TEXT: The reign of Cats & Dogs
  The reign of Cats & Dogs
  A Weird Adventure
  for 4-6 heroes of PL 8-10
  by Crystal Frasier
  
  SuggeSted PL: 8-10
  RequiRed BookS: M&M Deluxe Hero’s HanDbook,  
  M&M Deluxe GaMeMaster’s GuiDe
  SuggeSted BookS: eMeralD City
  The relative peace of Emerald City is shattered by a remnant of the 
  past as a powerful magical talisman falls into the hands of the uniniti-
  ated. When a seemingly ordinary robbery reveals a glimpse of Emer-
  ald City’s hidden past, an otherwise normal day turns into a struggle 
  against hypersonic ferrets, building-sized lizards, and flying sharks. 
  Can the heroes stop this neophyte villain before she crosses a line? Or 
  will Emerald City fall to... The Reign of Cats and Dogs?
  SECRET ORIGINS
  Cloud MacGuire—a college junior who never met a cause she 
  couldn’t drive into the ground without truly understanding it—re-
  cently inherited her grandfather’s old sea chest upon his death. 
  Expecting to simply be horrified by his gag-worthy fashion sense 
  and American jingoism, she discovered the old man was none oth-
  er than the Flagwaver, a Silver Age hero and leader of the Guild of 
  Justice, a lesser-known local hero team. Cloud, firmly anti-vigilante 
  and in favor of superhuman registration, concluded that the super 
  “heroes” were in fact a secret family shame, but she took the time 
  to read her grandfather’s diary and discovered the location of their 
  sealed, long-abandoned headquarters and the fabulous trophies 
  hidden within. With a high-security jewelry store built atop the only 
  entrance, Cloud turned to the internet and offered to sell the head-
  quarters’ location to the highest bidder, so someone else could han-
  dle the danger of re-opening the facility.
  A gang called the Bag Men met Cloud’s price, and after accepting their 
  money, Cloud simply followed them. She called the authorities when 
  the gang began their raid and slipped in among the store patrons 
  minutes before the attack began, hoping their struggle with the au-
  thorities would distract everyone long enough for her to duck into the 
  old mothballed facility and claim a few “family heirlooms” to play with. 
  Cloud’s target was the Eye of Chaos, a magical gem that would grant 
  her the power to make real change in the world—by literally changing 
  the world to suit her whims.
  But the power of the Eye of Chaos overwhelms Cloud, and turns her 
  most recent activism cause—extreme animal rights—into a singular 
  fixation and channel for this dangerous, supernatural power. Her un-
  conscious desires grant the animals of the city superhuman powers, 
  unleashing mass chaos and possibly dooming the city unless some-
  one steps in to stop her! But as she begins mastering her new powers, 
  Cloud decides to take a more proactive approach.
  THE REIGN OF CATS & DOGS
  THE REIGN OF CATS & DOGS
  2
  
  IN THIS EXCITING ISSUE…
  The PCs arrive on the scene of a diamond robbery, only to discover the 
  criminals—a gang called the Bag Men—are wielding technology em-
  blematic of Silver Age villains. When the heroes investigate the robbed 
  jewelry store, they discover it was built atop the long-forgotten head-
  quarters of the Guild of Justice, a superhero group that dissolved in 
  the 1970s, and that the group’s long-forgotten trophy room was the 
  Bag Men’s true target. All the looted trophies from Silver Age villains 
  are accounted for in the Bag Men’s loot except one: a powerful magic 
  gem called the Eye of Chaos, once wielded by the villain Daddy Dada.
  PCs can investigate various avenues, either researching more infor-
  mation about Daddy Dada, tracking down information on the Guild 
  of Justice, or questioning the Bag Men. Investigating Daddy Dada re-
  veals a string of surrealist, reality-bending artistic crimes, empowered 
  by the Eye of Chaos gem he stole from a Persian temple. Those investi-
  gating the Guild of Justice discover they disbanded at the dawn of the 
  Bronze Age to go their separate ways, and only Flagwaver remained in 
  the city. Though Flagwaver passed several years ago, his granddaugh-
  ter Cloud is still in town, is enrolled as a student at the local university, 
  and is something of rebel without a cause. Questioning the Bag Men 
  uncovers that they bought the location of the vault from a Dougslist 
  ad, and never learned the name of the angry teenage girl who showed 
  up to collect their payment.
  Whatever steps the heroes take next, strange things suddenly begin 
  happening. Ordinary house pets develop superhuman powers, and 
  the heroes must intervene to save lives as chaos spreads. PCs can put 
  the pieces of their investigation together and realize that Cloud sold 
  the location of her grandfather’s old superhero headquarters to the 
  Bag Men. As they arrive to investigate the college campus, a titanic 
  lizard appears and begins rampaging through the university.
  By investigating Cloud’s room or tracking her magical signature, they 
  discover she is at the city zoo, releasing captive animals. As the heroes 
  arrive to confront the blooming eco-villain, she monologues about 
  the shame of descending from a Super-Authoritarian and taking her 
  first step towards freeing all animals from human-enforced slavery. 
  She empowers several of the zoo animals—seeing no conflict of in-
  terest in enslaving and endangering animals to serve her—and the 
  final confrontation takes place, ideally with the PCs subduing the oth-
  erwise normal human and zoo animals with a minimum of injury.
  INVOLVING THE HEROES
  Heroes can become involved in this adventure in any number of ways:
  • 
  The most obvious hook is for local heroes to respond to the rob-
  bery at Gilded Dreams, either as law enforcement called in to 
  assist or simply being nearby when trouble breaks out. The Bag 
  Men work quickly, and so the first real sign of trouble is the ex-
  plosion that blows their way into the long-sealed headquarters.
  • 
  Legacy heroes may have predecessors who were at least reserve 
  members of the Guild of Justice; simply swap out one of the listed 
  heroes for their patron, or add them to the existing team roster. In 
  this case, a long-forgotten alarm alerts the character to a break-in 
  at a secret facility they were unaware of until now.
  • 
  Proactive heroes may be investigating the Bag Men on their own, 
  closing in to arrest them. The gang may even be aware of this 
  pursuit, which could serve as their motivation to acquire a fire-
  power upgrade.
  SCENE 1 
  CONFLICT SCENE
  IN THE BAG
  An alarm sounds at Gilded Dreams, a jewelry store in Emerald City’s 
  historic Riverfront District, and the PCs are close enough to arrive be-
  fore most police response. As the PCs arrive, read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  An old-fashioned mechanical alarm blares from the window of 
  a small shop labeled “Gilded Dreams” as smoke curls up from 
  the open door. Well-dressed and gun-wielding figures visible 
  through the glass bark indistinct orders at the four police offi-
  cers already assembled behind two squad cars out front. Without 
  warning, one police cruiser glows green, then hurls skyward for a 
  moment before gravity resumes its hold and the vehicle begins 
  hurtling toward the officers below.
  KEY POINTS
  The four officers already on scene are overwhelmed. Ask the PCs if 
  and how they deal with the falling police cruiser about to smash into 
  two of the officers (hurled by the Bag Men’s new gravity gun). A lifting 
  Strength of rank 6 or higher is enough to catch the car. A Flight, Leap-
  ing, or Speed of rank 1 or 2 is fast enough for the hero to push the offi-
  cers to safety and take the damage from the falling car instead (Dam-
  age rank 6), while rank 3 or higher is fast enough to clear everyone and 
  move to safety. The police cruiser has Toughness 9, and can be pushed 
  clear of the officers before it lands by a single failed Toughness save.
  The criminals inside the jewelry store are holding two employees and 
  five customers hostage, demanding the law enforcers leave and let 
  them make their getaway.
  If the PCs enter the store to stop the Bag Men holding the hostages, 
  they easily notice the five-foot-wide hole blown through the concrete 
  floor. None of the Bag Men’s loot sacks contain any jewelry from the 
  store—only additional retro blaster pistols.
  If the heroes rescue the hostages without endangering them, award 
  them each a Hero Point.
