (14” total); Only Straight Line Travel (-2), 
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily- 
  obtained fuel; 1 Minute; -¾) 
  [1cc]
  -12 
  Only Swims:  Ground Movement -6”  
  (0” total)
  24 
  Explosive Warhead:  RKA 6d6, Explosion 
  (+½); No Range (-½), 1 Charge which  
  Never Recovers (-4) 
  1
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  15
  Total Vehicle Cost:  61
  Value Disadvantages
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  Can Be Missile 
  Deﬂected By Target Vehicle (Infrequently, 
  Greatly Impairing)
  15 
  Physical Limitation:  Propulsion System 
  Leaves Bubble Trail, +2 to visual PER Rolls to 
  spot (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  25
  Total Cost:  36/5 = 7
  Description:  A modiﬁed version of torpedoes used 
  by Germany during the Great War, the Death’s 
  Fish torpedoes carried by the Geistunterseeboot 
  are 21 feet (3”) long and weigh 1,400 kg. They’re 
  propelled by a compressed air jet fed by a reservoir 
  within the torpedo and lack any internal guidance 
  mechanisms (the ﬁrer has to aim them by sight). 
  The bubble trail left by the torpedo is easily spotted 
  in daytime and may allow a targeted ship to dodge 
  the torpedo if seen soon enough. Geistkapitän tries 
  to avoid ﬁring them unless he’s certain of a hit or 
  it’s dark enough outside that the bubble trail has a 
  good chance of going undetected.
  
  58 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  THE IRON CLAW
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   19 INT 
  9 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   16 EGO 
  12 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   19 PRE 
  9 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   5 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  9 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   28 END 
  0
   28 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  72
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  15 
  The Iron Claw:  Multipower 22-point  
  reserve, all OIF (-½)
  1u 
  1) Iron Fist:  HA +3d6, Reduced  
  Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF (-½),  
  Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  0
  1u 
  2) Iron Claw:  HKA 1d6 (1d6+1 with  
  STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);  
  OIF (-½) 
  0
  2 
  The Iron Claw:  Armor (4 PD); OIF (-½), 
  Real Armor (-¼), Limited Coverage  
  (Location 6, right hand; -2) 
  0
  3 
  Padded Costume:  +4 PD; IIF (-¼) 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  License To Practice Law
  3 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Stewart County Prosecutor
  2 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Local Police Powers
  2 
  Reputation:  crusading anti-crime prosecutor 
  (in Hudson City) 11- +2/+2d6
  2 
  Reputation:  ruthless crimelord (in Hudson 
  City underworld) 11- +2/+2d6
  30 
  Well-Connected and 27 points’ worth of 
  Contacts in law enforcement, judicial, civic 
  government, and social circles
  7 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  5 
  Resistance (5 points)
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Iron Claw
  9 
  +3 with Oratory, Persuasion, and PS: Pros-
  ecutor
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Analyze Legal Case 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Criminology 13-
  3 
  Deduction 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  CK: Hudson City 13-
  4 
  KS: Civil Law And Procedure 14-
  4 
  KS: The Courthouse World 14-
  4 
  KS: Criminal Law And Procedure 14-
  4 
  KS: Hudson City Police Department 14-
  4 
  KS: Hudson City Politics 14-
  4 
  KS: The Law Enforcement World 14-
  3 
  KS: Organized Crime 13-
  4 
  KS: The Political World 14-
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent; Eng-
  lish is Native)
  3 
  Language:  Latin (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Prosecutor 13-
  3 
  PS: Attorney 13-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Transport Familiarity:  Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles, Small Wind-Powered Boats
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Iron Claw
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  183
  Total Cost:  255
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  DNPC:  Lisa Wilson (wife) 8- (Normal, 
  Unaware of Social Limitation:  Secret Iden-
  tity; Useful Non-Combat Position or Skills)
  20 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Imprison)
  10 
  Hunted:  The Raven 8- (As Pow, Imprison)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Ruthlessly Ambi-
  tious (Very Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  In Love With/Pro-
  tective Of His Wife (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  ruthless rising crimelord 8- 
  (Extreme; among law enforcement)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Micah 
  Pierpoint Wilson) (Frequently, Severe)
  61 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  255
  Background/History:  In the beginning, there was 
  the Plan.
  Micah Pierpoint Wilson, only son of a 
  middle-class couple from Hackensack, New Jersey, 
  conceived of the Plan during his freshman year 
  at Harvard, as he pushed himself through on the 
  scholarship he’d earned. He looked at the individu-
  
  59 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  als around him and realized he was smarter than 
  they were. He came to the conclusion that if he 
  were, indeed, so much smarter than the best and 
  brightest Harvard could ﬁnd, the men who’d lead 
  the country in the coming decades, then he needed 
  to be the one in the White House giving them 
  orders. Over the course of his ﬁrst Thanksgiving 
  break, he sat down and worked out the Plan that 
  would get him there.
  The first step was to graduate at the top 
  of his class, which he accomplished easily. The 
  second was to attend Harvard Law School on 
  scholarship; he graduated second in his class. 
  The third was to select an important northeast-
  ern city from which to launch his career. He 
  judged New York and Boston to be too crowded, 
  and so chose Hudson City as the location that 
  best suited his needs. He moved there and joined 
  a small but exclusive law firm, selecting it based 
  on the number and type of influential clients it 
  would allow him to meet. As planned, within two 
  years he’d met, romanced, and married a beauti-
  ful young woman:  Lisa Haskell, the only child of 
  a wealthy local construction magnate. Eight years 
  after that, his circle of friends and contacts were 
  urging him to run for County Prosecutor, and 
  the next step in the Plan was complete.
  After he won the election thanks to cam-
  paigning by his friends and the unfortunate 
  revelation that the incumbent’s two top assistants 
  had been taking bribes from the Correse mob, 
  he was ready to take the next step in the Plan:  a 
  dual life. By day he was Micah Wilson, crusading 
  anti-crime prosecutor, working hard to smash 
  the mobs that infested Hudson City and endan-
  gered the lives and welfare of the citizens who’d 
  elected him. By night, he became the Iron Claw, 
  Hudson City’s newest underworld mastermind, 
  slowly spreading his influence by warring on 
  other mobsters and absorbing the remains of the 
  gangs he demolished in court.
  His dual identity served a dual purpose:  ﬁrst, 
  it let him build up the personal wealth he’d need 
  later in his career without having to depend on the 
  unreliable stock market or the slow growth of a 
  business; second, it provided him with a ﬁnal nail 
  to drive into the coﬃn of the underworld. When 
  the time is right, and he’s gathered most of the 
  underworld under the banner of the Iron Claw, 
  he plans to turn the forces of law and order loose 
  on his own organization and personally lead them 
  on the forays that will smash organized crime 
  in Hudson City and propel him forward to the 
  Senate... and then the Oval Oﬃce.
  Personality/Motivation:  Micah Wilson is a driven 
  man. First and foremost, he has a sense of personal 
  ambition strong enough to carry him all the way to 
  the White House and ruthless enough to conceive 
  of his Plan to become the Iron Claw as a means 
  to that end. He decided on that goal and mapped 
  out a plan to obtain it while he was in college, and 
  hasn’t wavered from it for a single day since then. 
  His time in law school, his career as an attorney, 
  and winning the oﬃce of County Prosecutor are 
  all steps along that path, and he’ll allow no one and 
  nothing to impede him as he moves forward. He’ll 
  destroy lives, ruin careers, kill, and grind anyone 
  necessary into the dust to keep his Plan moving 
  along at the proper pace.
  Along with his ambition, he has enough over-
  conﬁdence to think he can actually succeed with 
  his Plan. He considers himself smarter than every-
  one else around him... and his plans to be too deep 
  for others to decipher and too certain for anyone 
  to stop. He manipulates others into doing his work 
  for him without a second thought, sure in the belief 
  that they’ll never realize what’s happening until it’s 
  too late — and perhaps not even then.
  The one unpredictable factor that’s entered the 
  equation is his love for his wife, Lisa. Their mar-
  riage was originally simply another step in his Plan 
  — a good candidate needs a beautiful and loving 
  wife, beautiful and loving children, and a frisky dog 
  — but somewhere along the way her open and sin-
  cere aﬀection and support for him is something he’s 
  grown to cherish, and even return. Their romance is 
  one of the favorite topics among the young, unmar-
  ried ladies in Hudson City social circles; many 
  young women hope to meet and marry someone 
  who will care for them as much as Micah obviously 
  does for Lisa. He’ll do almost anything to protect 
  her from harm and keep her from discovering the 
  truth about his dual life.
  Quote:  “Somebody once told me Justice is blind. 
  That’s wrong — she isn’t blind, she only sees the 
  things she wants to.”
  Powers/Tactics:  As an opponent, the Iron Claw 
  is intelligent and ruthless, preferring to arrange 
  things so others do his dirty work for him. He likes 
  to set up situations where two groups he wants to 
  eliminate are at each other’s throats — that way, 
  no matter which one of them wins, he also gains. 
  He plans operations carefully and deviously, using 
  misinformation and planted rumors to accomplish 
  as much as possible to minimize the amount of 
  actual conﬂict his minions have to engage in. Every 
  mobster or criminal organization he can eliminate 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  .38 revolver 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8 
  No serial number
  Shotgun 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  2H, AE1, 20” range, RR, RP
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  In his Secret Identity, a briefcase, legal papers, and perhaps a legal text or two; as the Iron Claw, usually none, but as 
  needed for his current mission.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  60 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  via the police, or through the manipulation of pri-
  vate individuals like the PCs, helps to advance his 
  political career and increase the control he has over 
  the Hudson City underworld as he assimilates the 
  remnants of their mobs under the mantle of the 
  Iron Claw.
  Personally, the Iron Claw is not a skilled com-
  batant. He’s in good shape, but he’s never learned 
  any formal ﬁghting techniques. He practices with 
  the symbol of his identity in private so he can use it 
  to deliver a powerful punch or a potentially lethal 
  slash when using the claws, and he knows how 
  to ﬁre guns, but that’s about it. He normally car-
  ries a .38 caliber revolver with the serial numbers 
  removed (he has several) so he can drop it without 
  fear of having it traced back to him, but if expect-
  ing trouble, he also has a shotgun available. If 
  forced to ﬁght, he does whatever he must to escape 
  at the ﬁrst opportunity and protect his identity.
  Resources:  The Iron Claw is in the unique position 
  of having two completely diﬀerent — and mutu-
  ally opposed — sets of resources to draw upon. On 
  the one hand, he has the full force of the law at his 
  disposal, with all of the power and reach that his 
  position as the Stewart County Prosecutor provides 
  him. Micah Wilson can have people investigated, tie 
  up their properties and ﬁnances with red tape, and 
  make their lives a living hell in hundreds of ways 
  by applying the legal system against them — and 
  of course there’s always his inﬂuence over the 
  HCPD. Thanks to his position and connections, he 
  also has plenty of pull with city government, local 
  businesses, and the highest levels of Hudson City 
  society.
  On the other hand, he has the power only a 
  criminal mastermind can muster at his beck and 
  call. The Iron Claw can marshal the forces of the 
  underworld to do his bidding, commission mur-
  ders, commit robberies, and engage in any other 
  criminal activity imaginable. He inﬂuence in the 
  shadow of the underworld mirrors Wilson’s power 
  in the light.
  He’s wealthy in both identities, although not 
  as wealthy as he will become as his plans prog-
  ress (give him another point of Money every 6-8 
  months that his plans go unopposed) and spends a 
  certain amount of his time arranging for the money 
  gained through his illegal activities to be fun-
  neled through layers of false companies so he can 
  access it in his legal identity. Micah Wilson owns 
  a mansion in the Westhurst section of Hudson 
  City, inherited on the (entirely natural) deaths of 
  his wife’s parents. The Iron Claw makes his lair in 
  a portion of one of Hudson City’s Victorian-Era 
  pneumatic tube subway stations buried and forgot-
  ten after the Independence Day Fire of 1895.
  Relations With Others:  The only “other” in Micah 
  Wilson’s life is his wife, Lisa. Everyone else is merely 
  a tool he might use to advance the Plan (until they 
  break or otherwise lose their value and have to be 
  discarded, of course). He has no interest in join-
  ing forces with anyone or in cooperating to reach 
  a goal unless it’s clearly understood that he’s in 
  charge and the only acceptable outcome is the one 
  he desires. Even then, he can’t be trusted to keep 
  bargains or deals for a second longer than he feels 
  it’s convenient to do so. He orders the deaths of 
  underlings and allies as easily as those of criminals 
  opposing his rise to power, then tries to ﬁnd a way 
  to use those deaths to advance his plans.
  The Iron Claw has drawn the attentions of 
  Hudson City’s oldest and best-known vigilante, 
  the Raven. To date there’s been nothing more than 
  opening skirmishes between the Midnight Brigade 
  and the Claw’s minions, but the Raven has his eye 
  on the underworld, seeking signs of the Iron Claw’s 
  operations.
  Campaign Use:  The Iron Claw is designed to be a 
  long-term threat and opponent for the PCs. He’ll 
  become their friend as the crusading County Pros-
  ecutor, assist them against the forces of evil, and 
  race yachts against them in the regatta — all the 
  while absorbing the remnants of the mobs they 
  crush into his own organization, inﬁltrating his 
  minions into their companies, and planning their 
  destruction as part of his plan to launch himself 
  into the political circles he has set his sights on.
  To make the Iron Claw more powerful, give 
  him a Martial Art (Iron Claw Fighting), some 
  Combat Luck, and enough Combat Skill Levels 
  to pose a serious threat. To weaken him, remove 
  the HKA slot from his Multipower and reduce the 
  number of Contacts he has access to.
  As a Hunter, the Iron Claw attempts to set tar-
  gets against each other in the hope of eliminating 
  
  61 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  two threats with one blow. Failing in that, he tries to 
  eliminate a target through attacks made by criminal 
  minions (which he can blame on another foe to 
  gain something extra for his eﬀorts). Only if both 
  of those fail will he frame the characters for a crime 
  and “regretfully” bring the force of the law against 
  them as Micah Wilson.
  Appearance:  The Iron Claw wears a suit, trench 
  coat, fedora, and a mask that covers his entire face 
  except for his eyes, all in black. He wears a black 
  leather glove on his left hand, and on his right 
  wears the Iron Claw, an articulated metal gauntlet 
  made of black-enameled steel. He wears lifts in his 
  shoes to make his height 6’0”, and has his costume 
  padded so he looks heavier than he really is. Micah 
  Wilson himself is an attractive, slender man who 
  stands 5’10”, dresses in tailored clothing appropri-
  ate to his station and career, and has sandy brown 
  hair, blue eyes, and a slightly weathered complexion 
  from time aboard his yacht.
  PADRAIG O’FLAHERTY
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  6 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  2 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  58
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Art:  Boxing
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  3 
  Clinch 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 30 to 
  STR for Holding 
  On
  4 
  Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  4d6 Strike
  5 
  Hook 
  -2 
  +1 
  6d6 Strike
  3 
  Jab 
  +2 
  +1 
  2d6 Strike
  20 
  Expert Bomber:  Find Weakness 11- with 
  Explosives 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Membership:  IRA
  3 
  Membership:  Iron Claw’s Lieutenant
   
  Talents
  3 
  Absolute Time Sense
  3 
  Lightning Calculator
   
  Skills
  3 
  Analyze Building Structure 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Bribery 11-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Contortionist 13-
  9 
  Demolitions 16-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 11-
  4 
  Language:  Irish (idiomatic; English is 
  Native)
  2 
  AK: Hudson City 11-
  2 
  AK: Ireland 11-
  2 
  AK: London 11-
  3 
  KS: Architecture 13-
  3 
  KS: Explosives 13-
  3 
  KS: Irish History 13-
  3 
  KS: Irish Republican Army 13-
  2 
  KS: Boxing 11-
  3 
  KS: Hudson City Underworld 13-
  3 
  SS: Civil Engineering 13-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry 13-
  IRON CLAW PLOT SEEDS
  One of the characters starts to get a little bit too close to 
  the Iron Claw. In response, the Claw arranges for some-
  one to approach him and claim to be a reporter with 
  information about the Claw. He seeks the character’s 
  protection from the Claw’s hired killers. Once he’s safe, 
  he asks the character to help him set up a meeting with 
  County Prosecutor Wilson to hand over his evidence. 
  Prosecutor Wilson vows the reporter will be safe and 
  asks the character to help protect him... all the while 
  planning to have the character killed by the “reporter” 
  he “valiantly guards.” Then Wilson can use the charac-
  ter’s death to push for stronger anti-crime measures.
  A renegade faction of the Morelli Family, headed by 
  Antonio “Crash” Morelli, deﬁes an order from Antonio 
  and declares war on the County Prosecutor after a 
  series of successful arrests and convictions decimates 
  their ranks. Micah Wilson and his wife are attacked 
  while leaving a society party at the Ferranti Audito-
  rium; Lisa is shot and gravely injured. Micah redoubles 
  his eﬀorts to destroy the Morelli Family while also 
  turning the full force of the Iron Claw upon them. 
  Micah asks the characters for their assistance — and at 
  the same time, Antonio secretly approaches the char-
  acters with an oﬀer to give up both the shooters and 
  the men who ordered the shooting and to help them 
  in their battle with the Iron Claw if they can convince 
  Micah to back oﬀ. What do they do?
  The Coletti Mob begins to make attempts to expand 
  their operations to places outside New York City 
  — speciﬁcally, the Hudson City waterfront. Rather than 
  confront them directly, the Iron Claw arranges for evi-
  dence of Coletti’s plans to reach the PCs so they’ll take 
  care of his enemies for him. Then he turns around and 
  leaks the information about what the characters are 
  doing to the Coletti Mob. No matter who wins when 
  the shooting stops, he plans to come out ahead.
  PADRAIG 
  O’FLAHERTY  
  PLOT SEEDS
  One of Padraig’s old 
  friends from the IRA 
  comes to Hudson City 
  and the pair goes out 
  drinking. One thing leads 
  to another, and suddenly 
  Padraig ﬁnds himself 
  trapped into helping his 
  pal rob a few banks to 
  help ﬁnance the “lads 
  back home” — something 
  he knows the Iron Claw 
  will never approve of. 
  Desperate to keep from 
  losing his connections 
  back home, he does the 
  only thing he can think of 
  and leaks information on 
  the plot to the characters, 
  hoping they’ll break it up 
  before he has to choose 
  which master he serves.
  One of the Italian crime 
  families attempts to sabo-
  tage the St. Patrick Day’s 
  Parade as part of a ter-
  ritorial dispute with the 
  local Irish mobs. Forbid-
  den to interfere person-
  ally by the Iron Claw, but 
  outraged at the disrup-
  tion of the traditional cel-
  ebration, Padraig decides 
  to manufacture a supply 
  of bombs for the Irish 
  mobs. Soon the char-
  acters are dealing with 
  bomb-tossing Irishmen 
  and machine-gun toting 
  Italians in the middle of a 
  holiday celebration.
  In the aftermath of an 
  attack on the city by the 
  Skymaster, the authori-
  ties discover a number of 
  unexploded aerial bombs 
  scattered around Irish-
  town. The ﬁrst attempt 
  to disarm one ends in 
  disaster and levels a 
  square block of small 
  businesses thanks to new, 
  complex anti-tampering 
  innovations the Skymas-
  ter has installed. Padraig 
  approaches one of the 
  characters with an oﬀer 
  to disarm the bombs... 
  in return for a favor he’ll 
  call in later. Will the 
  characters accept? If they 
  do, what will Padraig 
  want when the favor 
  comes due?
  
  62 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  4 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  127
  Total Cost:  185
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Enraged:  when faced with anti-Irish senti-
  ment/stereotyping (Common), go 8-, recover 
  11-
  20 
  Hunted:  FBI 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Imprison)
  20 
  Hunted:  Scotland Yard 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fascinated by 
  Explosions (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Alcoholic 
  (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject to Orders (Very 
  Frequently; Major)
  5 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  185
  Background/History:  The son of a Dublin Univer-
  sity history professor, Padraig O’Flaherty grew 
  up proud of his roots and his country, and angry 
  at the British for their imposition of foreign rule 
  over portions of his homeland. At a young age he 
  joined the IRA, where he discovered his talents 
  with explosives and his love of the work they 
  did. He held off on actual fieldwork for the IRA 
  until he’d earned degrees in chemistry and civil 
  engineering, but from there it was only a short 
  distance to making use of those talents in the 
  service of his country. Shortly thereafter, his pic-
  ture adorned police station walls across Ireland, 
  England, and Scotland.
  When things became too warm for him 
  in the British Isles, he followed the traditional 
  path of wanted IRA members and journeyed to 
  America. There he found out his training and 
  talents didn’t translate well into making a living 
  — at least not an honest one. He considered 
  joining up with one of the 
  Irish mobs, but it was the Iron 
  Claw who found him first 
  with an offer Padraig couldn’t 
  resist:  become not a common 
  soldier, but the Claw’s top 
  lieutenant, the one who’d help 
  him run his day-to-day crimi-
  nal affairs. Him, an Irish-
  man. Imagine that. Padraig 
  O’Flaherty, right-hand man 
  to a criminal mastermind. 
  Maybe America was the land 
  of opportunity after all.
  Personality/Motivation:  Pad-
  raig is an artist. The fact that 
  dynamite is his paintbrush, 
  the world is his canvas, and 
  explosions are his master-
  pieces changes nothing as far 
  as he’s concerned. To him, his 
  explosions are works of art as 
  varied and exciting as any col-
  lection of Old Masters paint-
  ings could ever be. He always 
  watches his own work given 
  the chance, and even makes 
  sure to be one of the spectators 
  whenever there’s demolitions 
  work going on at construction 
  sites. He once took the train all 
  the way to Colorado to watch 
  some mining engineers blow 
  the top off of a mountain, and 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt New Service 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  10
  Dynamite 
  +0 
  RBS 
  5d6 NX 
  — 
  6 
  —
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Bombmaking equipment, cigarette lighter
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  63 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  pronounced the experience, “Almost as good as 
  meeting Saint Paddy himself.”
  Padraig is an odd mixture of traditional 
  ethnic Irish stereotypes and a resistance to same. 
  He drinks too much, is a little hot-tempered, 
  likes to brawl at the drop of a hat, talks in a 
  brogue, sings Irish folk songs, waxes nostalgically 
  about the “Ferocious “O’Flahertys and their con-
  tribution to Irish history, and is a card-carrying 
  member of the IRA. But he resents Irish stereo-
  typing strongly enough that he sometimes starts 
  brawls over it. He believes only the Irish have the 
  right to make fun of the Irish.
  Padraig works for the Iron Claw partly 
  because the money is very, very good, partly 
  because many of the people he gets to see 
  gunned down or blown up are from other ethnic 
  crime groups that ostracize, exploit, or try to 
  eliminate the Irish mobs, and partly because 
  thing are a little too hot for him back home in 
  Ireland after an incident involving a few sticks of 
  dynamite and a police official’s car. His job as the 
  Iron Claw’s lieutenant is a big step up for him, 
  and he’s secretly proud the Claw chose an Irish-
  man for the job as opposed to an Italian or one 
  of the local hoods. That pride motivates him to 
  do a good job.
  Quote:  “What’s that ye say? Two car loads o’ 
  police and that Raven-fella behind us?” <lights 
  fuse> “Begorra, ’tis nothing a little party favor 
  won’t fix.”
  Powers/Tactics:  While he’s a skilled boxer, Pad-
  raig hasn’t practiced enough to be truly danger-
  ous — he usually regards fistfights as nothing 
  more serious than a difference of opinion, and 
  smiles and jokes as he trades blows. He uses Jabs 
  and Crosses for the most part, Blocking when 
  necessary and reserving a Hook for use against 
  a stunned or unsuspecting opponent. He carries 
  a pistol, normally a .45 Colt New Service that 
  appears almost comically large in his hand, but 
  isn’t especially skilled with it.
  What he is skilled with are explosives 
  — making them, planting them, disarming them, 
  and using them. His brag that he can “bring 
  down a building without disturbing the birds in 
  the trees next to it” really isn’t too far from the 
  truth. He has an absolute genius for the trade, 
  and he knows it. He considers it a matter of pride 
  that he never uses more explosive than he needs 
  to get the job done, and always tries to limit the 
  effects of any bomb he plants to the smallest area 
  possible to get the job done. He normally carries 
  several sticks of dynamite that have been fused 
  to be lit and thrown, and if he expects trouble 
  may have more and bigger explosive devices 
  available. Given time, he tries to plant explosives 
  in advance of a crime or mission, set to drop 
  power poles, trees, and the like to assist in get-
  aways. He’s even planted bombs on bridges and 
  inside civic buildings for the specific purpose of 
  trading their location and disarming sequence in 
  return for his being set free if captured.
  Campaign Use:  Padraig is the archetypal ethnic 
  henchman, with many of the stereotypical traits 
  associated with his Irish heritage. He’s loyal to 
  his employer, but not suicidally so, and much 
  smarter than most folks give him credit for after 
  he starts speaking in his thick brogue.
  To make Padraig tougher, increase his STR 
  and CON to 15, his PD to 7, and give him a few 
  Combat Skill Levels with Boxing and Thrown 
  Bombs. To make him less dangerous, reduce his 
  DEX to 15 and remove some or all of his Boxing 
  maneuvers.
  While he really isn’t the sort to Hunt anyone 
  of his own volition, Padraig might make an 
  exception for someone who relentless ran down 
  the Irish or whom he thought was a match for his 
  explosives skills. If ordered to by the Iron Claw, 
  he would, of course, Hunt a designated target. 
  In either case, he pursues his quarry by planting 
  explosives in the character’s car, home, place of 
  business, and so on, until he accomplishes what 
  he set out to do.
  Appearance:  Padraig O’Flaherty stands a slender, 
  scrappy 5’4”, with red hair and green eyes. He 
  always dresses nattily, stopping just before he 
  becomes flashy, and always has a four-leaf clover 
  tucked into the band of his fedora for luck.
  
  64 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  AMANDA BOYD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   8 STR 
  -2 
  11- 
  Lift 75 kg; 1½d6 [2]
   13 DEX 
  9 
  12- 
  OCV:  4/DCV:  4
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   13 EGO 
  6 
  12- 
  ECV:  4
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   2 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  6, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   20 END 
  0
   20 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  30
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  10 
  Hands Oﬀ, Buster!:  HA +3d6; Hand-To-
  Hand Attack (-½) 
  1
  5 
  She’s Got Moxie:  +10 PRE; Only To Resist 
  Presence Attacks (-1)  
  0
  6 
  Nose For News:  +2 to PER Rolls with all 
  Sense Groups 
  0
   
  Perks
  2 
  Deep Cover:  Amanda Boyd
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Press Pass
  4 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Iron Claw’s Henchman
  1 
  Reputation:  up and coming City News 
  reporter (in Hudson City) 11- (+1/+1d6)
  20 
  Well-Connected and 17 points’ worth of 
  Contacts in Hudson City
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Conversation, Lipreading, and Hear-
  ing PER Rolls when eavesdropping
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Criminology 12-
  3 
  Deduction 12-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  6 
  AK: Hudson City 15-
  4 
  KS: Hudson City Current Events 13-
  4 
  KS: Hudson City Society 13-
  4 
  KS: Hudson City Underworld 13-
  4 
  KS: The News World 13-
  1 
  Language:  Italian (basic conversation; Eng-
  lish is Native)
  3 
  Lipreading 12-
  3 
  Lockpicking 12-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  2 
  PS: Dancer 11-
  4 
  PS: Reporter 13-
  2 
  PS: Research 11-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles
  1 
  WF: Pistols
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  135
  Total Cost:  165
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Ambitious 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  No Respect For 
  The Privacy Of Others (Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Reputation:  “It’s that girl reporter from The 
  City News”, 11- (among people with some-
  thing to hide in Hudson City)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Harmful Secret (Fre-
  quently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  20 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  165
  Background/History:  Amanda Boyd was born 
  and grew up in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of 
  factory-worker parents who both worked hard 
  to give her the opportunity to make some-
  thing more of herself than they had. Possessed 
  of intense curiosity and a gift for writing, as 
  a young adult she penned a series of articles 
  about the local factories that exposed corrup-
  tion and inhumane working conditions there. 
  Those stories got her offers from several papers, 
  but the one she chose was The City News in 
  Hudson City.
  Within a week of her arrival in Hudson 
  City, she had published a story on a city coun-
  cilman taking kickbacks. Two weeks after that 
  she had an expose on a confidence ring preying 
  on elderly women. Two weeks later she wrote 
  a story about a reporter at a rival paper who 
  was taking bribes to slant his stories. Her edi-
  tors were happy, the publisher was happy, and 
  Amanda was happy.
  And then came the Iron Claw. One night he 
  arranged a meeting with her. After only a few 
  words, she discovered he knew the truth about 
  her:  her entire past was a lie, a fabrication to 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Browning Baby 
  +0 
  -1 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  6
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Notepad and several pencils, purse, compact
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  65 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter One
  hide the fact that she was passing as someone 
  and something other than what she really was. 
  Amanda hadn’t been raised in Dayton — she 
  was born in Winchester, Virginia. Her parents 
  not only weren’t factory workers named Boyd, 
  but were never married at all; her mother was 
  a beautiful but unwise maid in the home of a 
  wealthy family, and her father was the family’s 
  oldest son. When Amanda’s birth and features 
  revealed the affair, her father’s horrified parents 
  dismissed her mother instantly and packed her 
  off to the Midwest with a stipend and instruc-
  tions to tell no one who the child’s father was. 
  They had plans for their son’s future, and those 
  plans didn’t include a socially and racially unac-
  ceptable wife and a mixed-race daughter.
  Faced with the Iron Claw’s knowledge of 
  her true origins and his threat to make that 
  knowledge public, she became one of his hench-
  men. In exchange for his never revealing her 
  secrets, she gave him access to her contacts, 
  skills, and abilities. She turns information over 
  to him before using it in her stories, investigates 
  people for him, and all the while hopes she can 
  find a clue to the real identity of the man who 
  has her in his thrall and free herself without 
  having her career ruined.
  Personality/Motivation:  Amanda is determined 
  to make a success of herself, and that determina-
  tion leads her to take chances a less driven indi-
  vidual might think twice about. She’ll crawl out 
  on fire escapes to eavesdrop on mobsters, pay 
  off telephone switchboard operators to know 
  who her target’s called (or been called by), pose 
  as a hat-check girl to get the scoop on who a 
  city councilman is seeing on the side, hide in the 
  trunk of a car to find the location of a killer’s 
  hideout, and so on. She isn’t blindly willing to 
  risk her life for no reason, but the lure of a good 
  story is difficult for her to resist.
  Amanda has little respect for the privacy 
  of others, an odd contradiction considering the 
  secrets she keeps. She listens to obviously private 
  or even just interesting-looking conversations 
  as a matter of course when working a story. She 
  casually goes through someone’s office desk 
  drawers while waiting to interview him. She lis-
  tens in on phone calls, collects notes and letters 
  out of people’s trash, and even spies on people 
  in their bedrooms if that’s what it takes to get 
  the one piece of information she needs to bump 
  someone else to page three. She has no personal 
  interest in what the people she’s watching are 
  doing — she simply wants to know if they’re 
  talking about or doing something she can turn 
  into a headline.
  Quote:  “The public has a right to know — but 
  before they can know, I have to know.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Amanda isn’t a fighter. She flees 
  from violent confrontations if possible, though 
  she’s willing to use a handy vase or flower pot to 
  
  66 ■ Masterminds
  Hero System 5th Edition
  blindside someone who’s fighting a hero trying 
  to protect her. She carries a Baby Browning .25 
  ACP in case of real trouble.
  As the Iron Claw’s spy, she’ll do her best to 
  get the heroes to depend on her by helping them 
  out with information, tips, or her investigative 
  skills. She will, of course, want to write stories 
  for The City News about their adventures, but 
  she’ll be willing to leave some things out if asked 
  as a way of ingratiating herself with them. Of 
  course, everything she learns makes it way into 
  the Iron Claw’s files.
  Amanda would be willing to play along with 
  a character who made romantic overtures to her, 
  although she’s not so cold-blooded that it couldn’t 
  become more than an act if things go well. For 
  such a character, she might even try to hold back 
  items of information from the Iron Claw.
  Campaign Use:  Amanda is the Iron Claw’s ace-
  in-the-hole against the PCs. Under his orders, 
  she’ll infiltrate the group and do her best to 
  become so useful that the heroes confide in 
  her and give her access to the information the 
  Claw can use. In true Pulp tradition, she could 
  become a romantic interest for one of the char-
  acters, leading to an opportunity to turn the 
  tables on the Iron Claw — providing, that is, the 
  character can get past her dark secret himself.
  To make Amanda more powerful, raise 
  her STR to 10, her CON to 13, give her a few 
  Combat Skill Levels with her Hands Off, Buster! 
  power. To weaken her, remove her Hands Off,  
  Buster! power and her Skill Levels.
  Amanda will Hunt characters without much 
  provocation, because that’s what she does, even 
  without the Iron Claw’s blackmail. She normally 
  limits her activities to an 8-, and of course is only 
  interested in gathering information and digging up 
  stories, not attacking them physically. If the charac-
  ters make it personal, she’ll up the ante by publish-
  ing stories that contain information they’d rather 
  not have revealed, or actively attempt to trap them 
  in some sort of scandal.
  Appearance:  Amanda Boyd is a beautiful young 
  woman in her early twenties with stylishly short 
  dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a slender but cur-
  vaceous ﬁgure. She dresses in fashionable but pro-
  fessional clothing unless she’s working on a story 
  undercover, in which case she wears whatever she 
  feels is appropriate for the situation.
  AMANDA BOYD PLOT SEEDS
  While investigating possible corruption in the factories 
  along the waterfront for information the Iron Claw 
  wants, Amanda discovers dozens of immigrant workers 
  held in virtual slavery, their children as hostages. She 
  knows she cannot defy the Iron Claw, but she cannot 
  allow the people she found to be exploited like this 
  either. Her solution is to arrange for a piece of a bill 
  from the factory with the words “Help Me” written on it 
  to be slipped into a character’s pocket and let them do 
  the work she cannot.
  A charming middle-aged southern gentleman makes 
  an appearance in Hudson City society, rapidly winning 
  a place among the most elite circles. From statements 
  he makes and a certain resemblance, Amanda suspects 
  this is her father and begins to investigate him, look-
  ing for some secret she can use to destroy him. Is she 
  correct, or is it a case of mistaken identity? In either 
  case, how far will she go to destroy the man she believes 
  abandoned her as a child?
  A member of the city council is taking bribes from 
  the mob to inﬂuence votes on zoning and other issues. 
  Knowing Amanda’s reputation, he’s afraid she’ll ﬁnd 
  him out. He decides to take care of her ﬁrst and puts 
  out a contract on her life using killers from out of town. 
  The Iron Claw, not wishing to lose so valuable a ser-
  vant, sets his men against her assailants to buy time to 
  locate the one who hired them, catching the characters 
  — and Hudson City — in the middle of a crossﬁre 
  with Amanda at the center. Can they locate the reason 
  for the sudden war and stop it before Amanda — or 
  anyone else — is killed?
  
  chapter two:
  chapter two:
  FIENDISH ORGANIZATIONS
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  68 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  Membership:  The Cabal currently has seven mem-
  bers (out of a historical maximum of thirteen), 
  referred to by the number that corresponds to the 
  chair they sit in at meetings, plus three selected 
  troubleshooters collectively referred to as the Fates 
  (and individually as Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos).
  Background/History:  The Cabal came into being 
  during a casual conversation between three men 
  in an exclusive club in Hudson City in the winter 
  of 1845. Shipping magnate Harrison Delmar, 
  wealthy broker Charles Horton, and industrialist 
  Vincent Grove all belonged to the same club, but 
  barely knew one another. By chance they struck 
  up a conversation about how current events were 
  aﬀecting their respective businesses. One topic led 
  to another, and from that conversation the three 
  discovered they were all alike in two important 
  respects:  they wanted to accumulate more wealth; 
  and they were not overly concerned about break-
  ing the law to do so. Mutual cooperation to achieve 
  their goals seemed the answer to their problem, and 
  the Cabal was born.
  As they began to pool their resources, it quickly 
  became apparent that the more members their con-
  spiracy had, the more wealth the group could amass 
  through more ongoing operations. They began to 
  recruit like-minded men of wealth under the guise 
  of forming their own exclusive club, The Elite. By 
  1854, the Cabal had swollen to 13 members and was 
  threatening to collapse under its own weight when 
  one of the newer members, lumber baron Jonathan 
  Bryce, proposed that the Cabal adopt a more formal 
  set of practices to prevent inﬁghting and bickering. 
  Outvoted, the original three members acquiesced, and 
  the Cabal reorganized.
  The new structure served the Cabal well 
  during the following years — the chaos of the Civil 
  War and the boom of Westward expansion. But 
  the Cabal also created its own nemesis in the form 
  of Major Lazarus Adams. Adams, a cavalry post 
  commander with an excellent war record, violently 
  opposed the Cabal’s eﬀorts to start an operation 
  in the area his post controlled. In retaliation, the 
  Cabal destroyed the post, killing everyone there 
  except Adams, and left him to die of exposure after 
  making it appear Indians had done the deed. But 
  Adams didn’t die. The man who walked out of the 
  desert to declare war on them was more a force of 
  nature than anything human.
  Almost singlehandedly, Adams identiﬁed 
  Cabal operation after operation and destroyed 
  them like a whirlwind. He sank riverboat gambling 
  palaces, broke up bands of raiders, dynamited ille-
  gal mines, and cost the Cabal literally millions of 
  dollars in lost revenue and damages. In the process, 
  Adams was personally responsible for the deaths of 
  nine Cabal members and the permanent maiming 
  of two more. Unused to violence directed at their 
  persons, the Cabal members were at a loss — every 
  plan they launched to destroy Adams failed. Even 
  making Adams’s unscrupulous brother a member 
  of the Cabal didn’t work; Adams treated him no dif-
  ferently than any other Cabal member. Ultimately, 
  all the Cabal could do was to step up recruiting and 
  place a bounty on Adams’s head, hoping someone 
  would claim it.
  In the summer of 1882, with no warning 
  whatsoever, Adams abruptly switched tactics on 
  his enemies. Instead of attacking them physically 
  and directly, he retreated to his extensive Southern 
  holdings and began to wage war on them eco-
  nomically with all the skill and determination he’d 
  brought to bear on them previously. (Common 
  belief among the Cabal is that it was the death of 
  his lover and occasional companion Emelie Dubois 
  the previous year at the hands of a Cabal assas-
  sin that caused the shift.) Since the Adams, and 
  after his death his son Logan Adams, have brought 
  another seven Cabal members to ﬁnancial ruin, lit-
  erally turning them and their families out into the 
  streets with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
  Organization And Structure:  Under the 1854 revi-
  sion’s structure, membership in the Cabal was ﬁxed 
  at thirteen. Each member had the right to select 
  his successor subject to a conﬁrmation vote by the 
  rest of the membership. In the event of a member’s 
  death without such selection the Cabal would 
  ﬁll the position by consensus, ﬁrst looking at the 
  deceased’s immediate family, and then widening the 
  search if no suitable candidate was available there. 
  Each member has one vote, and there would be a 
  rotating Chairmanship that also had an extra vote 
  only used to break a tie. The Chairmanship rotated 
  every 12 months, moving one seat clockwise at 
  the conference table at the Elite Club in New York. 
  Access to Cabal resources was handled by vote, 
  with the stipulation that access came at a price:  
  the Cabal member had to pay a percentage of his 
  proﬁts from the operation to the Cabal. At the end 
  of the year, when the Chairmanship rotated, the 
  Cabal’s accounts were balanced and any proﬁts 
  divided up equally between the Cabal members. All 
  Cabal members must be white Americans. Only six 
  women have belonged to the Cabal, and all were 
  exceptional individuals.
  By 1935, the Cabal has shrunk to a mere 
  seven members due to attrition and the continuing 
  threat of Logan Adams’s opposition. It no longer 
  
  69 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  maintains a large force of on-call mercenaries, rely-
  ing instead on a few trained men who recruit any 
  additional force needed. The members take great 
  pains to avoid confrontation with any opposing 
  force, be it physical or economic. The Elite Club 
  has long-since been opened up to other, non-Cabal, 
  members to provide camouﬂage for the group and 
  an additional source of income. But despite this 
  seeming weakness, an inevitable side eﬀect of the 
  war between the Cabal and Adams is that the cur-
  rent Cabal is a smarter, more streamlined organiza-
  tion thanks to the Darwinian process, and enjoys 
  more actual power and wealth than at any point in 
  its history.
  Group Relations:  One goal drives the Cabal:  the 
  pursuit of wealth. Its members aren’t interested in 
  taking over the world, acquiring political power, or 
  any other grandiose scheme; they simply wish to 
  increase their personal wealth to the greatest degree 
  possible. Individual members might have other 
  goals — almost to a man they bitterly hate Franklin 
  Delano Roosevelt — but the Cabal as a whole is all 
  about greed.
  The Cabal has traditionally gotten along well 
  for the most part, with their mutual avarice able to 
  keep the group on an even keel as long as things 
  go reasonably smoothly. The internal conﬂicts that 
  have appeared mostly existed during the Cabal’s 
  larger membership days and have essentially van-
  ished in the face of Logan Adams’s ongoing eco-
  nomic threat (not to mention the threats posed by 
  Captain Battle and other such “meddling adventur-
  ers”). The current members each have individual 
  goals and desires outside the accumulation of 
  wealth, of course, but none are willing to sacriﬁce 
  everything to destroy Logan Adams — in that 
  respect, Lazarus correctly judged them. There is a 
  small degree of oneupsmanship between them, but 
  all are aware that they’re more powerful together 
  than alone.
  Tactics:  Every dirty business trick ever invented, 
  and then some. The Cabal knows them all and 
  likely invented a few. A typical Cabal operation 
  has at its core the accumulation of wealth in some 
  form. It may be land, resources, an insurance scam, 
  a valuable idea or industrial process, the ruination 
  of a competitor, stock market manipulation/fraud, 
  or even something as simple as acquiring a large 
  amount of cash or securities in a robbery. Whatever 
  the operation, there’s money in it somewhere for at 
  least one member of the Cabal.
  While it operated more openly in the past, the 
  Cabal of the Thirties is much more concerned with 
  exposure thanks to the increased levels of com-
  munication in society. Its members work quietly 
  through their agent on the scene, and only the 
  most important schemes have more than one agent 
  attached to them. The agent handling the mission 
  has a great deal of latitude in how he carries it out, 
  as long as he succeeds and the Cabal’s existence 
  isn’t revealed. Individual agents have diﬀerent 
  tactics, but none of them are ﬂashy, melodramatic 
  individuals. They’re there to do a job, nothing more.
  Campaign Use:  The Cabal is designed to be the 
  unseen mover behind other events. With their 
  focus on secrecy and monetary gain its members 
  are a refreshing change of pace from world-shaking 
  threats and masked villains for the average adven-
  turer. Since it has copious resources and numerous 
  enforcers (each with his own ways of getting things 
  done), it might be quite some time before the char-
  acters realize they’re encountering diﬀerent facets 
  of the same organization.
  If you have PCs, DNPCs, or prominent NPCs 
  with ﬁnancial interests that cross those of the 
  Cabal, the group may target them for schemes to 
  enrich the Cabal, adding a personal touch to the 
  THE CABAL PLOT SEEDS
  A friend of the characters, a ﬁnancier who’s always 
  enjoyed robust health, begins to slowly sicken with 
  what his physicians claim is malaria, even though he 
  insists he’s never been to any country where he could 
  contract the disease... because he’s allergic to quinine, 
  the drug used to treat it. As a very big ﬁnancial deal 
  draws near, one the PCs are a major part of, his symp-
  toms grow worse, distracting him from the transaction. 
  Now there’s no doubt it’s malaria. Can the characters 
  ﬁgure out that the Cabal deliberately infected him, and 
  can they help him stay focused long enough to make 
  the deal work and save their own fortunes as well as 
  his? Can the PCs ﬁnd a cure?
  While escorting a shipment of art objects from one 
  museum to another across country by train, the PCs 
  notice a suspicious ﬁgure examining the train at an 
  early stop, but fail to catch up with him as the train 
  departs. Twice more they spot him examining cars 
  from a distance, and once, when the train is forced to 
  make an emergency stop to avoid a car on the tracks, 
  they see someone apparently timing the train’s decel-
  eration. As the train approaches a series of trestles 
  spanning deep Rocky Mountains canyons, they spot 
  an airplane paralleling the train, and see the glint of 
  binoculars from it. Can they convince the conductor 
  and engineer to stop the train before it reaches the 
  already-mined bridge ahead? What do they do when 
  they discover that the crates they’re escorting are ﬁlled 
  with average-quality copies of the artifacts they’re sup-
  posed to guard?
  A PC with a penchant for blondes comes across one 
  in need of a rescue from an inebriated and overly 
  amorous would-be suitor at a large social function. 
  The young girl is beautiful, distraught, and somewhat 
  embarrassed at her not-quite-in-fashion clothing as 
  she introduces herself as Amaryllis Sheldon, a new-
  comer to Hudson City from Memphis, Tennessee. She 
  latches onto her rescuer, asking him if he’d be her escort 
  to prevent such things from happening again... and, 
  when the evening is over, thanks him with a kiss. She’s 
  at several more parties over the next few weeks, and 
  gradually shows every sign of being interested in some-
  thing more serious than occasional meetings at parties. 
  But bad things start to happen as their relationship 
  becomes deeper:  automobile accidents; encounters 
  with thugs; gunshots in the dark. Is she the target of 
  the Cabal’s ire, and if so why? Is it a Cabal plot to drive 
  “Amaryllis” (Chamomile Albright) and the character 
  together faster so she can spy on him? Has Logan 
  Adams caught up with her at just the wrong (or right) 
  moment? Or is something else going on?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  70 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  threat the Cabal poses. Characters with the right 
  ﬁnancial background might already be unsuspect-
  ing members of the Elite Club. For a diﬀerent twist, 
  the Cabal might front for a group of characters 
  through a shadow agent and use them as a tool 
  against Adams and their other enemies.
  To make the Cabal tougher, add additional 
  members up to the charter-allowed maximum of 
  13, and increase the ability and number of their 
  troubleshooters. To weaken them, reduce the 
  number of members and the resources available 
  to them.
  The Cabal Hunts characters who thwart their 
  operations, although it will normally restricts itself 
  to ﬁnancial attacks lest it create another adversary 
  who’ll come back to haunt them. If it does Hunt 
  a PC, he can expect his businesses to fail, loans to 
  be denied, competitors to gain critical information 
  about new products, and so forth, but without a 
  single identiﬁable individual that seemed to gain 
  from his misfortune.
  MEMBERS OF THE CABAL
  ONE:  JACQUELINE EASTON
   
  8 STR 
  10 DEX 
  8 CON 
  8 BODY 
   15 INT 
  15 EGO 
  15 PRE 
  16 COM
   
  2 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   16 END 
  16 STUN
  Abilities:  Bureaucratics 13-; Conversation 13-; 
  High Society 13-; CK: Hudson City 13-; KS: The 
  Business World 12-; KS: High Finance 12-; KS: 
  Cabal Operations 13-; KS: Wealthy Eligible Bach-
  elors 13-; KS: Fashion 12-; Persuasion 13-; Riding 
  11-; Seduction 13-; PS: Businesswoman 14-; TF: 
  Equines; Traveler and 12 points of City and Area 
  Knowledges of “the right places’; Well-Connected 
  and 35 points’ worth of Contacts in business and 
  society circles; labor unions, and transportation; 
  Money (15 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Distinctive Feature:  
  Black Hair With Single White Streak; Hunted:  
  Logan Adams 8-; Psychological Limitation:  Vain, 
  Afraid Of Growing Old; Psychological Limitation:  
  Greedy; Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Jacque-
  line Easton), Social Limitation:  Woman
  Notes:  As a young woman, Jacqueline married 
  the elderly patriarch of an old Boston family with 
  extensive investments, planning to outlive him. 
  When he passed on a few years later, assisted by the 
  eﬀort of keeping up with a wife ﬁfty years younger 
  that he was, she inherited his wealth — and his 
  position in the Cabal. Her money primarily comes 
  from investments in other companies. She’s spent 
  much of the time since the Great Crash rebuilding 
  her ﬁnances, and by 1935 is wealthier than she was 
  before the Crash.
  Now in her late forties and as beautiful as 
  ever, she’s easily capable of passing for a woman 
  a decade younger. Her formerly raven-dark hair 
  has grown a single streak of white that she allows 
  others to believe is an affectation rather than an 
  actual condition. She has a long string of younger 
  lovers, but won’t consider marriage to anyone 
  who’s not younger than she, and of lesser social 
  standing and financial worth that she possesses, 
  but were the right man to come along — and she 
  knows who all of them are — she might not fight 
  too hard to resist.
  Easton leads the Cabal faction that wants to 
  move strongly against Logan Adams and destroy 
  him. As of 1935 she’s the current Cabal Chairman 
  (it passes to Danielson next) and the only current 
  “third generation” member.
  TWO:  GEOFFREY DANIELSON
   10 STR 
  9 DEX 
  10 CON 
  8 BODY 
   13 INT 
  13 EGO 
  13 PRE 
  8 COM
   
  2 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   20 END 
  18 STUN
  Abilities:  Bribery 13-; Bureaucratics 13-; Persua-
  sion 12-; CK: Hudson City 11-; CK: New York City 
  11-; High Society 12-; KS: The Business World 12-; 
  KS: Cabal operations 13-; KS: The Industrial World 
  13-; KS: High Finance 12-; KS: Steel Industry 13-; 
  PS: Businessman 13-; Well-Connected and 20-
  points worth of Contacts in ﬁnancial and industrial 
  circles; Money (15 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan 
  Adams 8-; Psychological Limitation:  Extremely 
  Greedy; Psychological Limitation:  Ruthless; Repu-
  tation (ruthless businessman) 11-; Rivalry (with 
  other industrialists); Social Limitation:  Secret 
  Identity (Geoﬀrey Danielson)
  Notes:  Danielson is 55 and a self-made millionaire. 
  A mid-range steel magnate with ties to a variety 
  of industrial interests, he’s the greediest of the cur-
  rent members... and the one most likely to betray 
  another for proﬁt if he thinks he can escape detec-
  tion. Since his source of wealth crosses over into 
  most other members’, he’s constantly worried about 
  maintaining his position.
  Thin and intense, Danielson wears glasses 
  and suits that were slightly dated before the Great 
  Crash, and combs his thinning hair over a bald 
  pate. He maintains no real level of activity in social 
  circles, preferring to concentrate on his busi-
  ness interests. He’s married and has one son, who 
  appears to be shaping up into a suitable heir for 
  both his father’s businesses and seat on the Cabal.
  
  71 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  THREE:  GENERAL ALFRED SCOTT
   13 STR 
  13 DEX 
  13 CON 
  13 BODY 
   10 INT 
  10 EGO 
  13 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  5 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC
   26 END 
  27 STUN
  Abilities:  Bureaucratics 13-; High Society 12-; ; 
  Stealth 12-; Tactics 12-; TF: Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles; WF: Small Arms; KS: Cabal 
  Operations 12-; KS: United States Army 13-; KS: 
  United States Politics 12-; KS: The Mining Industry 
  13-; PS: Mining Magnate 13-; PS: Army Oﬃcer 13-; 
  SS: Military History 12-; Languages:  German and 
  French (ﬂuent conversation); Well-Connected and 
  20-points worth of Contacts in military and gov-
  ernmental circles; Money (10 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan 
  Adams 8-; Psychological Limitation:  Distrusts 
  European Governments; Psychological Limitation:  
  Greedy; Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (General 
  Alfred Scott)
  Notes:  General Scott is a retired Army general 
  in his late ﬁfties with extensive Western mining 
  interests inherited from his father, a previous Cabal 
  member (he’s one of two second-generation Cabal 
  members currently active). He has designs on cor-
  nering precious metals mining in America, ﬁrst in 
  the West, and then working his way East.
  In better physical shape than some of the men he 
  commanded during the Great War, Scott keeps him-
  self ﬁt with regular exercise, careful diet, and younger 
  women that he meets secretly to prevent his wife of 
  25 years from discovering his chronic inﬁdelity. He 
  has two sons, both in the Army, and a daughter who’s 
  married to a junior congressman from New York.
  Scott keeps a careful eye on the American 
  political scene and is toying with a run for the 
  Senate in the next election. He plans to trade on his 
  political and military connections, his solid mili-
  tary record from the Great War, and the assistance 
  of the Cabal to launch a second career in politics.
  FOUR:  DEVON FELLOWS
   10 STR 
  10 DEX 
  12 CON 
  10 BODY 
   16 INT 
  15 EGO 
  15 PRE 
  12 COM
   
  3 PD 
  3 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   24 END 
  21 STUN
  Abilities:  Bribery 12-; Bureaucratics 13-; CK: San 
  Francisco 12-; Combat Driving 12-; Forgery (Art 
  Objects) 13-; High Society 12-; AK: Paciﬁc Rim 12-; 
  KS: Cabal Operations 13-; KS: The Shipping World 
  13-; KS:  The Business World 12-; KS: Art World 
  13-; Navigation (Marine) 12-; Persuasion 12-; PS: 
  Shipping Magnate 13-; TF: Small Wind-Powered 
  Boats, Small Motorized Boats, Large Motorized 
  Boats; WF: Small Arms; Languages:  Spanish and 
  Japanese (ﬂuent conversation); Well-Connected 
  and 30-points worth of Contacts in the shipping, 
  social, and art communities; Money (10 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan 
  Adams 8-; Psychological Limitation:  Fanatical 
  Art Collector; Psychological Limitation:  Greedy; 
  Rivalry (with other shipping magnates); Social 
  Limitation:  Secret Identity (Devon Fellows)
  Notes:  Fellows is the owner of a San Francisco-
  based shipping empire that reaches across the 
  country and into Mexico and the Pacific Rim. 
  His companies ship goods by train, ship, truck, 
  and occasionally airplane — whatever’s needed 
  to get the cargo to its destination. His employees 
  have a certain rough reputation and accusations 
  (never proven) have been made that they’re not 
  opposed to sabotaging rival operations, or even 
  outright piracy.
  In his late forties, he’s married to a woman half 
  his age and is very active in the San Francisco social 
  scene. The pair of them spend most nights at one 
  social function or another when he’s not away on 
  business. He collects art, his special passion being 
  paintings and sculptures by obscure Renaissance 
  artists. His large collection contains several works 
  thought lost during the Great War and recovered 
  through less than legal means.
  FIVE:  FRANKLIN TREBODIAN
   
  9 STR 
  10 DEX 
  9 CON 
  9 BODY 
   14 INT 
  12 EGO 
  14 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  2 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   18 END 
  19 STUN
  Abilities:  Bureaucratics 13-; CK: Hudson City 11-; 
  Conversation 12-; High Society 12-; KS: The Indus-
  trial World 13-; KS: The Business World 13-; KS: 
  European Politics 12-; KS: High Finance 12-; KS: 
  Cabal Operations 14-; Persuasion 12-; PS: Business-
  man 12-; Languages:  French, German, and Russian 
  (all ﬂuent conversation); Well-Connected and 18-
  points worth of Contacts in the industrial and busi-
  ness community; Money (10 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan 
  Adams 8-; Psychological Limitation:  Hates Logan 
  Adams; Psychological Limitation:  Greedy; Social 
  Limitation:  Secret Identity (Franklin Trebodian)
  Notes:   Based in the ﬁeld of heavy industry, Trebo-
  dian has plants that manufacture engines, machine 
  tools, and anything else that brings a healthy proﬁt. 
  He sells equipment overseas at a prodigious rate, 
  caring nothing about what the heavy industry he 
  helps establish will be used for. He has more over-
  seas interests than any of the other Cabal members, 
  and is carefully watching the political situation in 
  Germany and other countries in the hopes of a war 
  that will allow him to expand his interests.
  Nearing 50, he’s newly remarried after being 
  a widower for several years. He has one daughter 
  from his ﬁrst marriage, a pretty, vivacious, and 
  intelligent socialite who always seems to slip away 
  from the grasp of any serious suitor. His new wife, 
  almost 20 years his junior, plans to expand the 
  family as soon as possible to secure her place.
  Trebodian is a second-generation Cabal 
  member. He holds a special grudge against Logan 
  Adams for driving his brother into ruin and suicide 
  seven years ago. He regularly agitates for the Cabal 
  to try to assassinate Adams again, a suggestion that 
  to date has always been voted down as not being 
  cost-eﬀective.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  72 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  SIX:  SHERMAN ROBERTSON
   13 STR 
  12 DEX 
  13 CON 
  10 BODY
   14 INT 
  12 EGO 
  14 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  4 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC
   26 END 
  24 STUN
  Abilities:  HA +2d6; Luck 2d6; Bribery 12-; Bureau-
  cratics 12-; CK: Chicago 12-; Gambling (Card 
  Games) 13-; High society 12-; Mechanics 12-; 
  Stealth 11-; Streetwise 12-; KS: Cabal Operations 
  13-; KS: The Business World 12-; KS: Construction 
  World 14-; KS: Contract Law 13-; PS: Construction 
  Magnate 12-; TF: Common Motorized Ground 
  Vehicles; WF: Small Arms; Well-Connected and 16 
  points’ worth of Contacts in construction, business, 
  and political circles; Money (10 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan 
  Adams 8-; Psychological Limitation:  Success-
  Minded; Psychological Limitation:  Greedy; Social 
  Limitation:  Secret Identity (Sherman Robertson)
  Notes:   Robertson is the Cabal’s newest and most 
  rapidly-rising member. He made his money in the 
  post-War construction boom after getting a start 
  during the Great War by building military bases 
  under contract. He’s looking forward to an increase 
  in governmental contracts when the European war 
  he feels is inevitable begins. He’s started buying 
  up land in likely areas in anticipation of the gov-
  ernment’s need (and has chosen well); he plans to 
  make a killing selling it to Washington.
  Unmarried to date, the 47-year-old Robertson 
  has begun to look for a woman that he feels has the 
  correct mental and physical traits to be the mother 
  of his children — preferably a son — but is uncer-
  tain about the time needed to devote himself to a 
  marriage. Lately, he’s begun to consider the possi-
  bility of simply locating an appropriate woman and 
  either persuading her to bear his children and then 
  vanish with a generous endowment, or eliminating 
  the persuasion and endowment parts and simply 
  father his children on her and then eliminate her.
  SEVEN:  JAMES HUNT
   10 STR 
  10 DEX 
  11 CON 
  10 BODY
   14 INT 
  12 EGO 
  14 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  2 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   24 END 
  21 STUN
  Abilities:  Bribery 13-; Bureaucratics 13-; High 
  Society 12-; Languages:  German and French (both 
  ﬂuent conversation); PS: Financier 13-; PS: Banker 
  13-; Trading 13-; CK: Hudson City 12-; KS: Cabal 
  Activities 12-; KS: Cult Activities 11-; KS: High 
  Finance 12-; KS: The Business World 12-; KS: The 
  Banking Industry 13-; Well-Connected and 10 
  points’ worth of Contacts in legal and illegal busi-
  ness circles; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Prince in the Cult of 
  the Nine Degrees; Money:  Wealthy (12 points)
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan 
  Adams 8-; Distinctive Feature:  Cult Robes; 
  Psychological Limitation:  Amoral and Greedy; 
  Rivalry (professional; with other Cult Princes 
  and Cabal Members); Social Limitation:  Secret 
  Identity (James Hunt/Prince Of The Cult Of The 
  Nine Degrees)
  Notes:  One of the few independent banking 
  magnates to survive the Crash of 1929, Hunt has 
  financial interests all over the country, either 
  owning banks outright or possessing partial or 
  controlling interests in them. Hard-hit by the 
  Crash, he recovered through a series of invest-
  ments his fellow Cabal members consider noth-
  ing short of miraculous.
  Hunt is the only member of the Cabal to 
  belong to another conspiratorial group — the 
  demon-worshipping Cult Of The Nine Degrees (see 
  page 82). He uses the Cult’s inﬂuence to expand 
  his personal wealth in ways that the Cabal will not 
  allow or approve. The other members of the Cabal 
  are aware that he dabbles in the occult, but not 
  that the cult he belongs to has actual supernatural 
  power. His dual membership has not caused any 
  conﬂicts of interest... yet.
  THE FATES
  CLOTHO:  DOCTOR  
  CREIGHTON THORNTON
   10 STR 
  15 DEX 
  14 CON 
  12 BODY
   14 INT 
  13 EGO 
  14 PRE 
  16 COM
   
  4 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC 
   28 END 
  24 STUN
  Abilities:  Fencing (Cut, Fleche, Lunge, Parry, 
  Riposte, Slash, Thrust, Void); +4 versus Hit Loca-
  tion Penalties; +2 HTH; Bureaucratics 12-; Forensic 
  Medicine 13-; High Society 12-; KS: Cabal Opera-
  tions 13-; KS: The Medical World 12-; KS: The 
  Tennis World 12-; Languages:  Latin (ﬂuent con-
  versation), Italian and French (basic conversation); 
  Paramedics 13-; PS: Physician 14-; PS: Pharmacolo-
  gist 13-; PS: Surgeon 14-; PS: Tennis Player 14-; SS: 
  Anatomy 14-; SS: Chemistry 12-; SS: Immunology 
  12-; SS: Medicine 14-; SS: Pharmacology/Toxicol-
  ogy 13-; Seduction12-; WF: Small Arms, Blades
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Style; 
  Hunted:  Logan Adams 8-; Hunted:  The Cabal 
  11- (Watching); Psychological Limitation:  
  Devoted To Hypatia; Psychological Limitation:  
  Loyal To Cabal; Social Limitation:  Secret Iden-
  tity (Doctor Creighton Thornton); Social Limita-
  tion:  Subject To Orders
  Notes:   Thornton is a Harvard-trained medical 
  doctor with specialties in pharmacology and sur-
  gery who formerly had an established practice in 
  Chicago. He and the daughter of one of his patients, 
  Hypatia Vincent, fell in love and began an aﬀair 
  with each other, only to have her father discover 
  it and forbid them to marry. There was a quarrel, 
  Hypatia’s father struck her, and Creighton killed 
  him with a fountain pen through the eye. The 
  couple panicked and attempted to cover it up, but 
  the truth came out. When the police came for them, 
  Hypatia surrendered to buy time for Thornton to 
  ﬂee, reasoning that her sentence would be less than 
  his. Thornton regretfully did as she asked and went 
  into hiding... from which the Cabal rescued him 
  and put him to work.
  
  73 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  Creighton is a good-looking man in his late 
  thirties with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. He 
  dresses and moves more like a dancer than a physi-
  cian. His paramour, Hypatia, is still in prison; he 
  anxiously awaits her release, since the Cabal has 
  promised him they can be together under its pro-
  tection as long as he serves it faithfully. Although 
  his license has been revoked, he’s an excellent phy-
  sician and surgeon, and has considerable skill in 
  crafting drugs for speciﬁc purposes. His knowledge 
  of anatomy makes him dangerous in a ﬁght, but he 
  has no real taste for direct conﬂict unless there’s no 
  other choice. The Cabal calls him in to arrange for 
  people to become sick or die without leaving any 
  traces that hint at its involvement.
  LACHESIS:  RICHARD BRADLEY
   15 STR 
  15 DEX 
  15 CON 
  12 BODY
   13 INT 
  12 EGO 
  13 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  5 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC
   30 END 
  30 STUN
  Abilities:  Boxing (Block, Clinch, Cross, Hook, Jab); 
  +3 with Boxing; Analyze Structure 13-; Analyze 
  Vehicle 13-; Analyze Terrain 13-; Bureaucratics 12-; 
  Climbing 12-; Combat Driving 12-; Demolitions 
  13-; Electronics 12-; KS: The Engineering World 
  12-; KS: Cabal Operations 12-; KS: US Army 11-; 
  Lockpicking 12-; Mechanics 14-; PS: Engineer 13-; 
  SS: Civil Engineering 13-; SS: Electrical Engineer-
  ing 13-; SS: Geology 13-; SS: Mechanical Engineer-
  ing 13-; Security Systems 13-; TF: Common Motor-
  ized Ground Vehicles; WF: Small Arms
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Features:  Style; 
  Hunted:  Logan Adams 8-; Hunted:  The Cabal 
  11- Watching); Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To 
  Cabal; Psychological Limitation:  Meticulous Plan-
  ner; Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Richard 
  Bradley); Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders
  Notes:  A former engineer and Army oﬃcer, Brad-
  ley was one of the many oﬃcers caught by the 
  army’s downsizing at the end of the Great War. 
  He retained his position in the military but knew 
  his career would never advance past the rank of 
  Captain in peacetime, so he made plans to ensure 
  a future for himself without a General’s pension. 
  His plan, to conspire with a contractor to use sub-
  standard materials in a military building project 
  and pocket the diﬀerence, was discovered. He was 
  cashiered out of the Army and entered the service 
  of the Cabal after one of General Scott’s contacts 
  recommended him.
  Bradley is a tall, dark-haired, athletic fellow 
  in his early thirties; with the look of a man who 
  spends time outdoors. An excellent engineer, he 
  favors the use of mechanically-oriented or other-
  wise impersonal solutions to the missions the Cabal 
  sends him on — failed brake lines on an executive’s 
  car, factory accidents that are anything but, ava-
  lanches that delay construction projects, and so 
  forth. Because of his original plan’s failure, he’s 
  obsessive about planning now.
  ATROPOS:  CHAMOMILE ALLBRIGHT
   10 STR 
  17 DEX 
  14 CON 
  10 BODY
   15 INT 
  14 EGO 
  16 PRE 
  18 COM
   
  5 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC 
   28 END 
  25 STUN
  Abilities:  Dirty Infighting (Block, Dodge; Escape; 
  Eye Gouge; Kidney Punch, Low Blow; Punch, +2 
  DCs, Use Art with Knives); +5 with Garrote; +2 
  with Dirty Infighting; Acting 14-; AK: Southern 
  United States 12-; Bribery 13-; Concealment 13-; 
  Conversation 14-; Disguise 12-; High Society 
  13-; KS: Cabal Operations 11-; KS: Fashion 13-; 
  Language:  English (imitate accents); Lockpick-
  ing 13-; Persuasion 15-; Riding 12-; Seduction 
  14-; Shadowing 13-; Stealth 13-; TF: Equines, 
  Common Motorized Ground Vehicles; WF: Small 
  Arms, Knives, Garrote
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Beauti-
  ful, Seductive Woman With A Southern Accent; 
  Hunted:  Logan Adams 8-; Hunted:  The Cabal 
  11-(Watching); Psychological Limitation:  Amoral 
  And Ruthless; Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To 
  Cabal; Social Limitation:  Woman; Social Limita-
  tion:  Secret Identity (Chamomile Allbright); Social 
  Limitation:  Subject To Orders
  Notes:  Originally from Georgia, Chamomile grew 
  up in a small, poor community north of Atlanta 
  certain of only two things:  she wasn’t going to 
  be trapped in that small town her entire life; and 
  men are fools she can wrap around her little ﬁnger. 
  She matured quickly... and grew jaded just as fast 
  as she learned to use her beauty and charm to get 
  the things she wanted. A Cabal spy spotted her in 
  Charleston in 1929 cutting a swath through a series 
  of wealthy suitors. He recruited her when one of 
  those suitors pushed a little too hard for Chamo-
  mile to give him something more than a smile and 
  some pretty words in return for his gifts and she 
  strangled him with his own tie.
  As amoral and ruthless as she is beautiful, 
  Chamomile is a natural blonde in her early twen-
  ties with a face like an angel, an accent like honey, 
  and a body to die for — as over a dozen men can 
  attest. She prefers to use her charms to manipulate 
  others into doing the Cabal’s bidding, with a prom-
  ise here and a wink there, and is the troubleshooter 
  most often sent in when the Cabal believes social 
  engineering will get it what it wants with the least 
  amount of fuss. Despite that, she’s the enforcer 
  most likely to kill with her own hands, preferring to 
  strangle her victims with their own ties.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  74 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  Membership:  The Coletti Mob is a crime syndi-
  cate composed of hundreds of full-time members 
  and numerous part-timers under the leadership 
  of Vinnie “The Axe” Coletti (see Pulp Hero, page 
  399). Other notable members include Michael 
  Warren, Carlo Manzoni, and Detective Lieuten-
  ant Arthur Corgan.
  Background/History:  The history of the Coletti 
  Mob is, in many ways, the history of the man who 
  founded it:  Vinnie Coletti. He started out as a 
  simple thug in the organization of Alberto “Shot-
  gun Bert” Falcone, but rapidly worked his way up 
  the ranks of soldiers and into the core of the orga-
  nization. When Shotgun Bert was gunned down in 
  1926 during a territorial dispute with rising Jewish 
  gangster Herman “Two Time” Tannenbaum, Vinnie 
  stepped in and took over after a brief “discussion” 
  with the other three claimants for the position that 
  left two of them dead and the third, Charlie “The 
  Hook” Altobelli, on a train to the West Coast “for 
  his health.”
  Once that was settled, Vinnie consolidated the 
  syndicate and started branching out. Where Fal-
  cone had stayed to the traditional protection, pros-
  titution, and gambling rackets, Vinnie had wider 
  aspirations. Under his leadership, the Colettis were 
  soon involved in every crime in the book from 
  racketeering to liquor smuggling, and their proﬁts 
  began to soar. Prohibition was very, very good for 
  the syndicate, but by diversifying their operations, 
  the Colettis avoided the problems many other 
  mobs had when the good times ended.
  Organization and Structure:  Like most syndicates, 
  the Coletti Mob is driven and held together by the 
  will of a single individual:  Vinnie “The Axe” Coletti. 
  Because of Vinnie’s photographic memory, he 
  doesn’t need as many helpers or assistants as most 
  mob bosses — he can handle the record-keeping 
  for the syndicate in his head. That may make for 
  some problems for the next person to head the 
  Colettis, but Vinnie doesn’t plan to step down any-
  time soon.
  Below Vinnie are three men who comprise 
  the senior management, as it were, of the Coletti 
  Mob:  Carlo Manzoni, Michael Warren, and Alvin 
  Dake. Manzoni, the capo bastone, or underboss, is 
  the number two man in the syndicate and man-
  ages many of the day-to-day activities. He enjoys 
  Vinnie’s trust, or as much trust as Vinnie places 
  in anyone other than himself. Roughly equal with 
  Manzoni is Michael Warren, the consigliere, who 
  handles all the important legal business for the 
  Colettis, both legitimate and otherwise. Warren 
  is careful to avoid any direct contact with the 
  syndicate’s illegal operations. Below both of them in 
  actual power is Alvin Dake, the contabile, or ﬁnan-
  cial adviser. Dake has no authority over the men 
  and operations of the syndicate; he handles the 
  accounting and money. Vinnie sees to it that Dake 
  is well-protected to prevent anyone grabbing him 
  and using his knowledge to hurt the Colettis. Of the 
  three, Dake’s position is the least secure, since any 
  accounting irregularity he cannot justify to Vinnie 
  is a one-way ticket to sleeping with the ﬁshes.
  Below those three men, there are a number 
  of caporegime, or captains, who command various 
  operations. These include Anselmo “Salvo” Tocatti, 
  Charles “Cold Charlie” Mudano, and Richard 
  “Hammer Toe” Gaede. Each of the captains has ﬁve 
  to ten “soldiers” he can call on to handle “rough 
  stuﬀ” without requesting more men from Manzoni. 
  These gangs spend most of their time drumming 
  up new “business,” collecting money, greasing 
  palms, and keeping the wheels of the organization 
  turning. There are also several individuals at this 
  level who fall outside the normal chain of com-
  mand, most notably Detective Lieutenant Arthur 
  Corgan. Corgan’s connections to the Colettis are 
  buried deep — only Vinnie, Manzoni, and Warren 
  know he’s on the pad and handles situations for the 
  syndicate like silencing witnesses and eliminating 
  rival mobsters under the cover of his badge.
  Group Relations:  For a criminal organization that 
  feeds on weakness and often employs brutal meth-
  ods, the members of the Coletti Mob get along with 
  each other in a professional, if occasionally uncivil, 
  manner. Vinnie remains the unquestioned leader, 
  though he keeps a careful eye on the members of 
  his organization who might want to replace him 
  and sometimes has to rule with a heavy hand. Carlo 
  quietly bides his time until the inevitable happens 
  and another mobster or some kook in a tuxedo and 
  a mask gets lucky and makes a vacancy at the top for 
  him to step in and take over. Michael Warren treats 
  everyone in the organization — except Vinnie — 
  with a thinly-veiled air of contempt, regarding them 
  as uneducated cretins. Arthur Corgan looks out for 
  his own best interests while making it seem like he’s 
  really looking out for Vinnie’s.
  Lower down the ladder, there are all the rival-
  ries, dislikes, and outright hatreds you’d expect in 
  an organization composed of professional crimi-
  nals who are long on pride and greed and short on 
  social skills. But they try not to let their problems 
  escalate to the point that they come to Vinnie’s 
  attention, since that’s a short route to the bottom of 
  the East River. Most disputes at this level are settled 
  with a beating... or the occasional murder that’s 
  blamed on another gang or some outsider. Almost 
  
  75 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  no one would willingly betray the Coletti organiza-
  tion; the fates of the few who have tried were ter-
  rible enough that no one except the most desperate 
  man would consider it.
  Tactics:  The Colettis are an old-fashioned criminal 
  organization and tend to approach situations with 
  that mindset. They’re a bit quicker than some other 
  criminal groups to resort to strong-arm tactics, 
  but not so much so that they have a reputation for 
  senseless violence — they just know what a good 
  motivational tool a visit from a few of “the boys” 
  is, and see no reason to change a winning formula. 
  Their reputation as tough customers is well-
  deserved and stands them in good stead on the 
  streets and in the back alleys where much of their 
  business is still done. Anyone who gets in their way 
  can expect a single warning, two at most. The next 
  encounter will involve several gentlemen “explain-
  ing” things to the hapless individual in a convenient 
  dark alley. If another visit is required, it’ll be the last 
  time anyone ever sees the guy alive.
  Campaign Use:  The Coletti Mob is designed pri-
  marily for scenarios focused on crimebusting. 
  Given the wide variety of criminal interests the 
  Colettis have, virtually anything from racketeering, 
  to smuggling, kidnapping, blackmail, or bank rob-
  bery can factor into an adventure. The syndicate 
  makes a great ongoing adversary for a group of 
  masked crimeﬁghters, but you can work them into 
  other types of campaigns by having vengeful dead 
  men come back to life to seek out the mobsters 
  who killed them, mad scientists hiring the Colettis 
  to procure supplies and raw material (human and 
  otherwise) for their experiments, encounters with 
  Coletti men as the hired muscle for a crooked 
  archaeologist out to loot the Lost City of Xinca-
  Hol, and so forth.
  As written, the Coletti mob is the sort of large-
  scale opponent characters can destroy with hard 
  work and a little luck. It’s large, tough, and inﬂuen-
  tial enough to be a serious threat to almost anyone, 
  but still small enough that it can be dismantled by 
  only a few individuals willing to make the eﬀort.
  To make the mob more dangerous, add more 
  “named” individuals of an appropriate power level 
  to the PCs, and increase the power level of the 
  existing members if necessary. To reduce the power 
  of the organization, eliminate Corgan and reduce 
  the number of general gunsels available to the 
  organization, or arrange the underworld in your 
  campaign to give the Colettis enough competition 
  that they remain small due to attrition.
  A character who’s Hunted by the Colettis can 
  expect to be shot at by gangsters riding past in the 
  backs of cars, pipe bombs thrown through their 
  windows, gunshots out of dark alleys, and every 
  other traditional form of assault known to the mob. 
  If the PCs might be useful to the organization, they 
  can expect attempts at extortion from falsiﬁed wit-
  nesses and faked-up blackmail photographs in an 
  eﬀort to get them into Coletti’s pocket.
  THE COLETTI MOB  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Prohibition ended two years ago, and while there’s 
  some smuggling of illegal liquor in from Canada going 
  on to avoid paying taxes on it, everyone else has cut 
  back their operations. Why, then, is an informant tell-
  ing one of the characters the Colettis are quietly asking 
  around to see who’s left of the old rumrunning crowd, 
  and how soon they can start bringing cargo down from 
  the Great White North? What is the mob planning to 
  import... and why is that car slowing down as it passes? 
  Hey, what’s that sticking out the window?!
  During a raid on another gangster’s hideout, the char-
  acters see someone escape that they swear was Carlo 
  Manzoni, one of Vinnie’s right-hand men. What was 
  Manzoni doing there, considering the bad blood they 
  know exists between the Colettis and this mob? Maybe 
  those whispers of a big job, one so big it’ll take two or 
  three mobs together to pull it oﬀ, aren’t just informants 
  blowing smoke after all. What’s going on, and can the 
  heroes ﬁnd out in time to stop a crime so big even 
  Vinnie Coletti needs help to pull it oﬀ?
  There’s a sudden power vacuum in town after Man-
  fred “The Weasel” Steinmetz takes a swan dive out of 
  a twelfth-ﬂoor hotel window when he walks in and 
  ﬁnds someone besides his mistress waiting for him. 
  The Colettis step in to ﬁll the vacuum, but there are 
  contenders from all sides as Steinmetz’s territory goes 
  up for grabs. Can the characters keep things safe for 
  the ordinary citizens, force the battling mobs oﬀ the 
  streets, and still track down the people responsible for 
  Steinmetz’s death?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  76 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  MICHAEL WARREN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   12 STR 
  2 
  11- 
  Lift 125 kg; 2d6 [2]
   8 DEX 
  -6 
  11- 
  OCV:  3/DCV:  3
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  11-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   2 SPD 
  2 
   
  Phases:  6, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   20 END 
  0
   21 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  36
  Movement: 
  Running:  2”/4”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  -8 
  Polio Victim:  Running -4” (2” total)
   
  Perks
  25 
  Well-Connected and 22 points’ worth of 
  Contacts and Favors within the legal system 
  and police department
  10 
  Follower:  Bodyguard built on 50 Base Points
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  License To Practice Law
  3 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Membership:  Coletti Family
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  2 
  Reputation:  hot shot lawyer (in New York 
  City) 14-, +1/+1d6
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 with Interaction Skills
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Deduction 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  CK: New York City 13-
  2 
  KS: Business Law 13-
  2 
  KS: Civil Law 13-
  2 
  KS: Criminal Law And Procedure 13-
  2 
  KS: Legal Precedents 13-
  2 
  KS: Real Estate Law 13-
  3 
  Language:  Italian (completely ﬂuent; English 
  is Native)
  1 
  Language:  Latin (basic conversation)
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Attorney 13-
  3 
  Scholar
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  91
  Total Cost:  127
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Hunted:  NYPD 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  polio victim; requires 
  crutches to walk and cannot leap (Infre-
  quently, Slightly Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vengeful 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  mob lawyer, 11-
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  140
  Background/History:  Born into the lap of luxury, 
  Michael Warren had everything — money, 
  brains, looks, friends. Educated at the best 
  schools money could buy, he was admitted to the 
  Bar at the age of twenty-two and was looking at 
  a flourishing career with a prestigious law firm. 
  Then tragedy struck. First it was polio, which 
  left his formerly athletic body partially para-
  lyzed. His fiancée left him, his friends seemed to 
  no longer have time for him. Then came Black 
  Thursday. After the Crash, he watched as his 
  father’s empire collapsed, abetted by the financial 
  manipulations of his “friends” and partners. Des-
  titute, Warren Sr. committed suicide. Michael’s 
  mother died soon thereafter, her heart broken.
  When Michael’s law ﬁrm, faced with rising 
  expenses and falling proﬁts, began “cutting back,” 
  he was among the ﬁrst young associates let go. 
  Scrounging for cases, he began taking any and all 
  clients — including the petty criminals who were 
  ultimately his salvation. When he successfully 
  defended one of Vinnie Coletti’s “made men” in a 
  murder trial turned media circus, Michael came to 
  The Axe’s attention. Now Coletti’s personal attorney, 
  Michael Warren again has it all... including new 
  friends, so the old ones had better watch out.
  Personality/Motivation:  Warren is out for revenge, 
  and working for Coletti seems a good way to get 
  it. He won’t violate the letter of the law, but he has 
  absolutely no scruples about twisting, turning, and 
  manipulating the spirit of the law to get what he 
  — and his boss — wants. Outside the courtroom or 
  the boardroom, he’s as personable a man as you’d 
  want to meet. Inside, he’s a shark. He particularly 
  delights in putting the screws to one of his former 
  friends or his father’s former partners by carefully 
  worded and strictly enforced contracts, slightly 
  shady business deals, and the use of archaic and 
  little known laws.
  Quote:  “No, it isn’t right and it isn’t fair. But  
  fortunately for my client, this is a court of law, 
  not justice.”
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Briefcase, legal papers, pads of paper, fountain pen, pocket watch
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  MICHAEL WARREN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Warren is contacted 
  on the sly by someone 
  who tells him he has the 
  power to make him walk 
  again — for a price:  he 
  has to betray Vinnie to 
  his benefactor. Unwill-
  ing to risk everything 
  on even this chance, 
  Warren decides to set 
  up an alibi by claiming 
  he was kidnapped and 
  replaced by a character 
  with disguise skills who 
  impersonated him to 
  aﬀect the betrayal. Now 
  all he needs to do is 
  arrange for one of the 
  characters to take care 
  of his bodyguard....
  One of the characters 
  moves in on a hot little 
  number Michael has 
  his eye on. Unable to 
  compete with the char-
  acter on the dance ﬂoor, 
  and unwilling to make 
  a scene that would ruin 
  his chances with the girl, 
  he schemes to handle 
  things another way. He 
  hires “Bats” Selden to 
  break the character’s legs 
  so he won’t be doing any 
  dancing any time soon.
  Everyone has skel-
  etons in his closet, and 
  Michael is no exception 
  — he’s just not ready 
  for one of them to get 
  up and walk around. 
  When the ghost of his 
  dead mother starts to 
  appear to him at night 
  and chastise him for 
  his crimes, he’s initially 
  suspicious and skeptical, 
  then increasingly wor-
  ried and frightened. He 
  knows Vinnie won’t help 
  him, so he needs some-
  one who will — the PCs. 
  Is it really her ghost? 
  Has some underworld 
  enemy hired Profes-
  sor Prospero to do a 
  number on him? What 
  will he agree to do in 
  return for help?
  
