I didn’t include full villain sheets for the ones that are part of this organization, but I put some of their stats in, and rest assured, I have full character sheets for them.
I also want to say that this group is a really bad bunch. For my game I’m not going for a sense of grimness, exactly, but I did want some bad guys that were really quite bad. This group is there to be defeated. I want my heroes to beat them and spoil all their plans. They are a bigoted and hateful bunch, though I’ve tried to avoid specifics. Still, I figured some kind of extremism would come from the Oblivaeon crisis, since it was such a huge problem all over the world. I also want to note that I came up with this group long before January 2021.
Organization Name: “The Minutemen” aka The Earth Defense Milita
Main Criminal Activities: illegal weapon ownership, large-scale theft, assault and battery, hate crimes, murder, politically-motivated plotting of many other crimes
Number of Members: 800, 10,000 nationwide, including non-active members
Organization Leader: Senator William “Billy” Hakesmoor
Notable Figures: Ezra Blaine, Mary-Beth Lapp, Martin Sorenson, John Bell
Headquarters: former Project Pledge Testing and Proofing facility off the coast of Cape Diable
Strengths: weaponry, political influence, metahuman operatives, current local conditions, lack of morals
Weaknesses: lack of morals, fear of diversity, vulnerable to public opinion, short-sightedness
History: The Thorathian invasion shook the world to its core. While many people took hope in the fact that earth’s superheroic champions were able to fend off the alien threat, others were less thrilled. There were factions within the United States government that felt uncomfortable with relying on operatives that had, for the most part, no real affiliation with the United States government. While there had never been a direct issues with getting the Freedom Five to help protect American citizens, these government officials didn’t want superheroes they could ask to protect people…they wanted superpowered operatives they could command. Chief among these government officials was Senator William Hakesmoor, the longtime senator from Louisiana.
But Hakesmoor took it a step further. He began to quietly support the sort of grassroots movements that were rising up across the country, that were calling for a fiercer, more violent America, so that when the next alien invasion came the country would be ready. While being prepared to defend yourself isn’t inherently wrong, the sorts of movements that sprang up began ensnarled with all kinds of hateful and exclusionary ideology. Even while he supported the creation of Project Pinnacle, a government-sponsored super-soldier project, Hakesmoor also funneled support to these new and hateful militias. He believed that when the next crisis came, and his new groups proved instrumental in saving the country, he would be positioned to seize considerable political power.
Then the Oblivaeon crisis hit, and it was even worse than the invasion. Now, in the aftermath the fires of anger burn even hotter, and the formerly secretive groups of wannabe soldiers and hatemongers have united under one flag, with the singular ideology of never allowing themselves to be put in such a position again. A laughable idea, to be sure, since a group of men with guns couldn’t have stopped Oblivaeon, but that’s not how the members of the Earth Defense Militia think. Nicknamed “The Minutemen”, after their assertion that they can be ready to defend the planet in a minute, the EDM is more active and more dangerous than ever, especially now that Hakesmoor’s second, Ezra Blaine, is calling most of the public shots. In the destabilized city of Port Diable there is a weakened police force, no superheroes and plenty of targets for The Minutemen to go after, people and groups they’ve classified as “threats to the country”.
Style and Organization: The Minutemen are a militaristic group of hatemongers that have corrupted the idea of protecting themselves and their families into an ideology that allows them to justify hating anyone they view as a threat. While they aren’t openly racist, most of the time, they do seem to class anyone they see as others, including minorities, as “potential threats”. The main drive of their demagoguery, however, is that they need to train, stockpile weaponry and gain influence so that when the next big crisis arrives, they will be in a position to defeat it. The fact that they weren’t even a speed-bump during the Oblivaeon crisis is lost on them, and they’ve mostly doubled down on their beliefs as a way to cope.
They organize themselves in a pseudo-military fashion, with squads, platoons and companies. While they have a core of former law enforcement and military personnel, most of their members are not formally trained in military skills or tactics, though the organization does run training camps outside the city where they try to instill squad tactics, hand-to-hand and marksmanship in their members. The group is remarkably gung-ho about most of what they do, and many members have a perverse pride in serving with the organization, behaving like they belong to a group that genuinely protects people and receives accolades, instead of a group of violent extremists. Currently they are halfway between a legitimate, if incredibly-threatening legal group and a domestic terror organization, but they are rapidly tilting towards the latter as the campaign begins.