  It’s entirely possible that a PC (especially a speedster or teleporter) may 
  jump down the hole to investigate during the fight. If this happens, 
  they can catch a glimpse of a fair-skinned, blonde-haired young wom-
  PROBLEM POWERS
  PROBLEM POWERS
  Heroes who can communicate with animals can calm them using 
  the normal interaction skills and may find the encounters in this 
  adventure to be a bit repetitive if they rely entirely on social in-
  teraction. Similarly, heroes who can control animals outright may 
  even be able to assemble an army of powered dogs and cats, 
  making their final confrontation with the villain too easy. You can 
  avoid this by changing Cloud’s fixation to plants or pollution, cre-
  ating plant- or toxin-based enemies that use the same statistics. 
  You can also use the adventure as-is, but rule that the power of 
  the Eye of Chaos interferes with normal animal control, granting 
  Emerald City’s pets a circumstance bonus on their Will checks to 
  resist control.
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  an—Cloud MacGuire—holding a glowing orb before both vanish in a 
  flash of light. The scene plays out too quickly for a hero to respond, but 
  award that player a Hero Point for their quick reflexes and discovering 
  a clue. Cloud isn’t recognizable to anyone outside an organic coffee 
  shop and a few activism groups at Emerald City University, but the 
  hero can recognize her immediately upon seeing her again.
  TACTICS
  There are two Bag Men for every hero. When superheroes begin to 
  arrive, the criminals know they’re in too deep and three-quarters of 
  them try to run while the rest remain in the store and keep their weap-
  ons on the hostages, trusting their companions to spring them from 
  prison later.
  If heroes focus on rescuing hostages or protecting bystanders and offi-
  cers from harm before beating up bad guys, award them a Hero Point.
  THE BAG MEN
  These colorful career crooks made a name for themselves in Free-
  dom City by working primarily for supervillains and wielding unusual 
  weaponry collected from these scattershot jobs. They attacked the 
  jewelry store to access the cache of Silver Age technology underneath 
  (see Scene 2).
  The Bag Men want to escape with their new toys, and have only taken 
  hostages out of desperation; the police responded faster than they ex-
  pected and they’d hoped to be long gone with their new weapons be-
  fore anyone arrived. They aren’t an especially violent gang and don’t 
  want to kill anyone, even setting their new blaster pistols for “stun” 
  (partially in hopes of mitigating their criminal charges if captured), but 
  they aren’t telling the police that.
  THE BAG MEN 
  PL 5
  Minions. See Cast section.
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +0
  Baton 
  +5 
  Close, Damage 5
  Blaster Pistol 
  +5 
  Ranged, Damage 5
  Unarmed 
  +5 
  Close, Damage 3
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +4
  +4
  +5
  +3
  +6/4*
   
  *without armor
  Special: The Bag Men have looted retro-style blaster pistols from the Guild 
  of Justice’s trophy room, which they use in the fight, but two of them, 
  Rucksack and Duffel, are wielding more unique special weapons taken 
  from the old superhero headquarters. PCs can identify these Silver Age 
  weapons with a successful DC 23 Technology check or an appropriate DC 
  18 Expertise check (such as superheroes, supervillains, Emerald City, law 
  enforcement, or history).
  COSMONAUT’S GRAVITY GUN
  Wielded by the gravity-manipulating red menace Cosmonaut, this 
  bulbous rifle momentarily reverses gravity’s hold. The Cosmonaut was 
  last seen in 1974, but this version of her iconic rifle was confiscated 
  during her 1966 arrest. It can be used one of two ways:
  Characters blasted with the rifle attempt a Strength check (or appro-
  priate power check, such as Flight, Move Object, etc.) against DC 18. 
  On a failed check, they are thrown up and away a distance rank equal 
  to how much their check fell short of 18.
  A sustained blast can lift and move up to 800 lbs like a tractor beam.
  Gravity Gun: Move Object 8 (Limit Direction [away]), AE: Move Object 
  4 • 9 points
  THE PLATIPIZER’S PLATYPUS GUN
  Accidentally left behind in a failed Grue invasion in the ‘60’s, the 
  morphic-lock gun was used to discipline troops by forcing them into 
  a predetermined shape. The damaged weapon was discovered by 
  small-time criminal Titus Trank, and with the device permanently 
  locked on the last shape it inflicted—a platypus—Titus embarked 
  on a bizarre criminal career as the jolly bandit calling himself The 
  Platipizer. Trank’s criminal career is only noteworthy for its astonish-
  ing lack of success.
  Characters blasted with the platypus gun must succeed at a DC 10 
  Fortitude check or be transformed into a platypus, immediately re-
  ducing their size rank by 3, their Strength by 5 (minimum -5), and 
  their ground speed rank by 2. This transformation reduces most At-
  tack, Control, and Defense powers by 5 ranks, but otherwise does 
  not eliminate super powers. Even equipment is transformed into 
  tiny, adorable, platypus-appropriate versions. This transformation 
  lasts until the end of the scene or until countered with another trans-
  formation power.
  Platypus Gun: Ranged Affliction 10 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; 
  Transformed; Limited to platypus, Limited to 3rd degree) • 5 points
  WRAP-UP
  The players’ goal is to rescue the hostages and subdue as many mem-
  bers of the Bag Men as they can manage. The scene begins with most 
  of the gang trying to run, but two remain behind in the store as a dis-
  traction. Those who remain behind expect to be caught and only ne-
  gotiate long enough to slow heroes down.
  Any members of the Bag Men who can get out of sight for at least a full 
  round slip away into the city.
  SCENE 2 
  INVESTIGATION SCENE
  BELOW THE GILDED DREAMS
  If the PCs subdue the Bag Men and rescue their hostages, the police 
  quickly take any captives into custody, but allow the superheroes to 
  look around while backup arrives. Should all the Bag Men escape, 
  the police grumble about the incompetent heroes, but don’t have 
  the resources to chase them off until additional officers arrive on the 
  scene.
  EMERALD CITY OR BEYOND?
  EMERALD CITY OR BEYOND?
  While The Reign of Cats and Dogs is set in Emerald City, delving 
  into the setting’s long-concealed history with superbeings, it is 
  easily transplanted to almost any city large enough to have its 
  own university and zoo.
  More details on Emerald City can be found in the Emerald City 
  setting for Mutants & Masterminds third edition.
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  KEY POINTS
  There are several possible avenues of investigation in Gilded Dreams 
  and the old Guild of Justice headquarters beneath it.
  While the heroes won’t find any information about the headquar-
  ters’ construction or the building’s history in the Guild Hall itself, any 
  outside research reveals that it was constructed in 1922 and has had 
  over a dozen owners since being built. It was owned by a Constance 
  Meeks—the private name of Madam Mystery—between 1950 and 
  1976. None of the owners since have realized the building contained 
  a concealed basement.
  INTERVIEWING WITNESSES
  The robbery is a bizarre one. Tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of 
  jewelry sits untouched in the now-cracked display cases in the store, 
  and a five-foot-wide hole has been blown through the concrete floor. 
  Interviewing the witnesses, especially the owner of Gilded Dreams, 
  Tilda Muldane, reveals the following:
  • 
  The Bag Men burst in and demanded everyone lie on the floor 
  behind the counter, but they didn’t take any of the jewelry. In-
  stead they disabled the alarm and video cameras, then laid a 
  shaped charge on the floor and blew through into the basement.
  • 
  A police cruiser happened to be driving by when the blast went 
  off, starting the standoff.
  • 
  Half the Bag Men jumped down into the hole and came back a 
  minute later with their bags full. They had new guns at this point.
  • 
  Tilda specifically selected this building for her shop because it 
  was a historical site built in the 1920s, with a fun, retro façade. 
  Gilded Dreams has been open for almost ten years, but she never 
  realized the building had a basement.