  77 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  Powers/Tactics:  Warren 
  uses his legal skills as a 
  weapon. He researches 
  obscure legal precedents 
  and twists existing 
  ones into knives he can 
  stick into an opponent, 
  then smiles as they 
  bleed time, money, and 
  occasionally actual 
  blood trying to remove 
  them. He’ll ﬁnd a way 
  to force the demolition 
  of an enemy’s house for 
  zoning violations, have 
  his restaurant closed 
  down over an obscure 
  health code violation, or 
  the like. What he can do 
  to the frequently murky 
  ﬁnancial situation of a 
  globe-trotting adven-
  turer is too terrible to 
  think of.
  In a physical alter-
  cation — assuming he 
  can’t shame his oppo-
  nent out of fighting 
  — Warren’s more than 
  happy to let his body-
  guard fight his battles. 
  In an extreme situation, 
  he would turn to Vinnie 
  for help in securing 
  some outside muscle 
  that couldn’t be traced back to the Colettis.
  Campaign Use:  Mobsters need legal counsel to keep 
  themselves out of prison, and Warren is just the man 
  for the job. In his own way he’s as ruthless and brutal 
  as Vinnie Coletti — he’d just rather see someone 
  squirming in a courtroom than sinking into the East 
  River. He’s a good hook for insight into the Coletti 
  organization if the characters can ﬁnd a way to turn 
  him (helping him walk again might do it). He also 
  makes a good template for a vicious attorney who’s 
  out to ruin or destroy people who slight him, even if 
  you don’t use him as part of the Coletti organization.
  To make him more powerful, give him some 
  more Contacts and Favors and increase his Skill 
  Levels with Interaction Skills. To weaken him, 
  reduce those things.
  Warren Hunts people without much provo-
  cation. For the most part, his “pursuit” takes the 
  form of legal traps and entanglements that hit the 
  character when he least expects them, but he isn’t 
  above a more personal touch like having someone 
  worked over if it seems to ﬁt with whatever real 
  or imagined slight he was forced to endure at the 
  characters’ hands.
  Appearance:  Michael Warren is an attractive man 
  in his mid-thirties, with blond hair, green eyes and 
  matinee idol looks. Although his legs are thin and 
  wasted from polio (he requires two crutches to 
  walk), his upper body is muscular and well-toned. 
  He always dresses well, in expensively tailored suits, 
  silk shirts and handcrafted shoes.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  78 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  CARLO MANZONI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   17 BODY 14 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  6 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  14 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  4
   28 END 
  0
   32 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  92
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Dirty Inﬁghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Eye Gouge 
  -1 
  -1 
  Sight Group 
  Flash 4d6
  4 
  Kidney Blow 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA ½d6 (1d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND(3)
  7 
  Always Shoots Twice:  Autoﬁre (2 shots, 
  +¼) for any non-Autoﬁre RKA built on up 
  to 60 Active Points; OIF (non-Autoﬁre ﬁre-
  arm of opportunity; -½), Both Shots Must 
  Be At The Same Target (-0), Requires A 
  DEX Roll (-¾) 
  1
   
  Perks
  10 
  Contacts:  10 points’ worth among the 
  underworld
  5 
  Membership:  Coletti Family
  4 
  Money:  Well-Oﬀ
  2 
  Reputation:  made man (in the underworld) 
  14-, +1/+1d6
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck:  3 PD/3 ED
   
  Skills
  6 
  Targeting Skill Levels:  +3 versus Hit  
  Locations with Firearms
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Criminology 12-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Small Arms) 12-
  4 
  Gambling (Card Games, Sports Betting) 12-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  CK: New York City 12-
  2 
  KS: Current Events 11-
  3 
  KS: New York Underworld 12-
  3 
  KS: Professional Baseball 12-
  3 
  Language:  Italian (completely ﬂuent; English 
  is Native)
  3 
  Lockpicking 12-
  3 
  PS: Maﬁoso 12-
  5 
  Rapid Autoﬁre
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  Survival (Urban) 12-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Knives
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  131
  Total Cost:  223
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Feature:  always wears a black 
  fedora with red band (Easily Concealed; 
  Noticed And Recognizable)
  20 
  Hunted:  NYPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Coletti 
  Family (Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Criminal Record (Fre-
  quently, Minor)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  83 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  223
  Background/History:  Carlo Manzoni has known 
  what he wanted to be since he was a kid. The son of 
  a poor grocer, as he grew up in Little Italy he saw 
  who had the money and who didn’t, who had the 
  power and who didn’t. The Maﬁa guys had it made. 
  He would be a Maﬁa guy.
  And so he set out to make his way in the 
  Maﬁa. Running with a gang from childhood, he 
  worked his way up from a street punk to a lieuten-
  ant in the gang, and then to the gang’s leader. By the 
  age of ﬁfteen, he was living on the streets, his family 
  having washed their hands of him. His rap sheet 
  — and his reputation — grew as he did, and as he 
  grew older, he made contacts with the mobs. He 
  watched how they worked, how leadership changed 
  hands, what each one could do for its members.
  Finally, at the age of seventeen, he had his 
  chance. During a shootout between two rival fac-
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  S&W 1917 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  6 
  8
  Brass knuckles 
  +0 
  — 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  5
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Box of matches, several ﬁne cigars
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  CARLO MANZONI 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Carlo discovers that 
  one of Vinnie’s book-
  ies has put the ﬁx in on 
  the pennant race for 
  the American League. 
  Vinnie stands to make a 
  killing, but Carlo wants 
  the game to be clean, the 
  way it’s supposed to be. 
  He arranges for a little 
  information to reach the 
  characters so they can 
  take the blame for the 
  hit to Vinnie’s bottom 
  line while Carlo enjoys 
  the National Pastime.
  Vinnie starts seeing a 
  new dame, a real Geor-
  gia Peach with expensive 
  tastes. Carlo’s sure she’s a 
  golddigger at best and a 
  plant by one of Vinnie’s 
  enemies at worst. Vinnie 
  won’t hear anything bad 
  about the skirt, so Carlo 
  has to ﬁnd some other 
  way to break them up 
  without getting intro-
  duced to the business 
  end of Vinnie’s axe. 
  Maybe some evidence 
  suggesting she’s spying 
  on Vinnie for the char-
  acters will do it....
  There’s a war brewing 
  on the streets of the Big 
  Apple between “Two-
  Time” Tannenbaum’s 
  mob and the Colettis. 
  Carlo decides to even 
  things out a little bit 
  after Two-Time brings 
  in some outside shoot-
  ers — he hires “Gats” 
  Gruner to take out 
  Two-Time’s new muscle. 
  Two-Time retaliates by 
  bringing in some profes-
  sional talent from Chi-
  cago, and things start to 
  get out of control. That’s 
  when Carlo plays his 
  ace and produces some 
  blackmail information 
  on a character’s DNPC 
  or loved one and tells 
  the heroes he’ll destroy 
  it if they’ll do him just 
  one little favor....
  
  79 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  tions, he saved Vinnie Coletti’s life, taking a bullet 
  himself in the process. Coletti came to visit him in 
  the hospital and oﬀered him a job. Carlo accepted it 
  immediately. And just as he had in his gang, Carlo 
  worked his way up through the ranks to the posi-
  tion he now holds — capo bastone.
  Personality/Motivation:  The Coletti “family” is 
  just that to Carlo — his family. He’s intensely 
  loyal, putting Vinnie’s needs and desires and 
  then those of the family ahead of his own. He 
  has grown cold and unfeeling over the years, and 
  won’t hesitate to kill anyone — friend or enemy, 
  man, woman, or child — who gets in the way 
  of Mr. Coletti’s best interests. While he’s a bit of 
  a ladies’ man, he’s never allowed himself to be 
  “trapped” in a formal relationship.
  Carlo loves baseball, and particularly the 
  New York Yankees. If encouraged, he can talk for 
  hours about the team, its record, and its players 
  — including the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth, and 
  “that dirty little rat Jimmy Selden,” who lost them 
  the ’26 Series.
  Although a lot of people think of him as a 
  gloriﬁed thug, Carlo isn’t stupid. In fact, he’s 
  smarter than his boss, a fact he takes some pains 
  to conceal. He knows Mr. Coletti won’t always be 
  around. He’s learned a lot by observing the inner 
  workings of the syndicate, and when the day comes 
  for a change in leadership, he intends to come out 
  on top.
  Quote:  “Forget about jerking out your gat and 
  throwing lead around like you were hitting ﬂy balls. 
  The Babe has the right idea:  you take your time, 
  call your shots, and always go for the centerﬁeld 
  bleachers.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Manzoni, like Vinnie, is an old-
  style mobster who came up from the streets, and he 
  hasn’t lost the hard edge that upbringing gave him. 
  He’s far enough up in the syndicate that he doesn’t 
  have to mix it up with people like he did in the old 
  days, but he’s as capable of doing so as he was over 
  a decade ago when he ran with the toughest gangs 
  in New York. In a ﬁght, Carlo lets the torpedoes 
  he has with him move in ﬁrst while he takes cover. 
  When the time is right he draws his gat, takes aim, 
  and starts pumping lead into opponents. He always 
  shoots for the chest and always ﬁres twice, using his 
  Targeting Skill Levels to ensure that any shot that 
  hits strikes the chest. He aims for opponents with 
  shotguns or tommy guns ﬁrst, other guns second, 
  and anyone closing on him last. He has a decent 
  grasp of tactics and frequently calls out instructions 
  to his men to maximize their eﬀectiveness.
  Campaign Use:  The loyal lieutenant is a staple in 
  the pulps, though more often on the side of the 
  angels than the bad men. Carlo is the man the char-
  acters are going to have to turn, imprison, or rub 
  out to get to Vinnie. And if they’re not careful about 
  it, they may discover that the Manzoni syndicate 
  rising from the ashes of the Coletti mob they just 
  dismantled is more of a threat than their old adver-
  sary. Carlo already has plenty of experience in bat-
  tling the characters, knows how they think, and will 
  be gunning for them right from the start to keep 
  them from doing to him what they did to Vinnie.
  To make Carlo tougher, increase his DEX to 
  18, his CON to 16, add some more Dirty Inﬁght-
  ing maneuvers, and give him some Combat Skill 
  Levels with pistols to make his marksmanship more 
  eﬀective. To weaken him, remove his Always Shoots 
  Twice power and his Combat Luck.
  Carlo has better things to do with his time 
  than Hunt characters unless they’re causing a prob-
  lem for Vinnie, in which case they’re on his list. He’s 
  a patient opponent, willing to ﬁnd the right time 
  and place for an ambush — usually while the target 
  is occupied with something else and won’t see it 
  coming until it’s too late and the tommy guns are 
  chattering away.
  Appearance:  Carlo Manzoni is a relatively attractive 
  while male of Italian descent in his late twenties. He 
  stands 5’10” and weighs approximately 175 pounds. 
  He has dark eyes and slicked back dark hair. Carlo 
  always wears a suit — expertly tailored to cover the 
  unsightly bulge of his gun — and his trademark 
  black fedora has a red band, just the color of the 
  carnation he generally wears in his lapel.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  80 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT  
  ARTHUR CORGAN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½6 [3]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  13- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   7 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  7 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  4 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   27 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  64
  Movement: 
  Running:  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Boxing
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  3 
  Clinch 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 33 STR 
  for holding on
  4 
  Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  6½d6 Strike
  5 
  Hook 
  -2 
  +1 
  8½d6 Strike
  3 
  Jab 
  +2 
  +2 
  4½d6 Strike
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  NND(3) 3d6
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  10 
  Takes A Punch Well:  Physical Damage  
  Reduction, 50%; Requires A CON Roll (-½), 
  Character Must Be Aware Of Attack (-¼) 
  0
  10 
  Seen It Done Better:  +20 PRE, Only To  
  Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  2 
  Used To Chasing Punks:  Running +1”  
  (7” total) 
  1
  3 
  Observant:  +1 to PER Rolls with all Sense 
  Groups 
  0
   
  Perks
  13 
  Well-Connected and 10 points’ worth of 
  Contacts in law enforcement and the under-
  world
  2 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Local Police Powers
  3 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Police Rank (Detective Lieu-
  tenant)
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Weapon Permit
  2 
  Reputation:  tough, dangerous detective (in 
  New York City) 11-, +2/+2d6
   
  Talents
  3 
  Resistance (3 points)
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Boxing
  3 
  Bureaucratics 12-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Criminology 12-
  3 
  Deduction 12-
  5 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  CK: The Bronx 12-
  3 
  CK: Brooklyn 12-
  3 
  CK: Manhattan 12-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  2 
  KS: Boxing 11-
  3 
  KS: The Coletti Mob 12-
  2 
  KS: Criminal Law And Procedure 11-
  4 
  KS: The Law Enforcement World 13-
  2 
  KS: Local Politics 11-
  5 
  KS: New York City Underworld 14-
  4 
  KS: The Vice World 13-
  3 
  Paramedic 12-
  3 
  PS: Detective 12-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  5 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  163
  Total Cost:  227
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Badge (Easily Con-
  cealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  10 
  Hunted:  NYPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  10 
  Hunted:  Coletti Mob 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  No Regard 
  For The Lives and Property Of Criminals 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Views Graft As 
  “Just Part Of The Job” (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Reputation:  maverick cop, 11- (in the Law 
  Enforcement World)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Harmful Secret (Occa-
  sionally, Minor)
  57 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  227
  Background/History:  Arthur Corgan survived the 
  Great War by being tougher than anyone the Ger-
  mans sent over the wall against him, sometimes 
  DETECTIVE  
  LIEUTENANT 
  ARTHUR CORGAN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Corgan decides it 
  wouldn’t hurt to have 
  some allies besides the 
  Colettis, and ﬁgures the 
  PCs are just the ticket. 
  Now all he needs is a 
  way to get them in his 
  corner. Maybe if he fol-
  lows them for a while, 
  something will come up 
  — and even if it doesn’t, 
  maybe they’ll do some-
  thing he can hold in 
  reserve in case he needs 
  a favor later.
  Every informant in 
  town knows Corgan 
  isn’t someone to mess 
  around with unless you 
  want to collect some 
  bruises, but when stoolie 
  after stoolie starts to 
  turn up dead after 
  Corgan has a chat with 
  them, even the New 
  York underworld wants 
  to know what’s going 
  on. What do the char-
  acters do when a group 
  of hoods approaches 
  one of them for help 
  and a promise to pay 
  oﬀ in information? Is 
  it Corgan or someone 
  else? Either way, why is 
  it happening?
  There’s a new Deputy 
  Commissioner on the 
  force, and he’s crack-
  ing down on dirty cops 
  all over town. Corgan 
  ﬁgures the best way to 
  keep oﬀ the new man’s 
  list is to make some big 
  collars right away. He 
  becomes a one-man 
  army out on the streets, 
  racking up enough 
  arrests that a couple of 
  mobsters decide he’s 
  got to go before their 
  names make it to the top 
  of Corgan’s list. When 
  the commissioner hears 
  about it, he quietly asks 
  the characters to “keep 
  an eye on his man.” 
  Between protecting 
  Corgan and the head-
  lines they attract, the 
  PCs are going to have 
  their hands full.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt Detective 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  9
  Shotgun 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  2H, AE1, 20” range, RR, RP
  Blackjack 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  5
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Badge, notepad, pencil
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  81 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  having to prove that with his bare hands. When 
  he returned to New York, he kept on proving it by 
  winning a Golden Gloves championship and six 
  successive NYPD boxing championships.
  His record as a street cop was excellent, par-
  ticularly since he was willing to volunteer to take 
  the beats others considered too dangerous. The 
  crooks he encountered were just like the Germans 
  he’d fought in the War, and he dealt with them the 
  same way — the only way they understood. By the 
  time he made detective, his reputation as a cop who 
  made his own rules was well-established. He kept 
  on using the same methods as he tracked down 
  killers and thieves, earning him a mixed reception 
  from his superiors and City Hall.
  Corgan encountered Vinnie Coletti’s opera-
  tions as a beat cop, brushed up against them several 
  more times on his way to detective, and ﬁnally 
  made the decision that Coletti was smart enough 
  to be the kind of man he was willing to accept 
  payola from if the price was right. Coletti, pleased 
  that it was to him Corgan turned when he ﬁnally 
  “came to his senses,” was happy to meet that price. 
  Since then, Corgan’s lived a double life, cleaning the 
  streets of New York for the citizens he swore to pro-
  tect — and taking Vinnie’s underworld enemies out 
  for him at the same time.
  Personality/Motivation:  Corgan is a tough man, 
  doing a tough job, and he doesn’t see any need to 
  worry too much about the niceties. He roughs up 
  informants, knocks hoods around without a second 
  thought, and has little regard for the lives and prop-
  erty of the crooks who cross his path. His ﬁle has 
  one of the best arrest and conviction records on the 
  force, what may be the longest list of complaints 
  ﬁled against him in NYPD history, and deﬁnitely 
  the longest list of criminals “killed while resisting 
  arrest.” If it weren’t for the fact that he considers 
  graft to be simply part of the business of being a 
  police oﬃcer, he’d be hero material in his own right.
  Corgan’s smarter than most cops on the pad. He 
  won’t have anything to do with the normal corruption 
  payoﬀs that take place in precincts all over the Big 
  Apple (and has, in fact, broken up at least two small 
  groups of corrupt oﬃcers). He takes his money from 
  just one source:  Vinnie Coletti. By restricting himself 
  to a single source of payola, he minimizes the conﬂicts 
  of interest that might arise and the chance that he’ll 
  be caught. Additionally, he restricts himself to provid-
  ing a single service for that money:  he removes other 
  criminals that’re getting in Vinnie’s way, burying their 
  deaths or arrests in the ﬂood of other criminals he 
  puts out of the way.
  Quote:  “Sorry about this Hickley, but you know the 
  risks:  you ﬂew in for the hit and now you’re gonna 
  ﬂy back out. Try not to wake the sleeping citizens 
  on your way down.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Corgan prefers to avoid gunplay 
  — he tries to work in close where his boxing skills 
  give him an edge in almost any confrontation. He’s 
  not afraid to take a few punches, and he threw out 
  the Marquis of Queensbury rules a long time ago. 
  These days, he prefers to be the one to start any 
  ﬁght he’s going to be in, usually with a Low Blow 
  or Hook when 
  his opponent isn’t 
  expecting it. After 
  that, even the 
  toughest gunsel is 
  usually incapable 
  of doing much in 
  the way of ﬁghting 
  back, which is just 
  ﬁne with Corgan.
  Corgan 
  typically carries 
  a Colt Detective 
  .38 revolver. If he 
  expects a gun-
  ﬁght, he also arms 
  himself with a 
  pump-action shotgun and a pocket full of shells (both 
  buckshot and slugs) and plans to be the one to shoot 
  ﬁrst, even if that’s through a door or out of an alley. In 
  situations like that, he usually has several uniformed 
  oﬃcers with him to increase his ﬁrepower.
  Corgan’s investigative skills are top-notch, and 
  even though he solves more crimes by his knowl-
  edge of the underworld, its members, and informa-
  tion gained from his extensive list of informants, he 
  can solve them other ways. Several hoodlums have 
  made that mistake over the years, and all of them 
  have regretted it... some more than others.
  Campaign Use:  Corgan is, to all outward appearances, 
  the “Dirty Harry” of his day. He’s tough, violent, and 
  determined to make certain the people he goes after 
  won’t bother the citizens of New York. He could easily 
  win friends among the PCs for his rough treatment of 
  violent criminals, tough attitude on crime, and lack of 
  respect for the rules. That will make the discovery of 
  hic corruption that much more unexpected and pain-
  ful when he ultimately turns on them. The right group 
  of heroes might draw him back to the side of Justice, 
  and if so he’d make a powerful ally.
  To make Corgan tougher, raise his STR to 15, 
  make his Can Take A Punch Damage Reduction 
  Resistant, give him some Combat Luck, and add a 
  few more Combat Skill Levels and Extra DCs. To 
  weaken him, remove his Damage Reduction and 
  his Seen It Done Better ability.
  Unless the characters are criminals, or act like 
  criminals, Corgan isn’t likely to waste time Hunting 
  them unless they become such a problem for Vinnie 
  that he’s ordered to do something about them. If they 
  ﬁt the ﬁrst proﬁle, he comes after them with the same 
  methods he uses on normal criminals. If the second, 
  he’s not quite so straightforward about things and tries 
  to ﬁnd some real crime the characters have commit-
  ted so he can come after them from behind the shield 
  of his police authority.
  Appearance:  Detective Lieutenant Arthur Corgan 
  is a handsome, athletic man in his early forties 
  who’s just starting to go soft. He’s 5’10” tall, weighs 
  175 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes. 
  When he’s uptown, he dresses in suits that are just 
  inexpensive enough that no one thinks anything of 
  it, but when out on the streets, he wears suits that 
  are less well tailored. He always has a pair of gloves 
  with him, just in case there’s “work” to be done.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  82 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  Membership:  The Nine Degrees is composed of 
  eight orders with 27 members and a Prince who 
  leads the order, plus one Prince in control of the 
  group for a total of 225 members. The cult con-
  stantly keeps an eye out for suitable new members, 
  but only recruits them when a current member 
  leaves the cult.
  Background/History:  The Cult of the Nine Degrees 
  is the creation of its founder and ruling Prince, 
  André von Dragonne. A former member of several 
  occult societies in Europe, von Dragonne was dis-
  inclined to devote the long years of toadying and 
  servitude necessary to reach a position of power in 
  any of them. He stole several tomes and artifacts 
  from his current master and ﬂed to America, where 
  he sold the artifacts to raise the capital to start his 
  own cult. He planned well, determined to keep his 
  organization large enough to satisfy his desire for 
  power but small enough to avoid competing with 
  larger groups. He wanted to enrich and aggrandize 
  himself, not get involved in a shadow-war with 
  other arcane organizations.
  The Cult of the Nine Degrees attracted the 
  attention of the Mystic World when it success-
  fully summoned a minor demon on the first 
  night of the full moon in 1931, bargained with 
  it, and banished it back to the Pit — and then 
  repeated the feat three months later, and again 
  three months after that. Despite the dangers 
  associated with such activities, the Cult estab-
  lished itself as a group of individuals who, while 
  willing to perform acts that were definitely evil, 
  were also smart enough to not overreach them-
  selves and call up something they could not put 
  back down. Since then, the Cult’s proven to be 
  less concerned with building a mystical power 
  base and more interested in gathering mundane 
  wealth and power — making it less of a concern 
  for those who watch over occult menaces, and 
  more of a threat for the civil authorities.
  Organization and Structure:  The Cult consists 
  of nine orders, or degrees, based on the reverse 
  angelic, or demonic, hierarchy put forth by Renais-
  sance magician Cornelius Agrippa. At the top of 
  the hierarchy, the sole occupant of the First Degree, 
  stands André von Dragonne. He leads under the 
  cult name and title of Prince Beelzebub — the 
  Pseudothei, or “False God.” “Beelzebub” is the only 
  name that any of the cult members or Princes (save 
  one) know him by. Below him are eight equal indi-
  viduals, all of whom have the title “Prince” whether 
  they’re man or woman. Each Prince leads a degree 
  of 27 cult members and has a speciﬁc responsibility 
  within the cult.
  The eight degrees and their princes are:
  The Second Degree:  The Mendoriorum, or “Spir-
  its of Lying.” They’re led by Prince Python, and 
  their job is to hide the cult’s activities and crimes. 
  They dispose of evidence, cover up crimes other 
  Degrees have committed so no traces can lead 
  authorities back to the cult, and lay trails that 
  lead individuals investigating those crimes to 
  enemies of the cult. Python is one of the two 
  female Princes.
  The Third Degree:  The Inquitatias, or “Vessels of 
  Anger.” Led by Prince Belial, they’re responsible for 
  planning the cult’s crimes. They perform the mun-
  dane research and planning needed for successful 
  robberies and break-ins, select the appropriate sac-
  riﬁces for the cult’s summoning rituals, and identify 
  possible targets for the Fifth and Ninth Degrees.
  The Fourth Degree:  The Revengers of Wickedness. 
  Under the control of Prince Asmodeus, they’re the 
  only members of the cult other than Prince Beelze-
  bub who actually deal with the occult — they assist 
  Prince Beelzebub with the cult’s genuine arcane 
  ceremonies, train themselves to recognize and 
  deal with any supernatural threats the cult might 
  encounter, and ensure that individual members are 
  trained and indoctrinated in the cult’s beliefs and 
  theological underpinnings.
  The Fifth Degree:  The Prestigiators, or “Seducers.” 
  Under the control of Prince Satan, these members 
  are responsible for recruitment. They specialize in 
  luring new members to the cult using any meth-
  ods available — from simple friendship to more 
  involved emotional, ﬁnancial, and sexual appeals. 
  There are a higher percentage of women in this 
  degree than any other.
  The Sixth Degree:  The Aerial Powers, or the “Raging 
  and Furious Powers.” Led by Prince Merizim, the 
  Sixth Degree handles transportation for the cult. 
  Merizim’s degree maintains skilled drivers, and 
  pilots, and vehicles of all sorts, for the cult’s use. It 
  also supplies a luxury car and trained driver to each 
  of the Princes, save Beelzebub.
  The Seventh Degree:  The Furies, or the “Sowers 
  of Mischief and Discord.” Controlled by Prince 
  Apollyon, the members of this degree are the true 
  soldiers of the cult. They conduct any operation 
  which requires, or may require, combat with non-
  supernatural threats, provide a personal bodyguard 
  to each Prince save Beelzebub, and stand ready to 
  defend cult properties and rituals if needed. The 
  Seventh Degree is entirely composed of men, all 
  combat veterans of the Great War.
  
  83 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  The Eight Degree:  The Criminators, or the “Culmi-
  nators, Accusers, and Spies.” Prince Astaroth and 
  the Eighth Degree are responsible for the cult’s 
  internal security. They spy on the other members 
  in both their cult and mundane lives, including 
  the princes, and ensure that they remain loyal to 
  the cult and thus to Prince Beelzebub. Astaroth is 
  the second of the two female Princes, and the only 
  Prince who knows Beelzebub’s identity.
  The Ninth Degree:  The Tempters, or the “Bad 
  Genii.” Managed by Prince Mammon, this degree 
  handles all of the cult’s ﬁnancial aﬀairs. It makes 
  and manages mundane investments using the cult’s 
  assets, fences stolen goods, arranges to purchase 
  assets in support of the cult’s goals, and disburses 
  funds to the other Degrees as needed.
  Group Relations:  While there are occasional dis-
  agreements within the cult hierarchy at the level of 
  the Princes, there are few (if any) internal conﬂicts 
  within the rank and ﬁle. The average cult member, 
  whatever his motivations for joining, belongs to an 
  organization that possess actual proof of, and con-
  trol over, the supernatural, and promises to use that 
  power for his beneﬁt when the Infernal Powers rise 
  up to claim the world as Their own. There may be 
  minor dislikes or issues between individual mem-
  bers, but they’re no more serious than those found 
  in any organization composed of over two hundred 
  individuals. Everyone’s aware of the constant scru-
  tiny of the Eighth Degree and the consequences of 
  acting against the cult’s best interests.
  Despite not knowing each other’s identities, 
  the individual Princes have a more disharmoni-
  ous relationship than the regular cultists — they 
  frequently argue over the use of cult resources, spe-
  ciﬁc spheres of authority, and the like. While none 
  of them has been foolish enough to try to oppose 
  Prince Beelzebub directly since he dealt with an 
  attempted coup by the previous Astaroth and Satan 
  in 1933 in front of the other Princes at their All 
  Hallows Eve meeting, both Python and Belial have 
  their eyes on his position.
  Even without direct opposition to Prince 
  Beelzebub, the Princes have plenty of things to 
  quarrel over. Princes Mammon, Merizim, and Belial 
  act as a group and mutually support each other in 
  council meetings, as do Princes Apollyon, Satan, 
  and Python. Asmodeus and Astaroth do not ally 
  themselves with either faction; they support which-
  ever faction best represents their interests, or stand 
  alone when neither does, but always unhesitatingly 
  side with Prince Beelzebub no matter what. Cynics 
  in both of the two main factions suggest that 
  Astaroth does so because she has a personal inter-
  est in Prince Beelzebub, one that he encourages 
  because of the information her degree provides 
  him. They’re divided on why Prince Asmodeus 
  supports Beelzebub so loyally, but most suspect 
  it’s either a strong sense of self-preservation, some 
  kind of a spell Beelzebub placed upon him, or pos-
  sibly blackmail. Beelzebub leads the cult with a ﬁrm 
  hand; he tolerates internal dissention with some-
  thing of an amused air as long as the security and 
  eﬃciency of the cult aren’t threatened.
  The Cult doesn’t have strong ties to any 
  other group or groups, and doesn’t interact 
  with other organizations. By keeping the cult’s 
  excursions into the Mystic World curtailed and 
  narrowly defined, Prince Beelzebub hopes to 
  avoid clashes with larger and more powerful 
  groups (such as the Circle of the Scarlet Moon, 
  described in Arcane Adversaries, or DEMON, fea-
  tured in the book of the same name) — clashes 
  that would inevitably lead to his group’s (and 
  his own) destruction. That same attitude also 
  prevails with regards to mundane groups. There 
  are inevitable points of contact, such as when the 
  Ninth Degree arranges for the disposal of stolen 
  goods, but they’re kept to a minimum. Most mys-
  tically-oriented groups that are aware of the Cult 
  believe it to be little more than a crime syndicate 
  wrapped in occult trappings; those who know 
  the true depth of the Cult’s involvement with the 
  Descending Hierarchy consider it to be a small 
  threat when compared to groups like the Scar-
  let Moon. Thanks to the efforts of the Second 
  Degree, the few law enforcement authorities that 
  know about the Cult consider it nothing more 
  than a bunch of loonies with distasteful, but 
  harmless, ideas.
  Tactics:  Despite any internal issues between the 
  Princes, the Cult members as a whole work very 
  well together. When they conduct an operation of 
  any kind, from researching the background of a 
  potential new member, to robbing a bank, to sac-
  riﬁcing to the Cult’s infernal masters, it’s normally 
  a well-planned and rehearsed activity. Individual 
  members from the diﬀerent Degrees are placed in 
  temporary groups to form the best team available 
  for the job, then reabsorbed back into their respec-
  tive degrees when the task is complete. The Cult’s 
  size assists with this — it’s small enough that every 
  member below the level of the Princes knows one 
  another, at least a little. Despite their concealing 
  robes, some Cult members form friendships, and 
  two couples have met and married because of their 
  involvement with the Cult.
  All situations involving mundane physical 
  conﬂict are resolved by the members of the Sev-
  enth Degree, which inevitably leads to their having 
  the highest membership turnover of any of the 
  degrees. Apollyon treats any situation within his 
  degree’s area of responsibility as a military opera-
  tion, and employs military-style tactics in resolving 
  it. His men operate in nine squads of three, with 
  members trained to support one another in a ﬁght 
  and squads trained to support other squads with 
  suppression and covering ﬁre. The Seventh Degree 
  makes use of non-military small arms, usually 
  pistols and tommy-guns, and a particularly nasty 
  type of ﬁre bomb that spreads a clinging, burning 
  chemical paste when it shatters.
  Non-physical conflicts are handled by the 
  Second Degree. Python favors blackmail over 
  other approaches to control a situation, and has 
  yet to find someone she cannot manipulate with 
  this approach. If the forces of the Third Degree 
  can find no scandal to use against an opponent, 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  84 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  she and her Degree simply manufacture one with 
  the assistance of the Fifth Degree. If they cannot 
  get leverage directly against an opponent, they 
  target his family and friends instead. Affairs, 
  framed murders, financial scandals — everyone 
  has something he cannot stand to have known, 
  or someone he’ll protect from destruction.
  Occult threats, though infrequent, do occur, 
  and protecting the Cult from them is the province 
  of the Fourth Degree. Because of the taint Cult 
  members carry on their souls, many supernatural 
  entities can detect that they’re involved in dark acts 
  and may seek to exploit that connection. Asmodeus 
  trains his Degree to watch for the tell-tale signs of 
  supernatural activity and the methods of discern-
  ing what type of opponent they face. While none 
  of them possesses actual powers, they’re all knowl-
  edgeable in the occult and know how to defend 
  themselves and others from threats such as ghosts, 
  curses, zombies, possession, werewolves, vampires, 
  and demons.
  If the Cult believes it’s encountering orga-
  nized opposition, it ﬁrst turns to Belial to gather 
  information about its adversary. Once Belial’s 
  done his job, Beelzebub turns the situation over 
  to either Apollyon or Python to resolve depend-
  ing on which approach seems the best. Beelzebub 
  will only become personally involved if it appears 
  Apollyon and Belial cannot handle the situation 
  — something they try to avoid for fear Beelzebub 
  will replace them for incompetence. This may cause 
  them to wait too long to request help and thus get 
  in over their heads. If necessary, the entire Cult can 
  mobilize to oppose a threat, but conﬂict on this 
  scale would likely mean the destruction of the Cult 
  (due to a raising of its proﬁle, if nothing else), so 
  Beelzebub will be reluctant — but not suicidally so 
  — to agree to it.
  Cult Operations:  The Cult operates much like what 
  some members of the Mystic World believe it to be:  
  a crime syndicate. It commits robberies, blackmails 
  wealthy individuals, kidnaps people for ransom, 
  and performs other crimes designed to earn a 
  proﬁt. Monies from the crimes go into the Cult’s 
  coﬀers, and from there, portions are spread among 
  the members in the form of cash or physical assets. 
  The Princes, of course, receive larger shares than 
  the rank and ﬁle, and Beelzebub gets the largest 
  share of all. Funds retained by the Cult are used to 
  expand Cult holdings and assets under the premise 
  that the more powerful the Cult is, the better it can 
  protect its members when the Descending Hierar-
  chy comes to claim mankind.
  In addition to mundane criminal activities, 
  the Cult performs actual occult ceremonies. It 
  summons a minor demon through human sac-
  rifice every ninety days, bargaining for small 
  favors in return for the soul of the sacrificial 
  victim — usually female and with no family 
  or connections to notice her absence — and a 
  chance to partake of human fleshly delights. 
  Beelzebub restricts summonings to a handful of 
  demons he’s familiar with and that are within his 
  abilities to control, but even a minor demon from 
  the Pit can grant favors and possesses powers 
  that are nothing short of miraculous to the other 
  members of the Cult. All cultists attend these 
  ceremonies unless excused by Beelzebub himself, 
  something that he’s willing to do for legitimate 
  reasons (such as not disrupting an ongoing oper-
  ation), but not for ones he considers frivolous.
  The other rituals and ceremonies the Cult con-
  ducts, both as a whole and in meetings of the indi-
  vidual degrees, reinforce the Cult’s worship of the 
  Princes their leaders represent and extol the glories 
  of the Descending Hierarchy. In the hands of some-
  one with real power or mystic talent, they would be 
  more powerful, but Beelzebub carefully prunes any 
  such people from the Cult as soon as he identiﬁes 
  them... often at the next sacriﬁcial ceremony.
  Aside from occult rituals, the Cult holds 
  monthly meetings, and each degree holds smaller 
  meetings as ordered by its Prince. Apollyon and 
  Asmodeus call meetings for training more fre-
  quently than the other Princes, and Astaroth 
  arranges to receive regular reports from her degree 
  individually to keep the spread of information 
  restricted. The Princes meet monthly at a secret 
  location owned by the Cult to plan activities and 
  report on ongoing operations; they always wear 
  their identifying robes during these meetings. Beel-
  zebub enters last, after all the others — he watches 
  their arrivals via a concealed peephole to make sure 
  they’re not planning to attack him.
  The Fourth Degree trains the membership 
  in the Cult’s ideological and theological beliefs 
  though basic indoctrination classes, as well as 
  more advanced instruction for members who wish 
  a more in-depth knowledge of the occult and the 
  Descending Hierarchy. The basic theology of the 
  Cult is this:  the Rapture has already occurred, and 
  the people who live on Earth have been abandoned 
  by the Powers of Light. The Cult points to the hor-
  rors of the Great War, the Crash of 1929, the Inﬂu-
  enza Epidemic of 1917-18, and the Great Depres-
  sion as examples of the Descending Hierarchy’s 
  toying with man. It predicts there will be more, and 
  greater, horrors to come. Loyal service to the Cult 
  will be rewarded by the Cult extending its protec-
  tion to its members and their families, shielding 
  them from the worst of the torments the Descend-
  ing Hierarchy inﬂicts on man. In practice, this is 
  accomplished through the distribution of cash gifts 
  and the exertion of Cult inﬂuence to make certain 
  that members receive promotions or better jobs, 
  access to better medical care for their families, and 
  so on. The quarterly summoning rituals, however, 
  provide a means to achieve more far-reaching 
  results (such as curing diseases and conditions 
  untreatable by current medical technology).
  The Cult holds the numbers three and nine 
  in special significance, and they tend to show 
  up in both subtle and non-subtle ways in both 
  the Cult’s plans and individual member’s lives. 
  The Cult, for example, has nine princes who fall 
  into three power blocs, the degrees all have three 
  times nine members, operations are planned 
  with either three or nine members in most cases, 
  and sacrifices are held every three months or 
  SEVENTH DEGREE  
  FIRE BOMBS
  RKA 1d6+1, Armor 
  Piercing (+½), Explo-
  sion (+½) (40 Active 
  Points); OAF (-1), Range 
  Based On STR (-¼), 6 
  Charges (-¾) (total cost:  
  13 points) plus RKA 1 
  point, Continuous (+1), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 
  END; +½), Sticky (only 
  aﬀects ﬂammables; +¼), 
  Uncontrolled (see text; 
  +½) (16 Active Points); 
  OAF (-1), Linked (-½), 
  Range Based On STR 
  (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾) 
  (total cost:  5 points). 
  Total cost:  18 points.
  Objects set aﬁre by a 
  bomb keep burning 
  until the ﬁre uses all 
  available fuel, it con-
  sumes all the available 
  oxygen, or it’s extin-
  guished by an outside 
  agency. If another ﬂam-
  mable object touches 
  the ﬂames, it too catches 
  aﬁre, spreading the 
  blaze.
  
  85 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  ninety days. Individual members may have three 
  children, or live on the ninth floor of a building, 
  or plan social events such as weddings and par-
  ties to occur on dates like the third or the eigh-
  teenth. Days or numbers divisible by both three 
  and nine are considered especially propitious.
  Cult members come from all walks of life and 
  maintain (more or less) normal lives outside their 
  Cult activities. Some regard attending ceremonies 
  the same as a normal person would attending ser-
  vices at the neighborhood church (human sacriﬁces 
  notwithstanding) and conduct many of the same 
  activities, down to the serving of home-cooked 
  meals for fellow Cult members on occasion. Within 
  the Cult, the nature of individual members varies 
  widely — doctors may ﬁnd themselves worship-
  ping next to hired killers or housewives. Some 
  degrees attract more individuals of a certain type 
  than others, though. The members of the Seventh 
  Degree, for example, all almost uniformly come 
  from the ranks of former and active-duty military 
  personnel and professional criminals. The Second 
  Degree is drawn from people with skills or posi-
  tions useful for covering up Cult activities (report-
  ers, policemen and police oﬃcials, local politicians, 
  and so forth). Members of the Ninth Degree 
  deal with ﬁnancial matters in their mundane life 
  — they’re bankers, professional fences, and stock-
  brokers. The ranks of the Fifth Degree contain indi-
  viduals who specialize in persuading others, includ-
  ing attorneys, prostitutes, and not a few members of 
  society’s higher ranks.
  During Cult rituals and ceremonies, members 
  wear black robes with an inverted cross on the 
  hood — their eyes look out from either side of the 
  long arm, and the opening of the hood’s mouth is 
  situated inside the short arm. Princes wear identi-
  cal robes, with the exception of their hoods, which 
  have a symbol appropriate to the member of the 
  Descending Hierarchy they represent. Individual 
  degrees vary as to whether they require members to 
  wear their robes at meetings. The Seventh Degree 
  never does, the Eighth Degree always does, and the 
  others vary depending on the nature of the meet-
  ing. Cultists do not wear their robes while com-
  mitting crimes, instead substituting a simple black 
  hood to conceal their identities.
  Campaign Use:  The Cult of the Nine Degrees is 
  suitable for just about any kind of story imaginable 
  — Crimebusting, Horror, Globetrotting Adven-
  ture, and more. The members commit mundane 
  crimes for the characters to solve, assemble and 
  enact conspiratorial cover-ups and plots to enrich 
  themselves, use occult powers and perform occult 
  rituals, and traﬃc in artifacts and books of arcane 
  signiﬁcance. For more fantastic-themed games, 
  they could even come into conﬂict with a super-
  natural entity or another supernatural group, creat-
  ing a supernatural counterpart to the traditional 
  gang war.
  To make the Cult more powerful, increase 
  the membership of the Cult by raising the 
  number of people in the individual degrees to 36 
  or 45, give each Prince a single mystic power tied 
  to his degree’s responsibilities, and add a distinc-
  tive power to the rank-and-file members like 
  those on pages 168-169 of The Ultimate Mystic. 
  In this case, increase Beelzebub’s power so he can 
  still dominate the Princes if need be. To weaken 
  the Cult, reduce the membership to 18 individu-
  als per degree and increase the amount of time 
  between demonic summonings.
  The Cult as a whole doesn’t Hunt characters 
  unless they make themselves into an opponent 
  that simply cannot be ignored. In that event, all the 
  degrees are marshaled against them. After the Third 
  Degree has gathered the necessary information, 
  the characters will ﬁnd not only themselves, but 
  also their friends, family, and allies, under physical, 
  ﬁnancial, social, and, if Prince Beelzebub considers 
  it necessary, spiritual, assault.
  CULT OF THE NINE  
  DEGREES PLOT SEEDS
  The characters stumble across several Cult operations 
  and mark themselves as opponents to be dealt with. 
  The members of the Third Degree start to dig into the 
  character’s backgrounds looking for leverage... and if 
  they cannot ﬁnd something, they take steps to manu-
  facture it. What do the characters do as they are, one by 
  one, blackmailed with secrets from their past, trapped 
  into situations that could ruin them, or ﬁnd their loved 
  ones so trapped — and are asked not for money or 
  favors, but to simply turn a blind eye to what appears to 
  be a group of common criminals?
  In the middle of an occult-themed adventure, a char-
  acter’s DNPC loved one or devoted Follower suddenly 
  exhibits knowledge of the occult and how to defend 
  against it that he’s never revealed before. He refuses to 
  talk about it afterwards, making excuses that would be 
  believable if his knowledge didn’t seem so in-depth. If 
  the characters persist or start to investigate, the NPC 
  begs them to stop “before it’s too late.” Under duress, 
  the NPC confesses that he joined a cult that taught him 
  the knowledge, and the Cult uses its inﬂuence to pro-
  tect him and his friends and loved ones from the dark 
  forces at work in the world. Surely, they say, the char-
  acters did not believe that all those miraculous escapes 
  from death were merely just random chance? It was 
  the power of the Cult protecting them in return for the 
  NPC’s faithful worship. Could this be true?
  Astaroth begins to suspect Python wants to establish 
  a more... personal... relationship with Beelzebub to 
  increase the power of her faction. Rather than oppose 
  her directly and create problems that might lead to a 
  power struggle, she decides to follow another course of 
  action and begins to look around for an outside solu-
  tion to the problem — the characters. Astaroth carefully 
  crafts clues that point to Python as being a professional 
  “cleaner” who covers up crimes committed by others for 
  a fee. Then she arranges for the PCs to discover the clues, 
  hoping they’ll deal with the situation for her. As a second 
  layer to the plan, she has clues pointing to Belial as the 
  plot’s instigator ready and in place.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  86 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  BEELZEBUB
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   14 DEX 
  12 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   17 INT 
  7 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   20 EGO 
  20 
  13- 
  ECV:  7
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  10 PD (6 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  10 ED (6 rED)
   3 SPD 
  6 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   8 REC 
  6
   30 END 
  1
   30 STUN 
  6 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  84
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  21 
  Calling The Fallen:  Summon one demon 
  built on up to 1,000 points, Expanded  
  Class (members of the Descending  
  Hierarchy or their minions; +½); OAF 
  Expendable Fragile Bulky Arrangement 
  (magic circle, sacriﬁcial victim, and large 
  variety of ritual implements, Very  
  Diﬃcult to obtain; -2½), Concentration  
  (½ DCV throughout casting; -½), Extra  
  Time (1 Hour; -3), Gestures (throughout 
  casting; -½), Incantations (throughout  
  casting; -½), Requires Multiple Users  
  (9 Ritualists; -1), Requires A Summoning 
  Roll (no Active Point penalty; -0),  
  Side Eﬀects (unconstrained demon can 
  attack caster; -1), Window Of Opportunity 
  (sacriﬁcial rite must be performed during  
  the proper hour, which occurs once every 
  three months; -2¼), 1 Charge (-2)  
  [1]
  5 
  Apollyon’s Shield:  Armor (6 PD/6 ED);  
  IAF (watch fob talisman; -½), Concentration  
  (0 DCV during activation; -1), Extra Time  
  (1 Minute to activate; -¾), Incantations 
  (throughout activation; -½), 1 Continuing 
  Charge lasting 1 Day (+0) 
  [1cc]
  11 
  Merizim’s Shield:  Missile Deﬂection (all  
  physical projectiles), Uncontrolled  
  (duration of 1 Turn, +1 Segment per point  
  by which the caster makes his Infernal 
  Enchantment roll; +½); IAF (enchanted  
  pocket watch; -½), Requires An Infernal 
  Enchantment Roll (-½) 
  0
  3 
  Astaroth’s Knowledge:  Detect Name 12-  
  (no Sense Group) 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Well-Connected and 12 points’ worth of 
  Contacts in business and social circles
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Leader of the Cult of Nine 
  Degrees
  20 
  Followers:  Two 150-point followers (one 
  bodyguard, one chauﬀeur) built on 75 Base 
  Points
  6 
  Money:  Wealthy
  1 
  Reputation:  important social ﬁgure and 
  occasional amateur detective 11- (in Hudson 
  City) +1/+1d6
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Persuasion, Trading, and Seduction
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Analyze Magic 12-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  2 
  Cryptography 13-; Translation Only (-½)
  2 
  Forgery (Documents) 12-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Scholar
  3 
  AK: Europe 12-
  3 
  KS: Arcane And Occult Lore 13-
  3 
  KS: The Cult Of The Nine Degrees 13-
  3 
  KS: Demonology 13-
  3 
  KS: European Mythology And Folklore 13-
  2 
  KS: The Financial World 12-
  3 
  KS: Infernal Enchantment 13-
  3 
  KS: The Mystic World 13-
  3 
  KS: Occultism 13-
  3 
  KS: The Spirit World 13-
  3 
  KS: Summoning 13-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; 
  French is native)
  4 
  Language:  Flemish (idiomatic)
  4 
  Language:  Latin (idiomatic)
  3 
  Language:  Hebrew (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  11 
  Power:  Infernal Enchantment 16-
  9 
  Power:  Summoning 15-
  3 
  PS: Summoner 12-
  3 
  PS: Black Magician 12-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  5 
  Spell Research 13-
  3 
  Trading 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  2 
  WF: Pistols, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  211
  Total Cost:  295
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Age:  40+
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  Cult Uniform (Easily 
  Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Tainted Mystic Aura 
  (Not Concealable; Always Noticed; Detect-
  able Only With Unusual Senses)
  5 
  Hunted:  Internal Cult Rivals 11- (Less Pow, 
  NCI, Watched)
  10 
  Hunted:  Infernal Masters 8- (Mo Pow; NCI; 
  Watching)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Self-Centered And 
  Amoral (Common, Total)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Deceptive 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (André 
  Von Dragonne) (Frequently, Major)
  140 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  295
  BEELZEBUB  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Beelzebub learns there 
  were other secrets 
  encoded into one of the 
  occult tomes he sold 
  years ago — secrets 
  that might aﬀect his 
  own plans. He begins 
  a quiet search for the 
  books that leads him to 
  one of the heroes (or a 
  hero’s DNPC). His ﬁrst 
  attempts at acquiring the 
  work are oﬀers through 
  discrete intermediaries 
  to purchase the volume. 
  When that fails he turns 
  to more expansive oﬀers, 
  then surreptitious theft, 
  and ﬁnally armed rob-
  bery. Can the characters 
  discern the pattern and 
  stop him from acquiring 
  the book and a greater 
  mastery of the Black 
  Arts?
  A treasure beyond 
  compare falls into 
  Beelzebub’s hands:  a 
  map leading to a spring 
  in the Amazon that 
  wipes the years from 
  anyone that bathes in 
  it... and prevents them 
  from growing old again. 
  Knowing he lacks the 
  expertise to arrange 
  and conduct an expedi-
  tion to the wilds of the 
  Amazon himself, he 
  approaches one or more 
  of the PCs and oﬀers to 
  ﬁnance an expedition if 
  they’ll help him ﬁnd the 
  spring. He explains pri-
  vately that he fears his 
  age makes him unable 
  to properly plan a future 
  with Esmeralda — with 
  the spring’s inﬂuence 
  he can be the man she 
  deserves. He’s willing 
  to share the spring with 
  them if they insist (and 
  keeps his word as long 
  as he and Esmeralda are 
  allowed to use it ﬁrst). 
  Will the characters agree 
  to make the journey 
  with Beelzebub? What 
  dangers await them?
  Continued on next page
  
  87 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  Background/History:  Patience might be a virtue, but 
  it wasn’t the strong suit of the man who’d become 
  known as André von Dragonne, a minor member 
  of one of the occult societies that ﬂourished in 
  Europe during the Roaring Twenties. Frustrated 
  with his lack of advancement in the Belgian occult 
  society he’d joined, his obvious talents overshad-
  owed by his lack of social standing, family connec-
  tions, and wealth, he determined to seek fortune 
  and position in the same place generations of Euro-
  peans had:  America. He stole a set of occult tomes 
  from his mentor, murdered the man and his wife 
  and torched their house to cover his tracks, then 
  took passage on a freighter and vanished into the 
  melting pot that was America.
  From the tomes André learned a ceremony 
  for the summoning of demons and called his 
  ﬁrst member of the Descending Hierarchy. He 
  explained his master plan to the demon:  he 
  would form a cult to worship nine Princes of the 
  Descending Hierarchy, use it to spread all manner 
  of wickedness, and then, when the time was right, 
  oﬀer up the entire cult to the Princes they served in 
  return for his own freedom from their service, leav-
  ing him with the power and wealth he desired and 
  no debts to the rulers of Hell. The demon departed, 
  laughing at André’s audacity and nerve, to con-
  sult with its masters. Three months later, after an 
  exhausting ceremony, André had his answer. He left 
  the ritual circle with a smile.
  He sold his stolen tomes for the money he 
  needed to enact his plan, invested the money in 
  stocks a demonic adviser suggested, and reaped 
  a windfall in the post-war boom of the Twenties. 
  He chose Hudson City as the site for his home 
  because it was large enough to support all of his 
  activities without notice and would do nothing but 
  grow larger in the years to come. He settled into 
  the business and social scene as if he’d been born 
  there and began laying the groundwork for the 
  Cult in the mid-Twenties. He called the ﬁrst formal 
  meeting of the Cult on the ﬁrst full moon of 1928. 
  Since then, the Cult has grown slowly but steadily, 
  and his power and wealth have grown with it. After 
  he crushed a rebellion within the Cult’s ranks two 
  years ago, he began a quiet aﬀair with the woman 
  he installed in the place of the former Prince 
  Astaroth to ensure that he maintained control over 
  the Cult’s internal security.
  While the time when he must pay his debt is 
  not yet here (and the Cult’s not yet large enough 
  to pay it in full), André can see that day coming, 
  perhaps within the next decade, and plans to ensure 
  that nothing goes wrong. He has, however, lately 
  begun to wonder if there might be a way to — 
  safely, of course — take Esmeralda with him when 
  he sacriﬁces the Cult to the Descending Hierarchy. 
  He isn’t certain that he wants to yet, but the idea 
  has a certain growing... interest... to it.
  Personality/Motivation:  In brief, Beelzebub cares for 
  nothing other than himself. If sacriﬁcing innocent 
  young women to the demons of Hell advances his 
  cause better than any other plan he can derive, then 
  that’s what he’ll do. He’s not opposed to simple, 
  legal, or morally correct plans for self-advance-
  ment; he just has no qualms about planning and 
  enacting the most heinous acts if they’re what’s 
  required to ensure his success. He’s capable of liking 
  other people, enjoying their company, and even 
  being friends with them — and then casually ruin-
  ing or killing them, if necessary. He’ll even exploit 
  his relationship with Esmeralda this way if he must, 
  though she’s perhaps the only person on Earth he’d 
  try to avoid destroying unless there was truly no 
  other choice.
  Beelzebub is deceptive by nature:  he clouds 
  the truth, hides information, and gives false impres-
  sions about himself, his actions, and his motives 
  almost without thinking. He doesn’t necessarily lie 
  while doing this — he might just reveal facts selec-
  tively — but he can spin the most elaborate fabrica-
  tions if he has to.
  Years of staring the literal denizens of Hell in 
  the face have left Beelzebub with an almost unnatu-
  ral ability to remain calm and collected in the face 
  of virtually any circumstance. He always retains 
  his composure, and strives to be suave and urbane 
  no matter what the situation. He never panics or 
  becomes overly emotional, even in situations where 
  it might be appropriate for him to do so. He hasn’t 
  lost the ability to express strong emotions; it’s just 
  diﬃcult for him to do so after he’s seen so much.
  Quote:  “In answer to your somewhat crude ques-
  tion, “What in Hell is going on here?” I must 
  answer, “Why, nothing, sir.” But if you give me a 
  moment, I’ll see what I can do to oblige you.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Beelzebub has no interest in physi-
  cal confrontation. He didn’t spend two decades 
  learning how to summon demons to get his eye 
  blackened like a common street ruﬃan. If he 
  encounters a situation as André von Dragonne and 
  he cannot resolve it using his persuasive skills, he 
  lets his bodyguard cope with any sort of physical 
  violence, withdrawing from the scene with a cool, 
  disdainful air at the ﬁrst opportunity. If pursued, 
  he instructs his chauﬀeur to lose the pursuers or 
  drive to the nearest police station. Individuals who 
  assault him publicly will be faced with the full force 
  of the law as only the wealthy and powerful can 
  focus it. If faced with violence as Beelzebub, he lets 
  Cult members shield and ﬁght for him if neces-
  sary while he retreats, trusting to the power of his 
  defensive talismans to protect him against anything 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  .38 Pistol 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Ritual and mystic paraphernalia appropriate to the situation, lighter
  While at an exclusive 
  party, André suddenly 
  doubles over in pain. 
  He recognizes the 
  symptoms as part of a 
  Voodoo attack, but has 
  no idea who’s attacked 
  him, or why. Knowl-
  edgeable characters may 
  detect subtle signs of 
  the attack, but he’ll pass 
  the incident oﬀ as a case 
  of food poisoning and 
  depart — only to con-
  tact the characters later 
  that evening and ask for 
  their assistance. Investi-
  gation reveals the culprit 
  to be from a small cult 
  of Voodoo worshipers 
  just established in the 
  area that are the focus of 
  one of Esmerelda’s ama-
  teur investigations. Will 
  the characters help save 
  Beelzebub? And what is 
  the Comtesse investigat-
  ing that brought this 
  attack about?
  Continued from last page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  88 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  that gets past his defenders. Only as an extreme last 
  resort would he attempt to shoot or stab someone.
  Lacking true talent as a spellcaster, Beelzebub 
  relies on minor gifts of power from infernal enti-
  ties, or crafts items enchanted with infernal power 
  that are bound to his will. His defensive talismans 
  are attached to the same watch chain and can be 
  taken from him with a Grab maneuver, provid-
  ing that their function can be discerned (though 
  they’re both Personal Foci). Their protection mani-
  fests subtly:  they make attacks seem to strike only 
  glancing blows or miss by inches.
  Beelzebub’s one true power is a minor gift 
  bestowed by a minion of Astaroth just before he 
  enacted the plan that led to the creation of the 
  Cult of the Nine Degrees. Whenever he invokes 
  the power, an invisible demonic spirit whispers 
  the name of the individual he’s looking at into 
  his ear. The power only functions on individuals 
  within 1” of him, but works through obstructions 
  such as masks, disguises, or the Cult’s concealing 
  robes. He normally uses the power when meeting 
  new people, but keeps what he learns secret for 
  tactical advantage.
  Campaign Use:  Beelzebub is designed to provide 
  characters with an occult and Horror-themed 
  opponent who isn’t quite what they’d expect. Calm, 
  urbane, and well-spoken, he’s about as far from the 
  traditional Pulp image of the shrill-voiced, dagger-
  waving cult leader as one can imagine. He can 
  interact with them socially and in business, even 
  befriend one or more of them or possibly share an 
  adventure with them through one of Esmeralda’s 
  “cases,” without revealing that he has a darker — lit-
  erally Satanic — side until the time is right.
  To make Beelzebub more physically powerful, 
  increase his DEX to 18, and give him a few Fencing 
  maneuvers and a sword-cane. To increase his mys-
  tical threat, add additional powers either granted 
  to him by his Infernal masters, or focused through 
  an item enchanted with his Infernal Enchantment 
  skill. To weaken him, remove Merizim’s Shield and 
  his Skill Levels.
  Beelzebub has no real interest in Hunting 
  characters unless they threaten his plans. Their 
  stopping the occasional Cult activity means 
  nothing to him, but the destruction of the Cult 
  itself is another thing entirely. If the characters 
  reach the point where he believes they’re becom-
  ing too dangerous, he’ll turn the power of the 
  Cult against them, always leading from behind 
  the scenes, never directly confronting the charac-
  ters unless forced to do so.
  Appearance:  André von Dragonne is a good-looking, 
  although more distinguished and charismatic than 
  truly handsome, man in his early forties. He stands 
  5’10” tall, and weighs 170 pounds, with piercing grey 
  eyes that remind some viewers of glacial ice, an speaks 
  with a Cultured, European accent. His black hair is 
  touched with grey at the temples. He dresses exclu-
  sively in steel grey suits, charcoal grey shirts with onyx 
  cuﬄinks, and black ties striped with silver. He wears 
  a silver pocket watch with obsidian inlay on a black 
  enameled chain. When conducting ceremonies as 
  Beelzebub, or at meetings of the Princes, he wears the 
  traditional Cult robes. The symbol on the face of his 
  hood is that of a ﬂy, with the head pointing upwards.
  THE OTHER EIGHT PRINCES
  PRINCE PYTHON
   
  8 STR 
  10 DEX 
  10 CON 
  10 BODY 
   15 INT 
  13 EGO 
  15 PRE 
  14 COM
   
  2 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   20 END 
  20 STUN
  Abilities:  Acting 12-; Conversation 12-; High 
  Society 12-; Languages:  French and German 
  (both fluent conversation); Persuasion 12-; 
  Seduction 13-; PS: Trophy Wife 13-; CK: Hudson 
  City 11-; KS: Who’s Who In Hudson City Society 
  12-; KS: Who’s Who In Hudson City Business 
  12-; KS: Cult Operations 11-; Well-Connected 
  and 10 points’ worth of Contacts in social and 
  business circles; Fringe Benefit:  Prince of Cult 
  Of the Nine Degrees; Money:  Wealthy
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Cult 
  Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Craves Power; 
  Rivalry (professional; with Beelzebub); Social Limi-
  tation:  Secret Identity (Rhonda Carroll)
  Notes:  Rhonda Carroll is the young trophy wife 
  of millionaire industrialist R.J. Carroll. She was 
  seduced into the Cult because of the power it 
  promised her, power she craves to ensure that she 
  never has to return to the poverty and helplessness 
  that were her lot before R.J. found and wooed her. 
  
  89 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  She knows the identities of Apollyon and Satan 
  and suspects the identity of Belial. The symbol on 
  the hood of her robe is a wyrm Oroboros with the 
  hood’s eye slits looking out from within the circle.
  PRINCE BELIAL
   10 STR 
  12 DEX 
  12 CON 
  10 BODY
   13 INT 
  10 EGO 
  15 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  3 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC 
   24 END 
  23 STUN
  Abilities:  Bribery 12-; Bureaucratics 12-; High 
  Society 12-; Languages:  Latin, French (both basic 
  conversation); Oratory 13-; PS: Attorney 12-; CK: 
  Hudson City 12-; KS: Hudson City Politics 12-; KS: 
  Hudson City Code 12-; KS: Contract Law 12-; Well-
  Connected and 8 points’ worth of Contacts in busi-
  ness and civic government circles; Fringe Beneﬁt:  
  Prince of Cult Of the Nine Degrees; Fringe Beneﬁt:  
  City Attorney; Fringe Beneﬁt:  License To Practice 
  Law; Money:  Well Oﬀ
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Cult 
  Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Greedy; Rivalry 
  (professional; with Beelzebub); Social Limitation:  
  Secret Identity (Forrest Barnett)
  Notes:  Forrest Barnett is the City Attorney of 
  Hudson City, giving him a degree of power over 
  the awarding of city contracts and the settlement 
  of cases brought by and against the city. He joined 
  the Cult out of greed, and having seen the wealth it 
  can generate he wants to take it over to make that 
  wealth his. He knows the identities of Merizim and 
  Mammon, but not those of any of the other Princes. 
  The symbol on the hood of his robe is two angels, 
  back to back, head down.
  PRINCE ASMODEUS
   10 STR 
  10 DEX 
  10 CON 
  10 BODY
   16 INT 
  15 EGO 
  15 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  3 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC 
   20 END 
  20 STUN
  Abilities:  Bureaucratics 12-; Cryptography 12- 
  (Translation Only); Languages:  Latin, English, 
  Greek, Arabic, German (all ﬂuent conversation); 
  Oratory 13-; PS: Professor 12-; CK: Hudson City 
  11-; CK: Paris 11-; KS: Anthropology 13-; KS: 
  Arcane And Occult Lore 8-; KS: European Folklore 
  12-; KS: Occultism 13-; 8 points’ worth of Contacts 
  in academic circles; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Prince of Cult 
  Of the Nine Degrees; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Doctorate 
  in Anthropology; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Tenure; Money:  
  Well Oﬀ
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Distinctive Feature:  
  Cult Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Obsessed 
  With The Occult; Social Limitation:  Secret Identity 
  (Dr. Aristide Vartan)
  Notes:  A respected ﬁgure in academic circles, Dr. 
  Aristide Vartan is a tenured professor in Hudson 
  City University’s Anthropology Department. He 
  was lured to the Cult by the simple process of an 
  oﬀer to let him learn the truth about the occult 
  topics he’s written so many papers on. He follows 
  Beelzebub loyally because of the knowledge he 
  gains from him. Vartan doesn’t know the identities 
  of any of the other Princes, nor does he care to. The 
  symbol on the hood of his robe is a ram’s head, with 
  the ram’s eyes as the hood’s eye openings.
  PRINCE SATAN
   12 STR 
  12 DEX 
  12 CON 
  10 BODY
   13 INT 
  13 EGO 
  13 PRE 
  14 COM
   
  3 PD 
  3 ED 
  2 SPD 
  5 REC
   24 END 
  24 STUN
  Abilities:  Bribery 12-; Bureaucratics 12-; Gambling 
  (Card Games) 12-; High Society 12-; Language:  
  Italian (idiomatic); Oratory 13-; Persuasion 13-; 
  Seduction 13-; Streetwise 13-; WF: Small Arms, 
  Blades; PS: Pimp 12-; AK: Tocacci Family Territory 
  12-; CK: Hudson City 12-; KS: Prostitution Rackets 
  12-; KS: Hudson City Underworld 12-; KS: Hudson 
  City Maﬁosi 12-; KS: The Vice World 12-; 10 points’ 
  worth of Contacts in underworld circles; Fringe 
  Beneﬁt:  Made Man; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Prince of Cult 
  Of the Nine Degrees; Money:  Well Oﬀ
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Cult 
  Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Ambitious And 
  Power Hungry; Rivalry (Professional, with other 
  Princes); Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Guill-
  ermo Vascaro)
  Notes:  One of the current up-and-comers in the 
  Tocacci mob, Guillermo “Pretty Boy” Vascaro 
  joined the Cult to advance his own and his gang’s 
  fortunes, in that order. Vascaro knows the identi-
  ties of Python and Apollyon, and secretly lusts after 
  Python. The symbol on the hood of his robe is a 
  western style dragon’s head; the dragon’s eyes are 
  the hood’s eye openings.
  PRINCE MERIZIM
   13 STR 
  13 DEX 
  13 CON 
  13 BODY
   10 INT 
  10 EGO 
  13 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  5 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC
   26 END 
  27 STUN
  Abilities:  +2d6 Hand Attack (Brawling Expertise); 
  +2 with Block, Punch, and Kick; Bribery 12-; 
  Bureaucratics 12-; High Society 12-; Language:  
  German (idiomatic); Oratory 13-; Persuasion 13-; 
  Streetwise 12-; WF: Small Arms; PS: Union Leader 
  12-; AK: New Jersey 12-; CK: Hudson City 13-; 
  KS: Union World 12-; KS: Hudson City Union 
  Politics 12-; KS: Occultism 11-; KS: Nazi Ideology 
  11-; 6 points’ worth of Contacts in labor union 
  and transportation; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Union Leader; 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Prince of Cult Of the Nine Degrees; 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Cult 
  Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Nazi 
  Cause; Rivalry (Professional, with other Princes); 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (as German spy)
  Notes:  Fred Mannheim leads the Hudson City 
  transportation unions, making him one of the guys 
  everyone wanting to move anything through the 
  city must deal with. He’s also a German spy. Unlike 
  the other Princes, he didn’t join for reasons of 
  personal advancement, but to gather information 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  90 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  for Germany and seek to twist the Cult to serve 
  German ends. The symbol on the hood of his robe 
  is a cloud with two eyes of ﬂame.
  PRINCE APOLLYON
   15 STR 
  14 DEX 
  15 CON 
  13 BODY
   10 INT 
  10 EGO 
  13 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  7 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  6 REC
   30 END 
  29 STUN
  Abilities:  +2 with Ranged Combat; Dirty Inﬁghting 
  (Block, Disarm, Punch, and Throw); Bureaucrat-
  ics 12-; Climbing 12-; High Society 12-; Language:  
  German and French (both ﬂuent conversation); 
  Demolitions 12-; Stealth 12-; Tactics 13-; Team-
  work 12-; WF: Small Arms, Blades; PS: Soldier 12-; 
  AK: United States 12-; CK: Hudson City 12-; KS: 
  Famous Battles Of History 12-; KS: Military/Mer-
  cenary/Terrorist World 12-; KS: Army Regulations 
  12-; 8 points’ worth of Contacts in military circles; 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Military Rank (Army Captain); 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Prince of Cult Of the Nine Degrees; 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Cult 
  Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Sadist; Rivalry 
  (Professional, with other Princes); Social Limita-
  tion:  Secret Identity (Captain John Engle)
  Notes:  Stationed at Fort Houke 30 miles outside 
  Hudson City, Captain Engle is in charge of training 
  for the men stationed there. His methods are harsh 
  and not for the weak, but he produces men who 
  know how to work together and ﬁght as a team. He 
  trains the members of the Seventh Degree the same 
  way. A closet sadist, Engle’s reasons for joining the 
  Cult have as much to do with it allowing him an 
  outlet for his darker urges as any wealth it brings 
  him. He knows the identities of Princes Python 
  and Satan. The symbol on the hood of his robe is a 
  locust, head down.
  PRINCE ASTAROTH
   
  8 STR 
  13 DEX 
  13 CON 
  10 BODY
   13 INT 
  13 EGO 
  15 PRE 
  18 COM
   
  4 PD 
  3 ED 
  3 SPD 
  5 REC
   26 END 
  22 STUN
  Abilities:  +2 to PER Rolls with all Sense Groups; 
  Acting 13-; Conversation 13-; Criminology 13-; 
  Deduction 13-; High Society 12-; Languages:  Span-
  ish, Italian, and French (all ﬂuent conversation); 
  Stealth 13-; Shadowing 12-; Seduction 13-; WF: 
  Pistols; PS: Actress 12-; PS: Socialite 13-; PS: Singer 
  13-; CK: Hudson City 13-; AK: Hudson City 13-; 
  KS: Cult Of The Nine Degrees 13-; KS: Entertain-
  ment World 12-; KS: Hudson City Society 12-; KS: 
  Mystic World 11-; KS: Occultism 12-; 6 points’ 
  worth of Contacts in entertainment and social 
  circles; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Comtesse; Fringe Beneﬁt:  
  Prince of Cult Of the Nine Degrees; Money:  Well 
  Oﬀ; Reputation:  former actress/widowed socialite 
  turned amateur detective 11- (in Hudson City and 
  the Entertainment World) +1/+1d6
  75+ Disadvantages:  Distinctive Feature:  Cult 
  Robes; Psychological Limitation:  Devoted To Beel-
  zebub; Rivalry (Professional, with other Princes); 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Comtesse 
  Esmeralda de Pléaux)
  Notes:  An actress with a minor but memorable 
  career in musicals in the mid-to-late Twenties, 
  Esmeralda left the silver screen when she met and 
  married a French nobleman, the Comte de Pléaux, 
  in 1928. Widowed a year later by an airplane crash, 
  she became a ﬁxture in Hudson City society. She 
  soon turned to amateur detective work to relieve 
  her boredom and loneliness, a career that led her 
  to meet André and fall in love with him in the early 
  Thirties. She joined the Cult to assist and protect 
  him, hoping to draw him back from the dark-
  ness she sees as having trapped him. She knows 
  the identities of all the other Princes. The symbol 
  on the hood of her robe is a coiled serpent with a 
  crown of ﬂames.
  PRINCE MAMMON
   10 STR 
  10 DEX 
  11 CON 
  10 BODY
   14 INT 
  12 EGO 
  14 PRE 
  10 COM
   
  2 PD 
  2 ED 
  2 SPD 
  4 REC
   22 END 
  21 STUN
  Abilities:  Bribery 13-; Bureaucratics 13-; High 
  Society 12-; Languages:  German and French (both 
  ﬂuent conversation); PS: Financier 13-; PS: Banker 
  13-; Trading 13-; CK: Hudson City 12-; KS: Cabal 
  Activities 12-; KS: Cult Activities 11-; KS: High 
  Finance 12-; KS: The Business World 12-; KS: The 
  Banking Industry 13-; Well-Connected and 10 
  points’ worth of Contacts in legal and illegal busi-
  ness circles; Fringe Beneﬁt:  Prince in the Cult of 
  the Nine Degrees; Money:  Wealthy
  75+ Disadvantages:  Age:  40+; Hunted:  Logan Adams 
  8-; Distinctive Feature:  Cult Robes; Psychological 
  Limitation:  Amoral and Greedy; Rivalry (profes-
  sional; with other Cult Princes and Cabal Council 
  Members); Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (James 
  Hunt/Prince Of The Cult Of The Nine Degrees)
  Notes:  One of the few independent banking mag-
  nates to survive 1929, Hunt has ﬁnancial interests 
  all over the United States. He recovered from the 
  Crash through a series of investments his fellow 
  Cabal members considered nothing short of 
  miraculous. He’s the only member of the Cult Of 
  The Nine Degrees to belong to another conspirato-
  rial group — the Cabal (see page 68) — but he uses 
  the Cult’s inﬂuence to expand his personal wealth 
  in ways the Cabal won’t allow or approve. His dual 
  membership has not caused a conﬂict of interest... 
  yet. He joined the Cult purely as a way to further 
  increase his wealth, and cares nothing for what it 
  does as long as he keeps getting richer. The symbol 
  on the hood of his robe is a pile of gold coins 
  wreathed in ﬂame.
  
