Fjur’s Environment Archive!

Games Sentinel Comics RPG
#48

Looks great. Could easily be tweaked into Murderworld with a few more deathtrap twists or set challenges.

Even outside of the environment I’d be tempted to use some False Friends as fill-ins for PCs whose players have missed the session, letting the players who did show up run them (without seeing the Shocking Betrayal ability) until their, well, shocking betrayal. Clearly the PC hero was a fleshchild all along, or a Mirror Universe baddie who was smart enough to conceal their anomalous facial hair, or an android/gynoid/LMD or something.

Maybe run the “absentee” players through a similar routine before your next regular session, then have both sets of players meet up and try to figure out if they can trust one another now…

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#49

In celebration of Earth Day, here’s a thematically-appropriate environment! (Yes, I know that Earth Day was yesterday; I meant to post it then, but things happened.)

Polluted Fey-Realm

The realm that contains Earth is but one of a multitude of planes that exist alongside one another. The mortal realm of Earth is one of crossroads; beyond it, though, there exist realms of emotion and apathy, of torment and madness, of the unknowable and of endless destruction. There also exists the Realm of the Fey.

Home to the monarchs of the fey, the Dagda and the Morrigan, as well as their trusted advisors and numerous courtiers, the Fey-Realm is a place of both unbridled nature and and deceptive danger. The realm contains many idyllic glades and sylvan woods, but its inhabitants are as powerful as they are cunning. You would do well to avoid it altogether, but sometimes fate is not kind enough to provide that option.

Dr. Benjamin Garner was a brilliant scientist who wanted nothing more than to solve Earth’s energy crisis. A series of unfortunate events, however, led to his transformation into a grim reaper of death known only as Necrosis. Necrosis possessed the unique ability to harvest the very life-force from creatures, drawing it into himself and leaving his victims mindless husks.

If Necrosis somehow managed to come to the Fey-Realm and begin harvesting the vitae of its native inhabitants, the energy he would reap would be great, and the husks created powerful. Unfortunately, that is precisely what has happened.

Polluted Fey-Realm
Fey Inhabitants :d8:
Sylvan Realm :d10:
Vile Pollution :d10:

GREEN
Minor Twists

  • Otherworldly Flora: The terrain of the Fey-Realm is both enchanting and hazardous. Roll the environment dice. Hinder one target with the Mid die.
  • Primeval Courtiers: A group of fey appear to protect their realm from any interlopers. Roll the environment dice. Introduce a number of Fey-Courtier minions to the scene equal to the Min die.

Major Twist

  • Bonds of Power and Servitude: The heroes are offered the chance to enter into a bargain with powerful fey. This deal will provide you with power now, but at what cost? Roll the environment dice. Boost any willing heroes with the Mid die. These bonuses are persistent and exclusive.

YELLOW
Minor Twists

  • Necrotic Husks: Husks created by Necrosis shamble into view. Roll the environment dice. Introduce a number Husk minions to the scene equal to the Mid die.
  • Oppressive Smog: A choking haze fills the air, making acting difficult. Hinder all targets that need to breath with the Min die.

Major Twist

  • Helpful Advisor: One of the Fey-Monarchs’ advisors appears to either give advice or engage in battle. Introduce 1 Fey-Advisor lieutenant to the scene.

RED
Minor Twists

  • Corrosive Waste: Necrosis’s assault on this realm has brought acidic materials that burn like fire at the slightest touch. Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets with the Mid die.
  • Repulsive Sludge: Muck produced as a byproduct from Necrosis’s actions hinders movement. Roll the environment dice. Hinder all targets with the Mid die.

Major Twist

  • Payments Exacted: The time to repay the fey’s generosity has come. Roll the environment dice. Hinder or Attack each target with a bonus from the Bonds of Power and Servitude twist using the Max die.

Polluted Fey-Realm Threats

Fey-Advisor
:d10: Lieutenant

Description
Elder Ogma, Champion Lugh, and Trickster Puck are all advisors to the monarchs of the fey, but they are also willing to aid the heroes . . . for a price. Choose one of the below abilities for the Fey-Advisor.

Abilities
Lugh’s Might: As an action, the Fey-Advisor Attacks a willing hero at -2, then Boosts that hero at +2.
Ogma’s Wisdom: As an action, the Fey-Advisor destroys one bonus on a willing hero, then Boosts that hero at +2.
Puck’s Caprice: As an action, the Fey-Advisor rolls its die. On an even result, it Boosts a hero target, and on an odd result, it Hinders a hero target.

Tactics
When not striking bargains, a Fey-Advisor will likely defend its home alongside its kin.

Fey-Courtier
:d6: Minion

Description
Salamanders, will-o’-the-wisps, leprechauns, pixies, and many other sorts of beings call the Fey-Realm home.

Abilities
Emissary of the Fey: A Fey-Courtier has +2 to Boost actions targeting a target with a bonus from the Bonds of Power and Servitude environmental twist.

Tactics
Fey-Courtiers usually refrain from acting against anyone who has struck a bargain with the fey, but they will likely regard any other strangers as enemies.

Husk
:d8: Minion

Description
These shambling forms are what remain of Necrosis’s victims after he’s drained them of all vitality.