Character Profiles
Leader
Name: William “Billy” Hakesmoor
Age: 59
Height: 5’6
Weight: 180 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: slight scarring under right eye, missing pinky on left hand
Description: Billy Hakesmoore is a fireplug of a man, short and stocky. His face is craggy and he keeps his black hair slicked back. He generally wears neat, well-tailored suits of differing styles depending on the weather. He has an open, charismatic way about him that almost seems genuine.
History: Hakesmoor comes from unassuming stock. The son of a car salesman from Alabama, he first stood out when he received a full football scholarship to Duke as a center lineman. William had never been an exceptional student but that was more due to not applying himself than anything else. He’d alway preferred to bask in his natural charisma and athletic abilities. At Duke, however, he found a new love for politics and psychology, since those were arenas where he felt he could gain power and be adored. Also, and unfortunately for the world, Duke was also where he was scouted for the CIA. Recruited for his natural gifts in manipulation and complete lack of anything resembling a moral code, Hakesmoor spent fifteen years working for “The Company”, ostensibly as an analyst but actually in a number of roles that generally involved blackmail, graft and coercion. It was during this time that he participated in the dismantling of Project Pledge, an old 50s and 60s era super-soldier program that notably produced controversial hero American Dream.
It was while studying Project Pledge that Hakesmoor was taken by its original purpose, which was to create a super-powered champion entirely controlled by the United States government. He diverted some of the old Project Pledge material and when he left the CIA and entered politics, he became one of the supporters of the new Project Pinnacle, the modern-day successor to Project Pledge. But that wasn’t enough for him. The Thorathian invasion shook him to his core, but from every crisis, opportunity arises, and so he began to build a network of followers who would serve as his tools when the next crisis arose. Seeing himself as a sort of modern-day founding father, Hakesmoor has swirled in naked ambition, fear and demagogery into a powerful ideological cocktail. But at his heart, he only cares about himself.
Stats: Senator Hakesmoor is a d10 elite lieutenant with the following special abilities
Lead From The Back: As a reaction Hakesmoor can redirect an attack on himself to a nearby Minuteman minion.
Cruel Eye for Detail: Hakesmoor Hinders at a +3
Roleplaying Tips: Billy Hakesmoor is a smooth and manipulative man who tries to bury people in a combination of southern charm and force of personality. He’s used to finding what makes someone tick and leaning on that, hard, to get what he wants. He has absolutely no qualms about using any sort of leverage against someone, no matter how he acquired said leverage. He rarely loses his cool but tries to avoid direct physical threats unless he can turn them into a public advantage for himself and is secure in his own safety. He is ultimately highly self-centered and ambitious, and is more concerned with building his power and perhaps eventually becoming president than he is with the actual ideology of the Minutemen.
Notable Figures
Name: Ezra “Stars and Bars” Blaine
Age: 34
Height: 6’3
Weight: 300 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: Confederate flag tattoo on left bicep, USMC tattoo on right bicep, unit tattoo on right forearm (medieval mace wrapped in a chain), numerous bullet and knife scars across chest, arms and upper legs
Description: Ezra Blaine is a massive, powerfully-built man. He is obviously muscular and has broad, raw-boned features and auburn hair that he keeps just above military length. He typically sneers or glares, which does his face no favors. He prefers tight t-shirts, usually with some sort of slogan on them and military-style pants and boots.
History: Ezra Blaine comes from a proud line of soldiers, all the way back to before the Civil War. He also comes from a family of abusive, hateful, small-minded thugs who seek power in any way they can. Ezra grew up fighting, being beaten, and looking for fights to get into. But he was also a smarter man than most people gave him credit for, so even as he absorbed the hateful ideology of his family and small Tennessee town, he knew he had to get out. He joined the Marine Corps on his 18th birthday, and rapidly learned one more vitally important skill. He learned to hide what a racist piece of shit he was. He excelled at the physical aspects of military life and worked diligently to pick up the more violent aspects as well. While never a stand-out leader, he was tireless in his service and desire to do more, if only because that would get him closer to the fighting. He served multiple tours overseas in various combat zones and was eventually recruited into the Marine Force Recon. He’d become very good at hiding his hate, by then.