  91 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  Membership:  Five members out of an original six, 
  each with a nickname that in some way reﬂects his 
  deformity:  Big Frank, The Corpse, Nails, Hunch, 
  and Scareyes.
  Background/History:  The Frankenstein Mob was 
  born as an idea in the mind of Big Frank on a fog-
  shrouded bridge as he contemplated throwing him-
  self oﬀ into the mist and the waters below. Trapped 
  in a body that was betraying him, isolated from 
  his chosen profession and his family, he felt he had 
  nowhere to go but down — until he watched a car 
  swerve to avoid him as its headlights illuminated 
  his hideous features. He suddenly realized there 
  was somewhere else to go, a place he could acquire 
  the money he needed to support his family, where 
  his features would be an asset, not a hindrance:  the 
  underworld. He studied his new profession care-
  fully, recruited others with useful skills that were 
  going to waste because of ailments or deformities 
  beyond their control, and embarked on a new life.
  The Mob started small, with six members. 
  Waxman (a former actor aﬄicted with a skin disease 
  that made his ﬂesh appear to “run”), the sixth and last 
  to join, was ejected in 1933 when he wouldn’t stop 
  challenging Big Frank’s decisions. The remaining ﬁve 
  proved successful enough as a group that by 1935 
  they were well-known in criminal circles but few law 
  enforcement ones (thanks to Big Frank’s policy of not 
  taking ﬂashy, public jobs). The Mob’s best at persua-
  sion through terror — getting people to do whatever 
  the Mob’s employer wants through a program of fear, 
  intimidation, and injury — but also performs robber-
  ies, and would even murder for hire if it felt it could 
  get away with it and there wasn’t much chance of 
  someone seeking revenge.
  Organization And Structure:  Big Frank runs the Mob 
  with a ﬁrm — but not brutal — hand. He’ll listen 
  to suggestions and ideas while an operation’s in the 
  planning stages, but once the plan is set, he allows 
  no improvisation except at his command. The other 
  four follow his orders with minimal complaint (if 
  Big Frank places one of them in charge of part of 
  an operation, they defer to the temporary leader). 
  Big Frank knows his people, and never assigns 
  them to tasks they cannot accomplish or that they 
  have personal objections to.
  Group Relations:  The Mob is small enough that the 
  members all know each other well, and in many 
  ways they act more like a family unit than a crimi-
  nal group. The nature of their various deformities 
  and ailments has cut them oﬀ from mainstream 
  society, so they’ve grown to depend on each other 
  to replace those lost bonds. As a result, they’re 
  strongly loyal to one another, with only a few points 
  of contention — mostly centered on Nails. Hunch 
  and The Corpse are both in love with her and 
  compete for her attentions in small ways when the 
  group is not actively working, but neither of them 
  wants to make an overt move and ﬁnd himself on 
  the receiving end of one of Nails’s ﬁts (or, perhaps 
  worse, ejected from the group as a disruptive inﬂu-
  ence). The group as a whole is protective of Nails, 
  regarding her as the only member of the “family” 
  who has a chance at rejoining mainstream society, 
  and this sometimes causes issues with the planning 
  and execution of missions.
  While working, the Mob’s members try to 
  conduct themselves as professionally as possible... 
  though some of them are better at that than others. 
  The Corpse, with his military background, is usu-
  ally disciplined and eﬃcient, while Nails is the 
  worst of the lot. Most of the members will abandon 
  their current assignment to assist or save another 
  member who’s seriously threatened, and all of them 
  will react with violence to anyone seriously harm-
  ing one of the Mob.
  The Frankenstein Mob’s relations with other 
  organizations are distant at best. Most of the indi-
  viduals or groups that have employed them are 
  uncomfortable with the Mob on a personal level no 
  matter how much they respect them professionally. 
  The Mob rarely has to look for employment, and 
  never for long, but it has only a few repeat custom-
  ers. The Mob avoids taking contracts that require 
  it to come into opposition with large groups (or 
  powerful individuals with violent reputations), 
  which limits its job market somewhat but keeps it 
  safe from acts of reprisal. Once hired, the Mob is 
  loyal to its employer for the duration of its contract, 
  unless it discovers it was set up or lied to.
  Tactics:  While on a mission, the Mob follows the 
  guidelines Big Frank worked out when he ﬁrst 
  decided to go into crime. For a normal contract, 
  where the Mob only has to persuade someone to do 
  something, the “Mobsters” study their target (often 
  with the assistance of private detectives who never 
  know who they’re really working for). Once Big 
  Frank has determined the best avenue of approach, 
  they follow a standard course of action:  isolate 
  the target; threaten verbally; threaten with force 
  against property; threaten with non-lethal force 
  against individuals; threaten with deadly force. The 
  Corpse, Big Frank, and Hunch are all intimidat-
  ing enough to settle most contracts without going 
  further than step two. Other tactics that work well 
  include:  a visit from Scareyes to the target in a dark 
  house where the power’s been cut; Nails slicing up 
  clothing or clipping oﬀ bits of hair from a target; 
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  92 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  revealing that Hunch has been visiting the target’s 
  children and reading them stories at night; or 
  having The Corpse call the target on the phone at 
  odd hours with his ruined voice.
  In combat, the Mob tries hard to keep the 
  situation under control and in close quarters, 
  since only The Corpse has any real skill in 
  Ranged Combat. Big Frank takes the lead and 
  directs the Mob when possible. The Corpse gets 
  behind cover and provides support fire for the 
  others, particularly Nails and Big Frank. Big 
  Frank assists where he can with either his pistol 
  or direct attacks that use his Strength to best 
  advantage (such as pushing things over on oppo-
  nents to pin them or grabbing them to hold for 
  another member to strike). Hunch tries to close 
  on an opponent to use his strangling skills to 
  best effect, or teams up with another member of 
  the Mob to finish off a pinned opponent. Scar-
  eyes tries to use any darkness available to negate 
  his weakness versus Ranged attacks and attacks 
  with his sword-cane. Nails uses her claws spar-
  ingly and tries to trip, push, or shove opponents 
  unless or until she’s frightened, injured, or suf-
  fers one of her fits, in which case she attacks the 
  nearest opponent, ripping at him until he drops. 
  The other members of the Mob will stay out of 
  her way and do their best to keep her from being 
  injured until the fit passes.
  Campaign Use:  The Mob makes an interesting 
  diversion from the normal opponents in a Pulp 
  Hero game in that they’re not out to take over the 
  world, steal expensive items, or kill hundreds of 
  innocents to accomplish a goal. They normally just 
  want their targets to do one certain thing and then 
  they’ll leave them alone. Their emphasis on defor-
  mity, fear, and abnormality makes them suitable for 
  plenty of diﬀerent types of adventures, including 
  Crimebusting, Horror, and Weird Menace.
  The Mob is already strong in close-in 
  combat, so to make it more dangerous, add 
  another member who has skill with Ranged 
  Combat. To weaken the Mob, remove a member, 
  probably The Corpse or Nails, and/or reduce the 
  individual members’ abilities.
  The Mob only Hunts characters if contracted 
  to do so by an employer, or if the characters kill or 
  harm one or more of the members. It uses the same 
  procedure outlined above.
  THE FRANKENSTEIN  
  MOB PLOT SEEDS
  The classic Frankenstein Mob plot:  someone, some-
  where, wants one of the characters to do something, 
  and contracts with the Mob to make it happen. The 
  characters may notice that they’re being followed 
  and observed, but the private detectives doing the 
  legwork can’t help them as they never actually meet 
  the individual who hires them, just speak to him on 
  the phone. Even if the characters stop the detectives, 
  sooner or later the Mob starts to make its move. 
  What do the characters do when faced with threats 
  that strike at their darkest fears?
  Someone claiming to represent Dr. Fang contacts 
  the Mob and oﬀers to cure them of their various 
  aﬄictions if they will undertake one mission for 
  the Demon Doctor:  the terror-induced murder of 
  a United States Senator. Big Frank is sorely tempted, 
  as are most of the others, but Nails ﬁnds the idea so 
  repugnant that she secretly contacts the characters 
  to stop the crime, promising to tell them everything 
  she knows if the characters promise not to hurt or 
  capture the other members of the Mob. Will the 
  characters agree? Is Dr. Fang really behind the plot, 
  or is someone else using his name to set the Mob up 
  for the crime?
  One of the characters makes a new friend while 
  sparring at the gym — another boxer of similar size 
  and superﬁcial appearance who works at the Italian 
  embassy. The man is a thief in his spare time and has 
  stolen a valuable ruby from an important family. The 
  family knows only that the thief is of such-and such 
  a size and build and boxes well, and that he left a 
  torn receipt from a speciﬁc gym behind in a struggle 
  with the family patriarch. The family hires the Fran-
  kenstein Mob to regain the ruby and teach the thief 
  a lesson — but the Mob identiﬁes the wrong man as 
  the thief. Can the characters convince the Mobsters 
  that they’ve made a mistake?
  
  93 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  DR. FRANKLIN “BIG FRANK” PESCARELLI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   20 STR 
  10 
  13- 
  Lift 400 kg; 4d6 [4]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   16 INT 
  6 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   4 COM 
  -3 
  10-
   8 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   5 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  8 ED (3 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   40 END 
  0
   35 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  86
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  20 
  Hands Like Hams:  HA +4d6; Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END:  +½); Hand-To- 
  Hand Attack (-½) 
  [0]
  13 
  I Know What Frightens You:  Telepathy  
  8d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);  
  Extra Time (1 Week; -4½), Character  
  Must Closely Study Subject’s History,  
  Movements, And Responses To Situations 
  During Activation Period (-½), May Only 
  Learn The Target’s Fears (-1),  Does Not 
  Provide Mental Awareness (-¼), Requires A 
  Deduction Roll (-½) plus Telepathy +6d6, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); same 
  Limitations as above, plus Only To Achieve 
  +20 “Target Cannot Detect  
  Telepathy” Modiﬁer (-½) 
  0
  10 
  Damaged Nerve Endings:  Physical  
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25%;  
  Stun Only (-½) 
  [0]
  9 
  Damaged Nerve Endings:  Armor  
  (3 PD/3 ED) 
  [0]
  5 
  I’ve Seen Scarier Things:  +10 PRE; Only  
  To Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  License To Practice Medicine
  2 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 HTH
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Deduction 12-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  2 
  CK: Houston 11-
  2 
  CK: Hudson City 11-
  3 
  KS: The Medical World 12-
  3 
  Paramedics 12-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  2 
  PS: Physician 11-
  4 
  PS: Psychologist 13-
  2 
  SS: Medicine 11-
  4 
  SS: Psychology 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  126
  Total Cost:  212
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Acromegalic (Conceal-
  able With Eﬀort; Causes Major Reaction 
  [fear])
  25 
  Dependent NPC:  Wife And Children 
  8- (Incompetent; Unaware Of Character’s 
  Criminal Career; Group DNPC)
  5 
  Hunted:  private detective hired by his wife 
  8- (Less Pow, Find)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Large Hands (-2 to 
  OCV with ﬁrearms and to DEX-based rolls 
  involving ﬁne manipulation) (Infrequently, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Protective Of His 
  Family (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fascinated By The 
  Causes And Mechanisms Of Fear (Common, 
  Strong)
  32 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  212
  Background/History:  Franklin Pescarelli was on top 
  of the world. He was young, handsome, had a wife 
  and two beautiful daughters, and owned the most 
  successful private sanatorium in the southwestern 
  US. The wealthy and powerful came to him in 
  droves to rest, recuperate, and let Dr. Pescarelli help 
  them overcome the fears and anxieties that preyed 
  on their minds. His success rate was phenomenal, 
  and his patients sang his praises to their friends, 
  bringing him more patients and more success.
  And then came the day his wedding ring didn’t 
  ﬁt any more. Frank immediately tested himself to 
  ﬁnd out why. He learned he had acromegaly, a pitu-
  itary glandular ailment that caused uncontrolled 
  growth in extremities, distorted its victims’ faces, 
  and ultimately killed them after making them 
  into sideshow freaks. He agonized about telling 
  his family, but after a simple test when he showed 
  his youngest daughter a picture of someone in the 
  advanced stages of the disease and so terriﬁed her 
  that she didn’t sleep well for nights, he knew what 
  he had to do.
  He arranged for the sale of the sanatorium, 
  shifted the money into a trust fund to care for his 
  family, wrote a letter to his wife explaining that he 
  had to leave but would be in touch with her as soon 
  as possible... and vanished. He wandered the West 
  Coast for a time, writing letters and making calls 
  until his voice changed too much and his ﬁngers 
  could no longer hold the pen correctly. His wife, 
  desperate to ﬁnd him, hired private detective after 
  private detective, but Frank avoided them all.
  Then came the Crash and the destruction of 
  the securities that were the basis of his family’s trust 
  fund. His wife had to take a job as a nurse to support 
  the children, and Frank, despondent over his inability 
  BIG FRANK  
  PLOT SEEDS
  The private detective 
  Big Frank has watching 
  his family reports that 
  his wife is packing up 
  his family and appears 
  to be planning to move 
  — to Hudson City. Frank 
  is torn between relief 
  at being able to see his 
  family more easily and 
  worry that their proxim-
  ity will sooner or later 
  reveal the truth about 
  him and his condition 
  to them. He grows more 
  anxious when he discov-
  ers his wife has taken a 
  job working for a com-
  pany owned by one of the 
  Mob’s previous targets. 
  Big Frank hires someone 
  he knows he can trust 
  to keep his word — a 
  PC — through the mail 
  to ﬁnd out what’s going 
  on. Is it a coincidence, 
  or has his former target 
  learned something Big 
  Frank doesn’t want him 
  to know? What might the 
  character learn that could 
  prompt a visit from Big 
  Frank and the Mob?
  Big Frank’s acromegaly 
  begins to advance 
  more quickly than he 
  expected, making him 
  desperate to ﬁnd a cure 
  (or at least a treatment 
  that slows it down). He 
  hides the advancing 
  condition from the rest 
  of the Mob and begins 
  to research cures he 
  would never have con-
  sidered, leaving behind 
  him a trail of broken 
  and battered quacks and 
  con men as he looks for 
  someone who can help 
  him. Can the characters 
  ﬁgure out what’s hap-
  pening and catch up 
  with him before some-
  one is killed... or worse 
  yet, Big Frank turns to 
  the likes of Dr. Jennings 
  Petrie for a cure?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  94 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  to help them, found himself standing on a bridge in 
  Hudson City, looking through the fog at the waters 
  below him and thinking it would be so much easier 
  to just step oﬀ and end it all. Then a car pulled up, the 
  driver obviously about to ask if he needed help — and 
  swerved away as Frank’s distorted features were illu-
  minated in the headlights.
  Frank suddenly realized there was still a way to 
  provide for his family. He couldn’t be a doctor or help 
  people like he’d done before — but he could scare 
  them. Someone, he knew, would pay good money to 
  know what scared people... or to have them scared. 
  And no one knew more about fear than Frank.
  Personality/Motivation:  Big Frank’s primary moti-
  vation is to protect and provide for his family 
  — including protecting them from himself and his 
  appearance. He’ll do anything, even kill or pervert 
  his medical skills, to keep them safe. He’s adopted 
  the Mobsters as a surrogate family and protects 
  them too, although not quite so obsessively as he 
  shields his wife and children. In small ways he tries 
  to help them learn to accept and deal with their 
  fears — he remembers being a healer instead of a 
  monster, and wants to give them the best chance he 
  can to have a normal life after he’s gone.
  Big Frank’s other interest is his study of, and 
  fascination with, fear. He knows his own fears, but 
  the fears of others, the dark little terrors that hide 
  inside the minds of the people around him, attract 
  him like a candleﬂame attracts a moth. He likes to 
  talk about fear and the changes it causes in people, 
  and will do so if given the opportunity, dissect-
  ing the most horriﬁc terrors with a calm, clinical 
  detachment.
  Quote:  “A little fear is a healthy thing, my friend. 
  Here, have a second helping.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Although a large and powerful 
  man, Big Frank depends on brute strength to get 
  the job done in a ﬁstﬁght. His outsized hands can 
  deliver punishing blows, and his desensitized skin 
  and nerves keep him from feeling much pain. In a 
  ﬁght, he closes to the target who appears the least 
  likely to withstand much punishment, hits him 
  until he drops, and then moves to the next most 
  fragile opponent. He knows how to use a gun and 
  will if he has to, but most ﬁrearms require adjust-
  ments before he can use them properly with his 
  outsized hands, so he rarely caries one unless 
  he thinks he’ll need it and The Corpse has had a 
  chance to modify it for him.
  Big Frank’s true genius is discovering the root 
  causes of a person’s phobias and anxieties. With 
  suﬃcient research material and a week’s intensive 
  study, he can make accurate, penetrating guesses 
  about a person’s fears. He used to employ that 
  knowledge to devise treatments for his patients, 
  but he now turns his ability to darker uses:  once 
  he identiﬁes what scares an opponent, he exploits 
  that fear to persuade him to doing whatever his 
  employer wants done.
  Campaign Use:  Big Frank is an example of the Pulp 
  adage that the outer man reﬂects the inner man. 
  The changes in his appearance brought on by his 
  aﬄiction have twisted him, turning him towards 
  deeds and paths he’d never have considered before, 
  slowly making him into the monster he appears 
  to be. Scenarios that involve him will likely also 
  force the PCs to confront the things they fear (and 
  might serve as an impetus to buy oﬀ or buy down 
  a Psychological Limitation). He’d even work for a 
  character to identify the inner fears of a villain if 
  the price was right.
  It’s quite possible the heroes could redeem Big 
  Frank — he’s not really a hardened criminal (yet), 
  just a man driven to desperate acts by despair over 
  the changes to his appearance. He’d much rather be 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As necessary for the current job
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  A series of women have 
  been attacked near the 
  waterfront. No one has 
  been seriously hurt 
  — yet — but it’s only 
  a matter of time. The 
  man they all describe 
  certainly sounds like Big 
  Frank:  big and looming, 
  huge hands, distorted 
  features, a deep voice 
  — except that Big Frank 
  knows he’s not the man 
  doing it. What will he do 
  to prove his innocence 
  and keep his reputation 
  in the underworld from 
  being besmirched — or 
  better yet, how can he 
  get the characters to do 
  it for him?
  Continued from last page
  
  95 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  a doctor again if he could, and if given a chance to 
  ﬁx his features would gladly take it unless the risk 
  was so great he was afraid he might not be around 
  to support his family anymore. He’d also want the 
  rest of the Mob to get help, too; it’s his responsibil-
  ity to look out for them. If the PCs help him and his 
  friends, he’ll become their valuable ally for life.
  To make Big Frank more dangerous, increase 
  his STR to 25 and his SPD to 4, improve his 
  Damage Reduction to 50%, and/or decrease the 
  amount of time he has to spend in research to dis-
  cern a target’s fears. To weaken him, eliminate his 
  Damage Reduction and his Armor, and increase the 
  needed research time to two weeks.
  Big Frank wouldn’t Hunt a character outside 
  of a Mob contract unless he felt the character was 
  endangering his family somehow, or if he found 
  someone who seems to be completely fearless. In 
  the ﬁrst case, he’ll do whatever he must to eliminate 
  the threat to his family, if possible using his knowl-
  edge of the target’s fears to ensure success. In the 
  second situation, he’d want to subject the target to 
  all sorts of involuntary (or even voluntary) experi-
  ments to test their courage.
  Appearance:  Big Frank is a tall, powerful man 
  standing 6’3”and weighing 225 pounds; he has 
  black hair and blue eyes. His features are distorted 
  by the disease from which he suﬀers:  his hands and 
  feet are abnormally large; his jaw line has length-
  ened and thickened; and his forehead has grown 
  heavy, almost Neanderthalic, in appearance. His 
  teeth are too widely spaced thanks to jaw growth, 
  and his voice has a deep, hollow booming quality 
  thanks to alterations in his throat and sinus cavities. 
  He dresses in ill-ﬁtting, inexpensive clothing, with a 
  fedora jammed down on his head and a coat to try 
  and disguise his appearance.
  NED “THE CORPSE” MADDEN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 3d6 [3]
   17 DEX 
  21 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   4 COM 
  -3 
  10-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  13 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12 
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  70
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  90 
  Mowing ’Em Down:  Area Of Eﬀect  
  (8” Radius; +1½) and Selective (+¼) for  
  any Autoﬁre ﬁrearm built on up to 90  
  Active Points, Reduced Endurance  
  (0 END; +½); OIF (any Autoﬁre ﬁrearm 
  of opportunity; -½), Must Use Maximum 
  Number Of Autoﬁre Shots And Can Hit 
  Only One Target Per Shot (-¼), Not  
  While Targeting (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Oh Dear God!:  +15 PRE; Only To Make 
  Oﬀensive Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  4 
  Knows How To Make An Entrance:   
  Teleportation 6”; Requires A Stealth Roll  
  (-½), Only To “Vanish” When No One Is 
  Looking (-½), Can Only Teleport To  
  Places The Character Could Normally  
  Go (-½), No Noncombat Multiple (-¼) 
  1
   
  Skills
  8 
  +4 OCV with Thompson SMGs
  8 
  Covering Fire:  +5 OCV; Only With Autoﬁre 
  (-1), Only To Counteract Suppression Fire 
  OCV Penalties (-1)
  5 
  Accurate Sprayﬁre
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  5 
  Concentrated Sprayﬁre
  3 
  Fast Draw (Firearms) 12-
  2 
  KS: US Army 11-
  5 
  KS: Famous Plays 14-
  3 
  Mechanics 11-
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  5 
  Rapid Attack (Ranged)
  5 
  Rapid Autoﬁre
  5 
  Shadowing 12-
  5 
  Skipover Sprayﬁre
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Tactics 11-
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, General Purpose/Heavy 
  Machine Guns
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  184
  Total Cost:  254
  NED  
  “THE CORPSE” 
  MADDEN  
  PLOT SEEDS
  The Corpse learns that 
  one of his old rivals on 
  the stage — a man with 
  inferior acting skills 
  — is coming to Hudson 
  City as part of a success-
  ful touring company... 
  in a role Ned pioneered. 
  Enraged, he writes a 
  series of letters to his old 
  rival, threatening dire 
  consequences if he per-
  forms in Hudson City. 
  When his rival calls Ned 
  out for a face-to-face 
  meeting on stage, what 
  will The Corpse do?
  While out on a job, Ned 
  discovers that a local 
  union leader, Fredrich 
  Mannheim, is secretly 
  spying for the Germans 
  — the same people 
  who made him into a 
  monster. Rather than 
  turn him in, he follows 
  Mannheim to several 
  Bund meetings and 
  identiﬁes as many mem-
  bers as he can. Once he 
  thinks he’s got enough 
  of the rats identiﬁed, he 
  declares hunting season 
  open and starts to mow 
  them down one by one 
  the same way he did the 
  German soldiers that 
  he fought back in the 
  War, saving Mannheim 
  for last. Suddenly the 
  Frankenstein Mob and 
  the Cult of the Nine 
  Degrees are at war....
  Finally fed up with Big 
  Frank’s restrictions, 
  Ned walks out on the 
  Mob and starts a new 
  career as a torpedo-
  for-hire. He’s highly 
  skilled, lethal, and very 
  expensive — and he 
  doesn’t care who he’s 
  hired to kill. When 
  one of the characters’ 
  enemies sends him after 
  them and the lead starts 
  ﬂying, what are they 
  going to do?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  96 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Distinctive Features:  corpselike appearance 
  and ruined voice (Concealable With Eﬀort; 
  Causes Extreme Reaction [fear])
  20 
  Enraged:  when someone mocks his appear-
  ance (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Considers Himself 
  A Monster (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Only Finds Solace 
  In Violence (Common Strong)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Appearance Prevents A 
  Normal Life (Occasionally, Minor)
  10 
  Vulnerability:  2 x BODY from Gases 
  (Uncommon)
  94 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  254
  Background/History:  The Madden family of actors 
  had been the toast of the American theatre for 
  almost a hundred years when young Ned Madden 
  made his Broadway debut in 1914. Tall, attractive, 
  suave, debonair, and talented, Ned 
  was hailed as the rising young star 
  of the stage, the Edmund Kean of his 
  day. Each performance was sold out, 
  each new role seemed to have been 
  created especially for him.
  When the Great War began he 
  bravely signed up and shipped out for 
  France. In the trenches he learned he 
  was as much an artist with the rhythm 
  of a Thompson submachine gun as he 
  was with the Bard’s iambic pentam-
  eter. Killing came as easily to him as 
  the rhymes of Gilbert and Sullivan.
  Then Ned became the star attrac-
  tion of his own personal freak show. 
  He and his men were ordered to take 
  out a machine gun nest guarding a 
  crossroad necessary for the Allied 
  advance. Under cover of darkness, 
  the doughboys crept close enough to 
  the nest to lob in grenades, intending 
  to cut down any survivors with their 
  machine guns. It was a good plan. But 
  like all plans, it didn’t survive contact 
  with the enemy.
  The machine gun emplacement 
  was guarding not only the crossroad, 
  but also a cache of experimental toxic 
  gas. When the grenades exploded, so 
  did the gas canisters. The billowing 
  yellow clouds rolled down across Ned 
  and his fellow soldiers, burning their 
  skin, eating away at their ﬂesh, scald-
  ing their lungs. The last sound Ned heard was his 
  friends screaming.
  Ned awakened in a base hospital wrapped in 
  bandages like an Egyptian mummy. He could hear 
  the nurses talking quietly and their words horriﬁed 
  him. “I hear he was a famous actor. He won’t be on 
  stage any longer, not looking like that.” “I saw him 
  when they brought him in; I’ve never seen anything 
  like that — not even burn patients.” “The doctors 
  say he doesn’t have much of a chance; it might be a 
  blessing if he didn’t pull through.”
  But Ned did pull through. Day by day he grew 
  stronger, healing almost through force of will. 
  Determined to return to his life, Ned fought the 
  infections, the weakness, the pain. Within a week 
  he was taking his ﬁrst tenuous steps. His throat raw, 
  he never spoke above a whisper, but the doctors 
  assured him his voice would return. And then they 
  removed the bandages.
  When the nurse fainted, Ned knew his life would 
  never be the same. The doctors refused to allow him 
  to see a mirror, but he knew. Years of applying make-
  up had taught his ﬁngers to see his face as clearly 
  as his eyes, and his ﬁngers told him his once-hand-
  some face, was now a ruin. His skin was shriveled, his 
  eyebrows patchy and his nose.... his nose was gone, 
  the cartilage and skin burned away leaving only two 
  naked holes feeding air into his sinuses. He looked like 
  a corpse... and yet he lived.
  Ned returned to the United States and 
  attempted to pick up his life. His career, of course, 
  was gone. He couldn’t go back to the stage; no one 
  could stand to look at him. He couldn’t even do 
  voice work; the doctors had been mistaken, his 
  voice was also ruined. The only work he found was 
  what the Army had trained him for — violence. He 
  hired out as muscle, both to terrorize and to hurt 
  people. And he found he enjoyed it.
  He wandered from town to town, and one day 
  found himself in a small bar in Hudson City. When 
  he approached the bar to order his drink, one of 
  the patrons snarled, “Go sit with the other freak in 
  the back.” Taking his beer, Ned did just that. The 
  “other freak” was a tall man with an elongated jaw 
  and huge hands, the ﬁrst person who had looked 
  Ned square in the face without shuddering since 
  his injury. He introduced himself as Dr. Frank Pes-
  carelli and, after talking to Ned for several hours, 
  made him an oﬀer.
  Personality/Motivation:  Ned hates almost everyone... 
  and himself more than anyone else. The only joy he 
  gets is causing fear in others, through either actual 
  violence or the mere threat of it. The only people 
  for whom he feels anything resembling friendship 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Thompson SMG 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  30 
  14 
  AF5
  Colt M1911A 
  +1 
  0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9 
  Carries two
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As appropriate for the current mission
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  97 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  are the other members of the Frankenstein Mob. 
  While he’s in love with Minnie and completes with 
  Hunch for her attention in many small ways, he 
  takes no concrete steps for fear of rejection (or, 
  worse, being cast out of the group).
  Of all the Mob, The Corpse is the closest to 
  learning to accept what he’s become and revel in 
  it, which makes him doubly dangerous. He often 
  slips out and goes for walks in the late evening as 
  Scareyes does, although he deliberately seeks out 
  the alleys behind bars and former speakeasies so he 
  can get the small satisfaction of seeing drunks do a 
  double-take and then scream and wobble away or 
  pass out cold after seeing his face.
  Quote:  “Boo!”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Corpse is the Frankenstein 
  Mob’s ace in the hole, the one true killer in the 
  organization. His skill with a tommy gun is noth-
  ing short of phenomenal, allowing him to open 
  fire into a crowded room and hit only the targets 
  he’s aiming at, or to provide Suppression Fire 
  that’s as accurate and deadly as most shooters’ 
  aimed fire. He’s a good tactician, and frequently 
  tries to gain elevation or some other advantage 
  to make his job easier.
  Second only to his ability to kill is his ability 
  to terrify and terrorize. His sudden appearance, 
  coupled with the horror that his voice has become, 
  are enough to make even the most strong-willed 
  individual blanch with fear. He specializes in phone 
  calls late at night, and in actual visitations in shad-
  owy rooms and hallways to deliver warnings and 
  threats, appearing and disappearing with all the 
  ﬂair of the master thespian he once was.
  Campaign Use:  Of all of the Frankenstein Mob, 
  The Corpse is the one least likely to be reha-
  bilitated and the one most likely to kill without 
  being instructed to because of his attraction 
  to violence as an emotional outlet. It’s possible 
  he might even break away from the Mob and 
  embark on a career as a solo hitman.
  To make The Corpse more powerful, raise his 
  DEX to 18 and give him the Machine Gunner From 
  Hell or Corridor Of Death abilities, and/or some 
  Targeting Skill Levels. To weaken him, remove his 
  Mowing ’Em Down power.
  The Corpse isn’t likely to Hunt anyone unless 
  they consistently mock his appearance or he’s 
  ordered to. As a Hunter he’s a deadly opponent who 
  won’t play around:  he’ll identify a killing zone, wait 
  for the character to enter it, and then cut him, and 
  anyone else in the way, down.
  Appearance:  The Corpse looks like a walk-
  ing, talking corpse. The gas that destroyed his 
  appearance and voice in the War burned off his 
  nose, ate away his hair and eyebrows except for a 
  few scraggly patches, and turned his skin into a 
  shrunken, yellowish-green travesty that has the 
  occasional open sore on it. His voice is a rasp-
  ing, gargling horror from beyond the grave. He 
  dresses in impeccable suits, and wears gloves, a 
  fedora, and a trenchcoat with the collar turned 
  up to hide his appearance as best he can.
  MINNIE “NAILS” HARPER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   13 DEX 
  9 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   12 CON 
  4 
  11-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   8 EGO 
  -4 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   8 PRE 
  -2 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  1½d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   2 PD 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  7 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   24 END 
  0
   24 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  23
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  10 
  Nails Like Claws:  HKA 1 point (½d6  
  with STR), Penetrating (+½), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  7 
  Berserk Fury:  +10 STR, Only When  
  Berserk (-½) 
  2
  14 
  Berserk Fury:  +7 DEX, Only When  
  Berserk (-½) 
  0
  13 
  Berserk Fury:  +10 CON, Only When  
  Berserk (-½) 
  0
  8 
  Berserk Fury:  +12 PRE, Only When  
  Berserk (-½) 
  0
  7 
  Berserk Fury:  +1 SPD; Only When  
  Berserk (-½) 
  0
  17 
  Berserk Fury:  Physical Damage  
  Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Only When  
  Berserk (-½), Requires A CON Roll  
  (no Active Point penalty; -¼) 
  0
  4 
  Moves Like An Animal:  Running +3”  
  (9” total); Only While Berserk (+½) 
  1
   
  Talents
  4 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED); Only When  
  Berserk (-½)
   
  Skills
  10 
  +3 HTH; Only While Berserk (-½)
  3 
  Animal Handler (Birds, Bovines) 11-
  2 
  CK: Hudson City 11-
  2 
  CK: Los Angeles 11-
  2 
  KS: Current Cinema 11-
  2 
  KS: Popular Music 11-
  2 
  PS: Cook 11-
  2 
  PS: Waitress 11-
  3 
  Rapid Attack (HTH); Only While  
  Berserk (-½)
  7 
  Shadowing 13-
  7 
  Stealth 14-
  3 
  Tracking 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  129
  Total Cost:  152
  MINNIE “NAILS” 
  HARPER  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Nails ﬁnds herself 
  attracted to a PC who 
  was polite and kind 
  to her, but is too shy 
  to come out and say 
  anything to him. She 
  begins to follow him 
  around, doing her best 
  to remain unseen, and 
  tries to help him out 
  in small ways without 
  getting close enough 
  to any action to acci-
  dentally trigger a Fury. 
  What will the hero do 
  when he ﬁgures out the 
  identity of his guardian 
  angel? If he and Nails 
  do start to see each 
  other, not only does he 
  have to watch out for 
  her ﬁts, but he’ll have to 
  beware the overly-pro-
  tective other members 
  of the Mob, some of 
  whom have feelings for 
  Nails themselves.
  One of the characters 
  is contacted by a dis-
  traught woman who 
  wants them to locate 
  her missing daugh-
  ter:  Minnie Harper. 
  The woman says an 
  old family friend saw 
  Minnie in Hudson City. 
  She says that Minnie’s 
  father is gravely ill; she 
  wants Minnie home 
  in case the worst hap-
  pens. What she doesn’t 
  tell the heroes is that 
  the doctor who cured 
  Minnie as a child, Dr. 
  Jennings Petrie, is 
  holding the rest of the 
  family hostage until 
  Minnie return so he 
  can examine the results 
  of his handiwork. Can 
  the characters locate 
  Minnie and get her 
  home before the dead-
  line, then rescue her 
  from Dr. Petrie before 
  he “improves” on his 
  work and makes her 
  into one of his pet 
  monsters?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  98 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  thick, razor-sharp 
  ﬁngernails (Easily Concealed; Noticed And 
  Recognizable)
  40 
  Enraged:  Berserk when scared, angry, or 
  hurt (Common), go 14-, recover 8-
  15 
  Hunted:  Dr. Jennings Petrie 8- (Mo Pow, 
  Capture/Experiment Upon)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Shy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants A “Normal” 
  Life (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus  
  Killing (Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, Minor)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  180
  Background/History:  Minnie Harper’s parents, 
  whose families had farmed the California country-
  side for four generations, were vaguely concerned 
  when their only daughter fell ill the summer of 
  her twelfth year. Minnie had always been a healthy 
  child, not suﬀering from the normal rounds of 
  childhood diseases. The local doctor couldn’t ﬁnd 
  any reason for the fever and listlessness, and her 
  parents became more and more worried. When 
  Minnie lapsed into a coma later that week, her 
  mother decided to take a drastic step. She had 
  heard that a doctor had bought the old Lewis 
  place, so, taking her unconscious daughter with 
  her, she made the trek out to the remote mansion. 
  She pleaded with the man, promising anything if 
  he’d save Minnie’s life. The doctor was hesitant at 
  ﬁrst, but ﬁnally agreed to take the young girl into 
  his care. A week later, he returned Minnie to her 
  parents, as lively and rambunctious as ever. The 
  Harpers were overjoyed, and have thanked God in 
  their prayers every night since then for sending Dr. 
  Petrie to save Minnie.
  Years passed, and Minnie grew to woman-
  hood. At seventeen, her beauty and quiet gentleness 
  began to attract the attention of young men, but her 
  innate shyness mostly kept them at bay. But after 
  he saw her at the Thanksgiving Harvest Dance, one 
  man wasn’t taking no for an answer. John Bates was 
  the son of the local banker, home from college for 
  the holiday. He thought Minnie was just the diver-
  sion he needed from the boredom of small town 
  life. Using lines practiced on older girls, he sweet-
  talked Minnie into letting him walk her home. On 
  the way, John found a conveniently lonely stretch of 
  road to make his move. It was a fatal mistake.
  Minnie’s parents found her sitting on the front 
  steps, covered in blood and in shock. Mister Harper 
  searched the road into town and found John’s body. 
  His throat had been torn out, and his face and body 
  were slashed. He was only recognizable by the let-
  terman’s sweater he wore. Mrs. Harper was unable 
  to get Minnie to talk about the experience, and the 
  whole matter was accepted as a wild animal attack. 
  Minnie was considered lucky to have survived.
  Minnie moved to Los Angeles after graduat-
  ing high school. Getting a job as a waitress was 
  easy enough, although the hours were long. She 
  missed the bus one night due to late hours, and had 
  started to walk the ﬁfteen blocks home when one 
  of her patrons pulled up next to her in his car. “Do 
  you need a lift, miss?” he asked. Though nervous, 
  Minnie was tired, and the ride home was tempting. 
  When the man turned down the wrong street and 
  came to a stop, Minnie knew it had been a mis-
  take. He reached for her; her scream was the last 
  thing she remembered before waking up next to 
  his corpse. As with John Bates, his throat had been 
  torn out, leaving her with blood-covered hands. She 
  staggered the last few blocks home, cleaned up, and 
  packed. The man at the bus station sold her the last 
  ticket on the next bus east.
  Arriving in Hudson City a week later, an 
  exhausted and frightened Minnie began her search 
  for help. The local doctors couldn’t explain what 
  was happening to her. She was down to her last few 
  dollars when she met Frank Pescarelli. Curiously 
  not put oﬀ by his grotesque appearance, she began 
  talking with him and found out he was a psychia-
  trist. During their conversation, he noticed the 
  unusual quality of her ﬁngernails. Minnie explained 
  that they’d been that way since a childhood illness. 
  After running a few tests, Pescarelli discovered 
  her nails were strong and tough enough to scratch 
  wood or metal, and rend ﬂesh. Big Frank thought 
  about it a moment before oﬀering Minnie a job in 
  the group he was putting together. In return, she’d 
  never have to worry about unwelcome advances 
  again. Minnie took a day to think it over, and then 
  returned with her answer.
  Personality/Motivation:  Minnie is a sweet, shy girl 
  who really wants nothing more than to ﬁnd some-
  one to love, settle down, and make a life with. She 
  spends a lot of her free time in theaters watching 
  movies — especially romantic comedies — and lis-
  tening to music while wishing things were diﬀerent 
  for her and wondering if she’ll ever ﬁnd that special 
  someone. She dislikes violence in general, and kill-
  ing especially, although she’s willing to admit that 
  there are times when it’s an acceptable answer, such 
  as in defense of someone you love.
  Working for Big Frank has allowed her to 
  earn the kind of money she never could have 
  working as a waitress or store clerk. With this 
  money she hopes to someday buy a little cottage, 
  Minnie starts to black 
  out more and more fre-
  quently and is terriﬁed 
  that she’s doing “bad 
  things” during those 
  times. When reports of 
  people being killed and 
  torn apart by a “wild 
  animal” start to make 
  the news, she’s sure she 
  knows what those bad 
  things are. Big Frank 
  and the others assure 
  her that she’s not doing 
  anything during those 
  times, but Minnie isn’t 
  certain they’d tell her 
  the truth if it meant her 
  leaving the Mob. She 
  turns to a PC who seems 
  honorable or trustwor-
  thy and asks for help. Is 
  she the one responsible, 
  or is something else 
  entirely?
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Purse, compact
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  Continued from last page
  
  99 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  settle down, and raise a family. However, with 
  her extreme reactions to physical intimacy, that 
  dream may be beyond her grasp — at least until 
  she overcomes her shyness.
  Quote:  “Ummm... hi. I’m here to... uhhh... 
  threaten you.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Since she can’t really engage in any 
  form of rational thought during combat, Minnie’s 
  tactics are very simple. Once she goes Berserk, she 
  moves directly to the closest individual — enemy, 
  Mobster, innocent bystander, it doesn’t matter 
  — attacks with her claws until he drops, and then 
  moves on to the next closest target , pursuing them 
  as necessary, until she runs out of opponents or 
  snaps out of her fury. Members of the Mob, or 
  other individuals that she trusts or cares for, stand a 
  better chance of bringing her back to herself before 
  a Berserk has run its course, but even then it’s a 
  sometimes chancy proposition. Several times Big 
  Frank has had to grab her and struggle to hold her 
  still long enough for Minnie to come back.
  When she’s in the throes of what she calls one 
  of her “Furies,” Minnie becomes stronger, faster, 
  and tougher. Even when she’s calm, Minnie’s ﬁn-
  gernails, the source of her nickname, can score 
  brick and wood, tear ﬂesh and clothing, and even 
  scratch softer metals. They grow at an accelerated 
  rate; she has to to use a metal ﬁle every few days 
  to keep them in check. Big Frank has investigated 
  why they grow at that speed and are that strong, 
  but had to admit the science of it was beyond him. 
  They appear normal for the most part, although 
  closer examination will reveal them to be thicker 
  and more powerfully anchored than normal nails, 
  and to have more of a triangular cross-section than 
  a normal person’s.
  Campaign Use:  Minnie is the member of the Fran-
  kenstein Mob who simply doesn’t belong there. 
  She’s the most normal person in the group, has the 
  greatest chance of being able to re-enter normal 
  society, and has the most problems dealing with the 
  things the Mob does. If approached properly, par-
  ticularly by a handsome male character, she could 
  be persuaded to help bring the rest of the Mob in 
  as long as she received trustworthy assurances that 
  they’d be helped and not killed or made into the 
  victims of a public spectacle.
  To make Minnie more powerful, increase the 
  base damage of her nails to ½d6 (1d6 with STR), 
  and give her a few “Instinctive Fighting” maneuvers. 
  To weaken her, removing the Penetrating Advantage 
  on her nails and reduce the Characteristic boosts 
  she gains when Berserk.
  Minnie won’t Hunt anyone with intent to do 
  them lasting harm unless they were to hurt her 
  family back in California, kill one of the Mob with-
  out provocation, or to attack her or a loved one and 
  threaten the normal life she longs for after she’s 
  found it. In those cases, she’ll use her general inob-
  trusiveness (the source of her high Shadowing and 
  Stealth rolls) to remain unnoticed and follow her 
  quarry until an appropriate moment, and then let 
  her anger and fear bring out the monster inside her.
  Appearance:  Minnie is a beautiful young girl about 
  19 years old, with long, dark brown hair and blue 
  eyes. She’s a bit taller than average at 5’8”, has a slen-
  der, shapely build for her height, and has very thick, 
  strong nails on her ﬁngers. She dresses in modest, 
  simple outﬁts, usually in dark colors, and has a very 
  skittish and shy demeanor. When she goes berserk, 
  her features twist and become almost bestial, and 
  she moves and growls like an animal.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  100 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  CALVIN “HUNCH” BARNETT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   18 STR 
  8 
  13- 
  Lift 300 kg; 3½d6 [4]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   16 BODY 12 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   13 EGO 
  6 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  10-
   6 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
   4 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  4 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   34 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  71
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Wrestling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  3 
  Grab  
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 28 STR 
  for holding on
  4 
  Crush 
  +0 
  +0 
  7½d6 Crush, 
  Must Follow 
  Grab
  5 
  Joint Break 
  -1 
  -2 
  Grab One Limb, 
  HKA ½d6 
  (1d6+1 with 
  STR), Disable
  28 
  Necksnapper:  HKA 2d6, NND (defense  
  is rigid rPD on the neck, or anything else that 
  prevents the neck/head from being twisted 
  and turned the right way; +1),  
  Does BODY (+1); Must Target the  
  Head (-1), Must Follow Grab (-½), No 
  Strength Bonus (-½), Requires a  
  Strength Roll (no Active Point Penalty; -¼) 9
  30 
  Choking Grasp:  Energy Blast 3d6, NND 
  (defense is having rigid rPD on the neck  
  or Life Support [Self-Contained Breathing]; 
  +1), Continuous (+1); No Range (-½) 
  4
  1 
  Surge Of Strength:  +5 STR; Increased  
  Endurance Cost (x5 END; -2), Nonpersistent 
  (-¼), Only When Pushing (-1), Requires An 
  EGO Roll (-¾) 
  5
   
  Talents
  4 
  Double-Jointed
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Grab, Necksnapper, and Choking 
  Grasp
  9 
  Acrobatics 15-
  3 
  Acting 12-
  7 
  Breakfall 14-
  9 
  Climbing 15-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Contortionist 12-
  3 
  KS: Fairy Tales And Legends 12-
  7 
  Mimicry 14-
  5 
  PS: Storyteller 14-
  3 
  PS: Writer 12-
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  5 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  Survival (Urban) 12-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  7 
  Ventriloquism 14-
  3 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Garrote
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  164
  Total Cost:  235
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Feature:  Hunchback (Conceal-
  able With Eﬀort; Noticed And Recognizable)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To Big 
  Frank (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Protective Of 
  Children (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Shy (Common, 
  Strong)
  105 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  235
  Background/History:  Calvin Barnett’s childhood was 
  not a happy one. Abandoned at the age of three on the 
  steps of a New York church by highly religious parents 
  who saw his developing deformity as a sign of the 
  Devil, he ended up in a state-run orphanage. When 
  his twisted spine, shortened legs, and elongated arms 
  made it impossible for him to play everyday games 
  with so-called “normal” children, he fell back on his 
  mind to provide himself with entertainment. The 
  younger children didn’t seem to mind what he looked 
  like when he told them stories he made up, tales of 
  imprisoned princesses and cursed princes, of vile sor-
  cery and magical creatures.
  Finding a worn dime novel in the trash when 
  he was thirteen opened Calvin’s eyes to a wider 
  world of mystery, world travel, and heroes who 
  righted wrongs with nothing more than their wits 
  and a pair of ready ﬁsts. He began writing down 
  his stories of adventure, hiding them away from the 
  others. Until Jerry Brantley found his treasure.
  Jerry was ﬁfteen, and a troublemaker since the 
  day he was born. His favorite sport was abusing 
  the younger children, and his preferred target was 
  Calvin. Late one night after lights out, he produced 
  the closely written papers and proceeded to taunt 
  Calvin with them. Threatening to destroy the papers, 
  he forced the younger boy to beg on his knees for 
  them in front of everyone. Even as Calvin abased 
  himself, Jerry produced a forbidden book of matches 
  and set ﬁre to the precious stories anyway, laughing 
  as the ashes drifted down over Calvin’s tear-stained 
  face. As Jerry stood there, gloating, Calvin just... 
  snapped. Shaking oﬀ several boys who tried to hold 
  him, he lunged for his tormentor, wrapping his 
  hands around his throat and squeezing until the boy 
  stopped moving. Screams from the other children 
  brought the headmaster; Calvin, horriﬁed at his 
  deed, ﬂed the orphanage into the night.
  Three days of riding the rails brought the half-
  starved boy to Dubuque, Iowa. Fortune smiled on 
  him then. He found Veranza’s Fabulous Circus... or 
  rather, the carnies found him sleeping in the straw 
  CALVIN  
  “HUNCH” BARNETT 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The child of a wealthy 
  industrialist has van-
  ished from his hospital 
  room, and the father 
  begs the characters 
  to help recover him. 
  People mention seeing 
  something climbing 
  around on the side of 
  the building the night of 
  the disappearance. But 
  the other children in the 
  ward refuse to talk to 
  the PCs when they start 
  asking questions about 
  the mysterious ﬁgure. 
  What’s going on?
  A successful young busi-
  nessman named Jerry 
  Brantley comes to the 
  PCs for help, saying that 
  his life is being threat-
  ened by a madman 
  if he doesn’t follow 
  certain instructions. 
  The instructions, when 
  they arrive, seem more 
  designed to publicly 
  embarrass and humili-
  ate Brantley than cause 
  him any real physical 
  damage. Can the char-
  acters ﬁgure out what’s 
  going on?
  A new series of adven-
  ture stories is taking 
  the town by storm. 
  The author is reclusive 
  and will see no one, 
  including his publisher. 
  There’s nothing unusual 
  about reclusive authors, 
  but this one seems to 
  know just a little too 
  much about the activi-
  ties of the PCs, and has 
  included some thinly 
  disguised versions of 
  some of their exploits in 
  his latest book....
  
  101 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  behind the threadbare big top after gorging himself 
  on the day’s leftover stale popcorn. They took pity 
  on him and adopted him as one of their own. For 
  the next ten years, Calvin had it pretty good, or 
  as good as life with a pennyante circus gets. Then 
  the owner/ringmaster fell ill and the circus closed. 
  Calvin was on the streets again.
  Having learned several useful skills from the 
  circus folk, he fell into petty thievery to keep from 
  starving. He didn’t know it at the time, but breaking 
  into Frank Pescarelli’s room was 
  another life-changing event. 
  Calvin was hoping to ﬁnd some-
  thing worth selling on the street, 
  but instead found someone who 
  understood him as no one else 
  ever had. He began working for 
  Big Frank that night, and hasn’t 
  looked back since.
  Personality/Motivation:  For all 
  his Lon Chaney-esque looks, 
  Calvin Barnett has a brilliant 
  mind. He enjoys music and art. 
  His great passion is writing. But 
  Big Frank didn’t hire him for his 
  mind, so he plays the part of a 
  thuggish, half-human monster 
  when called upon to do so. In 
  fact, he’ll do pretty much any-
  thing Big Frank asks of him; he’s 
  incredibly loyal to the man who 
  rescued him from his worthless 
  life and treats him with simple 
  human dignity.
  Quote:  “Is good you say no. 
  Hunch can play now.”
  Powers/Tactics:  The physical 
  deformity that deﬁnes people’s 
  perception of Hunch gives 
  him extraordinary shoulder 
  and arm strength. His circus 
  training allows him to climb 
  just about anything with ease, 
  imitate voices, throw his voice, and survive long 
  falls. These abilities make him the perfect creeping 
  menace, one who can scare people into agreeing 
  with whatever Big Frank demands of them. But 
  if necessary, Hunch can use his strength to crush 
  the life from those who refuse to comply with 
  the wishes of the Frankenstein Mob. He’d rather 
  frighten people into following orders than actually 
  hurt them, but he won’t hesitate to get into a physi-
  cal altercation if he must. His one weakness is that 
  he won’t harm or unnecessarily frighten children.
  In a ﬁght, Hunch quickly closes with oppo-
  nents and Grabs them. Once he can get his power-
  ful hands on a man’s throat, it’s normally only a 
  matter of seconds before his opponent is uncon-
  scious or dead. If confronted with guns, Calvin 
  retreats and awaits a better opportunity to strike. If 
  a child’s been threatened or hurt, he won’t hesitate 
  to take action, even in the face of gunﬁre.
  Campaign Use:  Hunch is the most loyal of the 
  Mob — the member least likely to turn on Big 
  Frank in a pinch. His habit of 
  climbing up the sides of hos-
  pitals, orphanages, and other 
  buildings so he can tell stories 
  to the children inside provides 
  opportunities to encounter 
  him outside the normal activi-
  ties of the Mob, and might 
  give clever characters a wedge 
  to try to convince him to 
  break away from the Mob.
  To make Hunch more 
  powerful, raise his DEX to 18, 
  his SPD to 4, and give him 
  some more Wrestling maneu-
  vers and a few Combat Skill 
  Levels. To weaken him, reduce 
  his STR to 15, and remove 
  either or both of his Choking 
  Grasp and Necksnapper abili-
  ties and give him a few stan-
  dard Wrestling maneuvers to 
  replace them.
  Calvin would only Hunt 
  someone that harmed or killed 
  children, or that went out of his 
  way to humiliate him, as Jerry 
  Brantley did years ago. In the 
  former case, he would simply 
  slip into his target’s home and 
  kill him in his sleep; in the 
  latter, he’d attempt to return that 
  humiliation to his target.
  Appearance:  Calvin Barnett 
  would have been a tall man had the unnatural cur-
  vature of his spine not bent his body to its whim. 
  He stands 5’5” and weighs 195 pounds. His shoul-
  ders and arms are enormous and thickly muscled. 
  His hair is dark brown; his eyes blue. When in the 
  “Hunch” persona, he purposely widens his eyes 
  and glares madly at his intended victim, growling 
  like an animal. Outside of work, he has an intel-
  ligent look and the voice of the storyteller he is. He 
  normally dresses in black slacks and turtlenecks in 
  either persona.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Usually none, but sometimes climbing gear or tools needed to defeat alarms
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  102 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  JUSTIN “SCAREYES” HOWARD
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   12 STR 
  2 
  11- 
  Lift 133 kg; 2d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   11 BODY 2 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   14 PRE 
  4 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   7 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  7 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   27 STUN 
  3 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  63
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Saviolo School Fencing
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  5 
  Ballestra 
  +2 
  -2 
  Weapon +4 
  DC, Half Move 
  Required
  3 
  Cut 
  +2 
  +1 
  Weapon
  4 
  Ceduto 
  +0 
  +0 
  +15 STR To 
  Escape Binds
  5 
  Lunge 
  +1 
  -2 
  Weapon +4 DC
  4 
  Parry 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  3 
  Pasata Soto 
  +2 
  +2 
  Weapon + 
  Foe’s v/5 Strike, 
  Response to 
  Ballestra, Fleche 
  and Lunge
  4 
  Riposte 
  +2 
  +2 
  Weapon +2 DC, 
  must follow 
  Block
  5 
  Thrust 
  +1 
  +3 
  Weapon
  4 
  Void 
  0 
  +5 
  Dodge Versus 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  32 
  Cinematic Blindness Compensation:  Spatial 
  Awareness, Increased Arc Of Perception 
  (360 Degrees), Range 
  0
  4 
  Sharp Ears:  +2 PER with Hearing Group 0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Talents
  3 
  Lightning Reﬂexes:  +2 DEX for All Actions
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Fencing
  5 
  +1 DCV
  7 
  +3 DCV; Only When Fencing (-½), Costs 
  Endurance (-½) 
  1
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  3 
  Defense Maneuver I
  3 
  High Society 12-
  2 
  CK: Hudson City 11-
  2 
  KS: Criminal Underworld 11-
  2 
  KS: Fencing 11-
  2 
  KS: The Olympics 11-
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent; Eng-
  lish is Native)
  4 
  Language:  Italian (Idiomatic)
  5 
  Rapid Attack (HTH)
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  10 
  Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH)
  2 
  WF: Blades, Oﬀ Hand
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  142
  Total Cost:  205
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Feature:  horribly scarred face 
  and eyes (Concealable With Eﬀort; Causes 
  Major Reaction [fear])
  25 
  Physical Limitation:  Blind (All The Time, 
  Fully Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Obsessed With 
  Rebuilding His Fortune (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Gunslinger Men-
  tality (Common, Strong)
  60 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  205
  Background/History:  Born to a wealthy Boston 
  family, Justin Howard developed a love of fenc-
  ing. Indulging their son’s every whim, his parents 
  allowed him to travel to Italy to study with a tra-
  ditional Saviolo School in Florence. Learning at a 
  pace that amazed not only his fellow students but 
  also his instructors, he soon mastered the art.
  Determined to display his incredible majesty 
  to the world, Justin competed for and won a spot 
  on the US Olympic fencing team. But one day 
  he came upon a car accident where a young girl 
  was trapped in her burning car. He wrenched the 
  door open and carried her to safety.... but when 
  he returned to check the car for passengers, it 
  exploded. Flaming debris struck him in the face 
  and knocked him unconscious.
  When he awoke three days later in a hos-
  pital, it was to a world of darkness. The doctors 
  told him his sight would never return. Judging by 
  his fiancée’s reaction, it was a blessing that Justin 
  could no longer see his face. Shattered, Justin 
  locked himself away from the world, allowing 
  no one to see his horribly scarred visage. He 
  traveled the world desperately seeking a cure 
  for his blindness, and although he depleted his 
  not-inconsiderable personal fortune, he never 
  found one. But while he was fumbling for an 
  errant whisky bottle one night in a fit of deep-
  est despair, Justin learned something wonderful. 
  He couldn’t see, but he could “see.” Somehow his 
  other senses had sharpened to the extent that he 
  could “feel” the room around him, could hear the 
  echo of his own breathing off the walls, could 
  sense the position of physical objects. It wasn’t 
  quite as good as sight, but it would do.
  During his wanderings, Justin had met a 
  man named Frank Pascarelli. He was the only 
  one who’d treated Justin decently, neither taking 
  pity on him nor trying to exploit him. Recogniz-
  ing a kindred spirit, Justin tracked Big Frank 
  down, showed him what he could do, and earned 
  himself a spot in the Frankenstein Mob.
  JUSTIN “SCAR-
  EYES” HOWARD  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Scareyes decides a tour-
  nament that two of the 
  fencing salles in Hudson 
  City are holding is just 
  the place to test himself, 
  so he signs up under an 
  assumed name. What 
  he wasn’t counting on 
  was the fact that when 
  a fencer no one rec-
  ognizes comes out of 
  nowhere and starts to 
  dominate the tourna-
  ment, someone’s going 
  to notice. Add in the fact 
  that the mystery fencer 
  never takes his fencing 
  mask oﬀ, and there’s 
  a news story in the 
  making. What will he 
  do to stop things before 
  they get out of hand?
  While out walking in 
  LeMastre Park late one 
  night, Scareyes encoun-
  ters a young woman who 
  doesn’t seem frightened 
  of him. Intrigued, they 
  talk for a while before he 
  realizes that she’s blind. 
  The two of them seem to 
  hit it oﬀ, and he begins 
  to teach her to see the 
  world the same way he 
  does. But when a series 
  of robberies begin to take 
  place around the city on 
  nights that he’s not seeing 
  his new lady friend, he 
  begins to worry that she’s 
  using her new talent for 
  criminal purposes. How 
  will he correct the situ-
  ation?
  One of the quacks who 
  made oﬀ part of Scar-
  eyes’s fortune in return 
  for a phony blindness 
  cure makes the news 
  talking about a new sci-
  entiﬁc discovery that will 
  help ﬁnd a cure for a rare 
  childhood neurological 
  disorder “with just a little 
  more funding.” Enraged, 
  Scareyes sets out to take 
  revenge on the man. 
  Terriﬁed, the con man 
  turns to the characters 
  for help in protecting 
  himself and his “process” 
  from a madman who 
  wants to doom all those 
  children....
  