Abilities
Putrefying Demise: When a Husk is defeated by damage from itself, Necrosis, or the Corrosive Wastes environmental twist, it first Attacks at +2 or Hinders, making the resulting penalty persistent and exclusive.
Unstable Underling: When a Husk Attacks a hero target, it also Hinders that target at -2 and Attacks itself.

Tactics
Husks follow Necrosis’s subconscious demands unerringly, although they lack the intelligence needed to do any relatively complex tasks.

Editor’s Notes

For anyone who’s not already aware of these characters:

When I first decided that I wanted to do an Earth Day environment, my first idea was simply “Wilderness taken over by Akash’Bhuta.” I though that that was a touch too predictable, though—plus Akash’Bhuta isn’t even around anymore in the RPG Era.

I also thought about simply making the environment be “The Wilderness,” but that’s not exactly exciting, is it? I then thought of, individually, the ideas to make a Necrosis-caused-pollution environment and a Fey-Realm environment, so I decided to combine the two!

I quite like how I’ve worked the Bond mechanic into the environment, really; there may’ve been a better way to do it, but I think mine’s quite adequate.

I didn’t originally plan on giving each of the canonical advisors their own ability, but, in the end, I did. Speaking of which, though, Puck’s was rather tough to decide on. One of my other ideas for it was to have him swap mods betwixt two characters. I’m also not sure whether I’m happy with the one I ended up with.

I do realise that the environment does seem—to me, at any rate—like the seed for an adventure issue. I may get around to writing that sometime in the future. We’ll see.

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#50

Looks good. Necrosis getting into the Fey Realm would likely be a disaster for everyone involved, lot of power to harvest there that probably isn’t quite as safe against his abilities as the Court might like to believe. Some thoughts:

Puck appears to be the only one who doesn’t care if the hero is willing to play along or not. Assume that’s intentional. The way the even/odd split works should bias the results to be more beneficial to the target than not - and could get really interestingly twisted if a hero chose to Boost Puck before they get capricious.

The Husks are really nasty. If one Attacks a hero, they could roll 8 damage, Hinder for -2, most likely melt itself and then immediately deal another potential 10 damage or add another -2 penalty with P+E. That’s a lot, even if it’s pretty unlikely and removes the Husk from play. More average result would be 4-5 damage, a -1 penalty, and if it kills itself (a bit under 40% of the time) 6-7 more damage and another -2 P+E penalty. The heroes really need to kill those things before they get to act or they’ll be hurting badly.

At least they’ll be struggling with a possible Hinder from Oppressive Fog some of the time. :slight_smile:

I think the Bond and Payment mechanic ought to work out well. Does the P+E bonus from Bond remain in play after the Payment comes due? I suppose the Hinder option might offset it anyway, and there’s only going to be a turn or two where it matter under normal circumstances.

What are your thoughts on Necrosis as a villain writeup? He could be very nasty with this environment as a Domain approach baddie who can selectively trigger twists in his favor. Or a Titan I suppose, if he’s had a serious growth spurt from devouring half of Elfland.

Also I’m kicking myself for not using the Green Queen as a villain for Earth Day, we actually ran yesterday and everything. Oh well, maybe next year. Or Arbor Day.

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#51

Yes, that’s very much the point. If the heroes ignore the Husks in order to focus on other threats, the Husks will eventually take care of themselves, but at great cost to the heroes. But if the heroes spare some time and effort to defeat the Husks before they self-destruct, they’ll be in much better shape.

Yes, it does. My thinking is that the bonus is what the heroes get out of the bargain, and the Hinder and/or Attack is what they have to pay for it. As an analogy, I wouldn’t sell you something and then demand the thing right back after you pay for it.

(However, I suppose that one could see it more in terms of a bank loan: the fey loan the heroes power, and then demand it back with interest. Either interpretation is logical; the first is simply the one I’ve chosen to use.)

Hmm, Necrosis. I think his Approach would likely be one of Creator, Dampening, or Leech, and his Archetype could be Inhibitor, Overlord, or—as you mention—Domain or Titan. The latter two likely wouldn’t work for his standard operating procedure, but I think they make sense for this situation. I do like the idea of him becoming some sort of gigantic pollution-monster powered by fey-magic, and his status challenge could even represent the heroes siphoning that energy away from him.

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#52

Yeah, one nice thing about the SCRPG is how the same villain can easily morph between Approaches and Archetypes based on the situation.

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#53

Urban Metropolis

For every adventure that a group of mighty superhumans has in deep space, extradimensional realms, living planets, or alternate timelines, they often have at least twice as many in more mundane locales. Most costumed good-doers call a large city their home, whether it’s Megalopolis, Rook City, San Lazarus, New York, London, Tokyo, or someplace else. And when a nefarious villain rises to threaten their hometown, those heroes will fight that much harder to protect the inhabitants of their city.

Urban Metropolis
Crime and Super-Villainy :d8:
Crowded Population Centre :d10:
Sprawling Infrastructure :d8:

GREEN
Minor Twists

  • Civilian Crowds: Crowds of innocent citizens have been caught in the crossfire.
    [ ] Evacuate the civilians
    Until the above challenge is Overcome, heroes act in the Green zone for the purpose of status dice and access to abilities.
  • Livewire: Some electrical lines have been damaged and are showering sparks and electricity everywhere. Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets in this location with the Min die.