  THE GUILD OF JUSTICE
  Investigating the hole the Bag Men made reveals a relatively large 
  complex below, with thick carpeting, wood paneling, and mod furni-
  ture. The hole drops fifteen feet into a large conference room with a 
  heavy, round table, a projector screen at one end, a dozen comfort-
  able chairs, and timeworn portraits. A plaque above it all features a 
  stylized globe and hands clasped in friendship, embossed with the 
  letters “G.o.J.” A successful DC 20 check with any appropriate Expertise 
  (like history, superheroes, or Emerald City) recognizes the symbol for 
  the Guild of Justice, a Silver Age team of heroes that operated on the 
  west coast throughout the 1950s and 60s and into the early 70s. But 
  even without a check, the PCs can recognize the furnishings and tech-
  nology all hail from around fifty years ago. The Fraternity of Evil’s “lie 
  low” policy over the last several decades has largely wiped the Guild’s 
  existence from public recollection.
  The back of the conference room opens into a semicircular gallery of 
  trophies, each labeled with a plaque. Halls on either side lead to pri-
  vate quarters, an infirmary, a gym, a computer room, a machine room, 
  a workshop, and a concealed elevator (sealed on the surface with 
  eight inches of concrete). The headquarters has obviously been de-
  commissioned—private belongings from the rooms have clearly been 
  packed away and heavy machinery carefully shut down and moth-
  balled—rather than forgotten after some tragedy, but any additional 
  information will require specific investigation.
  A successful DC 20 Expertise check or a DC 20 Investigation check in 
  the private quarters reveals that the Guild of Justice was a hero team 
  that operated on the west coast from 1952 and disbanded as the hero 
  community grew more grim (and its members began aging out of the 
  business) in 1973. They specifically made a point of cooperating with 
  HUAC, not necessarily because they feared communist infiltrators but 
  because they believed America needed patriots. While their coopera-
  tion was lauded when they first formed, by the 1970s it had tarnished 
  their all-American image and contributed to the group disbanding.
  The group consisted of the patriotic Flagwaver, masked avenger 
  Madam Mystery, the copper-coated Conductor, the gadgeteer En-
  gine Man, the earth-controller Black Avalanche, and the boomer-
  ang-throwing Comeback Kid. Only the identity of team leader Flag-
  waver—Ronald MacGuire—was ever released publicly.
  THE TROPHY ROOM AND THE EYE OF CHAOS
  The trophy room holds twenty years’ worth of mementos from vari-
  ous adventures the Guild of Justice survived. Some are ruined bits of 
  villainous schemes, such as the difference engine brain of one of the 
  original Mad Machinist’s automatons, but others are intact examples 
  of criminal technology, such as the gravity gun, platypus gun, and 
  various blaster pistols snatched by the Bag Men. A successful DC 10 
  Investigate check here uncovers recent footprints in the dust. Gaining 
  at least one Degree of Success reveals five distinct sets of footprints 
  shuffling around the dust. Two Degrees of Success also reveals that 
  four sets of footprints were made by sturdy but affordable work shoes, 
  while the fifth set belonged to someone wearing stylish size seven 
  sandals—far too small for any of the criminals. Comparing the Bag 
  Men’s stolen goods with the inventory reveals one item unaccount-
  ed for: a circular display stand simply labeled “Daddy Dada’s Eye of 
  Chaos.”
  Heroes with magical or cosmic senses can detect a powerful aura of 
  strange energy lingering on the display, as well as the impression of 
  recent teleportation (Cloud accidentally teleported several miles away 
  when she grasped the Eye of Chaos, but has since moved on).
  A successful DC 20 Expertise (superheroes, history, or magic) check 
  reveals that Daddy Dada was a west coast supervillain from the 1960s 
  who warped reality into surreal new shapes to confound heroes and 
  share his twisted brilliance with an unwilling public. His power came 
  entirely from a cursed gem—a fist-sized pearl called the Eye of Cha-
  os—that he looted from a Persian temple while on a university expe-
  dition. The G.o.J.’s science expert, Engine Man, described the Eye of 
  Chaos as a “thought transanimator” capable of turning its wielder’s 
  wishes—both conscious and subconscious—into reality, but the over-
  whelming power also eroded inhibitions and exaggerated paranoia.
  Most everything else in the trophy room besides the gadgets men-
  tioned above are useless trinkets kept for sentimental value.
  THE COMPUTER ROOM
  The Guild of Justice utilized a cutting-edge computer system… for 
  1975. The room contains several large reel-to-reel computer drives, 
  as well as three workstations with analog keyboards and mono-
  chrome displays. After sitting neglected for 50 years, the system 
  requires careful work to be reactivated. This challenge sequence 
  requires heroes to accumulate three successful DC 18 checks be-
  fore three failures, or else the computer is damaged in the boot-up 
  process and rendered useless. Characters may attempt checks with 
  5
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  Expertise (engineering or science), Technology, or appropriate tech-
  nology-related powers.
  Once activated, the computer can provide any of the information from 
  the previous two sections, as well as any details about the Guild’s his-
  tory or foes the Gamemaster can make up on the spot.
  WRAP-UP
  By the end of this scene, the PCs should probably suspect that a pow-
  erful artifact—the Eye of Chaos—is missing from this time-lost super-
  hero headquarters, taken by an as-yet-unknown player who used the 
  Bag Men as a distraction.
  SCENE 3 
  ROLEPLAYING SCENE
  EYES ON THE PRIZE
  After the heroes explore the old Guild of Justice headquarters and dis-
  cover the missing trophy, they may decide the old supervillain artifact 
  represents a danger to the city and try to track down its location.
  This scene is optional; It’s possible the heroes do not realize the Eye of 
  Chaos has been stolen, or don’t care to investigate it if they do. In this 
  case, skip to Scene 4.
  KEY POINTS
  Once the PCs realize that a powerful supervillain weapon is unac-
  counted for, they may take steps to track it down before it falls into the 
  wrong hands. There are several routes of investigation they may pur-
  sue, including questioning the Bag Men, tracking the Guild of Justice, 
  building inventions or rituals to trace the artifact, and using powers to 
  investigate the scene.
  To give every player a chance to shine, GMs should consider allowing 
  individual players or small groups of players to pursue different lines 
  of investigation.
  QUESTIONING THE BAG MEN
  If the PCs have a good relationship with the police or can otherwise 
  gain access to the criminals who conducted the robbery, questioning 
  one of their number is a skill challenge, requiring three DC 18 success-
  es before accruing two failures. Heroes can use any of the following 
  skills: Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion, Expertise (crime or psy-
  chology), or any other skill PCs can reasonably justify.
  If the PCs fail, the Bag Man refuses to talk. The heroes may try again on 
  a new member of the gang, but the criminals are emboldened as they 
  see their comrades hold out against the heroes, increasing the skill DC 
  by +2 for each member of the gang the PCs fail to question.
  If the PCs succeed, the member spills everything they know: They 
  purchased the old hideout’s location off an ad on Dougslist (a DC 10 
  Technology check can confirm this by tracking down the old ad). Ruck-
  sack and Purse met with the seller—a fairly average blonde woman 
  in her early 20s—at a coffee shop in University Hill near Emerald City 
  University—the Green Bean Machine—and paid her $5,000 for the lo-
  cation and some proof of its existence— an old photo album. Neither 
  Rucksack nor Purse thinks they would recognize the girl again, but 
  said she freaked out when they got their coffees with cream instead 
  of soy milk. After this they scouted the store and realized the security 
  response was actually slower mid-day than at night, and conducted 
  their robbery accordingly.
  Mental powers to control the Bag Men or dive into their thoughts re-
  veal the same information, and can coax a more accurate description 
  of their unidentified contact.
  TRACKING THE GUILD OF JUSTICE
  Attempting to track down the Guild of Justice is tricky as only Flag-
  waver’s identity was ever made public, and even then his children lat-
  er sued to have most of those records sealed to protect their privacy. 