  103 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Two
  Personality/Motivation:  Scareyes 
  is a very bitter man. The world 
  has wronged him, and he intends 
  to have his vengeance by making 
  everyone he can miserable. Unable 
  to earn a living any other way, he 
  now depends on his skill with the 
  sword to support himself and to 
  rebuild his fortune.
  Quote:  “They have eyes but they 
  do not see — at least, not in the 
  dark. Didn’t your mother teach 
  you to be afraid of the dark? She 
  should have.”
  Powers/Tactics:  An extremely tal-
  ented fencer, Scareyes can hold his 
  own against the best in the world 
  despite being blind. His oﬀense 
  might not be the best, but his defense 
  is virtually unbeatable. Assisted by 
  his remaining senses, he can deﬂect 
  swords and other weapons, sidestep 
  other attacks he senses coming, 
  and otherwise avoid attacks with a 
  graceful ease that opponents ﬁnd 
  annoying. He’s also phenomenally 
  quick, and uses that to his advantage 
  to attack and move back out of range 
  before many opponents can muster a 
  defense. That, coupled with his abil-
  ity to ﬁght in total darkness with no 
  handicap, makes him an opponent to 
  be feared when he gets to choose his 
  ground. He prefers to ﬁght with his 
  sword-cane, and normally wields the 
  metal-lined shaft of the cane in his left hand to use as 
  a parrying implement and club.
  Campaign Use:  Scareyes is the 
  only member of the Mob the PCs 
  could simply buy off with cash. 
  He’s not really loyal to the group 
  so much as he is interested in 
  rebuilding his fortune and prov-
  ing himself superior to others.
  To make Scareyes more dan-
  gerous, raise his DEX to 20, add 
  Combat Luck, give him +2 Extra 
  DCs with his Fencing, and add 
  some more Combat Skill Levels. To 
  weaken him, remove his Lightning 
  Reﬂexes and his DCV Levels.
  Scareyes might Hunt a char-
  acter who was a noted swords-
  man to prove his superiority. He’ll 
  try to confront the target when 
  no one else is around to interfere.
  Appearance:  Scareyes is 6’2” tall 
  and wiry, with an athlete’s body 
  and light brown hair. If it were 
  not for his horribly scarred face, 
  he’d be an attractive man. He 
  dresses nattily, in well-made tai-
  lored suits with a flower in the 
  lapel, and is never without his 
  walking stick that serves as both a 
  prop to lull others into believing 
  his blindness is more debilitating 
  than it is and as a repository for 
  his sword-cane. With his fedora 
  shadowing his face, from a dis-
  tance his scars are invisible; once 
  one draws closer, however, the 
  burn scar across the upper half of 
  his face can be seen.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Sword-Cane
       Blade 
  +1 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  10
       Sheath 
  +0 
  — 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  10
  Dagger 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown, carries 2
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Blade sharpening and cleaning kit
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  104 ■ Fiendish Organizations
  To help you get started using the ﬁendish vil-
  lains in Masterminds And Madmen, here’s a scenario 
  involving several of them.
  The Red Sickle (page 167), high priest of Bol-
  shevism, wants to weaken three of the greatest the 
  enemies of Communism — America, Germany, 
  and Nationalist China — while at the same time 
  aiding the Communist movements in those three 
  countries. To achieve this goal he’s concocted an 
  intricate scheme that pits several powerful villains 
  against each other... and, of course, the PCs, who 
  quickly become embroiled in the chaos as they try 
  to figure out what’s going on and protect America 
  from the scourge of the Red menace!
  In the Red Sickle’s view, the most powerful 
  man in China, and the greatest threat to the Chinese 
  Communists, isn’t Chiang Kai-shek — it’s Dr. Fang 
  Shen (page 6). Therefore, weakening Dr. Fang and 
  his organization, the Legion of Crime, helps the Chi-
  nese Communists. The best chance of weakening Dr. 
  Fang is to engineer a confrontation between him and 
  those meddling heroes in the hopes of eliminating 
  Ming Wei, Lok Shing, or other powerful members of 
  the Legion.
  But indirectly attacking Dr. Fang is not enough! 
  He must also strike blows against America, and if 
  possible Germany as well — and at the same time 
  strengthen the Communist movements in those 
  countries and China. To help his scheme succeed, he 
  has made a deal with Fred Mannheim, an important 
  union leader in Hudson City (and, unbeknownst to 
  the Red Sickle, Prince Mammon of the Cult of the 
  Nine Degrees [page 89]). After the Red Sickle suc-
  ceeds with his plan, the unions will ensure that his 
  secret cargoes of weapons make it safely onto ships 
  heading for Germany and China. There his Boshevik 
  allies will receive them and store them for use in the 
  coming World Revolution.
  To launch his plan, the Red Sickle leaks word 
  to both Dr. Fang’s people and der Dunkeladler (page 
  126) that there’s a top-secret weapons develop-
  ment project going on at Hammersmith Industries 
  in Hudson City. Hammersmith is a major defense 
  manufacturer and one of the linchpins of America’s 
  military contracting system, so it’s perfectly plausible 
  that it would be doing such research. According 
  to the Red Sickle’s carefully-planted rumor, Ham-
  mersmith scientists are secretly working with Dr. 
  Jennings Petrie (Pulp Hero, page 401) to develop a 
  special remote-controlled “plane-bomb” that can be 
  used to attack an enemy from great distances away.
  Of course, this story is false. Hammersmith 
  manufactures lots of weapons, but mostly ordi-
  nary ones like guns and grenades. The Red Sickle 
  plans to use the cover of his pawns’ attack on the 
  Hammersmith plant to sneak in and steal a lot of 
  weapons (which he’ll then ship to his Communist 
  brethren, as described above). Along the way he’ll 
  sabotage the factory as much as possible... though 
  of course he’s hoping the fight between his pawns 
  will completely wreck the it.
  Naturally, both Dr. Fang and the ace German 
  spy want to get their hands on the plans or prototype 
  for the plane-bomb. But they’re not the only ones 
  who hear the rumor. The Skymaster (page 25) keeps 
  his ears open for all sorts of information about avia-
  tion, and he’s not about to let anyone but himself 
  have “plane-bombs” or similar technology. He’s the 
  Lord of the Air, they should be his to command! So 
  he’s preparing a two-pronged strike involving several 
  Airmada planes in the air and thugs hired from the 
  Coletti Mob (page 74) on the ground in an attempt 
  to steal the Hammersmith plans and prototype for 
  himself. And of course all these rumblings in the 
  underworld have gotten back to the PCs somehow.
  When the Red Sickle spreads a follow-up 
  rumor that the government is about to move the 
  plane-bomb project to Washington, all the players 
  prepare to attack. On the same night, four forces 
  plan to rob the Hammersmith Industries plant:
  ■ Lok Shing will lead a group of Ying Hu Shi war-
  riors and other Legion thugs, with Ming Wei 
  remaining close by to observe and make sure every-
  thing goes right
  ■ Der Dunkeladler is sending in Maximilian 
  Krieger (page 151) and some Bundist storm-
  troopers (use the Gangster character sheet from 
  page 407 of Pulp Hero) to obtain the goods; he 
  plans to fly overwatch in Gerta and support his 
  men as necessary
  ■ four Airmada pilots and a group of Coletti thugs 
  (use the Gangster character sheet from page 407 of 
  Pulp Hero) aim to get the plans for the Skymaster
  ■ the Red Sickle and his minions (use the Gangster 
  character sheet from page 407 of Pulp Hero) will be 
  nearby, several buildings over from the main action, 
  stealing guns and committing acts of sabotage
  And the PCs are going to walk right into this 
  mess! They may have a hard time just figuring out 
  who’s who, and who they should attack. While a 
  furious gunfight/fistfight rages on the ground, der 
  Dunkeladler duels the Airmada pilots in the air 
  above the factory (and perhaps a PC aviator gets 
  involved in that battle). Let the battle play out, 
  emphasizing Pulp heroics, non-stop action, and 
  daring maneuvers. At some point, give the heroes 
  a chance to notice the Red Sickle’s men escaping 
  with the stolen guns. If possible, the Red Sickle 
  may take Ming Wei hostage to “protect” himself, 
  though that’s only likely to make the Legion of 
  Crime ally with the heroes to defeat him.
  Even if the Red Sickle succeeds, he’s made 
  himself some powerful enemies. The repercussions 
  of this may spiral out for months and many game 
  sessions as Dr. Fang, the Skymaster, Germany, and 
  other players in the drama try to get revenge, ﬁnd 
  out if there really is such a thing as a “plane-bomb,” 
  and so forth.
  DEATH TO AMERICA!
  
  chapter three:
  chapter three:
  SOLO VILLAINS
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  106 ■ Solo Villains
  GILBERT ALLEN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   12 STR 
  2 
  11- 
  Lift 133 kg; 2d6 [2]
   13 DEX 
  9 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   17 EGO 
  14 
  12- 
  ECV:  6
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   2 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  6, 12
   5 REC 
  2
   20 END 
  0
   21 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  51
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Perks
  20 
  Followers:  four hirelings built on 50 Base 
  Points
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
   
  Skills
  15  
  +3 with Interaction Skills
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  13 
  Conversation 18-
  2 
  Forgery (Documents) 13-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 13-
  3 
  AK: Western US 13-
  3 
  KS: Real Estate Law 13-
  3 
  Language:  Spanish (completely ﬂuent; Eng-
  lish is Native)
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Financier 13-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  2 
  TF: Riding Animals
  3 
  Trading 13-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  107
  Total Cost:  158
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Age:  40+
  15 
  DNPC:  Millicent (daughter) 11- (Normal)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  48 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  158
  Background/History:  Gilbert Allen was raised on 
  his father’s ranch in what’s now the Oklahoma 
  panhandle. In the 1870s, however, it was known as 
  the “Public Land Strip” or “No Man’s Land,” an area 
  where cattlemen established unregulated free-range 
  ranches, appropriating grass and water without 
  buying or leasing the state’s land. The Allen ranch 
  was one such ranch. Encompassing hundreds of 
  acres, it was fertile and quite proﬁtable.
  Then came the squatters. Few of them 
  attempted any serious farming (seed and equip-
  ment was too expensive, grain markets too far 
  away). For the most part, they weren’t much trou-
  ble, and if they were, Allen’s ranch hands simply 
  ran them oﬀ. Since it was public land and not part 
  of any state, there were no homestead laws — the 
  “owner” of property was simply the one with the 
  most power.
  In 1890 the Oklahoma Territory’s Organic Act 
  made the Strip part of Oklahoma Territory and 
  established homestead rights. During 1890 and 
  1891, government surveyors partitioned the land 
  into sections, and squatters who could verify their 
  claims could receive up to three years’ credit toward 
  the homestead requirement of ﬁve years residency. 
  Legalization of ownership also brought with it the 
  possibility of mortgages for capital to purchase 
  farm equipment, seed and building materials. Then 
  came the railroad, land developers, and yet more 
  homesteaders. Slowly but surely, the Allen Ranch 
  dwindled as homesteaders carved out 160-acre 
  plots one after the other. Finally, the Ranch was 
  diminished to the 160 acres Allen Senior could 
  himself homestead, which was not nearly enough 
  to support a cattle ranching operation.
  In the 1910s, something more proﬁtable than 
  cattle appeared on — or under — the Allen ranch:  
  oil. Gil, having inherited the ranch — and its debts 
  — a few years earlier, sold out and used the money 
  to begin establishing his own empire.
  The Homestead Act of 1862 said that any 
  “family head” was entitled to 160 acres after ful-
  ﬁlling a ﬁve years residency and improvement 
  requirement — or the family head could purchase 
  the land for $1.25 an acre after six months. In the 
  early years of the new century, the allotment was 
  increased to 640 acres. Gil used — and abused 
  — that entitlement to slowly obtain ownership of 
  thousands of acres of government land. Hiring 
  “families” to homestead the property he wanted, 
  after six months he would “loan” them the money 
  to purchase the land, then pay oﬀ the “homestead-
  ers” and “purchase” their land.
  As the years passed, Allen discovered he 
  enjoyed swindling the government. This led to a 
  realization that he enjoyed swindling in general. 
  The government, corporations, poor farmers — it 
  was all the same to Gil. As long as one side wanted 
  land and the other had it, he was never going to be 
  out of a job.
  GILBERT ALLEN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Gil has stumbled on the 
  greatest land swindle 
  in history:  during the 
  surveying that led to the 
  boundaries being set 
  between the state of New 
  Mexico and the Arizona 
  Territory, the surveyors 
  made a 1o error because 
  of an unknown deposit 
  of magnetic iron ore. 
  Not a big mistake, but 
  when carried out along 
  the entire length of the 
  state, it makes a sizeable 
  slice of land that’s just 
  sitting there, legally free 
  for the taking, because 
  the United States hasn’t 
  laid claim to it. Now all 
  he needs is a buyer and 
  he’s set for life! Who does 
  he know who’d like to 
  possess his own private 
  nation — within the 
  boundaries of the United 
  States?
  Someone wants to own 
  a particular ranch in 
  Colorado, but the pretty 
  young lady who owns 
  it doesn’t want to sell, 
  so Gil is on the job. 
  He does some digging 
  into the history of the 
  place and discovers an 
  old local legend about 
  someone called the 
  Scarecrow who dressed 
  up like one and went 
  around killing and rob-
  bing folks at gun- and 
  pitchfork-point during 
  the 1870s. The original 
  ran afoul of a gunﬁghter 
  named Lazarus Adams 
  in 1877, but the legend 
  seems like a perfect way 
  to scare the girl oﬀ her 
  ranch so his client can 
  pick it up for a song. Gil 
  just needs someone to 
  dress up and play the 
  part and he’ll be set.
  Continued on next page
  
  107 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  Personality/Motivation:  On the surface, Gil Allen is 
  a genial sort, a gladhander, a man to whom strang-
  ers are just friends he hasn’t met. Inside, however, 
  Gil is a cold, hard schemer who would just as 
  soon defraud you as look at you. He’s greedy, and 
  he’s learned that money in the bank is better than 
  land, cattle, oil, or timber (though he owns some 
  of each, just in case the banks fail again). He hires 
  out to corporations, railroads, ranchers, loggers, or 
  anyone else who’ll pay him to obtain land illegally 
  or immorally. And he enjoys doing it.
  The only thing Gil cares about more than 
  money is his daughter, Millicent, a 20-year old 
  brunette who lives Back East and attends a Big 
  Eastern University. She keeps changing her 
  mind as to what she wants to do with her life, 
  but right now she’s decided she wants to study 
  languages. He spends a certain amount of time 
  checking up on her and making sure the wrong 
  kinds of young men don’t stick around her too 
  long, something that would be much easier if she 
  wasn’t as pretty as her late mother.
  Quote:  “My old pappy used to tell me that stocks 
  rise and fall, banks come and go — but one thing 
  never changes:  people always need land and some-
  one to get it for ’em. Good advice then and now.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Gil Allen doesn’t like violence, but 
  if violence is what it takes.... well, he has men who 
  work for him to do that. If he can buy your land at a 
  pittance, swindle your land out from under you, or 
  win it by cheating at cards, he’d prefer that, because 
  when you get right down to it he’d rather outsmart 
  an opponent than have to resort to crude tactics. It’s 
  simply more fun.
  But if you refuse, or you’re smart enough to 
  see what he’s up to, you’ll learn it’s true what they 
  say:  accidents do happen. It’s a pity about your 
  barn burning down, Mrs. O’Leary. Too bad that 
  well’s turned up poisoned, Mr. Brannon. What a 
  tragedy your cattle are sick, Mrs. Sweeney. Maybe 
  Gil can help you out....
  Campaign Use:  The pulps are full of people who 
  want land someone else has, whether for mineral 
  resources, water rights, lost ruins, or a hundred 
  other things. Gil is the man who can get it for them 
  when they can’t manage it themselves due to time 
  constraints, lack of ability, or insuﬃcient ingenuity. 
  He makes a good motivator for all sorts of adven-
  tures, or even someone for the characters to go to if 
  they need to stop someone from getting their hands 
  on some land — the challenge of swindling another 
  swindler might just appeal to Gil.
  To make him more powerful, increase his 
  physical Characteristics a few points, give him a 
  few dice of HA to reﬂect some brawling experience 
  from his younger days, and increase the power of 
  his hired thugs. To make him weaker, remove one 
  or two of his thugs or reduce/eliminate his Skill 
  Levels with Interaction Skills.
  Gilbert doesn’t Hunt people unless they have 
  land he’s been paid to get or has decided he wants 
  for himself. He’d make an exception in the case of 
  someone he thought wasn’t worthy of his daughter, 
  but that’s about it.
  Appearance:  Gilbert Allen is 5’8”, muscular, and 
  ruggedly handsome, with brown hair and green 
  eyes. He always dresses well, but never overdresses 
  when dealing with sellers, and wears cowboy boots 
  even with his suits.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt Peacemaker 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  6 
  9
  Winchester 70 
  +1 
  +2 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  3 
  12
  Shotgun 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  2H, AE1, 20” range, RR, RP
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Rope
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  Gil’s run into a snag in 
  his latest job:  the old 
  man he’s trying to drive 
  oﬀ some land in Mon-
  tana is a tough customer 
  — tough enough that 
  Gil’s hired thugs aren’t 
  interested in tangling 
  with him again. He 
  needs someone ornery 
  enough to handle the 
  job and stupid enough 
  not to look too closely at 
  what’s going on. Maybe 
  that batch of folks who 
  got in his way last year 
  would do... he’d just 
  need a way to make 
  them think the land-
  owner is a bad man (not 
  too hard, considering 
  he is a bad man), and 
  a good-looking girl to 
  plead with them for help 
  and he’s all set.
  Continued from last page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  108 ■ Solo Villains
  EL AZOR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   14 STR 
  4 
  12- 
  Lift 175 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   16 INT 
  6 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   5 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  82
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Art:  Whipﬁghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  2d6 NND (2)
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 24 STR 
  to Disarm
  5 
  Slash 
  -2 
  +1 
  Weapon + 4DC 
  Strike
  5 
  Snap 
  +1 
  +3 
  Weapon Strike
  3 
  Trip 
  +0 
  +1 
  Weapon Strike 
  +v/5; Target 
  Falls
   
  Martial Arts:  Pistol Mastery
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV/DCV/RNG Notes
  3 
  Defensive Shot -1/+2/+0 
  Weapon Strike
  3 
  Diving Shot 
  +0/+2/+1 Weapon Strike, 
  Half Move 
  Required, You 
  fall
  3 
  Leg Shot 
  +0/-1/+0 
  Weapon +2 DC, 
  Throw
  4 
  Quick Shot 
  +1/+0/+0 Weapon +2DC 
  Strike
  4 
  Ranged Disarm +0/+0/+0 Disarm, 29 STR 
  to Disarm
  15 
  Quick Fire:  Autoﬁre (up to 5 shots; +½)  
  for ﬁrearms built on up to 60 Active  
  Points; OIF (any non-Autoﬁre ﬁrearm of 
  opportunity; -½), Cannot Use Targeting (-½) 3
   
  Perks
  15 
  Follower:  Hawk (see text)
  1 
  Reputation:  Gentleman Bandit 11- (Medium 
  Sized Geographic Area), +1/+1d6
   
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Whip, Bolas, and Colt Peacemaker
  8 
  Targeting Skill Levels:  +4 versus Hit Loca-
  tion Penalties with Whip
  20 
  +4 DCV
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  2 
  Animal Handler (Raptors) 12-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  3 
  Disguise 12-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Whip) 13-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Small Arms) 13-
  3 
  Gambling (Card Games, Horse Racing) 12-
  3 
  AK: Argentine Pampas 12-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  Spanish is Native)
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  3 
  Paramedics 12-
  3 
  Persuasion 12-
  1 
  PS: Dancer 8-
  2 
  PS: Rustler 11-
  2 
  PS: Thief 11-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Seduction 12-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  2 
  Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 12-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  3 
  TF: Riding Animals; Small Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles
  5 
  WF: Small Arms, Whip, Bola, Lariat
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  188
  Total Cost:  270
  75+ Disadvantages 
  20 
  DNPC:  Mother and two sisters 8-  
  (Incompetent; Group DNPC))
  25 
  Hunted:  Police 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Thrillseeker 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Gentleman Bandit 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Reputation:  gentleman bandit, 11-
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Juan 
  Miguel Alvarez) (Frequently, Major)
  80 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  270
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Whip 
  +0 
  — 
  ½d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  5 
  3” reach, can Grab
  Bolas 
  +0 
  RBS 
  Spec 
  — 
  1 
  6 
  Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF
  Colt Peacemaker 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  6 
  9
  Armor None
  Gear:  Rope, lighter
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  EL AZOR PLOT 
  SEEDS
  There’s a new alcalde in 
  town. Actually, it’s one 
  of the characters who’s 
  inherited or won some 
  property in Argentina 
  and has come down to 
  inspect it. El Azor sets 
  out to make the new 
  landowner’s arrival an 
  event to be remembered 
  — and proﬁted from. 
  He has a train robbery 
  planned where he’ll 
  introduce himself to 
  the character, followed 
  by an appearance at 
  the welcoming ball 
  being thrown in the 
  new landowner’s honor, 
  and that will carry him 
  through until he sees if 
  the character is going to 
  bring in new cattle or 
  reopen those old mines 
  in the hills. It’s good to 
  be El Azor!
  The characters are on an 
  expedition to the south-
  ern part of the Andes 
  in search of some Inca 
  ruins. After a lengthy 
  search, they ﬁnd the 
  ruins and discover that 
  they aren’t the only ones 
  interested in the site:  El 
  Azor’s there to locate a 
  series of army paychests 
  hidden away by soldiers 
  who were subsequently 
  killed during one of the 
  many revolutions in the 
  early Thirties. Can they 
  all learn to get along, so 
  everyone gets what he 
  wants? And what about 
  those soldiers coming up 
  the mountain? Just what 
  are they doing here?
  Continued on next page
  
  109 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  Background/History:  Juan Miguel Alvarez and 
  his sisters Carmelita and Rosa were raised on his 
  father’s small cattle ranch northwest of Buenos 
  Aires. It was a good life for a young man, and 
  things were good economically, both for the Alva-
  rez family and Argentina. Per capita income was 
  rising, and the country was moving toward a true 
  democracy. Juan learned all the necessary skills for 
  a gaucho — riding, shooting, ranching, dancing, 
  and the use of the whip and the bola.
  Then came the Great Depression and the 
  September 1930 coup. The new president, General 
  Jose Uriburu, was a poor leader, ruling by decree, 
  torture, and imprisonment. In 1932, General Agus-
  tin Justo was elected president. Although he dis-
  trusted Uriburu, he used similar governing tactics. 
  His administration censored the press, intervened 
  in the universities, and suppressed other political 
  parties. Several revolts followed. Economic condi-
  tions forced the government to renegotiate various 
  import and export treaties.
  Beef prices dropped, grain prices rose, and the 
  Alvarez family suﬀered. When Juan’s father died in 
  a riding accident, the responsibility for the family 
  fell on the young man’s shoulder. Determined to 
  not lose the rancho which had been in his family 
  for generations, young Juan began seeking alterna-
  tive methods of ﬁnancing. He’d always loved stories 
  of noble thieves like Robin Hood, who stole from 
  the rich to give to the poor. Since he was poor, 
  he’d become a Robin Hood and give to himself! 
  Inspired by his pet hawk, he created the “gentleman 
  bandit” identity of El Azor. Dressed all in black and 
  armed with his whip, bola and pistol, the bandito 
  embarked on his life of crime.
  Personality/Motivation:  El Azor envisions himself as a 
  gentleman bandit. He’s gracious, polite, dashing, witty, 
  uses the minimum amount of force necessary to get 
  the job done, and is always polite to the ladies. He’s 
  been known to refuse to steal from the poorer pas-
  sengers on a train, saying that he’s only a poor man 
  himself and won’t contribute to another poor man’s 
  poverty. Inspired by the stories of the American Wild 
  West, El Azor steals anything he sees as ﬁnancially 
  advantageous. With a lariat and running iron, he’s 
  increased his herds. Through train and bank robber-
  ies, he’s paid oﬀ the mortgage on his family’s rancho 
  and even increased his holdings.
  Since El Azor has gotten his family on a more 
  stable ﬁnancial footing, he’s tried to give up his life 
  of crime, but ﬁnds that he cannot. He’s addicted to 
  the thrill of the chase, the romance of his heroic 
  bandit image, and cannot do without it.
  Quote:  “A sword, Señor? No, no, El Azor prefers 
  the gun.”
  Powers/Tactics:   El Azor is an intelligent bandit 
  who plans his crimes carefully. He’ll watch a herd 
  of cattle for days, visit a bank several times, or 
  travel a specific train route before committing 
  his crime, making certain to identify likely places 
  for dramatic entrances and exits and the like. He 
  believes being prepared is the secret to success, 
  and he wants to keep on with his string of suc-
  cesses as long as possible.
  El Azor exploits the element of surprise 
  whenever possible, using his whip or gun to 
  disarm or disable any violent opponents, and 
  his bola to immobilize any who attempt to 
  escape. If necessary, he calls in his trained hawk, 
  Rayo (“Lightning”), to snatch guns from hands, 
  carry ropes across chasms, and the like. He is 
  loathe to expose his friend to gunfire if he can 
  help it, though. (For his Hawk’s character sheet, 
  see 136 of The HERO System Bestiary, and add 
  the Battle-Trained and Smart templates from 
  that book.)
  El Azor’s mastery of the whip is noth-
  ing short of marvelous. He can use his whip to 
  disarm opponents, choke them into unconscious-
  ness, or simply injure them. He’s been known to 
  flick buttons off of a shirt without injuring the 
  man wearing it, and slice cigarettes and cigars 
  out of the lips of the person smoking them with-
  out inflicting so much as a scratch. But he’s no 
  slouch with his pistol either. He can draw quickly, 
  shoot accurately while on the run or even diving 
  through the air, and fire so quickly he can come 
  close to emptying his revolver in less than a 
  second. He’s also mastered the art of twisting out 
  of the way of a bullet at the last second, a trick 
  that never fails to amaze the locals and makes 
  the authorities swear he’s some kind of spirit or 
  ghost. (In game terms, his Combat Skill Levels 
  with DCV simulate this.)
  A pair of young women 
  has made a splash in 
  Hudson City society:  
  two beautiful sisters 
  from Argentina who 
  are here to enjoy a visit 
  to America and spend 
  some of their wealthy 
  family’s money. Beau-
  tiful, charming, and 
  ﬂirtatious, they’re the 
  latest toast of the town 
  — until something 
  happens and sud-
  denly, abruptly, they 
  aren’t returning calls or 
  attending parties. And 
  there are stories about 
  a man dressed in black 
  with a trained bird, a 
  man who’s on a rampage 
  through the underworld, 
  looking for something 
  or someone. No, not 
  the Raven — this man 
  dresses like nothing 
  anyone has ever seen, 
  and he calls himself El 
  Azor....
  Continued from last page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  110 ■ Solo Villains
  Campaign Use:  Think of El Azor just like you 
  would the villain in a western movie or serial. He 
  robs banks and rains, rustles cattle, engages in bar 
  ﬁghts, and makes the local law enforcement look 
  like fools. He just does all of this in Argentina. 
  While dressed like a gaucho. Accompanied by his 
  loyal hawk. And with a Spanish accent. You can run 
  him as a serious villain (in which case, despite his 
  appearance, he’s quite deadly), or for a more come-
  dic touch (in which case he goes out of his way to 
  make the characters look like fools), or, perhaps 
  best of all, as a more middle-of-the-road ﬁgure 
  who’s a bit of both.
  If your campaign’s unlikely to take the PCs to 
  Argentina, you can transplant El Azor to another 
  country — such as Mexico, Brazil, or perhaps even 
  the Southwest US — without much trouble. Just 
  tweak his background a little to suit the new loca-
  tion, and get rid of his bola.
  To make El Azor more powerful, give him 
  a few Cinematic Brawling maneuvers and some 
  Combat Luck. To weaken him, reduce his DEX to 
  18 and SPD to 3, remove some or all of his DCV 
  Levels, and eliminate his Targeting Skill Levels.
  El Azor isn’t much of a Hunter... unless he 
  decides a character would make a good dramatic 
  nemesis for him so he can build up his legend a bit 
  more. He’s not really interested in killing anyone, 
  though, and would only do that if someone harmed 
  his family or Rayo.
  Appearance:  El Azor wears typical gaucho dress:  
  bombachas (loose full pants), boots, a ﬂat broad 
  brimmed hat, and a poncho. Rather than the usual 
  utilitarian garb of the standard gaucho however, El 
  Azor’s clothes are all black silk, richly embroidered 
  in silver. His boots are tooled leather, ornately 
  appointed in silver, and his hat is of the ﬁnest 
  quality. He stands 5’8” tall and weighs about 190 
  pounds, with black hair and dark brown eyes.
  Juan Alvarez dresses in much the same fash-
  ion, albeit in the more traditionally drab colors 
  of the gaucho. When not working his rancho, he 
  dresses in well-ﬁtting but not terribly expensive 
  clothing appropriate to the situation.
  ACHMED “BENNY” BEN-ALI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   12 STR 
  2 
  11- 
  Lift 133 kg; 2d6 [2]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   14 PRE 
  4 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  10-
   5 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   25 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  48
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  5 
  Unimpressed:  +10 PRE, Only To Protect 
  Against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  4 
  Observant:  +2 PER with Sight Group 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  20 
  Well Connected and 17 points’ worth of 
  Contacts among wealthy art collectors, inter-
  national black marketers, mid-level govern-
  ment bureaucrats, professional art thieves, 
  unscrupulous museum directors, and the like
   
  Talents
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 with Interaction Skills
  5 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 12-
  4 
  Forgery (Art objects) 14-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  3 
  KS: Black Market Merchandise 13-
  3 
  KS: The Art World 13-
  3 
  KS: Works of Art 13-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; Arabic 
  is Native)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Persian (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Persuasion 12-
  3 
  PS: Art Appraisal 13-
  3 
  PS: Fence 13-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  4 
  TF: Riding Animals; Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles
  3 
  Trading 12-
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  106
  Total Cost:  154
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Believes He’s 
  Much More Suave And Debonair Than He Is 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  ACHMED BEN-ALI 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Something unthinkable 
  has happened:  Benny’s 
  been burglarized! His 
  collection has been 
  violated, and some of 
  his most valuable pieces 
  have been wrenched 
  from their loving home 
  on his estate. This is an 
  outrage! Intolerable! 
  Unthinkable! He needs 
  someone to track down 
  this thief calling himself 
  Fafnir and bring back 
  his stolen property. 
  And when he needs 
  something unpleasant, 
  dangerous, and risky 
  like that done, who else 
  is he going to call but 
  the PCs?
  Benny is in love. Again. 
  No, he really means 
  it this time. Honest. 
  There’s just this one little 
  problem... Hey! Where 
  are you going? You have 
  to help him; you’re his 
  friend, his only friend! 
  If you’ll just give him a 
  few days of your time 
  and help him out, he 
  knows it’ll work — he 
  has this great idea that 
  he got from a book he 
  just read. Maybe you’ve 
  heard of it? Cyrano de 
  Bergerac?
  Somewhere in the track-
  less Sahara is the Bar-
  rington-Smythe expedi-
  tion:  three good men, 
  one woman, twenty 
  bearers, and ﬁfty camels 
  and horses, all searching 
  for the Oasis of Jinmiir 
  and the buried city sur-
  rounding it. When the 
  characters discover that 
  another expedition, 
  ﬁnanced by individuals 
  they know have connec-
  tions to the Legion Of 
  Crime, set out in pursuit 
  of the unaware Bar-
  rington-Smythe party 
  three days ago, there’s 
  only one man they can 
  turn to to get a copy of 
  the map Barrington-
  Smythe was following:  
  Benny. But will they 
  meet his price?
  
  111 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  5 
  Reputation:  black market art dealer, 11- 
  (among law enforcement agencies)
  10 
  Vulnerable:  2 x Eﬀect from PRE attacks by 
  females of COM 16+ (Uncommon)
  39 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  154
  Background/History:  Achmed “Benny” Ben-Ali 
  comes from a long line of graverobbers and antiq-
  uities thieves. Since he was a child he’s moved freely 
  through the Egyptian underworld, buying and 
  selling — and sometimes stealing — art objects 
  and artifacts. Having seen several members of his 
  family killed or maimed while robbing tombs in 
  the hills of Egypt, Benny decided that letting others 
  take the risks was a much better idea, so he began 
  limiting his exploits to fencing and forgery. Setting 
  up a shop in the souks of Cairo, Benny bought and 
  sold minor artifacts and built up his network of 
  contacts. During the Great War he took advantage 
  of the increased presence of Europeans and Ameri-
  cans in the city to branch out into jewelry and art 
  objects. Now he has a large estate outside Cairo and 
  “friends” all over the world.
  Personality/Motivation:  Benny considers himself 
  quite the cosmopolitan ladies’ man, but sadly for 
  him, he’s wrong. He’s highly susceptible to feminine 
  wiles and always believes the best of any woman, 
  even after she’s deceived him. While he’s never been 
  able to ﬁnd the “perfect woman” (i.e., one who’d 
  agree to marry him), he continues to search. He 
  loves beautiful things, and beautiful women are at 
  the top of his list.
  But most of all, Benny is greedy. Paper money 
  is lovely, silver better, gems and jewelry better still, 
  and gold best of all. He’ll lie, cheat, steal, or what-
  ever it takes to accumulate more money. His dream 
  is to acquire enough wealth to move to America, 
  where he’ll live in a mansion with his beautiful wife 
  and have society at his feet.
  Quote:  “Mr. Irons, what a pleasure to see you again! 
  Have you come to your senses and decided to allow 
  me to purchase the lovely Miss Murdock from you? 
  I promise you a very good price.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Benny is useless in a ﬁght. He’ll 
  either buy his way out of it, or hire someone who’ll 
  take care of it. If you have something he wants — 
  an art object, a beautiful American blonde — he’ll 
  try to purchase it. If unsuccessful, he hires someone 
  who can acquire it for him. Repeat as necessary.
  Campaign Use:  Benny is the type of character who 
  can be anything the campaign requires. If you 
  need a ﬁnancial backer for an expedition to the 
  lost mines of King Solomon, contact Benny. If you 
  need someone to hire a thief to steal art objects, 
  contact Benny. If you need someone who knows 
  more about the seamy underside of the art world 
  than any character is likely to want to, contact 
  Benny. If you need to know the location of the 
  auction of your stolen artifacts, contact Benny. If 
  he doesn’t have them, he knows who does. Any-
  thing you need, Benny can 
  get. For a price. And always, 
  of course, at the risk he’ll 
  sell you out to someone 
  who pays even more....
  To make Benny more 
  powerful, give him more 
  Contacts and Favors and 
  perhaps a couple of large 
  Turkish bodyguards. To 
  make him less powerful, 
  reduce the number of Con-
  tacts he has available and 
  remove his Skill Levels.
  Benny would not per-
  sonally Hunt a character 
  for any reason. He would, 
  however, hire someone to if 
  the character had something 
  he wanted and wouldn’t 
  sell it to him. In that case, 
  the character could expect 
  whatever tactics the individ-
  ual Benny employs would 
  normally use. However, 
  Benny would never autho-
  rize the use of lethal force, 
  because then he could never 
  sell them something — or 
  steal something else from 
  them — later.
  Appearance:  Benny is 
  short, about 5’4” tall, but 
  weighs almost 250 pounds. 
  His stringy brown hair 
  always looks unwashed, and even his brown 
  eyes look faded. While he tries to dress in the 
  finest of clothes, whether Middle Eastern or 
  European, he cannot go longer than a few min-
  utes before they become sweat-stained and 
  rumpled. When at home, he generally wears the 
  traditional djellaba (a richly embroidered and 
  colorful robe), slippers, and a turban. If meeting 
  with a European or American “client,” he dresses 
  in a more Western style, in an impeccably tai-
  lored — but sadly rumpled — suit. The only 
  concession he won’t make to Western dress is 
  that he continues to wear his embroidered slip-
  pers, even with his suits.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Magnifying glass
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  112 ■ Solo Villains
  CIMBA JANAKADI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
  15 
  STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
  20 
  DEX 
  30 
  14- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
  20 
  CON 
  20 
  13-
  14 
  BODY 8 
  12-
  14 
  INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
  14 
  EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
  20 
  PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
  20 
  COM 
  5 
  13-
  8  
  PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
  4  
  ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  7 ED (3 rED)
  4  
  SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
  8  
  REC 
  2
  40 
  END 
  0
  40 
  STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  119
  Movement: 
  Running: 
  9”/18”
   
  Swimming: 
  5”/10”
   
  Swinging: 
  12”/24”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Jungle Fighting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Damage/Effect
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Choke 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  2d6 NND(2)
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  30 STR vs. 
  Grabs
  4 
  Evade 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge vs. All, 
  Abort
  4 
  Punch 
  +2 
  +0 
  5d6 Strike
  3 
  Hold 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 25 STR 
  for holding on
  3 
  Slam 
  +0 
  +1 
  3d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  2 
  Use Art with Spears and Knives
  10 
  One With The Jungle:  +20 PRE; Only  
  Versus Animals (-1) 
  0
  5 
  The Trees Are Her Highway:  Swinging 12”;  
  OIF (vines and branches of opportunity;  
  -½), Requires A DEX Roll (-¾) 
  1
  6 
  Runs Like The Wind:  Running +3” (9” total) 1
  3 
  Swims Like A Fish:  Swimming +3” (5” total) 1
  15 
  Blessings Of The Jungle Gods:  Luck 3d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  25 
  Followers:  Bagheera the leopard, Mowgli  
  the monkey, and Colonel the elephant, each 
  built on 75 Base Points
   
  Talents
  20 
  Animal Friendship
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  23 
  Danger Sense (out of combat, immediate 
  area, intuitional) 15- 
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Jungle Fighting
  6 
  +3 OCV with Bow
  10 
  +2 DCV
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Spear, Bow, and Knife) 13-
  7 
  AK: Central Africa 16-
  7 
  KS: Jungle Animals 16-
  7 
  KS: Jungle Tribes 16-
  1 
  KS: Works Of Kipling 8-
  1 
  Language:  English (basic conversation; 
  Bantu is native)
  4 
  Language:  Swahili (idiomatic)
  3 
  Mimicry 12-
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  3 
  Paramedics 12-
  7 
  PS: Huntress 16-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  6 
  Security Systems 15-; Only Works With 
  Primitive/Natural/Jungle-Style Traps (-½)
  5 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  6 
  Survival (Mountains, Temperate/Subtropical, 
  Tropical) 12-
  9 
  Tracking 15-
  2 
  TF: Riding Animals
  4 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Missile Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  260
  Total Cost:  379
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Hunted:  Sir Jonathan Earle 8- (As Pow, Kill)
  15 
  Psychological limitation:  Follows Code Of 
  The Jungle (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates “Civilized” 
  People, Especially Germans (Common, 
  Strong)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Sworn To Protect 
  The Jungle And Its Inhabitants (Common, 
  Total)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Unfamiliar With Civiliza-
  tion (Frequent, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  224 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  379
  Background/History:  Marissa Thomas was born in 
  1913 to a missionary couple serving in the Belgian 
  Congo. She lived there with her parents until the 
  age of ten, when the missionary school was raided 
  by a band of German soldiers who stayed in Africa 
  after the end of the Great War and turned to ban-
  ditry. Mrs. Thomas hid Marissa and so saved her 
  life, but she couldn’t prevent her daughter from 
  witnessing the atrocities perpetrated by the soldiers 
  on her parents and the villagers.
  After the Germans left and the village was 
  in ﬂames, Marissa ﬂed into the jungle, where she 
  survived by watching and imitating the animals 
  — eating the food they ate, drinking the water they 
  drank, and hiding when they hid. Her constant 
  companion was Raﬁki, a yearling lion she rescued 
  as an orphaned cub. His presence prompted the 
  local tribes to give her the name Cimba Janakadi, 
  or “Lion Woman.”
  When Marissa was sixteen, civilization came 
  OTHER NAMES FOR 
  CIMBA JANAKADI
  The jungle tribes have 
  many diﬀerent names 
  for Cimba Janakadi, 
  most with the same 
  meaning as her Bantu 
  dialectical primary 
  name. Some variations 
  include:
  Simba Mwanamke 
  (Swahili, meaning “lion 
  woman”)
  Zaki Ajuza (Hausa for 
  “lion woman”)
  Gida Jantu (Bantu dia-
  lectical form of “lion 
  woman”)
  Tamboi Janakadi 
  (Another Bantu dia-
  lectical form of “lion 
  woman”)
  
  113 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  to the jungle again, as white men — workers and 
  guards from a nearby hydraulic mining operation 
  — brutally moved through the area, rounding up 
  slaves to work their mining operation. As before, 
  the representatives of civilization not only raided 
  the villages and destroyed the land, they killed 
  Raﬁki, who died saving her life. Her mind could 
  not stand the same loss again, and it retreated by 
  deciding she was what the natives referred to her 
  as:  Cimba Janakadi, the vengeful jungle spirit.
  Since then, Marissa has be-friended other 
  animals, naming them from characters she dimly 
  recalls in the stories that her mother told her:  a 
  leopard (Bagheera), 
  a small monkey 
  (Mowgli), and an 
  elephant (The Colo-
  nel). She’s declared 
  her own private war 
  on the white men she 
  blames for the deaths 
  of her loved ones and 
  the destruction of her 
  beloved jungle.
  Personality/Motiva-
  tion:  The girl who 
  was once Marissa 
  Thomas has van-
  ished, leaving Cimba 
  Janakadi in her place. 
  Where Marissa was 
  weak and defenseless, 
  Cimba is strong and 
  deadly, able to protect 
  both herself and her 
  jungle. As part of that 
  transformation, she’s 
  forgotten most of what 
  she knew of civilized 
  mores and ways. She 
  lives like a free spirit 
  in the jungle, existing 
  from day-to-day with 
  very little thought 
  for tomorrow. If she’s 
  hungry, she ﬁnds food. 
  If it rains, she ﬁnds 
  shelter. She wears clothes only because she remem-
  bers her mother telling her she must, but even then 
  just a few small scraps of zebra hide. Her speech, 
  when she uses her almost-forgotten English, is halt-
  ing and full of clipped declarative sentences. She’s 
  better with the native languages, speaking them 
  ﬂuently and knowing many dialects, but that’s more 
  from hearing them than actual usage.
  Cimba hates civilization and the white men 
  she believes are its messengers. Her mind mingles 
  them with the German soldiers who destroyed her 
  family’s compound in her childhood. The fact that 
  she herself is one of them is completely lost on her. 
  If confronted with this fact, she would look blankly 
  at the speaker and proclaim that she is Cimba 
  Janakadi, the spirit of the jungle, not one of the 
  white killers from civilization. She’ll explain away 
  superﬁcial similarities like skin and hair color by 
  claiming the jungle took the most terrifying image 
  it had — white killers — when it gave birth to her.
  Having had her 
  family taken from her 
  twice now, Cimba’s 
  extremely protective 
  of the new one she’s 
  made for herself. She 
  won’t allow harm 
  to come to any of 
  her animals, and 
  will wreak a terrible 
  vengeance on anyone 
  foolish enough to 
  hurt them. Her pro-
  tection extends to 
  the jungle as a whole 
  and the natives who 
  dwell within it, lead-
  ing her to oppose 
  virtually any attempts 
  to develop land, 
  establish mines or 
  settlements, organize 
  the natives into a 
  regular work force, or 
  lead safaris into her 
  territory.
  The “Code Of 
  The Jungle” she fol-
  lows is a basic and 
  primal one. It holds 
  that hunters should 
  only kill what they 
  need and never take 
  more than the jungle 
  can provide, that 
  killing to survive and protect others is good, and 
  that even white men — except Germans — should 
  be given one chance to show that they can change 
  their ways before they must be killed. Kindness 
  should be repaid with kindness, and injustice with 
  vengeance.
   CIMBA JANAKADI 
  PLOT SEEDS
  There’s a plague spreading 
  through the jungles like 
  wildﬁre, literally depopu-
  lating some villages due to 
  its virulence. A physician 
  has ﬁnally arrived from 
  Mombasa with a vaccine; 
  now all someone has to 
  do is guide him through 
  the jungle to the villages 
  not yet infected so he can 
  vaccinate the natives and 
  save hundreds, maybe 
  thousands, of lives. But 
  this means ﬁnding a way 
  to get safe passage though 
  Cimba Janakadi’s territory 
  — and somehow con-
  vincing her that Dr. Fritz 
  Grüberman is really here 
  to help the natives. But 
  that’s why they call them 
  heroes, right?
  While in a remote part 
  of her territory, Cimba 
  comes across an expedi-
  tion that seems to be 
  moving towards a por-
  tion of the mountains 
  she’s always avoided 
  because of the city of the 
  Metal Shirt Men who 
  live there. They occa-
  sionally send parties 
  of men in their funny 
  metal shirts and hats 
  into the jungles to cap-
  ture animals, and can’t 
  be hurt with arrows. 
  She’s ready to let the 
  two groups encounter 
  each other and help the 
  jungle take the survivors 
  when she realizes the 
  expedition has three 
  children with it, one of 
  them a girl with blonde 
  hair that makes her 
  remember things she’d 
  forgotten long ago. The 
  expedition leaders won’t 
  listen to her warnings 
  until it’s too late and the 
  Metal Shirt Men have 
  captured them. Cimba 
  realizes she needs some 
  help — quickly — to 
  rescue the children. 
  Perhaps those people 
  she met some time 
  ago? They weren’t too 
  civilized; they might do 
  if she can ﬁnd them in 
  time.
  Continued on next page
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Spear 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8 
  Can Be Thrown
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown
  Bow 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  15 
  9
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  None
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  114 ■ Solo Villains
  Quote:  “Bad men come to jungle. Hunt Cimba 
  Janakadi’s friends. Must be Germans. Cimba 
  Janakadi hunt them back.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Cimba’s primary concern is the 
  safety of the jungle and its inhabitants, animal and 
  otherwise. But she’s no tactician — she tends to 
  take a reactive stance, waiting until someone or 
  something intrudes on her territory, then dealing 
  with it. She always investigates and observes intrud-
  ers from the safety of the jungle to determine if 
  they’re “Germans” or not — “Germans” being her 
  word for individuals who have no honor or moral-
  ity and seek only to kill or destroy. If she judges 
  them to merely be “civilized,” she’ll issue one warn-
  ing in person and retreat to see how they respond. 
  If they heed her warning, or otherwise give some 
  sign that they might be capable of leaning “proper” 
  behavior, she’ll restrict herself to “harmless” acts 
  like minor sabotage against equipment and sup-
  plies, sending a band of monkeys to rampage 
  through the group’s camp, dumping over canoes 
  and laughing at the “civilized” folk as they thrash 
  about in the water, scaring oﬀ native bearers with 
  cries in the night, releasing captured animals from 
  their cages, and so forth. Her “family” often helps 
  with acts of this nature.
  If she thinks the white men are “Germans,” 
  or if they prove through their actions that they 
  cannot learn “proper behavior” (by ignoring her 
  warning completely or shooting at her, for exam-
  ple), her actions won’t be so “benign.” They’ll face 
  arrows from out of the darkness, poisonous snakes 
  dropped into tents, sabotaged bridges that collapse 
  under loads, raw meat dropped into the river to 
  attract crocodiles as they cross, and even elephant 
  stampedes through their camp if she believes the 
  Colonel and his friends will be safe from massed 
  gunﬁre. As always, she tries try to avoid endanger-
  ing her family.
  If forced to ﬁght in person, Cimba uses a 
  variety of moves learned from watching monkeys 
  and other animals ﬁght with each other, made all 
  the more eﬀective by her surprising strength and 
  agility. She’s trained herself to use the weapons of 
  the natives — the spear, the bow, and the knife. She 
  won’t ﬁght to death or capture, preferring to escape 
  into the jungle to return for another attack later. 
  She’s constantly on the watch, making it almost 
  impossible to take her by surprise or ambush... as 
  her persistent nemesis, Sir Jonathan Earle, has dis-
  covered on several occasions.
  Cimba’s mastery over animals is almost magi-
  cal — it’s one of the reasons the natives consider 
  her to be a spirit made ﬂesh. Even the most danger-
  ous of creatures lets her walk up to it and place a 
  hand on it without retaliation, or can be persuaded 
  to do tricks or perform small tasks for her, some-
  times with only the briefest of contacts. When 
  using her Animal Friendship Talent, she talks to the 
  animals as if they can understand her. Though she 
  has no real power to speak with them, she’s a wild 
  enough creature in her own right that there seems 
  to be true communication going on.
  For Cimba’s three animal Followers, use the 
  appropriate character sheets from The HERO 
  System Bestiary with the Smart template added.
  Campaign Use:  Cimba Janakadi is more like a 
  force of nature than a human opponent. She’s the 
  jungle of Africa made ﬂesh to do battle with the 
  despoilers who come to loot her treasures; a spirit 
  who ﬂits through the jungle and is gone, leaving 
  only a memory to mark her passing. She opposes 
  any project — good or bad — that threatens her 
  territory, and kills anyone who ﬁghts her with a 
  ruthlessness only those who understand the law of 
  the jungle can comprehend. She could make a very 
  interesting, exotic — and sometimes startlingly 
  frank and open — romantic interest for the right 
  character, though she could never completely leave 
  the jungle... or have the jungle leave her.
  To make Cimba more powerful, increase her 
  STR to 18-20, give her another appropriate maneu-
  ver or two for her Jungle Fighting, and one or two 
  Extra DCs. Alternately, you can add more “Jungle 
  Lord”-style abilities such as a “Disappearing Act” 
  Teleportation, a few more inches of Leaping, or a 
  limited form of Invisibility that only functions in 
  natural surroundings. To make her weaker, drop 
  her DEX and CON to 15, and remove her Danger 
  Sense and One With The Jungle abilities.
  Since she’s a reactive threat, Hunting is some-
  thing that Cimba Janakadi does frequently and 
  with great skill. If an outsider enters her territory 
  and cannot be persuaded to depart, she Hunts him, 
  using the general plans outlined above. She pre-
  fers to try to have the jungle dispose of those that 
  she Hunts, but she’s not opposed to doing the job 
  herself if it seems right. She might be persuaded to 
  depart her beloved jungle and carry a Hunt back 
  into the wilds of civilization itself if the oﬀense to 
  her or the jungle were great enough.
  Appearance:  Cimba Janakadi is a tall, extremely 
  athletic girl in her early twenties, standing 5’9” 
  tall and weighing 148 pounds. She has long, curly 
  blonde hair that’s usually tied back with a criss-
  crossed leather thong but sometimes allowed to fall 
  free, emerald green eyes, and deeply tanned skin 
  from living outdoors. She wears a rather abbrevi-
  ated halter top and loincloth made from the tanned 
  hide of a zebra Bagheera killed, and carries a knife 
  strapped to one calf with thongs, a spear in one 
  hand, and a bow and quiver of arrows slung across 
  her back. There’s an air of wild, feral beauty about 
  her that makes her unforgettable.
  Cimba has been shot at 
  and avoided traps set by 
  natives and “civilized” 
  men alike for years. But 
  no one’s ever used gas 
  before, and she falls into 
  the waiting nets without 
  realizing what’s happen-
  ing. When she awakens, 
  she’s in a metal cage in 
  a dark room with many 
  animals and the smell 
  of the great salt lake all 
  around her. A dirty little 
  man keeps coming and 
  shoving bits of food to 
  her and saying things 
  about how she’ll make 
  him rich and his circus 
  famous. Cimba doesn’t 
  really understand that, 
  but she’s willing to bide 
  her time. Weeks later, 
  Dennard’s Magniﬁcent 
  Circus opens in Hudson 
  City with the ﬁrst show-
  ing of its new act, “The 
  Jungle Queen,” promis-
  ing that “Hudson City 
  has never seen anything 
  like her!” When Cimba 
  breaks loose, releases all 
  the animals, and starts 
  to lead them home, the 
  advertising proves to be 
  correct. Now she’s just 
  got one problem... which 
  way is home and how do 
  she and her new friends 
  get out of the Village Of 
  The Big Stone Huts?
  Continued from last page
  
  115 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  LA COLOMBE NOIR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   12 CON 
  4 
  11-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   2 PD 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  4 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   24 END 
  0
   23 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  51
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  10 
  Luck 2d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Well-Connected and 7 points’ worth of Con-
  tacts in the black market and the underworld
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Skills
  5 
  +1 with Interaction Skills
  3 
  Acrobatics 12-
  3 
  Acting 12-
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  5 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  7 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  3 
  KS: Gems And Jewelry Black Market 12-
  3 
  KS: Museums Of The World 12-
  3 
  KS: Possessions Of The Rich And Famous 12-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  French is Native)
  2 
  Language:  Italian (ﬂuent conversation)
  7 
  Lockpicking 14-
  5 
  PS: Thief 14-
  5 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Seduction 12-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  2 
  TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles
  1 
  WF: Handguns
  3 
  Traveler
  2 
  1)  AK: Cote d’Azure 12-
  2 
  2)  AK: Europe 12
  2 
  3)  CK: London 12-
  2 
  4)  CK: Paris 12-
  2 
  5)  CK: Rome 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  116
  Total Cost:  167
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  DNPC:  Clarisse Gaspard (younger sister, age 
  14) 8- (Incompetent, Unaware of Character’s 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity)
  20 
  Hunted:  various law enforcement agencies 
  8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined Not 
  To Be Poor Again (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Thrillseeker 
  (Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Rivalry:  Professional, with Fafnir (Rival is 
  More Powerful)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Juliette 
  Gaspard) (Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  170
  Background/History:  Born in Avignon, France 
  to Emile and Helené Gaspard, Juliette Gaspard 
  enjoyed all the advantages someone raised in a 
  loving, well-to-do family could. The addition of her 
  younger sister Clarisse made her life even more 
  complete. Unfortunately, in 1929 her father was 
  arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for embez-
  zling from the St. Etienne Trading Company, where 
  he’d worked as a buyer and expert in Far Eastern 
  antiquities. Between the reparations ordered by 
  the courts and the Great Depression, the family 
  lost everything. Emile died six months later, an 
  apparent suicide. Forced into manual labor, Helené 
  worked herself to death within a year. Now left with 
  no money, no means of support, and a young sister 
  to raise, Juliette fell back on what she considered to 
  be her only talent:  her beauty.
  Several years (and gentlemen friends) later, 
  Juliette took up with a petty crook and part-time 
  second story man named Erique Corday. He taught 
  her the profession, but the relationship fell apart 
  when she proved more adept at it than he. Corday 
  was caught during a robbery and sent to prison; 
  Juliette changed her name and left town one step 
  ahead of the gendarmes. Finding that stealing jew-
  elry paid better than selling herself, she became la 
  Colombe Noir (the Black Dove).
  Personality/Motivation:  Colombe Noir grew up 
  with the beneﬁts of money and is beginning to 
  enjoy having it again. She likes attending the elite 
  soirées so beloved by the young and wealthy, and 
  has become a member of the “in crowd.” At ﬁrst 
  meeting she gives the impression of someone out to 
  have a good time, but that’s not entirely true. There’s 
  a reason for the parties and travel — it’s where the 
  money is. She’s determined to provide for herself 
  and her sister so Clarisse never has to do the sorts 
  of things she’s had to.
  Quote:  “I’m always in the mood for a party!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Colombe Noir is a sneak thief who 
  climbs walls and opens windows and safes to get 
  what she’s after. Juliette, on the other hand, travels 
  with the wealthy dilettante set, one of the numerous 
  pretty faces in jewels and furs who wander between 
  Paris and London, Cote d’Azur and Monte Carlo. 
  She’s always on the arm of someone new, especially 
  LA COLOMBE NOIR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The classic la Colombe 
  Noir plot:  a PC stores 
  something valuable in 
  his safe at home — and 
  when he goes to retrieve 
  it a week or three later, 
  it’s gone! Who did it? 
  When did it happen? The 
  character begins to work 
  through a list of indi-
  viduals who’ve been in his 
  home recently, and comes 
  to the lovely Juliette. No, 
  it couldn’t be her — who’s 
  next on the list?
  Juliette returns home one 
  night and discovers that 
  Clarisse is missing! She 
  becomes frantic. Then her 
  phone rings and a gut-
  tural voice on the other 
  end tells her Clarisse will 
  be returned — unharmed 
  — if she’ll do just one 
  small thing. There was 
  a man at the party she 
  attended tonight, surely 
  she must remember him:  
  the elderly British gentle-
  man she danced with? 
  He has something the 
  voice wants:  the plans to 
  the Maginot Line. Juliette 
  may be a thief, but she’s 
  no traitor. How can she 
  work things out so she 
  gets Clarisse back safe and 
  unharmed, the plans stay 
  in French hands, and the 
  men who kidnapped her 
  sister pay the price?
  Everything has gone per-
  fectly on her latest outing 
  as the Black Dove, not a 
  hitch. The jewels she came 
  for are safe in her bag, 
  and not even the wealthy 
  family’s dogs were aware 
  she was there. So how did 
  the man whose home she 
  burglarized wind up dead 
  in his study, next to the 
  opened safe she closed 
  behind her? Why is his 
  sister swearing it was a 
  woman dressed in a close-
  ﬁtting black outﬁt who 
  stabbed him to death? 
  Juliette realizes she’s going 
  to have to clear herself 
  before la Colombe Noir is 
  branded as a murderess... 
  or better yet, help some-
  one else to do it so her 
  secret remains safe.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  116 ■ Solo Villains
  if he’s charming, pleasant to 
  look at, and rich. She uses 
  her position to learn any-
  thing she can about a current 
  paramour’s possessions... and 
  then, once she’s several young 
  men safely away from him, 
  robs him blind. Gems, paint-
  ings, statuettes, stocks, bonds 
  — there’s always something 
  valuable she can turn into the 
  money she needs to ensure 
  that she, and more impor-
  tantly her sister, are never 
  poor again.
  Juliette is an astute lis-
  tener, skilled at drawing out 
  information from people (a 
  task make all the easier if 
  they’re a little on the inebriated 
  side). The parties she attends 
  are also a breeding ground for 
  gossip, giving her clues to who 
  might have potential blackmail 
  material hidden in their safes 
  next to the jewelry and stock 
  certiﬁcates. 
  Campaign Use:  Facing down 
  the minions of Darkness 
  is exciting, but sometimes 
  characters want to spend 
  some time in adventures 
  that are somewhat less 
  life-threatening, if no less 
  exciting in their own way. Colombe Noir is 
  always looking for a handsome face to comple-
  ment her pretty one and a strong arm to slip hers 
  around — and her dual life makes knowing her 
  that much more interesting. She’s a ready-made 
  romantic interest for an appropriate character, 
  though convincing her that his intentions are 
  actually honorable, and then convincing her she 
  doesn’t need to keep stealing from people, will 
  take a bit of work.
  To make Colombe Noir more powerful, 
  increase her DEX to 18, her SPD to 4, give her a few 
  extra inches of Running, and possibly some special 
  abilities like Disappearing Act or Ultimate Climb-
  ing. To weaken her, reduce her DEX to 13, and 
  remove her Luck.
  Colombe Noir Hunts the characters’ posses-
  sions, not the characters themselves. If someone 
  wronged her in some way she’d make it a point to 
  steal something he truly valued, and if she could use 
  that to hurt them — through blackmail or the revela-
  tion of a Harmful Secret — she’d do it.
  Appearance:  Juliette Gaspard is a beautiful young 
  Frenchwoman, 25 years old, who stands 5’3” and 
  weighs 100 pounds. She has chestnut brown hair 
  she wears in stylish waves, blue eyes, and wears 
  clothing designed to catch and hold the eyes of 
  her current — and future — gentlemen friends. 
  In her alternate identity as le Colombe Noir (the 
  Black Dove), she dresses in all in black in a scan-
  dalously tight acrobat’s leotard, crepe-soled slip-
  pers, gloves, and a domino mask, and pulls her 
  hair back into a tight braid that she darkens with a 
  black water-soluble dye. She carries a black shoul-
  der bag to hold her burglar’s tools and loot.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Climbing equipment, lockpicks and other thieves’ tools, ﬁne linen gloves, makeup
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  117 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  IL CORRIDORE NOTTE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   11 BODY 2 
  10-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   14 PRE 
  4 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   28 END 
  0
   25 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  51
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  6 
  Working The Pedals:  Aid to Running 2d6, 
  Trigger (+¼); Only Works On Ground 
  Vehicle Character Is Currently Driving (-1), 
  Requires A Combat Driving Roll (-½), 4 
  Charges (-1), Costs Endurance (-½) 
  [4]
  4 
  Perceptive:  +2 to PER Rolls with Sight  
  Group 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Contacts:  10 points’ worth among European 
  fences, petty bureaucrats, and so forth
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  4 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  4 
  Reputation:  Noted Italian race driver 
  (among European racing fans) 11-, +2/+2d6
   
  Talents
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Combat Driver, Mechanics, and 
  Navigation (Land)
  5 
  +1 with Interaction Skills
  5 
  +1 with Ranged Combat
  3 
  Acting 12-
  3 
  Bribery 12-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 12-
  9 
  Combat Driving 15-
  5 
  Concealment 13-
  5 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  3 
  KS: Black Market 12-
  3 
  KS: European Underworld 12-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; Ital-
  ian is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  German (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  3 
  Navigation (Land, Marine) 12-
  3 
  PS: Racecar Driver 12-
  3 
  PS: Smuggler 12-
  3 
  Seduction 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Trading 12-
  6 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Two-Wheeled Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Small Motorized Boats, Small Rowing Boats, 
  Small Wind-Powered Boats
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  3 
  Traveler
  2 
  1)  AK: European Smuggling Routes 12-
  2 
  2)  CK: Berlin 12-
  2 
  3)  CK: Florence 12-
  2 
  4)  CK: London 12-
  2 
  5)  CK: Paris 12-
  2 
  6)  CK: Rome 12-
  2 
  7)  CK: Vienna 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  141
  Total Cost:  192
  75 + Disadvantages
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves Auto Racing 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Thrillseeker 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Reputation:  European smuggler, 11- (among 
  the European underworld)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with French race 
  driver)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Famous (Frequently, 
  Minor)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Vittorio di 
  Alberti) (Frequently, Major)
  37 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  192
  Background/History:  Born the third son of a 
  wealthy Genoese shipping family, Vittorio di 
  Alberti was raised in the lap of aﬄuence, if not 
  luxury. He was an active and daring boy, but an 
  indiﬀerent scholar. He only graduated due to his 
  innate intelligence and an ability to concentrate 
  ﬁercely when absolutely necessary. He enjoyed 
  boating and spent a lot of time on the water, often 
  racing other boaters.
  At age nineteen, on a visit to a cousin married 
  into the great Ferrari family, Vittorio fell in love. 
  He was allowed to drive a few laps around the Fer-
  rari test track, and the racing team realized it had a 
  prodigy on its hands. Vittorio was overjoyed to sign 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Beretta 1935 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  7 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Racing helmet, auto mechanic’s tools
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  IL CORODORE 
  NOTTE PLOT SEEDS
  Vittorio falls madly 
  in love with a female 
  DNPC or close female 
  friend of a character. 
  Puriﬁed by the power of 
  true love, he reveals all 
  to his new sweetheart 
  and swears to reform. 
  He begins by refusing to 
  ﬁnish the delivery of a 
  stolen art collection to 
  a local crime boss. Will 
  the characters aid him 
  against his disgruntled 
  client? (For extra credit, 
  have him fall in love 
  with a willing female 
  character.)
  The PCs need some-
  thing or someone 
  smuggled out of a small 
  European country. One 
  of their contacts rec-
  ommends Il Corridore 
  Notte — but can they 
  trust him (especially if a 
  character who’s a racing 
  fan recognized the driv-
  ing techniques of one of 
  his favorite drivers)?
  One of his clients dis-
  covers the true identity 
  of Il Corridore Notte 
  and blackmails Vit-
  torio into a smuggling 
  run so risky that even 
  he wouldn’t normally 
  consider it. He appeals 
  to the characters for aid, 
  spinning a story of clev-
  erly manufactured evi-
  dence prepared by the 
  blackmailer. Will they 
  help save the reputation 
  of one of Italy’s premiere 
  drivers?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  118 ■ Solo Villains
  on as Ferrari’s newest junior driver. After only two 
  years, he was promoted to senior driver and rapidly 
  gained fame on the European racing circuit. With 
  ﬁve more years’ experience and quite a few victories 
  under his belt, he began planning to start a racing 
  team of his own.
  With the Great Depression spreading its gloom 
  over Europe, ﬁnancial backing was much harder to 
  ﬁnd than he had expected. Even 
  his own family’s interests had 
  suﬀered and they had nothing to 
  spare on such a speculative ven-
  ture. Desperate to raise the money, 
  Vittorio was one day approached 
  by an old business acquaintance 
  of his father. Signor Della Rozza 
  explained that a client of his 
  needed a small package trans-
  ported into Switzerland, swiftly 
  and “without any oﬃcial entangle-
  ments.” Thinking quickly, Vittorio 
  told him that while he was much 
  too busy to be of assistance, he 
  knew a ﬁne driver who just might 
  be available for the right fee.... And 
  thus, Il Corridore Notte (the Night 
  Runner) was born.
  With the payments for 
  various smuggling jobs, Vittorio 
  was able to start his own racing 
  team. He remains on good terms 
  with the Ferrari Company, often 
  driving one of their automo-
  biles. While he’s won numerous 
  races since going independent, 
  he continues to accept “pack-
  ages” because he’s not yet able 
  to ﬁnance his team from prize 
  money alone.
  Personality/Motivation:  Il Cor-
  ridore Notte loves racing auto-
  mobiles. It’s what he was born 
  to do. The thrill of speed, of 
  competing against other skilled 
  drivers, and balancing on the edge of victory or 
  disaster is what makes life worth living. Fame 
  and adulation are quite fine — though demands 
  from his enthusiastic fans can be annoying, some 
  of those fans are attractive women — but the 
  racing itself is what’s really important.
  Il Corridore Notte is not really an evil man, 
  but he’s very self-centered. His own desires are 
  paramount. He doesn’t consider himself greedy, 
  since he needs the money for his racing team; his 
  own lifestyle is comfortable, but less so than his 
  family’s when he was a boy. If pressed, he’d ratio-
  nalize that he owes it to his fans to keep racing. 
  He enjoys the speedy night drives and match-
  ing wits with border guards that his smuggling 
  requires, but ultimately crime is just a means to 
  the end of maintaining his racing team.
  Il Corridore Notte retains some scruples — for 
  example, he’d balk at murder, particularly if women 
  or children were involved. While he’s exchanged 
  shots with border guards once or twice, he has yet 
  to kill or even wound anyone. However, if there’s a 
  chance his identity could be exposed, threatening 
  his ability to race, he might be driven to commit 
  some desperate act.
  Quote:  “In life — as in racing — what’s behind you 
  is not important!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Il Corridore 
  Notte is a superb driver. His 
  usual vehicle is a Bugatti 57 
  painted a dark navy blue. His 
  ability to coax every last drop 
  of speed from a vehicle, com-
  bined with his knowledge of 
  cities and routes, make him an 
  elusive adversary. His boating 
  skills also stand him in good 
  stead if he needs to transport 
  some item to an island or up a 
  river. In any confrontation, he 
  tries to stay behind the wheel 
  of a vehicle. He’s not particu-
  larly skilled with ﬁrearms or 
  ﬁsticuﬀs, and has no interest 
  in ﬁghting. If necessary, he will 
  abandon a package or a client 
  rather than be captured.
  Campaign Use:  Il Corridore 
  Notte serves best in chase 
  scenarios. His driving skill 
  should tax the characters to 
  their limits, even if they have 
  superior vehicles. He also 
  makes an interesting rival for 
  a character who fancies him-
  self a great driver.
  To make Il Corridore 
  Notte more powerful, add 
  some Combat Skill Levels and 
  give him a special vehicle with 
  a few gadgets. To weaken him, 
  remove his Working The Pedals 
  ability and reduce his Combat 
  Driving roll.
  Il Corridore Notte is unlikely to Hunt anyone 
  unless a character reveals his secret identity in an 
  especially vicious fashion. He’s better suited as a 
  Rival to an appropriate character.
  Appearance:  Vittorio di Alberti stands 5’10” tall and 
  weighs about 180 pounds. His wavy black hair, chis-
  eled features, classic straight nose, and warm brown 
  eyes make a very attractive picture for the ladies. He 
  has a trim, smoothly muscled athletic build. When 
  racing, he wears a blue and white jacket, tan trousers, 
  dark brown boots, and a leather helmet with goggles. 
  His racecar is painted blue and white and, like the 
  back of his jacket, bears a red greyhound symbol. At 
  other times, he dresses fashionably in tailored gar-
  ments. As Il Corridore Notte he wears a dark blue 
  jumpsuit, black boots, and a black leather helmet. He 
  wears no symbols, but sometimes leaves his clients a 
  business card showing a black winged sandal over a 
  pale crescent moon.
  
  119 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  EPIPHRONIA “EPPIE” CURRAN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   10 DEX 
  0 
  11- 
  OCV:  3/DCV:  3
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   16 INT 
  6 
  12- 
  PER Roll:  12-
   16 EGO 
  12 
  12-
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   2 PD 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 21
   5 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  2
   22 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  37
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  227 
  Donning The Skin Of Man:  Variable  
  Power Pool (Shapeshifting Pool), 200  
  base + 100 control cost; Reduced  
  Endurance (0 END; +½); Only To Mimic 
  Skills And Characteristics Of Target (-½),  
  No Conscious Control (VPP copies the  
  largest Active Point abilities ﬁrst, she can 
  activate the VPP but has no control over  
  the powers she gets; -1), May Only Mimic 
  One Target’s Skills And Characteristics At  
  A Time (-½), Skills And Characteristics  
  May Only Be As Powerful As Targets’  
  (-½), May Only Copy From Targets She’s 
  Ritually Consumed (-2), Side Eﬀects (also 
  copies victim’s Psychological Limitations  
  and other mental Disadvantages; -0) 
  0
  36 
  Donning The Skin Of Man:  Shape Shift 
  (Sight, Hearing, Touch, and Taste/Smell 
  Groups, any human form), Cellular, Imita-
  tion, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½),  
  Persistent (+½); Extra Time (1 Minute to 
  change forms; -¾), Linked (to VPP; -½), 
  Only To Assume Shape Of Mimicked  
  Individuals (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Unceasing Years:  Life Support (Longevity:  
  Immortal) 
  0
  10 
  Ghoul Heritage:  Life Support (Immunity:   
  all terrestrial diseases and biowarfare  
  agents) 
  0
   
  Perks
  3 
  Anonymity
  15 
  Contact:  Ghoul Community 11-
  2 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Talents
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
   
  Skills
  2 
  Cryptography 12-; Translation Only (-½)
  4 
  AK: Middle East 13-
  4 
  KS: The Ghoul World 13-
  4 
  KS: The Mystic World 13-
  2 
  KS: Pre-Human Civilizations 11-
  4 
  KS: Trevalic Manuscripts 13-
  4 
  Language:  Arabic (idiomatic; English is Native)
  4 
  Language:  Ghoul (idiomatic)
  4 
  Language:  Persian (idiomatic)
  3 
  Stealth 11-
  Total Powers and Skills Cost:  338
  Total Character Cost:  375
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Mystic Aura (Not Con-
  cealable; Always Noticed; Detectable Only 
  With Unusual Senses)
  5 
  Hunted:  Ghoul Community 8- (Mo Pow, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Desperately 
  Wants To Be Appreciated/Loved/Accepted 
  (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Protective Of Her 
  Ghoul Friends (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Epiphro-
  nia Curran) (Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasionally, 
  Minor)
  230 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  375
  Background/History:  Eppie Curran was born to 
  immigrant workers in the Pennsylvania coal dis-
  trict just before the turn of the century. Even as a 
  baby, she wasn’t cute — in fact, she was downright 
  ugly, and the situation didn’t improve as she grew 
  older. Alternately taunted and shunned by others, 
  she became a bitter, angry, and lonely young 
  woman. She often hid in the shafts of one of the 
  abandoned mines to escape the cruelty.
  One day she made a wrong turn in the mine... 
  and suddenly she heard a Voice whisper to her 
  from the darkness. At ﬁrst terriﬁed, she slowly grew 
  to enjoy speaking to the Voice. It taught her many 
  dark and terrible things before she learned the 
  truth — the Voice was a female ghoul.
  The two met for several years before the 
  ghoul conﬁded in her that there might be a way 
  for Eppie to have the respect and adoration she 
  longed for, but it was very diﬃcult and dangerous. 
  Eppie insisted, and the old ghoul ﬁnally relented, 
  telling her of an ancient ritual in a lost manuscript 
  that would let her achieve what she wanted, a 
  manuscript thought lost in a Persian tomb near the 
  ancient home of the ghouls. Eppie departed a week 
  later, and vanished into the silent hills of Persia.
  Someone entirely diﬀerent emerged.
  Personality/Motivation:  Eppie has an obsessive 
  desire to be admired, loved, and wanted, a desire 
  so strong it pushes her to murder and cannibalism. 
  She now lives life vicariously, always loved as some-
  one else, never herself.
  She keeps her secret jealously — and fearfully 
  — not only so that she’s not exposed, but so that 
  no one takes it from her and ruins her new life. She 
  hasn’t killed to protect it yet, choosing to simply 
  move on, but were she to become attracted to a 
  stolen life strongly enough she might.
  Eppie’s grateful to, and somewhat protective of, 
  her ghoul friends and allies. They provide her with 
  information and assistance when they can, and in 
  return she handles aﬀairs for them in the normal 
   WHO CAN SHE BE?
  Eppie maintains a 
  stable of forms to shift 
  to in time of need, 
  but the most useful 
  include:  Jimmy “The 
  Knife” Vanchettia, a 
  skilled knifeﬁghter 
  and criminal; Dr. Mau-
  rice Renton, an older 
  doctor and surgeon; 
  Alice Hastings, a pretty 
  pilot and barnstormer; 
  and Kenneth Graves, a 
  soldier of fortune who 
  was a skilled boxer and 
  good shot. Eppie also 
  has a number of other 
  individuals in memory 
  left over from previous 
  impersonations, usually 
  society heiresses and the 
  like, that she abandoned 
  when the impersonation 
  grew too awkward.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  120 ■ Solo Villains
  world and tries to provide the things they need but 
  cannot get for themselves.
  Because Eppie isn’t a ghoul herself, ghoul 
  magic doesn’t work perfectly for her — she 
  becomes lost in the personali-
  ties of the people she imper-
  sonates, sometimes for weeks 
  or months at a time, until 
  something snaps her out of 
  her assumed persona and she 
  remembers who she really is.
  Quote:  “I’m not really the person 
  that everyone sees....”
  Powers/Tactics:  The rituals 
  in the Trevalic Manuscripts 
  granted Eppie the power to 
  be anyone in the world she 
  wanted to be — at a price. To 
  absorb a target’s skills and 
  knowledge and ﬂawlessly 
  take on his appearance, Eppie 
  must consume his raw ﬂesh. It 
  doesn’t matter whether it’s cor-
  rupted ﬂesh dug up from the 
  grave, or the still-warm ﬂesh of 
  someone she’s just killed... but 
  she has to eat it.
  Eppie copies her victim’s 
  form exactly, right down to 
  ﬁngerprints and voice. She also 
  gains his Characteristics and 
  Skills (assuming her own aren’t 
  already better), but not weird 
  powers or other such abilities, 
  up to the 200-point limit of her 
  Variable Power Pool. Her mind 
  does not transform, so a tele-
  path could detect that she’s not 
  who she seems to be. When she 
  changes form, her clothing and 
  carried objects don’t change with her, just her physical 
  body. Eppie “remembers” all the forms she’s previously 
  assumed, and can take them again at will. Changing 
  form takes about one minute.
  Eppie typically gets the bodies she needs by 
  stealing them from morgues or graveyards. So 
  far she’s rarely killed anyone to take his form, but 
  the longer she keeps using her powers the more 
  uncaring about human life she becomes. Invest-
  ments made with money looted from her target’s 
  resources provide her with a very nice living, 
  leaving her free to watch for new 
  additions to her stable of forms 
  — and revel in the fact that she’s 
  seen as an object of desire now.
  Campaign Use:  Depending on the 
  needs of the campaign, Eppie can be 
  played as a somewhat sympathetic 
  character (by emphasizing her need 
  for acceptance and her generally 
  non-violent nature) or presented as 
  a degenerate monster who salivates 
  at the thought of dining on another 
  heiress and getting to live her life.
  To make Eppie more powerful, 
  increase her Characteristics across 
  the board and give her some ghoul 
  Followers as allies. To make her 
  weaker, reduce the number of base 
  points in her Donning The Skin Of 
  Man power to 100 or less.
  On her own, Eppie wouldn’t 
  Hunt anyone unless it was to pro-
  tect her ghoul friends, in which case 
  she’d become someone dangerous, 
  kill her target, and then vanish into 
  another form. If lost in the form of 
  someone she’s impersonating, she 
  might Hunt someone if they would, 
  using whatever methods they would 
  use in such a situation.
  Appearance:  Eppie’s appearance in 
  her true body is best described as 
  “homely” by the extremely chari-
  table. Her hair is stringy and thin, 
  her skin is sallow and unhealthy, 
  her features uneven, and her ﬁgure 
  unfortunately lumpy. As any of the individuals she 
  has consumed, she appears and sounds exactly as 
  they did in life. She normally chooses women that 
  were everything in life that she is not — tall, beauti-
  ful, and desirable — but she has male forms avail-
  able in case of emergency.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As appropriate to her current identity
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  EPPIE CURRAN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  One of the characters 
  is walking through the 
  markets of Cairo when he 
  sees an old friend:  Ken-
  neth Graves, a man he’s 
  positive was killed and 
  buried outside Dar Es 
  Salaam years ago! When 
  they try to approach him, 
  he panics and bolts away, 
  losing himself in the 
  teeming crowds. What’s 
  going on?
  Eppie hears through her 
  ghoul contacts that there’s 
  someone looking for the 
  Trevalic Manuscripts in 
  the Middle East, a tall 
  blonde human named 
  Eichmann. They think 
  he may be on the verge 
  of discovering that she 
  has the only copy. If so, 
  he’ll come to America to 
  ﬁnd her with the help of 
  some mystic artifact that 
  appears to be able to track 
  and identify individuals 
  who have mastered the 
  manuscript’s powers. 
  What will she do? And 
  what ﬁendish use does 
  the Oberfuhrer have for a 
  manuscript that can give 
  someone the power to be 
  anyone in the world that 
  they’re willing to devour?
  There’s a terrible mystic 
  plot to rip open the very 
  fabric of reality and let 
  the horrifying Kings of 
  Edom through to ravage 
  the world as they did mil-
  lions of years in the past. 
  The only person who 
  knows the details of the 
  plot and how to stop it is 
  lying at their feet, her life 
  pouring out in a crimson 
  ﬂood spilled by a cultist’s 
  dagger. She has time to 
  whisper a few words, and 
  then she’s gone. “There’s 
  still a way,” the noble and 
  beautiful girl tells them. 
  “Find her, ﬁnd the Ghoul-
  Queen, and she can 
  help you. Tell her...” she 
  coughs dramatically, “..tell 
  her that I said it was all 
  right... and that I hope she 
  enjoys my life as much as 
  I have....”
  