Major Twist

  • Imminent Collision: A tanker truck carrying highly explosive oil is on a collision course with something.
    [ ] Prevent the collision
    [ ] Challenge timer
    Triggered: The truck hits, the driver is killed or severely injured, and the oil explodes in a fiery conflagration. Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets in this location with the Mid die.

YELLOW
Minor Twists

  • Opportunistic Criminals: A band of crooks have taken this opportunity to try to profit from the heroes’ struggle. Roll the environment dice. Introduce a number of Mean Streets Shooter minions (see page #415 of the Core Rulebook) to the scene equal to the Mid die.
  • The City’s Finest: A squad of police officers have arrived on the scene. Roll the environment dice. Introduce a number of Police Officer minions (see below) to the scene equal to the Mid die.

Major Twist

  • Minor Villain: A lesser evildoer makes a bombastic entrance. Introduce a Minor Villain lieutenant (see below) to the scene. Then, roll the environment dice and Attack one target with the Mid die.

RED
Minor Twists

  • Collapsing Building: The battle has taken a toll on the city’s architecture. Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets in this location with the Mid die.
  • Deus ex Machina: A friendly hero has arrived to aid our protagonists. Introduce one Hero Ally lieutenant (see below) to the scene.

Major Twist

  • Endangered Schoolbus: One of the heroes’ foes has taken an entire bus full of school-children hostage and is dangling them over the edge of a bridge! Select one villain or lieutenant in the scene. That target is immune to damage until the below challenge is Overcome.
    [ ] [ ] Save the schoolbus

Urban Metropolis Threats

Hero Ally
:d10: Lieutenant

Description
One of the many stalwart heroes of the world has come to help out.

Abilities
Principled Defender: The Hero Ally has +1 to Overcome Actions and to damage save rolls.
Super-Schtick: The Hero Ally has +2 to one of Attack, Defend, Boost, or Hinder actions.

Tactics
Every costumed crime-fighter possesses a unique fighting style.

Minor Villain
:d10: Lieutenant

Description
The underbelly of super-villainy contains countless costumed crooks and numerous nefarious ne’er-do-wells. Choose one of the following abilities.

Abilities
Equity — Unsettling Gaze: When Equity takes the Attack or Defend action, he can also Hinder one target with the same roll.
Heartbreaker — Escalating Insanity: After Heartbreaker takes the Attack action on his turn, he also Boosts himself with the same roll.
Professor Pollution — Toxic Fumes: When Professor Pollution takes the Attack action, she can Attack up to 3 nearby targets.
The Radioactivist — Surplus of Power: The Radioactivist has +3 to Attack actions. When he Attacks a target, he also Boosts that target with the same roll -3.
Tantrum — Deflective Shields: When Tantrum succeeds on a damage save roll, she also Attacks the attacker with the same roll.

Tactics
The tactics of the world’s various villains are as varied as their vile visages.

Police Officer
:d8: Minion

Description
These officers run the gamut from upstanding paragons of integrity to corrupt cops lacking in any morals.

Ability
Cuff 'Em: Police Officers have +1 to Hinder actions.

Tactics
Usually, cops will fight against any villains present. However, if there is significant anti-hero sentiment in the populace, they’re just as likely to make trouble for both heroes and villains. Furthermore, there is the possibility that a villain has paid them off to solely fight heroes.

Editor’s Notes

As any astute reader will likely perceive, there is significant thematic overlap betwixt this environment and the Megalopolis environment featured in the Core Rulebook’s Archives, as well as some minor mechanical overlap betwixt the two. In fact, I encourage mixing-and-matching the twists of the two environments if one wishes to do so and perceives the need for such variety. (Perhaps, for example, one is running a lengthy scene with a prolonged scene tracker of 11 spaces (see page #188 of the Core Rulebook).)

Part of the genesis for this environment was me thinking that Megalopolis isn’t a generic city environment, what with the giant magic tree and all. Plus, I thought that any city full of supers ought to reflect that in its environment. What’s more, I felt it somewhat strange that the Megalopolitan Police were represented simply as a single Attack action rather than minions. Also, while it makes sense that Megalopolis the Perfect Shining City of the Future doesn’t have much crime, the same is usually untrue for most other cities.

Oh, and by the way, the name “Urban Metropolis” is simply an entirely generic name that means “a large, important city”; it’s certainly not an allusion to any city in particular.

For a brief time I considered simply directing readers to use the Megalopolis Police Officer minion stats from the “Conspiracy of Clones” adventure issue (page #272) in the Core Rulebook, but I ultimately decided that since the name, Description, and Tactics didn’t fit with this environment, I should go ahead and steal their Ability while rewriting everything else.

For the Minor Villains, I just looked at the Mini-Nemeses page on the Wiki and chose some that fit with the role. There were, of course, several that would decidedly not make sense in this capacity, such as Zhu Long or Revenant (who are too major to just be an environmental twist), Omni-Blade (which no longer exists), or Rahazar or Balarian (who are relatively athematic). And, of course, several others have graduated up to full Villain-status (e.g. most of the Slaughterhouse Six and almost all of the villains in The Guise Book). Additionally, it should go without saying that a GM is free to use another minor villain of their own devising, or just Char—sorry, I mean Firearm (page #414) or Seer (page #416).

