It seems like it’s getting windier and chillier every day now 'round these parts. So here’s a villain inspired by that.
Windswept
“Face the wind, and despair.”
Alias: Gale Zephyrs
Approach: Focused
Archetype: Guerrilla
Health: 35 + (
× 5)
Powers
Cold 
Weather 
Qualities
Chosen of the Tempest
Conviction 
Magical Lore
Status: Engaged Opponents
4+ Engaged opponents
2-3 Engaged opponents
0-1 Engaged opponents 
Abilities
Bulwark of Wind (A): Defend yourself using Weather. This Defend lasts until your next turn. If an Attack deals more damage than the Defend’s value, end the Defend and Attack the attacker equal to the Defend.- Chill Essence (I): Ignore all damage from Cold.
Hammering Squall (A): Hinder one target using Weather. Use your Max die. Attack that target using your Mid die.- Nature’s Fury (I): At the start of your turn, gain a bonus equal to the number of opponents that Attacked you since your last turn.
- Vicious Gusts (A): Attack using Conviction, using the Max die against one target, Mid die against a different target, and the Min die against a third target. If you Attack three different targets, the damage is irreducible.
- (U) Recruit the Faithful (A): Replenish your Followers of the Wind minions up to .
- (M)
Master of Total Chaos (I): If you are in a situation where everything is spiralling out of control, automatically succeed in an Overcome to accomplish a task by throwing out the rules.
Windswept
Alias: Gale Zephyrs
Gender: Agender
Age: 20s
Height: 5’7"
Eyes: Extraordinarily bright blue
Hair: Bluish white
Skin: Pale
Build: Slim, androgynous
Costume/Equipment: Flowing blue robes.
Approach: Focused
Archetype: Guerrilla
Biography
Gale Zephyrs was a radical young environmentalist. They were immensely frustrated by the world’s governments’ failures to protect the natural world, and by their own inability to effect change. Sure, they could “petition their representatives,” but they knew that that wouldn’t really accomplish anything. Those in power were too stubborn and lazy to make the radical changes that were necessary to change the planet. And Gale was helpless to do anything else.
Or so they thought. One day they stumbled upon an ancient tome at the local public library that described the existence of natural entities composed of pure elemental essence. Beings of the earth, of fire, of plantlife, of water, and of the wind. Gale spent months researching these entities, and ultimately developed a plan to try to contact them.
They hiked to the tallest peak in the area during a raging thunderstorm, and called out to the spirits of air and sky. They pled for the spirits to visit vengeance upon those who’ve despoiled the natural world. The spirits heard their entreaties, and took heed. One wind elemental revealed itself to Gale Zephyrs, and offered them power. They accepted, and the two bonded together. Now, with the power of the skies at their command, Windswept strikes out at despoilers of all kinds!
Capabilities and Motivations
Windswept can control wind. This ability allows them to summon forth high-speed gusts that can batter heroes about like leaves, damage and sometimes even destroy buildings and other structures, and form a protective barrier of air around themself. Windswept can’t create any weather effects besides wind, like rain, hail, snow, lightning, or thunder, however — but if such phenomena are already present, they can seize control of them and increase or decrease their magnitude and force.
Further, Windswept has a limited control over cold, being immune to the harmful effects of even the lowest temperatures and able to decrease the temperature of their area at will. Additionally, Windswept’s research has resulted in them acquiring a fair amount of arcane lore, and they’ve become moderately familiar with the magical community.
Windswept is immensely dedicated to their cause; they will go to great lengths to protect the natural world, even if that means straight-up attacking towns and cities due to their belief that their mere presence is deleterious to nature.
Upgrades
Windswept is able to spread the essence of the wind elemental that inhabits them to others. Soon after gaining their new powers, Windswept reached out to other like-minded eco-radicals and granted them a measure of their power. Furthermore, they’re capable of forcibly taking over weak-willed innocents by flooding them with the elemental’s essence.
Windswept’s Threats
Followers of the Wind
Description
These are are ordinary people who have been overcome by the Essence of Wind, and now aid Windswept’s cause. They all have a hollow look in their eyes.Ability
Craft the Maelstrom: Followers of the Wind have +1 to Attacks for each other close Acolyte (maximum +3).Tactics
The Followers can Attack and Hinder by summoning mighty gusts of wind; Boost by channelling their power; or Defend by creating shields of wind.
Acolytes of the Wind
Description
These are other likeminded eco-radicals who have willingly thrown their lot in with Windswept’s movement. As such, they retain their personalities, unlike those forced into the cause.Ability
Leaders of the Storm: When an Acolyte of the Wind Boosts, they may roll their die twice and use the lower result to Boost up to three nearby Followers of the Wind.
Potent Powers: Acolytes of the Wind have +2 to Attack actions.Tactics
The Acolytes can Attack and Hinder by summoning mighty gusts of wind; Boost by channelling their power; or Defend by creating shields of wind.
Editor’s Notes
Is the name wind-swept or winds-wept? OoOoOoh . . .
Huh, Meaningful Name? I’ve no idea what you’re talking about . . .
I did consider choosing Overlord instead of Guerrilla for Windswept’s Archetype, as I liked the idea of them leading a throng of their acolytes. But I also wanted them to be a valid threat on their own. I could definitely see making an alternate build for them that was more minion-focused, though.
The “chill” in Chill Essence is meant to mean cold, not calm.
Windswept’s go-to move is to use Vicious Gusts. They’ll only switch to Hammering Squall if there is one particularly annoying opponent, or Bulwark of the Wind if they have some need to lie low for a round or reposition. Alternatively, Windy could open with Bulwark if they’re accompanied by a cadre of minions, and only break out the Gusts once the heroes prove that they’re a significant threat, likely by taking out a significant portion of their minions, breaking Bulwark’s Defend, or Overcoming a Challenge that Windswept had set up.
This is, coincidentally enough, my second eco-villain after Doctor Shark. I guess I have a type. Of course, I’m not saying that all environmentalists are bad — just those who go around wrecking towns and endangering folks. Windswept is very much an extremist; they could become a temporary ally for heroes for a time, but their disregard for human life would get in the way of a fully-heroic career.
And yeah, I’ll admit that I was kind of inspired a bit by Spirit Island for this one. : D