Which is why he was selected as a test subject for Project Pinnacle, alongside 29 other members of various elite military groups. He was, in fact, hand-selected by Senator William Hakesmoor. All 30 subjects underwent specialized treatments that were supposed to enhance their physical capabilities to superhuman levels, even as advanced weaponry was developed for them. A handful of subjects died. A handful were left changed, but not enhanced in any way. Many had no real reaction. One seemed to have no reaction until much later. But Ezra Blaine? He became a titan. Monstrously strong and tough, he was exactly what Project Pinnacle was looking for. Equipping him with a new type of battle armor that only someone of his strength could wear, he was dubbed Stars and Stripes and was to be the first official metahuman hero of Project Pinnacle. But the new abilities went to Ezra’s head, and his carefully constructed persona began to slip and his true hate began to emerge. Hakesmoor tried to cover for Ezra, but it was too late, and the rest of Project Pinnacle wouldn’t stand for a sociopathic bigot as their inaugural hero. He wasn’t locked up, but he was discharged, quietly, and told that he would be arrested if he ever tried to act to use his powers.
That’s when William Hakesmoor came for him, and brought him into the fold to serve as the field leader for the Earth Defense Militia. Ezra’s military background and metahuman abilities would serve him well in this regard, but he’s also become even more violent and dangerous, and Hakesmoor has begun to worry that he will lose control of his right-hand man.
Stats: Stars and Bars is a Relentless Indomitable supervillain with d10 Strength, d8 Vitality and d6 Battle Armor. His primary upgrade is his Project Pinnacle Battle Armor, which serves as the Defense Shield upgrade. He fights using a combination of the built-in weaponry of his battle armor for long range and brutal, simple, overwhelming close quarters strikes. He prefers to overpower his foes directly and is likely to come straight at an enemy and destroy them with superior firepower or physical might. He is a keen enough tactical mind (and enough of a bully) to try and pick out the most vulnerable opponents first.
Roleplaying Tips: On the surface Ezra is a hard-nosed, professional military man who brings military discipline and leadership to the Minutemen. He trains the troops, organizes them into platoons and companies and makes sure munitions and other equipment is properly seen to. Just below the surface, however, is a seething ocean of hatred, arrogance and anger. No matter how many people he kills or how many fights he wins Ezra can’t seem to shake the rage that courses through his veins or the feelings of arrogance that bring him to look down on everyone around him. He enjoys crushing his opponents, putting down those who stand up to him and grinding the opposition to dust. He believes the Confederacy were brave fighters and heroes who stood up for what they believed in and were smashed by an relentless army of mediocre cowards, and this is hardly the only piece of revisionist history that’s taken root in his mind.
Name: Mary-Beth “Erinyes” Lapp
Age: 18
Height: 6 ft (originally 5’5)
Weight: 500 lbs (originally 115 lbs)
Distinguishing Marks: unable to grow hair, eyes resembling a raptor, unusually long arms and legs, extensive cybernetics all throughout body, claw-like hands and feet
Description: Mary-Beth was, at one point, a petite, blonde young woman with big eyes, pretty features and a shy demeanor. Now she is a tall, sturdy figure with arms that stretch down to her knees that end in claw-like metal hands and similarly clawed feet. Cybernetic enhancements run throughout her body and give her an unnatural artificial shape. She usually wears a heavy, bird-like helmet that obscures the upper half of her face but underneath it her head is bald to accommodate the metal plate installed in her head and her eyes are artificial, and designed to resemble a raptor’s.
History: Mary-Beth Lapp is a victim of unspeakable tragedy. A young woman from an Amish community, she was always a shy and withdrawn young woman who loved music and art. But she found herself intrigued by the world outside her community and during a period of her Rumspringa found herself in the orbit of a young, charismatic man from a wealthy Port Diable family…Henry Hakesmoor. Henry was taken with the quiet young woman who was so far from home and pursued her. She was flattered, and they began a relationship that she took far more seriously than Henry did. But tragedy struck when there was a car accident, precipitated by Henry’s intoxication. Mary-Beth was badly injured and in a panic, Henry called his father, who took Mary-Beth away, covered the incident up and told his son she was dead. But she was not, and William Hakesmoor saw an opportunity.
He’d diverted technology from both Project Pledge, the early attempts at creating a loyal superhero for the United States, and from it’s modern successor, Project Pinnacle. Cybernetics had once been considered, but eventually abandoned as the science moved towards genetic enhancements, but Hakesmoor hired underground surgeons to apply the cybernetics to his new test subject. If she died, it was no loss to him, but if she lived, he could use her. He also made use of the various…indoctrination technology that Project Pledge had started to develop after American Dream, the first Pledge hero, had turned out to be so rebellious. He created a powerful metahuman agent that he felt he could rely on, especially if Ezra Blaine went rogue, and instilled in her a deep loyalty to him, and only him.