  121 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  ETIENNE AND VINCENT D’ARQUES
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13- 
   12 BODY 4 
  11- 
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   16 PRE 
  6 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  PD 6 (0 PD)
   4 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  ED 4 (0 ED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   7 REC 
  0 
   36 END 
  0 
   30 STUN 
  1 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  85
  Movement: 
  Running:  10”/20”
  Cost Powers
   
  Martial Arts:  Savate, Dirty Inﬁghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Bock, Abort
  4 
  Coup de 
   
  pied bas 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6Strike
  5 
  Coup de 
   
  pied chasse 
  -2 
  +1 
  8d6 Strike
  4 
  Crochet 
  +2 
  +0 
  6d6 Strike
  5 
  Direct 
  +1 
  +3 
  4d6 Strike
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  30 STR Disarm
  4 
  Eye Gouge 
  -1 
  +1 
  5d6 Sight Group 
  Flash
  3 
  Footsweep 
  +2 
  -1 
  5d6 Strike; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  2½d6 NND(3)
  3 
  Throw 
  +0 
  +1 
  4d6 +v/5; Target 
  Falls
  4 
  +1 Damage Class (already added in)
  2 
  Use Art with Clubs and Blades
  40 
  Savate Powers:  Multipower, 60-point  
  reserve, May Not Use Same Power Brother  
  Is Using (-½)
  2u 
  1) Blow Slipping:  Physical Damage  
  Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Only Versus 
  STUN Damage (-½); Must Be Aware Of 
  Attack (-¼) 
  0
  3u 
  2) Lightning Kick:  HA +6d6, Autoﬁre  
  (5 shots; +½), Reduced Endurance  
  (½ END; +½); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 2
  3u 
  3) Leaping Kick:  Leaping +20”; Only To  
  Calculate Half Moves In Combat (-1) plus 
  HA +6d6; Hand-To-Hand Attack (-½) 
  5
  5 
  You Are Always In My Thoughts, Brother:  
  Mind Link (with brother), Psychic  
  Bond; Only With Others Who Have  
  Mind Link (-1) 
  0
  8 
  Fleet Of Foot:  +4” Running (10” total) 
  1
   
  Talents
  15 
  Combat Sense 12-
   
  Skills:
  9 
  +3 with Martial Arts
  9 
  +3 with Coordinated Attacks
  10 
  Deux En Tant Qu’un Technique:  +4 with 
  Martial Arts; Proportionate To Distance 
  From Brother (full Levels when in same  
  hex, -1 Level per -1” away; -1)
  10 
  Deux En Tant Qu’un Technique:  +4 DCV; 
  Proportionate To Distance From Brother 
  (full Levels when in same hex, -1 Level  
  per -1” away; -1)
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Acting 12-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Contortionist 13-
  10 
  Defense Maneuver I-IV
  5 
  High Society 13-
  2 
  AK: Europe 11-
  4 
  AK: Paris 13-
  2 
  KS: The Martial World 11-
  2 
  KS: Nightspots Of Europe 11-
  4 
  KS: Savate 13-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; 
  French is Native)
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Assassin 12-
  5 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Teamwork 13-
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Common Melee Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  234
  Total Character Cost:  319
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  25 
  Enraged:  if brother hurt injured (Common), 
  go 14-, recover 11-
  20 
  Hunted:  Sfreté 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/
  Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Protective Of 
  Brother (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Assassin’s Code 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy Hedonist 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other assassins)
  134 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  319
  ETIENNE AND  
  VINCENT D’ARQUES 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The D’Arques hear 
  through the grapevine 
  that that someone 
  has contracted with 
  Maximilian Krieger to 
  teach the PCs a lesson 
  in Vienna. What fun! 
  Not only do they get to 
  run rings around the 
  big German and enjoy 
  Viennese society for a 
  while, but they get to 
  beat up on the heroes as 
  a bonus!
  One morning the broth-
  ers wake up, look at 
  each other — and real-
  ize they can’t hear each 
  other’s thoughts any 
  more. Then, a second 
  later, they can. And a 
  moment later, they’ve 
  lost contact with each 
  other again. Panicked, 
  they start searching 
  through the occult 
  circles of Europe look-
  ing for the alchemist 
  their father contracted 
  with, leaving a trail of 
  battered and bleeding 
  scholars in their wake as 
  they search for the one 
  man who can explain 
  what’s happening to 
  them. And a PC who has 
  knowledge of the arcane 
  may become a target as 
  well....
  After an encounter with 
  the characters, Etienne 
  and Vincent decide a 
  female PC is the most 
  fascinating creature 
  they’ve ever seen and 
  decide to sweep her 
  oﬀ her feet. When the 
  ﬂowers, candy, and 
  Gallic charm don’t seem 
  to work, they decide 
  stronger measures may 
  be necessary. They hire 
  a succession of thugs 
  to stage attacks on the 
  object of their aﬀections 
  so they can rescue her 
  and earn her undying 
  (for a week or three, 
  anyway) aﬀections.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  122 ■ Solo Villains
  Background/History:  Etienne and Vincent 
  D’Arques were born Siamese twins, joined at 
  the hip and side, their circulatory systems too 
  intertwined to allow them to be separated. Their 
  father, Henri, a noted and wealthy savate master, 
  was unwilling to accept that his sons would not 
  have the life he wanted for them, so he turned to 
  mysticism when conventional medicine proved 
  unable to correct their condition. He spent his 
  entire fortune 
  searching for an 
  answer, ﬁnally 
  locating an 
  ancient alchemist 
  outside of Milan 
  who swore he 
  could do what 
  was required to 
  ensure that both 
  twins were able 
  to walk on their 
  own. Ignoring the 
  alchemist’s warn-
  ings of possible 
  danger, Henri 
  insisted.
  When the 
  alchemical 
  ceremony was 
  complete, and 
  the last of the 
  potions and other 
  substances gone, 
  the twins were 
  indeed finally 
  separate indi-
  viduals... after a 
  fashion. While 
  they now had 
  two bodies, they 
  only possessed 
  one soul between 
  them. As they 
  grew, they learned to concentrate and utilize that 
  force to create effects that astounded their father. 
  Unfortunately, this also meant they only had 
  half a soul apiece — not enough to prevent them 
  from becoming uncaring killers after their father 
  died and they were left without moral guid-
  ance. Seven years later, they are among the most 
  sought-after contract killers in Europe.
  Personality/Motivation:  Both Vincent and Etienne 
  enjoy the thrill of the stalk and kill, savoring each 
  death like a ﬁne wine that can only be tasted once. 
  They particularly enjoy stealing other assassins’ 
  kills, and have been known to challenge their “col-
  leagues” to contests to see who can eliminate a 
  target ﬁrst. They rarely lose.
  The D’Arques follow a personal code that 
  requires them to kill their target after accepting 
  money for the 
  task, to honor any 
  contracts made, 
  and to treat fairly 
  with their employ-
  ers as long as they 
  are treated fairly. 
  They’re not fanati-
  cal, but they follow 
  the code even if 
  it’s inconvenient 
  because doing so 
  ensures them a 
  good reputation 
  in the underworld. 
  They use their 
  high fees to sustain 
  their expensive 
  lifestyle, only 
  actively seeking 
  work when their 
  money runs low 
  or they hear of a 
  challenging con-
  tract.
  Above and 
  beyond anything 
  else, the D’Arques 
  brothers care for 
  each other. Neither 
  wishes to ﬁnd out 
  what happens to 
  a man with half 
  a soul when the 
  other half dies, nor to lose the only other person on 
  Earth who understands him so completely. Either 
  of them will do whatever’s required to protect his 
  sibling from danger, be that surrender, voiding a 
  contract, or killing.
  Quote:  “You could not stand against one of us 
  — whatever will you do against two?”
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Sword-Cane
  Blade 
  +1 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  10
  Sheath 
  +0 
  — 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  10
  MAS 1935 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  9
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Silver cigarette case, silver lighter
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  123 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  Powers/Tactics:  While not averse to using a gun 
  or poison, the D’Arques prefer the thrill of direct 
  confrontation using their savate skills. They prefer 
  to attack in areas where their Combat Skill Levels 
  function to good eﬀect, and Coordinate attacks to 
  deadly eﬀect when possible.
  They often toy with victims for a short time 
  before killing them, darting in and around them in 
  a dance that’s both beautiful and cruel, sometimes 
  almost letting the victim think he’s escaped before 
  cutting him oﬀ again. They prefer a combined 
  attack where one uses the Leaping Kick and the 
  other the Lightning Kick to ﬁnish the target oﬀ. 
  Their half-souled nature somehow makes it impos-
  sible for them to use the same attack at once.
  Campaign Use:  The D’Arques are killers, pure and 
  simple, with nothing in the way of redeeming 
  qualities. Their dual soul allows for some interest-
  ing abilities and potential complications, such as 
  the lurking question of what happens when one 
  of them dies. You might consider introducing the 
  D’Arques by having them show up and complicate 
  the assassination plans of another killer sent to 
  eliminate one or more of the PCs.
  To make the D’Arques more dangerous, raise 
  their DEX to 20, add Combat Luck, and perhaps 
  give them other abilities that only work when 
  they’re in proximity to each other. To make them 
  weaker, reduce their SPD to 3, eliminate their Deux 
  En Tant Qu’un Technique powers, and eliminate one 
  or more slots from their multipower.
  The D’Arques brothers are Hunters by nature, 
  and actively seek out individuals to match them-
  selves against or to steal prey from, even when not 
  paid to do so. They don’t construct complex plans 
  or traps, they just ﬁnd a good location, confront 
  their opponent, and start kicking.
  Appearance:  Etienne and Vincent D’Arques are 
  devilishly handsome identical twins, each having 
  brown eyes and short black hair that forms a wid-
  ow’s peak. Each of them stands 5’9” tall and weighs 
  a slim 167 pounds. They usually dress well and 
  carry canes as much for their fashionable style as 
  their use with the savate they practice.
  EL DIABLO ROBOTICO
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   40 STR 
  30 
  17- 
  Lift 6400 kg; 8d6 [x
   12 DEX 
  6 
  11- 
  OCV:  4/DCV:  4
   10 CON 
  0 
  13-
   20 BODY 20 
  13-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   0 EGO 
  0 
  — 
  ECV:  N/A
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   0 COM 
  -5 
  9-
   10 PD 
  21 
   
  Total:  10 PD (10 rPD)
   8 ED 
  21 
   
  Total:  8 ED (8 rED)
   2 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  6, 12
   10 REC 
  0
   0 END 
  -10
   —  STUN —  
  Total Characteristics Cost:  97
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/6”
   
  Swimming:  0”/0”
   
  Leaping:  0”/0”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  22 
  Electric Beam:  RKA 3d6; Does Not Work 
  When Soaked Or Immersed In Water  
  (-¼), 6 Charges (-¾) 
  [6]
  20 
  Tireless:  Reduced END (0 END; +½)  
  on 40 STR 
  0
  6 
  Tireless:  Reduced END (0 END; +½)  
  on Running 6” 
  0
  15 
  Robot Body:  Does Not Bleed 
  0
  45 
  Robot Body:  Takes No STUN 
  0
  10 
  Robot Body:  No Hit Locations 
  0
  45 
  Robot Body:  Life Support:  Total 
  0
  27 
  Robot Body:  Damage Resistance  
  (10 PD/8 ED) 
  0
  10 
  Robot Senses:  Radio Perception/ 
  Transmission 
  0
  39 
  Terrible Robotic Strength:  Tunneling 1” 
  through DEF 8 materials, Reduced  
  Endurance (0 END; +½) 
  0
  -2 
  Swims Like A Stone:  -2” Swimming (0” total)
   
  Talents
  4 
  Electronic Eyes:  Speed Reading (x10)
   
  Skills
  2 
  +1 OCV with Electric Beam
  5 
  +1 HTH
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  3 
  AK: Mexico City 12-
  2 
  AK: American Southwest 11-
  2 
  KS: The Scientiﬁc World 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  Spanish is Native)
  3 
  PS: Electrician 12-
  3 
  PS: Laboratory Assistant 12-
  5 
  Mechanics 13-
  7 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 12-
  1 
  WF: Electric Beam
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  285
  Total Cost:  382
  EL DIABLO 
  ROBOTICO  
  PLOT SEEDS
  An attractive young 
  Mexican woman, 
  SeZorita Dolores 
  Jimenez, approaches the 
  characters and requests 
  their aid in ﬁnding her 
  missing brother. Her 
  family has heard noth-
  ing of him since he 
  disappeared following 
  an explosion at the labo-
  ratory where he worked. 
  The California State 
  Police have informed 
  her father that no bodies 
  were found at the scene. 
  Her brother’s employer, 
  a Dr. Petrie, is also listed 
  among the missing....
  The characters have 
  ﬁnally tracked the 
  infamous Dr. Jennings 
  Petrie to his new lair. 
  They creep past his 
  outer defenses, intent 
  on confronting him 
  and stopping his latest 
  plot before he unleashes 
  another “scientiﬁc 
  advancement” on an 
  unsuspecting humanity. 
  But wait! Who set oﬀ 
  those alarms? What are 
  those smashing sounds 
  from the far side of the 
  compound? It’s attract-
  ing attention, judging by 
  the shouts and gunﬁre. 
  Is this a helpful diver-
  sion, or... something 
  else?
  The characters receive a 
  frantic phone call from 
  an industrialist friend 
  late one night. Someone 
  has broken into one 
  of his foundries and is 
  holding the work crew 
  hostage, threatening to 
  kill them if the police 
  are called in. The char-
  acters arrive to ﬁnd the 
  men hard at work, weld-
  ing and riveting several 
  odd looking pieces 
  onto an almost human 
  shape... though one at 
  least three times the size 
  of any man. What are 
  they building, and why? 
  And where is the person 
  holding them hostage?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  124 ■ Solo Villains
  75+ Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Feature:  bulky mechanical man 
  (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [fear])
  10 
  Enraged:  whenever reminded of inhuman 
  condition (Common), go 8-, recover 14-
  8 
  Physical Limitation:  Cannot Leap (Infre-
  quently, Slightly Impairing)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  weighs 400+ pounds 
  (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  ﬁne manipulation 
  requires concentration at 0 DCV (Frequently, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates Dr. Petrie 
  (Uncommon, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Longs For Com-
  panionship (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Believes He’s 
  Become A Monster (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  rampaging killer machine, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Robot Body Prevents 
  Normal Human Interaction (Very Fre-
  quently, Major)
  169 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  382
  Background/History:  The unfortunate soul known as 
  El Diablo Robotico (“Devil Robot”) was once a man 
  named Carlos Miguel Jimenez. Born to a wealthy 
  family in Mexico City, as a teenager he became fasci-
  nated with technology and its possibilities to help the 
  poor. His family planned to send him to university 
  in the United States to study electrical engineering. 
  Thanks to the Depression, they were barely able to 
  aﬀord tuition at UCLA, so he had to work to support 
  himself. He answered an ad for a laboratory assistant 
  posted by a Dr. Jennings Petrie.
  Carlos found working for Dr. Petrie to be very 
  stimulating, although the doctor himself seemed 
  rather arrogant and insensitive. The long journey to 
  the laboratory out in the desert was inconvenient, 
  but the doctor loaned him an old automobile. He 
  was learning so much! There was no doubt Dr. 
  Petrie was a genius, so Carlos reined in his pride 
  and carried on with the work.
  Poor Carlos never considered that Dr. 
  Petrie’s devotion to Science might have passed 
  beyond the boundaries of sanity — not until the 
  afternoon he woke up feeling strangely numb, 
  with his vision peculiarly flat and blurred. 
  “Excellent, Carlos,” proclaimed the voice of Dr. 
  Petrie. “Now you need never again be concerned 
  with being too tired to keep working, or with 
  worrying about money. Now I’ll just need to run 
  a few tests...”
  With growing horror, Carlos saw that the hand 
  he raised in protest was a mechanical arm — one 
  he’d helped build, in fact! As Petrie chattered on, 
  Carlos realized that his ﬁrst thought, that the scien-
  tist had placed him inside a mechanical body, was 
  only partly true. Only a small portion — his living 
  brain! — had been put into the hideous robotic 
  form he saw in the mirror. Petrie stopped talking 
  and pointed a small device at him, but Carlos felt 
  nothing except a rising tide of fear and rage as he 
  reached for his employer.
  Many hours later, Carlos stood in the ruins 
  of the laboratory. He had failed to catch Dr. Petrie, 
  though he’d smashed everything in the building 
  except the outer walls in the attempt. Worst of all, 
  he’d seen no sign of his missing body. He remem-
  bered with a chill that Dr. Petrie had often salvaged 
  materials left over or unused from his other experi-
  ments for use in future research. He wept without 
  tears. He cursed Dr. Petrie in his hollow, metallic 
  voice. He cursed God and his saints for allowing 
  him to suﬀer this dreadful fate!“Where is Carlos? 
  Now I am left as only El Diablo Robotico!”
  Personality/Motivation:  Carlos Jimenez was a rather 
  amiable and likeable person with a thirst for knowl-
  edge. As El Diablo Robotico, little remains of the 
  man he once was. His grip on his sanity is weak and 
  has failed many times. He’s driven by his hatred for 
  Dr. Petrie and his loathing for what he’s become. He 
  longs for simple human companionship, but often 
  becomes enraged when reminded about how cut 
  oﬀ from people he truly is. He generally smashes 
  everything in sight when his rage overwhelms him. 
  Carlos has so far resisted the urge to destroy him-
  self, largely because he desperately wants revenge 
  on Dr. Petrie ﬁrst. Somewhere deep inside, he nour-
  ishes a faint hope that he might somehow ﬁnd his 
  body and be restored to humanity again.
  Quote:  “Stand aside, fools! To interfere with El 
  Diablo Robotico is to court el muerte!”
  Powers/Tactics:  In combat, El Diablo Robotico is 
  very diﬃcult to stop. He can smash through walls 
  with his steel hands, destroy buildings, deliver dev-
  astating blows in HTH Combat, and ﬁre a deadly 
  Electric Beam — and he’s bulletproof. His biggest 
  problem, of which he’s well aware, is that he’s slow 
  and not very agile. If necessary, he can knock over 
  telephone poles or other objects to restrict an 
  opponent’s movement.
  El Diablo Robotico’s tactics against the 
  characters depend on what he’s after. He usually 
  avoids killing unless Enraged; he’ll simply try to go 
  through or around the PCs to reach his goal. He 
  uses his beam weapon intelligently, reserving it for 
  important targets (such as a character with a heavy 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  None
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  125 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  weapon). If he has a 
  hot tip on the loca-
  tion of Dr. Petrie 
  or his lost body, 
  he’s far less likely to 
  worry about being 
  reasonable or killing 
  people who get in 
  his way.
  Campaign Use:  El 
  Diablo Robotico is 
  an example of the 
  kind of problems 
  having someone like 
  Dr. Petrie running 
  around loose can 
  create (For another, 
  see Minnie Harper 
  on page 97.) He’s 
  not really an evil 
  person, but his situ-
  ation has come very 
  close to driving him 
  mad, making him 
  extremely danger-
  ous to the world 
  around him. Saving 
  him is a long-term 
  goal that requires 
  locating his original 
  body (or a replace-
  ment) and then 
  locating either Dr. 
  Petrie or someone 
  else capable of 
  transplanting Carlos’s brain back into it. (Dr. Fang 
  certainly has the skill, but his price for the deed 
  may be too high for the characters to pay.)
  If you remove his free-willed aspect and give 
  him the Machine Intelligence Physical Limitation 
  from The HERO System Bestiary (and other appro-
  priate Disadvantages), El Diablo Robotico can serve 
  as a template for similar robots designed by other 
  villains. Make a few cosmetic changes and you’ve 
  got all the robotic henchmen you need.
  To make El Diablo Robotico more powerful, 
  raise his DEX to 13, add a point of SPD, and give 
  him a few more Science Skills so he can more easily 
  modify his robot 
  body. Giving him a 
  Damage Shield (he 
  can electrify him-
  self) is another pos-
  sibility; so is increas-
  ing his Combat Skill 
  Levels to reﬂect 
  Carlos’s growing 
  skill with using 
  his robot body. To 
  make him weaker, 
  place an Activation 
  Roll on the Electric 
  Beam (or remove 
  it entirely) and 
  eliminate his Ter-
  rible Robot Strength 
  power.
  The only people 
  El Diablo Robotico 
  Hunts are Dr. Jen-
  nings Petrie and 
  those allied with 
  him. If he were 
  convinced a PC had 
  information that 
  would lead him to 
  Petrie, he’d Hunt 
  that character relent-
  lessly, tracking him 
  from place to place 
  like the unstop-
  pable machine he’s 
  become.
  Appearance:  El Diablo Robotico has a bulky metal 
  body, a smaller dome-capped cylinder for a head, 
  and tubular arms and legs with ﬂexible metal joints. 
  Shielded glassy lenses and speakers are arranged in 
  an approximation of human features and serve for 
  eyes, mouth, and ears. The emitter for the electric 
  coagulator is located in the center of what would 
  be the robot’s upper chest behind a pair of small 
  clamshell doors that short out when wet. The robot 
  body’s hands are better developed than most, with 
  three ﬁngers and an opposable thumb. Carlos can 
  use them to perform repairs on himself or similar 
  work, although it is diﬃcult.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  126 ■ Solo Villains
  DER DUNKELADLER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   16 CON 
  12 
  12-
   14 BODY 8 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  9 PD (3 rPD)
   6 ED 
  3 
   
  Total:  9 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   32 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  98
  Movement: 
  Running:  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Fencing
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Damage/Effect
  3 
  Cut  
  +2  
  +1  
  Weapon
  4 
  Fleche 
  +2 
  -2 
  Weapon +v/5; 
  FMove
  4 
  Froissement 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, +10 
  STR to Disarm 
  roll
  3 
  Grypes  
  -1  
  -2  
  Grab One Limb, 
  +10 STR disarm 
  5 
  Lunge 
  +1 
  -2 
  Weapon +4 DC
  4 
  Parry 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Riposte 
  +2 
  +2 
  Weapon +2 DC, 
  Must Follow 
  Block
  5 
  Slash 
  -2 
  +1 
  Weapon +4 DC
  5 
  Thrust 
  +1 
  +3 
  Weapon
  3 
  Trip  
  +2  
  -1  
  STR +1d6 Strike, 
  Target Falls 
  4 
  Void 
  — 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀects 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  10 
  Fisticuﬀs:  HA +3d6; Hand-To-Hand  
  Attack (-½) 
  1
  2 
  Swift:  Running +1” (7” total) 
  1
  4 
  Pocket Radio:  Radio Perception/ 
  Transmission; OAF (-1), Aﬀected As Hearing 
  Group As Well As Radio Group (-¼) 
  0
  4 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +2 PER with Sight  
  Group PER Rolls 
  0
  6 
  Eyes Like An Eagle:  +4 PER versus Range 
  Modiﬁer for Sight Group 
  0
   
  Perks
  4 
  Deep Covers:  two, chosen/created by  
  the GM
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Espionage Rank
  7 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Security Clearance
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
  32 
  Vehicle:  Gerta (see below)
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  10 
  +1 Overall
  6 
  +3 OCV with Biplane Weapons
  9 
  Deft Jinking:  +2 DCV, Usable By Other (any 
  Vehicle of up to 8,000 kg; +2); Only For 
  An Aircraft Dunkeladler Is Flying (-2), 
  Requires A Combat Piloting Roll (-½)
  3 
  Acting 13-
  7 
  Aerobatics 15-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bugging 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  7 
  Combat Piloting 15-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  5 
  Cramming
  3 
  Cryptography 13-
  3 
  Demolitions 13-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  2 
  Forgery (Documents) 13-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  2 
  AK: Germany 11-
  2 
  CK: Berlin 11-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  3 
  KS: The Aviation World 13-
  3 
  KS: The Espionage World 13-
  3 
  KS: The Military/Mercenary/Terrorist 
  World 13-
  3 
  KS: Nazi Doctrine 13-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; 
  German is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Russian (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Spanish (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Lockpicking 13-
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 13-
  3 
  Paramedics 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  2 
  PS: Pilot 11-
  2 
  SS: Aviation Engineering 11-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  3 
  TF: Small Planes, Large Planes, Basic  
  Parachuting
  4 
  WF: Small Arms, Biplane Weapons, Knives
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  294
  Total Cost:  392
  DER DUNKELADLER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The insidious Skymaster 
  once again threatens 
  the world! To oppose 
  him, the heroes need all 
  the help they can get, 
  so Washington orders 
  them to try to recruit 
  der Dunkeladler as a 
  temporary ally. Assum-
  ing they succeed, can 
  they trust him? Is it pos-
  sible he’s already work-
  ing with the Skymaster... 
  and if so, to what end?
  Ernest Gruenwald and 
  a female PC become 
  romantically involved. 
  He’s charming, witty, 
  debonair, and fun to be 
  with. What will happen 
  when the PCs discover 
  who he really is?
  The plans for the Army’s 
  newest airplane have 
  been stolen! A witness 
  reports seeing a “dark 
  plane” ﬂying near the 
  top-secret airﬁeld where 
  they were stored. The 
  government asks the 
  PCs to track down and 
  capture der Dunke-
  ladler... he’s obviously 
  the one behind this, 
  right?
  
  127 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  various espionage agencies 8- (Mo 
  Pow, NCI, Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Fervent Nazi 
  (Common, Total)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other aviators)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Ernst 
  Gruenwald) (Frequently, Major)
  247 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  392
  Background/History:  A few years ago, a fascinat-
  ing man took the New York social scene by storm. 
  Handsome, gregarious, likeable, possessed of an 
  unfailing sense of style and sophistication, and 
  with just a touch of mystery about him, millionaire 
  playboy Ernest Gruenwald soon became the toast 
  of the town. No one was quite sure where or how 
  he made his money, but the same could be said 
  of many other people — and in this day and age, 
  having money, not how you earn it, is really what’s 
  important, right?
  The people who believe that might think 
  again if they knew the truth about Ernest Gru-
  enwald — or more accurately, Ernst. His funds 
  come straight out of the coffers of the Third 
  Reich. Far from being the carefree society man 
  he pretends to be, Gruenwald is a spy for Nazi 
  Germany who uses his social connections to 
  keep an eye on the high and mighty of Ameri-
  can society. But he’s no ordinary spy. For years 
  the Espionage and Aviation Worlds have told 
  stories about the mysterious Dunkeladler (“Dark 
  Eagle”), an ace flyer in a black plane who strikes 
  without warning against targets in Europe and 
  America, and who possesses the uncanny ability 
  to penetrate even the tightest security to steal 
  whatever his masters desire. Der Dunkeladler 
  is Gruenwald’s second secret identity — or, he 
  would say, his true self writ large to serve and 
  defend the Fatherland.
  Personality/Motivation:  Der Dunkeladler is a fervent 
  Nazi patriot, one who’s wholeheartedly embraced 
  the ideals of the Third Reich and works hard to 
  accomplish its goals. He’s sacriﬁced everything 
  — romance, a normal life, the chance to be a public 
  hero back home — to see that it triumphs over 
  the nations who would oppose it. He bitterly hates 
  America and its egalitarianism, and eagerly looks 
  forward to the day when he brings it crashing down 
  in ﬂames.
  Quote:  “You are good, Herr Irons... very, very good. 
  But you are not so skilled as the Dark Eagle!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Der Dunkeladler is a highly-
  trained, extremely competent aviator and spy. 
  His schemes usually involve flying at some 
  point:  flying over and parachuting onto a target 
  installation so he can steal secret plans for a new 
  tank; attacking a commercial airliner to create 
  a diversion to distract the authorities; killing an 
  assassination target by strafing him. But he’s no 
  weakling on the ground — in fact, he’s a Heidel-
  berg-trained fencer and a German military vet-
  eran with years of field experience.
   Der Dunkeladler is clever, cautious, and an 
  inveterate planner; if the PCs encounter him in his 
  costumed identity (as opposed to one of his many 
  disguises) it’s almost certainly because he wants 
  them to and expects them to use that knowledge 
  as part of his overall scheme. He leaves as little as 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Sabre 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  10
  Mauser C96 
  +1 
  +1 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  10 
  10 
  Carries 3 clips
  Dagger 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Lockpicks
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  128 ■ Solo Villains
  possible to chance, and has no qualms about using 
  overwhelming force if he can. Though he pretends 
  be honorable and to follow the aviators’ code, the 
  truth is he cares nothing for his opponents or their 
  “honor,” and happily uses their pretensions against 
  them.
  Campaign Use:  Der Dunkeladler embodies the 
  threat that Nazi Germany poses in a way no group 
  of everyday Bundists, or even Nazi soldiers, can. 
  Powerful and tough, he’s a real threat to the PCs 
  who’ll make them stop joking around about Nazi 
  goons... at least for a while.
  Der Dunkeladler is intended to take on the 
  PCs largely by himself (though he can recruit or 
  hire help from the underworld, Bundist organiza-
  tions, and even the German military if necessary). 
  If he’s not powerful enough to ﬁll that role already, 
  increase his Characteristics, Skills, and Combat 
  Skill Levels until he can. A few points of Lightning 
  Reﬂexes, Extra DCs, or cinematic Damage Reduc-
  tion can go a long way toward evening the odds. If 
  he’s already too strong, reduce his INT and PRE to 
  15-17, and remove his Overall Skill Level, some (or 
  all) of his Martial Maneuvers, and a few Skills (thus 
  making him more dependent on helpers).
  Der Dunkeladler is a ﬁerce, dangerous Hunter. 
  He uses his resources as a top German spy to ﬁnd 
  out as much as he can about his target, then moves 
  in for the kill at the most opportune moment. He 
  prefers more subtle attacks if possible, but won’t 
  hesitate to come after the target in his plane if he 
  has to.
  Appearance:  When seen by his adversaries (and 
  victims...), der Dunkeladler is usually dressed in 
  aviator’s garb — boots, pants, shirt, leather jacket, 
  goggled leather helmet — but all in black. Around 
  his neck he wears a blood-red scarf with a black 
  eagle embroidered on one end. His plane is dark 
  grey with the same black eagle symbol painted 
  on each side. Few people suspect that charming 
  millionaire playboy Ernest Gruenwald — hand-
  some, well-dressed, blonde hair and blue eyes — is 
  secretly the ﬁendish Nazi aviator and spy.
  GERTA
   Val Char 
  Cost Notes
   7 Size 
  35 5” x 2.5”; mass 12.5 tons; -7 KB; 
  -4 DCV
   35 STR 
  -10 Lift 3,200 kg; 7d6 HTH [0]
   15 DEX 
  15 OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   17 BODY 0
   4 DEF 
  6
   3 SPD 
  5 
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
    
   
   
  Total Characteristic Cost:  51
  Movement: 
  Ground:  6”/12”
   
  Swimming:  0”/0”
   
  Flight:  42”/168”
  Abilities & Equipment
  Cost Power 
  END
   
  Propulsion Systems
  36 
  Propeller-Driven Plane:  Flight 42”, x4  
  Noncombat; 1 Continuing Fuel Charge 
  (easily-obtained fuel; 4 Hours; -0), Side 
  Eﬀects (KA 1d6 to anyone who comes  
  into contact with the propeller,  
  automatically occurs when Flight is in  
  use, only aﬀects environment in front of 
  vehicle; -¼), Stall Velocity (21”; -¼),  
  Takeoﬀ/Landing (-1) 
  [1cc]
  -2 
  Can Only Fly:  Swimming -2” (0” total)
   
  Tactical Systems
  40 
  Twin 7.92mm Machine Guns (Wing-
  Mounted):  RKA 2½d6, Autoﬁre (8 shots; 
  +1), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼), 
  500 Charges (+1); OIF Bulky (-1), Limited 
  Arc Of Fire (0 degrees forward; only on same 
  horizontal level; -1), Real Weapon (-¼) [500]
  34 
  7.92mm Machine Guns (Rear-Mounted):  
  RKA 2½d6, Autoﬁre (5 shots; +½), +1 
  Increased STUN Multiplier (+¼), 250 
  Charges (+1); OIF Bulky (-1), Limited Arc Of 
  Fire (0 degrees aft; only on same horizontal 
  level; -1), Real Weapon (-¼) 
  [500]
   
  Operations Systems
  4 
  Radio:  Radio Perception/Transmission 
  (Radio Group); OAF Bulky (-1½), Aﬀected 
  As Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group 
  (-¼) 
  0
  6 
  Remote Control System:  Mind Link (with 
  der Dunkeladler’s Pocket Radio), No LOS 
  Needed (15 Active Points); OIF Bulky (-1), 
  Aﬀected As Radio And Sight Groups, Not 
  Mental Group (-½) 
  0
   
  Personnel Systems
  14 
  Sealed Environment:  Life Support (Self-
  Contained Breathing; Safe Environments:  
  Intense Cold, Low Pressure/Vacuum) 
  0
   
  Skills
  2 
  Highly Maneuverable:  +1 with Flight
  Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  134
  Total Vehicle Cost:  185
  
  129 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  Value Disadvantages
  25 
  Distinctive Features:  Der Dunkeladler’s 
  Personal Fighter (Not Concealable; Causes 
  Extreme Reaction [fear])
  Total Disadvantage Points:  25
  Total Cost:  160/5 = 32
  Description:  Der Dunkeladler’s plane, which he 
  calls “Gerta,” is a design of his own invention based 
  on the Junkers 87A (a.k.a. Stuka) — a metal-
  bodied monoplane able to reach speeds of up to 
  188 miles per hour with a maximum altitude of 
  33,000 feet. It comes equipped with twin 7.92mm 
  machine guns mounted forward (one at each wing 
  hub) and a single machine gun mounted to the rear. 
  It typically carries just the pilot, but there’s room 
  for der Dunkeladler to wedge another person in if 
  he has to. It’s dark grey with his black eagle symbol 
  painted on each side.
  Gerta’s most innovative feature is a Weird Sci-
  ence remote control system that links to the Pocket 
  Radio device der Dunkeladler carries. Using it, he 
  can “ﬂy” the plane, even taking oﬀ and landing or 
  ﬁring the guns, without being in it. He often uses 
  this as a misdirection tactic. 
  SIR JONATHAN EARLE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   16 STR 
  6 
  12- 
  Lift 233 kg; 3d6 [3]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  4
   30 END 
  2
   30 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  83
  Movement: 
  Running:  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Cinematic Brawling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 26 STR 
  to disarm roll
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  5d6 Strike
  2 
  Life Support:  Immunity (Malaria) 
  0
  7 
  Been There; Seen That:  +15 PRE; Only To 
  Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  2 
  Fast:  Running +1” (7” total) 
  1
   
  Perks
  15 
  Followers:  two bearers built on 50 Base 
  Points
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  2 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Member of the Lower Nobil-
  ity (Baronet)
  4 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Talents
  3 
  Ambidexterity (-2 Oﬀ Hand Penalty)
  3 
  Bump Of Direction
  3 
  Lightsleep
   
  Skills
  10 
  +5 OCV with Riﬂes
  6 
  +4 versus Range Penalties with Riﬂes
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Pistols) 13-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Thrown Knife) 13-
  2 
  KS: Africa 11-
  2 
  KS: African Cultures And Civilizations 11-
  2 
  KS: African Flora And Fauna 11-
  3 
  Language:  Afrikaans (completely ﬂuent; 
  English is Native)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  German (completely ﬂuent)
  2 
  Language:  Kikuyu (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Masai (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Swahili (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  3 
  Paramedic 12-
  2 
  PS: Big Game Hunter/Guide 11-
  SIR JONATHAN 
  EARLE PLOT SEEDS
  Sir Jonathan hears of 
  an expedition being 
  mounted into the inte-
  rior to search for an 
  airplane that went down 
  carrying an American 
  millionaire and his 
  friends who were on a 
  tour of the continent. 
  He volunteers to guide 
  the expedition to get 
  his name in the papers 
  again — and because he 
  thinks the region where 
  the missing millionaire 
  and his party went down 
  is very close to the loca-
  tion of the legendary 
  Elephants’ Graveyard. 
  He plans to do a little 
  looking around while 
  he’s there.
  Sir Jonathan’s daughter 
  Prudence is in trouble. 
  She set out with an 
  expedition to deliver 
  some medical supplies 
  to a remote village in 
  the Belgian Congo... 
  and vanished. A lone 
  survivor of the expedi-
  tion staggered out of 
  the jungles, feverish and 
  dying. He babbled a tale 
  about men who turned 
  into leopards, and a 
  Leopard King who plans 
  to carve out a kingdom 
  in Central Africa. Sir 
  Jonathan puts together 
  an expedition to rescue 
  her, but he needs a few 
  more good men to help 
  him out. Where might 
  he ﬁnd them?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  130 ■ Solo Villains
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  4 
  Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropic) 12-
  3 
  Tactics 12-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  5 
  TF: Riding Animals, Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles, Small Rowed Boats
  2 
  Weaponsmith (Firearms) 12-
  3 
  WF: Small Arms; Thrown Knives, Axes, and 
  Darts
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  139
  Total Cost:  222
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Hunted:  Cimba Janakadi 8- (As Pow; Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Gloryhound 
  (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Lecherous 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Thrillseeker 
  (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with all other hunters 
  and explorers in Africa)
  82 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  222
  Background/History:  Jonathan Earle was the third 
  son of a wealthy baronet from Sussex, England. 
  Knowing he’d never inherit the title, his mother 
  spoiled him from the ﬁrst day of his life. He had 
  everything he ever wanted except his father’s title 
  — or respect. When he was sent down from Oxford 
  for the second time, his father shipped him out to 
  a friend’s ranch in Kenya. It was there that Earle 
  found his true self.
  Kenya made a man of him, weathering both 
  his pale skin and his lazy ways in the hot African 
  sun. He learned to hunt and to organize safaris. 
  He learned the languages of the natives, and 
  how best to employ them, both as bearers and 
  as stalkers for game. He learned the ways of the 
  trophy animals — lion, gazelle, zebra, elephant, 
  rhino — and how best to kill each of them. And 
  he learned just how much rich Americans would 
  pay to kill them.
  What he didn’t learn was to keep his hands 
  off his benefactor’s eighteen year-old daughter 
  Margaret. Caught in a compromising situation, 
  they were hurriedly wed. Their daughter Pru-
  dence Priscilla was born seven months later.
  Both of Jonathan’s older brothers lost their 
  lives in the Great War, so the title actually came 
  to him. Encouraged by his mother, he returned to 
  England, but soon discovered he’d gained some-
  thing else in Africa — an addiction to excite-
  ment. Managing his factories held no excitement 
  for him, and the nightlife of London soon paled 
  (particularly when Lady Margaret could no 
  longer endure his penchant for younger ladies). 
  After the third affair, rather than applying to the 
  courts for the divorce he wanted she simply took 
  their daughter and returned to her father’s ranch 
  in Kenya.
  When his mother died a year later, Sir Jona-
  than left his British holdings in the capable hands 
  of a cousin and returned to the African plains. 
  Hiring himself out as a guide (not that he needed 
  the money), Sir Jonathan soon gained a reputation 
  as a safari leader. He seemed to know instinctively 
  where the best hunting was and saw to it that no 
  one returned emptyhanded from one of his expedi-
  tions. It might mean the deaths of a few bearers, but 
  his clients always got that trophy they wanted.
  With Sir Jonathan’s fame, his ego grew as well. 
  He took more and more risks and went after more 
  and more dangerous game. He sought the fabled 
  Elephants’ Graveyard, the lost mines of King Solo-
  mon, the vanished tribes of Amazons. Although 
  none of his quests have yet succeeded, he knows a 
  fabulous new discovery is just beyond the next hill, 
  around the next bend in the river. He’ll do whatever 
  it takes to ﬁnd them, and if he can get someone else 
  to ﬁnance his quest, so much the better.
  Personality/Motivation:  Sir Jonathan Earle is a rest-
  less man, addicted to the thrill of the hunt and the 
  knowledge that the creature he’s hunting is hunting 
  him back. Without a challenge, be it a ﬁerce quarry 
  or some treasure he’s seeking, he becomes bored 
  and listless, a literal shadow of his former self until 
  something happens — it always does, in Africa 
  — to put him in danger and jolt him back to life.
  Earle’s a glory-seeker, always looking for the 
  bigger lion, the larger elephant tusks, the better the 
  trophy, the more famous discovery. He doesn’t care 
  who or what stands in his way — he’ll achieve his 
  fame if he has to kill every animal (or native) in 
  Africa.
  Earle is also a cad and a womanizer. Any 
  woman is fair game, but he prefers them young 
  and beautiful. With the morals of an alley cat, 
  he attempts to romance any woman he ﬁnds, be 
  she married or not. But he delights in the hunt, 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  H&H #2 
  +0 
  +2 
  3d6 
  1d6 
  2 
  16
  Winchester 70 
  +1 
  +2 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  3 
  12
  Shotgun 
  +0 
  +0 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  5 
  12 
  2H, AE1, 20” range, RR, RP
  Webley Mk IV 
  +0 
  -1 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  6 
  8
  Machete 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Field pack, tent, bedroll, canteen, lantern, ﬂint and tinder
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  Following a few native 
  stories about strange 
  lights in the sky and 
  mysterious noises on a 
  remote plateau, Jona-
  than discovers some-
  thing he truly wasn’t 
  expecting:  the location 
  of the Skymaster’s Afri-
  can retreat! If he can 
  bring in the Skymaster, 
  then his place in history 
  is assured, but there are 
  just a few problems:  the 
  plateau’s defenses are 
  very strong, and only 
  a small, determined 
  party and get through 
  them undetected; there 
  are a lot of men with 
  guns, more even than he 
  can handle; and ﬁnally 
  there’s the Skymaster 
  himself, who’s no push-
  over. Sir Jonathan thinks 
  he has it all worked out, 
  though. He just needs a 
  diversion — say, another 
  group of people who 
  just happened to try the 
  same thing from the 
  opposite side of the pla-
  teau. And he knows just 
  the ones....
  Continued from last page
  
  131 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  not the “kill,” and once he’s succeeded in bed-
  ding his quarry he quickly loses interest. The only 
  woman who’s ever gotten away from him is Cimba 
  Janakadi, the blonde jungle 
  girl, who makes his pursuit of 
  her all the more delectable by 
  hunting him with much more 
  lethal intent in return.
  Quote:  “My God, that’s the 
  biggest elephant I’ve ever... 
  Kenny, the Holland & Hol-
  land, if you please.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Sir Jona-
  than is a skilled hunter 
  and tracker, and one of the 
  best rifle shots on the Dark 
  Continent. Stories of kills 
  that he’s made with a single 
  bullet are told in bars and 
  clubs all over Africa, usu-
  ally with little in the way of 
  embellishment — he really 
  is that good. He always has 
  a native bearer — he calls 
  him “Kenny,” no matter what 
  the man’s real name is, after 
  his first gun-boy (who died 
  years ago under the claws of 
  a wounded lion) — nearby 
  with a selection of the finest 
  rifles money can buy. He 
  prefers one-shot kills, which 
  make better stories, but he’s 
  not going to let a story get 
  him killed and stop him 
  from becoming famous, so 
  if a charging lion needs a 
  second bullet, so be it.
  He knows something 
  about ﬁstﬁghts — one has to in Africa, you know 
  — and can defend himself if necessary, but that’s 
  not really where his interests lie. Still, a good old-
  fashioned brawl can help to keep the blood pump-
  ing, and the ladies do always seem to ﬁnd them 
  exciting, so he’s not opposed to throwing a few 
  punches and then getting out while his face is still 
  intact.
  Campaign Use:  Africa is a dangerous place, and 
  Jonathan Earle is one of the things that make it 
  that way. If the characters are searching for a lost 
  city or a fabled animal, he’s either going to want 
  to guide them there or beat them to it — and he 
  won’t be interested in 
  sharing the glory for dis-
  covering it with anyone. If 
  they’re tracking a tribe of 
  rumored intelligent apes, 
  he’ll want one mounted 
  in his den, and the char-
  acters had best pray for 
  those last surviving dino-
  saurs living in a remote 
  jungle valley, because they 
  won’t stand a chance once 
  Sir Jonathan sees one for 
  himself. And of course, 
  any female PCs, especially 
  pretty ones, are fair game 
  for his attention....
  Earle’s deadly 
  enough with a riﬂe 
  already, so to make him 
  more dangerous, increase 
  his STR and CON to 15, 
  and add Combat Luck 
  and a few more Brawling 
  maneuvers. To weaken 
  him, reduce his DEX to 
  18 and eliminate some 
  of his skill Combat Skill 
  Levels with Riﬂes.
  If Sir Jonathan is 
  Hunting a character, he’ll 
  maneuver him into a situ-
  ation where he is, literally, 
  hunting him — the “most 
  dangerous game.”
  Appearance:  Sir Jonathan 
  Earle is a slender man, 
  standing 5’8” and weighing approximately 150 
  pounds. He has sandy brown hair that’s usually 
  slightly long and windblown, hazel eyes, and skin 
  weathered by his years in the sun. He’s attractive 
  and charming, with an easy smile and amicable 
  demeanor. While on safari, he generally dresses 
  in a khaki shirt and trousers with sturdy boots, a 
  shooting vest, and a bush hat. Otherwise, he dresses 
  appropriately for the occasion, in well-made clothes 
  speciﬁcally tailored for his frame.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  132 ■ Solo Villains
  THE ELECTRICUTIONER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   11 BODY 2 
  11-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11- 
  PER Roll 11-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   4 PD 
  1 
   
  Total:  12 PD (8 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  16 ED (12 rED)
   4 SPD 
  15 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   25 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  47
  Movement: 
  Running:  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  56 
  Electrically-Charged Form:  HKA 2d6,  
  Continuous (+1), Area Of Eﬀect (One  
  Hex; +½), Damage Shield (does damage  
  in HTH combat; +¾), Reduced Endurance  
  (0 END; +½), Penetrating (+½); OIF  
  (costume; -½), No STR Bonus (-½),  
  Requires Special Power Source Within  
  One Mile (see text; -¼) 
  0
  15 
  Electrical Shielding:  Force Field (8 PD), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OIF 
  (costume; -½), Does Not Work Against 
  Grounded Projectiles (see text; -½),  
  Requires Special Power Source Within  
  One Mile (see text; -¼) plus Force Field  
  (12 ED), Reduced Endurance (0 END;  
  +½); OIF (costume; -½), Requires  
  Special Power Source Within One Mile  
  (see text; -¼) 
  0
  2 
  Quick On His Feet:  Running +1” (7” total) 1
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Block, Grab, and Punch
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  5 
  Electronics 12-
  2 
  KS: Hudson City Underworld 11-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  3 
  Systems Operation 11-
  3 
  Tactics 
  11-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  103
  Total Cost:  150
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Electricutioner Suit 
  (Easily Concealed; Causes Extreme Reaction 
  [fear])
  20 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined To 
  Provide For His Family (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  dangerous criminal and assas-
  sin, 11- (Extreme)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Arnold 
  Thomas) (Frequently, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  180
  Background/History:  The Electricutioner is one of 
  the most notorious and feared criminals in Hudson 
  City — a man who hires himself and his lethal elec-
  trical powers out to anyone who can meet his price. 
  He ﬁrst made himself known in January 1932 when 
  he stalked and killed a wealthy industrialist, Albert 
  Hammersmith, on his estate during a house party 
  attended by the cream of Hudson City society. 
  Two weeks later he murdered Hudson City Police 
  Captain Willis O’Connor outside his own precinct 
  house, casually escaping amidst a hail of ineﬀectual 
  bullets from O’Connor’s fellow oﬃcers. His reign of 
  terror has continued sporadically since then, with 
  at least 17 other deaths attributable to him and no 
  fewer than nine known confrontations with indi-
  viduals ranging from the Raven and his companion 
  the Velvet Phantom, to Captain Battle and the Sci-
  ence Police. He’s been reported killed no less than 
  six times, but always returns.
  The truth of the matter is that he was killed 
  those six times — and two more the public doesn’t 
  know about. Each time the man wearing the suit 
  died, the creator of the suit, Dr. Harris Blythe, 
  simply found another hired thug with more brawn 
  than sense, stuﬀed him in it, and sent him back 
  out to commit crimes until he too was killed. But 
  the last confrontation with Captain Battle and the 
  Science Police, in December 1934, went a bit diﬀer-
  ently. Having deduced the mechanism that allowed 
  the suit to be powered without bulky batteries or 
  trailing cables, Captain Battle devised a way to trace 
  the wireless power broadcasts that delivered energy 
  to the suit and confronted Blythe and the current 
  wearer of the suit in Blythe’s lair. The ensuing ﬁght 
  proved deadly for both Blythe and the current Elec-
  tricutioner, and so the threat was ended forever... 
  except for Arnold Thomas.
  Thomas had the distinction of being the man 
  who drove the truck-mounted generator that pow-
  ered the Electricutioner suit around the city and 
  operated the controls that fed power to the suit. He 
  was the only man who was with Blythe’s gang the 
  entire time because he was never at the scene of 
  a crime and was smart enough to drive away fast 
  when it looked like the battle was lost. He escaped 
  the ﬁnal battle against Captain Battle and the Sci-
  ence Police with the last remaining Electricutioner 
  suit and power-transmission truck. He found a 
  ﬂunkie to drive the truck, then put out the word 
  that the Electricutioner was still in business...
  Personality/Motivation:  First and foremost, Arnold 
  is a family man who depends on the income he 
  generates as the Electricutioner to feed, clothe, and 
  care for his wife and children. He doesn’t have any 
  personal axes to grind, and no secret agenda to 
  motivate him — just the desire to build up enough 
  of a nest egg that he can stop spending all his time 
  in the truck and start spending it with his family. 
  Unfortunately for the Electricutioner’s victims, the 
  best way he knows to do this is to commit murder 
  and other crimes for hire.
  Quote:  “Okay, Chuckie, here’s the plan — pay atten-
  tion. I walk up to the house and turn the suit on at 
  exactly 10:00 PM. I want ten minutes to ﬁnd the 
  THE  
  ELECTRICUTIONER  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Barry “Bad Barry” Wig-
  more is due to die in the 
  electric chair for a series 
  of brutal killings, but 
  his two younger broth-
  ers, Daniel and Mike, 
  want him out. They hire 
  the Electricutioner to 
  make that happen, but 
  something goes wrong:  
  the powers of the suit 
  causes feedback with the 
  electric chair and Bad 
  Barry winds up with 
  similar abilities to the 
  ones granted by the suit. 
  Two Electricutioners is 
  too many; one of them 
  has to go. Can Arnold 
  arrange things so Barry 
  is the one who takes the 
  fall?
  The Electricutioner 
  ﬁnds himself in need 
  of some spare parts to 
  make repairs to the suit 
  and generator. He knows 
  Dr. Blythe’s supplies held 
  the parts he needs, but 
  they’re currently locked 
  up and inaccessible at 
  police headquarters. 
  That means he needs 
  some cash to bribe his 
  way in and get them, or 
  purchase news one. A lot 
  of cash. Looks like the 
  Electricutioner is going 
  into the bank-robbing 
  business. After he tun-
  nels in using the arc-
  ﬁeld like a drill, he starts 
  to wonder what else 
  might be in the vault....
  One of the characters 
  makes someone mad 
  enough to hire the 
  Electricutioner to kill 
  him. Arnold determines 
  that the best time will 
  be while the character 
  is at a social function, 
  surrounded by noncom-
  batants, and not likely to 
  have weapons with him. 
  What does the character 
  do when the hedge maze 
  in his new lady friend’s 
  garden goes up in smoke 
  after they sneak oﬀ for 
  a few quiet moments 
  during a garden party 
  and the Electricutioner 
  comes stalking through?
  
  133 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  guy in the picture and kill him and then get out, so 
  turn the juice oﬀ at 10:10 PM. Got it?”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Electricutioner suit is a marvel 
  of engineering, drawing on the work of Nikola 
  Tesla and his broadcast power experiments to 
  transmit power through the air like a radio signal 
  and use it to power the suit. When the truck-
  mounted generator is activated, the suit appears 
  to be nothing so much as a man-shaped outline of 
  electricity, constantly throwing oﬀ powerful electric 
  arcs which burn and kill those who come into con-
  tact with them. The arc ﬁeld completely surrounds 
  the wearer of the suit, providing defense as well as 
  a form of attack. It also sears at the ground under-
  neath the wearer’s feet, making it inadvisable for 
  him to stay in one spot too long or to spend time 
  on the upper ﬂoors of buildings. The Electricution-
  er’s normal tactic is to locate his target, approach 
  as rapidly as possible, electrocute him to death, and 
  then retreat. The generator can provide power to 
  the suit as long as it remains within a mile of the 
  wearer; a larger generator could easily be built, but 
  would be that much easier to track.
  Both the Raven and Captain Battle know of 
  the suit’s weakness to grounded projectiles and 
  have made use of that to injure and kill wear-
  ers with such things as javelins and arrows with 
  grounding wires, metal cable nets with ground-
  ing wires to hold him in place, and the like. On at 
  least one occasion, the Raven tricked a wearer into 
  standing on the wooden pier of a Hudson City 
  dock until the arc ﬁeld burned through it and pre-
  cipitated the wearer to his death in the ocean below 
  when the suit shorted out. One of the two unre-
  corded deaths occurred when minions of the Iron 
  Claw killed a wearer by dropping a load of steel 
  girders on his head, the Claw having correctly rea-
  soned that the mass of metal was simply too great 
  to be vaporized in time to save the man inside. If 
  the Electricutioner believes a job will require a con-
  frontation with the Raven or Captain Battle, he’ll 
  refuse it — he knows that they’re both well aware of 
  the suit’s vulnerabilities and how to exploit them.
  Campaign Use:  The Electricutioner is an adaptable 
  villain who can be a wide range of things depend-
  ing on the needs of the campaign. He makes an 
  excellent Weird Science menace, either as a man 
  with an agenda or a hired killer. Since the man in 
  the suit can be replaced, you can change his per-
  sonality, his modus operandi, and the like to keep 
  the PCs oﬀ-balance. He also makes a good change-
  of-pace villain for campaigns that depend less on 
  weird elements, since the nature of the suit makes 
  him defeatable by even ordinary men and women 
  once its weaknesses are divined.
  To make the Electricutioner more dangerous, 
  simply place a smarter and more physically power-
  ful opponent in it (as opposed to Arnold Thomas) 
  and install a radio so he can communicate with, 
  and receive instructions from, Arnold. Another 
  possibility is to give the suit a ranged electrical 
  attack of some sort. To make him weaker, reduce 
  his Characteristics, get rid of his Combat Skill 
  Levels, or reduce his Damage Shield to HKA 1d6.
  The Electricutioner Hunts people someone 
  has paid to have killed. Due to the nature of the suit 
  and its powers, these Hunts take the form of direct 
  confrontations with victims, followed by retreats 
  whether the attack succeeded or not.
  Appearance:  When wearing his activated suit, the 
  Electricutioner is a six foot tall powerhouse sur-
  rounded by a lightning-storm of electrical arcs 
  that moves with him as he walks. Deactivated, his 
  suit is a cloth and rubber bodysuit that covers the 
  entire surface of the wearer’s body, with exposed 
  electrical grids and wiring on the surface and a pair 
  of goggle-covered eyes. Arnold Thomas himself 
  is a slightly overweight man in his late thirties, 
  with receding brown hair and watery blue eyes. He 
  dresses like a moderately successful day laborer.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Usually none, but he may need special equipment for a speciﬁc crime.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  134 ■ Solo Villains
  FAFNIR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   16 CON 
  12 
  13-
   14 BODY 8 
  13-
   16 INT 
  6 
  13- 
  PER Roll 12-
   16 EGO 
  12 
  13- 
  ECV:  5
   10 PRE 
  0 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   6 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   5 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   32 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  79
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  10 
  Lucky Guy:  Luck 2d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Contacts:  10 points’ worth in the European 
  art community and underworld
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Talents
  3 
  Ambidexterity (-2 Oﬀ Hand Penalty)
  4 
  Double-Jointed
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 with Agility Skills
  5 
  +1 DCV
  9 
  Acrobatics 16-
  7 
  Acting 13-
  5 
  Breakfall 14-
  5 
  Climbing 14-
  11 
  Concealment 16-
  5 
  Contortionist 14-
  7 
  Disguise 14-
  7 
  Inventor 14-
  3 
  KS: Gems And Jewelry 12-
  3 
  KS: Museums Of The World 12-
  3 
  KS: Opera 12-
  3 
  KS: Possessions Of The Rich And Famous 12-
  3 
  KS: Works Of Richard Wagner 12-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  German is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Italian (ﬂuent conversation)
  7 
  Lockpicking 15-
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  3 
  Mimicry 12-
  9 
  Security Systems 15-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 11-
  5 
  Ventriloquism 13-
  3 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Pistols
  3 
  Jack of All Trades
  2 
  1)  PS: Art Appraisal 12-
  4 
  2)  PS: Circus Acrobat 15-
  2 
  3)  PS: Gem And Jewelry Appraisal 12-
  2 
  4)  PS: Singing 12-
  5 
  5)  PS: Thief 16-
  3 
  Traveler
  4 
  1)  AK: Europe 14-
  2 
  2)  CK: Berlin 12-
  2 
  3)  CK: London 12-
  2 
  4)  CK: Monaco 12-
  2 
  5)  CK: Paris 12-
  2 
  6)  CK: Rome 12-
  2 
  7)  CK: Vienna 12-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  208
  Total Cost:  287
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Distinctive Feature:  Dwarf (Not Conceal-
  able; Noticed And Recognizable)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  Small (less reach, suﬀers 
  +3” KB) (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Must Leave Signa-
  ture Token At Site Of All Thefts (Uncommon, 
  Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other skilled 
  thieves)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Siegfried 
  Wagner) (Occasionally, Major)
  122 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  287
  Background/History:  Children and adults all over 
  Europe have thrilled to the daring exploits of the 
  Flying Warner family for decades. As part of the 
  Rhineland Circus of Marvels for four generations, 
  they were trapeze artists, high-wire walkers, and acro-
  bats second to none. Siegfried Wagner would have 
  been among the best, but for one thing:  in a family of 
  tall, slim, athletic men, he was born a dwarf. His par-
  ents were disappointed, of course, but in a circus there 
  were other options for their son. But Siegfried, even as 
  a toddler, still wanted to be an acrobat like his father, 
  mother, brothers, and grandparents before him. So he 
  worked hard, learning to tumble and climb with the 
  rest of his family. While his stature kept him from the 
  trapeze, his razor-honed sense of balance allowed him 
  to wire walk — albeit on his hands. He was so proud 
  the day he was allowed to take his place beside his 
  family under the Big Top. His father had even billed 
  him Germany’s Greatest Acrobatic Dwarf! Siegfried 
  couldn’t have been happier.
  Then came the Great War. The circus couldn’t 
  travel, and Siegfried’s father and brothers went oﬀ 
  to ﬁght. He was reduced to taking on buﬀoonish 
  roles in cabaret performances... but that got him 
  noticed by Maxﬁeld Lieder, an accomplished thief. 
  Impressed by the little man’s agility and acrobatic 
  prowess, he oﬀered him a job... a “not entirely legal 
  job,” as he put it. Without a second thought, Sieg-
  fried agreed. He was intrigued and set out to learn 
  all that Lieder could teach him. After Lieder’s retire-
  ment ﬁve years later, Siegfried had enough experi-
  ence as a second story man to go it alone. The work 
  was easy, and the money could be spectacular. After 
  his stole the gold Niebelung dragon and its nest 
  FAFNIR PLOT SEEDS
  A large collection of 
  gems and jewelry is 
  coming to the Hudson 
  City Museum of 
  Anthropology and Nat-
  ural History. Included 
  in the display are some 
  rare green star sap-
  phires, a set of Etruscan 
  statues carved from pink 
  marble and decorated 
  with rubies, and various 
  other unusual pieces. 
  Since the place was vic-
  timized by Fafnir only a 
  month ago, the director’s 
  worried he might try 
  again. Assuming he’s 
  even in town, the PCs 
  have to ﬁnd him and 
  stop him before he can 
  pull the caper oﬀ.
  There’s been a series of 
  thefts all across Europe 
  in the past two weeks. 
  Oddly, when something 
  is taken from one crime 
  scene, it mysteriously 
  appears at the next 
  — along with Fafnir’s 
  signature gold dragon. 
  What’s the Master Thief 
  of Europe up to? Playing 
  games with the police? 
  Proving his superior 
  skills? Why doesn’t he 
  take everything? And 
  now little onyx doves 
  are making an appear-
  ance.....
  After his most daring 
  theft yet, Fafnir has 
  made oﬀ with the dia-
  mond necklace Marie 
  Antoinette wore before 
  losing her head. Unfor-
  tunately, his plan went 
  awry, and he had to 
  sneak aboard a plane 
  leaving for the United 
  States... a plane which, 
  conveniently enough, is 
  carrying the PCs. Can 
  he stay out of sight for 
  the duration of the trip? 
  Or will he decide to play 
  a little prank and see 
  if he can persuade the 
  other travelers that the 
  plane is haunted? And 
  there’s that little rumor 
  of the curse on the 
  necklace....
  
  135 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  of gems from the museum in Frankfurt, he chose 
  a new name for himself:  Fafnir, the great dragon. 
  And he would create the greatest hoard ever.
  Personality/Motivation:  Having known bleak pov-
  erty and humiliation, Fafnir has sworn never to let 
  himself suﬀer like that again. He’d developed a love 
  of gems, ﬁne jewelry, wealth, and luxuries as obses-
  sive and vast as that of any dragon. In fact, he has a 
  literal hoard hidden away; he visits it frequently to 
  bask in its presence.
  Fafnir’s success has fueled a belief that he’s the 
  greatest thief in Europe, and possibly the world. To 
  that end, he tries to outdo any other thief whose 
  exploits he hears or reads of. To mark his thefts, he 
  always leaves a small dragon statuette at the scene 
  of his thefts.
  Fafnir has systematically looted his way across 
  Europe, gaining a reputation as a true master of 
  his craft. Only La Colombe Noir has come close 
  to matching his expertise, and he’s developed a 
  friendly rivalry with her even though they’ve never 
  met and know each other by reputation only.
  Quote:  “I am... Germany’s Greatest Acrobatic Dwarf!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Despite his small size, Fafnir is an 
  incredibly talented acrobat, using the skills taught to 
  him a child to get into and out of places no one would 
  think to look. After years of wire work and athletic 
  practice, he’s as strong as two normal men and has 
  developed an odd hopping gait that compensates for 
  his short legs. But he’s not interested in getting into 
  ﬁghts; his size places him at a crippling disadvantage.
  Over time, Fafnir has developed several handy 
  gadgets based on circus tricks to make his job easier. 
  For example, he often uses specially-designed over-
  sized shoes to sidetrack detectives who try to catch 
  him. He can also make use of his size and contortion-
  ist skills to hide someplace no one would look for a 
  person, like inside the breastplate of a suit of armor or 
  in costume as a gargoyle on a ledge outside a window, 
  until his pursuers give up. He won’t try to harm (much 
  less kill) anyone unless they steal from his hoard 
  — because that’s his, not theirs. Not any more.
  Campaign Use:  There are thieves and then there 
  are thieves — and Fafnir is definitely the latter. 
  If the characters bring back an artifact like the 
  fabulous Ruby Rod of Solomon, sooner or later 
  Fafnir’s going to come after it. If it’s valuable 
  and there aren’t armed guards literally sitting on 
  it 24 hours a day, he’ll probably succeed — and 
  even with the guards, he has a good chance of 
  getting away with it. Adventures involving him 
  are more about figuring out who Fafnir is and 
  how to get back something that he’s stolen than 
  engaging in fistfights.
  To make Fafnir more powerful, give him some 
  special stealth- or climbing-related abilities. To 
  weaken him, reduce his STR to 10, his DEX to 15, 
  and his SPD to 3, and eliminate Combat Skill Levels 
  until he’s the level of threat your players require.
  Siegfried might Hunt a character who was a 
  thief just to remind the PC who the real master 
  was, or to locate some precious object the PC has 
  in his possession. He’ll stalk them patiently with 
  all the stealth at his command, then slip in and get 
  what he wants when the moment’s right.
  Appearance:  Siegfried Wagner is a dwarf. At 
  3’10” tall, with dark hair and eyes, he can be 
  extremely hard to spot, especially if a character 
  is trying to catch the elusive Fafnir. The spoils 
  of his thefts allow him to live a comfortably 
  reclusive life, listening to the music of Richard 
  Wagner that he so loves. In person, he’s polite 
  and charming, with a hint of flamboyance car-
  ried over from his years as a circus performer. He 
  dresses simply, but neatly. Large posters of circus 
  acts from around the world hang on the walls of 
  whatever residence he currently calls home.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Lockpicks and other thieves’ tools, false-sized shoes
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  136 ■ Solo Villains
  FLAMBEAUX
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  4 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   28 END 
  0
   22 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  58
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  58 
  Immolation Bracelets:  Multipower,  
  130-point reserve; all IIF (-¼), Gestures  
  (-¼), Limited Range (20”; -¼), Only  
  Versus Specially-Prepared Targets  
  (see text; -½)
  3u 
  1)  Individual Immolation:  RKA 2d6,  
  Area Of Eﬀect (One Hex Accurate; +½), 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); IIF  
  (-¼), Gestures (-¼), Limited Range (20”;  
  -¼), Only Versus Specially-Prepared  
  Targets (see text; -½) plus RKA 1 point,  
  Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled (lasts  
  until it runs out of fuel or oxygen, or  
  someone extinguishes the ﬂames; +½),  
  Sticky (anyone or anything ﬂammable  
  touching the victim also catches on ﬁre;  
  + ½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);  
  IIF (-¼), Gestures (- ¼), Limited Range  
  (20”; -¼), Linked (-½) 
  0
  6u 
  2)  Area Immolation:  RKA 2d6, Area  
  Of Eﬀect (8” Radius; +1), Continuous  
  (+1), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);  
  IIF (-¼), Gestures (-¼), Limited Range  
  (20”; -¼), Only Versus Specially-Prepared 
  Targets (see text; -½) plus RKA 1 point,  
  Area Of Eﬀect (8” Radius; +1½),  
  Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled (lasts  
  until it runs out of fuel or oxygen, or  
  someone extinguishes the ﬂames; +½),  
  Sticky (anyone or anything ﬂammable  
  touching the victim also catches on ﬁre;  
  +½), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);  
  IIF (-¼), Gestures (- ¼), Limited Range  
  (20”; -¼), Linked (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Immolation Bracelets:  another  
  Immolation Bracelet (total of 2) 
  0
  9 
  Formula Spritzer:  Change Environment  
  8” radius (subtly coat the area with her 
  immolation formula); IAF (looks like  
  an ordinary perfume spritzer; -½), No  
  Range (-½), 12 Charges (-¼) 
  [12]
  12 
  Fireproofed Garments:  Armor (0 PD/1 
  4 ED); IIF (-¼), Only Works Versus  
  Limited Type Of Attack (ﬁre/heat; -½) 
  0
  7 
  Anything Been Treated Here?:  Luck 3d6;  
  Only To Determine If Any Nearby Objects 
  Have Been Treated With Her Formula (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Criminology 13-
  2 
  Demolitions 13-; Incendiary Devices Only (-½)
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Inventor 13-
  3 
  Lockpicking 12-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry Of Fire 13-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  165
  Total Cost:  223
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture/
  Kill)
  20 
  Hunted:  The Raven 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture/Kill)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Always Looking 
  For Adventure And Excitement (Common, 
  Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Pyromaniac 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Leslie 
  Wicks) (Frequently, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  63 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  223
  Background/History:  Flame-haired Leslie Rous-
  seau was beautiful from the moment she was 
  born. Everyone cooed over what a pretty baby 
  she was, and she matured into a drop-dead gor-
  geous young woman. And she knew how good 
  she looked — her ability to manipulate others, 
  particularly men, on the basis of good looks and 
  charm was practically instinctual.
  But it wasn’t enough. No matter how many 
  men she had wrapped around her little ﬁnger, how 
  many gifts they gave her, all the things they did 
  for her, it wasn’t enough. She liked being a pup-
  petmaster, but not just a puppetmaster — there was 
  something to be said for being an actor on the stage 
  rather than the person running things behind the 
  scenes. That would be much more satisfying... but 
  she couldn’t ﬁgure out how to do it.
  Then one day she opened the paper. Right 
  on the front page was a story about that masked 
  FLAMBEAUX  
  PLOT SEEDS
  The Iron Claw begins 
  transmitting messages 
  to his men on a very 
  narrow, rarely-used 
  radio wavelength. 
  Unfortunately, this is 
  the same wavelength 
  Flambeaux uses, and 
  the Claw’s narrow beam 
  broadcasts start setting 
  oﬀ lines of blazes across 
  Hudson City. The Iron 
  Claw has no idea what’s 
  going on. To cover her 
  tracks, Flambeaux starts 
  leaving clues to lead the 
  characters to the Iron 
  Claw before someone 
  ﬁgures out how the ﬁres 
  start.
  For once in her life, 
  Flambeaux ﬁnds her-
  self desiring someone 
  instead of being the 
  object of desire. She falls 
  for one of the heroes 
  — hard — and decides 
  she has to do some-
  thing to prove her love 
  and worthiness. She 
  switches from criminal 
  to crimeﬁghter... but her 
  methods remain equally 
  immolative and danger-
  ous. How is the hero 
  going to deal with the 
  situation?
  There’s a beauty pageant 
  in town, complete with 
  a selection of expensive 
  jewelry loaned by local 
  jewelers to be worn by 
  the contestants, and 
  Flambeaux considers the 
  combination too good 
  to pass up. She enters, 
  planning to win the con-
  test in disguise and then 
  steal the jewelry — but 
  she wasn’t counting on 
  the heroes being there. 
  Or the mob of gunmen 
  with the same idea for 
  the jewels....
  
  137 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  mystery man, the Raven, ﬁghting someone called 
  “the Electricutioner.” That certainly looked like 
  fun:  dressing up, pitting wits against a “hero,” get-
  ting away with crimes, stealing things she wanted. 
  But she needed a gimmick, like that Electricutioner 
  fellow with his lightning-suit, or that hideous Dr. 
  Fang with his being Chinese and all.
  Fire! That was the ticket. Everyone was afraid 
  of ﬁre. (Well, not her, she could stare at a lit candle 
  for hours, just admiring the ﬂickering ﬂame, it was 
  almost alive, so beautiful....) If she could convince 
  people she had the power to set them on ﬁre with a 
  wave of her hand, they’d do whatever she told them 
  to. She wouldn’t even have to actually burn anyone.
  Quickly becoming obsessed with the idea, she 
  set to work, studying chemistry, electronics, and 
  anything else she thought 
  she needed to know — it was 
  easy enough to ﬁnd willing 
  men to teach her. After a lot of 
  grueling work, she developed 
  a chemical formula that, after 
  being applied to an object 
  or surface, would burst into 
  ﬂame when triggered with 
  a special frequency of radio 
  waves. That left the question 
  of how to apply it, of course, 
  but she’d ﬁnd a way around 
  that little problem.
  The way proved to be 
  Horatio Wicks, the so-called 
  “Laundry King of Hudson 
  City.” She met him at a party 
  one night. He wasn’t all that 
  much to look at, but he was 
  stinking rich... and he had all 
  those laundries and dry clean-
  ing shops that used chemi-
  cals....
  In just a few months, 
  Leslie Rousseau became Leslie 
  Wicks — and a few months 
  after that, she was a widow, 
  her poor husband having died 
  in a mysterious ﬁre. Now the 
  Laundry King was a Queen, 
  and Leslie began putting her 
  special chemical concoction 
  into the cleaning solutions 
  used at her dozens of stores. 
  When she felt the time was 
  right, she made her ﬁrst 
  appearance as Flambeaux, 
  Mistress of Fire, and scored 
  a cool $30,000 in jewelry. 
  But the thrill was even more important than the 
  money. Despite several clashes with the Raven and 
  his assistant the Velvet Phantom (whom Flambeaux 
  particularly detests), not to mention Hudson City’s 
  ﬁnest, she hasn’t been able to give up the excite-
  ment of being a masked criminal.
  Personality/Motivation:  Flambeaux is a jaded, selﬁsh 
  woman who’s so used to getting what she wants that 
  it never occurs to her to worry that people might 
  get hurt in the process. She commits crimes mostly 
  for the adrenaline rush and the intellectual chal-
  lenge; the money is secondary. What’s worse, she’s 
  become a full-blown pyromaniac since launching 
  her criminal career. At ﬁrst she tried not to hurt 
  people, preferring to cow them with displays of her 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Purse, compact and other makeup
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  138 ■ Solo Villains
  “power,” but these days sometimes it’s all she can do 
  to resist setting some poor slob on ﬁre just for the 
  fun of watching him go up like a torch.
  Quote:  “Do you... burn... for me, darling?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Flambeaux uses small radio 
  transmitters concealed in her bracelets to ignite 
  clothing, tablecloths, drapes, and other fabric 
  materials that have been treated with a special 
  chemical concoction. Typically the formula is 
  applied when the cloth is cleaned at one of her 
  laundries or dry cleaning shops, but she also 
  carries a “perfume spritzer” that she can use to 
  apply an ultra-ﬁne mist of it to everything in an 
  8” radius. The chemical is odorless, colorless, and 
  doesn’t harm fabrics in any way — until they’re 
  exposed to a speciﬁc frequency of radio waves 
  oscillating at a speciﬁc cycle. Then the chemicals 
  ignite and burn with a powerful ﬂame that com-
  pletely consumes the material containing them. 
  The ﬂames burn for several seconds; they’re hot 
  enough to start secondary ﬁres and cause crip-
  pling injuries or death to anyone wearing cloth-
  ing treated with them. Due to power constraints, 
  the range of the transmitters is limited (20”), but 
  one transmission may be narrowed to cover a 
  single individual, or widened to ignite all treated 
  items in an area. Typically, one bracelet is set to 
  narrow focus, and one to wide; Flambeaux uses 
  the appropriate hand to gesture and start the ﬁre.
  Flambeaux’s ability to threaten people with her 
  powers is limited by her ability to apply her formula 
  to something or someone in the area. If necessary, 
  you can simply assume for dramatic eﬀect that at 
  least one or two articles of clothing in the vicinity 
  have been treated, or you can roll her Luck 3d6 to 
  determine if anything has been. Of course, if she 
  has time to prepare a crime scene in advance, it’s a 
  foregone conclusion. She can apply the formula to 
  standard cleaning formulas and the like as oppor-
  tunity allows, or visit a crime scene in advance and 
  “spritz” it. The chemicals themselves aren’t common 
  (though not extremely rare, either), so the heroes 
  may be able to trace Flambeaux by her need to steal 
  supplies of them periodically.
  Flambeaux’s costume is specially treated to 
  be ﬂame resistant; she can stand in the middle of 
  one of her own ﬁres without suﬀering burns. (She 
  also treats her hair, and uses special makeup that 
  protects her skin.) It’s designed to be removed in 
  seconds by undoing the correct fastenings, and 
  chemically treated to dissolve at the touch of a few 
  drops of a special solvent to further prevent any 
  association between Leslie Wicks and the infamous 
  Flambeaux. Her bracelets won’t dissolve, but are 
  designed to disassemble into smaller pieces for ease 
  of concealment.
  Flambeaux’s modus operandi is to make several 
  appearances to establish her bona ﬁdes, causing 
  property damage and perhaps a few deaths. When 
  she next appears, she demands that her potential 
  victims turn over their jewels and cash, and per-
  haps the contents of their safes, to prevent her 
  from unleashing her power on them. She prefers to 
  attack society functions, both for the greater con-
  centration of wealth and the greater likelihood that 
  someone will defy her ultimatum. If that happens, 
  she has no compunctions about incinerating a 
  room, or even a few guests, to make a point and get 
  what she wants. If confronted by force, or if anyone 
  attempts to lay hands on her, she immediately sets 
  the largest area or number of people alight that she 
  can and escapes in the confusion.
  Campaign Use:  Flambeaux works best if encoun-
  tered sparingly, since her ruthless measures to avoid 
  capture make her a real danger to dozens, if not 
  hundreds, of innocents — mayhem on that scale 
  isn’t out of bounds for the pulps, but it’s not neces-
  sarily appropriate for every Pulp Hero campaign.
  To make Flambeaux more powerful, increase 
  her DEX to 18 and SPD to 4, and add Combat 
  Luck. To weaken her, remove the Area Of Eﬀect 
  (One Hex Accurate) slot from her Multipower.
  Flambeaux will not actively Hunt charac-
  ters; that’s not her style. But she’s good at holding 
  grudges and will be glad to take them out on some-
  one who hurt her (especially another woman) at 
  the ﬁrst opportunity.
  Appearance:  Flambeaux is a tall redhead with an 
  attractive ﬁgure, long hair, and a husky voice. She 
  wears ﬂoor-length formal outﬁts in dark green or 
  black, with matching gloves and bracelets, opera 
  cape, and a domino mask. She’ll wear formal wom-
  en’s shoes if she thinks she can get away with it, but 
  sometimes prefers crepe-soled shoes that let her 
  run and maneuver quickly.
  