  A successful DC 22 Investigation, Technology, or appropriate Exper-
  tise check (such as bureaucracy, law, or streetwise) digs up a few re-
  cords revealing that Flagwaver—Ronald MacGuire—remained in the 
  Emerald City area and died last year. He had three children and five 
  grandchildren, most of whom have since moved to Seattle and north-
  ern California. His eldest son, Ronald MacGuire Junior, owns a leather 
  goods shop in the Yellow Brick Row: MacGuire Leather. Ron Jr. (use 
  the statistics for a Bystander from the Deluxe Gamemaster’s Guide) is 
  suspicious of anyone asking about his father after a burst of fans and 
  reporters sought him out after the old man’s passing, but if persuaded 
  to talk he admits he and his conservative father never got along well 
  and barely spoke for the past decade. He hasn’t even bothered looking 
  through the trunks that they collected from the retirement home after 
  his father died.
  Ron Jr. has two daughters: Cloud, who attends ECU, and Sky, who at-
  tends Westwinter High School. He refuses to allow strangers to meet 
  either of his children—he doesn’t want their lives turned upside down 
  because of his father’s eccentricities. Heroes who saw a glimpse of the 
  woman below the jewelry store battle, or who used powers to look 
  through the minds of the Bag Men or any of the witnesses, can rec-
  ognize Cloud from a photograph behind the counter in Ron Jr.’s shop.
  USING INVENTIONS OR RITUALS
  Using the Inventor or Ritualist feats, the heroes can easily assemble a 
  plot device to locate the Eye of Chaos. All they need is time. The most 
  basic creation would be Senses 3 (Ranged Detect Magical Artifacts, lim-
  ited to the Eye of Chaos) for a single power point. This requires 1 hour 
  to design and 4 hours to assemble for an invention, or 4 hours to design 
  and 10 minutes to cast as a ritual. This version is useless beyond 50 feet.
  The easiest addition is to add Tracking to the Senses power, allowing 
  the PCs to follow the magical aura of the Eye of Chaos from the Guild 
  Hall to wherever it has gone now, though they are limited by their 
  movement powers. This increases the creation’s cost to 2pp and dou-
  bles the time needed to create it.
  Adding Accurate and two ranks of Extended to the Senses power al-
  lows the heroes to pinpoint the exact location of the Eye of Chaos in 
  Emerald City. This increases the cost of the creation to 3pp and triples 
  the creation time.
  This technique leads the heroes to Cloud’s room at ECU. Heroes can 
  jury rig the inventing process or ritual to accomplish their goal very 
  quickly, but learning the exact location of the Eye of Chaos doesn’t fix 
  anything immediately, as Cloud accidentally releases its power before 
  anyone can reach her.
  6
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  USING OTHER POWERS
  Powers like Postcognition and Comprehend (inanimate objects) actu-
  ally let the heroes witness the crime as it happens, while using Mind 
  Reading on any of the witnesses allows the PCs to notice a young 
  woman at the crime in people’s memories who wasn’t there when they 
  arrived on the scene: Cloud MacGuire.  A successful DC 18 Perception 
  check while examining the past notices an Emerald City University key 
  card hanging from her belt, as well as a coffee discount card for a shop 
  called Green Bean Machine.
  Enhanced sensory powers should reveal similar leads. For example, 
  scent reveals a mild scent of high-end body lotion and single-source, 
  fair-trade Sumatran coffee. 
  INVESTIGATING EMERALD CITY UNIVERSITY
  Emerald City University is large enough that asking about a single 
  student takes time and energy. Every attempt to gather information 
  and learn anything about Cloud MacGuire requires a successful DC 20 
  Investigation check.
  Cloud is an average student from a well-off family. She never met an 
  activist cause she didn’t like, but she quickly wears out her welcome in 
  campus groups thanks to her zero-tolerance personality, selfish streak, 
  and tendency to fixate on the “big picture” of any cause while ignoring 
  underlying causes, context, or the needs of people more directly in-
  volved. The general impression others have of her is a spoiled kid who 
  wants to feel like a persecuted hero. No one knows off-hand where she 
  is today, but Herman Wallace, an internet celebrity vegan chef and 
  barista at Green Bean Machine, says Cloud was banned for life from 
  the shop after throwing a huge tantrum several days ago when she in-
  sisted other customers were disrespecting her veganism by ordering 
  their coffee with cream.
  Checking out the coffee shop Green Bean Machine automatically re-
  veals some basic information about Cloud.
  Cloud’s dorm room is currently unoccupied, but several scrapbooks 
  and a worn-out old red, white, and blue leotard lie on her desk. Her 
  laptop is still on, open to her social media accounts. Her blog mentions 
  “discovering a horrifying family shame” recently, along with “rededi-
  cating herself to setting the world right and empowering those most 
  in need!” The real treasure is Cloud’s FaceWall, to which she soon be-
  gins posting photos of the Eye of Chaos and updates on her scheme 
  as it progresses.
  WRAP-UP
  How much of Cloud’s plan and activities the PC’s track down helps 
  determine what advantages and resources Cloud has in her final en-
  counter in Scene 5.
  SCENE 4 
  CHALLENGE SCENE
  DOG POUND
  This scene likely begins at some point during Scene 3, adding addi-
  tional complications.
  After several hours of examining and experimenting with the Eye of 
  Chaos, Cloud finally unleashes the magical gem’s power. The strange 
  artifact taps into her subconscious desire to “empower” enslaved ani-
  mals, generating a wave of magical energy that grants super powers 
  to animals all across Emerald City. With the power unleashed, the gem 
  begins corrupting the already selfish student, and she ignores the cha-
  os she has just created to fly off in search of more powerful minions.
  KEY POINTS
  The animals empowered by the Eye of Chaos aren’t under any special 
  compulsions. They act according to their normal instincts or training, 
  backed up by superhuman power.  You should feel free to throw out 
  as many or as few encounters as the group has time for; the animals 
  shouldn’t be dangerous opponents for superheroes, but number in 
  the hundreds and are sowing chaos all across the city. This is a chance 
  to have fun and generate some Hero Points before the final confron-
  tation, so you should feel free to throw in any additional encounters 
  you can imagine—especially if any of the heroes have pets at home.
  Being otherwise ordinary animals, any of these challenges are easily 
  dealt with by way of violence, but senseless slaughter of housepets 
  won’t earn the PCs any friends on the evening news. Clever use of skills 
  and power checks should be rewarded. In general, a single Degree of 
  Success on a check is enough to distract, delay, or otherwise minimize 
  the harm an empowered animal presents for the moment, while two 
  or more Degrees of Success deals with it peacefully for the remainder 
  of the scene. Placating an animal with something appealing (using 
  catnip to calm the empowered cats, for example) grants a +2 circum-
  stance bonus on a relevant check.
  Heroes can simply fight these animals, which count as minions (stat-
  blocks can be found in Chapter 3 of the Deluxe Gamemaster’s Guide). 
  If heroes find nonviolent or clever ways to contain, tame, or neutralize 
  the danger the animals pose to the public, award them a Hero Point.
  MULTI-PIGEON (DC 13)
  Despite appearances, the city’s pigeons do not have the ability to 
  multiply themselves. Instead, they have gained an obsessive hive-
  mind that grants the gift of speech—and each member of the flock 
  feels hungry whenever a single member does. They mob passersby 
  demanding food and chase anything that moves. The flock doesn’t 
  have a statblock; assume they have Resistances of +3 and Intimida-
  tion skill modifiers of +6. Anyone who shares space with the massive, 
  60-foot-diameter flock must resist the flock’s Intimidate check and 
  make a DC 16 Toughness check against the scratching and pecking.
  The flock can be briefly scared off with an Intimidate check, contained 
  in cages or force fields, sated with food, or rendered normal if their 
  psychic link is shattered by a successful Mental Blast or Mind Reading 
  power check. Otherwise heroes might focus on protecting average cit-
  izens from the birds’ ravenous wrath.
  SHADOW KITTIES (DC 15)
  These cats have been pushed out of phase with reality, allowing them 
  to pass through solid objects. They can walk through walls to explore 
  as they like, but the experience has left the pampered pets startled 
  and looking for comfort in any humans. Their touch shorts out the 
  nervous system, causing numbness and paralysis and leaving twitch-
  ing, convulsing citizens in their wake—an Affliction 6 (Resisted and 
  7
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated; Reaction; In-
  curable) effect with a +4 attack check modifier.