Stats: Erinyes is a Generalist Loner supervillain with d10 Flight, d8 Cybernetics, d8 Strength and d6 Awareness. Her primary upgrade is Group Fighter. She fights with a combination of incredible flight maneuvers and explosive close-quarters attacks, striking from above, the sides and behind. She favors slashing opponents as she flies by or carrying them away. She uses anti-grav tech and so her wings are heavy enough to be used as shields or weapons. She also prefers to isolate an enemy before striking.
Roleplaying Tips: Mary-Beth is a broken woman, and is usually a silent, relentless agent of her master, William Hakesmoor. She is smart enough to fight tactically and always strives to protect the senator, but is not particularly good at seizing the initiative on her own when her orders become murky. She tries to steer clear of other people if she can, as her ability to communicate is limited at this time, due to both the cybernetics and the brainwashing. Still, underneath it all there still is a young woman who is striving to survive her own circumstances, and when she isn’t working Mary-Beth can often be found perched away from everyone else, singing quietly or carving pictures into things with her claws.
Name: Martin “Ghost” Sorenson
Age: 20
Height: 5’9
Weight: 150 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: None.
Description: Martin is a young white man with a runner’s build. He has brown hair that he keeps practically short and usually wears serviceable, nondescript clothes (though he does favor green) and unadorned sports masks and goggles. His demeanor generally lets him fade into the background until he needs to be seen or seize attention.
History: Martin is from the town of Wilsonville, North Dakota. Wilsonville was a small town without much excitement, far away from big city life and something of a quiet idyll for young Martin, who was a shy boy who enjoyed exploring his home, climbing, running and swimming. And then oil was found just nearby and almost overnight the town changed. Yes, it brought a great deal of money to the area, but it also changed Wilsonville forever, and it brought corporate interest and tough men who treated the town like it was their own personal playground. Martin saw the place he loved torn apart, and a string of theft, assaults and even a murder by the oil field workers left him fuming with impotent rage. He began a string of petty vandalism and acts of rebellion, spray-painting company trailers, breaking or stealing company property and harassing company workers, relying on his knowledge of the area and experience as a runner, climber and explorer to escape.
It was during one of these escapes that he discovered an unusual set of carvings, unearthed by the various digs all over his home region. Touching one, he felt his mind expand, his senses shift and a new power grow within him. He began to practice with his new psychic gift, but before he could make any moves, the local police and the oil company discovered he was behind the acts of sabotage. The company threatened to sue his family, the town began harassing them for creating the problem and the police circled, so Martin, desperate to draw attention away from his family, fled publically, leaving Wilsonville. Unfortunately, in the process of escaping he killed an oil company security agent and injured several police officers. He went on the run for over a year, using his new powers to survive, until he was discovered by John Bell, an agent and old friend of one William Hakesmoor. Bell sensed in Martin a burning anger at “the establishment” and fanned the flames of it, and the young man’s desire to protect what he saw as “his people”. He convinced Martin to join the Minutemen and painted them as a group dedicated to protecting people. With the Minutemen, Martin was accepted…for now.
Stats: Martin is Focused Fragile supervillain with a d12 telekinesis and a d8 Agility. He is highly mobile and very creative when it comes to using his telekinesis. He prefers smaller, more controlled telekinetic moves to big flashy shows, and can use his abilities to enhance his own movements and boost his fighting abilities. He is also highly mobile and prefers to keep moving during a fight.
Roleplaying Tips: Something of an introvert, Martin is a bit lost as a member of the Minutemen. He believes in their cause because he’s been told they are fighting to protect America and a way of life he misses, but he isn’t particularly racist or haphazardly violent like many members of the Minutemen. He tries to accomplish missions he’s assigned to with a minimum of collateral damage and public attention and has thus become a go-to agent for subtle operations. He does have a particular hatred for corporations, however, and people in power who sell out those they say they want to protect. He likes heavy metal and wishes he was a more artistic person.
Name: John Bell
Age: 66
Height: 5’11
Weight: 274 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: rope scar along his left arm.