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#54

Looks good, although you could maybe use another Yellow minor twist or two for variety in the longest zone. That Red major twist is going to be brutal coming up so late in the scene - at least two actions to clear and a third to hopefully drop the villain can be a big ask if some of the PCs are Out.

Part of the genesis for this environment was me thinking that Megalopolis isn’t a generic city environment, what with the giant magic tree and all.

Aside from the giant magic tree, Megalopolis also has a truly excessive number of monorails despite the well-known hazards of operating the fool things. So yeah, the core book environment for it is a poor fit for Generic City.

For specific cities you could modify the size of the dice. Albany NY would barely rate a d8 for Sprawling Population Center, and it drops to an d6 at night when all the state workers have commuted home. Only gets to a d8 Sprawling Infrastructure thanks to the Empire State Plaza, which might as well be from Mars for how out of place it is compared to all the 2- and 3-story buildings that make up most of the city sprawl. Crime level’s about right at d8 though, and all the politicians might as well be super-villains. :slight_smile:

The Radioactivist — Surplus of Power: The Radioactivist has +3 to Attack actions. When he Attacks a target, he also Boosts that target with the same roll -3.

So that’s Attack at +3 and Boost at -3 on the target? Interesting ability.

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#55

True, although a Hero Ally would help out if one is present. Also, it says to “Select one villain target” (emphasis mine), but my intent with that was that the target could be a villainous lieutenant (or even a minion, but heroes are rarely, if ever, going to waste two Overcomes to get at a minion), not just a Villain villain. I admit I could have phrased that better; I’ll go and rephrase it now.

Also, I feared that a challenge requiring only a single Overcome wasn’t really major enough to be a Red zone major twist.

Great idea! I hadn’t thought of that.

Quite right. I don’t think it’s broken in any way; the bonuses shouldn’t get too big, and I don’t think the extra Attacking power is inordinate—the rulebook recommends minion and lieutenant abilities give +2 bonuses on average, with +3 as the maximum.

My inspiration for the ability is from The Radioactivist’s quote on his SotM: EE card:

“Energy? Power? These are things you crave? You shall have both in full!”
— The Radioactivist, Exordium #1

So, now, obviously that’s just a quippy one-liner that he’s firing off before engaging some pesky heroes, but it got me thinking about the possibility of it being more literal.

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#56

Ah, good point.

That is probably true, although there’s usually so little time to deal with things in Red any challenge can be hard to handle, especially if there are a few PCs Out.

Oh, I think it’s fine. Was just having trouble parsing it at first - but of course I haven’t done any archery since I was in high school either. :slight_smile:

#57

Oh, well in that case—what change do you think would make it more readable?

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#58

Maybe this?

Not that original was all that hard to work out anyway. Very minor confusion.

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#59

And here we have yet another environment. This one’s fairly generic, and can likely be found within the previous environment. (In fact, I originally planned to include some of this one’s twists in that one, but decided to flesh them out into their own environment instead.)

High-Tech Laboratory

Science and technology are cornerstones of society in many worlds throughout the Multiverse. Most such worlds possess technology that is far in advance compared to the timeline that we call home.

The technological and scientific feats of those worlds are of kinds that the scientists of our universe could only dream of — fully autonomous robots, conclusive evidence of extraterrestrial life, extensive biological modifications, immensely efficient nuclear fission, and the manufacture of exotic subatomic particles are only some of such worlds’ achievements.

All of these technologies and more have been utilised by stalwart heroes in their pursuit of justice. But many nefarious malcontents have also gotten their wicked hands on powerful tech, and use it to further their own heinous schemes.

This laboratory is one place where those miraculous inventions and innovations take place. Here, brilliant scientists and engineers work tirelessly on various scientific projects. Must such laboratories do their work for the betterment of humankind, although others do conduct their experiments purely for greed, or strive towards some other, less savoury goal.

This lab is filled to the brim with highly-advanced machinery, devices, gadgets, exotic energies, test subjects of all stripes, and those aforementioned hard-working scientists, all protected by some of the best security measures.

Whether this laboratory is a civilian establishment that a villain has broken into, or a villainous lab that the heroes mist infiltrate, it will certainly make any conflict much more interesting.

High-Tech Laboratory
Bleeding-Edge Tech :d10:
Hazardous Experiments :d10:
State-of-the-Art Security :d8:

GREEN
Minor Twists

  • Lab Security: The commotion has garnered the attention of one of the lab’s security personnel. Introduce 1 Lab Guard minion (see below) to the scene.
  • Robotic Rampage: Either a villain has hacked one of the lab’s advanced android prototypes to fight the heroes, or collateral damage has simply caused the robot’s circuits to malfunction and make it start attacking! Introduce 1 Humanoid Robot minion (see page #410 of the Core Rulebook) to the scene.

Major Twist

  • Intruders Detected: The lab’s automated defence systems come online and begin targeting all unauthorised personnel present. Roll the environment dice. Introduce a number of Auto-Turret minions (see page #409 of the Core Rulebook) equal to the Min die to the scene.