  139 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  “COLONEL” BRUCE FORSYTHE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 3d6 [3]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   17 BODY 14 
  12-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   16 EGO 
  12 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   7 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  10 PD (3 rPD)
   4 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  4 ED (7 rED)
   4 SPD 
  14 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   10 REC 
  6
   36 END 
  0
   34 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  103
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Boxing
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Cross 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6 Strike
  5 
  Hook 
  -2  
  +1  
  8d6 Strike
  4 
  Block 
  +2  
  +2 
  Block; Abort
  3 
  Clinch 
  -1 
  -1 
  Grab 2 Limbs, 
  30 STR for hold-
  ing on
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  2½d6 NND
  4 
  +1 Damage Class (already added in)
  20 
  Damned Lucky:  Luck 4d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  16 
  +2 with All Combat
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Cryptography 12-
  3 
  Demolitions 12-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Firearms) 12-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 12-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  AK: London 12-
  4 
  AK: Europe 13-
  4 
  AK: Africa 13-
  3 
  KS: British Military 12-
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation;  
  English is Native)
  3 
  Language:  German (completely ﬂuent)
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  4 
  PS: Spy 13-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  1 
  SS: Anthropology 8-
  1 
  SS: Archaeology 8-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  1 
  Survival (Temperate/Subtropical) 8-
  1 
  Tracking 8-
  6 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Riding Animals, Two-Wheeled Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles, Wheeled Military Vehicles
  7 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Small Arms, 
  Emplaced Weapons, General Purpose/Heavy 
  Machine Guns
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  146
  Total Cost:  249
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  British Law Enforcement 8- (Mo 
  Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hates Randall 
  Irons (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  known German agent, 11- 
  (Frequently, Severe, Not Limiting In Some 
  Cultures)
  5 
  Unluck:  1d6
  94 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  249
  Background/History:  From the day Bruce Jordan 
  Forsythe was born in 1893, his family thought 
  the world should revolve around him. And in 
  some ways it did. The son of a wealthy steel 
  magnate in Birmingham, England, Forsythe got 
  whatever he wanted from his doting parents. 
  Nothing was too good for him. His father, Sir 
  Nigel, even bought his son’s way into Sandhurst, 
  the elite training ground for Great Britain’s mili-
  tary officers. One would think that life was good 
  to Bruce Forsythe. He had everything:  money, 
  looks, youth, women, whatever his heart desired. 
  But not the one thing he craved:  power.
  Promotions he felt should have been his went 
  to other, less deserving men. Inferior men got the 
  medals, the adulation. The better postings failed 
  to come his way. Instead of working in the Home 
  Oﬃce with a chance for better advancement, he 
  ended up in the Argonne Forest in the worst of the 
  trenches. He began to despise his fellow oﬃcers for 
  what he saw as aristocratic discrimination against 
  his middle-class birth. Working behind the scenes, 
  he began undermining the careers of anyone who 
  got in his way. If blackmail didn’t work, accidents 
  could always be arranged. There was a war going 
  on, after all. Casualties happened.
  In February of 1917, Forsythe finally got 
  his chance to really get even with the military 
  for neglecting his obvious genius. One night 
  during a rare furlough in Paris, a man named 
  Fredrich Mannheim approached him with a 
  certain offer. “The English aristocracy is weak, 
  thinned out by too much inbreeding. The Kaiser 
  needs strong leaders, ones proven in battle, to 
  rule after this little conflict is over. Would you 
  be such a man, Colonel Forsythe?” Looking 
  around at the other English officers in the club 
  who laughed and joked with their brethren, 
  Forsythe came to his decision.
   COLONEL BRUCE 
  FORSYTHE PLOT 
  SEEDS
  The characters are work-
  ing with a museum 
  group searching for 
  the lost city of Xinca-
  Hol, but ﬁnd they have 
  unwelcome visitors in 
  the person of Colonel 
  Forsythe, who, with his 
  men, has trailed them 
  to take the rumored 
  treasures of the city 
  for himself. How will 
  the characters save the 
  ancient city and the 
  knowledge and wealth 
  it holds? And what will 
  they and the Colonel 
  do when the Skymaster 
  ﬁnds out that one of his 
  private treasure mines is 
  being looted and shows 
  up to stop them?
  Forsythe decides to try 
  a diﬀerent tack in his 
  quest for revenge against 
  Randall Irons. He 
  arranges for the PCs to 
  ﬁnd documents — the 
  best money can buy — 
  that reveal that Randall 
  is secretly selling mili-
  tary defense plans to the 
  Nazis. Forsythe hopes 
  they’ll take care of Irons 
  for him. He even hires 
  some German thugs 
  and outﬁts them with 
  the proper weapons and 
  uniforms to come after 
  the characters to protect 
  their “top American 
  operative, Herr Irons.” 
  Will truth and justice 
  save the day, or has the 
  Colonel ﬁnally gotten it 
  right?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  140 ■ Solo Villains
  Bad luck seemed to plague his regiment after 
  that night. Needed supplies went missing, orders 
  were misinterpreted, and, worst of all, the blasted Jer-
  ries seemed to know just where and when the men 
  were to attack. The death toll mounted and the unit 
  was forced to pull back. Forsythe was in the thick of 
  things, leading his men to sure defeat at the direction 
  of his German paymasters. All seemed lost, when, 
  in November of 1917, unexpected (and to Forsythe, 
  unwanted) help arrived in the form of a company of 
  American soldiers led by Captain Randall Irons.
  The brash young Yank quickly became a thorn 
  in Forsythe’s side. He repeatedly disobeyed orders 
  and often thwarted Forsythe’s attempts to disrupt 
  the Allied war eﬀort. As fresh American troops 
  began to turn the tide against the Germans, For-
  sythe began to wonder if he’d 
  chosen the wrong side. As the 
  end of the war drew near, disas-
  ter struck when a careless sub-
  ordinate unwittingly brought a 
  coded message to Irons’s atten-
  tion. Thanks to the American’s 
  intelligence and dogged eﬀorts, 
  Forsythe was exposed to the 
  Allied High Command as a 
  traitor and German operative. 
  He was forced to ﬂee one step 
  ahead of the military police, 
  and has been dodging British 
  retribution ever since.
  Since the war, Forsythe has 
  operated as a free agent and 
  mercenary, selling his skills to 
  the highest bidder. His hatred 
  of Irons has only grown over 
  the years, for several of his plots 
  have been ruined by Randall 
  and his Raiders.
  Personality/Motivation:  Traitor, 
  cad, blackguard, and mercenary 
  — these unﬂattering words, and 
  quite a few like them, describe 
  “Colonel” Bruce Forsythe quite 
  accurately. The lust for power and 
  prestige is still there, but currently 
  his desire for revenge against 
  Randall Irons is the driving force 
  in his life. He’ll stop at nothing to 
  defeat, humiliate, and ultimately 
  kill Irons (and hopefully make a tidy proﬁt along the 
  way). Between chasing/ﬂeeing from his nemesis, For-
  sythe works as a freelance adventurer, taking jobs of 
  questionable morality and legality from whoever will 
  pay him large sums of money.
  Quote:  “Captain Irons! Welcome back; I’ve missed 
  you — but my aim is improving.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Forsythe does and uses anything 
  to gain what he wants, whether this means betray-
  ing a temporary ally or killing an entire village. He’s 
  run guns for Turkish bandits, burned opium ﬁelds 
  in China, raided diamond mines in Africa, and 
  led questionable “expeditions” into many a lonely 
  corner of the world in search of lost treasures or 
  undiscovered resources to exploit. His knowledge 
  of British military procedure allows him to bypass 
  many of the traps set for him.
  Whatever else he may be, Forsythe is no 
  coward. He won’t retreat from a confrontation 
  unless there’s no other option open. And if he could 
  take Randall Irons with him, he might be willing to 
  sacriﬁce his own life. Might.
  Campaign Use:  Forsythe is a classic dastardly pulp 
  villain, with no redeeming features and a broad 
  enough set of skills and abilities to make an appear-
  ance in just about any sort of adventure. He’s not 
  intended as a one-on-one match for a group of 
  heroes, though, so make sure he has plenty of 
  “backup” if you want to keep him around for later 
  scenarios.
  To make Forsythe tougher, increase his STR 
  and DEX to 18 and his Combat Luck to 6 PD/6 
  ED, and perhaps add a small amount of cinematic 
  Damage Reduction. To weaken him, reduce his dice 
  of Luck or remove one of his Combat Skill Levels.
  Forsythe doesn’t Hunt anyone other than Ran-
  dall Irons and his Raiders at present, but the right 
  sort of defeat or humiliation could focus his atten-
  tion on the PCs (at least for a while). Rather than 
  engaging in an obsessive pursuit, he prefers to keep 
  his eyes and ears open for opportunities to inter-
  fere with his adversary’s activities, then attack at a 
  moment of weakness or exposure.
  Appearance:  “Colonel” Bruce Forsythe has the 
  look of a British gentleman, with his ﬁne features, 
  dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. He’s 6’0” tall 
  and weighs about 200 pounds. He dresses neatly in 
  khaki clothing and heavy boots while in the ﬁeld, 
  but enjoys wearing ﬁne suits when the occasion 
  calls for it. He’s always armed, either with a Brown-
  ing Hi-Power 9mm pistol that he wears in a shoul-
  der harness or with a Lee Enﬁeld Mk III riﬂe when 
  he’s “on the job.” If involved in a major engagement, 
  he has access to larger weapons, up to and includ-
  ing machine guns and light ﬁeld pieces.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Browning HP 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  13 
  9
  Lee-Enﬁeld 
  +1 
  +1 
  2½d6 
  1d6 
  10 
  13
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Field pack, tent, bedroll, canteen, lantern, ﬂint and tinder — all typically carried by bearers, of course
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  What’s a fellow to do? 
  Forsythe wanted to 
  sell a few hundred ille-
  gal weapons to some 
  bandits in Guatemala, 
  make a quick proﬁt, and 
  head for more civilized 
  climes. Now he’s trapped 
  in the middle of a revo-
  lution, there’s a group of 
  those do-gooder types 
  running around the 
  countryside shooting 
  everything that moves 
  while they look for 
  some missing Mexican 
  archaeologist and the 
  lost city she supposedly 
  found, and on top of 
  all that, some bunch of 
  fanatics just stole his 
  guns. Enough is enough 
  — he’s going to make a 
  proﬁt oﬀ of something 
  in this sweltering jungle, 
  so whoever meets his 
  price ﬁrst gets his help.
  Continued from last page
  
  141 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  ALEJANDRO FUENTES
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   14 PRE 
  4 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  6 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   7 REC 
  2
   26 END 
  0
   28 STUN 
  2 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  49
  Movement: 
  Running:  8” / 16”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  7 
  Brawler:  HA +2d6:  Hand-To-Hand  
  Attack (-½) 
  3
  4 
  Swift Runner:  Running +2” (8” total) 
  1
  6 
  Perceptive:  +2 to PER Rolls with all  
  Sense Groups
   
  Perks
  6 
  Contacts:  6 points; worth in the tourist and 
  underworld communities
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  1 
  Reputation:  excellent guide (in Central 
  America) 11-, +1/+1d6
   
  Skills
  5 
  +1 HTH
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Bribery 12-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  2 
  AK: Central America 11-
  2 
  AK: Guatemala 11-
  3 
  KS: Antiquities Black Market 12-
  3 
  KS: Jungle Flora And Fauna 12-
  3 
  KS: Mesoamerican Antiquities 12-
  2 
  KS: Mesoamerican History 11-
  3 
  KS: Mesoamerican Ruins 12-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; Span-
  ish is Native)
  2 
  Language:  Quiché Maya (ﬂuent  
  conversation)
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 12-
  2 
  PS: Guide 11-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  1 
  SS: Archaeology 8-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  4 
  Survival (Tropical) 13-
  3 
  Tracking 12-
  3 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Equines
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  95   
  Total Cost:  144
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Resents Wealthy 
  Clients (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Would-Be Don 
  Juan (Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Harmful Secret (orches-
  trates the robbery of some clients) (Occa-
  sionally, Minor)
  24 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  144
  Background/History:  Alejandro Domingo Fuen-
  tes was born into a poverty-stricken Guatemalan 
  family. Like so many of the other children there, he 
  helped his family eke out a living by selling fruit, 
  souvenirs, and the occasional “artifact” to the pas-
  sengers and crew from the ships passing along the 
  coast. He learned some English from them, and 
  more from the missionary school in the village.
  When Alejandro was seventeen, he convinced 
  a young American archaeologist he could guide 
  him to a lost city... and he was right! To his own 
  amazement, they found the place, and the archae-
  ologist recovered several fascinating artifacts. He 
  paid Alejandro handsomely, and suddenly the ruins 
  were no longer just crumbling old buildings — they 
  were a potential source of income. Alejandro began 
  to explore the jungle in earnest, carefully noting the 
  placement of ruins and occasionally bringing back 
  small artifacts. Slowly his reputation as a guide 
  grew, and he learned his way around both Gua-
  temala and the surrounding regions. He learned 
  the history of the ancient civilizations from his 
  employers and the language of their descendants 
  from the natives. He learned just how much the 
  wealthy Americanos were willing to pay to ﬁnd 
  those lost cities. And when one of his parties was 
  attacked by bandits, he learned what they’d pay to 
  ﬁnd their way back out.
  He soon realized he’d stumbled upon yet 
  another source of income. Gathering together 
  some of his less reputable friends, he arranged for 
  “bandits” to attack his next archaeological group on 
  its way out of the jungle. He “negotiated” their safe 
  release — it only cost them some of their best gold 
  and jade pieces — and led them back to the city. 
  Then he collected his share from his friends. After 
  obliterating the identifying marks the archaeolo-
  gists had left on the pieces, he split them up and 
  sent them to his contacts, who sold them to unwary 
  tourists and treasure hunters, explaining that “My 
  cousin found them.” He’s been making money that 
  way ever since.
  Personality/Motivation:  Alejandro Fuentes is a 
  greedy man. His poor childhood taught him that 
  he never, ever wants to be without money. He 
  despises his “rich” clients, but at the same time 
  envies. He particularly wants their women — soft 
  and beautiful, not made old before their time by 
  too much work and too many children. Despite 
  their teasing women’s ways, he knows they’re 
  attracted to him; they just won’t admit it. Perhaps 
  if he had more money....
  ALEJANDRO  
  FUENTES  
  PLOT SEEDS
  A mysterious artifact 
  has turned up in New 
  York City, one unlike 
  any archaeologists 
  have ever seen. A local 
  museum asks the PCs 
  to ﬁnd the source of the 
  artifact, which arrived in 
  a shipment purchased in 
  Guatemala. When they 
  arrive, everyone tells 
  them Alejandro is the 
  man to see.
  A renowned archaeolo-
  gist has gone missing 
  in the Central Ameri-
  can jungles, and his 
  beautiful daughter is 
  determined to mount an 
  expedition to locate him. 
  She talks the characters 
  into accompanying her. 
  She just knows she’ll ﬁnd 
  him in no time, espe-
  cially since she’s hired 
  the services of the best 
  guide in Central Amer-
  ica to lead the expedi-
  tion on her father’s last 
  known path....
  Alejandro and his latest 
  party of Americanos 
  (including the PCs) are 
  in the right place at the 
  right time — but the 
  bandits aren’t there! 
  What’s going on... and 
  who are those men 
  coming out of the jungle 
  with jaguar headdresses? 
  What are they doing 
  here? Is that blood on 
  their spears?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  142 ■ Solo Villains
  Quote:  “Come, señor — these are beautiful pieces, 
  but not worth your life, sí? Give a few to these men 
  and we can all go our way in peace.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Fuentes is an excellent guide and 
  could make a comfortable living at it — but “com-
  fort” simply isn’t enough for him. He uses his skills 
  to make this clients dependent on him, leading 
  them in circles so they can’t ﬁnd the ruins they seek 
  or their way back to civilization. He warns them 
  of jungle dangers that don’t exist (ferocious beasts, 
  poisonous fruit, steep cliﬀs), and exaggerates the 
  dangers that do. Since he “guarantees” the success 
  of the expeditions he leads, he often uses artifacts 
  stolen from a prior party to “seed” a site, resulting 
  in confusion of the archaeological record.
  Fuentes isn’t above helping the less scrupulous 
  members of his parties obtain whatever they want. 
  A young rival eliminated so his discoveries can be 
  claimed as your own? Fuentes is your man. Fake 
  artifacts planted on a site to be “found” by reputable 
  explorers? Talk to Alejandro. A colleague “removed” 
  so you can “console” his lovely wife? Fuentes can 
  take care of it.
  Fuentes prefers to avoid violence — he’d rather 
  play the part of the “innocent guide” and let the 
  “bandits” do the dangerous work, or commit his 
  crimes when no one’s around to see. But if he’s 
  pushed far enough, he can show you how real the 
  jungle’s dangers truly are.
  Campaign Use:  Alejandro is a good template for 
  greedy and backstabbing guides in any portion of 
  the world. Just change his Languages, KSs, and his 
  chosen Survival terrain and he can be a “faithful” 
  guide in Africa, the American West, the steppes of 
  Russia, or the Australian outback.
  To make Fuentes more of a threat, give him 
  some Combat Skill Levels with Firearms. To 
  weaken him, remove his Brawler ability.
  While Fuentes might Hunt characters in the 
  jungles of Guatemala, he won’t follow anyone to 
  the Big City for revenge. And he won’t do anything 
  without ﬁnancial gain, even if it’s just money taken 
  oﬀ a character’s corpse. Americanos, they all carry 
  so much money, you see.
  Appearance:  His stature stunted by insuﬃcient 
  food in his childhood, Fuentes stands only 5’3” tall, 
  and weighs perhaps 135 pounds. But he’s muscular 
  for his size and in his own way rather attractive. 
  Shoulder length black hair (which he wears pulled 
  back in a ponytail), dark eyes, and a slanted fore-
  head reveal his native ancestry, and his easy smile 
  his charming ways. He generally wears sturdy 
  khaki clothing, serviceable boots, and a straw hat 
  when working. When not, he wears lighter weight 
  embroidered shirts, loose pants, and sandals in def-
  erence to the climate.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Pistol 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8
  Machete 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Field pack, tent, bedroll, shovel, lantern, compass, maps
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  143 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  DARREN “GATS” GRUNER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   14 DEX 
  12 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   16 BODY 12 
  12-
   17 INT 
  7 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   5 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   20 END 
  0
   26 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  64
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  7 
  Cool Customer:  +15 PRE; Only To  
  Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
  9 
  Observant:  +3 to PER Rolls with all  
  Sense Groups 
  0
   
  Perks
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  License to Practice  
  Accounting
  2 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  6 
  Reputation:  lethal gunman for hire (in the 
  Underworld) 14-, +3/+3d6
   
  Talents
  3 
  Absolute Range Sense
  20 
  Danger Sense (out of combat, immediate 
  area, intuitional) 12-
  4 
  Deadly Shot:  RKA +1d6 with Colt M1911As
  3 
  Lightning Calculator
  7 
  Lightning Reﬂexes:  +7 DEX to act ﬁrst with 
  Colt M1911A
   
  Skills
  12 
  +6 OCV with Colt M1911A
  9 
  Targeting Skill Levels:  +6 versus Hit  
  Location Penalties With Colt M1911A
  6 
  Range Skill Levels:  +4 versus Range  
  Modiﬁers With Colt M1911A
  8 
  Combat Shooting:  +5 OCV with Colt 
  M1911A; Only To Prevent Hitting Non-
  Enemies When Firing Into Melee (-2)
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Fast Draw (Small Arms) 12-
  3 
  AK: Chicago 12-
  3 
  AK: New York City 12-
  3 
  KS: The Chicago Underworld 12-
  3 
  KS: The Hudson City Underworld 12-
  3 
  KS: The New York City Underworld 12-
  3 
  KS: Organized Crime Figures 12-
  6 
  KS: Accounting Schemes 15-
  2 
  Language:  German (ﬂuent conversation; 
  English is Native)
  1 
  Language:  Italian (basic conversation)
  3 
  Paramedic 12-
  6 
  PS: Accountant 15-
  5 
  Rapid Attack (Ranged)
  7 
  SS:  Mathematics 16-
  7 
  SS: Geometry 16-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 12-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  10 
  Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged)
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  178
  Total Cost:  242
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  DNPC:  Erika Wendland (younger sister) 
  8- (Normal)
  10 
  Physical Limitation:  severely nearsighted 
  (-4 to all Sight Group PER Rolls if he doesn’t 
  have his glasses) (Infrequently, Greatly 
  Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Can’t Resist A 
  Challenge To His Ability (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Of The Mer-
  cenary (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  deadly gunman for hire, 14- 
  (Extreme, to Underworld and Law Enforce-
  ment Worlds)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  Criminal Record (Fre-
  quently, Minor)
  92 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  242
  Background/History:  Darren Gruner was born to 
  a second-generation immigrant family in Chi-
  cago at the turn of the century. His father barely 
  earned enough as a manual laborer to support 
  his family, and after Darren came along he had 
  to take part-time work as muscle for a local loan-
  shark to make ends meet. Darren’s mother took 
  in sewing work to help out.
  A sickly child who couldn’t play outside with 
  other kids, Darren retreated into books to occupy 
  his time, but it wasn’t until he discovered the pure 
  joy of mathematics that his education truly took 
  oﬀ. He quickly passed the other children at his local 
  school, and was soon working problems from the 
  books for much older children. Things were on 
  track for him to earn a scholarship and go to col-
  lege — and the Great War happened. He tried to 
  enlist, but even at the height of the War the armed 
  forces weren’t willing to relax their standards 
  enough to accept him. And after the War ended, in 
  in 1922 his father was killed while collecting some 
  money owed by a shopkeeper — the man panicked 
  and started shooting.
  Left with a mother and a younger sister to 
  feed, Darren dropped out of school to find work. 
  Unfortunately, between his weak constitution, 
  bad vision, and asthma there were simply no 
  employers willing to take him on. In desperation 
  he turned to the loanshark his father had worked 
  for. Unwilling to send Darren out on collections, 
  but feeling he owed the boy something, the loan-
  shark put him to work keeping track of accounts 
  — and was amazed to discover Darren was a 
  wizard at it. In just weeks, profits were up, and 
  the operation had never run so smoothly.
  After a raid by the local police failed to prove 
  that any of the money coming in was obtained 
  DARREN  
  “GATS” GRUNER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A PC meets a pretty 
  young woman named 
  Erika at the university 
  library where she works. 
  She’s of scholarly bent 
  and is fascinated by 
  someone who actually 
  does things she only 
  reads about. She wants to 
  hear all about his adven-
  tures. She’ll talk about 
  herself, but is reticent 
  to speak of her family. 
  The character ﬁnds out 
  why one night when he 
  brings her home  — and 
  ﬁnds Gats sitting in the 
  kitchen, wanting a word 
  with him about when the 
  wedding will be....
  One of the characters 
  starts to get something of 
  a reputation as a pretty 
  good man with a gun. 
  Sooner or later, the com-
  parisons to Gats start to 
  appear, and then word 
  gets out that the character 
  says Gats is nothing, that 
  his reputation is all talk 
  and no action. The char-
  acter isn’t spreading these 
  stories, so who is — and 
  why? And what does 
  he do when Gats ﬁnally 
  hears them and comes 
  looking for him to settle 
  the issue?
  Things aren’t looking 
  good for the PCs. They’re 
  cornered, out of ammuni-
  tion, and wounded, and 
  the gunmen about to 
  ﬁnish them oﬀ are too 
  smart to get close enough 
  for anyone to grab them. 
  Worst of all, the heroes 
  have no idea who sent 
  the men to kill them. As 
  the gunsels raise their 
  Tommy guns, shots ring 
  out, a gunman dropping 
  with each report. As the 
  last man hits the ground, 
  Gats Gruner steps out of 
  the shadows, smoking 
  automatic in hand, and 
  nods to the characters, 
  saying he’s sorry he’s late, 
  but he was held up in 
  traﬃc. Who hired him to 
  watch out for them, and 
  why? Is that all he was 
  hired to do?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  144 ■ Solo Villains
  illegally (thanks to Darren’s bookkeeping), the 
  loanshark agreed to ﬁnance the classes needed 
  to for Darren to acquire a CPA’s license. He got 
  his certiﬁcation in near-record time. Under the 
  loanshark’s guidance, he opened a small accounting 
  ﬁrm and began to accept clients — most of them 
  friends and associates of his former employer. In 
  just a few short years, the word had spread among 
  the Chicago underworld that if you needed your 
  books handled right, Darren Gruner was the man 
  to handle them. He was good at it — very good 
  — and, most surprising of all, he was honest, taking 
  not one penny from all of the funds that moved 
  through his oﬃce.
  Life had turned around, and Darren was 
  able to make sure his sister completed school 
  and found a good job as a librarian, and that his 
  mother’s last few years were comfortable. Then 
  the Great Crash struck. It wiped out most of his 
  legitimate clients, and the gangland struggles 
  that followed thinned out his criminal ones. 
  Desperate to make ends meet, he closed his firm 
  and went to work for the most powerful mobster 
  in Chicago — Alphonse “Big Al” Capone — han-
  dling his accounting exclusively.
  In the ﬁnal hours of December 31st, 1929, 
  Darren was at the central clearinghouse for 
  Capone’s gambling money, checking the actual tally 
  against his predictions. With him were the two men 
  Capone had assigned to accompany him every-
  where as protection. As he completed his initial 
  count, the “King Of Crime,” a masked, would-be 
  pretender to the throne of Chicago’s underworld, 
  broke in. His bodyguards moved to defend him as 
  Darren scrambled to safety... only to ﬁnd that there 
  wasn’t any. The King and his men had planned too 
  well; all the exits were blocked. As the last of his 
  bodyguards fell, Darren did something he’d never 
  done before in his life:  he desperately snatched up 
  a pistol that had fallen from a bodyguard’s hand.
  When he lifted the big Colt automatic, 
  something happened. He knew on an instinctive 
  level what would happen when he squeezed the 
  trigger, knew where the bullet would go, how 
  long it would take to arrive at its target, knew 
  exactly how much to shift the muzzle to change 
  the point of impact to where he wanted it to be. 
  Without thinking, he fired once, then again and 
  again, dropping a gunman with each perfectly 
  placed shot. The other Capone men, not under-
  standing what had occurred but willing to follow 
  anyone who could kill their enemies, rallied 
  behind him. In less than ten minutes the battle 
  was over — and Darren had a nickname:  “Gats.”
  Impressed with Darren’s abilities, Capone 
  promoted him to the status of a troubleshooter 
  (not without a certain amount of humor) answer-
  ing only to himself and Frank Nitti. Although that 
  was ultimately a bad decision for Capone, whose 
  tax evasion conviction might have been avoided 
  had Darren kept on handling his accounts, it was 
  a good one for Darren. His newfound skill with 
  guns gave him a certain amount of prestige, and he 
  made the best of it. When Capone was jailed sev-
  eral months later in 1930, Nitti, jealous of Darren’s 
  skill and popularity, tried to set him up. He failed, 
  but convinced Darren to go freelance to avoid such 
  complications in the future.
  Since then Darren has arranged for his sister 
  to move to Hudson City and take a job as a librar-
  ian at Hudson City University under the assumed 
  name “Erika Wendland.” He accepts short-term 
  work from anyone who’ll meet his price and agree 
  to his conditions for employment. For an additional 
  fee, he’ll balance his employer’s ﬁnances. He has 
  no interest in a long-term contract such as the one 
  that caused him problems in Chicago. He’s begun 
  to build up a small gang that follows him from job 
  to job, all of its men loyal to him ﬁrst and their 
  employer second.
  Personality/Motivation:  Darren is, in his own way, 
  an honorable man. He uses only the minimum 
  force necessary to resolve a situation, never endan-
  gers non-combatants if he can help it, never need-
  lessly endangers his men, and always fulﬁlls his 
  assignments. He doesn’t kill women (he doesn’t 
  even like to threaten them, and in fact is sort of 
  awkward around them, having never even had a 
  serious girlfriend). Under no circumstances will he 
  endanger a child.
  Darren’s normal personality is mild-mannered; 
  he seems like nothing more than what he was for 
  much of his early life — a somewhat sickly accoun-
  tant. But when he’s got a Colt in his hand, his whole 
  personality shifts:  a palpable aura of menace seems 
  to settle on him.
  Gats cares about his family, and threats to his 
  sister — real or imagined — are one of the few 
  things that prompt him to escalate straight to lethal 
  force. He does his best to shield her from the real-
  ity of what he does, but has had less success than 
  he might have wanted. He regularly visits her and 
  sees to it that she’s provided for in a manner signiﬁ-
  cantly more aﬄuent than her salary would support 
  (despite her objections).
  Quote:  “I checked the math, and you living another 
  day just doesn’t add up.”
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min Notes
  Colt M1911A 
  +1 
  0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9 
  Carries four, with plenty of extra clips
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Spare pair of glasses (sometimes two), watch
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  145 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  Powers/Tactics:  Darren is a thinker rather than a 
  ﬁghter. While his gun-handling skills make him 
  deadly, he knows depending solely on them is fool-
  ish. He plans encounters carefully, with the best 
  tactics and information possible, and walks away 
  from one he feels isn’t running close enough to 
  plan. He goes to great lengths to avoid unneces-
  sary violence when working, though he’s quick to 
  respond in kind to deadly force, and his men aren’t 
  always as restrained as he. He pays careful attention 
  to his surroundings, having survived several gang-
  land ambushes by virtue of his observational skills, 
  and always knows where the exits to any room or 
  building are in case he needs one. If forced into a 
  direct confrontation for which he’s not prepared, 
  he tries to escape or surrender if necessary. He has 
  contingency plans in case of capture and trusts to 
  them to free him.
  Darren’s skill with the .45 Colt M1911A is, 
  quite simply, terrifying. He’s not certain why it 
  doesn’t carry over to other weapons, but hasn’t 
  spent much time worrying over it. When using 
  a Colt, he can draw and ﬁre before most people 
  have even begun to move, placing his shots with 
  an almost supernatural accuracy. He can wield a 
  pair of Colts, one in each hand, but only does so in 
  extreme circumstances. Normally he restricts him-
  self to disabling shots (hands, legs, weapons), but 
  if pressed he kills with math-
  ematical precision.
  Darren’s eyesight is 
  extremely poor, so he always 
  tries to have at least one spare 
  pair of glasses with him at all 
  times (he carries them in a 
  stiﬀ leather case to minimize 
  the chance that they’ll get 
  broken). He has no skill at 
  HTH Combat, and sees no 
  need to acquire any.
  Campaign Use:  Gruner is the 
  man mobsters call when they 
  really, really want someone out 
  of the way. He’s professional, 
  ethical, and downright ter-
  rifying once his Colt comes 
  out. In a way it’s ﬂattering to 
  have him after you, because if 
  someone’s willing to hire Gats 
  Gruner to rub you out, you’ve 
  made the big time. Adventures 
  involving Gats are best suited 
  to an initial encounter that 
  ends indecisively, followed by a 
  frantic search to discover proof 
  that his employer lied to him 
  or is setting him up, or to oth-
  erwise invalidate his contract. 
  And Heaven help the male PC 
  who starts dating his sister and 
  doesn’t treat her right....
  To make Gats more 
  powerful, increase his DEX to 18 and add some 
  Combat Luck and a few Boxing or Dirty Infight-
  ing maneuvers. Alternately, raise his STR and 
  CON to 15, his DEX to 18, and add some Boxing 
  or Dirty Infighting to represent a decision to 
  train himself physically. To weaken him, elimi-
  nate his Combat Shooting and Deadly Blow and 
  reduce his various Combat Skill Levels.
  Gruner is a Hunted that no one wants, because 
  it’s like hearing the judge’s gavel bang down on your 
  death sentence — he Hunts people for a living, and 
  he’s very good at it. Fortunately, he only comes after 
  people he’s hired to kill. The only reason he’d spon-
  taneously Hunt a character was if that character 
  hurt his sister somehow, or threatened his liveli-
  hood. In either case, he’ll ﬁnd a time to confront his 
  target when the advantage seems to be on his side 
  and then start the ball rolling
  Appearance:  Darren is an unremarkable, mild-
  looking man with blonde hair and light blue eyes 
  concealed by his glasses. He stands 5’6” tall and 
  weighs 154 lbs. He wears good (but not excellent) 
  quality suits, a fedora, and favors a trenchcoat in 
  cooler or wet weather. He normally carries a pair 
  of .45 automatics, but has been known to carry as 
  many as four if facing tough opposition.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  146 ■ Solo Villains
  IKEDA HIDEO
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   17 CON 
  14 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   7 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  10 PD (3 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  6 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  2
   34 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  87
  Movement: 
  Running:  7”/14”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Jujutsu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Atemi Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND(1)
  5 
  Block 
  +1 
  +3 
  Block; Abort
  5 
  Breaking Throw -2 
  -2 
  Grab One Limb; 
  HKA 1d6 (1½d6 
  with STR), Dis-
  able; Target Falls
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  30 STR Disarm
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  35 STR Escape
  3 
  Joint Lock 
  +0 
  -1 
  Grab One 
  Limb; 30 STR 
  to hold on
  4 
  Joint Lock/
   
  Throw 
  +1 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  2d6 NND(7); 
  Target Falls
  3 
  Legsweep 
  +2 
  -1 
  5d6 Strike; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Shime 
  -2 
  +0 
  Grab One Limb; 
  3d6 NND(2)
  3 
  Slam 
  +0 
  +1 
  4d6 + v/5; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Strike 
  +0 
  +2 
  6d6 Strike
  3 
  Takedown 
  +1 
  +1 
  4d6 Strike; 
  Target Falls
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  2 
  Quick On His Feet:  +1” Running (7” total) 1
   
  Perks
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Diplomatic Immunity
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  5 
  Favors:  from various diverse individuals he 
  found useful
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  4 
  Resistance (4 points)
   
  Skills
  12 
  +4 with Jujutsu
  3 
  Acting 12-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Bribery 12-
  3 
  Bureaucratics12-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  3 
  Cryptography 13-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  3 
  AK: China 13-
  3 
  AK: Europe 13-
  3 
  AK: Japan 13-
  3 
  AK: South America 13-
  3 
  AK: United States 13-
  3 
  KS: The Espionage World 13-
  3 
  KS: Japanese History and Culture 13-
  2 
  KS: Jujutsu 11-
  3 
  KS: The Law Enforcement World 13-
  2 
  KS: The Martial World 11-
  3 
  Language:  Cantonese Chinese (completely 
  ﬂuent; Japanese is Native)
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Mandarin Chinese (completely 
  ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Russian (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Paramedic 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 12-
  5 
  PS: Play Chess 15-
  5 
  PS: Play Go 15-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles; 
  Small Motorized Boats
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  192
  Total Cost:  279
  100+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  green/gold eyes (Easily 
  Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Always Noticed And Recognizable, Detect-
  able Only By Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  Dr. Fang 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture/Kill)
  15 
  Hunted:  The Genro 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Watching)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loyal To The 
  Genro (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Honorable 
  (Common, Strong)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequent, Major)
  74 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  279
  
  147 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  Background/History:  Born in the southern Japa-
  nese city of Osaka, Ikeda Hideo was a son any 
  father would have been proud of — except that 
  he had no father. His mother, Keiko, bore him 
  out of wedlock, waiting for the man she’d fallen 
  in love with — an American who claimed to be 
  a sea captain — to return for her as he promised. 
  Thus dishonored, she was cast out of her well-
  to-do family and left to fend for herself and her 
  half-breed son on the streets. Hideo grew up 
  quickly, working many jobs to help earn money 
  to support himself and his mother.
  In his few spare moments, Hideo watched 
  the old men playing go in cafes and parks. The 
  game and its multi-layered strategies came to 
  him easily. He played his first game at six, and 
  within three years was regularly beating men 
  many decades his senior. One day he played a 
  game against a bureaucrat named Yoshida Okyo. 
  Okyo worked for the genro, the group of elder 
  statesmen who advised the Emperor and con-
  trolled the selection of many important govern-
  mental positions. In Hideo Okyo saw more than 
  just a street urchin and would-be thug — he saw 
  someone he could mold into a weapon to serve 
  the genro. Even better, if Hideo, who had noth-
  ing, was given everything by the genro, his loyalty 
  would be unshakeable. The genro, always taking 
  the long view where possible, instructed Okyo to 
  carry out his plan.
  Hideo’s life began anew the next day. He and 
  his mother were taken from the streets and given 
  clothing, food, housing, and a purpose. Keiko 
  became Okyo’s housekeeper, and Hideo his protégé. 
  The genro spared no expense to educate the boy 
  and train him in the skills he’d need as their opera-
  tive; he ﬂourished under the training. In little more 
  than ﬁfteen years he mastered the lessons they 
  required of him and was ready to begin the tasks 
  they’d chosen him for.
  Since that time, Ikeda has traveled the world 
  at his masters’ bidding, seeing to it that their plans 
  for the future of Japan come to fruition unimpeded. 
  He’s clashed with those opposed to Japan’s con-
  tinued growth, most notably the Chinese patriot 
  and mastermind Dr. Fang, as well as others who 
  never even knew the name of the man who brought 
  them down and dismantled their plans. Twice his 
  work has brought him into conﬂict with Captain 
  Jim Battle and his Science Police, both encounters 
  ending with Hideo’s main plan thwarted.
  As the clouds of war build on the horizon, 
  Ikeda’s masters use him more and more often, dis-
  patching him to every corner of the globe. If there 
  is a threat to Japan’s future or a way for Japan to 
  beneﬁt at the expense of her current or potential 
  enemies, he’s there at the behest of his masters 
  — men who took a dirty child with a mind for 
  strategy games from the streets and gave him the 
  chance to play the greatest game of all — to deal 
  with the situation.
  Personality/Motivation:  Ikeda is a quiet man, prefer-
  ring the pursuits of the mind to those of the body 
  in most cases. Raised by the genro as their agent-
  at-large, he sees the missions they send him on as a 
  large and complex game being played between his 
  masters — to whom he’s unswervingly loyal — and 
  the rest of the world. He’s determined to see to it 
  that they win.
  Quote:  “I’m so sorry to renew our acquaintance like 
  this. The lion appears very hungry, and the walls of 
  that pit so very high. Perhaps you might ﬁnd this 
  bit of rope to be of assistance?”
  Powers/Tactics:  His masters in the genro spared no 
  eﬀort to train their agent in all the arts of warrior 
  and spy. Stealthy, adroit at manipulating others, and 
  able to pass himself oﬀ as someone else with ease, 
  he’s a danger to anyone who opposes Japan... or 
  whom the genro even think might oppose Japan, or 
  has something she wants.
  Ikeda’s a skilled jujutsuka. When engaging an 
  opponent, he tries to look several moves ahead, 
  utilizing less direct maneuvers like legsweeps, 
  throws, and takedowns to soften an opponent up or 
  remove him from the combat (by sending him out 
  a window or down a ﬂight of stairs, for example) 
  before turning to more direct methods. He prefers 
  the subtlety of his atemi  strikes and the shime 
  choke hold to simply battering his foes bloody. 
  He’s an adequate pistol shot, but prefers not to use 
  weapons; if confronted with overwhelming ﬁre-
  power, he surrenders and plans an escape.
  Ikeda prefers to manipulate events and indi-
  viduals to accomplish his tasks without having 
  to reveal himself or expose himself to danger. 
  He normally has at least two layers to any plan 
  that he implements, and frequently as many as 
  three or four. For example, he might arrange for 
  information about a crime being committed by 
  an opponent to fall in the PCs’ possession, know-
  ing they’ll attempt to thwart it, thus allowing him 
  to follow fleeing members of the gang to their 
  hideout and simultaneously draw his opponent’s 
  attention away from himself and onto the heroes. 
  As long as doing so doesn’t endanger his genro 
  masters or their goals, he’s willing to work or 
  trade information with the heroes (or anyone 
  else who’s not a sworn enemy).
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Nambu 94 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  8
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As necessary for current mission. He usually carries at least $1,000 US in gems hidden somewhere on his person, 
  or as part of jewelry he wears, as an emergency fund.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  IKEDA HIDEO  
  PLOT SEEDS
  While embroiled in 
  a conﬂict against Dr. 
  Fang, the characters ﬁnd 
  themselves in a death-
  trap from which there is 
  no escape — until Ikeda 
  appears and provides 
  one. Is he helping them 
  solely to oppose Dr. 
  Fang? What will he ask 
  from the characters in 
  return for his assistance?
  Ikeda approaches a 
  character with docu-
  ments and other evi-
  dence that show that 
  they’re related:  the 
  PC’s father/uncle/other 
  appropriate relative was 
  the American seaman 
  who seduced and aban-
  doned his mother. Does 
  he want revenge, or just 
  to learn more about his 
  family? Or is there a still 
  deeper motive? Are the 
  papers even legitimate?
  A character sees Ikeda 
  at a social function 
  attended by many 
  wealthy individuals and 
  diplomats. Why is he 
  there, and why does he 
  seem to be paying so 
  much attention to that 
  French shipping mag-
  nate and his wife?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  148 ■ Solo Villains
  Campaign Use:  You can use Ikeda just about any 
  way you like, from thief, to assassin, to master 
  manipulator, to quondam ally — he’s intended as 
  a motivator as much as an 
  enemy for the PCs. He can 
  prod or lure them into adven-
  tures, provide assistance and 
  information from behind 
  the scenes, or even attack 
  them (directly or indirectly). 
  The only constant is that 
  no matter how helpful he 
  seems to be (or is), the PCs 
  are pawns in the game he’s 
  currently playing. He might 
  sacriﬁce them, perhaps with 
  regrets, to further the cause 
  of his genro masters.
  While Ikeda sees Dr. 
  Fang as a threat to Japan and 
  its future, he regards Fang’s 
  daughter Li Luan in a some-
  what more positive — even 
  tender — light. That might 
  lead to all sorts of future 
  complications.
  To make Ikeda tougher, 
  increase his physical Charac-
  teristics, add maneuvers from a 
  more directly Martial Arts style 
  such as Karate, or give him 
  more Combat Skill Levels with 
  his Jujutsu. To weaken him, 
  remove some of his Martial 
  Maneuvers and/or his Combat 
  Luck, or adjust his Combat 
  Skill Levels downward.
  Ikeda doesn’t normally Hunt characters 
  unless they threaten Japan or his masters order 
  him to. As a Hunter, he tries to involve the quarry 
  in his missions with a spe-
  cific eye towards removing 
  him from the game board. 
  If that won’t work, he makes 
  the quarry the actual target 
  of one of his operations. In 
  that case, things begin to 
  happen to the characters:  
  accidents occur; enemies 
  appear time and time again 
  for no apparent reason, con-
  vinced the characters have 
  something they want or are 
  about to interfere in their 
  plans; and so on.
  Appearance:  Ikeda Hideo 
  is a slender, athletic man of 
  slightly taller than average 
  height in his late twenties 
  or early thirties. Despite his 
  half-Caucasian heritage, his 
  features are strongly Japanese. 
  Only his eyes — said by his 
  mother to be identical to his 
  father’s — betray his ances-
  try:  they’re green, but appear 
  golden in the right light. He 
  dresses in tailored clothing 
  appropriate to the environ-
  ment and location and only 
  carries a weapon (usually a 
  small automatic pistol) when 
  expecting trouble.
  
  149 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  DOCTOR VALENTINE KEENE
   Val CHAR Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   14 DEX 
  12 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12- 
   10 BODY 0 
  11- 
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   16 EGO 
  12 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12- 
   4 PD 
  1 
   
  Total:  PD 4 (0 PD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  ED 3 (0 ED)
   3 SPD 
  6 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   24 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  58
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers & Skills
  7 
  Never A Hair Out Of Place:  Cosmetic  
  Transform 2d6 (any dirty/mussed  
  clothing he’s currently wearing into its  
  clean/unmussed form; heals back by  
  getting dirty/mussed again); Limited  
  Target (clothing currently being worn; -½) 
  1
  20 
  More Lives Than A Cat:  Luck 8d6; Only  
  To Escape With His Life And Reputation 
  Intact (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  3 
  Well-Connected
  12 
  Contact:  12 points’ worth in the black 
  market for art and antiquities
  12 
  Contact:  12 points’ worth in the  
  archaeological community
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 with Interaction Skills
  15 
  +3 DCV
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  5 
  Cramming
  2 
  Cryptography 13-; Translation Only (-½)
  4 
  Forgery (Artifacts, Documents) 13-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  KS: The Archaeological World 13-
  3 
  KS: Illicit Antiquities Market 13-
  3 
  Language:  Arabic (completely ﬂuent; English 
  is Native)
  3 
  Language:  French (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Language:  Latin (completely ﬂuent)
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Archaeologist 13-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  SS: Anthropology 13-
  3 
  SS: Archaeology 13-
  3 
  SS: History 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  3 
  Trading 13-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  159
  Total Character Cost:  217
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Highly Concerned 
  With His Personal Survival (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy, Out For 
  Himself Professionally And Monetarily 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vain (Common, 
  Moderate)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with fellow archaeolo-
  gists, for the best discoveries)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Harmful Secret (Occa-
  sionally, Minor)
  87 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  217
  Background/History:  Valentine Keene was born in 
  the lap of upper-class British luxury at the very end 
  of the old century and the cusp of the new. He had 
  everything he required... and more. Then came the 
  Great War, the death of his father and two older 
  brothers in the trenches of France, the death of his 
  mother and younger sister in the inﬂuenza epidem-
  ics of the Twenties, and ﬁnally, the destruction of 
  the family fortunes by a series of failed investments 
  in the post-War economy that left him penniless.
  Having had everything and lost it, Valen-
  tine became determined to regain what he’d lost, 
  no matter what it took. He parlayed his last few 
  pounds — and a night with one of his father’s 
  oldest friend’s wives — into a position on an 
  archaeological expedition that he believed had an 
  excellent chance of locating some important arti-
  facts. It did, and he stole several of the most valu-
  able ones, putting the blame on a pair of workers 
  who’d deserted the expedition, and hasn’t looked 
  back since.
  Quote:  “Don’t be silly, Dr. Caldwell. I don’t run 
  around the jungles of Borneo robbing my fellow 
  archaeologists at gunpoint to steal their ﬁnds. The 
  very idea is absurd. I have people who work for me 
  to do that. “
   DOCTOR  
  VALENTINE KEENE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  For once, Keene makes a 
  legitimate ﬁnd in Egypt 
  that’s nothing short of 
  spectacular. The small 
  temple complex is 
  miraculously intact, the 
  artifacts within it almost 
  pristine, and the murals 
  on the walls as brilliant 
  as the day they were 
  painted. Now if only those 
  madmen in ancient Egyp-
  tian costumes weren’t 
  trying to kill him, and 
  that — obviously fake 
  — mummy wasn’t smash-
  ing through doors at the 
  most awkward times, he’d 
  be on top of the world. 
  Hmmm... doesn’t he 
  know some people that 
  are good at dealing with 
  things like this?
  The PCs are lost in the 
  middle of the Gobi 
  Desert, low on food, water, 
  and ammo, when they 
  stumble across a well-
  equipped expedition led 
  by Keene, and backed by... 
  Akash Varmandali. What 
  has Varmandali hired 
  Keene to ﬁnd for him 
  out here in the middle of 
  nowhere? Is it a threat to 
  the safety of the world, or 
  merely, as Keene insists, 
  a simple archaeological 
  investigation? Can the 
  characters take the chance 
  that he’s telling them the 
  truth, accept his oﬀer of 
  supplies, and move on?
  Keene discovers that 
  Emile Locke has signed 
  on with a German 
  expedition led by a Nazi 
  named Eichmann into 
  Central Africa to track 
  down rumors of a lost 
  city — a city Keene has a 
  map to and was already 
  planning to plunder. It’s 
  bad enough that Locke 
  may get there ﬁrst, but 
  the idea that the Germans 
  might proﬁt from the 
  expedition is intolerable. 
  He approaches the PCs 
  and oﬀers to make them 
  full partners in an expe-
  dition if they’ll help him 
  beat Locke and his Nazi 
  backers to the city.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None — what, are you mad? People who carry those things get hurt.
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Field gear of various sorts — carried by bearers, of course
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  150 ■ Solo Villains
  Personality/Motivation:  Doctor Keene (he never 
  uses his family title) is, quite simply, out to make 
  the world a better place for the only person who 
  matters to him — himself. He’ll lie, cheat, steal, 
  seduce, and forge to that end. He’ll even kill, albeit 
  reluctantly — once someone’s dead, you can’t steal 
  from him again. The single most important thing 
  to him is his continued personal survival. He’s not a 
  coward per se; he just weighs acts of bravery against 
  his personal safety, and chooses not to perform 
  them unless the beneﬁts outweigh the risks.
  Second to his survival instinct is his desire to 
  increase both his personal 
  fortune and his professional 
  reputation. He’s made a good 
  start on rebuilding the family 
  fortunes and has established a 
  solid professional reputation 
  as a skilled amateur archae-
  ologist; he intends to increase 
  both. His plans, criminal or 
  not, always revolve around 
  one or both of those goals.
  Keene always behaves 
  politely, his manner-
  isms the epitome of the 
  archetypical British noble-
  man:  he’s charming, witty 
  and well spoken, aﬀects a 
  slightly bored and lazy air, 
  and dresses perfectly at all 
  times. In moments when he 
  wants nothing that someone 
  has, he’s excellent company. 
  Indeed, even in the moments 
  when he does want some-
  thing from someone, he’s 
  just as charming, perhaps 
  more so:  some victims of 
  his criminal attentions aren’t 
  even aware he did anything 
  to them.
  Powers/Tactics:  Doctor 
  Keene doesn’t engage in 
  ﬁstﬁghts, shooting matches, 
  or any other violent or dan-
  gerous behavior that might result in his becoming 
  injured. For situations of that nature, he always has 
  three or four hirelings to handle things. If they’re 
  unable to help him, he’ll surrender and do whatever 
  he must to secure his safe release:  oﬀer to return 
  stolen artifacts, sell out associates, work with a 
  former opponent, even keep his word.
  Keene favors reasoned, elegant plans to gain 
  his desired ends over ones that depend on violence, 
  but he’s not fanatic about it — he simply prefers 
  to do things in a more “civilized” fashion when 
  possible. His usually tries to deny his competition 
  resources they need through bureaucratic manipu-
  lation, forged documents, or simple trades where he 
  oﬀers them something they need — often manufac-
  turing that need to improve his chances of success 
  — in return for what he wants.
  Campaign Use:  When the characters escape the last 
  deathtrap and stagger out of the ruined temple with 
  the gold idol they came for, Valentine Keene is the 
  man who’ll be waiting to take it away from them. 
  He’s charming, suave, and the 
  sort of opponent who should 
  make characters grit their 
  teeth when they see him. He 
  might even be a good roman-
  tic companion for a female 
  PC who likes the roguish type, 
  though sooner or later he’s 
  bound to betray her when 
  something better comes along.
  To make Keene more 
  powerful, increase the number 
  of Contacts he has. To make 
  him less powerful, eliminate 
  his DCV Combat Skill Levels.
  The idea of Hunting a 
  character with the intent to 
  harm him is completely out-
  side Keene’s mindset. He isn’t 
  interested in killing people, 
  and even if the characters had 
  information that was damag-
  ing to him and his reputation, 
  he’d just ﬁnd something they 
  wanted and trade it to them 
  for it. He regularly Watches 
  fellow archaeologists, and 
  moves in to poach their ﬁnds 
  to claim as his own, but he 
  always plays fair and lets them 
  go so they can do all the work 
  for him next time.
  Appearance:  Valentine Keene 
  is 6’2” tall and weighs 187 
  pounds. He’s an athletic 
  man with movie-star handsome looks, perfectly 
  groomed dark brown hair, a British accent, and blue 
  eyes that make women melt. He dresses in exqui-
  sitely-tailored clothing — even in the jungle or 
  desert — because of the way it enhances his already 
  not inconsiderable looks and charm, and he always 
  dresses formally for dinner. He never, no matter 
  where he is or what’s happened, or what he’s doing, 
  seems to get dirty or rumpled.
  
  151 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  MAXIMILIAN KRIEGER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   28 STR 
  26 
  15- 
  Lift 1,200 kg, 5½d6 [6]
   16 DEX 
  18 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   20 CON 
  20 
  13-
   18 BODY 16 
  13-
   10 INT 
  0 
  11-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   25 PRE 
  20 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  5d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11-
   8 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  PD 14 (6 rPD)
   4 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  ED 10 (6 rED)
   4 SPD 
  14 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   10 REC 
  0
   50 END 
  5
   50 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  137
  Movement:   Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Boxing/Brawling
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
   +2 
   +2 
  Block; Abort
  3  
  Clinch 
   -1 
   -1 
  38 STR Grab
  4 
  Cross 
   +0 
   +2 
  7½d6 Strike
  4 
  Crush 
   +0 
   +0 
  9½d6; Must 
  follow Clinch
  4 
  Dodge 
   — 
   +5 
  Dodge; Abort
  5 
  Hook 
   -2 
   +1 
  9½d6 Strike
  5 
  Jab 
   +1 
   +3 
  5½d6 Strike
  4 
  Shove 
   +0 
   +0 
  43 STR Shove
  36 
  Fist Of Steel:  Armor Piercing (+½) for  
  up to 9½d6 Punch, Reduced Endurance  
  (0 END; +½) 
  0
  13 
  Smashes Through Doors Like They Were 
  Paper:  +27 STR, Only To Calculate  
  Casual Strength (-1) 
  3
  5 
  Intimidating:  +10 PRE; Only To Make  
  Fear-/Intimidation-Based Presence  
  Attacks (-1) 
  0
  20 
  Nothing Hurts This Guy!:  Physical  
  Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%;  
  Requires A CON Roll (no Active Point  
  penalty; -¼), Only Versus Attacks  
  Character Is Aware Of (-¼) 
  0
   
  Talents
  12 
  Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED)
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Cross, Hook, and Jab
  6 
  +2 with Boxing
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  1 
  High Society 8-
  3 
  AK: Europe 12-
  3 
  AK: France 12-
  3 
  AK: Germany 12-
  3 
  AK: Italy 12-
  3 
  KS: Boxing 12-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  German is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Italian (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Paramedic 11-
  5 
  PS: Bodyguard 14-
  Total Powers and Skills Cost:  168
  Total Character Cost:  305
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  DNPC:  Wiltrud (crippled daughter) 8- 
  (Incompetent)
  5 
  Distinctive Features:  steel right hand (Easily 
  Concealed; Noticed And Recognizable)
  15 
  Distinctive Features:  Huge And  
  Intimidating (Not Concealable; Noticed  
  And Recognizable)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  5 
  Physical Limitation:  steel right hand is 
  clumsy (-2 to DEX Rolls and Agility Skills 
  involving ﬁne manipulation) (Infrequently, 
  Slightly Impairing)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Devoted To 
  Daughter (Uncommon, Total)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequently, Major)
  160 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  305
  Background:  In early 1910, Maximilian Krieger was 
  abandoned before he was 18 months old at a small 
  town church outside Berlin. The minister decided 
  to care for the baby himself. The members of the 
  church communally adopted the child; everyone 
  raised and provided for him.
  Max was enormous for his age. Before he was 10, 
  he was taller than some grown men in the town, and 
  showed no signs of stopping. During the Great War 
  several military recruiters had to be convinced he was 
  too young to serve in the army despite his size. With 
  so many of the men gone, Max was a tremendous help 
  to the people of the village, using his size and strength 
  to help with chores. By the time the War ended, his 
  body had been hardened to a point that few men in 
  the village wished to test his strength.
  He kept on helping after the War, when 
  Germany became an ecomonic wasteland, but it 
  wasn’t enough. But he found a way to earn more 
  money when a boxing trainer named Karl Durning 
  recruited him as a prizeﬁghter. His size, strength, 
  and speed made him an incredibly eﬀective boxer. 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As necessary for mission or current circumstances
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  MAXIMILIAN 
  KRIEGER  
  PLOT SEEDS
  The characters ﬁnd 
  themselves in Europe 
  tracking an old enemy 
  when they’re suddenly 
  confronted by Krieger, 
  who demands that they 
  cease their operations 
  against a particular 
  German businessman 
  — someone they’ve 
  never heard of and were 
  engaged in no opera-
  tions against. How do 
  they persuade Krieger 
  of this without drawing 
  attention to themselves 
  and ruining their actual 
  investigation?
  To inﬁltrate a villain’s 
  operation, one or more 
  of the PCs sign up for 
  an illegal gladiatorial 
  tournament the mas-
  termind is hosting for 
  some allies. Then they 
  discover Krieger is one 
  of the opponents, com-
  peting without his mas-
  ter’s knowledge to win 
  money for an additional 
  treatment his daughter 
  needs.
  Krieger keeps attacking 
  one of the PCs — he 
  bursts through doors 
  and walls and tries to 
  kill him for no appar-
  ent reason. If defeated 
  and questioned, Krieger 
  informs the heroes that 
  his daughter’s been 
  taken hostage, and that 
  for her to live, the men 
  holding her demand 
  that the character dies. 
  He knows little about 
  the men who have his 
  daughter (other than the 
  fact that they do, in fact, 
  have her) and confesses 
  that he has no real ani-
  mosity toward the char-
  acter he’s been attacking 
  — but he can’t stop, or 
  they’ll kill her. What do 
  the PCs do?
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  152 ■ Solo Villains
  Soon the word got around, and 
  in short order Max, Durning, 
  Durning’s daughter Gerta (to 
  whom Max had gotten mar-
  ried), and Max and Gerta’s 
  daughter Wiltrud, were moved 
  to Berlin and began training 
  for the 1932 Olympics.
  But a Communist bomber 
  ruined Max’s bright future. 
  While Max, his extended 
  family, and his backers were 
  eating in an exclusive res-
  taurant, a Bolshevik terrorist 
  burst through the doors and 
  threw two bombs into the 
  crowd. Max caught one and 
  tried to throw it back, but it 
  went oﬀ inches after it left his 
  right hand, blowing it oﬀ at the 
  wrist and ending his boxing 
  career. The second bomb killed 
  Karl and Gerta and severely 
  injured Wiltrud.
  His boxing career over, 
  his family dead or crippled, 
  Maximilian descended into 
  bitterness and self-loathing. It 
  didn’t take much for his hatred 
  of the Communists who ruined 
  his life to become hatred of 
  Communists in general... which 
  in turn led him to Nazism. He 
  took to National Socialism with 
  the zeal of a convert. One of his former backers, a 
  high-ranking Nazi oﬃcial, decided Germany could 
  make good use of Max. He recruited Max to work 
  as a bodyguard, enforcer, and “troubleshooter” for 
  situations where intimidation and brute force were 
  necessary. To enhance Max’s already fearsome image, 
  he had Nazi scientists craft for him a steel hand with 
  mechanical function — enough to pick things up 
  and form a ﬁst, anyway. Now Max travels all over 
  Europe and the globe performing any task his Nazi 
  masters set him.
  Personality/Motivation:  Maximilian Krieger is a 
  study in contrasts. Though he’s usually relaxed, 
  even gentle (especially around his daughter), he’s 
  capable of extreme brutality when he has to be. On 
  the surface he’s a fervent Nazi, devoted to the ideals 
  of Hitler and the Party, and he serves them enthu-
  siastically (even though he hates to have to leave 
  his daughter). Deep down, though, his heart’s not 
  really in it; he knows that Nazism is wrong, but that 
  side of him’s been buried by bitterness, anger, and 
  a desire to provide for his daughter. He isn’t happy 
  about what he’s become, and hasn’t been back to 
  his village in several years, because he’s secretly 
  ashamed of some of the things he’s done (though 
  you’d never realize it, if you saw him striding conﬁ-
  dently through the halls of power in Berlin behind 
  some oﬃcial he’s guarding, or deﬁantly standing 
  up to Germany’s enemies while he protects some 
  project or archaeological dig). He regards his steel 
  hand as a necessary evil, not really a part of himself; 
  he usually covers it with a black glove (unless he 
  expects to have to intimidate someone with it) and 
  never uses it to touch his daughter.
  Quote:  “You’ve heard of the iron ﬁst inside the 
  velvet glove? Inside this glove there’s a steel ﬁst.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Krieger prefers direct, straightfor-
  ward approaches to his problems and opponents. 
  He stands up to threats without fear, and comes at 
  his opponents directly, without feints or trickery. 
  If appropriate he’ll give a foe one chance to back 
  oﬀ, but only one. He won’t hit women unless they 
  hit him ﬁrst, and even then prefers to Grab and 
  restrain them rather than hurt them.
  Krieger’s boxing skills have deteriorated, but not 
  vanished. The heroes can ﬁnd a training ﬁlm of him 
  accidentally killing a man in a sparring match with a 
  single right to the head if they spend some time and 
  money in Germany looking for it — and that was 
  before he had a ﬁst made of steel. He usually depends 
  on jabs and crosses, but if an opponent’s hitting him 
  and doing damage, he’ll switch to slightly more defen-
  sive ﬁghting until he can unleash a Hook that ends 
  the ﬁght. If confronted with weapons, Krieger likes 
  to Grab them and then use his Crush maneuver to 
  ruin or destroy them, followed by a Presence Attack to 
  make his opponents run in fear.
  Campaign Use:  The heroes can encounter Maximil-
  ian Krieger in a wide variety of situations. First and 
  foremost, he might serve as a bodyguard or “special 
  operative” assigned to protect any high-ranking Nazi 
  oﬃcial, Nazi special or secret project, or Nazi-allied 
  VIP anywhere in the world. Second, if the PCs are 
  enemies of Germany, the Nazis might send Krieger to 
  “dispose of” one of them at an opportune moment.
  Although Krieger’s a terrifying, implacable 
  opponent, the heroes can reason with him if they 
  approach him correctly. It’s entirely possible they 
  could reform him, if they present the case for 
  the heroic ideal strongly enough. A classic story 
  along those lines would be to have them rescue his 
  daughter from some Nazi plot (the Nazis, of course, 
  want to get rid of her to make him compassionless 
  and more cruel than he can already be), simultane-
  ously earning his gratitude and showing him how 
  evil Nazism is. He’s blinded himself into thinking 
  that it’s all about German national pride and anti-
  Communism; if the heroes open his eyes, there’s a 
  good chance he’ll join them.
  To make Krieger tougher, danger, increase his 
  DEX to 18 and his INT to 13. To make him less 
  threatening, reduce his STR to 23, his DEX to 13, 
  his Combat Luck to (3 PD/3 ED), and his Damage 
  Reduction to 25%.
  Krieger only Hunts the PCs if ordered to by 
  his Nazi masters, and in that case follows orders.
  Appearance:  Maximilian Krieger is, quite simply, 
  huge. He stands 7’5½” tall and weighs 438 pounds, 
  very little of it fat. He has dark brown hair worn 
  short and slicked back, blue eyes, and a small, neatly 
  trimmed beard. He dresses well (usually in a dark 
  suit) since his employers demand it, and always has 
  a black leather glove over the steel prosthesis he 
  wears in place of his missing right hand.
  
  153 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  LI-MING JADE
  Pirate Queen of the South China Sea
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2½d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   11 BODY 2 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   7 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  10 PD (3 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  7 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  85
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
   
  Swimming:  5”/10”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Kung Fu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Damage/Effect
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  23 STR Disarm
  4 
  Dodge 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge All 
  Attacks, Abort
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  28 STR versus 
  Grabs
  3 
  Joint Lock/Grab -1 
  -1 
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, 23 STR 
  for holding on
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  6½d6 Strike
  3 
  Legsweep 
  +2 
  -1 
  3½d6 Strike; 
  Target Falls
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  4½d6 Strike
  4 
  Tsien-hsueh
   
  Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND(1)
  1 
  Use Art with Blades
  3 
  Swift Swimmer:  Swimming +3” (5” total) 1
   
  Perks
  25 
  Base:  secluded island in the South China Sea
  55 
  Followers:  500 pirates built on 50 Base 
  Points
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
  3 
  Reputation:  Pirate Queen of the South 
  China Sea (in the Paciﬁc) 11-, +3/+3d6
  60 
  Vehicles:  16 junks built on up to 200  
  Character Points each
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  3 
  Sea Legs:  Environmental Movement  
  (no penalties while on a ship’s deck)
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Kung Fu
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Climbing 13-
  3 
  Combat Sailing 13-
  3 
  Concealment 12-
  10 
  Defense Maneuver I-IV
  1 
  Fast Draw (Firearms) 8-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  AK: The Paciﬁc Rim 12-
  6 
  AK: South China Sea 15-
  2 
  KS: Kung Fu 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation; 
  Cantonese Chinese is Native)
  3 
  Language:  Japanese (completely ﬂuent)
  2 
  Language:  Malay (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Language:  Mandarin Chinese (completely 
  ﬂuent)
  4 
  Navigation (Marine) 13-
  5 
  PS: Pirate 14-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  5 
  Tactics 13-
  3 
  Trading 13-
  10 
  Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH)
  5 
  TF: Small Rowed Boats, Small Wind-Powered 
  Boats, Large Wind-Powered Boats, Small 
  Motorized Boats, Large Motorized Boats
  7 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Martial Arts Weapons, Oﬀ Hand, Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  314
  Total Cost:  398
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  various naval forces 8- (Mo Pow, 
  NCI, Capture/Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Demands Loyalty 
  And Respect (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Reputation:  ruthless pirate leader, 11- 
  (Extreme)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Professional (with other pirates)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (half-Chinese, 
  half-Japanese) (Frequently, Minor)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, Minor)
  221 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  398
  Background/History:  Born just before the turn of 
  the century to a Chinese mother by a Japanese 
  father she never knew, Li-Ming Jade started life 
  with two strikes against her. As a half-breed, she 
  was denied entry into both her parents’ cultures, 
  which forced her to make her own way from an 
  early age. That led her to the South China Sea, then 
  to the bed of a pirate captain, then to captaining 
  his junk when he died in a squalid bar in Manila, 
  and ﬁnally to the command of her own pirate ﬂeet 
  at the age of 27 when she challenged the former 
  leader and slew him in single combat. In the ensu-
  ing decade she’s built that small collection of ships 
  into the largest pirate ﬂeet in the South China Sea 
  and earned the whispered title she pretends to 
  never hear:  Lu Syin, Jade-Heart, the pirate whose 
  heart is as cold as the stone for which she’s named.
  LI-MING JADE  
  PLOT SEEDS
  A business associate and 
  social acquaintance of 
  one of the characters 
  approaches them with 
  a request for help. A 
  pirate — Li-Ming Jade 
  — is demolishing his 
  shipping interests in 
  the Paciﬁc. If the char-
  acters agree to aid him 
  and stop her depreda-
  tions, he’ll assist them 
  in their current project 
  with the full capac-
  ity of his industrial 
  holdings. He doesn’t 
  mention, of course, 
  that Li-Ming Jade has 
  targeted his ships spe-
  ciﬁcally because they 
  were engaging in piracy 
  and raided several 
  islands that had paid 
  her for protection. What 
  will the characters do 
  when they discover this 
  “small” omission? Will 
  they work with one 
  pirate to destroy the 
  other, and if so which 
  side will they choose?
  Li-Ming discovers 
  through an informant 
  that the American 
  adventurer whose pistol 
  she carries has been 
  captured by the forces 
  of a ruthless Burmese 
  warlord. Knowing that 
  her pirates stand no 
  chance of rescuing him, 
  she decides to arrange 
  his release by forcing 
  the characters to do it 
  for her. She captures 
  something or someone 
  important to them as 
  it passes through her 
  territory, then informs 
  them she’ll exchange 
  their missing property 
  or friends for the return 
  of Gideon Fortune. 
  Will the characters 
  accept? If they do, can 
  they travel to Burma, 
  brave the dangers of the 
  deep jungles, and locate 
  and rescue their target 
  from the ruined temple 
  lair of the most feared 
  and deadly warlord in 
  Burma?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  154 ■ Solo Villains
  Her success has made her a target, though not 
  as great a one as many people would expect. The 
  British Navy occasionally hunts for her, but large 
  bribes spread around among local oﬃcials, and 
  her deliberately low-key operations, have kept her 
  from being as high a priority as many other pirates 
  despite the size of her ﬂeet. The Japanese Navy 
  considers her more of a threat, but lacks the ability 
  to deploy more than an occasional ship to pursue 
  her without causing an incident by sailing war-
  ships into British territory. The Chinese decry her 
  actions, but too much money changes hands when 
  she sells cargos in Chinese ports for them to worry 
  overmuch about capturing her. The occasional 
  American shipping line complains to Washing-
  ton, but the actions of a single pirate armed with 
  muzzle-loading cannon are of little concern to the 
  Department of the Navy. She has more trouble 
  from other pirates who want to take over her ﬂeet 
  or poach her territory, and groups of adventurers 
  who oppose her for moral or personal reasons. She 
  particularly loathes Randall’s Raiders, since her 
  adopted daughter and intended successor 
  Lili Winchester abandoned her to join 
  them.
  Personality/Motivation:  Li-Ming Jade isn’t 
  a complex person. First, she demands 
  respect and loyalty from those around 
  her, requiring her crewmen to swear 
  oaths of loyalty that demand death for 
  betrayal. The fact that the person clos-
  est to her, Lili Winchester, turned her 
  back on her has cut her to the quick, 
  only making her more likely than ever 
  to harshly discipline sailors who disap-
  point her. Second, she’s rapacious and 
  greedy, always looking for more ways to 
  earn money and new treasures to pursue 
  despite the fact that she already has far 
  more money than she truly needs. Her 
  secret island home holds luxuries that 
  wouldn’t be out of place in the best noble 
  homes of China or Europe.
  Li-Ming has a habit of collecting 
  trophies from honored opponents and 
  people who are important to her, housing 
  them in a special room in her island for-
  tress. Sometimes they’re weapons — such 
  as a Colt Peacemaker she received as 
  a trophy/gift from adventurer Gideon 
  Fortune — but she might choose jewelry, 
  a book, an article of clothing, or some 
  other memento instead. Lili Winchester 
  would be surprised to know that the 
  dress she wore when the pirates captured 
  her is still occupies the place of pride at the center 
  of the collection, next to the piece of jade that was a 
  deathbed gift from Li-Ming’s own mother.
  Li-Ming sometimes “takes a shine” to a hand-
  some man on a ship she raids and “kidnaps” him 
  for a few days’ or weeks’ dalliance, putting him 
  ashore at Shanghai or some other port when she 
  tires of him. A dashing male PCs she encounters 
  could certainly be subjected to the same treatment, 
  no doubt giving him a chance to escape and free his 
  friends....
  Quote:  “Who do I think I am, Captain? Why, I am 
  Li-Ming Jade, Pirate Queen of the South China Sea, 
  and those who oﬀer me respect are as wise as those 
  who defy me are foolish. Which are you?”
  Powers/Tactics:  While the traditional methods of 
  accumulating riches for a pirate involve raiding 
  shipping and coastal towns, Li-Ming Jade early on 
  in her career determined that this was a poor way 
  to make a living. She resorted to a simpler system 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Darn Do 
  +0 
  —  
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  —  
  12
  Wakizashi 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8
  Colt Peacemaker 
  +0 
  +0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  6 
  9
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Compass
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  A British frigate goes 
  missing with all hands 
  near Mindanao. One 
  month later, a repre-
  sentative of the British 
  government out of 
  India tracks down the 
  characters and requests 
  that they locate it and 
  determine what hap-
  pened — current rela-
  tions with the Japanese 
  prevent the deployment 
  of British naval vessels 
  in the area, so the crown 
  must employ quieter 
  measures. He can give 
  the characters the ship’s 
  last known position, 
  her range with the full 
  load she had aboard, 
  and one last, disturbing 
  piece of information:  
  it’s rumored that Li-
  Ming Jade has acquired 
  a new ship that will 
  make her a power to be 
  reckoned with in the 
  region. When the char-
  acters investigate, they 
  discover she has indeed 
  added a vessel to her 
  ﬂeet — but it’s a WWI-
  surplus U-Boat. Did she 
  sink the frigate? If not, 
  can she be persuaded 
  to help the characters 
  ﬁnd out who did? And 
  why do the heroes keep 
  encountering men that 
  whisper to each other 
  in Hindustani? Is Akash 
  Varmandali somehow 
  involved?
  Continued from last page
  
  155 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  used by Cheng I Sao, a pirate queen who sailed 
  her seas over a century ago. She conducted a few 
  raids to create her reputation, then established a 
  protection racket. She makes most of her money as 
  “tribute” from villages so that she won’t raid them 
  or bother their ships; in turn, she protects them 
  from other pirates. (Any pirate who dares to enter 
  her territory without her permission, or a village 
  that tries to cheat her or skimp on its payments, 
  becomes the target of swift and deadly retribution.) 
  The rest of her money comes from “capturing” pas-
  senger ships and forcing everyone aboard to give 
  up their valuables, stealing proﬁtable cargoes, and 
  the occasional treasure-seeking expedition.
  The Pirate Queen commands a ﬂeet of over a 
  dozen junks, each crewed by around 30 men (and 
  a few women who are almost as tough as she is). 
  Each ship is typically armed with two light machine 
  guns (normally Great War surplus Lewis guns 
  she got in a batch deal from a British mercenary 
  named Forsythe), and a single cannon (a few sport 
  small breech-loading 6-pounders [55mm] from the 
  Great War, but most use traditional muzzle-loading 
  cannon from before the turn of the century). Her 
  crews are armed with a mixture of hand weapons 
  — essentially anything that strikes an individual’s 
  fancy, from knives to axes — and small arms. Those 
  with pistols prefer the broomhandle Mauser, and 
  those with riﬂes a mixture of British Lee Enﬁelds 
  and German Mauser 98s. (For her junks, see page 
  115 of The HERO System Vehicle Sourcebook, but 
  add cannons as appropriate.)
  Li-Ming herself carries a traditional Chinese 
  broadsword (darn do) that she took from the man 
  who led the pirates before her, a Japanese oﬃcer’s 
  wakizashi that she took from a skilled oﬃcer after 
  she killed him in a duel, and the Colt Peacemaker 
  she received from Gideon Fortune. She’s a deadly 
  ﬁghter, with or without weapons, easily capable 
  of besting two or three opponents at once. In a 
  ﬁght, she wields both her swords simultaneously 
  in a spinning wheel fashion, always moving. She 
  reserves the pistol mostly for opponents who have 
  ﬁrearms themselves, since coming by ammunition 
  for it is sometimes diﬃcult.
  Campaign Use:  Li-Ming Jade makes an interest-
  ing change from the usual Oriental mastermind 
  opponent, with her focus on piratical naval action 
  and her non-traditional region of inﬂuence. She 
  isn’t a world-spanning threat, and has no desire to 
  become one, but she can be the focus of a variety of 
  interesting scenarios ranging from straightforward 
  action, to intrigue in and around the South China 
  Sea, to wartime adventures with her opposing the 
  Japanese ﬂeet as best she may. She might make an 
  interesting romantic interest for a hero who can see 
  the good in her (and it is there, just buried).
  To make the Pirate Queen a greater threat 
  overall, increase the armament of her junks or 
  replace some or all of them with motorized ves-
  sels. To weaken her overall, reduce the number of 
  cannons on most of her junks and the pirates avail-
  able to her. To make her more powerful personally, 
  increase her STR to 15 and her DEX to 20, and 
  perhaps give her an Extra DC or two. To weaken 
  her, remove some of her Martial Maneuvers and 
  eliminate her Two-Weapon Fighting abilities.
  Li-Ming can and will Hunt characters who 
  oppose her plans, especially those she feels have 
  betrayed her trust or taken advantage of her good 
  nature. Her form of Hunting involves ﬁnding a way 
  to lure him into the South China Sea and then seiz-
  ing him. She almost never undertakes an operation 
  outside the South China Sea area, and never out-
  side the Paciﬁc Rim, but within those regions she’s a 
  cunning and relentless opponent.
  Appearance:  An exotic half-Chinese, half-Japanese 
  woman of average height in her late thirties, Li-
  Ming Jade has attractive, controlled features that 
  become genuinely beautiful in the rare moments 
  she allows herself to relax and smile. She has brown 
  eyes and black hair that is a little longer than 
  shoulder-length; she normally ties it back with a 
  bit of silk cord when at sea or expecting trouble. 
  She dresses in loose trousers gathered at the ankle, 
  a loose-sleeved tunic gathered at the wrists with 
  a vest over it, a sash at her waist to support her 
  swords — a Chinese broadsword and a Japanese 
  oﬃcer’s wakizashi — and an incongruous western-
  style gunbelt that holds her treasured Colt Peace-
  maker. Ashore, she dresses much the same unless 
  entertaining visitors, in which case she wears more 
  ﬂattering garments in a mixture of Japanese and 
  Chinese styles and fewer weapons.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  156 ■ Solo Villains
  CAROLINE NEFERTARI MADISON
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   13 DEX 
  9 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11- 
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   13 PRE 
  3 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  2½d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  7 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  2
   30 END 
  0
   23 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  43
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  9 
  Perceive The Past:  Clairsentience (Sight  
  and Hearing Groups), Retrocognition;  
  Concentration (½ DCV throughout; -½), 
  Extra Time (a minimum of 1 Turn, and 
  sometimes longer ; -1¾), Requires An  
  EGO Roll (no Active Point penalty; -½),  
  Retrocognition Only (-1), Time  
  Modiﬁers (-½), Psychometry (-½) 
  6
  10 
  Spirit Of Nefret:  Multiform (assume the  
  223-point form of her body being taken  
  over by the spirit of an ancient Egyptian 
  priestess); Costs Endurance (-½),  
  Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1),  
  No Conscious Control (only changes  
  via Accidental Change; -2) 
  12
   