  The cats can be contained in force fields, electromagnetic fields, or 
  via the Move Object power. They are also easily distracted by small, 
  fast-moving items like laser pointers and shrunken heroes.
  SPEED WEASELS (DC 19)
  These ferrets have been gifted with super-speed and the power to 
  shoot through solid obstacles like bullets, letting them explore and 
  destroy everything in their path. They travel in pairs and trios, rolling 
  along in high-speed wrestling matches, tearing apart anything and 
  everything that catches their attention. The weasels’ high-speed she-
  nanigans function as a Line Area Weaken Toughness 9 (Affects Crea-
  tures and Objects; Linked to Damage 9) effect, and if left unchecked, 
  they’ll dismantle a city block over the next hour.
  The animals’ hyperkinetic natures leave trails of electricity. Effects that 
  control or drain electrical energy or manipulate kinetic energy have 
  the side-effect of slowing the ferrets. The weasels are mostly bored 
  and can primarily be dealt with via toys. Long, curving tunnels and 
  tubes are especially appealing to them, and have the benefit of forcing 
  them to slow down. Finally, a good, high-speed chase (a power check 
  using any movement power, or Agility check) can tire the little guys 
  out for a few hours.
  WOOFERS (DC 17)
  Dogs across the city have been gifted with ultrasonic blasts, released 
  whenever they bark. With all the excitement around the city, they ar-
  en’t holding back. Each blast is a Cone Area Damage 7 effect.
  The dogs are among the most energetic and destructive danger to 
  the city. Removing them from the city keeps their blasts from harming 
  anyone, as can powers that control sound or create silence. A dog can 
  also be muzzled with a successful grab attack.
  ALICE
  Alice is a garden-variety pet hedgehog, imbued by the Eye of Cha-
  os with the power of super-intelligence... for a hedgehog. She alone 
  among Emerald City’s panicked animals understands what’s going 
  on—and the chaos and disorder she sees her ilk bringing to the world 
  horrifies her. Alice witnesses one hero or group of heroes fighting back 
  against the unintended destruction and hopes to assist, tugging on 
  a boot or pant leg once they finish handling an empowered pet. She 
  introduces herself and asks if she can aid the hero in any way.
  Alice is polite and heartfelt, and a little shy, but she wants to assist 
  in any way possible. Her spontaneous intellect and connection to the 
  magic of the Eye of Chaos have blessed her with a great deal of insight 
  about the artifact. She can even track it, though not very quickly. With 
  her newfound intelligence, she’d like very much to become a writer, 
  but knows stopping the chaos in the city will likely revert her back to 
  an ordinary, dull-witted (if lovable) hedgehog.
  Alice is not a combatant, instead serving as a helpful source of infor-
  mation should the PCs’ investigations stall out, or if they need help 
  tracking Cloud to their final confrontation at the zoo. She can suggest 
  solutions if asked, but don’t let her take over the investigation. If any of 
  the PCs have mundane pets of their own, consider replacing Alice with 
  an enlightened version of their beloved companion.
  SCENE 5 
  CONFLICT SCENE
  KAIJU ATTACK!
  When the heroes regroup after dealing with several empowered ani-
  mals, they face one of the most dangerous opponents empowered by 
  the Eye of Chaos.
  If you began Scene 4 midway through Scene 3 and the heroes’ investi-
  gation, make sure you give them enough time between animal-relat-
  ed chaos to finish any ideas they had before springing this final con-
  frontation on them. Kaiju’s rampage works best as a culmination of the 
  chaos and excitement already gripping the city.
  If the heroes haven’t earned many Hero Points during their adventure, 
  you can add additional bystanders in danger as the result of Kaiju’s 
  rampage, such as people dangling from partially destroyed buildings 
  or firefighters losing their battle against a blaze the pet lizard acciden-
  tally ignites. Heroes taking time out to rescue citizens or help contain 
  the damage earn a Hero Point.
  KAIJU
  Kaiju is a pet bearded dragon, and normally quite friendly. But his new-
  found power of growth has left this tiny lizard with a monster-sized 
  hunger. As the heroes regroup, Kaiju assumes his full size and begins 
  rampaging, seeking out car-sized crickets but settling for hot dog 
  carts and the occasional police horse.
  Unlike most of the empowered animals, Kaiju’s transformation and 
  resulting hunger have left him cantankerous and mean, and he has 
  no problem taking a bite out of a meddling hero. He does not use the 
  minion rules. If he can be lead to a nearby park, he can content himself 
  to munch on the foliage.
  Every round, roll a d20. On a roll of 1–7, Kaiju ignores the heroes that 
  round and hungrily eyes a snack, such as a car full of screaming pas-
  sengers or another empowered animal. If a hero saves this target of 
  the dragon’s hunger, award them a Hero Point.
  KAIJU  
  PL 12
  STR 16
  STA 18
  AGL 2
  DEX 0
  FGT 1
  INT –4
  AWE 2
  PRE –1
  Powers: Gigantic Growth 20 (Permanent), Actually a Lizard Movement 3 
  (Slithering, Sure-footed, Wall-crawling), Senses 3 (Accurate Smell, Low-light 
  Vision)
  Advantages: Close Attack 3, Fast Grab (bite), Improved Grab
  Skills: Intimidation 0 (+9), Perception 4 (+6), Stealth 2 (–16)
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +2
  Bite or Claw 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 16
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +4
  +6
  +18
  +5
  +18
   
  Complications: Motivation—Hunger: Kaiju wants food to sustain his 
  enormous body and will chase anything that looks edible. Cold-Blooded: 
  Kaiju is automatically Dazed by any attack with the cold descriptor, whether 
  he succeeds at his Toughness check or not. Giant Lizard: Kaiju is an 
  unintelligent reptile.
  8
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  The heroes can defeat Moonbeam in a standard knock-down, drag-
  out fight, but they might realize the gem is exerting an unnatural 
  influence over her from their past investigations or with a DC 15 
  Insight check. Concerned heroes can attempt to de-escalate the 
  fight without violence by talking her down or separating her 
  from the Eye of Chaos. 
  • Talk: Talking Moonbeam down is a challenge sequence, and 
  requires a total of 10 successful DC 22 (DC 10 + Will de-
  fense) checks using any influence skill or appropriate 
  Expertise (such as psychology, magic, or activism). 
  For every 5 failures the PCs generate, Cloud’s 
  rage and rejection of their control manifests as 
  an extra standard action for one round, like-
  ly used to fire an Energy Blast at a hero who 
  failed one of those checks.
  • 
  Separation: Heroes can attempt to sep-
  arate Moonbeam from the Eye of Chaos with 
  a disarm attack, though Moonbeam resists these 
  attempts with her Protection power (+18) rather 
  than with Strength. If she is disarmed, a visible 
  psychic tether remains between Moonbeam 
  and the Eye of Chaos, and the gem will try to 
  return to her on her initiative each round un-
  less held back with a DC 15 Strength (or ap-
  propriate power) check. After three rounds, 
  the tether vanishes, and Moonbeam loses 
  her powers.
  MOONBEAM’S MEAN-AGERIE
  Spurred on by the Eye of Chaos, Moonbeam has decided 
  she needs a dedicated circle of super-powered animals to 
  protect her. She uses the artifact to directly empower four 
  zoo animals—a lowland gorilla, a kangaroo, a lion, and a 
  hammerhead shark—to act as her minions.
  The Mean-agerie are only marginally smarter than wild 
  animals, but understand Moonbeam’s commands and 
  possess unnatural loyalty to her. They can also coordinate 
  with one another, directed subconsciously by Cloud’s will, 
  and avoid infighting unless somehow provoked 
  by the heroes.
