Mutants & Masterminds Escape from Alcatraz.pdf

A collection of villains for the Mutants & Masterminds game and Crucible City MUX .

Editing and Development

Gail Windsor

Contributing Writers

Aftermath, Agent L, American Pride, China Star, Eclipse I, Eros, the Hanged Man, John S., Junkyard Dragon,

Manitou, Myrmidon, Phase, and Stalke

This product is %100 Nazi-free

TABLE OF CONTENTS

E DITOR ’ S N OTES ...................................................................................................................................................3

I NTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................3

H OUSE R ULES ........................................................................................................................................................4

I CONS ....................................................................................................................................................................5

T HE E XALTED ........................................................................................................................................................6

Nietzsche.........................................................................................................................................................................................7

Aristotle...........................................................................................................................................................................................8

Kierkegaard...................................................................................................................................................................................10

Woolf ............................................................................................................................................................................................11

Voltaire .........................................................................................................................................................................................12

T HE H OLLYWOOD A LL -S TARS .............................................................................................................................14

White Dwarf .................................................................................................................................................................................15

Nova ..............................................................................................................................................................................................16

Red Giant ......................................................................................................................................................................................17

Pulsar.............................................................................................................................................................................................18

Binary............................................................................................................................................................................................20

Neutron .........................................................................................................................................................................................21

T HE D EMOLITION C REW ......................................................................................................................................23

Demolisher....................................................................................................................................................................................23

Dozer.............................................................................................................................................................................................24

Crowbar.........................................................................................................................................................................................25

Wrecking Ball...............................................................................................................................................................................26

Lifter..............................................................................................................................................................................................26

Crane .............................................................................................................................................................................................27

O THER V ILLAINS .................................................................................................................................................29

Aisuko ...........................................................................................................................................................................................29

Beanie Baby Lady ........................................................................................................................................................................31

Couronne.......................................................................................................................................................................................32

DeciBelle ......................................................................................................................................................................................34

Entity.............................................................................................................................................................................................35

Eunuch ..........................................................................................................................................................................................36

Eve’N Steven ................................................................................................................................................................................38

Foo Fighter....................................................................................................................................................................................40

Infection ........................................................................................................................................................................................41

Jack Knife .....................................................................................................................................................................................42

Moe Mentum ................................................................................................................................................................................44

Mourner.........................................................................................................................................................................................45

Mysterious Mime..........................................................................................................................................................................46

Nebulosa .......................................................................................................................................................................................47

Peekaboo .......................................................................................................................................................................................49

PopStarr ........................................................................................................................................................................................50

Poseur............................................................................................................................................................................................51

Primordius.....................................................................................................................................................................................52

Psy-Lord........................................................................................................................................................................................54

Scissor Man ..................................................................................................................................................................................55

Singularity.....................................................................................................................................................................................56

Skunk ............................................................................................................................................................................................58

Timeangle .....................................................................................................................................................................................59

Tin Man.........................................................................................................................................................................................61

Untouchable ..................................................................................................................................................................................62

Vaudeville 63

Warden..........................................................................................................................................................................................65

Weathervein ..................................................................................................................................................................................67

Zyxtl ..............................................................................................................................................................................................68

A PPENDIX I: V ILLAINS BY I CON ...........................................................................................................................70

A PPENDIX II: V ILLAINS BY P OWER L EVEL ............................................................................................................70

2 Escape from Alcatraz!

Editor’s Notes

This book grew out of Crucible City’s first Create-A-Villain Contest, held from November 2003 to January 2004.

While the game was very active at the time, fighting off the invasion of the Iron Reich, every plot must end and I

was looking forward to the eternal question, “What’s next?” I knew that whatever I did, it would be a lot smaller

than the invasion and would allow players to do their own thing, without too much micro-management by staff. At

the same time, one of the strengths of the Reich invasion had been a list of some two dozen adversaries — tanks,

flying saucers, werewolf commandos, the usual — which players could select from as easy as ordering from

Denny’s. Without any staff required, players were picking villains off the menu, plopping them down on a street in

Crucible, and rolling for initiative. It was a thing of beauty.