  Talents
  4 
  Speed Reading (x10)
   
  Skills
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  2 
  Cryptography 13-; Translation Only (-½)
  2 
  Forgery (Art Objects) 13-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  1 
  Mechanics 8-
  2 
  Navigation (Land) 13-
  3 
  Paramedics 13-
  3 
  PS: Artifact Restoration 13-
  2 
  SS: Archaeology 11-
  3 
  Linguist
  1 
  1)  Arabic (ﬂuent conversation; English is 
  Native)
  1 
  2)  Berber (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  3)  Egyptian Hieroglyphics (ﬂuent conversa-
  tion)
  1 
  4)  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  5)  German (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  6)  Hebrew (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  7)  Latin (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  8)  Spanish (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  9)  Turkish (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Scholar
  2 
  1)  KS: Ancient Egypt 13-
  1 
  2)  KS: Ancient Greece 8-
  1 
  3)  KS: Ancient Rome 8-
  2 
  4)  KS: Archaeology 13-
  2 
  5)  KS: Art And Artifacts 13-
  1 
  6)  KS: Precolumbian Mesoamerica 8-
  3 
  Traveler
  2 
  1)  AK: California 13-
  2 
  2)  AK: Egypt 13-
  2 
  3)  AK: Europe 13-
  2 
  4)  AK: The Near East 13-
  2 
  5)  CK: San Francisco 13-
  2 
  6)  AK: United States 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  83
  Total Cost:  126
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Accidental Change:  when she experiences 
  great stress 8- (Common)
  10 
  Accidental Change:  when Knocked Out or 
  she goes to sleep 8- (Common)
  5 
  Accidental Change:  when hit with a psychic/
  mental power 8- (Uncommon)
  5 
  Accidental Change:  when the name of Aten 
  is invoked against her 8- (Uncommon)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Kill-
  ing (Uncommon, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Curiosity 
  (Common, Moderate)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  130
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Knife 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6-1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  6 
  Can Be Thrown
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  In the ﬁeld, ﬁeld gear including tent and bedroll, canteen, compass, notebook and pencil, pocketknife, archaeolo-
  gist’s tools, and the like. When back home at the museum, a purse containing various day-to-day items.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  157 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  NEFRET DOMINANT
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   14 DEX 
  12 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   13 BODY 6 
  12- 
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   4 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  4 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  6 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   6 REC 
  2
   30 END 
  0
   26 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  71
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  27 
  Agony:  Ego Attack 3d6, Continuous  
  (+1), Reduced Endurance (½ END; +¼); 
  Concentration (½ DCV throughout use;  
  -½), Extra Time (Full Phase; -½),  
  Requires A Psychic Powers Roll (-½) 
  3
  26 
  Call To The Ancient Ones:  Summon up  
  to four mummies built on up to 400  
  points, Loyal (+½); Concentration  
  (0 DCV throughout activation; -1),  
  Extra Time (1 Turn; -1¼), Incantations 
  (throughout casting; -½), Arrives Under 
  Own Power (-½), Summoned Being  
  Must Inhabit Locale (-½), Only Works  
  At Night (-½), Requires A Psychic  
  Powers Roll (no Active Point penalty; -0) 
  12
  12 
  Clairvoyance:  Clairsentience (Sight  
  Group), 16x Range (1,600”); Concentration  
  (½ DCV throughout; -½), Extra Time  
  (a minimum of 1 Turn, and sometimes  
  longer; -1¼), Requires A Psychic Powers  
  Roll (-½) 
  4
  20 
  Domination Of The Will:  Mind Control  
  10d6; Concentration (½ DCV to activate; 
  -¼), Extra Time (Extra Phase; -¾),  
  Requires A Psychic Powers Roll (-½);  
  Mind Control Automatically Ends If  
  Accidental Change Occurs (-0) 
  5
  15 
  Psychic Tracking:  Mind Scan 10d6;  
  Concentration (½ DCV throughout  
  use; -½), Extra Time (a minimum of  
  1 Turn, and often longer; -1¼), Requires  
  A Psychic Powers Roll (-½) 
  5
  16 
  Thought Transference:  Telepathy 8d6;  
  Concentration (½ DCV throughout use;  
  -½), Extra Time (at least a Full Phase, and 
  sometimes more; -½), Requires A Psychic 
  Powers Roll (-½) 
  4
   
  Skills
  3 
  Concealment 13-
  3 
  Conversation 12-
  3 
  High Society 12-
  3 
  KS: Ancient Egypt 13-
  3 
  KS: Egyptian Theology 13-
  3 
  Language:  Arabic (completely ﬂuent; 
  Ancient Egyptian is Native)
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent)
  13 
  Power:  Psychic Powers 18-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  1 
  TF: Camels
  1 
  WF: Knives
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  155
  Total Cost:  226
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Accidental Change:  when Knocked Out or 
  she goes to sleep 8- (Common)
  5 
  Accidental Change:  when hit with a psychic/
  mental power 8- (Uncommon)
  5 
  Accidental Change:  when the name of Osiris 
  or Thoth is invoked against her 8- (Uncom-
  mon)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Determined To 
  Create And Rule A New Egyptian Empire 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Social Limitation:  unfamiliar with ﬁne 
  nuances of modern culture (see text) (Occa-
  sional, Major)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasional, 
  Minor)
  86 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  226
  Background/History:  John Madison, an Egyptolo-
  gist, met and married Amanda Carter, the daughter 
  of a British businessman, in Cairo. Unknown to 
  either Amanda or her husband, Amanda’s mother 
  was a descendant of the ancient line of Egyptian 
  rulers, and their blood ran strong in her veins. 
  Their daughter Caroline was born in Abu Simbel 
  on February 21, one of the two days on which 
  the morning sun shines directly into Ramses II’s 
  temple, illuminating the ﬁgures of Ptah, Amun-re, 
  Re-Horakhte and the deiﬁed Ramses II. In honor of 
  Ramses and his beautiful wife, Caroline was given 
  the middle name Nefertari.
  Caroline spent her school years in San Fran-
  cisco with her paternal grandparents and her holi-
  days in Egypt with her parents. As she grew older, 
  they sent her to a boarding school in Switzerland 
  and then the University of Chicago, where she 
  received a degree in Oriental Studies.
  After graduation, Caroline went to work 
  for a museum in San Francisco, cataloging its 
  “undisplayed” collection. It was there that she 
  discovered her psychometric talent — to “read” 
  the history of an object simply by touch. When 
  she touched a piece of pottery that had been 
  identified as Mayan, she knew was much older 
  than the Maya. And although it was found at a 
  site in the Yucatan lowlands, Caroline knew it 
  was from the mountains. Unsatisfied with her 
  identification, the museum called in another 
  expert — who confirmed her “theory.”
  Since then, Caroline has worked for several 
  diﬀerent museums and with various dig teams in 
  Egypt. She returned from a recent dig at Deir el-
  CAROLINE  
  MADISON  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Artifacts are disappear-
  ing from the Egyptian 
  collections at the 
  Hudson City Museum 
  of Anthropology And 
  Natural History and 
  the Thorsen Museum 
  of Archaeology. Noth-
  ing large, but there’s a 
  deﬁnite pattern to the 
  thefts:  the items are all 
  small, valuable pieces 
  of jewelry and personal 
  adornment made for 
  members of the Egyp-
  tian nobility. Nefret is 
  rebuilding her collection 
  of “proper” jewelry and 
  looking for a speciﬁc 
  piece that she once wore 
  as a priestess she hopes 
  will augment the resil-
  ience of Caroline’s body 
  to the point that she can 
  perform other spells.
  One night while trying 
  to ﬁgure out modern 
  culture, Nefret goes to 
  the movies. It’s one of 
  Universal’s monster 
  ﬁlms from 1932, with 
  a title sure to draw her 
  attention:  The Mummy. 
  Ninety minutes later, 
  eyes wide with shock 
  and horror, she stumbles 
  out with the crowd, a 
  single thought in her 
  head:  How dare they? 
  “Pack my bags! We’re 
  going to a place called 
  Holy-Wood. There are 
  men there who must die 
  for their blasphemy!”
  Abdul Fekesh Mubara-
  kini, the new Egyptian 
  Ambassador in Hudson 
  City, is a charming, 
  handsome man who’s 
  making the rounds of 
  the best society parties. 
  Nefret thinks he might 
  possibly be a reborn 
  Egyptian prince. She 
  plans to kidnap him to 
  see if she can bring out 
  his “old self” and make 
  him her lover and chief 
  lieutanant.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  158 ■ Solo Villains
  Medina with a most unusual souvenir:  the spirit of 
  the Egyptian priestess Nefret.
  Nefret was a priestess of Aten from the Eigh-
  teenth Dynasty. After the downfall of Akhenaten 
  and during the attempts by his successors to purge 
  him from history, she was slain and her body aban-
  doned to the desert jackals. Because the necessary 
  rites were left unperformed, her Ka (vital force) 
  and Ba (personality) were unable to join and she 
  was condemned to eternal death, endlessly seeking 
  her afterlife. When Caroline, a descendant of the 
  ancient families, appeared on the scene centuries 
  later, Nefret recognized her as the perfect vessel 
  through which she could regain physical form... of 
  a sort. With subtle mental inﬂuences Nefret maneu-
  vered Caroline into picking up the amulet which 
  held her life essence. Aided by Caroline’s own psy-
  chometry talent, she slowly crept into Caroline’s 
  being, wrapping herself around and through Caro-
  line’s mind until they became inseparable. Now she 
  can, at times, take over Caroline’s body and use it 
  for her own wicked schemes.
  Personality/Motivation:  Caroline is a bright and 
  cheerful girl, friendly and outgoing. She loves 
  jazz music, dancing, and movies. A conscientious 
  worker, she has a tendency to become absorbed in 
  her work, and talks to herself occasionally while 
  cataloging artifacts.
  Nefret is a diﬀerent sort of person:  quieter, 
  more reserved and controlled, and much, much 
  more singleminded. Through the centuries she has 
  observed Egypt’s downfall and the changes in cul-
  tures, and they disgust her. Millennia of disembod-
  ied existence have also taken their toll on her sanity. 
  She intends to set herself up as a new pharoah and 
  re-establish Egypt as a great power under her com-
  mand. She also wants to ﬁnd a way to take over 
  Caroline’s body permanently (or some other body; 
  she’s not picky).
  Nefret has little familiarity with the nuances 
  of modern culture, particularly outside Egypt. As 
  a result, she may suﬀer a -2 or greater penalty to 
  Interaction Skill rolls, or commit faux pas that 
  might reveal to a clever or knowledgeable observer 
  that she, not Caroline’s true spirit, controls Caro-
  line’s body.
  Quote:  As Caroline:  “What a fabulous ushabti! 
  It bears the unmistakable style of the Fourteenth 
  Dynasty. Look at the cunning carving, the magniﬁ-
  cent inlay. This would be the showcase piece of any 
  museum’s display... if it hadn’t been made last week.”
  As Nefret:  “Neither the Pharaoh’s men nor the 
  sands of time have proven capable of keeping me 
  from my destiny. What makes you think you can?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Caroline Madison doesn’t even 
  know how to use a gun, much less ﬁght. She abhors 
  violence and won’t use it against other people; she 
  prefers the time-honored tactic of “scream and 
  run.”
  Nefret is less of a shrinking violet. She has no 
  idea how to use ﬁrearms, but can wield a dagger to 
  good eﬀect, and is haughty and proud enough to 
  raise her hand against someone who truly angers 
  her (lesser annoyances will be dealt with by her 
  minions). Her ﬁrst act upon becoming dominant 
  is usually to use her Mind Control power to turn 
  some likely-looking locals into a coterie of servants.
  The change from Caroline to Nefret and back 
  again is an unpredictable thing. Caroline’s usually 
  in control — but there’s always a chance that when 
  she goes to sleep, she’ll wake up as Nefret. Similarly, 
  great stress, being Knocked Out, being hit with a 
  psychic/mental power, or having the name of the 
  god Aten invoked in her presence (not just casu-
  ally mentioned, but truly invoked) can trigger the 
  change. Nefret suﬀers similar restrictions, though 
  stress doesn’t aﬀect her and it’s Osiris and Thoth 
  whose names she’s vulnerable to.
  Campaign Use:  Caroline (and Nefret) work well 
  in Horror- or occult-themed campaigns, but 
  almost equally well in globetrotting adventure or 
  crimebusting games — it all depends on how you 
  use her, how creepy and obvious the change to 
  Nefret is, and the methods Nefret uses to achieve 
  her goals. Prior to Nefret’s first appearance in the 
  game, the heroes could encounter Caroline liter-
  ally anywhere in the world on an archaeological 
  dig. She’d make a good romantic interest for a 
  like-minded PC, provided he could assist her in 
  getting rid of that pesky priestess.
  To make Nefret more powerful, increase 
  her STR to 13 and give her some Martial Arts or 
  Combat Skill Levels usable with knives, or perhaps 
  
  159 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  some skill with poisons. You could also give her 
  more arcane abilities (for example, the power to 
  summon a sandstorm). To weaken her, decrease her 
  EGO to 15, and/or get rid of some of her mystic 
  powers (especially Domination Of The Will). 
  Removing or diminishing some of her more blatant 
  powers would also be appropriate for lower-pow-
  ered Horror campaigns and the like.
  Caroline wouldn’t dream of Hunting anyone. 
  Nefret won’t Hunt anyone either for the time being; 
  she has bigger ﬁsh to fry. Once she’s permanently 
  manifest in the world and has established a power 
  base, she may decide to pay back some old “debts.” 
  And of course, if a hero has some connection to 
  ancient Egypt, Nefret might need him as fodder for 
  her schemes....
  Appearance:  Caroline is an athletic, attractive girl 
  of about twenty-four, with short dark hair and 
  brown eyes. Standing 5’5” tall, she normally dresses 
  rather casually, preferring khaki to silk and func-
  tionality to form, and almost always has a tan. Since 
  she’s rather farsighted, she wears reading glasses 
  when necessary.
  When Nefret is dominant, Caroline’s posture 
  is more rigid, her movements and speech more 
  controlled, and she occasionally seems out of place 
  in dealing with modern society. She dresses in more 
  costly and elegant garments, but wears a copy of 
  her old priestess regalia (cobra circlet, golden breast 
  cups held up by thin gold chains, a white cotton 
  loincloth with a thin gold belt, and cross-strapped 
  sandals) for important events and sacriﬁces.
  ANEZKA MRAZOVIC
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   13 STR 
  3 
  11- 
  Lift 150 kg; 2d6 [3]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   14 EGO 
  8 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   4 PD 
  1 
   
  Total:  4 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  4 ED (0 rED)
   2 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases:  6, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  5
   22 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  48
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  13 
  Impressive:  +20 PRE; Only To Make  
  Presence Attacks (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Unimpressed:  +10 PRE; Only To Protect 
  Against Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  15 
  Follower:  Thorko (built on 75 Base Points)
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  6 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Skills
  9 
  +3 with Conversation, Interrogation, and 
  Persuasion
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  2 
  AK: Asia 11-
  2 
  AK: Eastern Europe 11-
  2 
  AK: Europe 11
  2 
  AK: United States 11
  3 
  KS: Current Events 12-
  3 
  KS: European Nobility 12-
  3 
  KS: Fashion 12-
  3 
  KS: Life And Times Of Elizabeth Bathory 12-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  3 
  SS: Anatomy 12-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  93
  Total Cost:  141
  75+ Disadvantages
  5 
  Age:  40+
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Vain (Very 
  Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Blood Addiction 
  (see text) (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Murderous Sadist 
  (Uncommon, Strong)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasionally, 
  Minor)
  11 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  141
  ANEZKA MRAZOVIC 
  PLOT SEEDS
  There’s a rash of deaths 
  in Hudson City, all 
  young women who have 
  two things in common:  
  they’re all beautiful, and 
  they’re all missing every 
  drop of blood in their 
  bodies. Anezka is over-
  joyed, even though she’s 
  not the one killing the 
  girls. Perhaps his means 
  that her ancestor Vlad 
  the Impaler is in town! 
  Can she ﬁnd him and 
  convince him to make 
  her a true creature of 
  the night?
  A very pale and beauti-
  ful, but serious, young 
  nun with a vaguely Cen-
  tral European accent 
  approaches the heroes 
  on a stormy evening 
  and introduces herself 
  as Sister Elizabetta, 
  a member of a small 
  cloistered order in Hun-
  gary. She needs the PCs’ 
  help to ﬁnd her mother, 
  a woman she barely 
  remembers, who went 
  mad when the Sister was 
  a child. Can they help 
  her? She promises to 
  return and assist them 
  in their search the next 
  evening, as her Order’s 
  vows require her to 
  spend the daylight hours 
  in secluded prayer....
  Thorko is worried that 
  something’s wrong 
  with his mistress. She 
  seems listless and lacks 
  interest in her normal 
  pastimes, even to the 
  point of skipping her 
  beauty treatments once 
  or twice. He consults a 
  Gypsy oracle, who tells 
  him his beloved has 
  been cursed. Outraged, 
  he demands to know 
  how to break the curse, 
  and is told that only the 
  death of the one who 
  leveled it on her will free 
  her. Anezka is likewise 
  horriﬁed that she’s been 
  cursed, and the two 
  of them set out to kill 
  everyone who’s ever 
  escaped them, certain 
  that one of them is the 
  author of the curse.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  160 ■ Solo Villains
  Background/History:  Anezka Mrazovic was born 
  into one of the oldest and wealthiest families in 
  Hungary. Her family had many powerful relatives 
  and was descended from princes and kings, includ-
  ing Istvan Bathory (prince of Transylvania and 
  king of Poland from 1575 to 1586). At the age of 
  15, Anezka married Count Paul Nadasdy, who was 
  several years older than she. Although he spent a 
  great deal of time away with the military, leaving 
  Anezka alone in their palatial home in the Balkans, 
  they had three children. After Paul was killed in the 
  last days of the Great War, Anezka was introduced 
  to the darker sides of the occult by her Gypsy ser-
  vant Thorko. Fascinated and delighted, Anezka gave 
  herself fully to the heady rush of power. She and 
  Thorko attended rituals that included the sacriﬁc-
  ing of horses and other animals. With the help of 
  Thorko and a forest witch named Dorottya, she 
  began torturing the servant girls.
  As Anezka approached her forties, she grew 
  increasingly vain and feared the thought of aging. 
  One day a servant girl accidentally dropped her 
  favorite cup, and Anezka slapped her so hard she 
  drew blood. The girl’s blood fell on her hand, and, 
  to her amazement, Anezka thought the skin took 
  on the freshness of youth. Believing she’d found 
  the secret of youth, Anezka had her accomplices 
  butcher the girl and drain her blood into a large vat, 
  in which she bathed.
  Learning of her family ties to Elizabeth 
  Bathory and the strange parallels in their lives, 
  Anezka realized she was the reincarnation of the 
  Blood Countess, destined to take up where her 
  ancestor had left oﬀ. As her madness blossomed 
  and grew, her relatives took her children away from 
  her to protect them, only causing her to descend 
  further into insanity. After liquidating most of 
  the valuable items in the Nadasdy home, she and 
  Thorko began to travel the world searching for 
  money, power, and the elusive secret of eternal 
  youth. Anezka believes her literal blood baths keep 
  her young, so she and Thorko leave a trail of death 
  behind them as they go.
  Personality/Motivation:  Anezka is charming, gra-
  cious, well-spoken, and sociable — unless you’re 
  of a lesser social class. With her “inferiors,” she’s 
  haughty and uncaring, and may even hurt a ser-
  vant (hers or anyone else’s) she feels has erred. This 
  wouldn’t necessarily make her a great deal diﬀerent 
  from many European noblewomen, except for the 
  fact that she enjoys doing it far, far too much.
  Anezka sees herself as the reincarnation of 
  the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, and believes that 
  bathing in and/or drinking the blood of attractive 
  young people maintains her own youth and vigor. 
  In game terms, for every week that passes without 
  her indulging in such activities, reduce each of her 
  Primary Characteristics by 1-2 (with a maximum 
  loss of half her starting total) as she “weakens” and 
  “ages.” It’s all in her head, but you’ll never convince 
  her of that — not without years of psychotherapy.
  Anezka is incredibly vain and cannot pass by a 
  mirror without stopping to preen and make certain 
  she looks her best. Flattery goes a long way with 
  her, and characters willing to back that ﬂattery up 
  with physical attention will get even further — per-
  haps all the way into her basement torture chamber 
  and the queue of people waiting to provide her next 
  “beauty treatment.”
  Quote:  “I do not drink... wine.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Anezka is no ﬁghter; she prefers 
  to use her persuasive and seductive abilities to lull 
  people into a false sense of security so that her 
  hulking Gypsy servant Thorko can attack them. 
  She has an almost infernally powerful presence 
  when she exerts herself — she can be imperious 
  and commanding, devastatingly seductive, or fas-
  cinating and charming as the mood takes her. She’s 
  particularly good at teasing secrets and conﬁdences 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Makeup
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  161 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  out of people, often without them truly realizing 
  what they’ve revealed. Because of her madness, 
  she’s almost immune to the force of any but the 
  strongest of personalities.
  Anezka is constantly pre-occupied with the 
  need to obtain more victims for her blood-baths. 
  Her usual tactic is to move to a new city, become 
  part of the social scene, then lure young people 
  to her with her charming ways, lavish parties, 
  and extravagant gifts until Thorko can get them 
  alone and unprotected. After Anezka has her fun 
  with them, Thorko either disposes of the body or, 
  depending on how badly it is mutilated, leave it 
  where it can be discovered in a fashion that will not 
  lead back to his mistress.
  Thorko himself is a 6’6”, 320-pound man of 
  obvious Gypsy descent. He has long black hair, and 
  a scar that starts over his right eye carries down 
  to the right corner of his mouth. For his character 
  sheet, use Bill Ferguson’s sheet on page 389 of Pulp 
  Hero, but add Interrogation, the Languages Roma-
  nian and Romany, and +3 with Knives. Change his 
  Psychological Limitations to Loves Anezka And Will 
  Do Anything She Asks and Sadist, and get rid of or 
  change any others that aren’t appropriate.
  Campaign Use:  Anezka works best as the focus for 
  Mystery-, Horror-, or Weird Menace-oriented sce-
  narios. In the latter, make her depradations more 
  like those of a vampire — she and Thorko drain 
  their victims’ blood with two punctures in the 
  jugular — so the PCs think they’re investigating an 
  occult menace of some kind. In a Horror game, she 
  might actually have some arcane powers, and her 
  belief in the power of blood could be accurate (and 
  thus, with more blood, she could become much 
  more powerful!).
  To make Anezka more powerful, increase 
  some of her physical Characteristics after she 
  bathes in blood — an Aid that fades after a few 
  hours. To make her weaker, reduce or eliminate her 
  Impressive and Unimpressed powers and reduce the 
  abilities of Thorko to those of a typical thug.
  Anezka happily Hunts anyone who’s young 
  and handsome/beautiful enough to supply her with 
  the blood she believes she needs. She might even 
  develop an obsessive belief that a particularly vital 
  hero’s blood would be extra eﬀective for her, caus-
  ing her to pursue him more tenaciously. See above 
  for more information about how she approaches 
  her victims.
  Appearance:  An attractive Slavic woman in her 
  early forties, Anezka Mrazovic has long brown hair 
  and green eyes, and is relatively tall and slender. She 
  always dresses well in custom-made clothes, and 
  her hair and makeup are never mussed — unless 
  she’s “playing” with someone or undergoing a 
  “beauty treatment,” in which case her eyes are wide 
  and the expression on her face is both ecstatic and 
  clearly not sane.
  VIKTOR IVANOVITCH PETROV
   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 
  12-
   17 BODY 14 
  13-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   13 EGO 
  6 
  12- 
  ECV:  4
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   16 COM 
  3 
  12-
   7 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  7 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   8 REC 
  4
   30 END 
  0
   33 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  82
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Schlaeger Swordﬁghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  5 
  Ballestra 
  +2 
  -2 
  Weapon +4 
  DC, ½ move 
  required
  3 
  Cut 
  +2 
  +1 
  Weapon
  5 
  Lunge 
  +1 
  -2 
  Weapon +4 DC
  4 
  Parry 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Riposte 
  +2 
  +2 
  Weapon +2 DC, 
  must follow 
  Block
  5 
  Slash 
  -2 
  +1 
  Weapon +4 DC 
  Strike
  5 
  Thrust 
  +1 
  +3 
  Weapon
  4 
  Void 
  0 
  +5 
  Dodge, Aﬀects 
  All Attacks, 
  Abort
  17 
  Rasputin’s Curse:  Multiform (assume  
  200-point giant wolf form or 300-point  
  wolf-man form); Extra Time (Extra Phase; 
  -¾), No Conscious Control (can only  
  change via Accidental Change, though  
  once changed can shift between wolf  
  and wolf-man form as desired; -2) 
  0
  26 
  Cursed Existence:  Healing 3d6  
  (Regeneration, 3 BODY per Hour),  
  Resurrection (others can stop resurrection  
  by cutting oﬀ his head or transferring the  
  curse to a new host), Can Heal Limbs,  
  Reduced Endurance (0 END, +½),  Persistent 
  (+½); Self Only (-½), Extra Time +  
  Increased Time Increment (1 Hour; -2¼),  
  Does Not Work Against Wounds Made By 
  Silver Bullets/Weapons (-½) 
  0
  5 
  Cursed Existence:  Life Support (Longevity:  
  Immortal) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Contacts:  10 points’ worth in the European 
  military and occult worlds
  2 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Member of the Lower Nobil-
  ity
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
  5 
  Money:  Well Oﬀ
  VIKTOR  
  IVANOVITCH 
  PETROV  
  PLOT SEEDS
  The characters track 
  a mad occultist to his 
  remote mountain castle, 
  determined to end the 
  reign of terror he has 
  caused with his potions 
  and reanimated corpses. 
  When they burst in to 
  confront him, they ﬁnd 
  Petrov waiting for them. 
  He’s sorry, he explains 
  sadly, but he cannot 
  allow them to harm the 
  twisted old man they’ve 
  pursued for so long 
  — he’s promised Petrov 
  something he needs 
  very badly in return for 
  protection, even from 
  noble souls such as the 
  characters. If they wish 
  to ﬁght someone, then 
  Petrov will oblige them 
  — and wish them luck. 
  Can the characters con-
  vince Petrov he’s been 
  lied to, or will a poten-
  tially tragic confronta-
  tion occur?
  The NKVD unit formed 
  to track down and 
  eliminate any surviv-
  ing Romanovs locates 
  Petrov again. Its mem-
  bers believe they have 
  the perfect method to 
  destroy him this time:  
  poison gas! Of course, 
  the best time to stage 
  the attack is when he’s 
  in human form, and in 
  a somewhat conﬁned 
  area, like a building. 
  Perhaps at that party 
  one of those proletariat-
  exploiting characters 
  is hosting tomorrow 
  night?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  162 ■ Solo Villains
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acrobatics 12-
  3 
  Breakfall 12-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Climbing 12-
  3 
  Combat Driving 12-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  2 
  Gambling (Card Games) 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  KS: Arcane And Occult Lore 13-
  3 
  KS: Fencing 13-
  3 
  KS: Military Tactics 13-
  3 
  KS: Russian History 13-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; Rus-
  sian is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  German (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Spanish (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Italian (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Paramedics 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  PS: Military Oﬃcer13-
  3 
  Riding 12-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Tactics 13-
  8 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles; 
  Riding Animals; Sleds; Small Wind Powered 
  Boats; Small Rowed Boats; Skiing, Snow
  3 
  WF: Small Arms; Blades
  3 
  Traveler
  2 
  1)  AK: Europe 13-
  2 
  2)  AK: France 13-
  2 
  3)  AK: Germany 13-
  2 
  4)  AK: Great Britain 13-
  2 
  5)  AK: Italy 13-
  2 
  6)  AK: Russia 13-
  2 
  7)  AK: United States 13-
  2 
  8)  CK: St. Petersburg 13-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  202
  Total Cost:  284
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Accidental Change:  on nights of the full 
  moon (Uncommon, Always)
  5 
  Distinctive Feature:  steel-blue eyes and duel-
  ing scar on left cheek (Easily Concealable; 
  Noticed And Recognizable)
  20 
  Hunted:  NKVD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Kill)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Honorable 
  (Common, Total)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Multiform Amne-
  sia (Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Proud (Common, 
  Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants To Be Rid 
  Of His Curse (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (is really a 
  werewolf) (Frequently, Major)
  94 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  284
  Background/History:  Count Victor Ivanovitch 
  Petrov was proud, as was his father and grandfather 
  before him, to serve the Russian Imperial throne. 
  Almost from birth he was schooled in the history 
  of his country, instilling a deep loyalty to Russia 
  in his heart. At seventeen he joined the Imperial 
  Army, rising swiftly to the rank of Captain, and was 
  ultimately given a plum assignment commanding 
  the Czar’s guards. In August 1904, he and the rest 
  of empire celebrated the birth of Czarevitch Alexei, 
  imbibing much vodka as he toasted the prince’s 
  health and long life.
  But health and long life were not the young 
  czarevitch’s fate. A sickly child, he suﬀered from 
  hemophilia, so a simple bruise could cause him 
  intense pain and internal bleeding. No physician 
  could cure him — only the “mad monk” Grigory 
  Rasputin could even partially relieve his suﬀering. 
  In October 1912, Rasputin pronounced the boy 
  cured. And he had been, in a way.
  Rasputin secretly informed the czarina that 
  Alexei had been cursed at birth with lycanthropy. 
  He, Rasputin, had the mystic power to remove the 
  curse... by transferring it to a willing soul. Whether 
  any of this was true, no one will ever know, but the 
  czarina believed.
  When Alexandra personally requested his 
  assistance, Viktor could not refuse her. She and 
  Rasputin asked that he take on Alexei’s curse. Ever 
  loyal to the Russian throne, he agreed, believing 
  Rasputin’s assurances that in time he could remove 
  the curse from an adult like Viktor altogether.
  At the next full moon, Viktor lay on a make-
  shift altar next to the young Grand Duke, watching 
  as Rasputin chanted, danced, and drew arcane sym-
  bols on their bodies. As the moon rose above them, 
  he felt horriﬁc pain as his skeleton shifted and 
  reformed, his jaw elongating, his teeth sharpening, 
  muscles shifting, hair erupting from his skin. When 
  he screamed, he heard not his own voice, but the 
  sound that had terriﬁed Russian serfs for centuries 
  — the howl of the wolf.
  For ﬁve years, Viktor continued to serve as one 
  of the family’s guards, absent from his post only 
  during the full moon. All went well until the Bol-
  shevik uprising of 1916-17 and the overthrow of 
  the Romanov dynasty. The family was placed under 
  house arrest. Viktor died as part of a failed attempt 
  to rescue them in May 1918, and in July of that year 
  the Communists murdered Czar Nicholas and all 
  his family.
  Mere hours after his “death,” Viktor awoke to 
  ﬁnd that his wounds had healed. He later learned, 
  to his horror, that he did not age. After making his 
  way out of Russia, he passed through war-devas-
  tated Europe and now wanders the world, search-
  ing for purpose. But during the full moon, the curse 
  overtakes him once more, and he commits bloody 
  deeds that haunt both his dreams and his waking 
  hours for the rest of the month.
  Personality/Motivation:  Petrov is a proud man who 
  carries himself as beﬁts a Russian military oﬃcer. 
  He’s suave, debonair, and honorable to a fault; he 
  never reneges on a promise or forgets a slight. He 
  Petrov stumbles on 
  information that leads 
  him to believe that 
  Anastasia, the youngest 
  of the Czar’s daughters, 
  was not killed at Ekat-
  erinburg, but secretly 
  exchanged places with 
  one of her maids and 
  was spirited away on 
  Lenin’s orders by mem-
  bers of the Revolution 
  in case there was a need 
  to legitimize the new 
  government by marriage 
  to her. Stalin has discov-
  ered this — the Great 
  Purge results in part 
  from his frantic eﬀorts 
  to ﬁnd and eliminate the 
  Last Romanov before 
  someone uses her as a 
  ﬁgurehead to foment a 
  revolution against him. 
  Determined to ﬁnd her, 
  Petrov begins a ruthless 
  search for anyone who 
  might possess more 
  informion about the 
  Grand Duchess’s where-
  abouts, a search that 
  leads a Russian diplomat 
  to beg the characters 
  for protection from a 
  madman who is — liter-
  ally — chewing his way 
  through members of 
  the Russian diplomatic 
  corps. Is Petrov’s infor-
  mation even correct? If 
  it is, where is Anastasia, 
  who is her current 
  captor, and what plans 
  do they have for the 
  now 34-year old Grand 
  Duchess? And can the 
  heroes persuade Petrov 
  to accept their help to 
  free her, or must they 
  race him to her to pro-
  tect her from her own 
  self-appointed guardian?
  Continued from last page
  
  163 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  attracts the attention of many women, but won’t 
  allow himself to form a lasting relationship, for 
  he knows anyone he marries will age, wither, and 
  die while he remains eternally young. Nor does 
  he become close friends with any man, for fear of 
  revealing his secret.
  All of these things weigh on Petrov’s soul, 
  and he desperately wants to be free of the curse 
  so he can live a normal life. He’s investigated and 
  studied, but as yet can ﬁnd no satisfactory method 
  of removing the curse. Some of his books suggest 
  that only Rasputin, who either gave or transferred 
  it to him (his beliefs on that point vary from month 
  to month), can remove it. But Rasputin is dead 
  (isn’t he?), so he must ﬁnd another way to release 
  himself. His quest sometimes forces him to associ-
  ate with people of dubious nobility and perform 
  acts he ﬁnds distasteful. But he will not violate 
  his honor, even if that means the loss of another 
  chance to ﬁnd what the cure. He has, as he sadly 
  knows, plenty of time to continue his search.
  Quote:  “Ah, look, the moon is 
  full tonight. Tell me, tovarisch, 
  are you pure of heart?”
  Powers/Tactics:  Petrov is a 
  classic werewolf — a man 
  who transforms into a wolf 
  or wolf-man during nights 
  of the full moon, who heals 
  wounds swiftly (as long as 
  they’re not caused by silver 
  weapons), who cannot control 
  the change (and seeks to rid 
  himself of the condition), and 
  who’s haunted by the deeds 
  he commits in lupine form. 
  (He cannot, however, pass 
  on his lycanthropy by biting 
  people... though the heroes 
  won’t know this at ﬁrst.) He 
  tries to arrange to spend those 
  three nights every month in 
  specially-prepared locked 
  rooms in the hope of hurting 
  no one, but he often man-
  ages to escape from his own 
  precautions. And once he has 
  the taste of fear-spiced human 
  blood in his mouth, nothing 
  will stop him but sunrise.
  The curse has also made 
  Petrov immortal — doomed 
  to watch anyone he cares 
  about grow old and die while 
  he remains the young man he was when he agreed 
  to help save the Crown Prince. He’s already had 
  to consider staging his death in the near future to 
  prevent too many questions about his unchanging 
  appearance, but the time has not yet come for that. 
  A change of identity might also help him escape 
  from the Bolshevik spies who pursue him, thinking 
  he’s a witness to the massacre at Ekaterinburg (or 
  perhaps even Czarevitch Alexei, somehow survived 
  to manhood).
  See pages 102 and 129 of The HERO System 
  Bestiary for character sheets for his alternate forms, 
  but make changes to them as appropriate, and 
  include an Accidental Change that he transforms 
  back to human at dawn.
  Campaign Use:  Petrov is best used as a sympathetic 
  villain in an occult or Horror-themed adventure 
  — an unwilling monster who wishes harm to no 
  one and seeks only to ﬁnd a way to rid himself of 
  his curse. But you can also cast him in a darker 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Walther PPK 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  7 
  7
  Sabre 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  10
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Usually none.
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  164 ■ Solo Villains
  light, where the wolf has changed him, making 
  him predacious, territorial, cruel, and willingly evil 
  (which might, in turn, give him control over his 
  transformations). If Rasputin is alive, Petrov might 
  try to draw the PCs into a plot to force the Mad 
  Monk to lift the curse.
  To make Petrov more powerful, either give 
  him some Boxing and Wrestling maneuvers and a 
  few Combat Skill Levels, or emphasize his “wolﬁsh-
  ness” and give him some of his wolf-form’s sensory 
  abilities in his human form. To weaken him, reduce 
  his STR, DEX, and CON to 13, and reduce the 
  BODY of his Regeneration to 1 or 2.
  Petrov will not Hunt any PCs unless he thinks 
  they’re somehow connected to his curse or have the 
  means to help lift it — and even then, he’ll appeal 
  for their help ﬁrst, only taking stronger measures if 
  they refuse him.
  Appearance:  Viktor Petrov is obviously a descen-
  dant of the Norse settlers of Russia — tall, hand-
  some, and well built, standing 6’3” tall and weigh-
  ing 225 pounds, with thick blond hair and unusual 
  steel blue eyes. An accomplished fencer of the Hei-
  delberg School, he wears the scar on his left cheek 
  as a badge of honor. He dresses well but not ﬂashily, 
  carrying even the most casual suit of clothes as if 
  it were a uniform. His lupine nature has asserted 
  itself in one mannerism:  when engaging in a battle 
  of wits or will, he unconsciously drops his head 
  slightly between his shoulders, as if to protect his 
  throat.
  In his wolf form, Petrov is equally impressive. 
  Fully half again the size of a normal Russian tundra 
  wolf, he stands almost 50 inches at the shoulder, 
  weighs approximately 180 pounds, and is covered 
  in dense fur ranging in color from black (at his 
  head) to almost silver blue (at his tail). His eyes are 
  an intense, pale blue that reﬂect red in the light.
  PROFESSOR PROSPERO
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   20 DEX 
  30 
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   14 COM 
  2 
  12-
   5 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  4 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  10 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12 
   6 REC 
  2
   28 END 
  0
   26 STUN 
  4 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  86
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  46 
  Illusion’s Veil:  Sight, Hearing and Smell/ 
  Taste Groups Images, -3 to PER Rolls, 
  Increased Size (8” radius; +¾), Reduced 
  Endurance (0 END; +½), Persistent (+½);  
  IIF (-¼), Requires Preparation And  
  Arrangement (see text; -½) 
  0
  5 
  Disappearing Act:  Teleport 6”; Requires  
  A Stealth Roll (-½), Only To Places  
  Character Could Go (-¼), Must Cross  
  Intervening Space (-¼), No Non-Combat 
  Multiple (-¼), Only To Vanish When No  
  One Is Looking (-¼) 
  1
  6 
  Contortionist’s Feet:  Extra Limbs (feet  
  usable as hands), Inherent (+¼) 
  0
   
  Talents
  3 
  Absolute Time Sense
  4 
  Double-Jointed
   
  Skills
  10 
  +1 Overall
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  7 
  Concealment 15-
  3 
  Contortionist 13-
  5 
  Disguise 14-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Inventor 13-
  3 
  KS: Stage Magic 13-
  3 
  Lipreading 13-
  5 
  Lockpicking 14-
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  3 
  Mimicry 13-
  3 
  PS: Stage Magician 13-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry 13-
  3 
  SS: Optics 13-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  5 
  Sleight Of Hand 14-
  5 
  Stealth 14-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  5 
  Ventriloquism 14-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  149
  Total Cost:  235
  
  165 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  FBI 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  HCPD 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Delights In Baf-
  ﬂing Opponents (Common, Total)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Distrusts/Resents 
  Authority (Common, Strong)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Gerald 
  Munroe) (Frequently, Major)
  60 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  235
  Background/History:  Gerald Munroe’s child-
  hood was ﬁlled with wonders — literally, for his 
  father, Jason Munroe, was the Amazing Illusivo, a 
  renowned escape artist and illusionist. As Gerald 
  grew older, his father began teaching him many of 
  his tricks and illusions. But after the Great Depres-
  sion hit, bookings for magicians became fewer, 
  and Gerald had to leave college to get a job as a lab 
  assistant to help support his family.
  Things got worse when his father vanished. 
  He’d found work on a cruise 
  ship sailing between New 
  York and the Caribbean, 
  and on one trip, somewhere 
  around the Carolinas, the 
  ship simply disappeared. No 
  distress calls were received, 
  and no traces were ever found 
  by the Coast Guard or anyone 
  else. To Gerald’s frustration, 
  the government ﬁnally shut 
  down the investigation... and 
  to his dismay, he realized his 
  salary wouldn’t be enough to 
  support his sick mother.
  Brooding on the loss of his 
  father and his mother’s illness, 
  Gerald realized the authori-
  ties couldn’t help anyone. For 
  all their power, they were too 
  corrupt or incompetent to be 
  trusted. A man had to look 
  out for himself and his family 
  ﬁrst, and everyone else could 
  go hang. The answer was obvi-
  ous:  he’d use the skills learned 
  from his father and the science 
  he’d studied to take what he 
  wanted. Taking his alias from 
  Shakespeare’s The Tempest, he 
  would baﬄe the authorities as 
  Professor Prospero!
  Personality/Motivation:  Professor Prospero is driven 
  by his anger at a society he thinks failed his family 
  (and so many other people) and by his distrust 
  and resentment of the authorities who are sup-
  posed to provide true leadership. He steals ﬁrst and 
  foremost to provide for his mother and himself, 
  preferring as his targets banks, stock brokerages, 
  and the rich (though he’s prone to sparing those 
  who have shown a proper concern for the less for-
  tunate). Anything he earns through crime that he 
  doesn’t need for himself he donates to charity or 
  gives to the poor. So far he’s kept his “day job” as a 
  lab assistant and resisted the temptation to improve 
  his standard of living through crime, but the truth 
  is that his “Robin Hood complex” is really just an 
  act. Deep down he’s bitter and resentful and only 
  looking out for himself; it won’t be long before he 
  abandons the facade for a real life of crime.
  Professor Prospero is no killer; he rarely even 
  carries a weapon and plans his crimes to avoid 
  causing anyone serious injury. But he loves baﬄing 
  witnesses and investigators, and embarrassing the 
  authorities. It’s virtually impossible for him to use a 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Various magic tricks and other gear necessary for his illusions
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  PROFESSOR  
  PROSPERO  
  PLOT SEEDS
  The assistant curator 
  of a prestigious local 
  museum asks the char-
  acters for their assis-
  tance. It seems that to 
  secure a large donation, 
  her boss has agreed to 
  let a wealthy patron hold 
  her son’s tenth birthday 
  at the museum during 
  an antique toy exhibit. 
  The patron has hired a 
  very talented illusion-
  ist to keep the children 
  entertained. The assis-
  tant curator can’t ﬁnd 
  any references for the 
  illusionist among the 
  local talent agencies and 
  would like the heroes 
  to be on hand in case of 
  trouble. Will they humor 
  her request? And will 
  Professor Prospero be 
  able to work his famous 
  Vanishing Cabinet trick 
  and elude his young 
  admirers long enough to 
  purloin the Burlington 
  Emerald in the nearby 
  jewelry exhibit?
  The Stanford Univer-
  sity Cardinals and the 
  Hudson City University 
  Pioneers are playing for 
  a spot in the 1935 Rose 
  Bowl. The stands are full 
  of excited sports fans 
  cheering their teams 
  on. During a spectacu-
  lar pass play, Pioneer 
  quarterback Johnny 
  “All-American” Allston 
  steps back to throw but 
  ends up buried under a 
  pile of red jerseys at the 
  40-yard line. When his 
  tacklers come to their 
  feet, Allston is nowhere 
  to be seen. How did a 
  5’10”, 185-pound young 
  man vanish in front 
  of 40,000 screaming 
  fans, not to mention his 
  fellow players? And why 
  did Professor Prospero 
  make him vanish?
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  166 ■ Solo Villains
  simple plan when he can implement a more com-
  plicated one that leaves the authorities scratching 
  their heads in puzzlement and looking like dunces. 
  And if there are witnesses, he always presents him-
  self with a certain ﬂair and showmanship — he’s his 
  father’s son, after all.
  Quote:  “You think that things can’t just vanish with-
  out a trace? Well, you’re deluded — and I’ll prove it 
  to you!”
  Powers/Tactics:  Prospero’s Disappearing Act and 
  illusions give him considerable ability to distract, 
  baﬄe, and mislead his opponents. His Illusion’s Veil 
  power allows him to change or warp a local envi-
  ronment (typically, a crime scene) in myriad ways, 
  but he has to have the chance to prepare the loca-
  tion in advance with his illusion-generating optical 
  devices and other tricks.
  Prospero avoids close contact or hand-to-hand 
  struggles with PCs or police, preferring to use his 
  abilities to elude any pursuit. His skills make him 
  an excellent thief, but he isn’t prepared to duke it 
  out with a strong-jawed hero. If necessary, he’ll sur-
  render rather than endure violence; after all, he can 
  always escape the police as they’re taking him to 
  the precinct house.
  When preparing for a crime, Prospero care-
  fully reconnoiters the scene beforehand in disguise. 
  He habitually wears a disguise under his mask 
  so that even if he’s unmasked it’s unlikely anyone 
  would recognize Gerald Munroe. He prefers to 
  work alone, but will occasionally hire some muscle 
  if necessary.
  Campaign Use:  Professor Prospero is the man 
  behind those capers that leave the characters 
  (and the police) baﬄed. His are the sort of crimes 
  where the maharajah’s prize ruby vanishes from 
  the museum case in full view of forty witnesses or 
  where the favored racehorse disappears from the 
  pack during the running of the Belmont Stakes 
  (not to mention any number of classic “locked 
  room” mysteries). He should be a thief the charac-
  ters love to hate, who makes their heads hurt with 
  the eﬀort of ﬁguring out how in blue blazes he 
  pulled oﬀ his latest crime.
  To increase Prospero’s power, give him a 
  Gadget Pool with some smoke bombs, Flash attacks 
  and STUN-only attacks, and the like. A Follower 
  might also help even the odds. To weaken him, 
  remove his Disappearing Act and reduce the radius 
  for his Images.
  Professor Prospero would only Hunt a charac-
  ter who harmed his mother. He delights in confus-
  ing anyone who interferes with his crimes, but that’s 
  more likely to result in an ongoing rivalry than a 
  Hunted-Hunter relationship. Surely, he would say, 
  even the man who deciphered the mystery of The 
  Jade Elephant That Walked will be stumped by the 
  intricacies of The Falling Lotus!
  Appearance:  Gerald Munroe is 5’9” tall and weighs 
  160 pounds. His hair is sandy blonde and worn a 
  little long for the period; his eyes are hazel. He’s 
  slender and graceful, and can move like greased 
  lightning when the need arises. As Professor Pros-
  pero, he wears a ﬂamboyant stage magician’s cos-
  tume with a bright blue cummerbund and a black 
  cape lined with red satin, together with a bright 
  blue domino mask. Naturally, his clothes are full 
  of hidden pockets holding lockpicks, scarves, and 
  numerous small tricks.
  The Silver Star is the 
  premier passenger train 
  traveling between New 
  York and Hudson City. 
  A special cargo on 
  loan from the Metro-
  politan Museum of Art, 
  Poussin’s The Abduction 
  of the Sabine Women, is 
  on its way to a showing 
  at the Museum of World 
  Art. The painting’s spe-
  cially constructed case 
  is placed in the center 
  of a car in plain view of 
  the six guards hired to 
  watch over it. The doors 
  are all sealed from the 
  outside. As the train 
  exits Henley Tunnel, 
  the guards notice that 
  the painting case is no 
  longer in its place — it’s 
  lying open in the center 
  of the car. The painting 
  is gone! The seals on the 
  doors are unbroken. Is 
  this another incredible 
  disappearing act cour-
  tesy of Professor Pros-
  pero? Who else could 
  have pulled the trick oﬀ?
  Continued from last page
  
  167 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  THE RED SICKLE
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   18 STR 
  8 
  13- 
  Lift 300 kg; 3½d6 [4]
   17 DEX 
  21 
  12- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   14 BODY 8 
  12-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   11 EGO 
  2 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  2 
   
  Total:  14 PD (8 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  14 ED (8 rED)
   4 SPD 
  13 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   8 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   32 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  86
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  24 
  It Looks Worse Than It Is:  Armor  
  (8 PD/8 ED) 
  0
  10 
  Lucky Guy:  Luck 2d6 
  0
  12 
  Great Escapes:  Luck +6d6; Only For  
  Escapes (-1½) 
  0
   
  Perks
  30 
  Well-Connected and 27 points’ worth of 
  Contacts among Communists and revolu-
  tionaries throughout the world
  7 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Espionage Rank (high-rank-
  ing NKVD oﬃcer)
   
  Talents
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
   
  Skills
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Deduction 12-
  3 
  Demolitions 12-
  3 
  Disguise 12-
  2 
  Forgery (Documents) 12-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  2 
  AK: Russia 11-
  2 
  CK: Moscow 11-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  2 
  CK: Washington, D.C. 11-
  4 
  KS: Communist Thought And Philosophy 13-
  2 
  KS: The Espionage World 11-
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation;  
  Russian is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Mandarin Chinese (basic  
  conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Spanish (basic conversation)
  1 
  Language:  Vietnamese (basic conversation)
  3 
  Lockpicking 12-
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  2 
  PS: Diplomat 11-
  3 
  PS: Spy 12-
  3 
  Security Systems 12-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Shadowing 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  2 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Blades
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  169
  Total Cost:  255
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Captain Battle and the Science 
  Police (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  FBI (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Ardent Commu-
  nist Seeking To Export The Revolution To 
  The United States And Europe (Common, 
  Total)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Grigori 
  Tevschenko) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequent, Major)
  85 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  255
  Background/History:  Born in 1900, Grigori 
  Tevschenko was a young man when the Revolu-
  tion broke out in Russia. Filled with the fires of 
  teenaged rebellion, he embraced Communism 
  fervently and joined the Red Army to help make 
  the workers’ paradise a reality. After he’d spent 
  several years in the Army, his superiors took 
  note of his competence and ideological purity 
  and decided he was suited for better things. They 
  plucked him out of the field and told him they 
  were going to train him to become a spy — an 
  agent serving both Moscow and the Comintern 
  in their efforts to bring about Communist revo-
  lutions throughout the world.
  Tevschenko took to his new assignment like a 
  duck to water, impressing his trainers with his dis-
  cipline and natural talent for the work. By the mid-
  Twenties he was back in the ﬁeld, serving in various 
  embassies as a “diplomatic attache” while striving 
  behind the scenes to organize the working class and 
  overthrow capitalist governments.
  In 1930 the Comintern decided to begin a spe-
  cial eﬀort to turn America into a Communist state. 
  As part of that plan Tevschenko was transferred to 
  the Soviet embassy in New York City. More impor-
  tantly, he was given a costumed identity so he could 
  serve as a symbol and spearhead for the revolution. 
  No longer would he commit his acts of espionage, 
  sabotage, and revolution as Grigori Tevschenko 
  — now he would perform them as the Red Sickle, 
  living embodiment of the power of Communism!
  Personality/Motivation:  The Red Sickle is a Com-
  munist’s Communist. Thoroughly schooled in 
  the philosophies of Marx, Lenin, and now Stalin, 
  he’s devoted his entire life to the goal of foment-
  ing worldwide Communist revolution and the 
  overthrow of the corrupt thinking of capitalism. 
  His heart holds a particular hatred for the United 
  States, the truest example of the “beneﬁts” of capi-
  talism, and rejoices every time he gets to strike a 
  blow against it or its people.
  THE RED SICKLE 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The characters hear 
  rumblings that a general 
  dockworkers’ strike 
  may begin soon, which 
  would be disastrous for 
  local commerce and 
  defense. The govern-
  ment believes the Red 
  Sickle may be in back 
  of the plot and asks the 
  PCs to (a) investigate, 
  and (b) defuse the situ-
  ation so the docks con-
  tinue to run normally.
  Several scientists have 
  disappeared without 
  a trace recently. All of 
  them were working 
  on various important 
  government projects, 
  and were all connected 
  to a particular project 
  involving rocketry. Have 
  they been kidnapped by 
  the Red Sickle so he can 
  smuggle them to Russia 
  and force them to work 
  for the Bolsheviks? Or 
  is someone else behind 
  this?
  Reverend Albert Conna-
  hay, a popular preacher 
  with his own weekly 
  radio show, has begun 
  stridently criticizing the 
  New Deal as “not going 
  far enough.” He won’t 
  come right out and 
  say it, but he deﬁnitely 
  seems to be advocating 
  a move to Communism. 
  More and more people 
  are starting to listen to 
  him, and the authori-
  ties are worried. They 
  believe that the Red 
  Sickle is behind his 
  rise in popularity and 
  ask the heroes to look 
  into it.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  168 ■ Solo Villains
  Quote:  “Soon the ﬁres of revolution will sweep over 
  your corrupt country and bring it crashing down 
  in ruins, and the phoenix of Communism shall rise 
  from the ashes to bring a new peoples’ paradise!”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Red Sickle is a big, strong, 
  tough man who doesn’t ﬂinch from a ﬁght, though 
  he prefers to direct his minions — he’s always got 
  plenty of them around, and constantly recruits 
  more from the poor, the disaﬀected, the criminal, 
  and the discontented — to do his dirty work for 
  him. If pressed into battle, he wields a “combat 
  sickle” specially crafted for him in Moscow and a 
  Tokarev pistol.
  The Red Sickle is a spy and saboteur more 
  than a soldier. His activities typically involve 
  fomenting union unrest (or trying to establish 
  unions where none exist), supporting strikes and 
  similar activities, attempts to blow up “symbols 
  of capitalist oppression” (the Washington Monu-
  ment, memorials to American soldiers, public 
  libraries...), and efforts to steal military and tech-
  nological secrets that he can send to Russia.
  Campaign Use:  The Red Sickle has two roles to 
  play. First, he’s a spy (albeit a flamboyant cos-
  tumed one) who can draw the heroes into the 
  shadowy world of espionage. Second, he’s a de 
  facto crimelord, with his gangs of would-be revo-
  lutionaries and plans to destroy America. The 
  only thing separating him from the likes of the 
  Iron Claw, the Scorpion, or the Terrormonger 
  is that his motivations are political rather than 
  personal — he’s not in the underworld to make 
  himself rich but to start a revolution. And if the 
  heroes capture or kill him, Moscow can always 
  send another spy to take up the Red Sickle’s 
  mantle....
  To make the Red Sickle tougher, give him 
  some Martial Arts with his sickle, or some Combat 
  Skill Levels. To weaken him, reduce 
  his Primary Characteristics to the 
  13-17 range and his SPD to 3, and 
  remove some of his Skills.
  The Red Sickle doesn’t Hunt 
  heroes; that sort of activity is coun-
  terproductive and too likely to expose 
  him. But if someone particularly 
  angers him, he may use his connec-
  tions and abilities to try to make 
  that character’s life worse... and he’ll 
  certainly take any opportunity for 
  revenge that presents itself.
  Appearance:  When appearing 
  before his underlings, the Red Sickle 
  dresses more like a cult leader than 
  a spymaster, the better to inculcate 
  his followers with the Bolshevik 
  “faith.” He wears dull gold-colored 
  monk’s robes and a hood that covers 
  his entire head; in the center of the 
  forehead there’s a red sickle symbol. 
  Out of costume, Grigori Tevschenko 
  is a tall, broad-shouldered, barrel-
  chested man who looks more like he 
  belongs on a mining crew or football 
  ﬁeld than in the halls of embassies 
  and government oﬃce buildings. He 
  has black hair, dark eyes, and a thick 
  but neatly-trimmed black beard. He 
  dresses in simple men’s suits so as 
  not to distinguish himself from the 
  proletariat too much.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Sickle 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8
  Tokarev TT-33 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6+1 
  1d6-1 
  8 
  9
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Whatever he needs for his current scheme (e.g., demolitions tools and spare parts if he’s planning to blow up a 
  monument)
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  169 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  THE SCORPION
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   20 INT 
  10 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   12 COM 
  1 
  11-
   6 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  9 PD (3 rPD)
   6 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  9 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  111
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  55 
  Scorpion Signet Ring:  HKA 1 point; OIF  
  (-½), No STR Bonus (-½) plus RKA 5d6,  
  NND (defense is appropriate LS [Immunity]  
  or antidote provided by the Scorpion; +1),  
  Does BODY (+1), Trigger (when the  
  Scorpion touches someone and wants to 
  poison them, Trigger automatically  
  immediately resets; +¾); OIF (-½), No  
  Range (-½), HKA Must Do BODY (-½),  
  Extra Time (onset time begins 1 Turn after 
  victim is struck; -1¼), Gradual Eﬀect (5 Min-
  utes; 1d6/1 Minute; -¾), 6 Charges (-¾) 
  [6]
  15 
  Lucky Guy:  Luck 3d6 
  0
   
  Perks
  40 
  Base:  the Scorpion’s Nest (built on 200  
  Character Points)
  15 
  Money:  Filthy Rich
  6 
  Reputation:  ruthless master criminal 
  (among the underworld) 14-, +3/+3d6
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  5 
  Eidetic Memory
   
  Skills
  20 
  +2 Overall
  8 
  +4 OCV with Scorpion Signet Ring
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  3 
  Deduction 13-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  2 
  CK: Hudson City 11-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  2 
  KS: Current Events 11-
  10 
  KS: The Underworld 20-
  3 
  Lipreading 13-
  3 
  Mimicry 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  7 
  Streetwise 15-
  3 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Small Motorized Boats
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  240
  Total Cost:  351
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  FBI 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  Police 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  10 
  Hunted:  The Raven 8- (As Pow, Capture)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy, Ruthless 
  Killer And Thief (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  10 
  Psychological Limitation:  Ego Signature 
  (Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Fre-
  quently, Major)
  161 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  351
  Background/History:  The mysterious and power-
  ful Scorpion, crimelord supreme, first revealed 
  himself to the world with the scheme that the 
  Raven’s chronicler, ace reporter Gilbert Des-
  mond, christened The Case of the Scorpion Sin-
  ister. Since that crime — a plot to rob numerous 
  wealthy individuals by murdering them with a 
  concoction of scorpion venom and making it 
  look like they’d had heart attacks — the Scorpion 
  has struck again and again, proving himself equal 
  in cleverness and deviltry to the wits and hero-
  ism of the adventurers who stand against him. 
  He’s clashed with Captain Battle, the Futurian, 
  Gideon Fortune, and most of the other great 
  heroes of the Pulp Era, though the Raven has 
  been his most frequent foe.
  After the events of the Case of the Blue Griﬃn 
  in 1934, which ended in the Scorpion’s death, the 
  Raven believed he’d uncovered the Scorpion’s true 
  identity:  he was Richard Marcus, ﬁnancier and 
  society man. But the Scorpion re-emerged in early 
  1935, revealing that he’d cleverly tricked the world 
  into thinking he was Marcus so he could loot the 
  murdered millionaire’s holdings. No one knows 
  where the Scorpion will strike next, but, as Jim 
  Battle has observed, “the world can be sure it will be 
  with the venom and fury of his namesake.”
  Personality/Motivation:  The Scorpion engages in 
  crime for several reasons. First, he seeks wealth 
  and power, and has no interest in obtaining them 
  by slow, dull, ordinary means. Second, he greatly 
  enjoys the challenge of pitting himself against 
  men like the Raven and Captain Battle. From 
  statements he’s made, it seems he found everyday 
  life too dull to tolerate, and so turned to crime to 
  relieve his ennui.
  At most of his crime scenes, the Scorpion 
  (or his men) leave a scorpion symbol, usu-
  ally pointing left, to mark that he did it. Once 
  or twice pretenders have tried to trade on his 
  reputation by doing the same, but they’ve always 
  come to a bad end at his hands.
   THE SCORPION 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The classic Scorpion 
  plot:  several wealthy 
  men turn up dead 
  around the city. The 
  cause of their deaths 
  is mysterious. Unbe-
  knownst to the world 
  at large, the men have a 
  connection, usually an 
  illicit one and always 
  involving lots of money. 
  The Scorpion found out 
  about it and is killing 
  them for the money. The 
  heroes have to ﬁgure 
  out what’s going on and 
  how the Scorpion killed 
  them; that information, 
  in turn, reveals his cur-
  rent whereabouts or 
  where he’ll strike next, 
  giving the PCs a chance 
  to confront and stop 
  him.
  A woman approaches 
  the heroes. Her husband 
  of just a few months has 
  been acting strangely 
  and disappearing for 
  days at a time, and she’d 
  like them to ﬁnd out 
  what’s happening. His 
  disappearances corre-
  spond to recent appear-
  ances of the Scorpion... 
  could there be a link?
  Famed scientist Whit-
  tier Blankenship, who 
  according to recent 
  news reports has been 
  working on a device that 
  can project a ray capable 
  of weakening and cor-
  roding metal from a 
  distance, has vanished... 
  along with all his notes 
  and prototypes! His 
  beautiful daughter 
  Annette fears something 
  awful has happened to 
  him and asks the PCs 
  to investigate. The trail 
  quickly leads in the 
  direction of the Scor-
  pion, who no doubt has 
  sinister plans for the 
  Metal-Destroying Ray....
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  170 ■ Solo Villains
  Quote:  “Triﬂe with a Scorpion and you’ll get stung.”
  Powers/Tactics:  Although he carries a specially-
  made .45 semi-automatic for emergencies, the 
  Scorpion prefers not to sully his hands with ﬁght-
  ing — after all, he’s got a legion of hirelings, goons, 
  and thugs to do that sort of thing for him. If neces-
  sary, his distinctive signet ring can deliver a dose 
  of deadly, swift-acting poison. He usually carries a 
  small vial containing several doses of the antidote 
  in case he needs to use it to extort something from 
  one of his victims. (The ring is a sure PC-killer at 
  KA 5d6, so don’t use it on PCs unless you’re willing 
  to accept the consequences or plan to have him get 
  the antidote — instead, have the Scorpion casually 
  poison someone they like while they’re watching to 
  demonstrate his malice.)
  Campaign Use:  The Scorpion is a typical Pulp 
  crimelord. He’s got a catchy name (and motif to 
  match), has become a criminal for reasons found 
  only in literature, and commits crimes and opposes 
  the PCs out of more or less sheer evil (in the pulps, 
  what other justiﬁcation does one need?). Change 
  the name, motif, motives, and signature weapon, 
  and the Scorpion can serve as a template for any 
  number of criminal masterminds of the sort fought 
  on many occasions by the likes of the Shadow or 
  the Spider.
  To make the Scorpion tougher, make him 
  more of a personal combatant — give him Martial 
  Arts or an HA, equip him with Weird Science gad-
  gets, or the like. You could also give him a group of 
  bodyguards who are a cut about the usual hoods 
  he employs in his schemes. To 
  weaken him, change his RKA 
  poison into an NND — that 
  way instead of dying, the 
  heroes wake up to ﬁnd them-
  selves in a deathtrap....
  The Scorpion doesn’t 
  Hunt heroes — he likes to 
  think he’s above such pet-
  tiness, and anyway he has 
  another crimewave to plan. 
  No doubt he’ll run into those 
  pesky heroes again sometime 
  and can take his revenge then.
  Appearance:  The Scorpion 
  is a white male, 6’0” tall, 185 
  pounds, with a muscular, ath-
  letic sort of build. He typically 
  wears a ﬁne man’s suit, shoes, 
  and hat, usually grey but 
  sometimes a more distinctive 
  red. He conceals his face with 
  a mask of molded red metal. 
  On his right ring ﬁnger he 
  wears a distinctive signet ring:  
  made of gold, it has worked in 
  tiny rubies the top proﬁle of a 
  scorpion facing left.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Scorpion 45 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  10 
  8 
  Carries two
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Whatever he needs for his current scheme
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  171 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  JIMMY “BATS” SELDEN
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   12 STR 
  2 
  11- 
  Lift 133 kg; 2d6 [2]
   15 DEX 
  15 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   13 CON 
  6 
  12-
   12 BODY 4 
  11-
   13 INT 
  3 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   10 EGO 
  0 
  11- 
  ECV:  3
   10 PRE 
  0 
  11- 
  PRE Attack:  2d6
   10 COM 
  0 
  11
   5 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   3 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  3 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  5 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   30 END 
  2
   25 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  40
  Movement: 
  Running:  8”/ 16”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Art:  Dirty Inﬁghting
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  22 STR Disarm
  4 
  Punch  
  +0 
  +2 
  4d6
  4 
  Roundhouse 
  -2 
  +1 
  6d6
  4 
  Takedown 
  +2 
  -1 
  3d6; Target Falls
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Low Blow 
  -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND(3)
  1 
  Use Art with Clubs
   
  Perks
  2 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Private Investigator’s License
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Dirty Inﬁghting
  10 
  +5 OCV with Bat
  3 
  Criminology 12-
  3 
  Deduction 12-
  4 
  CK: Hudson City 13-
  4 
  KS: Baseball 13-
  3 
  PS: Play Baseball 12-
  2 
  PS: Private Detective 11-
  7 
  Shadowing 14-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 11-
  1 
  WF: Pistols
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  76
  Total Cost:  116
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Dependence:  Alcohol (Very Common, 
  Addiction)
  10 
  Hunted:  Police 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Alcoholic 
  (Common, Strong)
  8 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  116
  Background/History:  Jimmy Selden was a natural 
  baseball player. He worked his way into the minor 
  leagues easily and was soon spotted by a scout who 
  oﬀered him his dream:  a spot on the New York 
  Yankees. Married to his high school sweetheart, a 
  baby on the way, now he had everything.
  Jimmy did well with the Yankees, his fame 
  growing with his batting average. The ’23 Series was 
  his shining moment; he knocked in two home runs. 
  And with fame came all the dangerous pleasures 
  — fast living, fast cars, fast women, booze. None of 
  them were good for Jimmy, but the alcohol was the 
  worst. First it was a drink after the game. Then two 
  or three. Then a bottle. Then a few before the game 
  and a bottle afterwards. His hands started to shake, 
  his batting average to drop. Knowing his value to 
  the team, the managers and coaches tried to work 
  with him, but Demon Rum had its hooks in deep. 
  They dried him out two, three times, but he always 
  went back. His wife left him, taking their son with 
  her and going back to Ohio.
  The end of his career came in the ’26 World 
  Series. St. Louis took the pennant 4-3 over the Yan-
  kees, and Jimmy’s performance cost his team the 
  crucial game. That was the last straw; he was kicked 
  out of the club.
  Bereft of his dreams and abandoned by his fast-
  living friends, Jimmy lived on the streets for a while, 
  picking up odd jobs wherever he could. One day 
  a private detective paid him to watch a warehouse 
  where he believed something shady was going on. 
  Fortunately for Jimmy, he hadn’t had enough money 
  to buy booze in a day or two, so he was sober enough 
  to recognize the mark when he entered. He reported 
  in to the detective and the case was solved.
  The detective used him several times after 
  that, and an informal partnership sprang up. Jimmy 
  learned to stay sober while he was working, but 
  somehow he couldn’t stay oﬀ the bottle when he 
  wasn’t. When his partner retired a few years ago, 
  Jimmy took over the business. It isn’t easy — some-
  times he has a secretary; sometimes he doesn’t. But 
  he still stays sober while he’s working, and working 
  is what counts.
  Personality/Motivation:  Jimmy isn’t a private eye 
  because it’s his dream; he’s a PI because it’s the 
  only thing he can do. Baseball was good to him, 
  but booze took it away from him, and it’ll take this 
  too if he’s not careful. He works hard to stay sober 
  when he’s got paying work despite the temptations 
  calling to him from every bar and liquor store, but 
  if he doesn’t have a case to occupy his mind he’ll 
  almost certainly be quietly drunk.
  “Bats” never gets the big proﬁle cases; he 
  mostly does missing persons and divorce cases for 
  people who can’t aﬀord the big guys. Sometimes 
  he has to take jobs he doesn’t really like — ones 
  that require him to rough somebody up, to tell 
  people things they don’t want to hear, or where he’s 
  no more than hired muscle. But they bring in the 
  money, just like the others, and the money buys the 
  bottle, and the bottle takes it all away.
  Quote:  “Trust me, chum, you don’t want me 
  knockin’ these balls out of the park.”
  JIMMY “BATS” 
  SELDEN  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Someone wants some-
  one to lay oﬀ, and they 
  pay Jimmy to make sure 
  the message is received. 
  Unfortunately, Jimmy 
  was winding down oﬀ 
  his last bottle when he 
  got the job, and he’s 
  not too clear on who 
  it is he’s supposed to 
  deliver the message 
  — and lumps — to. 
  The description ﬁts one 
  of the characters, and 
  Jimmy knows they have 
  a reputation for getting 
  into trouble, so....
  A reporter from the 
  Big Apple is doing a 
  series of stories on the 
  ’26 Yankees’ failed run 
  for the championship 
  and comes looking for 
  an interview with the 
  man who cost the team 
  the Series. Jimmy goes 
  into hiding, leaving the 
  pretty young woman to 
  no choice but to turn 
  to the PCs to help her 
  ﬁnd him so she can get 
  her story — never men-
  tioning, of course, that 
  her father was a bookie 
  ruined by the Yankees’ 
  loss and that she’s really 
  here to put a few bul-
  lets into the man she 
  holds responsible for his 
  suicide.
  A local reformer has 
  gotten Jimmy oﬀ the 
  bottle — for a little 
  while — and has him 
  coaching baseball at one 
  of the local orphanages. 
  When some thugs start 
  to shake the place down, 
  trying to recruit the kids 
  as lookouts and pick-
  pockets, Jimmy decides 
  he’s sunk far enough and 
  it’s time to make a stand. 
  He just needs a little 
  help to deal with all the 
  guns those hoods keep 
  waving around....
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  172 ■ Solo Villains
  Powers/Tactics:  While Jimmy is capable of using 
  a gun and generally carries one, he abhors them 
  — they always go oﬀ when you don’t want them 
  to, and never shoot where you aim them (at least 
  not for Jimmy). Somehow, a baseball bat is just a 
  more natural weapon. It’s great for intimidation, 
  and as an actual weapon it’s not bad either. He tries 
  to disarm opponents with guns or knives ﬁrst, then 
  goes for a disabling shot to take them out of the 
  ﬁght — unless, of course, he’s been hired to “deliver 
  a message,” in which case he’ll attack from surprise 
  and draw things out a little longer. If caught with-
  out his bat or something he can use in its stead, he’s 
  still a capable ﬁghter, just not as dangerous.
  Campaign Use:  Jimmy is the 
  classic failure you ﬁnd in the 
  pulps. He had it all, lost it, 
  and hasn’t been able to ﬁnd 
  it again as he sinks lower 
  and lower. Without help, 
  he’s going to keep on falling, 
  taking more and more jobs 
  that involve violence until 
  there aren’t any other kinds 
  available to him. For a crusad-
  ing character, he’s a challenge 
  — there’s still a spark of good 
  in there that can be fanned 
  into a ﬂame, but digging it out 
  will take time and eﬀort.
  To make Bats more pow-
  erful, increase his physical 
  Characteristics, particularly 
  STR, DEX, and CON, and 
  add an Extra DC or two with 
  Dirty Inﬁghting. To make him 
  weaker, eliminate his Dirty 
  Inﬁghting maneuvers.
  Jimmy won’t Hunt 
  anyone unless he’s paid, 
  because he really isn’t inter-
  ested in anything except 
  where his next bottle is 
  coming from. When he is 
  paid, he doesn’t worry about 
  complicated plans, he just 
  looks around until he finds 
  the person, delivers the 
  message (frequently having to read it off a scrap 
  of paper he has in his pocket), and then apolo-
  getically applies whatever physical reminder he 
  was paid to.
  Appearance:  At 5’9” and 210 pounds, Jimmy 
  “Bats” Selden is an average looking Joe in his late 
  thirties. Slightly seedy and overweight, he wears 
  rumpled, out-of-date clothes and a trenchcoat 
  that’s seen better days. He has brown hair and 
  eyes, and is occasionally unshaven. He smokes 
  hand-rolled cigarettes and still wears his 1923 
  World Series ring.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Baseball bat 
  +0 
  — 
  3d6 N 
  — 
  — 
  5
  Pistol 
  +0 
  +0 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  6 
  7
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Notepad and pencil
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  173 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  PETER WESTONBRIDGE SINCLAIR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   12 DEX 
  6 
  11- 
  OCV:  4/DCV:  4
   10 CON 
  0 
  11-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   14 INT 
  4 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   20 COM 
  5 
  13-
   2 PD 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 PD (0 rPD)
   2 ED 
  0 
   
  Total:  2 ED (0 rED)
   2 SPD 
  0 
   
  Phases 6, 12
   4 REC 
  0
   20 END 
  0
   20 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  27
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  7 
  Always Immaculate:  Cosmetic Transform  
  2d6 (any dirty/mussed clothing he’s  
  currently wearing into its clean/unmussed 
  form; heals back by getting dirty/mussed 
  again); Limited Target (clothing currently  
  being worn; -½) 
  1
   