  Defeating Moonbeam immediately de-pow-
  ers her Mean-agerie (at least for now) and the 
  confused animals attempt to flee, though Rammer-
  head will need assistance returning to the zoo’s 
  aquarium.
  MOONBEAM 
  PL 12
  See Cast section.
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +0
  Chaos Blast 
  +6 
  Ranged, Damage 18
  Chaos Burst 
  — 
  Close, Burst, Damage 12
  Energy Bonds 
  — 
  Perception, Affliction 9 (Dodge)
  Unarmed 
  +0 
  Close, Damage 0
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +6/0*
  +6/0*
  +6/0*
  +12/0*
  +18/0*
   
  *without Eye of Chaos
  SCENE 6 
  CONFLICT SCENE
  BRAVE ZOO WORLD
  With the power of the Eye of Chaos at her command and her mind 
  warped by the gem’s power, Cloud has made a beeline for the 
  Emerald City Zoo to recruit a following of empowered exotic 
  animals to improve her pastiche. She plans to use her en-
  dangered posse to finish bringing Emerald City to its 
  knees—though she doesn’t have any real idea why 
  or what to do with a city once it bows to her.
  This is the final showdown with the neophyte su-
  pervillain Cloud is transforming into. Separating 
  her from the Eye of Chaos will revert all the animals 
  in Emerald City back to their non-powered selves, 
  but the magic of the Eye of Chaos makes that task 
  far more difficult than a simple disarm attempt. Alice 
  the hedgehog can confirm as much if the PCs don’t 
  come to that conclusion on their own.
  If the PCs used a ritual, invention, or power to track 
  the Eye of Chaos, they arrive at the zoo just after 
  Cloud and witness zoogoers fleeing in a panic, 
  but the fledgling supervillain has yet to em-
  power any of the zoo animals. Cloud must 
  spend a standard action on her turn to em-
  power an animal and bring it into the fight.
  If the PCs uncovered Cloud’s blog and social 
  media accounts during Scene 3, they can ar-
  rive while Cloud is still empowering animals. She only has 
  Goo-rilla and Lyin’ by her side, and must use a standard ac-
  tion on her turn to empower Rammerhead or Bangaroo.
  If the heroes don’t manage to track down Cloud’s identi-
  ty during Scene 3, they can still be alerted to trouble at 
  the zoo thanks to Alice the hedgehog’s sixth sense or 
  from news reports announcing a “new supervillain” 
  at the zoo. By the time they arrive, Cloud has em-
  powered all four animals to fight by her side.
  If PCs spoke with her father at the Yellow Brick 
  Row, they gain enough limited insight into her 
  psyche to gain a +2 bonus on any interaction 
  skill checks made against her.
  TACTICS
  While the Eye of Chaos is the ultimate 
  problem in this scenario, it works most 
  effectively through Cloud MacGuire’s—now calling herself Moon-
  beam— powerful will, as well as her new Mean-agerie: Goo-Rilla, Lyin’, 
  Rammerhead, and Bangaroo.
  CLOUD MACGUIRE, AKA MOONBEAM
  Cloud takes this opportunity to dub herself Moonbeam, before lashing 
  out at any interlopers. In addition to her statistics, she also has a special 
  plot-device power, allowing her to empower animals into superbeings 
  as a standard action. She creates a circle of four minions from her four 
  favorite animals before lashing out with blasts from the Eye of Chaos.
  9
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  BANGAROO 
  PL 8
  See Cast Section.
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +9
  Extradimensional Pocket 
  +9 
  Close, Affliction 7 (Dodge)
  Power Kick 
  +9 
  Close, Damage 7
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +8
  +8
  +6
  +3
  +8/6*
   
  *without Defensive Roll
  GOO-RILLA 
  PL 8
  See Cast Section.
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +3
  Unarmed 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 8
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +7
  +6
  +7
  +6
  +9
  LYIN’ 
  PL 8
  See Cast Section.
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +9
  Tooth and Claw 
  +7 
  Close, Damage 7
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +8
  +6
  +7
  +8
  +8
  RAMMERHEAD 
  PL 8
  See Cast Section.
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +3
  Bite 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 6
  Kinetic Field Slam 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 10
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +6
  +5
  +5
  +5
  +10/1*
   
  *without Kinetic Field
  EPILOGUE
  Though the animals of Emerald City caused extensive property damage, 
  the ordeal caused few injuries and little lasting damage to the city’s infra-
  structure thanks to intervention by local heroes. Missing pets will remain 
  a problem for several weeks, taxing animal control. Ultimately, the citizens 
  are thrilled that the heroes put an end to this very bizarre caper.
  The fate of Cloud/Moonbeam depends on how the heroes defeated 
  her. If they manage to talk her down, she surrenders peacefully and 
  volunteers for therapy and community service, and eventually learns 
  to combine her passion with empathy and understanding to become 
  a more even-tempered advocate for animal rights. If the heroes in-
  stead separated her from the Eye of Chaos, the gem maintains some 
  influence over her mind for years; she can still reform, but she requires 
  more time and energy, and could backslide again if life becomes too 
  stressful. If the PCs defeat her in combat, Moonbeam’s persecution 
  complex fixates squarely on the superheroes who defeated her, and 
  (for now at least) she is unwilling to invest herself in healing or person-
  al growth, ultimately ending up incarcerated. Moonbeam could easily 
  return to menace the PCs, using the psychic connection she retains to 
  the Eye of Chaos to track down the artifact upon escaping from prison, 
  or even using a ritual or criminal contacts on the outside to bring the 
  stone to her and resume her identity as Moonbeam.
  REWARDS
  Award the heroes 2 power points for saving the city from danger, and 
  an additional power point if they showed concern for the safety of the 
  city’s panicked animals as well, minimizing the damage they inflicted 
  on them. Such a public crisis can put the heroes in the spotlight and 
  earn them adulation or mockery, depending on how they handled 
  various problems around the city, or even sharp critiques from local 
  animal welfare organizations if they were particularly rough. Heroes 
  who show exceptional concern for the city’s animals may also earn 
  allies among that same community, who may be able to provide ani-
  mal-related information or expertise in the future.
  The Silver Age gadgets the heroes potentially reclaimed in Scene 1 
  may be fun rewards if players invest power points to keep them per-
  manently or add them to an arsenal. Even if they don’t, you may con-
  sider letting the heroes get a handful of uses out of the 50-year-old 
  gadgets before they break down. Likewise, the heroes might claim the 
  old Guild of Justice headquarters as their own if they invest the points 
  or you want to reward them for a job well done.
  The most hazardous potential reward for this adventure is the Eye of 
  Chaos, the mysterious artifact that empowered Cloud’s bizarre reign 
  of terror. The heroes may keep it or find a place to store it, but using 
  the Eye’s power always comes with a cost as it overwhelms a user’s 
  mind and turns their interests and whims into overwhelming needs, 
  essentially forcing new Complications on a character. These new Com-
  plications remain so long as a user holds the orb, and may persist for 
  days, weeks, or months afterward. Use the device statistics in Cloud’s 
  statblock for other users, but the Eye of Chaos can also create PL X plot 
  effects that are entirely under the Gamemaster’s control.
  CONTINUING THE ADVENTURE
  There are several ways to extend this adventure into a longer adven-
  ture or story arc:
  ANIMALS ON PARADE
  Any of the empowered animals from this adventure can linger as re-
  curring threats, or the powers granted by the Eye of Chaos may remain 
  in some creatures, creating problems the heroes need to clean up 
  from time to time for weeks. This is especially true of the Mean-agerie, 
  who were empowered by Cloud directly rather than incidentally. This 
  team may even begin developing human-like intelligence over time. 
  Any empowered animals will be drawn to Cloud.
  BAD MOON ON THE RISE
  Cloud MacGuire, now firmly in her Moonbeam identity, might return 
  with the Eye of Chaos to seek vengeance against the “bullies” who 
  attacked her. Moonbeam is a great excuse to run “weird” adventures, 
  using her powers to warp the heroes or the world around her. Moon-
  beam is spoiled, emotionally stunted, and self-centered, and her uses 
  of the Eye will revolve around how she sees the world. She might 
  brainwash the whole city into seeing the heroes as wanted villains, or 
  transform them into super-powered animals.