Escape from Alcatraz! is an attempt to do the Reich one better. I solicited villain submissions on CCM,

receiving some 30 entries in all shapes and sizes. We have anime villains (Aisuko), “dark and gritty” villains (Jack

Knife), PL 7 villains (the Demolition Crew), PL 15 villains (Singularity), and villains which are little more than

extended gags (Poseur probably being my favorite in this rather large category). My job, as editor, was to check all

the math and to incorporate these characters into the background of the Crucible City game. I added enough villains

of my own to enlarge the book by a third. When I saw characters with odd similarities (two Greys or two characters

with the same last name) I could not help but find a connection between them. You’ll see virtually every major

element of Crucible’s history mentioned here, from SCAM to Prince Primeval and the Saturn V. In this way, the

villains serve to expand the background, enriching the game experience for everyone.

Finally, I had to pick a winner for the contest. With so many villains, and several that stood out, I ended up

selecting three for special honor. I looked for form, style, a connection to the setting, and replay value. But every

one of the villains in this book has something unique and unusual about them. (The Exalted surely take the award for

Best Villains Ever Named After Famous Philosophers.) Any of them can be used in play, and they can be combined

in interesting and unexpected ways. Although the characters described here have links to the Crucible City world, in

many cases those allusions have been kept intentionally vague. Major events have been hinted at, but not named.

This is intentional, for these villains deserve to be seen in more than one game, even if we do have over a hundred

players and 165 characters (as of this writing). Let this book be a menu for your own campaign, online or around the

table. And when you’ve sent the bad guys packing, back to the Rock from whence they came, come by Crucible

City and visit us at 4.23.75.98 (port 4626). Tell’em Gail sent ya.

Introduction

The United States is served by three Power prisons: Ryker’s Island off the coast of New York, the Gibbons

Compound in Lake Michigan, and Alcatraz. Each is a cooperative effort with the hosting state, receiving substantial

federal assistance in the form of money, science, and personnel while being generally supported by the large nearby

metropolis. Alcatraz is both the oldest and newest of these facilities. After the original prison was closed in the

1960s it enjoyed a healthy career as a tourist attraction and historical monument. But state officials looking for a

way to bring federal money back to California hatched the idea of reopening the prison as a Power containment

facility. By touting recent rioting at Rykers and overcrowding at the Pound, the backers of the new Alcatraz

succeeded in persuading both Washington and the population of the state that a third Power prison was necessary.

This book is a collection of villains associated with this infamous facility. Most were inmates in early 2004

when a lab accident resulted in a mass breakout. The villains have scattered to all directions, and there is no way that

West Coast heroes can catch them all. Some of the villains work in teams, others are solo operators, but there is no

“master plan” behind their post-breakout activities and GMs are encouraged to use these villains as antagonists in

any adventure or battle the players might enjoy. Not all the villains here were present at the breakout. Some served

time years ago. A number of them were released in December 2003 as part of a federal program which granted

amnesty in exchange for action against a dimensional invader who had attacked the Earth. This “Chain Gang”

program was judged an unqualified success. Convict missions were largely successful, though they experienced a

very high fatality rate. Every survivor of the Chain Gangs had his record wiped clean and was released into society,

though not without a pointed recommendation that the ex-con leave the country.

Each villain has a stat block which gives his or her abilities in M&M . This is followed by a brief background.

Combat tactics and roleplaying notes follow, with attention given to methods of integrating the villain into

adventures and how the character may use VP or Extra Effort to surprise and challenge heroes. Finally, each villain

has a physical description and a quote. An appendix lists each villain by role and by PL, to facilitate adventure

creation.

Escape from Alcatraz! 3

House Rules

A number of CCM House Rules have been used in the creation of these characters. For the benefit of those who

might use these characters in other games, the relevant rules are summarized here.

The point cost for all skills has been halved. If you are not using this rule, keep the skills at their assigned

rank and simply raise the villain’s total points.

If a power has so many flaws that its point cost would be reduced below 1 pp per rank, the total cost of the

power is instead reduced by 1 point per additional flaw. Example: Binary wears a belt that generates a

holographic field around her, allowing her to impersonate anyone. The holofield is bought as Shapeshifting

+8 with the Continuous extra and the flaws Device, Limited—People Only and Limited—Visual only. The

power costs 1 point per rank (base cost 2 + 1 extra - 2 flaws = 0 but no power can cost less than 1 pp per

rank) but gets a 1 point reduction on the final cost, for a total of 7 pp. No power can be reduced below a

final cost of 1 pp by this method. Again, if you are not using this rule, keep the powers as they are written

and simply raise the villain’s total points to account for the slightly more expensive power.

Movement powers (including flight, running, tunneling, teleportation and stretching) grant double their

usual speed. If you are not using this rule, you will need to reduce the Speed of any villain with movement

powers.