  Perks
  6 
  Contact:  Devon Fellows (very good relation-
  ship with Contact; Contact has very useful 
  Skills/resources) 11-
  6 
  Contact:  Hudson City Society 11-  
  (Organization)
  1 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Passport
   
  Talents
  3 
  Blasé:  +3 to EGO Rolls to resist Oratory
  3 
  Immovable:  +3 to EGO Rolls to resist Per-
  suasion
  3 
  Wary:  +3 to EGO Rolls to resist Seduction
   
  Skills
  10 
  +2 with Interaction Skills
  3 
  Acting 13
  3 
  Bribery 13-
  3 
  Bureaucratics 13-
  3 
  Conversation 13-
  6 
  Gambling (Card Games, Roulette, Sports 
  Betting) 12-
  3 
  High Society 13
  2 
  AK: Europe 11-
  2 
  AK: Great Britain 11-
  2 
  CK: Hudson City 11-
  2 
  CK: London 11-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  2 
  AK: Western United States 11-
  1 
  Language:  English (imitate accents; English 
  is Native)
  2 
  Language:  French (ﬂuent conversation)
  1 
  Language:  German (basic conversation)
  3 
  Persuasion 13
  2 
  PS: Dancer 11-
  2 
  PS: Gambler 11-
  2 
  PS: Golf 11-
  2 
  PS: Tennis 11-
  3 
  Riding 11-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  7 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  4 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Equines, Small Wind Powered Boats
  3 
  Scholar
  1 
  1)  KS: Dance 11-
  1 
  2)  KS: Fashion 11-
  1 
  3)  KS: Great War Battles And Trivia 11-
  1 
  4)  KS: Literature 11-
  1 
  5)  KS: London Society 11-
  1 
  6)  KS: Music 11-
  1 
  7)  KS: New York Society 11-
  1 
  8)  KS: Oscar Wilde’s Works 11-
  1 
  9)  KS: Shakespeare’s Works 11-
  1 
  10)  KS: Theatre 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  117
  Total Cost:  144
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Addicted To The 
  High Life (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Cares For Nothing 
  But Himself (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Coward 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Pete Sin-
  clair) (Frequently, Major)
  20 
  Social Limitation:  Subject To Orders (Very 
  Frequent, Major)
  Total Disadvantage Points:  155
  Background/History:  Peter Westonbridge Sinclair 
  was born in London, England in 1897, the second 
  son of Lord Geoﬀrey and Lady Penelope Sinclair. 
  After attending public school at Rugby, he was 
  bound for Cambridge when the Great War inter-
  rupted his education. At 17 he enlisted in the Brit-
  ish Army and served with honor in the battles of 
  Heligoland, Passchendaele, and Canal du Nord, 
  where he received an injury and was invalided 
  home. Following a lengthy recovery (and after 
  receiving the British Distinguished Service Cross 
  for gallantry) he resumed his studies at Cambridge, 
  graduating near the top of his class.
  Restless, and never satisfied with his “worth-
  less” gad-about life in London, Peter has come 
  to America seeking some sort of meaning for 
  his life. Currently living in New York, he sup-
  ports himself with investments as he engages in 
  his search for purpose. He has become quite the 
  darling of the ladies of the social set, who are 
  enchanted by his upper crust British accent, his 
  gallantry, and his dark good looks. He’s the per-
  fect fourth at bridge, the unattached male to even 
  the numbers at dinner, and the suave dancing 
  partner for the wallflowers.
  Several times, various matchmaking mothers 
  have had high hopes of catching Sinclair for their 
  daughters, but he’s never attached himself seri-
  ously to any young lady. Once, when pressed by the 
  brother of a debutante, he admitted ruefully that 
  he didn’t feel he was “good enough” for any of the 
  young ladies he’d met. “My... my war wound, you 
  know....” Normally, Sinclair prefers not to discuss 
  his experiences during the War, ﬁnding the sacri-
  PETER SINCLAIR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  A friend of one of the 
  characters approaches 
  him quietly with a 
  problem:  it seems he 
  was a bit too far into 
  some excellent Bourbon 
  while he was playing 
  cards over the weekend, 
  and he’s lost an appall-
  ing amount of money 
  to Peter Westonbridge 
  Sinclair. Sinclair is, of 
  course, willing to be a 
  gentleman about the 
  whole thing and give 
  him some time to get 
  the money together, but 
  he’s in a bit of bind him-
  self and needs at least 
  half of it now. The friend 
  simply can’t go to his 
  family for the money; 
  he wants to know if the 
  character can help him 
  out of this jam some-
  how.
  At an exclusive party, 
  Sinclair eavesdrops on 
  a quarrelling couple 
  and sees something 
  he shouldn’t have — a 
  murder. He thinks he 
  escaped without being 
  seen, but the poisoned 
  whiskey that he just 
  missed drinking (pity 
  about old Mossbridge) 
  and the bullet through 
  his collar as he got 
  out of a taxi the other 
  day convince him he’s 
  wrong. He decides to 
  start spending more 
  time with the characters, 
  hoping they’ll either 
  frighten the killer oﬀ or 
  oﬀer to protect him.
  The characters are inves-
  tigating a series of thefts 
  and grisly murders 
  rocking high society and 
  getting nowhere when 
  Peter Westonbridge Sin-
  clair oﬀers to help them 
  out. He knows everyone 
  and can get doors that 
  were formerly closed to 
  the characters opened 
  with a smile — anything 
  to stop these terrible 
  crimes. Of course, if he 
  learns something he 
  (or Devon Fellows) can 
  make use of later, all the 
  better for him.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  174 ■ Solo Villains
  ﬁce of so much of the ﬂower of English manhood 
  simply too depressing.
  In short, Sinclair appears to be the perfect 
  man-about-town... but he has a dark secret, one 
  he’ll do almost anything to hide. Sinclair is not who 
  he seems.
  Pete Sinclair was born in Butte, Montana, 
  in 1897, the only child of a dance hall girl and a 
  grifter. He was educated in the back alleys and 
  barrooms of the West. He polished the “Peter 
  Westonbridge Sinclair” character with Colonel 
  Grainger’s Traveling Thespians (a roving theatri-
  cal troupe he joined at 15), perfecting both his 
  British accent and his con man technique. But 
  his act really took off when he met Devon Fel-
  lows, a well off British expatriate, during a horse-
  racing scam in San Francisco in 1929. Fellows 
  recognized Sinclair’s talent and came up with a 
  plan to match it. He hired tutors who perfected 
  Pete’s social graces, accent, and knowledge of the 
  theater, art, music, films, and literature. Then he 
  unleashed his “creation” on unsuspecting East 
  Coast society. Pete’s job was to obtain as much 
  inside information as he 
  could about various busi-
  nessmen and political fig-
  ures and pass it on to Devon. 
  In return, Devon furnished 
  him with an apartment, a 
  wardrobe, a valet, and suf-
  ficient income to support 
  his adopted lifestyle — all 
  financed through the ill-
  gotten rewards of Devon’s 
  sale (either real or threat-
  ened) of Pete’s information.
  Personality/Motivation:  Sin-
  clair is the perfect gentleman, 
  always solicitous of the ladies, 
  but “one of the boys” in the 
  company of men. He’s charm-
  ing, suave, sophisticated, witty, 
  and debonair. He never lets 
  romantic entanglement get 
  too far — he’d never compro-
  mise the virtue of a young 
  lady, but he isn’t above capital-
  izing on the aﬀections of a 
  bored grand dame to accom-
  plish his goal.
  Sinclair loves what he 
  does. He sees it as the ultimate 
  form of revenge for every 
  slight and condescension he 
  ever suﬀered at the hands of 
  society. He’s accepted in the 
  ﬁnest homes, chums with the wealthiest of men, 
  and is regarded by many society folk as a poten-
  tial son-in-law. In return, he cheats them out of 
  their money at “friendly” card games, slices them 
  to ribbons with his sly wit, dallies with their wives 
  (“Women have a wonderful instinct about things. 
  They can discover everything except the obvious”), 
  leads their daughters on, and sells their secrets to 
  their business rivals and political enemies. In short, 
  Sinclair is an unmitigated cad.
  Quote:  “Let us be thankful for fools; but for them, 
  the rest of us could not succeed.”
  Powers/Tactics:  “Arguments are to be avoided; 
  they are always vulgar and often convincing.” Peter 
  Westonbridge Sinclair would never stoop to create 
  a scene in public by engaging in violence, prefer-
  ring to settle any diﬀerences of opinion like a gen-
  tleman, with an apology and an agreement to dis-
  agree. Pete Sinclair, on the other hand, remembers 
  every slight and is not above arranging for a rival 
  to suﬀer an unfortunate accident, the revelation of 
  a nasty secret, or a bit of “random” street violence. 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Silver cigarette case and matching lighter
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  175 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  While not a ﬁghter himself — it might mar his face 
  — he has contacts in the underworld that can do 
  his ﬁghting for him.
  Campaign Use:  Sinclair is the sort of character 
  encountered in scenarios that focus on high society 
  and the people who move through it. He’ll be at 
  all the best parties, smiling and talking to every-
  one, his eyes and ears open so he can collect all 
  sorts of information. He could see something the 
  characters need to know, or something that they’d 
  rather he didn’t, forcing them to deal with him to 
  get the information or prevent him from passing it 
  on. He might even ﬁnd that one of the characters, 
  or a DNPC, was worth cultivating as a temporary 
  romantic interest.
  To make Sinclair more powerful, add more 
  Contacts and Favors. If he desperately needs to be 
  more physically dangerous, give him a Luger and a 
  couple of Combat Skill Levels with it. To make him 
  weaker, remove his Talents and his Skill Levels.
  Sinclair would be the ﬁrst to tell you that he’s a 
  lover, not a ﬁghter. He’d be lying, of course, but he’d 
  certainly sound as if he meant it. Having him as a 
  Hunter means conﬂict in the social arena and could 
  doom a character socially, costing him contacts and 
  social status as rumor after rumor works its way 
  through high society. Having him as a Romantic 
  Rival works better in a dramatic sense.
  Appearance:  Peter Westonbridge Sinclair is six feet 
  tall and well built, with dark hair and blue eyes. His 
  public attitude is always that of genteel boredom, 
  as if nothing could excite him. He always dresses 
  impeccably, with just the right touch of style. His 
  suits are made by the ﬁnest tailors, his shoes always 
  have a high polish, his tennis whites are blind-
  ing, his tuxedos never rumpled. He carries a silver 
  cigarette case and, while he seldom actually smokes 
  one, he uses cigarettes as “props” quite often. Rarely, 
  but sometimes on very formal occasions, he aﬀects 
  a monocle.
  THE SKYWAYMAN
   Val  Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15  STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 150 kg; 3d6 [3]
   20  DEX  
  30  
  13- 
  OCV:  7/DCV:  7
   15  CON  
  10  
  12-
   13  BODY 6  
  12-
   10  INT  
  0  
  11-  
  PER Roll 11-
   12  EGO  
  4  
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   15  PRE  
  5  
  12-  
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   14  COM  
  2  
  12-
   5  PD  
  2  
   
  Total:  8 PD (3 rPD)
   3  ED  
  0  
   
  Total:  6 ED (3 rED)
   4  SPD  
  10  
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6  REC  
  0
   30  END  
  0
   30  STUN  1  
  Total Characteristics Cost:  75
  Movement:  Running:  6”/12”
   
  Flight:  25”/200”
  Cost  Powers  
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Fisticuﬀs, Rocketpack Brawling
   
  Maneuver  
  OCV  DCV  Notes
  4  
  Block  
  +2  
  +2  
  Block, Abort
  5  
  Flying Dodge  —  
  +4  
  Dodge All 
  Attacks, FMove
  5  
  Flying Right  
  +1  
  +0  
  STR + v/5; 
  FMove
  5  
  Flying Grab  
  -2  
  -1  
  Grab Two 
  Limbs, +10 STR 
  for holding on; 
  FMove
  3  
  Flying Tackle  +0  
  -1  
  STR +v/5 Strike; 
  You Fall, Target 
  Falls, FMove
  4  
  Punch/
   
  Backhand  
  +0  
  +2  
  5d6 Strike
  5  
  Roundhouse  
  -2  
  +1 
  7d6 Strike
  36  
  Advanced Rocketpack:  Flight 25”, x8  
  Noncombat; No Turn Mode (+¼),  
  Improved Acceleration/Deceleration  
  (+¼); OIF (-½); Side Eﬀects (KA 1d6 in  
  a 2” Line behind rocketpack, automatically 
  occurs, only aﬀects environment around 
  vehicle; -¾), Noisy (can’t be stealthy  
  while rocketpack’s in use, and -2 to  
  Hearing PER Rolls while it’s in use; -¼),  
  1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily  
  refueled, 1 Hour; -0) 
  [1cc]
  6  
  Helmet:  Armor (3 PD/3 ED); OIF (-½),  
  Only Protects Locations 3-5 (-2) plus  
  Life Support (Expanded Breathing:  can 
  breath at high velocities); OIF (-½) 
  0
  7  
  He Always Walks Away Without A Scratch:  
  +20 PD; Only To Protect Against Falling/
  Crashing Damage (-2)  
  0
   
  Talents
  3  
  Absolute Range Sense
  3  
  Bump Of Direction
  6  
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
   
  Skills
  6  
  +3 with Flight
  6  
  +2 with Combat Piloting, Aerobatics, and 
  Navigation (Air)
  THE SKYWAYMAN 
  PLOT SEEDS
  Joe hears about an 
  upcoming air show and 
  decides that he needs 
  to pay a visit — as the 
  Skywayman — and 
  relieve some of the 
  wealthy attendees of 
  a little unneeded cash 
  and some valuables, in 
  between checking out 
  the new planes and talk-
  ing shop.
  With a thunderous 
  crash, something slams 
  into — and through 
  — the balcony doors or 
  skylight of a character’s 
  penthouse apartment 
  late one evening. Upon 
  investigating, he ﬁnds 
  the Skywayman crum-
  pled against the far wall 
  of the room he crashed 
  into, a scorched trail 
  from his rocketpack’s 
  exhaust still smolder-
  ing behind him. He’s 
  got a gunshot wound, 
  but seems unhurt from 
  the crash. He starts to 
  struggle as the character 
  reaches for his helmet 
  and tells him there’s no 
  time for that — he has 
  to help him keep the 
  rocketpack from the 
  Skymaster’s men, who 
  must have seen where 
  he went down. “They’ll 
  be here any second.” As 
  the hero absorbs that, he 
  hears in the distance the 
  low drone of a squadron 
  of approaching air-
  planes....
  Continued on next page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  176 ■ Solo Villains
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Aerobatics 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  5 
  Combat Piloting 14-
  2 
  CK: Hudson City 11-
  2 
  CK: New York City 11-
  4 
  KS: Aircraft 13-
  4 
  KS: The Aviation World 13-
  5 
  Mechanics 12-
  2 
  Navigation (Air) 11-
  2 
  PS: Pilot 11-
  3 
  Seduction 12-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  7 
  TF: Small Planes, Large Planes, Rocketpack, 
  Basic Parachuting, Common Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles, Two-Wheeled Motorized 
  Ground Vehicles
  3 
  WF: Small Arms, Aircraft Weapons
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  157
  Total Cost:  233
  75+ Disadvantages
  15 
  Hunted:  The Skymaster 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, 
  Steal Rocketpack)
  20 
  Hunted:  Police 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Imprison)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Thrillseeker 
  (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Overconﬁdence 
  (Very Common, Moderate)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy (Common, 
  Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Joe Bent-
  ley) (Frequently, Major)
  63 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  233
  Background/History:  Joe Bentley always wanted to 
  ﬂy. From the time he was a child watching the birds 
  overhead, to a teenager jumping oﬀ his father’s 
  Kansas barn with a homemade glider, to when 
  he ran away to join The Flowers Fantastic Flyers, 
  to when he left for France to join the Lafayette 
  Escadrille, Joe had to ﬂy. The Great War left him 
  one conﬁrmed kill shy of being an ace. When he 
  returned to the States, he found a job as a test pilot 
  for Henderson Aviation — and was the best test 
  pilot they ever had. He threw himself into his work, 
  testing everything they’d let him ﬂy. The more radi-
  cal the design, the more dangerous the test ﬂight, 
  but somehow Joe managed to walk — or crawl 
  — away from each crash. Even with planes literally 
  coming apart around him, he survived. His reputa-
  tion grew, but then the whispers started:  “He’s a 
  jinx.” “It would have worked with another pilot.” 
  When one of the other pilots discovered his real 
  name — Jonah — they all began to refuse to work 
  with him. Finally, Henderson had to let him go. 
  Devastated, Joe rode the rails. Roaming the coun-
  try, he took a few jobs as a crop duster, ﬂew with a 
  barnstormer a few times, anything he could do to 
  get back into the air.
  As he was walking into a small Ohio town 
  after his latest ﬂying job, he spotted two planes 
  engaged in aerial combat over a nearby ﬁeld. Run-
  ning toward the conﬂict, he watched in horror as 
  one of the planes lost power, its engines ﬂaming, 
  and crashed into the plowed earth. He raced for 
  the crash site, arriving just in time to hear the pilot 
  gasp out with his dying breath, “The pack.... Don’t 
  let him have the pack.....”
  In the seat behind the pilot was a large trunk. 
  Joe hauled it out and dragged it oﬀ into the nearby 
  woods. Within minutes, several men dressed in the 
  black leather ﬂying garb he recognized as belong-
  ing to the Skymaster’s Airmada pilots arrived. They 
  searched the plane, obviously looking for the trunk, 
  only leaving when the local authorities arrived.
  Joe secreted the box in the woods, returning for 
  it after borrowing a truck. He hauled it to the airﬁeld 
  and opened it, ﬁnding what could only be described 
  as a “rocketpack” designed to be strapped to a man’s 
  back. After spending several days deciphering the 
  instructions (and several hours one of those days 
  convincing some very curious gentlemen he hadn’t 
  seen the crash, hadn’t seen a large trunk, hadn’t seen 
  anything), he took it out for a test ﬂight. It was a ﬂight 
  more exciting than anything he’d ever experienced. 
  This was truly ﬂying; he realized immediately just how 
  limited planes were. After an encounter with a cloud 
  of insects convinced him he needed a helmet of some 
  kind, he constructed one in his spare time at the air-
  ﬁeld before his next ﬂight.
  While he expected that sooner or later the 
  Skymaster would catch up with him and reclaim 
  the pack, he reasoned that he could put away 
  some money — perhaps even enough to buy 
  his own plane — if he used the rocketpack to 
  commit crimes. He redesigned the helmet so that 
  it would conceal his face and cobbled together 
  a costume out of some old flying gear, and thus 
  was born the Skywayman.
  Personality/Motivation:  Joe isn’t really a bad guy; 
  he’s just in it for the money... and the thrills. Espe-
  cially the thrills. How could he not love strapping 
  a rocket on his back and ﬂying like a bat out of 
  hell through the skies, or threading the needle at 
  street-top level between tall buildings to evade that 
  do-gooder Murdock girl — she is a looker though! 
  — in her war-surplus crate? Or doing a victory roll 
  around the Observation Deck of the Empire State 
  Building after he’s just robbed an exclusive roof-top 
  party oﬀ of Central Park West? This is the life!
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Colt M1911A 
  +1 
  0 
  2d6-1 
  1d6 
  7 
  9
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Toolkit
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  While retuning from a 
  successful expedition, 
  their airplane loaded 
  down with valuable 
  artifacts, one of the 
  characters hears a knock 
  on a window and looks 
  out — to ﬁnd the Sky-
  wayman standing there! 
  He waves cheerfully 
  and holds up a note that 
  advises the character 
  they have ﬁve minutes 
  to place a particular arti-
  fact in a bag and hand 
  it out the door to him... 
  in return for which, 
  he’ll take the bombs he 
  planted on the outside 
  of their plane with him 
  when he goes. Other-
  wise he’ll leave and let 
  the timed explosives do 
  their work. Are there, in 
  truth, any bombs? Can 
  the characters take that 
  chance? How did the 
  Skywayman learn of the 
  artifact in question, and 
  what does he want with 
  it, anyway?
  Continued from last page
  
  177 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  In another time, the Skywayman would be 
  called an adrenaline junkie — the sort of person 
  who’s irrationally certain of himself and his abili-
  ties, and who needs the thrill of risking it all to feel 
  alive. Outside of the Skywayman get-up, Joe Bent-
  ley is a bright, personable fellow, who loves talking 
  about ﬂying more than anything else. Except actu-
  ally doing it, of course.
  Quote:  “Ha! You want to see some ﬂying? Okay 
  then, let’s go!”
  Powers/Tactics:  The rocketpack the Skywayman got 
  from the dying pilot is the center of his existence as 
  a villain. Without it, he’s just Joe Bentley, out-of-work 
  test pilot; with it, he becomes something much, much 
  more. Nowadays, however, he’s a man who robs par-
  ties on the tops of skyscrapers, holds up passengers 
  on zeppelins and airplanes, and drops in on private 
  yachts unannounced to collect expensive jewelry, cash, 
  and smiles from rich girls who are as pretty as they are 
  bored with the dull men in their lives.
  Capable of propelling him at speeds in excess 
  of 250 miles per hour, the rocketpack maneuvers 
  like a dream and turns on a dime. But it’s not per-
  fect:  it only has an hour’s worth of fuel, makes so 
  much noise he can’t sneak up on anyone or hear 
  clearly while he’s in ﬂight, and has a scorching hot 
  exhaust that can start ﬁres, damage structures on 
  takeoﬀs and landings, and is clearly visible (espe-
  cially at night). If he has to lose someone, he’ll try 
  to do it in an urban environment where 
  his superior maneuverability gives him the 
  advantage, although he probably won’t be 
  able to resist looping back around on a pur-
  suer and landing on his wing to taunt him 
  before making his escape.
  The Skywayman is a good, albeit 
  untrained ﬁghter — he picked up what he 
  knows in scraps at airstrip bars all over the 
  country. He’s spent time practicing with the 
  rocketpack, and has mastered a few moves 
  that depend on the speed it gives him to to 
  increase his chances of avoiding injury once 
  someone starts shooting at him or to tackle 
  opponents and deliver powerful blows with 
  the rocketpack’s momentum behind them. 
  He carries a pair of pistols, but they’re more 
  for show than actual use (although he’s used 
  them to put holes in a few Airmada pilots’ 
  engine blocks when they wouldn’t back oﬀ).
  Campaign Use:  For aviation-themed char-
  acters in campaigns where lethality is less 
  prominent, or as a change of pace from the 
  more serious plans of the Skymaster, the 
  Skywayman is a perfect nemesis. He’s not as 
  personally dangerous as many villains; the 
  trick is to catch him, or contain him some-
  how so that his rocketpack can’t speed him 
  oﬀ to return another day. He’d make a good 
  choice as a reformable romantic foil for a 
  female character with piloting skills and 
  a love of ﬂying, although you might have 
  to be careful to keep the campaign from 
  becoming “Randall’s Rocket Raiders” if that 
  happens.
  To make the Skywayman more powerful, give 
  him some Combat Skill Levels, particularly with 
  Ranged combat, and a pistol that ﬁres rocket-pro-
  pelled bullets like the one on page 325 of Pulp Hero. 
  To weaken him, reduce his DEX to 18 and remove 
  the No Turn Mode Advantage from his rocketpack.
  The closest thing to Hunting anyone that the 
  Skywayman is likely to do is establish a “friendly 
  adversary” status with a pilot who consistently pur-
  sues him, especially if his rival is good enough to 
  make it a real challenge.
  Appearance:  Joe Bentley is a medium sized 
  guy, 5’8” tall and about 175 pounds, with dark 
  blond hair and blue eyes. His charming smile 
  and conﬁdent personality make him seem more 
  attractive than he really is. While in his Skyway-
  man persona, he wears a dark gold bullet-shaped 
  helmet with sturdy glass eye-lenses, an air dam 
  at the mouth opening that allows him to breathe 
  at the speeds at which the rocketpack ﬂies, and 
  stabilizer ﬁns that slant down on either side of his 
  head. The rest of his costume is composed of a set 
  of dashing brown ﬂying leathers, gloves, and the 
  rocketpack with its belt-mounted control unit. 
  He normally carries two .45 Colt automatics in 
  ﬂap holsters with secure fasteners and lanyards so 
  that he can’t lose them in mid-air. Otherwise, he 
  dresses appropriately to the situation, wearing his 
  clothes with a casual comfortableness.
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  178 ■ Solo Villains
  THE TERRORMONGER
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   14 DEX 
  12 
  12- 
  OCV:  5/DCV:  5
   14 CON 
  8 
  12-
   13 BODY 6 
  12-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   5 PD 
  3 
   
  Total:  5 PD (0 rPD)
   5 ED 
  2 
   
  Total:  5 ED (0 rED)
   4 SPD 
  16 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   28 END 
  0
   25 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  65
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  39 
  Terror Gas Gun:  Multipower, 70-point 
  reserve, 30 Charges for entire reserve  
  (+¼); all OAF (-1), Does Not Work In  
  High Winds Or Rain (-¼) 
  [30]
  3u 
  1)  Terror Gas Jet:  Drain PRE 4d6, Area  
  Of Eﬀect (One Hex; +½), Limited Range 
  (10”; +¼); OAF (-1), Does Not Work In  
  High Winds Or Rain (-¼), Life Support 
  (Self-Contained Breathing or appropriate 
  Immunity) Oﬀers Full Protection (-¼)
  2u 
  2)  Terror Gas Cloud:  Drain PRE 3d6,  
  Area Of Eﬀect (4” Radius; +1), Limited 
  Range (10”; +¼); OAF (-1), Does Not  
  Work In High Winds Or Rain (-¼), Life  
  Support (Self-Contained Breathing or  
  appropriate Immunity) Oﬀers Full  
  Protection (-¼), Requires Two Charges  
  Per Use (-¾)
  2u 
  3)  Pass Out From Sheer Terror:  Energy  
  Blast 7d6, NND (defense is Life  
  Support [Self-Contained Breathing or  
  appropriate Immunity], or Fearlessness  
  or a like Talent/ability; +1); OAF (-1),  
  Limited Range (10”; -¼), Does Not Work  
  In High Winds Or Rain (-¼), Requires  
  Two Charges Per Use (-¾)
  30 
  Disquieting Aura:  Change Environment  
  4” radius, -4 PRE for purposes of resist-
  ing the Terrormonger’s Presence Attacks, 
  Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); No  
  Range (-½) 
  0
  8 
  Skull Mask:  Life Support (Self-Contained 
  Breathing); IIF (-¼), 1 Continuing Fuel 
  Charge (easily refueled, 1 Hour; -0) 
  [1cc]
  3 
  Fearless:  Mental Defense (10 points 
  total); Only To Resist Fear Attacks (-2) 
  0
  3 
  Fearless:  Power Defense (10 points); 
  Only To Resist Fear Attacks (-2) 
  0
  5 
  Fearless:  +10 PRE; Only To Resist Fear-
  Based Presence Attacks (-1) 
  0
   
  Perks
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  6 
  Lightning Reﬂexes:  +6 DEX to act ﬁrst with 
  Terror Gas Gun
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Terror Gas Gun
  1 
  Electronics 8-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  KS: Horror Literature And Movies 12-
  3 
  SS: Chemistry 12-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Streetwise 13-
  2 
  WF: Small Arms
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  135
  Total Cost:  200
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Police 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  15 
  Hunted:  The Raven 8- (Mo Pow, Capture/
  Kill)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Greedy; Wants To 
  Loot The City (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Loves To Inﬂict 
  Fear (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Secret Identity (Fre-
  quently, Major)
  45 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  200
  Background/History:  No one knows the true 
  identity or background of the man who calls 
  himself the Terrormonger. He first appeared in 
  the early Thirties when he committed a series 
  of robberies throughout Hudson City, using his 
  now-infamous “terror gas” to render his victims 
  unable to oppose him. The Raven stopped him 
  then, and has narrowly defeated his two more 
  recent schemes:  an effort to put cannisters of his 
  terror gas into the ventilation system of City Hall 
  so he could take over the government; and the 
  construction of a dirigible kept aloft by a lighter-
  than-air version of his gas that could be released 
  in large clouds over metropolitan areas. But both 
  times the Master of Fear has escaped the clutches 
  of the cloaked avenger of the night, and no one 
  doubts that he’s preparing another plan to bring 
  the city to its knees with fear.
  Personality/Motivation:  The Terrormonger is a 
  big thinker. He doesn’t just want to rob banks 
  and jewelry stores, he wants to lead entire crime 
  sprees, take over cities, reduce thousands or mil-
  lions of people to quivering masses of abject fear. 
  His favored means for accomplishing these goals is 
  terror. He has a fascination with horror, with what 
  frightens people, and sadistically enjoys witnessing 
  their fear when he confronts them.
  Quote:  “It’s an elemental thing, is it not — fear? Can 
  you feel it creeping into your mind and spreading 
  its tendrils through your soul until you must run 
  screaming?”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Terrormonger uses a “Terror 
  Gas Gun” that has three settings. The main setting 
  produces a jet of fear gas with a 10” range that ﬁlls 
  a small area with his terror gas. The second setting 
  THE  
  TERRORMONGER 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The Terrormonger 
  breaks into your regu-
  larly scheduled radio 
  programming to deliver 
  an ultimatum:  the city 
  must pay him a million 
  dollars, or once per day 
  he will “unleash the 
  greatest terror mankind 
  has ever known!” on a 
  randomly-chosen neigh-
  borhood. The attacks 
  will continue until the 
  ransom’s been paid or 
  everyone’s died from 
  a fear-induced heart 
  attack. The authorities 
  appeal to the PCs to 
  help them track the Ter-
  rormonger down and 
  stop his scheme before 
  it begins.
  The heroes ﬁnd the 
  Raven crouched behind 
  an ashcan in an alley, 
  quivering with fear, 
  unwilling to even take 
  his hands away from 
  his eyes long enough to 
  look at them. Their best 
  guess is that the Terror-
  monger did something 
  to him... and whatever 
  it is, the odds are only 
  the Terrormonger 
  can reverse the eﬀect. 
  They’ve got to ﬁnd him 
  and get him to cure their 
  crimeﬁghting friend. 
  And what’s happened to 
  the Velvet Phantom and 
  the Midnight Brigade, 
  anyway?
  The Terrormonger uses 
  his gas to take over 
  a cruise ship full of 
  wealthy people. The PCs 
  have to board the ship 
  and rescue the victims 
  before they sign over 
  all their worldly posses-
  sions to get the fear to 
  go away.
  
  179 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  expands the cloud to cover a 
  larger area, but uses up more 
  of the chemicals that the 
  gun mixes to create the gas. 
  The third setting projects a 
  highly-concentrated dose of 
  terror gas at a single person, 
  often causing him to pass out 
  from sheer fright (it, too, uses 
  more of the gas than the ﬁrst 
  setting).
  Despite having such a 
  powerful weapon, the Terror-
  monger isn’t a ﬁghter — he’s 
  a sneak and an ambusher. 
  Unless he’s got a gang back-
  ing him up, he skulks around 
  until he can get in a Terror 
  Gas attack on his foes, and 
  then, once the gas has taken 
  eﬀect, he confronts them in 
  best soliloquy mode. But even 
  if the heroes can corner him, 
  they’re not necessarily safe; 
  something about just being 
  close to him terriﬁes people, 
  making them even more 
  susceptible to his Presence 
  Attacks than his gas alone.
  Campaign Use:  As mentioned 
  above, the Terrormonger 
  thinks big (though, in the 
  end, his reach often exceeds 
  his grasp). He’s a junior-grade 
  master villain whose schemes involve spreading 
  wide-scale fear and then taking advantage of that 
  to loot, plunder, pillage, and/or conquer. He usually 
  starts his schemes by recruiting a gang (possibly a 
  large one) to help him; he equips them with special 
  gas masks patterned after his own so they’re not 
  crippled by his Terror Gas.
  The big question about the Terrormonger is:  
  who is he? For best eﬀect, you should make him 
  someone the heroes have already met during the 
  course of the campaign — perhaps even someone 
  they like or admire. That way the revelation of his 
  identity has extra meaning.
  To make the Terrormonger tougher, increase 
  his Characteristics a little and give him some Cin-
  ematic Brawling so he’s not such a one-dimensional 
  combatant. To weaken him, reduce the Terror Gas 
  Gun to 50-60 Active Point slots and remove his 
  Combat Skill Levels with it.
  The Terrormonger generally doesn’t Hunt 
  heroes; he’s got bigger plans than petty quests for 
  vengeance. But if a hero’s been a thorn in his side 
  in the past, he’ll certainly take it out on him if the 
  opportunity presents itself.
  Appearance:  The Terrormonger dresses to suit 
  his name. He wears a mask that gives his face the 
  appearance of a faintly-glowing green skull, and 
  gloves that make his hands look skeletal and green-
  ish as well. He dresses in a black men’s suit and 
  shoes, a black Inverness cloak, and a black hat.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  As necessary for current criminal scheme
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  180 ■ Solo Villains
  DRISANA VARMANDALI
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   10 STR 
  0 
  11- 
  Lift 100 kg; 2d6 [2]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   15 CON 
  10 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   15 EGO 
  10 
  12- 
  ECV:  5
   18 PRE 
  8 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  3½d6
   18 COM 
  4 
  13-
   6 PD 
  4 
   
  Total:  9 PD (3 rPD)
   4 ED 
  1 
   
  Total:  7 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   6 REC 
  2
   30 END 
  0
   30 STUN 
  7 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  90
  Movement: 
  Running:  9”/18”
  Cost Powers 
  END
   
  Martial Arts:  Kalaripayit
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Damage/Effect
  5 
  Block 
  +1 
  +3 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Dodge 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge All 
  attacks, Abort
  3 
  Kattaram 
  +0 
  -1 
  Grab One Limb, 
  20 STR for hold-
  ing on
  4 
  Marman Strike -1 
  +1 
  2d6 NND(1)
  4 
  Punch/
   
  Elbow Strike 
  +0 
  +2 
  4d6 Strike
  5 
  Straight Kick/
   
  Roundhouse 
   
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  6d6 Strike
  3 
  Throw 
  +0 
  +1 
  2d6 +v/5; Target 
  Falls
  3 
  Use Art with Clubs, Blades, Urumi
  6 
  Fleet Of Foot:  Running +3” (9” total) 
  1
  4 
  Yogic Healing:  Healing BODY 2d6; OIF 
  (acupuncture needles, pressure point  
  massage and incense of opportunity; -½), 
  Extra Time (1 Hour; -3), Requires A KS: 
  Indian Healing Roll (no Active Point  
  penalty; -0) 
  8
   
  Perks
  5 
  Fringe Beneﬁt:  Rani of Rashmunistan
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  4 
  Double Jointed
  3 
  Perfect Pitch
  3 
  Simulate Death
   
  Skills
  6 
  +2 with Kalaripayit
  6 
  Animal Handler (Canines, Elephants, 
  Equines, Felines, Raptors) 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Contortionist 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  2 
  KS: Arcane And Occult Lore 11-
  2 
  KS: Hindu Theology 11-
  3 
  KS: Indian Healing 13-
  2 
  KS: Indian Lore And Literature 11-
  2 
  KS: Kalaripayit 11-
  3 
  KS: Randall Irons 13-
  3 
  KS: Yoga 13-
  3 
  Language:  English (completely ﬂuent; Hin-
  dustani is Native)
  2 
  Sanskrit (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  2 
  PS: Dancing 11-
  2 
  PS: Singing 11-
  2 
  PS: Yoga 11-
  3 
  Riding 13-
  3 
  Seduction 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  4 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Riding Animals
  7 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Missile Weapons, Small Arms, Urumi
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  147
  Total Cost:  237
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable, 
  Noticed And Recognizable, Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Obsessed With 
  Randall Irons (Common, Strong)
  15 
  Psychological Limitation:  Wants Her Father’s 
  Approval (Common, Strong)
  5 
  Rivalry:  Romantic (with all women, for the 
  attentions of Randall Irons)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (Frequently, 
  Minor)
  5 
  Social Limitation:  Woman (Occasionally, 
  Minor)
  97 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  237
  Background/History:  Akash Varmandali has a dozen 
  children, but only one worthy of being his heir:  his 
  oldest daughter Drisana. Urged on by her mother, she 
  has trained from her earliest childhood to surpass her 
  siblings, honing her abilities until she stood head and 
  shoulders above her brothers and sisters and gained 
  the recognition of being named the Rani (princess) 
  of Rashmunistan — Akash’s heir apparent.
  She too was shown a vision, though hers came 
  years after the one that pushed her father onto 
  his current path. Hers came in 1922, when she 
  was 10. The goddess Kali danced for her, spinning 
  round and round in the spiral of death and life. 
  In one of her many hands she held an image of a 
  young woman Drisana knew was her as an adult, 
  and in another, the image of a tall, faceless man 
  in Western clothing. At the end of the dance, Kali 
  paused and held the two ﬁgures up so they stood 
  side by side, the two as one. Drisana told no one 
  of the dream and began devoting her free time to 
  the study of Indian mysticism. Five years later, she 
  ﬁnally understood the dream’s meaning:  she was 
  to meet and join with a man of the West so her 
  family’s destiny would be fulﬁlled.
  She met her husband-to-be — Randall Irons 
  — just a few years ago as he dismantled one of her 
  father’s plans to drive the British from India. She 
  DRISANA  
  VARMANDALI  
  PLOT SEEDS
  Seeking to weaken Brit-
  ish inﬂuence over India, 
  Drisana embarks on a 
  plan to use the children 
  of high-placed oﬃcials 
  as spies. She inﬁltrates 
  operatives into the elite 
  Delhi school to which 
  most oﬃcials send their 
  children and begins to 
  secretly hypnotically 
  program them to spy 
  on their parents for her. 
  When the time comes, 
  they will rise up and 
  slay their parents at her 
  command. One of the 
  other teachers, a former 
  romantic interest of one 
  of the characters, con-
  tacts him and asks him 
  to come investigate odd 
  happening with the chil-
  dren. When the heroes 
  arrive, everything looks 
  normal — but now their 
  friend has vanished, 
  and the only witness 
  is an old woman who 
  babbles about “dwarves” 
  that carried the missing 
  person away. Can the 
  characters stop the plan 
  before it’s too late for the 
  missing teacher and the 
  government oﬃcials?
  Liz Murdock has gone 
  missing in the middle of a 
  long solo ﬂight, and Ran-
  dall’s Raiders ask the PCs 
  to help locate her since 
  they’re currently stuck in 
  Europe dealing with one 
  of Oberführer Eichen-
  wald’s schemes. Drisana is 
  the most logical suspect, 
  but when the characters 
  confront her, she swears 
  she had nothing to do 
  with her rival’s disappear-
  ance and oﬀers to prove 
  it (and make points with 
  Randall) by helping the 
  search-and-rescue eﬀort. 
  Can the heroes believe 
  and trust her, or is this all 
  part of another scheme? 
  Even if it isn’t, can she 
  be trusted with Liz’s life, 
  or will the temptation to 
  eliminate her rival be too 
  much for her?
  Continued on next page
  
  181 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  had posed as a dancing girl to get a better look at 
  the man her father was entertaining and attempt-
  ing to turn to his side, and Randall dared to steal 
  a kiss from her, not knowing who she was. In that 
  moment, as his lips touched hers and something 
  inside her lit like a ﬂame, she knew he was the man 
  Kali had shown her. He was her destiny, the destiny 
  of her family, the one man in all the world the gods 
  had decreed was hers. She had only to convince 
  him they were destined for one another, and every-
  thing would be as it was supposed to be.
  Personality/Motivation:  Drisana is a more mysti-
  cally-inclined individual than her father. She 
  lacks his scientiﬁc skills and interests, and instead 
  probes the mysteries of yoga and the deeper paths 
  of Indian mysticism. Her studies started as a way 
  of understanding the dream Kali sent her, but 
  expanded to encompass far more than dreams. 
  She’s continues onwards — and inward — seeking 
  the enlightenment and skills that will allow her 
  family to take its place on the throne of the world... 
  and never quite realizing the two have nothing to 
  do with one another.
  Ever since she was a young child, Drisana 
  has desperately sought her father’s approval (as 
  did all of his children), and she wants it still. To 
  gain his favor, she’s made herself into the very 
  image of the son he wished for and failed to 
  have, her older brothers all being interested in 
  only leisure and scholarly pursuits. If she can, 
  she’ll bring him the world on a platter bathed 
  in the blood of millions if necessary.
  The only thing that she won’t do for him is 
  surrender her dream and the future it promised 
  her. She and Randall are meant to be together by 
  divine decree, and nothing shall keep that from 
  coming to pass. She’ll even defy the wrath of her 
  father to ensure that it does, consoling herself 
  that with Randall at her side, her family’s des-
  tiny will be assured — once they win the world 
  for her father, there’s nothing the Rajah cannot 
  forgive. She’s so certain of this that it’s never 
  occurred to her that the dream said nothing of 
  her family — only that she and Randall were des-
  tined for each other.
  Quote:  “Do not fear your death, Miss Winchester, 
  for you die with a purpose:  your passing places 
  the world one step closer to the day when it will 
  be at my family’s feet, and my Randall will be by 
  my side.”
  Powers/Tactics:  After years of practice with the 
  same masters that taught her father as a child, 
  Drisana has no fear of physical confrontation. A 
  skilled practitioner of Kalaripayit, she’s capable of 
  defeating opponents twice her size. She prefers to 
  ﬁght defensively, making the best use of her speed 
  and grace to avoid blows until she spies an open-
  ing for a blow of her own. She’s skilled with many 
  traditional Indian bladed weapons, including the 
  infamous urumi, or “razor whip,” but rarely carries 
  one unless anticipating a speciﬁc need to do so.
  Like her father, she prefers to deal with her 
  opponents through intermediaries, drawing on the 
  multitude of dacoits, thuggees, and other servants 
  available to her. Only if there’s a pressing need for 
  her presence to ensure the success of a plan, or she 
  knows her beloved Randall will be there, does she 
  oversee every detail of an operation personally. 
  She’s more likely to leave the conﬁnes of Rash-
  munistan than her father, but still prefers not to. 
  Adventurers who’ve become enmeshed in her plans 
  have observed that as she’s not so much focused 
  on world domination as success in her current 
  endeavor; she doesn’t need to be present to be a 
  deadly danger.
  Drisana is no mystic, but she possess one 
  skill from her studies of mysticism:  the ability to 
  manipulate the body’s chakras, stimulating them 
  with incense, pressure point massage, and needles 
  to speed the healing ﬂow of energy to a remarkable 
  rate. She once saved her father’s life with the abil-
  ity... and, unbeknownst to Akash or Irons, has twice 
  saved Randall’s life this way.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  Pistol 
  +1 
  +1 
  1½d6 
  1d6 
  12 
  10
  Urumi 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  12 
  AF4 (see UMA)
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Yogic healing supplies; whatever she needs for her current scheme
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  During her advanced 
  studies of yoga and its 
  mystic secrets, Drisana 
  learns of the existence 
  of the Grey Mahatmas, 
  a small and secretive 
  sect of yogi masters who 
  possess the power to 
  transmute elements and 
  read minds. Determined 
  to locate these masters 
  and learn their secrets, 
  she begins to track 
  down clues in ancient 
  texts and on the walls of 
  ruined temples to ﬁnd 
  their hidden retreat. 
  When some ancient 
  holy writings are stolen 
  from a local university 
  professor, and he’s killed 
  as he tries to warn the 
  characters about what is 
  happening, the charac-
  ters ﬁnd themselves in a 
  race around the globe to 
  ﬁnd the hidden location 
  of the Mahatmas before 
  Drisana does.
  Continued from last page
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  182 ■ Solo Villains
  Campaign Use:  Drisana is a mastermind-in-train-
  ing, learning the trade of world conquest at the feet 
  of her father. She sometimes makes mistakes in her 
  current plans — rarely glaring ones, but mistakes 
  nonetheless — but as time goes by, she’ll learn more 
  and become a worthy threat in her own right, the 
  true child of her father. Her obsession with Randall 
  Irons makes her an unlikely choice for a romantic 
  interest, but if it works better for your campaign 
  substitute a male PC.
  To make Drisana more physically dangerous, 
  increase her STR to 15, her PD to 8, and give her +2 
  Damage Classes. You could also give her some mar-
  tial arts-related or mystical powers to reﬂect her 
  growing mastery of Hindu arcane lore. To weaken 
  her, remove her Yogic Healing power, reduce her 
  DEX to 15, and remove her Combat Luck.
  Like her father, Drisana Hunts characters who 
  oppose her using all the forces at her command — 
  not yet as many as those commanded by her father, 
  but still considerable. However, she doesn’t unleash 
  them when doing so would reveal a current plan 
  or operation too soon. Her obsession with Randall 
  Irons causes her to Hunt anyone she considers a 
  rival for his aﬀections with an eye towards remov-
  ing her adversary or destroying the attraction.
  Appearance:  Drisana is a beautiful young Indian 
  woman in her early twenties with long dark hair 
  and dark eyes. She stands 5’5” tall, and has a lithe, 
  seductive dancer’s ﬁgure she clothes in expensive, 
  hand-made, traditional Indian clothing appropriate 
  to the situation. She sometimes tries wearing West-
  ern-style garments she thinks Randall would like 
  while in the privacy of her apartments, but never in 
  public lest she embarrass her father.
  THE VOLCANO MASTER
   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 
  12-
   10 BODY 0 
  11-
   15 INT 
  5 
  12- 
  PER Roll 12-
   12 EGO 
  4 
  11- 
  ECV:  4
   15 PRE 
  5 
  12- 
  PRE Attack:  3d6
   8 COM 
  -1 
  11-
   3 PD 
  1 
   
  Total:  3 PD (0 rPD)
   6 ED 
  3 
   
  Total:  6 ED (0 rED)
   3 SPD 
  6 
   
  Phases:  4, 8, 12
   5 REC 
  0
   26 END 
  0
   22 STUN 
  0 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  41
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  19 
  Volcano Creator — Create Volcano:  RKA 
  3d6, Area Of Eﬀect (One Hex Doubled;  
  +¾), MegaArea (each hex is 1 km wide  
  and broad; +¼), MegaRange (range is 1”  
  = 1 km; +¼), Indirect (damage always  
  occurs from below; +¼); OAF Bulky  
  (-1½), Extra Time (5 Minutes; -2),  
  Large-Scale Damage (see text; -½),  
  4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  7 
  Volcano Creator — Alter Landscape:   
  Change Environment 2” radius (alter  
  landscape as part of volcano creation),  
  -1 to DEX Rolls to move across rough  
  landscape, Long-Lasting (eﬀectively  
  permanent), MegaArea (each hex is 1  
  km wide and broad; +¼), MegaRange  
  (range is 1” = 1 km; +¼); OAF Bulky  
  (-1½), Extra Time (5 Minutes; -2), Linked  
  (to Create Volcano; -½), 4 Charges (-1) 
  [4]
  27 
  Volcano Creator — Cause Eruption:   
  RKA 2d6, Area Of Eﬀect (One Hex  
  Doubled; +¾), Continuous (+1),  
  MegaArea (each hex is 1 km wide and  
  broad; +¼), MegaRange (range is 1” =  
  1 km; +¼), Indirect (damage comes from 
  blasts and ﬂows of lava, ash, and the like; 
  +¼), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);  
  OAF Bulky (-1½), Extra Time (5  
  Minutes; -2) 
  0
  37 
  Gadgets:  Variable Power Pool (Gadget  
  Pool), 30 base + 15 control cost; Focus  
  (all slots must have at least -½ worth of this 
  Limitation; -½), Powers Can Only  
  Be Changed In A Laboratory (-½) 
  var
   
  Skills
  1 
  Computer Programming 8-
  3 
  Electronics 12-
  3 
  KS: The Scientiﬁc World 12-
  3 
  Mechanics 12-
  11 
  Power:  Gadgeteering 16-
  3 
  Stealth 12-
  3 
  Scientist
  1 
  1)  SS: Chemistry 11-
  4 
  2)  SS: Geology 14-
  
  183 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  1 
  3)  SS: Physics 11-
  6 
  4)  SS: Vulcanology 16-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  129
  Total Cost:  170
  75+ Disadvantages
  20 
  Hunted:  Captain Battle and the Science 
  Police 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  various governments 8- (Mo Pow, 
  NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Megalomaniac 
  Who’s Determined To Rule The World... Or 
  Destroy It (Common, Total)
  35 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  170
  Background/History:  In 1925, a new and terrify-
  ing menace arose to threaten the world. A scientist 
  calling himself “the Volcano Master” announced to 
  mankind that he had the power to create volcanoes 
  anywhere on Earth and to cause volcanoes to erupt 
  spontaneously. To prove the truth of his claims, he 
  created a small volcano in the Atlantic less than a 
  mile oﬀshore from Washington, D.C. He demanded 
  that the nations of the world turn over power to 
  him... or he would destroy them. Fortunately for 
  humanity, a new hero — the now world-famous 
  Captain Jim Battle — arose to confront and defeat 
  him before he could turn any cities into lava-rav-
  aged wastelands... but it was a near thing. While 
  Captain Battle worked to short out the Volcano 
  Creator and reverse its eﬀects, the ﬁendish scientist 
  escaped.
  Since then, the Volcano Master has returned 
  to threaten the world several times, wreaking havoc 
  and creating widespread panic whenever he pro-
  claims his latest plot. So far bold heroes have always 
  thwarted his schemes, but by the barest of margins.
  Personality/Motivation:  The Volcano Master is a 
  classic mad scientist, given to cackling insanely and 
  ﬁnding ever more grandiloquent ways to announce 
  his plans to mankind. But there’s a great deal of 
  cleverness and guile beneath his megalomaniacal 
  facade; heroes who underestimate him because he’s 
  not mentally balanced may soon ﬁnd themselves 
  chained to the ground in some desolate area as the 
  Volcano Master begins to activate his device....
  Quote:  “With the purifying ﬁre of lava I will destroy 
  you all!... unless, of course, you see ﬁt to turn con-
  trol of the government and all banks over to me 
  within 24 hours. As a demonstration of my sin-
  cerity, observe the volcanic cone now growing in 
  Nebraska.”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Volcano Master’s no combat-
  ant — if the heroes confront him personally, he’ll 
  try to escape or overwhelm them with a surprise 
  attack (either option involving a device he’s previ-
  ously prepared with his Gadget Pool), and fold 
  like a cheap card table if he can’t. His power is the 
  ability to create large-scale destruction by caus-
  ing volcanoes to spontaneously grow. The damage 
  this causes is mainly to buildings, roads, and other 
  such structures; persons caught within the Area Of 
  Eﬀect of his attack can usually get clear in time to 
  save themselves (though every time, a few dozen 
  hapless souls get burned by lava, hit by falling 
  chunks of rock, or crushed). Even if the volcano 
  can be made to sink back in the ground (it usually 
  can, by rewiring his device after he’s defeated), the 
  damage to the local infrastructure has already been 
  done.
  Fortunately, preventing the machine from 
  working in the ﬁrst place usually isn’t diﬃcult. It’s 
  an OAF that takes 5 Minutes to work, which gives 
  the heroes the chance to ﬁnd it and shut it down 
  (or destroy it) before the volcano manifests. Of 
  course, since the Volcano Master could potentially 
  be dozens of kilometers away when he activates 
  it, getting to him in time may be harder than the 
  heroes would like.
  Campaign Use:  The Volcano Master is a typical 
  example of a one-note mad scientist Pulp villain. If 
  you want to expand him a little, give him the abil-
  ity to create/control other natural disasters, such as 
  earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes and change 
  his name to “the Catastrophe Master” or something 
  similar.
  To make the Volcano Master more powerful, 
  increase the range of his Volcano Creator so that 
  he doesn’t have to get so close to the target area. To 
  weaken him, decrease the range and/or increase the 
  Extra Time the device needs to work.
  The Volcano Master doesn’t Hunt heroes. He’s 
  got a world to conquer, he can’t be bothered with 
  such nonsense! But if he knows an old adversary 
  lives in a particular city, maybe that city would 
  make a good “example” the next time he launches 
  his plan of conquest....
  Appearance:  The Volcano Master is a white man 
  who appears to be in his ﬁfties, usually with dishev-
  elled black hair and ﬁve o’clock shadow. His eyes 
  have that gleam of criminal insanity that marks the 
  true mad scientist for one and all to see. He usually 
  wear’s typical men’s clothes underneath a dirty lab-
  coat, his pockets ﬁlled with tools and spare parts.
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  None
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Tools, spare parts, magnifying glass
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  THE VOLCANO 
  MASTER  
  PLOT SEEDS
  A beautiful young 
  woman approaches the 
  heroes and asks for their 
  help. She claims that her 
  father, Professor Hubert 
  Satterwhite, is the one 
  who really invented 
  some of the devices the 
  Volcano Master uses 
  — though he was look-
  ing for a way to prevent 
  volcanic eruptions, not 
  create them. She thought 
  he was killed when the 
  Volcano Master stole 
  his work and destroyed 
  his laboratory, but she 
  recently received a 
  coded radio message 
  that leads her to believe 
  the ﬁendish mastermind 
  is holding her father 
  captive. She begs the 
  heroes to go rescue him.
  The Volcano Master 
  announces that, thanks 
  to exciting new tech-
  nological innovations, 
  he now has the power 
  to create up to six 
  volcanoes simultane-
  ously... anywhere in the 
  world! He threatens 
  to destroy New York, 
  London, Paris, Moscow, 
  Berlin, and Tokyo in 
  the same day if he’s not 
  made ruler of the world 
  at once. Time for the 
  heroes to go into action 
  and stop him once 
  more....
  A scientist friend of the 
  PCs reports that there’s 
  been some unusual seis-
  mological activity in the 
  Paciﬁc. Is the Volcano 
  Master up to something 
  — perhaps testing a 
  new weapon? Time for a 
  trip to the South Seas to 
  investigate!
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  184 ■ Solo Villains
  THE YELLOW SCAR
   Val Char 
  Cost Roll 
  Notes
   15 STR 
  5 
  12- 
  Lift 200 kg; 3d6 [3]
   18 DEX 
  24 
  13- 
  OCV:  6/DCV:  6
   18 CON 
  16 
  13-
   15 BODY 10 
  12-
   18 INT 
  8 
  13- 
  PER Roll 13-
   18 EGO 
  16 
  13- 
  ECV:  6
   20 PRE 
  10 
  13- 
  PRE Attack:  4d6
   5 COM 
  -2 
  10-
   8 PD 
  5 
   
  Total:  11 PD (3 rPD)
   8 ED 
  4 
   
  Total:  11 ED (3 rED)
   4 SPD 
  12 
   
  Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
   7 REC 
  0
   36 END 
  0
   40 STUN 
  8 
  Total Characteristics Cost:  116
  Movement: 
  Running:  6”/12”
  Cost Powers 
  END
  10 
  Fist Of The Dragon:  HA +5d6; Hand-To-
  Hand Attack (-½), Increased Endurance  
  Cost (x3 END; -1), Not Usable With Kick  
  Or Throw (-0) 
  6
  20 
  Clouding Men’s Minds:  Multipower,  
  30-point reserve; all Requires A Psychic 
  Powers Roll (-½)
  1u 
  1) True Clouding:  Invisibility to Sight  
  Group, No Fringe; Chameleon (-½),  
  Requires A Psychic Powers Roll (-½) 
  3
  1u 
  2) Combat Clouding:  Invisibility to  
  Sight Group; Bright Fringe (-¼),  
  Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -½), 
  Requires A Psychic Powers Roll (-½) 
  4
   
  Martial Arts: Kung Fu
   
  Maneuver 
  OCV DCV 
  Notes
  4 
  Block 
  +2 
  +2 
  Block, Abort
  4 
  Disarm 
  -1 
  +1 
  Disarm, 35 STR
  4 
  Dodge 
  +0 
  +5 
  Dodge all 
  attacks, Abort
  4 
  Escape 
  +0 
  +0 
  40 STR vs. 
  Grabs
  3 
  Joint Lock/Grab -1 
  -1 
  Grab, 35 STR
  5 
  Kick 
  -2 
  +1 
  9d6 Strike
  4 
  Knife Hand 
  -2 
  +0 
  HKA 1d6 (2d6 
  with STR)
  4 
  Punch 
  +0 
  +2 
  7d6 Strike
  3 
  Throw 
  +0 
  +1 
  5d6 +v/5, Target 
  Falls
  4 
  Tien-hsueh 
   
  Strike 
  -1 
  +1 
  3d6 NND (1)
  8 
  +2 Damage Classes (already added in)
  10 
  Aura Vision:  Detect Aura 13- (Sight  
  Group; see Pulp Hero, page 281),  
  Discriminatory 
  0
  9 
  Psychometry:  Clairsentience (Sight  
  and Hearing Groups), Retrocognition;  
  Concentration (½ DCV throughout; -½), 
  Extra Time (a minimum of 1 Turn, and 
  sometimes longer; -1¼), Requires A  
  Psychic Powers Roll (-½), Retrocognition 
  Only (-1), Time Modiﬁers (-½),  
  Psychometry (-½) 
  5
  15 
  Favored Of Fortune:  Luck 3d6 
  0
  14 
  Plans Within Plans Within Plans:  Luck  
  +9d6; Requires An INT Roll (no Active  
  Point penalty; -¼), 1 Charge (-2) 
  [1]
   
  Perks
  10 
  Money:  Wealthy
   
  Talents
  6 
  Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)
  29 
  Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of 
  combat, sense) 15-
  4 
  Resistance (4 points)
   
  Skills
  10 
  +1 Overall
  10 
  +2 HTH
  3 
  Acrobatics 13-
  3 
  Acting 13-
  3 
  Breakfall 13-
  3 
  Combat Driving 13-
  3 
  Combat Piloting 13-
  1 
  Computer Programming 8-
  3 
  Deduction 13-
  3 
  Demolitions 13-
  3 
  Disguise 13-
  3 
  Electronics 13-
  4 
  Gambling (Card Games, Dice Games) 13-
  3 
  High Society 13-
  3 
  Interrogation 13-
  3 
  Inventor 13-
  3 
  AK: China 13-
  3 
  CK: Hong Kong 13-
  3 
  CK: Shanghai 13-
  2 
  Language:  Cantonese Chinese (ﬂuent con-
  versation; Mandarin is Native)
  2 
  Language:  English (ﬂuent conversation)
  2 
  Language:  Japanese (ﬂuent conversation)
  3 
  Mechanics 13-
  3 
  Oratory 13-
  3 
  Persuasion 13-
  13 
  Power:  Psychic Powers 18-
  3 
  Security Systems 13-
  3 
  Sleight Of Hand 13-
  3 
  Stealth 13-
  3 
  Systems Operation 13-
  5 
  TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, 
  Small Planes, Small Motorized Boats, Small 
  Wind-Powered Boats
  6 
  WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common 
  Martial Arts Weapons, Small Arms
  9 
  Weaponsmith (all categories) 13-
  3 
  Scholar
  1 
  1)  KS: Chinese History 11-
  1 
  2)  KS: Chinese Philosophy 11-
  1 
  3)  KS: Kung Fu 11-
  1 
  4)  KS: The Scientiﬁc World 11-
  1 
  5)  KS: Western History 11-
  Total Powers & Skills Cost:  314
  Total Cost:  430
  THE YELLOW SCAR 
  PLOT SEEDS
  The ultimate symbol 
  of America’s growing 
  power in the world is, 
  of course, the Empire 
  State Building... so the 
  Yellow Scar decides he 
  must destroy it. During 
  an upcoming event in 
  which the mayor and 
  many other dignitaries 
  are attending a speech 
  by the governor on the 
  observation deck, the 
  Yellow Scar will ﬂy an 
  explosive-ﬁlled dirigible 
  into the building, col-
  lapsing it and killing 
  everyone inside. But not, 
  of course, if the heroes 
  get there in time to stop 
  him....
  Recently several Ameri-
  can archaeological and 
  paleontological expedi-
  tions in China have been 
  massacred. The authori-
  ties ask the heroes to 
  look into it and stop the 
  bandits who are com-
  mitting these horrible 
  crimes. When it turns 
  out it’s not bandits but 
  the Yellow Scar, who’s 
  massing a private army 
  to attack the American 
  district of Shanghai, 
  what will they do to stop 
  him?
  The Yellow Scar steals 
  several germ samples 
  from a prominent 
  American university. 
  He intends to use them 
  to create a plague to 
  unleash on Tokyo. It’s 
  up to the heroes to stop 
  him before his plans 
  spiral out of control and 
  he infects the world with 
  his deadly virus.
  
  185 
  Masterminds And Madmen ■ Chapter Three
  75+ Disadvantages
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  badly-scarred face 
  (Concealable With Eﬀort; Noticed And Rec-
  ognizable)
  10 
  Distinctive Features:  Style (Not Concealable; 
  Noticed And Recognizable; Detectable By 
  Large Group)
  20 
  Hunted:  Captain Battle and the Science 
  Police 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
  20 
  Hunted:  The Raven 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Cap-
  ture)
  20 
  Psychological Limitation:  Hatred Of Japa-
  nese And Westerners (Common, Total)
  15 
  Social Limitation:  Minority (Frequently, 
  Minor)
  260 
  Experience Points
  Total Disadvantage Points:  430
  Background/History:  The man whom the world 
  would come to know as the Yellow Scar was born 
  Peng Lin in Shanghai in 1910. A brave Chinese 
  patriot, he was quick to join the military when 
  Japan invaded Manchuria in the early Thirties. 
  He did well, distinguishing himself on the battle-
  ﬁeld, until a Japanese sneak attack caught his unit 
  unawares and slaughtered it to a man.
  Or so the Japanese thought. In fact Peng lived, 
  the right side of his face horribly scarred by a knife 
  wound and burns. His left leg and several ribs were 
  broken, but all he could think about was his hatred 
  for the foreigners who’d ruined his country:  the 
  Westerners who exploited it and left it vulnerable, 
  and the Japanese who exploited that vulnerability. 
  He had to ﬁnd a way to ﬁght back against them, to 
  free China and take vengeance for the wrongs done 
  to her. He had to.
  Driven by his ﬁerce and indomitable will, Peng 
  ignored the pain, picked himself up oﬀ the ground, 
  and began walking west. For years he’d heard tales 
  of ancient monasteries in the mountains who pos-
  sessed mystic arts long forgotten in the outside 
  world, and he was determined to ﬁnd them and 
  learn their secrets. With such weapons at his com-
  mand, he could stand against the enemy and lead 
  China to greatness!
  Illness and misfortune almost laid him low 
  more than once, but through supreme eﬀort and 
  unﬂagging willpower he made it to the mountains... 
  and, miraculously, to one of those semi-mythic 
  temples. They tended to his wounds (though they 
  could do nothing for his face), and when he was 
  ready consented to his request to study there.
  For a year, Peng trained ceaselessly, often sleeping 
  no more than three hours a night despite the grueling 
  regimen he put his body through. He schooled his 
  mind as well, turning it to the mystic disciplines the 
  monks knew. And when the year was done, he’d mas-
  tered many of them:  hiding himself from the sight of 
  men; reading the mystic auras of people and objects; 
  sensing danger nearby; focusing his mystic energies 
  into his ﬁst so he could deliver lethal blows.
  Bidding the monks farewell, Peng left the 
  monastery and journeyed forth into a new life. 
  When next he appeared, standing on the ruins of a 
  Japanese military headquarters he’d destroyed, no 
  longer was he simple Peng Lin, peasant and soldier. 
  Now he was the Yellow Scar, the power of China 
  embodied, scourge of the Westerners and Japanese.
  Personality/Motivation:  Fueled by bitterness over 
  the way China’s been treated and his own per-
  sonal misfortunes, the Yellow Scar has become the 
  Yellow Peril embodied:  the perfect representation, 
  in Western eyes, of the wickedness, malice, and 
  inscrutability of the Chinese. Unlike Dr. Fang or 
  Dr. Yin Wu, both of whom desire to rule the world, 
  the Yellow Scar is more concerned with wreaking 
  havoc and causing harm:  he doesn’t want to con-
  quer Japan or the West, he wants to destroy them, 
  to take bloody vengeance for the wrongs they’ve 
  EQUIPMENT
  Weapon 
  OCV 
  RMod 
  Dam 
  STUN 
  Shots 
  STR Min 
  Notes
  YS Pistol 
  +1 
  +1 
  2d6 
  1d6 
  8 
  10
  Knife 
  +0 
  — 
  1d6 
  1d6-1 
  — 
  8 
  Often poisoned
  Armor
  None
  Gear:  Given his resources and abilities, whatever he needs
  Clothing:  See Appearance
  
  Hero System 5th Edition
  186 ■ Solo Villains
  done to the Middle Kingdom.
  Quote:  “Now you shall learn that the people of 
  China are not so powerless and weak as you think.”
  Powers/Tactics:  The Yellow Scar is a powerful 
  opponent with many mystical abilities. Before an 
  opponent can even get close enough for an ambush, 
  the Scar’s Danger Sense and Aura Vision reveal 
  him, allowing the Scar to set up a sneak attack of 
  his own. When battle is joined, he uses his kung fu 
  to strike deadly blows — and deadlier still is his 
  Fist of the Dragon, when he concentrates all of his 
  mystical energy into one of his hands and uses it to 
  deliver a punch that can shatter steel. As if all that 
  weren’t enough, he can obscure himself in the eyes 
  of men, making it possible for him to literally “hide 
  in plain sight.” He can even ﬁght while unseen, 
  though that makes it much easier to see where he is.
  The Yellow Scar plans his attacks — usually 
  sabotage missions, terroristic operations such as 
  threatening to blow up monuments and public 
  buildings, and the theft of Chinese artifacts from 
  “those who stole them from China,” and the like 
  — with great care. He usually has gangs of Chinese 
  thugs to back him up, but ultimately he knows he’s 
  on his own. Once per scenario, whenever things get 
  diﬃcult or he’s in danger, roll his full Luck 12d6. If 
  he gets enough levels of Luck, it turns out he had a 
  backup plan just for this contingency! Maybe that 
  means a whole horde of well-armed hatchetmen 
  showing up as reinforcements, or a last-minute 
  escape route opening up as scheduled, or a surprise 
  attack against the PCs from an unexpected quarter. 
  No matter how unusual it seems, he planned it that 
  way... and now he’s going to take advantage of that 
  plan to teach the heroes a well-deserved lesson.
  Campaign Use:  The Yellow Scar is a sort of 
  second-tier mastermind, a junior-grade Dr. Fang 
  for campaigns in which Dr. Fang’s too powerful 
  to use or he’s made enough appearances for the 
  time being. Also unlike Dr. Fang, the heroes have 
  a chance to really, truly defeat the Yellow Scar; he 
  lacks the enormous organization, resources, and 
  immortality that make Dr. Fang so difficult to 
  come to grips with.
  To make the Yellow Scar a more fearsome foe, 
  give him more mystic powers or Extra DCs, and 
  maybe even increase his SPD to 5. To weaken him, 
  remove his Fist Of The Dragon power, and perhaps 
  Clouding Men’s Minds as well. (Removing these 
  powers is also appropriate for games with no mysti-
  cal elements.)
  As a Hunter, the Yellow Scar is brutal and 
  determined. He usually opens up with a power-
  ful frontal attack, retreating if it doesn’t succeed 
  immediately. Then he begins a steady campaign 
  of sneak attacks, threatening the target’s loved 
  ones, and other such evildoing until he can 
  corner the target in a disadvantageous position 
  and destroy him.
  Appearance:  The Yellow Scar is a tall, thin Chi-
  nese man with black hair tied back in a queue 
  and a thin, droopy Chinese-style moustache, but 
  no beard. What would otherwise be a handsome 
  face is marred by a horrific scar on the right 
  side that’s left it twisted and hideous. He usu-
  ally wears elegant, beautifully-embroidered silk 
  robes, their fine appearance contrasting harshly 
  with his ruined face.
  
  187 
  Masterminds And Madmen
  Adams, Lazarus ....................68
  Adams, Logan ................69-73
  Airmada Pilot .......................33
  Allbright, Chamomile  
  (Atropos) ............................73
  Allen Gilbert ......................106
  Alvarez, Carmelita  
  and Rosa ...........................109
  Atropos .................................73
  Azor, El ................................108
  Barnett, Calvin “Hunch” ....100
  Barnett, City Attorney  
  Forrest .................................89
  Beelzebub ..............................86
  Ben-Ali, Achmed “Benny” .. 110
  Big Frank ..............................93
  Bolshevik terror, the ..........167
  Boyd, Amanda ......................64
  Bradley, Richard (Lachesis) ...73
  Cabal, The .............................67
  Calavieri, Enrico ..................49
  Capone, Alphonse ..............144
  Carroll, R.J. ...........................89
  Cimba Janakadi ..................112
  Clotho ...................................72
  Coletti Mob, The ..................74
  Coletti, Vinnie “the Axe” .....74
  Colombe Noir, La ..............115
  Communist menace, the ...167
  Connahay, Rev. Albert .......167
  Corgan, Detective  
  Lieutenant Arthur ..............80
  Corpse, The ...........................95
  Corridore Notte, Il .............117
  Crimson Wraithe, The .........44
  Cult of the Nine  
  Degrees, The .......................82
  Curran, Epiphronia  
  “Eppie” ...............................119
  D’Arques, Etienne and  
  Vincent ..............................121
  Dake, Alvin ...........................74
  Danielson, Geoﬀrey (Two) .70
  de Pléaux, Comtesse  
  Esmeralda ...........................90
  Desmond, Gilbert ..............169
  Diablo Robotico, El ...........123
  Dunkeladler, Der ...............126
  Earle, Sir Jonathan .............129
  Easton, Jacqueline (One) ....70
  Electricutioner, The ...........132
  Fafnir ...................................134
  Falcone, Albert  
  “Shotgun Bert” ...................74
  Fang Shen, Dr. ........................6
  Fellows, Devon  
  (Four) ....................71, 173-74
  Fisches des Todes Torpedo ....57
  Flambeaux ..........................136
  Flowers Fantastic Flyers ....176
  Forsythe,“Colonel” Bruce ... 139
  Fort Houke ...........................90
  Fortune, Gideon ...........154-55
  Frankenstein Mob ...............91
  Fuentes, Alejandro .............141
  Gaede, Richard  
  “Hammer Toe” ...................74
  Geistkapitän .........................52
  Geistunterseeboot, Das .......56
  Genro, the ...........................147
  Gerta  
  (Dunkeladler’s plane) ......128
  Ghouls ...........................119-20
  Gruenwald, Ernest .............127
  Gruner, Darren “Gats” .......143
  Harper, Minnie “Nails” ........97
  Howard, Justin “Scareyes” ... 102
  Hunch .................................100
  Hunt, James (Seven) ......72, 90
  Ikeda Hideo ........................146
  Introduction ...........................4
  Iron Claw, The ......................58
  Keene, Doctor Valentine ...149
  Krieger, Maximilian ...........151
  Lachesis .................................73
  Lafayette Escadrille ............176
  Latham, Donald “Track” .....47
  Legion Of Crime .............. 8-24
  Li Lian ...................................12
  Li-Ming Jade .......................153
  Lieder, Maxﬁeld .................134
  Lok Shing ..............................20
  Lost City of Xinca-Hol ........75
  Madden, Ned “The Corpse” ..95
  Madison, Caroline  
  Nefertari ............................156
  Mannheim, Fred ....89, 95, 139
  Manzoni, Carlo ..............74, 78
  Masterminds .................... 5-65
  Ming Wei ..............................16
  Morelli family .......................61
  Mrazovic, Anezka ..............159
  Mubarakini, Abdul  
  Fekesh ................................157
  Mudano, Charles  
  “Cold Charlie” ....................74
  Nails .......................................97
  Nefret ..................................157
  O’Flaherty, Padraig ..............61
  Organizations ...............66-103
  Pescarelli, Dr. Franklin  
  “Big Frank” .........................93
  Petrie, Dr. Jennings ......98, 124
  Petrov, Viktor Ivanovich ...161
  Prince Apollyon ...................90
  Prince Asmodeus .................89
  Prince Astaroth ....................90
  Prince Belial .........................89
  Prince Mammon ..................90
  Prince Merizim ....................89
  Prince Python ......................88
  Prince Satan ..........................89
  Professor Prospero ............164
  Rasputin ..............................162
  Red Sickle, The ...................167
  Rhineland Circus of  
  Marvels ..............................134
  Robertson, Sherman (Six) ..72
  Scareyes ...............................102
  Scorpion, The .....................169
  Scott, Gen. Alfred (Three) ...71
  Selden, Jimmy “Bats” ..........171
  Sinclair, Peter  
  Westonbridge ...................173
  Skyfortress Cumulus ............34
  Skymaster SK-1 ....................43
  Skymaster SK-4A .................42
  Skymaster, The .....................25
  Skywayman, The ................175
  Solo Villains ..................105-86
  Steinmetz, Manfred  
  “The Weasel” .......................75
  Tannenbaum, Herman  
  “Two Time” .........................74
  Terrormonger, The .............178
  Thornton, Dr. Creighton 
  (Clotho) ..............................72
  Tocacci mob .........................89
  Tocatti, Anselmo “Salvo” .....74
  Trebodian, Franklin (Five) ....71
  Trevalic Manuscripts ...119-20
  Undeadmatrosen, Die .........55
  Varmandali, Drisana .........180
  Vartan, Dr. Aristide ..............89
  Vascaro, Guillermo  
  “Pretty Boy” ........................89
  Veranza’s Fabulous  
  Circus ..........................100-01
  Vincent, Hypatia ..................72
  Volcano Master, The ..........182
  Von Dragonne, André .........82
  Von Hagen, Air Marshal  
  Lothar ..................................30
  Warren, Michael ............74, 76
  Waxman ................................91
  Wendland, Erika ................144
  Wigmore Brothers .............132
  Wilson, County Prosecutor 
  Micah ..................................59
  Xinca-Hol, Lost City of .......75
  Yellow peril, the ..............6, 184
  Yellow Scar, The .................184
  Yin Wu, Dr. ............... 9-10, 184
  Ying Hu Shi ..........................22
  INDEX
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Hero System/Hero System Masterminds & Madmen.pdf