  101010
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  DADDY’S HOME
  With the Eye of Chaos out in the world again, it may call out to its 
  previous, more experienced user, Daddy Dada. Though an old man 
  now, the orb can restore his youth. Daddy Dada’s obsession with ab-
  surdism and taking down social conventions make his schemes more 
  far-reaching than Moonbeam’s. He might transform the city’s drink-
  ing water into drugs, turn the city’s politicians into parrots, or turn the 
  world upside down, forcing heroes to save bystanders before they can 
  fall into the sky. Use the Sorcerer or Imp archetypes (see Chapter 3 
  of the Deluxe Gamemaster’s Guide) to represent Daddy Dada and his 
  greater experience with the Eye.
  CAST
  The following are the major characters encountered in The Reign of 
  Cats and Dogs, including their backgrounds and game stats.
  THE BAG MEN
  The Bag Men are a gang that has existed in one form or another in 
  Emerald City since the 1920s, when they were literally the bag men 
  for Louie “The Bull” Labrochi. After the Bull’s arrest, they developed 
  their distinctive style of wearing bank bags as masks and adopting 
  bag-themed nicknames, and began hiring themselves out as goons 
  for various crime lords and, later, supervillains. Since the 1960s, their 
  gang has been notable for preferring payment in the form of exotic 
  technology they can use to perform their own high-profile robber-
  ies. Though broken up multiple times, the group eventually reforms 
  as at least one or two previous members build a new crew.
  Member nicknames include Duffel, Brown Bag, Knapsack, Purse, 
  Paper, Plastic, Clutch, Satchel, Tote, and Rucksack. The title of Duffel 
  typically goes to the leader, who also has the Leadership and Inspira-
  tion Advantages. The burliest member gets the title of Rucksack, and 
  the newest recruit is saddled with Knapsack until he or she earns a 
  better name.
  THE BAG MEN 
  PL 5
    Minions.
  STR 3
  STA 4
  AGL 0
  DEX 2
  FGT 3
  INT 0
  AWE 1
  PRE 0
  Equipment: Blaster Pistol (Damage 5), Collapsible Baton (Damage 2; 
  Subtle), Undercover Shirt (Protection 2)
  Advantages: Equipment 3
  Skills: Close Combat: Baton 2 (+5), Expertise: Criminal 6 (+6), Intimidation 5 
  (+5), Ranged Combat: Tech Guns 3 (+5), Technology 5 (+5), Vehicles 5 (+7)
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +0
  Baton 
  +5 
  Close, Damage 5
  Blaster Pistol 
  +5 
  Ranged, Damage 5
  Unarmed 
  +5 
  Close, Damage 3
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +4
  +4
  +5
  +3
  +6/4*
   
  *without armor
  Totals: Abilities 26 + Powers 0 + Advantages 3 + Skills 13 (26 ranks) + 
  Defenses 8 = 50
  CLOUD MACGUIRE, AKA MOONBEAM
  Cloud MacGuire is all the worst stereotypes of an entitled white activ-
  ist: stubborn, self-involved, lacking in empathy, and utterly convinced 
  of her own moral superiority. Despite her relatively affluent childhood, 
  she is convinced the world is unfair in vague and unspecified ways that 
  target her personally, and that any deviation from her own shortsight-
  ed moral compass is unforgivably evil. She has caused headaches for 
  a number of activists across the Emerald City University campus. She 
  often talks over and bullies the various minorities she claims to be an 
  ally of, and is quick to turn to tears when confronted about it, leaving 
  her convinced she is a lone victim and that most of her fellow students 
  are just bullies.
  While annoying, Cloud isn’t wholly a villain yet, just overwhelmed by 
  power. With a few more years to mature, she’s equally likely to start ap-
  proaching the world with more nuance, listening to those she claims 
  to represent and becoming an activist who can use her privilege to 
  do good, or swinging hard towards the need for control and follow-
  ing in her grandfather’s more conservative shoes. In Cloud’s mind, 
  her mission to free all the animals in Emerald City is a noble one, and 
  she is oblivious to the irony of recruiting endangered zoo animals as 
  her personal soldiers. Her own actions are always justified by circum-
  stance—a kindness she doesn’t often extend to others.
  THE EYE OF CHAOS
  The Eye of Chaos has exacerbated all of Cloud’s worst qualities, and 
  gives her the power to back up any whims. It tapped into her sub-
  conscious desires to cause the initial transformation of Emerald City’s 
  animals, and the heady rush of power is encouraging her current bid 
  to transform zoo animals into powerful super soldiers. The gem acts 
  as an emotional feedback loop, growing stronger over time. Over the 
  course of days or weeks, it could easily drive an already capricious col-
  lege student permanently insane!
  The Eye grants vast powers to manipulate reality. It can re-shape the 
  world to trap creatures, warp materials into new forms, or unleash 
  powerful bursts of chaos energy that twist and unravel the world. Its 
  ability to transmute thoughts into reality also transforms Cloud’s self 
  esteem into a literal shell to protect her from harm.
  Without the Eye of Chaos, Cloud uses the Jumped-Up Nobody arche-
  type from Chapter 3 of the Deluxe Gamemaster’s Guide.
  MOONBEAM’S MEAN-AGERIE
  This circle of four zoo animals have been deliberately augmented 
  by Cloud, making them more powerful than other affected animals. 
  Cloud’s influence has also granted them simple intellects—just 
  enough to understand and carry out her orders. With their minds 
  created entirely by the Eye of Chaos, they can’t resist her commands.
  While it is assumed that the Mean-agerie lose their powers at the end 
  of this adventure, you may decide they retain their abilities and aware-
  ness to become recurring antagonists. They might fixate on Cloud, 
  maintaining their subconscious link to her and trying to act on her 
  desires to reunite her with the Eye of Chaos or simply attack those she 
  grows upset with. They may also become independent once Cloud is 
  separated from the orb, and begin their own campaigns of survival or 
  join the local cryptic clans.
  111111
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  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  BANGAROO 
  Bangaroo is a scrappy brawler, though that comes more from her ir-
  ritable personality. Cloud’s empowerment has improved her physical 
  abilities, as well as gifted her with an extradimensional pocket she can 
  stuff people into. Trapped enemies can escape immediately if they 
  have the Dimensional Travel power, but otherwise may attempt a DC 
  18 power check using movement powers or Acrobatics to escape.
  BANGAROO 
  PL 8
  STR 4
  STA 6
  AGL 5
  DEX 3
  FGT 7
  INT –3
  AWE 3
  PRE –2
  Powers: Extradimensional Pocket (Affliction 7 (Resisted by Dodge; 
  Overcome by movement or Acrobatics; Incapacitated; Limited Degree 
  [third only])), Leaping 1 (15 feet), Power Kick (Damage 3 (Strength-based)), 
  Senses 4 (Accurate Hearing, Acute Smell, Low-light Vision), Speed 2 (8 MPH)
  Advantages: Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Improved Initiative, 
  Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Power Attack
  Skills: Acrobatics 3 (+8), Athletics 3 (+7), Perception 2 (+5)
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +9
  Extradimensional Pocket 
  +9 
  Close, Affliction 7 (Dodge)
  Power Kick 
  +9 
  Close, Damage 7
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +8
  +8
  +6
  +3
  +8/6*
   
  *without Defensive Roll
  Totals: Abilities 46 + Powers 14 + Advantages 9 + Skills 4 (8 ranks) + 
  Defenses 4 = 77.
  Complications: Animal: Bangaroo is a barely sentient animal controlled 
  by Cloud. Jumpy: Bangaroo is likely to attack anything that startles her, 
  including fellow empowered animals.
  GOO-RILLA 
  Goo-rilla is a lowland gorilla silverback composed of semi-solid slime. 