YELLOW
Minor Twists

  • Endangered Scientists: A number of scientists are in imminent danger from either one or more villains or the hazards of the lab!
    [ ] Rescue the scientists
    [ ] Challenge timer
    Triggered: The scientists are severely injured or killed.
    Completed: A scientist aids their rescuer. Roll the environment dice. Boost the hero who overcame the above challenge with the Mid die.
  • Extraterrestrial Specimens: Aliens that the lab has been studying break free. Roll the environment dice. Introduce a number of alien minions found on pages #404-405 of the Core Rulebook equal to the Mid die to the scene.

Major Twist

  • Containment Breach: The devices containing one of the lab’s test subjects have failed! Introduced 1 Giant Lab Specimen lieutenant (see below) to the scene.

RED
Minor Twists

  • Cutting-Edge Gadgetry: A villain has gotten ahold of some of the lab’s most advanced technology. Roll the environment dice. Boost one villain target with the Max die. That bonus is persistent and exclusive.
  • Radiation Leak: The fight has damaged one of the lab’s atomic piles, spewing dangerous Kirby Radiation that both harms and empowers! Roll the environment dice. Attack two targets close to each-other with the Mid die. Then, Boost those targets using the Min die.

Major Twist

  • Quantum Reactor Meltdown: The lab’s highly experimental quantum energy reactor has been damaged in the fight, and is now in danger of going critical!
    [ ] [ ] Stabilise the reactor
    [ ] Challenge timer
    Triggered: The reactor overloads in a catastrophic explosion of exotic energy! Roll the environment dice. Take an action using the Max die on each target in the scene, determined by rolling a :d6:. On 1-2, Attack. On 3-4, Hinder. On 5-6, Boost.

High-Tech Laboratory Threats

Giant Lab Specimen
:d10: Lieutenant

Description
This is a normally-small animal that has been enlarged to truly monstrous proportions by the lab’s experimentations, in addition to gaining some other abilities. The specimen could be a rat, mouse, guinea big, lizard, snake, spider, dog, ape, or other animal.

Abilities
Frightened Animal: Heroes have +2 to Attack and Hinder actions to calm or tame the Giant Lab Specimen. Additionally, the Giant Lab Specimen’s die can be reduced one size by a successful Overcome action to calm it.
Variable Mutation: The Giant Lab Specimen has one of the following abilities.

  • Destructive Breath: When the Giant Lab Specimen Attacks, it can roll its die twice and use the lower result to Attack multiple nearby targets.
  • Destructive Rampage: As an action, the Giant Lab Specimen can activate an environmental minor twist of a zone one step closer to Green than the current zone. The Giant Lab Specimen can only use this ability once per zone.
  • Energy Immunity: The Giant Lab Specimen is immune to damage from [Element/Energy].
  • Enhanced Intelligence: When the Giant Lab Specimen Boosts itself, the resulting bonus is persistent and exclusive.
  • Eye Beams: The Giant Lab Specimen has +2 to Attack actions.
  • Healing Factor: When the Giant Lab Specimen Defends, increase its die by one size, up to a maximum of a :d10:.
  • Scaly Hide: The Giant Lab Specimen has +2 to damage saves against physical Attacks to harm it.
  • Titanic Swing: When the Giant Lab Specimen Attacks, it can Attack two targets close to each-other.
  • Venomous: When the Giant Lab Specimen Attacks a target, it Hinders that target with the same roll -2.
  • Wings: Once per turn, the Giant Lab Specimen can move to another location in the scene without spending an action.

Tactics
This monstrous specimen stomps about, destroying everything in its path.

Lab Guard
:d8: Minion

Description
Labs that are as advanced as this usually hire the best in the security business.

Ability
Subdual Weaponry: When a Lab Guard Hinders a target, it also Attacks that same target using the value of that penalty.

Tactics
Guards will almost always fight to subdue rather than to kill, but may attack more lethally if their own lives are at stake.

Editor’s Notes

Why yes, this laboratory does work on robotics, study aliens, experiment with mutation, create high-tech gadgets, and experiment with radiation and “quantum energy.”

In regards to the Endangered Scientists twist, I initially considered adding an all-hero, morale-based Hinder to the consequences if it wasn’t completed in time, but then I decided to do the exact opposite and reward the hero who completes it with a free Boost. I figure (and hope) that preventing the scientists from being wounded/killed is incentive enough for heroes to save them, even without any mechanical consequences for failure (save being deprived of the reward, of course.)

Oh, also, it is, of course, left to the GM’s discretion whether the scientists are merely injured or outright killed. This decision will be influenced by the tone of the campaign, naturally. If I were to run this environment, I would almost certainly favour the former result.

Regarding the Extraterrestrial Specimens twist, you’ll note that it specifies alien minions, so naturally Dymkharn is not a valid choice, as he is a lieutenant. Also, the aliens introduced by this twist can all be the same type or different types, as the GM sees fit.