Description: John Bell is an overweight man with white hair and a thick Sam Elliott mustache. He has big hands and a powerful presence that seems to take over the room. He dresses in Western Formal, with button-down flannels, big belt buckles, bolo ties and Stetsons. He’s usually wearing cowboy boots.
History: John Bell was a rather infamous judge in his home state of Texas. Politically and criminally connected and highly controversial, he was known for his firebrand rulings and judicial oversteps, which were smoothed over by his influence and power. He ruled his area of Texas like a fiefdom and controlled the police and local government via a combination of bribery, intimidation and blackmail. John Bell had alway had a gift, you see, ever since he was young, that allowed him to sense certain aspects about a person. Their wants, their needs and their capabilities. If he focused very hard, he could even dowse for certain capabilities, including those with exceptional or superhuman capabilities, though this was always draining for him. He ran across William Hakesmoor while the man was a CIA agent, and Hakesmoor found Bell’s county a useful place to hide out and cultivate resources, while Bell found Hakesmoor a useful asset to have outside his influence.
Eventually, however, an investigator Bell couldn’t buy off or scare off came to town and cleared out a lot of his influence…One Amanda Cohen aka Expatriette. John Bell escaped, but his organization was in ruins and he was being hunted by old enemies he once could intimidate or buy off. He went to Hakesmoor, who was happy to take in his old friend…but only for a price. Hakesmoor needed someone to keep his organization running smoothly and make sure his Minuteman operatives were all on script. He also needed Bell to find new and more capable agents who shared Hakesmoor’s ideology, or who could be brought around to sharing it. Bell knew he wasn’t likely to get a better deal, and he knew, thanks to his powers, that Hakesmoor wouldn’t take no for an answer. So he serves, smoothing the rails and generally operating as the “political officer” for the Minutemen.
Stats: John Bell is a d8 lieutenant with the following abilities
I Know You: John Bell’s Hinders are Persistent.
Discretion is the Better Part of Valor: John Bell gets a +3 to Overcome rolls to extricate himself from conflict or avoid physical violence.
Minuteman Henchmen Types
Minuteman Agitator: These guys are more human chaff than serious opposition, but like the internet trolls they probably were before joining up, they do have a tendency to get everywhere, including under your skin. Typically they are kept ignorant, angry and in the dark.
D6 minion
Tar-Pit Tactics: Agitators get a +1 to Hinder
Minuteman Militiaman: The main field operative of the Minutemen. These guys are either ex-law enforcement, ex-military or stood out enough to be trained in basic tactics and marksmanship. Still pretty expendable, but more likely to be dangerous while they go down, like eating a pringle wrong.
D8 minion
Culture Warfighters: Militiamen get a +1 to Attack and Hinder
Minuteman Suppressor: Flamethrowers. Extended Clips. Tear Gas. These guys are all about keeping people’s heads down and their hearts full of fear. These guys dress like they’re extras on a Purge film and they love getting in peoples’ faces and using the meanest weapons they can to keep people down. Real protectors, eh?
D8 minion
Everybody Down!: Suppressors can hinder up to 3 targets at once.
Minuteman Organizer: The firebrands and agent provocateurs of the cause, these guys don’t come out of their holes unless they have very good reason. However, when they do they are usually accompanied by an army of patsies who they’ve riled up or lied to just to get them to do what the Organizer says. Mob everything at its finest.
D8 lieutenant.
Mobs Rule: Roll the Organizer’s dice twice, and spawn Agitators equal to the lower of the two rolls.
Rear Echelon: Organizer’s get a +1 to save rolls.
Minuteman Rocketeer: Turns out that included in the rhetoric about defending the planet is a lot of stuff about how they’ll need the really big shit to shoot down alien fighters. Whether or not an RPG or homemade rocket launcher can shoot down a Thorathian fighter craft is open to interpretation, but it will certainly blow up terrestrial shit really well.
D8 lieutenant
It’s…a Rocket: Rocketeers can attack 2 far away targets a turn
It’s a Rocket!: Rocketeers get a +2 to Attack
Minuteman Captain: Specially selected by John Bell, specially trained by Ezra Blaine, these guys are the elite, the cream of the crop. Loyal, mean and ready to engage in gunfights that are only vaguely related to their actual cause, the Captains lead the Minutemen into battle and usually lead fewer of them back out again.
D10 lieutenant
The Best of the Worst: Captains get a +1 to Attack, Hinder and Save
Really liking that backstory, too!