  He retains his impressive strength, but is extremely resistant to physi-
  cal attacks. Most of his aggression extends from a need to defend his 
  territory, and he is relatively gentle when confronted one-on-one.
  GOO-RILLA 
  PL 8
  STR 8
  STA 6
  AGL 3
  DEX 1
  FGT 3
  INT –2
  AWE 2
  PRE 0
  Powers: Growth 4 (Innate, Permanent), Protection 3 (+3 Toughness), Senses 
  1 (Acute Smell), Goo Form (Elongation 1 (30 feet), Immunity 80 (Toughness 
  Effects; Limited to Half Effect), Insubstantial 1)
  Advantages: Close Attack 3
  Skills: Athletics 6 (+14), Perception 6 (+8)
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +3
  Unarmed 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 8
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +7
  +6
  +7
  +6
  +9
  Totals: Abilities 26 + Powers 59 + Advantages 3 + Skills 6 (12 ranks) + 
  Defenses 16 = 110
  Complications: Animal: Goo-rilla is a barely sentient animal controlled by 
  Cloud. Sticky: Goo-rilla may adhere to things unexpectedly.
  LYIN’ 
  Lyin’ is an average lioness invested with the power of illusion, but not 
  the intelligence to take full advantage of it. Her powers are mostly lim-
  ited to creating swathes of illusory jungle (good enough to allow her 
  to use her Favored Environment Advantage) and create a hallucinato-
  ry pride to hunt alongside her, effectively granting her concealment 
  unless her illusion can be pentrated. She can also use her illusion pow-
  er rank for her Fascinate Advantage, distracting and confusing prey.
  LYIN’ 
  PL 8
  STR 5
  STA 2
  AGL 5
  DEX 1
  FGT 7
  INT –3
  AWE 2
  PRE 0
  Powers: Growth 2 (Innate, Permanent), Illusory Pack (Concealment 4 (All 
  Visual Senses)), Illusory Jungle (Illusion 8 (Affects All Sense Types; Area 
  2 [1,000 cft], Independent; Limited 2: Only to create jungle and savannah 
  landscape)), Protection 6, Senses 2 (Acute Smell, Low-light Vision), Tooth and 
  Claw (Damage 2 (Strength-based))
  Advantages: Fascinate (Power Check), Favored Environment (Savannah), 
  Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Initiative
  Skills: Perception 5 (+7), Stealth 8 (+11)
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +9
  Tooth and Claw 
  +7 
  Close, Damage 7
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +8
  +6
  +7
  +8
  +8
   
  Totals: Abilities 30 + Powers 71 + Advantages 4 + Skills 7 (13 ranks) + 
  Defenses 15 = 127.
  Complications: Animal: Lyin’ is a barely sentient animal controlled by 
  Cloud. Bamboozled: Lyin’ is easily fooled by illusions, and saves against 
  them with half her Will rank.
  RAMMERHEAD 
  Rammerhead is a hammerhead shark with the power to fly and create 
  a powerful telekinetic ramming field. Without any superhuman influ-
  ence, he is a remarkably docile example of his species, and a favorite 
  among the zoo staff.
  RAMMERHEAD 
  PL 8
  STR 4
  STA 1
  AGL 3
  DEX 1
  FGT 4
  INT –3
  AWE 3
  PRE 1
  Powers: Flight 6 (120 MPH), Bite Damage 2 (Strength-based), Kinetic Field 
  (Damage 6 (Strength-Based)), Protection 9, Senses 4 (Accurate, Acute Smell, 
  Low-light Vision), Swimming 6 (30 MPH)
  Advantages: All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Power Attack
  Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 2 (+6), Perception 6 (+9)
  COMBAT 
  INITIATIVE +3
  Bite 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 6
  Kinetic Field Slam 
  +6 
  Close, Damage 10
  DODGE
  PARRY
  FORTITUDE
  WILL
  TOUGHNESS
  +6
  +5
  +5
  +5
  +10/1*
   
  *without Kinetic Field
  Totals: Abilities 28 + Powers 39 + Advantages 4 + Skills 6 (12 ranks) + 
  Defenses 13 = 90.
  Complications: Animal: Rammerhead is a barely sentient animal 
  controlled by Cloud. Sweetie: Heroes do not need the Animal Empathy 
  Advantage to use interaction skills against Rammerhead.
  121212
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  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  Dazed?
  One standard action each round
  Staggered?
  One standard action, –1 movement
  Incapacitated?
  Defenseless, Stunned, Unaware
  Damage
  NOTES
  MOONBEAM 
  PL12
  MOONBEAM 
  PL12
  STR
  STA
  AGL
  DEX
  FGT
  INT
  AWE
  PRE
  0
  0
  0
  0
  0
  1
  0
  0
  POWERS
  Eye of Chaos: 135 points, Removable (–27 points) • 108 points
  Amazing Confidence: Enhanced Advantages 5 (Beginner’s Luck, Ranged 
  Attack 6); Enhanced Defenses 18 (Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude 6) • 25 
  points
  Reality Alteration: Array (36 points)
  • Chaos Blast: Ranged Damage 18 • 36 points
  • Chaos Burst: Burst Area Ranged Damage 12 • 1 point
  • Energy Bonds: Perception Ranged Cumulative Affliction 9 (Resisted 
  by Dodge; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobile), Extra 
  Condition, Resisted by Dodge, Limited Degree • 1 point
  • Transmutation: Ranged Transform 6 (50 lbs.), any material into any result 
  • 1 point
  Immunity 11 (Life Support, Own Powers) • 11 points
  Invulnerability: Impervious Protection 18 • 36 points
  Mental Shield: Enhanced Will 12, Impervious • 24 points
  SKILLS
  Expertise: Politics 6 (+7), Expertise: Pop Culture 6 (+7), Insight 4 (+4)
  ADVANTAGES
  Beginner’s Luck, Ranged Attack 6
  OFFENSE
  INITIATIVE +0
  Chaos Blast +6
  Ranged, Damage 18
  Chaos Burst —
  Close, Burst Area Damage 12
  Energy Bonds —
  Ranged Affliction 9, Resisted by Dodge (DC 19)
  Unarmed +0
  Close, Damage 0
  DEFENSE
  DODGE
  6/0*
  FORTITUDE
  6/0*
  PARRY
  6/0*
  TOUGHNESS
  18/0*
  WILL
  12/0*
  *Without Eye of Chaos
  POWER POINTS
  ABILITIES
  2
  SKILLS 
  8
  POWERS
  108
  DEFENSES
  0
  ADVANTAGES
  0
  TOTAL
  118
  COMPLICATIONS
  Motivation—Misplaced Altruism: Ultimately, Cloud’s intentions are good, 
  but her means do actual harm.
  Arrogance: Cloud is convinced she’s the only person who really feels 
  deeply about the causes she chases, and considers criticism—even from 
  the groups she is ostensibly supporting—to be an attack.
  Overwhelmed: The Eye of Chaos is drowning out the more reasonable 
  aspects of Cloud’s personality while feeding her rage and ego.
  131313
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  The Reign of Cats & Dogs
  
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
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  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the 
  Coast, Inc. 
  System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of 
  the Coast, Inc., Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip 
  Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and 
  Dave Arneson. 
  Modern System Reference Document, Copyright 2002-2004, 
  Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, 
  Rich Red-man, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, 
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  Publishing; Author Steve Kenson. 
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  Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook, Copyright 2011, 
  Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Author Steve Kenson.
  Mutants & Masterminds Astonishing Adventures: The Reign 
  of Cats & Dogs, Copyright 2019, Green Ronin Publishing, 
  LLC; Author Lyz Liddell.
  MutantS & MaSteRMindS aStoniShing adventuReS: the Reign of CatS & dogS
  Writing: Crystal Frasier
  Design: Crystal Frasier
  Editing: Michael Matheson
  Art Direction: Hal Mangold
  Graphic Design: Crystal Frasier
  Interior Art: Denis Medri, Talon Dunning
  Publisher: Chris Pramas
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  Dylan Templar, Veronica Templar, and Barry Wilson
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