The Giant Lab Specimen is actually one of the primary reasons I wanted to make this environment, as I especially like its Frightened Animal ability. This lieutenant also joins the ranks of being one with a variable ability, much like the Minor Spirit, the Fey-Advisor, and the Minor Villain. If you’re pressed for time and simply can’t be bothered to choose its Variable Mutation, I suggest Scaly Hide or Titanic Swing as defaults.

I’m not sure if the Destructive Rampage ability is balanced. It is certainly quite weaker than the two villain abilities that cause environment twists, but it should be, as it’s only a lieutenant ability.

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#60

Looks good. Nice medium difficult environment with some mixed results for heroes. I tend to go too hard on my players with my own environs.

Given the available twists (and assuming you don’t use some from beyond the environment) it’s pretty mild. The worst it can do in Yellow is pop out a single minion, or Min die turrets if the Green Major didn’t come up already. In Yellow it can probably get the most impact out of Mid die minions, although Endanger Scientists could put some time pressure on the heroes in the critical Red zone of the tracker. It also only to gets to use the ability twice at most, assuming it comesout in Yellow and lives to reach Red. OTOH, it doesn’t care about the critter’s die size, so you could use it as a last gasp d4 action just as well as when you’re still at d10.

Don’t think it’s an issue of too weak or too strong. The other abilities will mostly hurt the heroes more, but that just makes the ability choice into a dial for the GM to turn when they activate the twist. Pick Rampage if you want to give your heroes a slightly easier time of it, or (say) Eye Beams or Breath if you want to apply some more damage pressure, and Healing or Scaly if you want a damage sink for the PCs to deal with.

Might want to check on phobias or empathies before you choose the critter type. I’ve played with folks who have panic attacks if you even mention spiders or snakes, while others will go ballistic at the idea of harming a fictional dog. No sense in drawing an X card when you can avoid it.

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#61

Indeed, although the exact difficulty will depend upon whom the laboratory is aligned with. If it’s a friendly lab that knows the heroes, the Lab Guards and Auto-Turrets will only attack villains (and escaped aliens, rogue robots, and Giant Lab Specimens). Inversely, if it’s a villainous installation, they’ll fight the heroes. And if it’s a neutral civilian laboratory, they’ll likely simply engage any unfamiliar intruders.

Also, I suppose that the escaped aliens could actually be friendly towards the heroes, especially if they were treated poorly by the lab and/or are Mentally-Empowered Humanoids, who seem the most-peace-inclined of the Corebook’s aliens.

Oh, absolutely. It should be fairly easy to simply ask everyone at the table right before introducing the lieutenant, as the creature type really has no effect besides cosmetics.

I try to keep such things in mind when designing things, but they do unfortunately slip my mind at times. When/if I start posting villains (or adventures) on here, I want to try to remember to put content warnings before each post, which is something I’ve seen GTG themselves do with products.

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#62

Today is Independence Day in the U.S., so here’s an environment thematically inspired by that! It can also be used for other occasions, of course, although the number of possible scenarios in which it could prove useful is admittedly rather small.

Pyrotechnics Factory
Explosive Materials :d8:
Factory Workers :d6:
Fireworks Show :d10:

GREEN
Minor Twists

  • Dazzling Display: An incredibly bright sparkler explodes right in someone’s face, temporarily dazing and/or blinding them! Roll the environment dice. Hinder one target with the Mid die.
  • The Show Begins: A number of fireworks are lit and explode in a shower of brilliant light! Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets with the Min die.

Major Twist

  • Endangered Workers: One group of factory workers is still present in the building, and they are likely to get hurt! Add 1 :d10: minion to the scene. That minion never takes actions. A successful Overcome action safely evacuates the workers and removes the minion from the scene. If the minion is destroyed, roll the environment dice and Hinder all heroes with the Min die. Then each Hindered target takes damage equal to the value of their penalty.

YELLOW
Minor Twists

  • Continued Pyrotechnics: Dozens of fireworks continue to be set off by the combat! Roll the environment dice. Attack one target with the Mid die, and the rest with the Min die.
  • Weaponised Fireworks: One combatant gets the idea to wield some of the fireworks to attack! Although they will likely get singed in the process. Roll the environment dice. Boost one target using the Max die. When that target uses the resulting bonus, also deal them damage equal to its value.

Major Twist

  • Choking Smoke: The myriads of fireworks that have gone off have clouded the factory with a heavy layer of smoke. Roll the environment dice. Hinder all targets with the Min die. Those penalties are persistent and exclusive, and remain in play until a successful Overcome action clears the air.

RED
Minor Twists

  • Explosive Finale: An excessive amount of fireworks explode once again. Roll the environment dice. Attack one target with the Max die, and the rest with the Mid die.
  • Support Beam Collapse: The barrage of fireworks has weakened the structural integrity of the building! Roll the environment dice. Attack two targets near one another with the Mid die, and Hinder them both with the Min die.

Major Twist

  • Imminent Conflagration: All of the fighting has set off a truly gigantic store of fireworks. If they’re not dealt with soon, the entire factory will be blown sky-high!
    [ ] [ ] Either neutralise the fireworks, or flee the factory
    [ ] Challenge timer
    Triggered: Check off all the remaining spaces on the scene tracker.

Editor’s Notes

Curiously, I think that this may be my first environment that doesn’t add any minions (save for the Endangered Workers twist, but that doesn’t really count). Instead, it’s almost exclusively simply basic actions, with some challenges thrown in too.