Super-Flight, Extended Teleport and similar abilities are not Stunts, they are Extras. Each rank in the Extra

doubles the movement’s sprint speed. If you are not using this rule, give each character with Super-

Movement the necessary Stunt, but limit them to the sprint speed given in their stat block. In most cases,

this will slightly reduce the character’s point value, but do not lower any other powers even if the villain

drops in PL.

Vehicles are bought with a Feat. Each Vehicle Feat gives the character points equal to his PL with which to

purchase a vehicle. If the character has multiple Vehicle Feats, the points can be combined, but no single

vehicle may have a point cost more than 5x the character’s PL. If you are not using this house rule, simply

increase the villain’s total points to allow for purchase of his vehicle under the normal rules.

Some characters in this book violate the rule on stacking limits. Others have powers with ranks higher than

the character’s PL. Heroic PCs should be balanced characters; this keeps one player from overshadowing

the others, or from putting all his points into a single unstoppable ability. It simulates superhero comics.

Villains, however, are GM tools designed to challenge the heroes, not be balanced characters. Thug and

minion villains are especially well known for having one large power — and little else going for them.

Other villains violate these rules because the villain is intended to be defy expectations or be especially

dangerous for his PL. If you wish to keep the rules on stacking limits and maximum ranks intact, simply

lower the ranks in the offending power.

One of the characters in Escape from Alcatraz! has a new Feat. It is detailed here.

Whirlwind Disarm

You are exceptional at disarming your foes.

Prerequisites : Dex 15+, Expertise, Move-By Attack, Rapid Strike, base attack bonus +4 or higher

Benefit : If an attempt to disarm an opponent succeeds, you get an immediate additional melee attack against

another opponent within reach. This must also be a disarming attack, at the same attack bonus. You can use this

ability once per round unless you’re fighting minions; in this case you can use it over and over until you miss a

disarm or run out of targets. If you are using a weapon to disarm and any of the disarm rolls fail, the opponent gets

an immediate disarm attempt against you.

The following feat was first described in Crooks! , published by Green Ronin. Escape from Alcatraz! uses a modified

version, however.

Evaluate

You have a knack for figuring out how to beat an opponent.

Prerequisite : Wis 15+, Assessment

Benefit : For every day which you spend studying a target (using newspaper clippings, video recording,

surveillance or something similar), you learn one of that opponent’s weaknesses ( Mutants & Masterminds rulebook,

p. 106). If your opponent lacks a weakness, you know so after one day of study.

4 Escape from Alcatraz!

Escape From Alcatraz! also uses other feats from Crooks! The feats are: Diplomatic Immunity, Extended Reach,

Human Shield, Into Thin Air, Motif, Mystic Awareness, Slippery Eel, Tainted Network and Villain’s Luck. The

effect of these feats have been briefly summarized in the character descriptions, but GMs are urged to consult the

original source for details.

Icons

Once a villain is made, you have to decide how to use him. To make that job easier, the villains in this book have

been given icons that illustrate their role in a campaign. The four icons are Mastermind, Lieutenant, Rogue and

Thug.

Mastermind : Masterminds are leaders and organizers. This doesn’t necessarily mean they have the

Leadership feat or even a high Intelligence, though those are both indicators that a character may be a

Mastermind. If a character likes to give orders, and doesn’t like to take them, he’s probably a Mastermind.

Lieutenant : The Lieutenant is more powerful and self-willed than the Thug, but works better in groups

than the Rogue. A Lieutenant may have plenty of power but be kept from leadership due to lack of desire

or opportunity. If a character is good at executing orders but can still think on his feet, he is probably a

Lieutenant.

Rogue : The Rogue tends to work alone. He may be on a team, but he doesn’t do his best work when

surrounded by other people. His powers may be dangerous to others, he may have a profound lack of social

skills, or he may be so alien that no one understands him.

Thug : The Thug is a soldier villain. He doesn’t have to be stupid, but he does prefer the Grand Plan to be

thought up ahead of time by someone else. He may have any sort of powers and he generally gets along

well enough with other villains, especially if they let him take the direct approach.

Some characters may have more than one icon. For example, the White Dwarf is the Mastermind of his own team,

but he might allow the All-Stars to work for someone else, in which case he would become the Lieutenant of

whatever greater Mastermind had hired him.

And now, bring on the bad guys!

Escape from Alcatraz! 5

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