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#63

I’m reminded of an old Feng Shui adventure that included a scene in a Hong Kong fireworks factory. To put it mildly, it was not a safe space for gunplay to break out, much less for eunuch sorcerers to start hucking fireblasts.

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#64

It’s been awhile, but here’s one more environment!

The Psychic Plane

Beyond the realm of physical reality, there exists a space inhabited only by thoughts. It is a domain of pure psionic energy, where one can encounter one’s greatest fears, hopes, and dreams.

When one of their own is possessed by a maniacal telepath, or knocked into an inescapable coma, or experiencing severe psychological distress, groups of heroes have been known to venture into this strange, psychedelic realm.

The Psychic Plane
Malleable Surroundings :d10:
Mental Energies :d10:
Realm of Thoughts :d10:

GREEN
Minor Twists

  • Manifestation of Id: A manifestation of one of the heroes’ Id has materialised. Add 1 Id Manifestation to the scene.
  • Manifestation of Superego: A manifestation of one of the heroes’ Superego has materialised. Add 1 Superego Manifestation to the scene.

Major Twist

  • Vast Mindscape: The psychic plane is a truly vast domain. Divide all the characters present in the scene into a number of different locations, as you see fit. Characters must spend a Boost or Defend action to move to a different location and unite with the others, as usual, unless a character has a Intellectual or Psychic power, in which case they may move to another location for free on their turn.

YELLOW
Minor Twists

  • Villains from the Past: A villain or villains who the heroes have faced before materialise in front of them! Add either 1 Bad Memory lieutenant, or roll the environment dice and add a number of Bad Memory minions equal to the Mid die.
  • Visions of Fear: One character experiences horrific visions of one of their worst fears!
    [ ] [ ] Overcome the fear
    Until the above challenge is completed, that character cannot affect anything else in the scene save this challenge. Other characters can also attempt the challenge, as normal, but they must suffer a -1 penalty whilst doing so.

Major Twist

  • Visions of Paradise: One character is trapped within a false illusion in which they’ve achieved all of their greatest wants.
    [ ] [ ] [ ] Escape the illusion
    Until the above challenge is completed, that character cannot affect anything else in the scene save this challenge. Other characters can also attempt the challenge, as normal, but they must suffer a -1 penalty whilst doing so.

RED
Minor Twists

  • Friends of the Past: Psychic constructs of the heroes’ allies materialise to add them in their time of need! Add either 1 Ally Memory lieutenant, or roll the environment dice and add a number of Ally Memory minions equal to the Max die.
  • Manifestation of Ego: A manifestation of one of the heroes’ Ego has materialised. Add 1 Ego Manifestation to the scene.

Major Twist

  • Planar Control: One character has seized control of the very fabric of the Psychic Plane! Now and on each environment turn hereafter, the character with control can choose one basic action. Roll the environment, and the environment takes that basic action using the Max die against any number of targets of the character’s choice. A different character can wrest control of the Psychic Plane at any time by succeeding on an Overcome action.

Psychic Plane Threats

Ally Memory
:d10: Minion or Lieutenant

Description
The Psychic Plane can call up the memories of past friends and allies from within heroes’ minds.

Ability
Super-Schtick: The Ally Memory has +2 to Overcome actions and to one other type of basic action.

Tactics
Ally Memories emulate the tactics and fighting styles of the staunch friends that they represent.

Bad Memory
:d8: Minion or Lieutenant

Description
The Psychic Plane can call up the memories of past foes from within heroes’ minds.

Abilities
Nefarious Nemesis: The Bad Memory has +1 to actions against one specific hero.
Super-Schtick: The Bad Memory has +1 to one type of basic action.

Tactics
Bad Memories emulate the tactics and fighting styles of the ne’er-do-wells that they represent.

Ego Manifestation
:d8: Lieutenant

Description
This entity is an external reflexion of one hero’s Ego—their organised, conscious mind.

Ability
Moderation: Whenever the Ego Manifestation rolls a 1 or the maximum number on its die, reroll its die.

Tactics
The Ego Manifestation seeks to moderate any behaviour that it identifies as particularly influenced by id or superego.

Id Manifestation
:d10: Minion

Description
This entity is an external reflexion of one hero’s Id—their most primal, instinctual wants and desires.

Ability
Instinctive Retaliation: After the Id Manifestation is Attacked or Hindered by an opponent, it rolls its die and deals that much damage to its adversary.

Tactics
The Id Manifestation seeks out the primal wants of the hero who it is an aspect of.

Superego Manifestation
:d10: Minion

Description
This entity is an external reflexion of one hero’s Superego—the part of them that seeks to fit in with society.

Ability
Societal Order: The Superego Manifestation has +2 to Defend actions, and whenever it Hinders, the resulting penalty is at least -2.

Tactics
The Superego Manifestation will seek to quell any particularly disruptive behaviour.

Editor’s Notes

This is basically just an environment made to facilitate Journey to the Centre of the Mind or Battle in the Centre of the Mind-type stories.

All the information that I used when designing the Id, Ego, and Superego twists just came from this TV Tropes page. Also, I want to state that, as the linked page says, Freud’s conceptualisations of these psychological concepts are “largely discredited today.” Nonetheless, they’re a fairly recognisable motif, and so are useful when designing fictional dreamlands.

Regarding the Vast Mindscape twist, I was originally going to say that only characters with Mobility powers could move around for free (as that’s how the rules normally treat it), but then I though better and changed it to the Intellectual and Psychic powers that you see now.

Also, just to be clear, the bonuses from the two abilities of Bad Memories are cumulative—if one of them uses their special type of action against their nemesis hero, they get +2.

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#65

Looks really good. The relatively friendly Red twists are a particularly nice touch.

I’m amused by the fact that the Ego is noticeably weaker than the Id and Superego. So much for moderation. :slight_smile:

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#66

Well, it is a lieutenant, whilst the other two are only minions.

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#67

This environment is a perilous place designed to be used in conjunction in the Domain villain known as the Architect, who’s posted over in my villains thread.

Lair of the Architect

The Architect is a renowned designer of deathtraps and secret lairs in the supervillain underworld. His creations are famous throughout supervillainy; there is simply no-one better to turn to if you want a quality headquarters, or want to dispose of your nemesis in a fashionable manner.

The Architect’s varied creations usually have similar dastardly hazards planted within them, including swinging blades, gouts of flame, poisoned darts, crushing walls, electrified floors, poisonous gas, and menacing robotic automatons.

This environment can be used to represent any of the deadly structures that the Architect has designed, though if it’s been commissioned for use by another villain with their own gimmicks, it’s recommended to flavour things to reflect that.

Lair of the Architect
Lethal Layout :d8:
Mechanised Automatons :d10:
Tricks & Traps :d10:

Green

Minor Twists

  • Guardian Automatons: Robotic defenders of this place are deployed to face the heroes. Roll the environment dice. Add a number of Guardian Automaton minions (see below) to the scene equal to the Min die.
  • Scything Blade: A concealed weighted blade swings down at a hero! Roll the environment dice. Attack 1 target with the Mid die.

Major Twist

  • Separated!: Through the use of cunning trapdoors, revolving walls, or other artifice, all the heroes become separated from one another! Move each hero to a different location in the scene. They can regroup using the normal movement rules.

Yellow

Minor Twists

  • Flame Burst: A gout of fire erupts from a wall or floor! Roll the environment dice. Attack 2 targets with the Mid die.
  • Poisoned Darts: A volley of poison-tipped darts is launched towards the heroes. Roll the environment dice. Hinder 2 targets with the Mid die.

Major Twist

  • Crushing Walls: The walls of the room begin to slowly slide together!
    [ ] Escape the room or stop the walls
    [ ] [ ] Timer
    Triggered: Everyone in the room is squashed flat, and restrained by the walls! Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets in the room with the Mid die now and on each subsequent environment turn that they remain squashed. In addition, while restrained, targets can’t take any physical actions other than making an Overcome to free themselves, and possibly others.

Red

Minor Twists

  • Electrified Flooring: The floor of the chamber becomes charged with electricity! Roll the environment dice. Attack all targets with the Mid die, and each target damaged this way gains a -1 penalty.
  • Slayer Automaton: A mecha-machine designed for effecting the efficient elimination of enemies is deployed. Add 1 Slayer Automaton lieutenant (see below) to the scene.

Major Twist

  • Poisonous Gas: As hermetically-sealed doors slam over all the apertures to the room, poisonous gas begins to be pumped in! Roll the environment dice. Attack and Hinder all breathing targets in the room with the Mid die. Repeat this action on all subsequent environment turns until the below challenge is complete.
    [ ] [ ] [ ] Plug the gas or escape the room

Threats

Guardian Automatons
:d8: Minions

Description
When the Architect is in the employ of another villain, he’ll usually dress up these robots to comply with his client’s gimmick. Otherwise, their default forms are simple, blocky humanoid robots crafted from shining silver metal.

Ability
Sturdily-Built: Guardian Automatons have +1 to damage saves.

Tactics
These bots are plenty strong, but usually lack any other weaponry besides their mechanical limbs, unless they’ve been given such by the Architect’s client. They usually engage heroes toe-to-toe in fisticuffs, Attacking and Hindering them. If a villainous VIP is around, though, they may also Defend them.

Slayer Automaton
:d8: Lieutenant

Description
Similarly to the Guardian Automatons, unless decked out in themed attire, this robot will possess a silvery metallic humanoid form, although it’s quite sleeker and lither than it’s robotic brethren, as well as about a foot taller.

Abilities
Deadly Weaponry: A Slayer Automaton has +2 to Attacks.
Stalker: When the Slayer Automaton Boosts itself, it also Defends itself using the value of the resulting bonus.

Tactics
Usually, this bot will stalk its prey for a round by Boosting and Defending itself using its Stalker ability, before closing in to Attack. Unless given thematic weaponry, it possesses sharp razor-claws with which to fight, making it rather deadlier than the less sophisticated robots utilised by the Architect.

Editor’s Notes

Depending on how difficult you want to be to your players, you could add a rule to the scene that moving betwixt any locations within this environment requires a successful Overcome, instead of using the normal movement rules.

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